COLLEGE BASEBALL
Apprentice School’s Nate Yeary was the state College Division Player of the Year and Christopher Newport’s Dylan Weber was named the Pitcher of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.
Pitcher Nick Redman and second baseman Nolan Edwards were the Builders joining Yeary on the first team. Pitcher Brandon Cassedy and Kyle Lewis and catcher Lincoln Lubsen joined Weber as Captains on the first team.
The second team included Virginia Wesleyan first baseman Micah Fox and third baseman Thomas Crandall, as well as Apprentice shortstop Camden Weston and designated hitter Jeremy Harmon.
VCU promotes assistant to head coach
After head coach Bradley LeCroy left VCU last week for the same position at Liberty, pitching coach Sean Thompson was promoted to be the Rams’ head coach.
Thompson, a 2018 graduate, is one of the most accomplished pitchers in VCU history. He pitched in the minor leagues and was an assistant coach for Monmouth and Florida International.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Liberty players cited in CUSA preseason voting
After leading the Liberty Flames to last season’s Conference USA championship, returnees Kaidon Salter and CJ Bazile Jr. have been named the league’s Preseason Players of the Year.
Salter, a quarterback, was the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Bazile was the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
They led LU to an 8-0 conference record and a 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the championship game. The Flames didn’t lose until Oregon beat them in the Fiesta Bowl.
Salter threw for 2,876 yards and 32 touchdowns while rushing for 1,089 yards and 12 additional scores. He was named the 2023 Hero Sports Group of Five Offensive Player of the Year.
Bazile earned Conference USA honorable mention after starting all 14 games at the Joker position (end/outside linebacker). He finished the year with 49 tackles (20 solo, 29 assisted) and led the Flames with 10.5 tackles for a loss (29 yards). He added three sacks and recorded a team-high 11 quarterback hurries.
LITTLE LEAGUE
Fleet Park Seniors reach region’s final four
The Fleet Park Senior League team won two games at the Southeast Region tournament in Safety Harbor, Florida, to move into the final four of the event held near Tampa Bay.
After losing its opener, the Norfolk squad defeated fellow state champion Lexington, Tennessee, 5-4 in a weather-delayed game and then eliminated the host team, West Pasco of New Port Richey, 6-2.
Fleet Park advanced to an elimination game against the winner between state champs Logan of West Virginia and East Marietta National of Georgia.
BASKETBALL
Hornsby’s team reaches TBT’s final 16
Assembly Ball advanced to The Basketball Tournament’s round of 16 with a 68-55 victory over Men of Mackey on Sunday night in Indianapolis.
Assembly Ball is an Indiana alumni team supplemented by other players. One of them, former UNC Asheville and LSU player Keith Hornsby, who grew up in Williamsburg, had 12 points and four rebounds. Former Hoosier Yogi Ferrell had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists to help Assembly Ball win against Men of Mackey, a Purdue alumni team.
Hornsby’s fellow former Oak Hill Academy player Troy Williams, a Phoebus High and Indiana alum, is on the roster but is recovering from an Achilles tendon injury.
Marrow, Sideline Cancer team fall in thriller
Peninsula native Jermaine Marrow scored 15 points, but his Sideline Cancer team lost 71-69 to The Ville in The Basketball Tournament’s round of 32 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
Marrow, a guard who played for Kecoughtan and Heritage High, is one of Hampton University’s all-time top players. He was 5 of 13 from the field, including 3 of 9 from 3-point range, and 2 of 2 on free throws for his team, which plays to promote the fight against pancreatic cancer.
The Elam Ending is used throughout TBT, and the target score was set at 71 with The Ville, primarily a Louisville alumni team, leading 63-59. Sideline Cancer scored eight consecutive points, then traded baskets to make it 69-65.
The Ville answered with four points in a row for a 69-69 tie, and Marrow came up short on a potential winning shot from just beyond the 3-point line. A minute and 16 seconds later, former NBA player Montrezl Harrell drew a foul and sank two free throws to end the game.
Former William & Mary standout Omar Prewitt of The Ville, who grew up in Kentucky, made his only shot of the night, a 3-pointer.
For The Ville, David Johnson scored 18 points, Russ Smith 16, Chris Jones 13 and Harrell eight.
Newport News native Alex Lewis, a former player for Menchville High and Lynchburg, was named as an assistant on Division II Chowan coach Rob Burke’s staff. The 2016 Lynchburg graduate has coached at Gloucester, Phoebus, Christopher Newport, Eastern Mennonite and Bryant & Stratton.
Quentin Acree, who was a part-time coach last season during Christopher Newport’s march to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight last season, was promoted to assistant coach on John Krikorian’s staff.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CNU adds assistant coach
Morgan Smith, a former head coach at Richard Bland, was named an assistant coach at CNU. She’s a former D-III All-American for Rowan.
Caty Reeves joined Virginia coach Joanna Hardin’s staff as Director of Operations and Player Development. Reeves has spent the last five seasons on Abilene Christian’s staff.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Captains gain aide from Messiah
Kendra Herbenar, who had been an assistant coach and standout player for Messiah in Pennsylvania, was named an assistant to CNU coach Lisa Valentine.
Goboy shoots 76 to start U.S. Junior Amateur
Xander Goboy shot a 6-over-par 76 in the first round and is tied for 154th place among 264 players at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Goboy, a former Catholic High star, has committed to play for North Carolina State. In Tuesday’s 18 holes at Oakland Hills Country Club, he’ll try to reach the top 64, who will qualify for match play. Eighty players finished the first round at 72 or better.
HORSE RACING
McCarthy leads Downs’ jockey standings
After two weeks of thoroughbred competition at Colonial Downs this summer, Trevor McCarthy leads all jockeys with five race victories.
Trainers Michael Trombetta, Brittany Russell and Carlos Munoz have won four races apiece.
