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Lopez, Lewis make cut on second day at NWA Championship

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ Gaby Lopez and Stacy Lewis both made the cut following day two at the NWA Championship, as each followed up strong round one performances with solid showings on moving day.

Lopez has done most of her damage on the front during the tournament, and she was phenomenal there again Saturday morning, shooting a 33 after firing a 32 Friday.

Her round-two 67 matched her total from Saturday’s round and currently has her sitting in a tie for 17th place with one round left to go.

Lopez will be paired with Lizette Salas, and will tee off Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

For Lewis, it was the back nine that provided the boost. She birdied five of the nine holes after making the turn on her way to carding a 32, matching the best round by a former Razorback at the event.

Like Lopez, Lewis matched her day one score, posting a 68 to give her a share of 39th place. Lewis will be matched up with Jessica Korda Sunday, starting her final round at 9:30 a.m.

The four other former Hogs in the event missed the cut at three-under-par, meaning Alana Uriell (-2), Kaylee Benton (-1), Maria Fassi (+1) and Dylan Kim (+9) will not get to play in round three tomorrow.

Lopez leads group of six Razorbacks opening play at NWA Championship

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ contingent of pros started at the NWA Championship on Friday, as Kaylee Benton, Maria Fassi, Gaby Lopez, Stacy Lewis, Alana Uriell and Dylan Kim are all through 18 holes of play.

Lopez, who starred for the Razorbacks from 2012-2015, carded a four-under 67.

The Mexico City native was especially good on the front, as she birdied four of her first nine to post a 32 before making the turn. That was the low round by any Razorback Friday. Lopez is currently tied for 22nd going into round two.

Returning to the event she won back in 2014, Lewis currently sits a stroke back of Lopez, as her 68 through round one is good for 32nd. The former Razorback National Champion would bogey four, but would be sublime from there, birdieing six, nine, 11 and 15 without carding another bogey the rest of the way.

Coming back to the Natural State for the first time since her coronation as the 2019 Individual National Champion, Fassi fired a first-round 70.

The two-time SEC Player of the Year was even through nine, and got off to a hot start on the back, carding back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11.

However, her bogey on No. 18 would push her back to one-under through 18 holes.

Uriell, who did not compete in the NWA Championship a year ago, finished strong after two straight bogies on 13 and 14, birdeying 16, 17 and 18 back-to-back-to-back to finish her first round of the tournament at even par.

Uriell, who finished her Razorback career last spring, also birdied seven while bogeying four, eight, 13 and 14.

Benton, who is making her professional debut at the NWA Championship, also finished day one at even par. The 2019 All-American was steady before and after making the turn, birdieing one, seven and 15 to grab a share of 88th place heading into day number two.

Kim, who qualified for the event this past Monday, and is playing as an amateur, finished her day at five over.

However, Kim’s score is a little misleading on the surface; the former Razorback was excellent most for of her round, firing four birdies on the day, but an 11 on the par-five 14th hole pushed her down the leader board.

???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — featuring Connor Noland

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Phil & Tye hit on Blayne Toll choosing Arkansas, interview Connor Noland, plus Mus during the SEC Teleconference!

Hazen’s Toll commits to Razorbacks over Oklahoma, Tennessee on Friday

Arkansas picked up a big commitment Friday from four-star Hazen defensive end Blayne Toll, who announced his decision Friday about noon on Twitter.

Toll, a 6-5, 244-pounder has played quarterback as well at Class 2A Hazen, but projects as a defensive end who was recruited by Ole Miss, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Memphis.

According to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, he is the 16th four-star player to commit to the Razorbacks since Chad Morris took over the program in December 2017.

Toll is the top-rated player in the state at 247Sports, ahead of Jacolby Criswell of Morrilton (committed to North Carolina) and Robert Scott of Conway (an Ole Miss commitment).

At Hazen, Toll is an unusual quarterback-defensive tackle player. He has led the Hornets to a 14-0 record in the conference and 23-4 overall.

The Hogs’ other commitments currently for the 2020 class include:

• Chandler Morris, QB, Highland Park (Dallas)
• John Gentry, RB, North Shore (Houston)
• Mason Mangum, WR, Austin, Texas, Westlake
• Savion Williams, WR, Marshall, Texas
• Brandon Frazier, TE, North McKinney, Texas
• Allen Horace, TE, Crockett, Texas
• Ty’Kieast, OL, Carthage, Texas
• Jashaud Stewart, DE-OLB, Jonesboro
• Jamie Vance, CB, Edna Karr (New Orleans)

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Friday

John & Tommy take calls from Lisa from NEA/Michael from Stuttgart, mysteries in Arkansas athletics, plus Barrett Sallee!

 

Musselman on what he’s seen, expecting in first season with Hogs

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman’s appearance on the SEC Teleconference on Thursday morning as he talks about the summer before his first season with a new staff, players.

Baum-Walker leads country in baseball postseason attendance

FAYETTEVILLE — Baum-Walker Stadium hosted nine games during the NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals, welcoming more fans than any other ballpark in the nation.

Arkansas saw 93,868 fans pack the stadium during the two postseason rounds that showcased the Hogs advancing to their 10th College World Series in program history.

The total is 4,000 more than attended last year’s regionals and super regionals.

Baum-Walker Stadium was one of eight ballparks to host both postseason rounds and the only one to surpass 90,000 in total attendance. In the games featuring the Razorbacks, the average attendance was 10,845, including 11,276 during Super Regionals.

All three Super Regional crowds exceeded 11,000 and are some of the largest postseason paid attendances in stadium history.

Including the postseason, total attendance at Baum-Walker Stadium this season climbed to 348,775, the third-highest total in the nation. On average, Arkansas accumulated 8,719 fans per game, the fourth-highest in the country.

It’s the 16th-straight year that Arkansas has ranked in the top five in the nation in attendance.

Arkansas wrapped up the 2019 season with a 33-7 home record, 32 of those wins coming at Baum-Walker Stadium.

It’s the second-straight year the Razorbacks totaled 30 or more wins at home.

2019 NCAA Postseason Attendances

Site Regional Attendance Super Regional Attendance Total Attendance
Fayetteville 60,040 33,828 93,868
Baton Rouge 61,906 23,349 85,255
Starkville 51,186 24,729 75,915
Lubbock 18,306 14,347 32,653
Nashville 20,618 10,878 31,496
Chapel Hill 16,987 11,506 28,493
Louisville 15,482 7,413 22,895
Los Angeles 12,939 5,902 18,841

???? Halftime Pod presented by Jeff’s Clubhouse — featuring Matt Jones

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Tye is joined in studio by former Arkansas QB Matt Jones. They discuss Chad Morris, the reason for him sporting #9, and more!

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

John & Tommy hit on the best Arkansas regular season wins, gas station foods, plus Richard Davenport!

NCAA takes shot at stemming ever-increasing flood of transfers

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Attorney Tom Mars

Apparently, the kangaroo court in Indianapolis that makes an occasional stab at doing something within the world of athletics has tried to slow down the transfers.

According to Adam Rittenberg at ESPN.com, the NCAA Division I Council this week has modified the rules of the transfer process and it’s pretty clear those changes will make things a little more difficult.

Tom Mars, the former Arkansas State Police director and now barrister, from Rogers apparently isn’t buying it, according to the story.

“The only thing that’s been clarified in my mind is that it will now be more difficult for student-athletes to get a waiver,” Mars said. “That’s painfully clear.”

Mars is often on the other side of the NCAA in these transfer requests and he’s been fairly successful, as in the cases of Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State) and Shea Patterson (Ole Miss to Michigan). He has said he gets two to three calls a day from players (or their families) about transferring.

According to the story, the changes are in just a few areas:

The adjusted guidelines address four types of waiver requests: athletes who no longer have opportunities to play at their original school; athletes who are victims of egregious behavior that impacts their health and well-being; athletes who transfer because of a recent injury or illness to an immediate family member; and athletes wanting to be closer to home because of their own injury or illness, including mental health-related issues. Waiver requests in all four subjects now will require statements from the athletic director of an athlete’s original institution explaining the athlete’s reasoning for transferring.

Maybe the biggest part that affects Arkansas’ potential transfers and immediate eligibility is the part about in the cases of a family member’s health being a reason for the transfer, that person must be within 100 miles of the school.

In Arkansas’ case, that cuts out everything down to about Morrilton to the southeast, eliminating Little Rock and the entire central part of the state.

They’ve also made an attempt to dump a lot of this in the lap of athletic directors.

Council chair Blake James from Miami said that’s part of helping “create the best student experience,” in the story.

“Having an understanding of the reasons why a young person is looking to leave and being a part of that process is something that should be happening on a more regular basis.”

There was no mention in the story of James’ involvement in the Hurricanes getting Tate Martell eligible in short order when he bailed on Ohio State after Fields’ request was approved.

“I’m sure we’ll continue to evaluate and make changes as needed that make sense to better the student experience,” James told Rittenberg.

Mars pointed out the obvious solution in the whole thing to ESPN:

“The long-term solution to this problem is blindingly obvious. The legislative council should scrap the incomprehensible waiver guidelines and replace them with a rule allowing every student-athlete to transfer one time without penalty.”

The only problem with Mars’ theory is it’s using common sense.

Which is something the NCAA has seldom collided with … especially in this transfer stuff.

Ezell signs free-agent deal with Tampa Bay; third from Hogs to sign

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Arkansas infielder Trevor Ezell signed a free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, becoming the eighth player to either be drafted or signed since the 2019 MLB Draft earlier this month.

Ezell is the first non-drafted Razorback to sign a pro contract this summer and will be joining a Rays organization that is also home to former Razorback pitchers Jalen Beeks and Ryne Stanek.

As of now, Ezell is only the third Arkansas player to sign a pro contract since the draft. Right-hander Isaiah Campbell signed his contract with the Seattle Mariners early last week and Jack Kenley signed his contract with the Detroit Tigers last week as well.

Hailing from Bryant, Arkansas, Ezell was only with the Razorbacks during the 2019 season after spending his first four seasons at Southeast Missouri State.

However, he made the most of his final collegiate season, emerging as one of the Hogs’ leaders and starting all 66 games at either first base or second base, while hitting .329, good for second on the squad.

Ezell, a switch hitter, was Arkansas’ best during the postseason, going .459 (17-for-37) at the plate during the NCAA Tournament, including six doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs. In just the Super Regional against Ole Miss, four of Ezell’s seven hits went for extra-bases and he had 13 total bases over the three-game series.

Needing shoulder surgery prior to the year, Ezell was still able to make the starting lineup, but was forced to play first base for the majority of the year. Having never played the position before, Ezell still became the best defensive first baseman in the conference, earning SEC All-Defense honors, after making only three errors all season.

Over his five-year college career, Ezell started all 247 games he played in and had 335 hits, which ranked fourth-most among all active players in the nation.

This year, Ezell led all Razorbacks with 19 stolen bases, the fourth time in his career he’s stolen 10 or more in a season.

His 19 swipes were also the most by a Hog player in one season since Andrew Benintendi had 24 in the 2015 season.

Prior to the Super Regionals, Ezell was named this year’s Google Cloud Division I Baseball Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for his 4.0 as a graduate student in operations management.

Ezell is the first Academic All-American from the baseball team since Zack Cox in 2010 and third baseball player all time (Allen Williams, 1992).

The team member of the year award is the first such honor for baseball in its history and Ezell is the second Arkansas student-athlete all time to win the award, following Andriena Byrd from the Women’s Track and Field Team in the 2001-02 season.