61.4 F
Fayetteville

Field announced for NCAA Regional; Hogs open Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Field announced for NCAA Regional; Hogs open Friday

FAYETTEVILLE — After receiving a No. 5 seed for the second-straight year, Arkansas will open play in the Fayetteville Regional against Central Connecticut on Friday at 1 p.m.

2019 NCAA Fayetteville Regional

  1. (5) Arkansas (41-17)
  2. California (32-18)
  3. TCU (32-26)
  4. Central Connecticut (30-21)

Baum-Walker Stadium was announced as a host for the third-straight season Sunday, as the full 64-team field was announced live on ESPNU Monday morning.

The top-seeded Razorbacks play the day game against the No. 4 seed Central Connecticut at 1 p.m. on Friday while No. 2 seed California faces No. 3 TCU at 6 p.m.

The No. 5 overall seed matches the seed last year’s team received, which is its highest in program history.

Arkansas will head into tournament play as a top-8 national seed for the fourth time in school history and is making its 31st overall appearance in the tournament.

It’s also the 16th appearance for Arkansas in the last 17 years and it’s the first time Baum Stadium has been selected as a host site in three-straight seasons.

Arkansas is 83-66 (.557) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 57-41 (.582) record in regional action.

The Razorbacks have advanced to the College World Series nine times and have advanced to a Super Regional seven times. Coach Dave Van Horn has led Arkansas to the NCAA Regional Final in each of his last eight tournament appearances.

The team advancing from the Fayetteville, Arkansas Regional will play the winner of the Oxford, Mississippi Regional.

Tickets

All-session Hog Pen tickets are now on sale for the NCAA Regional coming to Baum Stadium this weekend. All-session tickets are $75.

All reserved seating is sold out. The Razorback Ticket Office will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day, but fans can contact the office starting on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Tickets can still be purchased Monday online.

For those who requested NCAA Regional tickets in advance

Razorback Foundation members and season ticket holders who ordered tickets in advance will receive an email Sunday night verifying that your order has been fulfilled.

Your PDF tickets will not be sent until Monday, however, once game times have been determined.

Students

University of Arkansas students will have the opportunity to purchase $15 general admission Hog Pen tickets on a game-by-game basis.

Tickets for Game 1 and Game 2 of the regional will go on sale to students at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 30.

Tickets for Games 3 and Game 4 will be available on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.

2019 NCAA Fayetteville Regional Schedule
Friday, May 31
Game 1 – No. 1 Arkansas vs. No. 4 Central Connecticut, 1 p.m. CT (ESPN3)
Game 2 – No. 2 California vs. No. 3 TCU, 6 p.m. CT (ESPN3)

Saturday, June 1
Game 3 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, TBA (ESPN3)
Game 4 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, TBA (ESPN3)

Sunday, June 2
Game 5 – Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, TBA (ESPN3)
Game 6 – Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4, TBA (ESPN3)

Monday, June 3
Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), TBA (ESPN3)

Van Horn previews Fayetteville Regional, opener Friday in first game

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked with the media Monday morning about how he wanted the first game Friday and looked ahead to the matchup with Central Connecticut.

Martin on team’s struggle at end, kicking off road to Omaha

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Arkansas shortstop Casey Martin felt the team struggled at the plate at the end of the season and in the SEC, but feels they’ll get it straightened out at home for NCAA.

Campbell knows where Connecticut is, but nothing about opponent

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Hogs pitcher Isaiah Campbell said Monday he knows nothing about Central Connecticut, but they will start learning and he’s not sure if he’ll be starting Friday.

Kjerstad on plate problems for Hogs, Friday’s regional opener

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Razorbacks right fielder Heston Kjerstad talked Monday morning about the team’s recent struggles at the plate and looking ahead to NCAA Regional opener.

Ezell on how he’s handled playing first, transferring to Hogs

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0

Arkansas first baseman Trevor Ezell talked with the media Monday morning about playing at a new position, his transfer from SEMO and Regionals.

Football has started with newcomers reporting Sunday to Hogs

Andy Hodges
-
0
Football has started with newcomers reporting Sunday to Hogs

For some, the start of football season is with SEC Media Days in July and for others it’s when they start the fall practices in August.

Nah. These days it starts when the freshmen and transfers report for the first time to start the first summer semester when player-led workouts start.

Freshmen and new transfers officially reported Sunday.

Chad Morris talked about the importance of those practices all spring long. He did last year, too, but really didn’t have the leaders that understood what the coaches wanted or had the ability to lead teammates.

He calls it the fourth quarter in his angle of four periods to every season — first quarter in preaseason camp, the games the second quarter, spring is the third. Recruiting is every day of the year.

It’s why he brought in Ben Hicks as a graduate transfer from the SMU days. For the offense, he knows exactly what Morris and offensive coordinator Joe Craddock are wanting.

More importantly, it appeared in the spring he may be the leader the offensive side of things needed.

Last year I’m not sure anybody really knew what the coaches wanted during the summer and it didn’t appear there were the players that had the leadership potential. That’s not putting anybody down, but there’s a difference between being a nice guy and being a leader.

It didn’t take long listening to Morris and Craddock in the spring to understand that bringing in Hicks (who had been through four years of their system with the Mustangs) was a legal way to get a player/coach that COULD handle the summer meetings.

He also sold himself on the players by just appearing to be himself.

On the defensive side McTelvin Agim seemed to be a more mature, focused player than he had been previously.

A five-star recruit out of Hope back in 2016, he never really played up to that level. He wasn’t lazy and he certainly wasn’t a problem child but it often appeared he just never really developed his talent or took command of the defense.

In an incident in the spring, Agim had to be separated from another player during drills because apparently he had enough of something. New defensive tackles coach Kenny Ingram backed him away from everybody and got him cooled off.

Later, Sosa (that’s what most people call Agim, in case you’re wondering where that came from) dismissed it as “one of those things” and said, “at the end we’re all just teammates.”

At practices all spring, though, his body language and actions made him look the part of becoming one of the leaders along with linebacker De’Jon “Scoota” Harris for the defense.

Scoota is more vocal and not shy in the least about calling out players on social media, like he did subtly when running back T.J. Hammonds’ return was announced a few weeks ago.

That is, as they say, putting it out there.

It’s something that’s been missing the last couple of years and, in the opinion of many, is directly reflected in a 6-18 record … and a coaching change.

Morris likely knew last season was going to be short on leaders by at least midway through September. Back-to-back losses to Colorado State and North Texas, well, pretty much nailed the coffin shut on that.

Now there are new faces and by all appearances some new leaders within the team.

And it started Sunday.

Razorbacks will host NCAA Regional for third straight year

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Razorbacks will host NCAA Regional for third straight year

FAYETTEVILLE — The NCAA announced tonight that Arkansas will be one of the 16 regional site hosts for next weekend’s NCAA Regionals which are slated to begin Friday.

Fresh off their first 40-win regular season since 2010 and second 20-win conference season in school history, the Razorbacks will be making their 31st appearance overall in the NCAA Tournament and 16th in the last 17 years.

It is also the eighth time Fayetteville has been selected and is the first time Baum Stadium has been a regional host for three-straight years.

The Hogs (41-17), currently ranked No. 4 in the country, have not dropped out of the Top 20 for the entire season and finished the regular season with a 28-6 home record.

Over the last three seasons, Arkansas has won 17 of its last 18 weekend series dating back 2017 and is 23-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas comes into the postseason with 41 victories and completed the 55-game regular-season schedule with a 40-15 overall record and a 20-10 record in SEC play.

It’s the fastest it has won 40 games since 1989 and the 20 conference wins remain only the second instance in school history that the Razorbacks have won 20 or more games in league play and first under coach Dave Van Horn.

Each regional field features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The field of 64 will be announced on Monday at 11 a.m. in a show airing on ESPNU.

By virtue of being awarded a regional, all 16 host institutions have also been selected to the 64-team field.

The 16 regional sites, with host institutions and records are as follows:

• Athens, Georgia – Georgia (44-15)
• Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia Tech (41-17)
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana – LSU (37-24)
• Chapel Hill, North Carolina – North Carolina (42-17)
• Corvallis, Oregon – Oregon St. (36-18-1)
• Fayetteville, Arkansas – Arkansas (41-17)
• Greenville, North Carolina – East Carolina (43-15)
• Los Angeles, California – UCLA (47-8)
• Louisville, Kentucky – Louisville (43-15)
• Lubbock, Texas – Texas Tech (39-17)
• Morgantown, West Virginia – West Virginia (37-20)
• Nashville, Tennessee – Vanderbilt (49-10)
• Oxford, Mississippi – Ole Miss (37-25)
• Stanford, California – Stanford (41-11)
• Starkville, Mississippi – Mississippi St. (46-13)
• Stillwater, Oklahoma – Oklahoma St. (35-18)

Razorbacks lead everybody with 17 qualified for championships

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Razorbacks lead everybody with 17 qualified for championships

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Arkansas will have more ammo than any other team at the NCAA Championships in two weeks, earning a nation-best 17 entries to the final site in Austin, Texas, after wrapping up the West Prelims Saturday night at Hornet Stadium.

Arkansas will be represented in the 4×100-meter relay as the legs of Kiara Parker, Payton Chadwick, Janeek Brown, and Kethlin Campbell ran their way to a heat win and the second-best mark in the West clocking 43.46 to advance to Austin.

Arkansas made it 2-for-2 on relays as they qualified its 4×400-meter relay through to the final site as well. Paris Peoples, Kiara Parker, Morgan Burks-Magee, and Kethlin Campbell ran to the tune of 3:30.47 – the fourth-fastest time on the night.

An indoor All-American in the Mile, Carina Viljoen advances to the NCAA meet in the outdoor version of the race — the 1,500-meters. Viljoen finished second in her heat and eighth-overall running a time of 4:13.27 that stands as a lifetime-best and the No. 6 time in program history.

The Razorback duo of Janeek Brown and Payton Chadwick picked up two spots in the 100-meter hurdles posting the second and third-fastest marks in the quarterfinal. Brown earned her spot in a brisk 12.71 while Chadwick followed suit in 12.83.

The pair would return to qualify for the NCAA meet in the 200-meters later in the meet running times of 22.47 (No. 2 in program history) and 23.07, respectively.

Devin Clark, who already punched her ticket to the NCAA meet in the 3k-steeple, and Taylor Werner who earned a spot at the NCAA meet in the 10k, added the 5,000-meters to their schedules in two weeks as qualified for the final site.

Devin Clark earned her spot in the 5k final running 15:38.74 that stands as a lifetime-best for Clark and doubles as the No. 3 time in the program history.

Werner grabbed her spot running 15:44.63 while Carina Viljoen (16:24.66) and Sydney Brown (16:26.07) finished 31st and 32nd, respectively.

Arkansas qualifies 11 for NCAA Championships, sixth highest in nation

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Arkansas qualifies 11 for NCAA Championships, sixth highest in nation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Arkansas wrapped up competition at the West Prelims on Saturday night by advancing 11 athletics to the 2019 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Austin.

Arkansas’ 11 entries to the national championships are tied for the sixth-most in the nation this season.

The Razorbacks locked-up a spot at the NCAA Championships in the 4×100-meter relay to open action on the track Saturday afternoon.

From the gun, it was Josh Oglesby out of the blocks who handed off to Rashad Boyd who passed to Tre’Bien Gilbert who carried the baton to Roy Ejiakuekwu capping the one-lap relay in 39.64 — the fifth-fastest in the West — to automatically qualify for the national meet in Austin, Texas.

Arkansas made it 2-for-2 on relays as it qualified its 4×400-meter relay through to the final site as well. John Winn, Hunter Woodhall, Travean Caldwell, and Rhayko Schwartz ran to the tune of 3:05.86 – the eighth-fastest time on the night.

A 2018 First-Team All-American in the 1,500-meters, Cameron Griffith will look to add another honor to his resume as he advanced to the NCAA Championships in the event earning his spot by way of an auto-Q finish.

Griffith ran 3:41.36 finishing third in his heat to earn a spot in the meet. Ethan Moehn who advanced to the quarterfinal, finished 18th in a personal-best time of 3:44.53.

True Freshman Rashad Boyd ran to a lifetime-best 20.78 in the 200-meters to advance to the NCAA meet. Boyd’s time is a lifetime-best and was the second-fastest time qualifier on the night in the quarterfinal.

Carl Elliot III fell two spots shy of advancing to the NCAA meet in the 110-meter hurdles. Elliot III ran 13.99 to finish 14th-overall.

Gilbert Boit, Matt Young, and Cameron Griffith gave valiant efforts in the 5,000-meters with Boit ultimately missing out on doubling at the NCAA meet (10k/5k) by one one-hundredth of a second (0.01).

Boit finished sixth in his heat missing an auto-Q position by one spot, trailing BYU’s Clayton Young (14:07.98) by a mere one one-hundredth of a second (0.01) finishing at 14:07.99.

Young finished 33rd in 14:20.32 while Griffith took 37th in 14:26.07.

Sam Kempka competed in the shot put, finishing 19th with a mark of 18.63m (61-1.50).

Musselman adds Lakers’ assistant as final piece to coaching staff

ESPN Arkansas News Services
-
0
Musselman adds Lakers’ assistant as final piece to coaching staff

FAYETTEVILLE — Clay Moser, who has three decades of experience in professional basketball, is Arkansas’ final assistant coach, Eric Musselman announced Saturday.

During several of his stops in the NBA and D-League, Moser and Musselman have been on the same staffs.

“Clay and I have worked together in the NBA, with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, and in the NBA Development League with the Reno Bighorns and Los Angeles Defenders,” Musselman said. “We also worked together with the Dominican National Team.

“Clay is an incredible ‘X and O’ coach and has been at the forefront of basketball analytics. He loves player development and brings the NBA experience that our players look for and will soak up.”

Moser comes to Arkansas after spending seven-and-a-half years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

First, he was hired as a head advance NBA scout and ended his tenure as assistant coach/director of basketball strategy. While there, his last position was created for him and worked directly with the coaching and analytics staffs to integrate ideas and information between the departments.

“I can’t wait to get to Fayetteville and get started with Coach Muss and the great staff he has assembled,” Moser said. “This will be the sixth place Coach Muss and I have worked together. His worth ethic is infectious, and his personality makes it fun to come to work. With that, positive results typically follow.”

Moser’s affiliation with the Lakers began as associate head coach under Musselman with the D-Fenders, the NBA Developmental League franchise in Los Angeles.

He formerly served on USA Basketball’s Board of Directors and has been an advance scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-10), Orlando Magic (2007-08), Sacramento Kings (2006-07) and Golden State Warriors (2002-03).

His other NBA experience includes time as vice president of business development for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005-06), as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs 2005 Summer League Team and as a business consultant for the NBA (2005).

In 2010-11, Moser assisted on Musselman’s staff as associate head coach with the Reno Bighorns, helping lead the team to a Western Conference-best 34-16 record.

Prior to his time with the Bighorns, Moser was tabbed by the Houston Rockets to be head coach of their D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, going 21-29 with the Vipers during the 2008-09 campaign.

In addition to his Reno and Rio Grande Valley D-League experience, Moser has also worked for CBA teams that later would join the D-League; serving as an assistant coach, vice president and general manager with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (1989-94) and as CEO and general manager of the Idaho Stampede (1997-2001).

Moser, a 1987 graduate from Wisconsin-La Crosse, began his coaching career as an assistant at North Carolina State (1987-89).

1...1,3181,3191,320...1,756Page 1,319 of 1,756

HitThatLine.com is the website for ESPN Arkansas. Listen at 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 FM in Fort Smith and the River Valley, 96.3 FM in Hot Springs and 104.3 FM in Harrison.

© Copyright 2017-25 by Pearson Broadcasting. All rights reserved.