John & Tommy discuss the NFL Draft, former Razorbacks drafted, who is in better shape, plus Scott Tabor!
Sullins takes hammer throw on final toss at National Relays on Thursday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas senior Erich Sullins captured the National Relay Championships hammer throw title in dramatic fashion, securing his eighth win of 2019 on the final throw Thursday evening at John McDonnell Field.
With sweat running all over his chest Sullins didn’t quit.
Instead, he used his final attempt in the competition to launch a throw of 65.74m (215-8) for the win that finished exactly one inch further than Oklahoma’s Bayley Campbell who held the lead with a best of 65.71m (215-7) from his fourth attempt.
Sullins will return to compete in the men’s discus starting tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m.
Reports say Thurman won’t be back as Hogs’ basketball assistant
The reports coming out Thursday that Arkansas assistant coach Scotty Thurman wouldn’t be part of new coach Eric Musselman’s staff is disappointing to many fans, but probably shouldn’t be that surprising.
Multiple media outlets have reported Thurman was offered an administrative position as director of student-athlete development, but declined. He had been on former coach Mike Anderson’s staff the past three seasons.
Thurman hit the 3-pointer at the end that secured the Razorbacks’ only national championship, but he was not selected in the NBA draft after the following season and had worked as Arkansas’ director of student-athlete development for six years before Anderson added him to the coaching staff.
When Musselman was hired earlier in April, Thurman was seen in some of the practice videos from the UA working the drills. Musselman had spoken highly of Thurman in his initial press conference, but obviously has decided to go in a different direction.
The other assistants on the staff, Melvin Watkins and T.J. Cleveland, were not retained after Anderson was fired on March 26 after eight seasons.
It is not unusual for new coaches to put together a staff with no holdovers from the previous coach … right or wrong.
Which is why Thurman not being retained shouldn’t be that surprising.
The Hogs had announced Wednesday the hiring of former NBA player and Seton Hall coach Corey Williams to Musselman’s staff. There will be a couple of others added, too.
It’s a good bet those assistants will have some sort of NBA experience along with college.
That seems to be the direction Musselman wants to go.
Hogs facing fifth straight ranked SEC opponent when Vols come to town
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas has another tall task on its hands this weekend hosting 18th-ranked Tennessee for a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium starting on Friday.
The Volunteers will be the fifth-consecutive ranked conference opponent the Razorbacks have faced dating back to late March.
Friday and Saturday’s game will be available for viewing online only via SEC Network+ and will have a first pitch of 6:30 p.m. Sunday’s game will start at 4 p.m. and will be in front of a national audience on the SEC Network.
You can hear all the games on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
The Razorbacks (31-11, 12-6 SEC) are leading the pack in the SEC West with 12 wins, just a half-game ahead of Texas A&M. The 12-6 record includes two sweeps at the hands of Missouri and then-No. 2 Mississippi State last week and is two games better than its record through the first 18 conference games last year.
Redshirt junior Isaiah Campbell will head to the mound for the 11th time this season and seventh in conference play with a 2.09 conference ERA and four SEC victories.
Campbell has amassed eight-consecutive quality starts dating back to March 1 and struck out 10 last week against Mississippi State in 7.2 innings.
All 10 of his starts have been of five innings or more and he hasn’t given up more than three walks in 22-straight outings.
Freshman left-hander Patrick Wicklander will get the start on Saturday and seems to have solidified his spot in the rotation late in the season.
Although six of his eight starts this year have come against non-conference opponents, Wicklander has only allowed two earned runs against SEC teams this year in nine innings of work and struck out 12.
Follow live
This weekend’s series can be viewed on SEC Network+ on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday’s game will be on the SEC Network.
Brett Dolan (PxP) and Troy Eklund (analyst) will have the call for SEC Network+, while Richard Cross (PxP) and Todd Walker (analyst) will have the SEC Network game on Sunday.
Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter will have the radio call all three days on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Fans can listen to the radio call via the Razorback Gameday app.
Pregame coverage begins 30 minutes prior to first pitch. There will also be a live radio link available on ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Promotions
• All giveaways are available for the first 2,000 fans in attendance when gates open two hours prior to first pitch.
• Free Shirsey Friday
Special Edition Shirsey commemorating the nine College World Series teams in Arkansas history will be given away on Friday.
• Collector’s poster
Special edition poster commemorating the nine College World Series teams in Arkansas history will be given away prior to Saturday’s game.
• ’79 + ’09 CWS team recognition
Be at the ballpark early as we recognize both the 1979 and 2009 College World Series teams in a special pregame recognition prior to Saturday’s game. The recognition will begin at approximately 6:10 p.m.
• Welcome Jordyn Wieber to Arkansas
Be there early to welcome Olympic gold medalist and new head women’s gymnastics coach, Jordyn Wieber to Fayetteville and Baum-Walker Stadium as she throws out the ceremonial first pitch at approximately 3:40 p.m. before Sunday’s game.
Join us inside Gate A after first pitch of the game for a special autograph signing session with Coach Wieber. The autograph session will end at the conclusion of the 2nd inning.
• Military Appreciation Day on Sunday
Join us at the ballpark for our annual Military Appreciation Day highlighted by a pregame flyover from the Arkansas Air National Guard’s Legacy C-130H of the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base
Important Links
Game 1 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 2 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Game 3 – WATCH | LIVE STATS
Probable Starters
Game 1: ARK RHP Isaiah Campbell (7-1, 2.44 ERA, 78 K, 10 BB) vs. TENN LHP Garrett Crochet (3-2, 2.45 ERA, 55 K, 11 BB)
Game 2: ARK LHP Patrick Wicklander (3-1, 4.28 ERA, 58 K, 26 BB) vs. TENN RHP Garrett Stallings (7-2, 1.82 ERA, 72 K, 11 BB)
Game 3: ARK TBA vs. TENN RHP Zach Linginfelter (6-4, 3.91 ERA, 50 K, 17 BB)
Kjerstad picks up where he left off
Taking his first game off in his Razorback career last Saturday after being ejected in Friday’s game against Mississippi State, sophomore Heston Kjerstad returned to the lineup on Tuesday against Northwestern State and didn’t miss a beat, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
His lone RBI came on a 417-foot home run in the second inning that bounced off the batter’s eye in centerfield. It was his 10th home run of the year and 24th of his career.
Washington coming up big when called
Tuesday’s three-hit night wasn’t an anomaly for freshman Curtis Washington, Jr. The West Memphis, Arkansas native has been one of Arkansas’ first hitters off the bench this year as he’s made six pinch-hit appearances and four starts in the outfield.
Of his 10 hits, all have come in non-conference play and Tuesday’s three-hit game was his second multi-hit game of the season. Washington is now batting .400 (10-for-25) and has four extra-base hits.
Razorback Prime Nine
• Arkansas will face No. 18 Tenessee for a three-game set this weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium. Tennessee will be the fifth ranked team the Hogs will play in consecutive weeks in SEC play.
• Arkansas is 7-2 in conference games played at home this year and are averaging 5.4 runs per game. The pitching staff has combined for a 3.56 ERA in those nine games, but has a 2.45 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Isaiah Campbell is 3-0 in his three starts.
• The Razorbacks picked up their second SEC series sweep last week, winning three games against second-ranked Mississippi State and now lead the SEC Western Division by a half game over Texas A&M.
• Sophomore infielder Casey Martin was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday. Martin hit .471 last week with six of his 10 RBIs coming against Mississippi State. Martin also hit his first grand slam of his career and now has eight home runs this year.
• Freshman right-hander Connor Noland won the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week award after throwing 9.2 combined scoreless innings against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi State. Noland never walked a batter last week and the 7.2 innings vs. MSU was a season-high.
• Outfielder Dominic Fletcher hit his eighth home run of the year on Wednesday against Northwestern State, giving him 30 for his career. He needs just three more to break into the top-10 on the all-time Arkansas career home run chart.
• Casey Martin leads the SEC in doubles heading into this weekend’s series with Tennessee. With his two-bagger on WEdnesday against Northwestern State, he now has 18 doubles, which is four more than a year ago and 32 for his career.
• Isaiah Campbell continues to be the Hogs’ Friday night starter and has seven wins on the year after striking out 10 against Mississippi State last week. Campbell has eight-consecutive quality starts dating back to March 1.
• Sophomore Heston Kjerstad is on a 14-game hitting streak and is hitting .369 during the span. Nine of his 24 hits have gone for extra-bases and 16 RBIs. Five of his 10 home runs have come in the last 14 games.
???? Thursday Halftime Pod — featuring Bob Holt
Phil Elson & Tye Richardson hit on flux in assistant basketball coaches, interview Bob Holt, plus Halftime Homework!
Musselman tabs Williams as first assistant on new basketball staff
FAYETTEVILLE — Corey Williams, former head coach at Stetson and member of the 1993 World Champion Chicago Bulls, has been named assistant men’s basketball coach at Arkansas, new coach Eric Musselman announced Wednesday.
“We are excited and fortunate to have a coach of Corey’s caliber,” said Musselman. “His experience as a head coach will be invaluable on our staff and he was widely respected as an assistant coach for building winning programs. Also, his knowledge gained playing at the highest level will benefit our players’ development. Corey will help Arkansas compete at a championship level.”
In his time as a player and coach, Williams has learned from some of the finest minds in the game, including Phil Jackson, Eddie Sutton, Bill Self and Leonard Hamilton during his career as a player and assistant coach.
“I am looking forward to working with Coach Musselman,” Williams said. “He is an unbelievable coach. He has a passion for Arkansas and is passionate about student-athlete success. This is a great time to be a part of Razorback basketball and I can’t wait to get started.”
Williams spent the past six seasons as head coach at Stetson. During his tenure, several players broke long-standing records as Divine Myles became the program’s all-time leading scorer, Angel Rivera set the record for career assists and Luke Doyle established the mark for career three-pointers made.
Under William’s guidance, Derick Newton earned All-Atlantic Sun honors in 2017 and Brian Pegg was voted as the 2017 ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s basketball.
The previous year, Stetson reached the ASUN Tournament Championship, marking the program’s first tournament finals appearance since 1994.
In 2014-15, Pegg led the ASUN in rebounding and Newton rewrote Stetson’s freshman record book on his way to earning Freshman All-America and ASUN Freshman of the Year honors.
In Williams’ second year at Stetson, Myles and Grant Lozoya earned spots on the ASUN’s All-Freshmen team, while Rivera set the program’s record for assists by a freshman with 120.
He and Myles also became the first teammates, regardless of class, to each record 100 assists in the same season.
Prior to taking the reins at Stetson, Williams spent six seasons (2007-13) as an assistant at Florida State. His career with the Seminoles coincided with the team’s resurgence on the national scene.
Through Williams’ recruiting efforts, the Seminoles developed into one of the best programs in the ACC.
During his time in Tallahassee, Florida State won its first ACC Championship (2012), enjoyed a run of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances — including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2011, four consecutive years of double-digit wins in ACC play, produced five NBA Draft picks, recorded 16 wins over nationally ranked teams and appeared in the national rankings in four straight seasons.
Before joining the Florida State staff, Williams was an assistant coach for seven seasons (2000-07) at Oral Roberts where he aided the Golden Eagles in achieving an average of 18 wins per season, including 20 or more wins in each of his last three seasons in Tulsa.
ORU captured the Mid-Continent Conference regular season and tournament titles in 2006 and 2007, advancing to play in the NCAA Tournament each season.
A native of Macon, Ga., Williams played point guard at Oklahoma State (1988-92) and had a lengthy career as a professional player before starting his coaching career.
Williams finished his time at Oklahoma State ranked eighth on the school’s career scoring charts with 1,320 points. He led the Cowboys to consecutive NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances under Eddie Sutton in 1991 and 1992.
The Cowboys were ranked 14th in the final Associated Press poll of the 1991 season and 10th in the final coaches’ poll following the 1992 season.
Williams was a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls and, despite having not played football since junior high, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Williams in the 12th round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He was the only OSU Cowboy drafted by the NFL that year.
As a rookie in the NBA, Williams was a member of the Michael Jordan-led Bulls as the franchise captured its third straight NBA title.
Following his one season in Chicago, Williams played parts of the next season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, while also playing for the Oklahoma City Cavalry of the CBA.
He returned to Oklahoma State as a student assistant in 1994, serving as a member of the Cowboys’ staff during their 1994 Final Four campaign. Williams then played professionally in Taiwan, from 1995-98.
Williams earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Oklahoma State in 2002. He and his wife, Nicole, have two children: Jourdan and Corey Jr. (C.J.).
THE WILLIAMS FILE
Education
Oklahoma State 2002
Personal
Date of Birth: April 24, 1970
Hometown: Macon, Ga.
Wife: Nicole Williams
Children: Jourdan, C.J.
Coaching Experience
1993-94: Student Assistant, Oklahoma State
2000-07: Assistant Coach, Oral Roberts
2007-13: Assistant Coach, Florida State
2013-19: Head Coach, Stetson (58-133, 6 seasons)
2019-pres.: Assistant Coach, Arkansas
Playing Experience
1989-92: Oklahoma State
1992-93: Chicago Bulls
1993-94: Oklahoma City Cavalry
1994: Minnesota Timberwolves
1994-95: Grand Rapids Mackers
1995-98: DaCin Tigers
Campbell, Ezell, Fletcher recapping Wednesday’s loss to Demons
Razorbacks first baseman Trevor Ezell and centerfielder Dominic Fletcher talked about 10-7 loss while pitcher Isaiah Campbell looked ahead to Friday’s game with Tennessee.
Van Horn on 10-7 loss to Northwestern State; previews Tennessee series
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn talked after the game about the pitching issues in the loss and looked ahead to the weekend series at Baum-Walker with Tennessee.
Northwestern State stops Hogs’ winning streak with 10-7 win Wednesday
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas saw a six-game winning streak snapped Wednesday afternoon as Northwestern State defeated the Hogs, 10-7, splitting their two-game midweek series at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas (31-11) struck out 12 times in the game, tying for its fifth most in a game this year. The Hogs were still able to get two-hit performances by Trevor Ezell, Casey Martin, Dominic Fletcher and Heston Kjerstad.
Fletcher drove in a team-best four runs all from a grand slam in the bottom of the first inning. Fletcher finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
Fletcher has had one of the best bats in Arkansas’ lineup since the wild 14-12 win at No. 6 Vanderbilt. He’s hitting .438 (14-for-32) over the last seven games with 15 RBIs, four home runs and only four strikeouts.
For the year, he’s third on the team with a .329 batting average and eight home runs. He now has 30 home runs in his career, just outside the top-10 career totals in Arkansas history.
The grand slam was Arkansas’ fourth of the year and second of the homestand. Martin, Kjerstad, Christian Franklin and now Fletcher have all hit grand slams this year and all were their first grand slams of their careers except for Kjerstad, who hit his second against Oral Roberts earlier this month.
Fletcher’s slam looked to have the Hogs’ offense rolling once again after putting up 19 runs the day before. However, Northwestern State reliever Peyton Graham worked through the fifth inning and limited Arkansas to only three runs, all coming in the fifth inning, while striking out seven.
Two of those Razorback runs came off a Jack Kenley triple, his team-leading fourth triple of the year, and another came from a sacrifice fly by Jacob Nesbit, which tied the game at 7-7.
Unfortunately, it would be the last time Arkansas plated a run as it only got three runners on base in the final four innings.
Northwestern State’s Tyler Smith led all players with a big day at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with three two-run home runs.
Smith finished the game with seven RBIs and three runs scored as he hit a home run in the third, fifth and ninth innings.
Razorback quotables
“They just beat us. I mean they played well. They had a guy on their team, (Tyler) Smith, stepped up and had a great day. He hit three home runs and drove in seven runs and we couldn’t overcome it. We had a couple of chances to maybe break the game open or maybe extend a lead and we just didn’t get that big hit. We did hit a lot of balls hard. You think about a couple of the balls that (Matt) Goodheart hit and (Dominic) Fletch(er) hit. Sometimes that’s the way the game works. We didn’t play real good, obviously. We struck out too much.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the team’s 10-7 loss to Northwestern State
“The Tennessee series is going to be a tough series. They can really, really play. They have a good team and a lot of people are just talking about their pitching – every time you look up, they’re shutting teams out and giving up one run – but they’re swinging the bats pretty good now, scoring runs. I think they’ve won five out of their last six SEC games, something along those lines, maybe six out of six, I don’t know. They’re playing at a high level. They’re ranked now. It’ll be like every weekend in the league for the most part. You’re playing a really, really good club and we’ll have to play well.” — Van Horn on playing Tennessee this weekend
Up next
Arkansas and will take on No. 18 Tennessee for a three-game series starting on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.
You can hear the games on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home. Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Game times are slated for 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, followed by a 4 p.m. start on Sunday. The finale will be televised on the SEC Network.
Taylor on Arkansas being selected Wednesday for Cle Elum Regional for NCAA
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ women’s golf team was selected to the Cle Elum Regional in Washington the NCAA announced on Golf Channel today.
Arkansas is making the program’s 18th NCAA Regional appearance and its 17th consecutive appearance. The Razorbacks won the first team and individual titles in program history last year shooting an 838 in Austin. Maria Fassi posted an 8-under 208 to earn medalist honors.
Inside the Ropes
Dates: May 6-8
Host: University of Washington (Cle Elum Regional)
Golf Course: Tumble Creek Golf Club
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Razorback Lineup
Maria Fassi | 71.40 | 2019 SEC medalist
Kaylee Benton | 72.15 | 2019 SEC runner-up
Dylan Kim | 72.58
Brooke Matthews | 73.00
Ximena Gonzalez | 74.69
The Field
USC
Arkansas
South Carolina
Northwestern
Washington
Miami (FL)
Oregon
San Jose State
Oregon State
Old Dominion
Iowa State
San Diego State
UCF
Ohio State
Sacramento State
New Mexico State
Boston
Southern Illinois
About NCAA Regionals
Each regional site features 18 teams and six individuals with the low six teams and low three individuals not on an advancing team moving on to the NCA Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Regional sites include:
• Saugahatchee Country Club | Opelika, Alabama | Auburn University, host
• Tumble Creek Golf Club | Cle Elum, Washington | University of Washington, host
• Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club | Norman, Oklahoma | University of Oklahoma, host
• Forest Akers West Golf Course | East Lansing, Michigan | Michigan State University, host
NCAA Championships
Arkansas and Blessings Golf Club are the proud hosts of the 2019 NCAA Women’s and Men’s National Championships.
The women’s event begins May 17 and is immediately followed by the men’s championship beginning May 24.
For more information or to volunteer for the event, log on to www.NCAAGolf19.com.
