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Hogs officially announce Tolefree’s signing to join team

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — The roster continues to grow for Arkansas as coach Mike Neighbors and the Razorbacks welcome Conway native Alexis Tolefree for the 2018-19 season.

Tolefree signed with the Razorbacks on Thursday after two seasons at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi.

She joins transfers Chelsea Dungee and A’Tyanna Gaulden who redshirted last season and Rokia Doumbia and Erynn Barnum who signed this year.

Tolefree is a 5-8 guard who played two seasons at Jones County. She is a two-time NJCAA All-American, and All-Region 23 and All-Region 23 All-Tournament team selection.

As a sophomore, Tolefree averaged 21.3 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game. She shot 43.1 percent from the floor.

Tolefree ranked second in the MACJC and seventh nationally in scoring and was third in the nation in 3-point field goals per game.

Tolefree led her team to the Region 23 title scoring 50 points in the win over Copiah-Lincoln in the final game.

From Neighbors:

“Our motto of playing functionally fast just got much faster! Anyone familiar with our style of basketball and the skill set Alexis Tolefree brings to the court will realize this is a perfect fit for everyone. Her development under Ashley Nance at Conway and Missy Bilderback at Jones CC, will have her ready to compete. Alexis plays at a pace we love and makes 3s from range on a consistent basis.

“Being a two-time JUCO All-American and dropping 50 points in a game last season, many other schools were working just as hard to get her on their campus. Our staff tried to attract her from the day we arrived on campus, but we didn’t have enough of evidence yet at Arkansas to convince the Conway native to stay home. The second circumstances changed at Ole Miss, our staff was once again in constant communication.

“When her release was granted, we again made sure she knew we wanted her to be a Razorback and finish her career in the state. She bonded instantly with our current team in her time on campus. It didn’t have the feel of an official visit at any point – it was more like a welcome to the family. Wins don’t usually come in the off season, but we won one today, in holding off several other SEC schools in bringing her home.”

Cole looking at matchup with Crimson Tide this weekend

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Arkansas rightfielder Eric Cole talked with the media Thursday about meeting Alabama this weekend at Baum Stadium and playing alongside centerfielder Dominic Fletcher.

Murphy on bouncing back in weekend series with Tide

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Arkansas pitcher Kacey Murphy talked with the media Thursday about pitching Saturday against Alabama in an SEC series against a team they can’t afford to overlook.

No. 5 Hogs set to host inaugural National Relay Championships

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 5 Arkansas is set to host one of the largest meets of the weekend – The National Relay Championships Apr. 27-28 at John McDonnell Field.

The meet includes 16 Power Five programs and will be highlighted by a relay only format Saturday night that will be broadcast LIVE on SEC Network.

The Razorbacks are one of nine Southeastern Conference teams ranked among the USTFCCCA top-25 and have been in the top-five during the entire outdoor season thus far, holding the No. 1 spot in four of the last five polls.

Arkansas also leads the nation in women’s pole vault (Best Foursome in the Country by Event per USTFCCCA) where the Razorbacks currently boast a squad average of 4.29m (14’-1”).

Date/Time: Friday, April 27, 11 a.m. CT | Saturday, April 28, 10:45 a.m. CT
Venue: John McDonnell Field
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries/Heat Sheets | Live Results | SEC+ Friday | Saturday

The Hogs will be lining up against student-athletes from Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin.

“The concept has been hatched so to speak, now it’s a matter of executing it,” women’s coach Lance Harter said. “The kids are excited, hopefully, our community is as well so we can bring a spirit of the Penn Relays and Drake Relays to Fayetteville.

“I think [the competition] will be very balanced. There’s going to be some great sprint representatives that are going to challenge our sprint crew and I think in the distances and middle-distances there’s some very salty competition on the men’s and women’s side so to balance everything out it’s going to be a great competition across the board.

“In the field events, I was very pleased to see that we’re going to have some great field competitors here. Our focus will be the 4-x-100-meters and the 4-x-400-meters. Those are the two that we want to continue to nurture and ultimately get ready for SEC’s and nationals.”

Events to Watch

Pole Vault

Seven of the top-25 pole vaulters in the NCAA will be on the runway at John McDonnell Field including indoor NCAA Champion Lexi Jacobus! Also in the field will be No. 3 Tori Weeks of Arkansas, Kansas’ Laura Taylor (No. 7) & Andrea Willis (No. 13), Virginia Tech’s Rachel Baxter (No. 9), Texas’ Shay Petty (No. 13), and Stanford’s Kaitlyn Merritt (No. 16).

100-meters

The women’s 100-meters at the National Relay Championships will feature seven athletes who have run 11.30 or faster including Arkansas’ Jada Baylark (NCAA No. 9) and Kiara Parker (NCAA No. 24) who have run season-best of 11.02 and 11.14, respectively. Catch the women’s 100-meters Friday afternoon at 3:57 p.m.

200-meters

Six of the top-25 200-meter women in the country will battle it out at 6:25 p.m. Friday night including Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (No. 6) & Kayelle Clarke (No. 13) & Kianna Gray (No. 21), Baylor’s Taylor Bennett (No. 20), Florida State’s Shauna Helps (No. 22) and Arkansas’ Jada Baylark (No. 24).

100-meter hurdles

100-meter hurdle NCAA-leader Rushelle Burton (12.64) of Texas highlights a LOADED field. Joining the NCAA-leader will be Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (No.4) & Jacklyn Howell (No.11), Texas’ Pedrya Seymour (No.5), Arkansas’ Janeek Brown (No.8), Tennessee’s Alexis Duncan (No.9) & Florida State’s Courtney Jones (No.14).

This NCAA top-15 showdown is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m.

4-x-100-meter relay

Out of the five top-25 women’s 4-x-100-meter relays that will be in attendance this weekend, three are from the SEC including Kentucky (NCAA No. 5), Arkansas (NCAA No. 9) and Tennessee (NCAA No. 13).

The sprint relays will kick off the relay portion of the meet Saturday night at 7:02 p.m.

Razorbacks hosting National Relays Championships this weekend

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — No. 11 Arkansas is set to host one of the largest meets of the weekend — The National Relay Championships at John McDonnell Field.

The meet includes 16 Power Five programs and will be highlighted by a relay only format Saturday night that will be broadcast LIVE on the SEC Network.

The Razorbacks are one of nine SEC teams ranked among the USTFCCCA top-25 and look to progress into the latter part of the outdoor season even stronger. Arkansas also leads the South Central Region, moving up from No. 2 in the last poll.

Date/Time: Friday, April 27, 11 a.m. CT | Saturday, April 28, 10:45 a.m. CT
Venue: John McDonnell Field
Tickets: $5 for Adults, 17 and under free
Important Links: Meet Schedule | Entries/Heat Sheets | Live Results | SEC+ Friday | Saturday

Coach Chris Bucknam’s squad will be lining up against student-athletes from Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin.

“I think we’ve got good competition and that’s what its really going to take in those longer relays,” said head coach Chris Bucknam. “The 4-x-100-meters is going to be a hot race…you’ve got TCU and Baylor in there as well so that race is going to be really hot.

“We’re excited about the competition and that’s what this is all about is bringing in great competition, so it elevates our guys. We think our distance medley is good, I’m excited about that. We’re going against the national champions, Virginia Tech. They have the national runner-up in the mile, we have the third-place finisher in the 3K from the indoor season, so we feel like if it all comes together in that final leg that could be a great competitive race to watch, and you can’t count out Wisconsin either because they have some very outstanding middle-distance runners.

“Our 4×200-meter relays last year at the SEC relays broke the stadium record down at LSU… That relay was probably one of our highlights last year not only because of how fast they ran but because of where they did it.

“There’s going to be great relays and we think that we are going to be competitive in some of those for sure.”

Events to Watch

Long Jump

NCAA Indoor long jump runner-up Grant Holloway (NCAA No. 7) of Florida is among the leaders in the men’s long jump this season entering the meet with a best of 8.00m (26’-3”) in 2018.

Florida State’s Corion Knight (NCAA No. 16) and Florida’s KeAndre Bates (NCAA No. 19), as well as Arkansas’ Rubin Owens and Harrison Schrage, are in the field that will step on the runway Friday at 6 p.m.

100-meters

Arkansas senior Kenzo Cotton leads the way in the men’s 100-meter entries at the National Relay Championships. Cotton has posted a season-best of 10.12 (Arkansas Spring Invite) that currently ranks No. 8 in the NCAA.

Florida’s Ryan Clark (10.16) and Tennessee’s Mustaqeem Williams (10.22) enter the meet as the No. 16 and No. 22 marks in the nation this season. The men’s 100-meters is set for a 4:15 p.m. start on Friday afternoon.

400-meters

Obi Igbokwe will run his first open 400-meter of the season in a field that features seven of the top-25 quarter milers in the NCAA. Wil London (44.73) and Howard Fields III (46.09) of Baylor, Derrick Mokaleng (45.17) of TCU, Nathan Strother (45.46) of Tennessee, and Chantz Sawyers (45.71), Kunle Fasasi (45.83) and Benjamin Vedel (46.20) of Florida are among the top-25 performers in the NCAA this season.

The men’s 400-meters is scheduled for Friday at 3:40 p.m.

400-meter hurdles

The Razorbacks will roll three deep in the 400-meter hurdles with Kemar Mowatt, Larry Donald, and Chambers who are ranked No. 6, No. 19, and No. 20 in the NCAA, respectively.

NCAA Top-10 hurdlers also in the field are Florida’s Cory Poole (No.5), Baylor’s Jayson Baldridge (No.8), and Virginia Tech’s Gregory Chiles (No.10). The men’s 400-meter hurdles are slated to run on Friday at 5:35 p.m.

4-x-100-meter relay

Top 25 entries in the men’s 4-x-100-meter relay include NCAA No. 4 Florida (38.96), No. 6 Arkansas (39.07), No.  14 TCU (39.57), No. 17 Florida State (39.65), and No. 22 Tennessee (39.71).

The 4×100-meters will take the track at 7:12 p.m. Saturday night.

4-x-400-meter relay

The NCAA-leader in the men’s 4-x-400-meter relay, Florida (3:01.00), leads the pack of top-25 teams that include No. 4 Baylor (3:03.63), No. 6 TCU (3:04.54), No. 8 Arkansas (3:05.48), No. 9 Minnesota (3:05.78), No. 14 Kansas (3:06.97), and No. 21 Tennessee (3:07.40). The 4×400-meter relays will close out the meet Saturday night at 8:43 p.m. CT.

Three in-state players receive offers from Razorbacks

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas made offers Thursday to three in-state 2020 recruits, all of whom play for the 16-and-under Woodz Elite in the Arkansas EYBL Summer League, according to Antonio Buchanan.

The players receiving offers are:

PHOTO BY WOODZ ELITE

• Gerald Doakes, a 6-1 guard from Jacksonville, has offers from Texas A&M, Florida, TCU, SMU and others.

PHOTO BY WOODZ ELITE

• Chris Moore, a 6-6 forward from West Memphis also has offers from Memphis, SMU, TCU, Southern Miss, Abilene Christian and Murray State, along with interest from Ole Miss, Houston and numerous others.

Moore was named the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps Boys Sophomore of the Year after averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds while leading the Blue Devils to a 29-4 record and Class 6A state runner-up. He shot 72 percent from the field and 62 percent from the free-throw line.

Moore, who has an uncle that’s 7-3, is projected to grow 4 inches to 6-10. He had an outstanding showing at the Pangos All-South camp for freshmen and sophomores in Dallas during the fall. PlayHoops.com rated Moore the No. 3 performer out of more than 200 at the camp.

PHOTO BY WOODZ ELITE

• Davonte Davis, a 6-4 point guard from Jacksonville. He received an offer from Florida this week and has offers from Southern Mississippi, SMU and Abilene Christian.

All three are considered Top 5 in the state of Arkansas, according to ArkansasBasketballRankings.com. The Woodz Elite 16U will play in Indianapolis this Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the second session of EYBL.

Arkansas associate head coach Melvin Watkins leads the Hogs’ recruiting efforts for Moore, Davis and Doakes.

Buhl moves five spots up leaderboard; Hogs tied for 11th

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Arkansas sophomore William Buhl was one of a handful of rounds under par as he moved up five spots on the leaderboard after day two of the 2018 SEC Golf Championship at Sea Island Golf Club on Thursday.

The No. 16 Razorbacks are just three shots out of eighth place with one round remaining in the stroke play portion of the tournament.

The top eight teams advance to match play on Saturday and Sunday.

Buhl and the Razorbacks began the day on the back nine where he was 3-under at the turn. The Fairhope, Alabama, native had four birdies and two bogeys on the day finishing with a 2-under 70.

He is in sixth place with rounds of 70-68=138 — just three shots back of the leader.

Arkansas moved into 11th place and is 14-over shooting 289-285=574 against the tough golf course and the talented field.

Tyson Reeder, Luis Garza and Alvaro Ortiz all bettered their first-round scores on Thursday. Reeder is tied with teammate Mason Overstreet for 38th overall shooting 145. Garza moved up to a tie for 44th at 146, followed by Ortiz who is 60th with 149.

The Lineup

PLACE PLAYER SCORE TO PAR
6 William Buhl (4) 70-68=138 -2
T38 Mason Overstreet (2) 71-74=145 +5
T38 Tyson Reeder (5) 73-72=145 +5
T44 Luis Garza (3) 75-71=146 +6
60 Alvaro Ortiz (1) 75-74=149 +9


The Field

PLACE TEAM SCORE TO PAR
1 No. 11 LSU 281-276=557 -3
2 No. 4 Vanderbilt 276-283=559 -1
3 No. 6 Alabama 283-280=563 +3
4 No. 34 Ole Miss 288-277=565 +5
5 No. 9Auburn 280-286=566 +6
6 No. 19 Kentucky 286-283=569 +9
7 No. 50 Tennessee 280-290=570 +10
8 No. 7 Florida 293-278=571 +11
T9 No. 2 Texas A&M 296-277=573 +13
T9 Georgia 291-282=573 +13
11 No. 16 Arkansas 289-285=574 +14
12 No. 38 South Carolina 288-287=575 +15
13 Mississippi State 293-284=577 +17
14 No. 39 Missouri 287-296=583 +23

The Razorbacks return to the links playing with Texas A&M and South Carolina beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday.

Fletcher on bouncing back at plate, player center field

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas centerfielder Dominic Fletcher talked about coming out of a hitting slump, improving bunting to get on base and what he works on playing center field.

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Neighbors gets juco All-American from Conway committed

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Coming out of Conway a couple of years ago, guard Alexis Tolefree had committed to Ole Miss, but now will be at Arkansas.

Mike Neighbors is landing the highly-touted junior college All-American after she opted out of her signing with Ole Miss following a coaching change.

For Jones County, she averaged 21.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2 steals and 2.6 assists this past season. She was 43.1 percent from the field and 36.4 percent behind the 3-point line.

Tolefree was a second-team All-American selection as a sophomore and and first-team All-American last year. She scored a season-high 50 points, including 12 three-pointers in the Region 23 championship victory over Copiah-Lincoln.

 

She recently made an official visit to national runner-up Mississippi State. Tolefree will be a part of the 2018 class and play for the Razorbacks next season.

Little Rock Central small forward Erynn Barnum and combo guard Rokia Doumbia of IMG Academy in Florida are also a part of the 2018 class.

Two transfers, Chelsea Dungee of Oklahoma and A’Tyanna Gaulden of Florida State will be eligible to play for the Razorbacks after sitting out last season.

Hall, Jones find new landing spots for transfer from Hogs

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas players Darious Hall and C.J. Jones announced their transfer destinations via Twitter on Wednesday.

Both were granted their release by Mike Anderson in an April 4 announcement and it took three weeks before Darious Hall committed to DePaul and C.J. Jones to Middle Tennessee State.

Despite the murmur from Razorback fans that Hall was headed to Memphis to play for Penny Hardaway, that was never a possibility.

Hall told WholeHogSports “a lot” went into his decision to commit to DePaul, but didn’t go into any detail.

He will have three years of eligibility left after sitting out the coming season.

DePaul’s last winning season came in 2006-07 when it finished 20-14. The program has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2004.

Jones waited an hour before making his announcement on Twitter:

“To my Razorback family/fans, my professors and the army of staff and people (at Arkansas) that have had a positive impact on my student-athlete 2 year experience here, again, I thank you.”

Jones is the second former Hog to transfer to Middle Tennessee State, joining Jacorey Williams, who landed with the Blue Raiders after Anderson booted him off the team following his junior season for multiple off-court legal issues.

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