With Arkansas’ strong regular season performance, Mike Neighbors feels they are comfortably in the NCAA, which changes expectations for league tournament.
Toll enters transfer portal after one year, reports say
According to multiple reports, Arkansas’ Blayne Toll has entered the transfer portal after a season where he never really found a place to play.
Except on special teams where he played in seven games last year while flip-flopping between defensive end and tight end.
Toll played against Mississippi State, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama this past season.
The Razorbacks are expected to start spring drills on Tuesday, March 9. The Red-White Spring Game is slated for April 17.
Coming out of Hazen, Toll chose the Hogs over Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Memphis, TCU and others.
Toll started as a tight end, but over the summer was moved to defensive end, then back to the offensive side. After the season he was moved back to defensive end and the Hogs hired a new defensive ends coach in Jermial Ashley to replace Derrick LeBlanc.
Dungee looks back at career ahead of SEC Tournament
Razorbacks senior Chelsea Dungee talked with the media Tuesday morning about her four years, the growth of the program and the tournament this week.
Hogs adding new executive director of player personnel
Sam Pittman has hired Butler Benton to become Arkansas’ new executive director of player personnel, according to multiple sources.
Benton, a Detroit native who played running back at Cincinnati, comes to Arkansas after serving as Director of Player Personnel at Georgia Southern.
The Razorbacks are also expected to add veteran coach Charlie Williams to the support staff in some capacity, according to reports
• Georgia Southern bio:
Butler Benton III, a four-year letterman as a running back at Cincinnati from 2004-07, served as the Director of Player Personnel for the Georgia Southern football program. In his role, Benton worked with head coach Chad Lunsford and recruiting coordinator Victor Cabral in several areas pertaining to recruiting, including the coordination of the recruit evaluation procedure, prospect identification and evaluations and the assistance with on-campus recruiting.
Benton also oversaw the communication and building of relationships with high school coaches and continues to build the database of GS alumni that are high school coaches and/or high school administrators.
Benton came to Statesboro after four seasons on the full-time staff at Michigan State as the player personnel coordinator. Benton worked on the structure and direction of recruiting related projects, and assists with the prospect evaluation process. He also mentors current student-athletes with a focus on personal development, academic performances and career planning.
Benton arrived at Michigan State in March 2016 after serving as director of student-athlete enrichment at the University of New Orleans for a year and a half. He previously spent 15 months as the assistant director of player development, engagement and academic enhancement at Notre Dame. Benton assisted in implementing programming to promote the intellectual, social and spiritual development of Irish football student-athletes. Prior to his stint at Notre Dame, he worked for nearly two years at Kent State as an internal operations assistant.
Benton was a four-year letterwinner (2004-07) as a running back at Cincinnati, earning three of his four letters while playing for Mark Dantonio. Benton rushed 379 times for 1,736 yards (4.6 avg.) and 11 touchdowns at Cincinnati. He also had 34 career receptions for 348 yards (10.2 avg.) and two scores. As a senior in 2007, Benton led the Bearcats in rushing with a career-best 499 yards on 100 carries and scored two rushing TDs. He gained 101 yards on 12 carries in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State. Benton set career highs with 16 catches for 154 yards (9.6 avg.). As a junior in 2006, Benton ranked second on the Bearcats in rushing with 497 yards on 108 attempts (4.0 avg.) and his four rushing TDs tied for the team lead. In 2004, he finished second on the team in rushing with 453 yards on 100 carries (4.5 avg.) and scored four TDs. Benton set career highs with 25 rushes for 127 yards against East Carolina.
Benton, a three-time all-city selection at Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, rushed for more than 3,000 yards during his prep career.
He earned his bachelor of business administration in finance from Cincinnati in December 2008 and received his master of arts in sport and recreation management from Kent State in May 2013. He married Jennifer Passmore in July 2019.
Dungee, Slocum get All-SEC awards from league’s coaches
Chelsea Dungee and Destiny Slocum both earned All-SEC Honors, the league office announced today.
Dungee was named to the first team, while Slocum was named to the second team by the league’s coaches.
Dungee, a three-time All-SEC selection, cemented her legacy in her final season at Arkansas, putting together her best season on the Hill.
Dungee is averaging career-highs in several categories this season, including points per game (22.2), field goal percentage (43.0 percent), and three-point percentage (39.1 percent).
She has scored 20+ in 16 of her 25 games played this season, and has gone for 30 or more points in four contests. Dungee’s consistency this season has been remarkable.
The Sapulpa, Okla.. native has scored in double figures in all 25 games this season, and has scored 10 or more in 30 games dating back to the end of last season, the longest such streak of her career.
All that scoring added up, as Dungee now has 2,098 career points, the highest collegiate total of any Razorback women’s player ever.
When looking at the numbers in SEC play, Dungee was somehow even better. She averaged 23.1 points per game, the most in the league in conference only games, scored 20 or more in 12 of Arkansas’ 15 league games, and dropped 30+ against Ole Miss, Florida and Tennessee.
She also showed her defensive chops this season, often guarding the other team’s best or second best player, with the ability to guard perimeter players and bigs.
She’s also averaging 1.5 steals per game, the highest mark of her career.
When the lights were brightest, Dungee always seemed to be at her best.
Against teams currently in the top-10 of the AP Poll this season, Dungee has been electric, averaging 22.0 points per game on 45.7 percent shooting and 43.3 percent from deep.
In the Hogs’ two ranked wins this season, Dungee has been nearly unstoppable, averaging 29.5 points per game, while shooting 56 percent from the field and 44 percent from three.
In a year full of memorable performances from the Arkansas guard, her showing against UConn stands out, as she dropped 37 points on the Huskies, the most by any single player against them this century.
Slocum, meanwhile, has had a huge on-court impact during her lone season at Arkansas. Slocum, who has now earned All-Conference honors in the Big 10 (Maryland), the Pac-12 (Oregon State 2x) and the SEC, was second on the team in scoring (15.6 points per game), while leading the Hogs in assists (4.0 assists per game).
She has scored in double-figures in 22 of her 25 games played this season, and has gone for 20+ in five games this season, including three times in her final six games of the regular season.
Like Dungee, Slocum was even better in SEC play, upping her scoring average (15.9) and her assists per game average (4.5). The Oregon State transfer’s elite decision making was also on display during league play, as her 2.3 assist-to-turnover ratio was the third best mark in the SEC.
As the regular season has winded down, Slocum has started to find her rhythm, as she has averaged 18.3 points per game over her last six contests.
Slocum has had quite a few memorable showings in her lone season under coach Mike Neighbors, including her 22-point 10-assists showing against Missouri, the first 20-point 10-assist showing by a Hog since Kimberly Wilson back in 1996.
She also put on a clinic in Baton Rouge, dropping 29 on LSU on 11 of 15 shooting.
Bud Light Seltzer Morning Rush Podcast: Extend current streak
Tye & Tommy on big basketball news, worst sportsmanship moments in sports, Moses freshman of the year and more!
Only one team under par on windy start to Cabo Collegiate
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, one of the toughest on the PGA TOUR, showed its teeth today and a cold, windy day led to just one of the 116 teams being under par after one day one of the 11th annual Cabo Collegiate at TPC San Antonio.
Host and No. 31 Arkansas is tied for seventh, posting a 13-over-par 301 on the par 72, 7.034-yard track. Oklahoma leads the 116-team field, featuring 12 of the top 30 teams in the country.
The Sooners, ranked seventh, turned in a 1-under-par 287 and leads second place #15 Texas A&M (297) by 10 strokes.
Texas, ranked 10th, and Florida State, ranked fourth are tied for third (298).
Rounding out the top 10 are No. 8 Oklahoma State (299), No. 27 Baylor (300), Arkansas (301), No. 2 Arizona State (301), California (302) and top-ranked Arizona (305).
Only four players broke par on day one. Patrick Walsh (Oklahoma) carded a 3-under 69 to lead after 18 holes.
A trio of players are tied for second at -1 including John Pak (Florida State), Johnny Keefer (Baylor) and Pierceson Coody (Texas).
The winner of this year’s event will earn an exemption to play on the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open on the same course at the end of the month.
Tyson Reeder leads Arkansas after round one. The graduate senior it tied for eighth after a 1-over-par round. Reeder stood at 3-over after a double on the par-3, 13th but rallied with birdies on holes 14 and 17 to record his 73.
Julian Perico, the 20th-ranked player in the nation, and Mason Overstreet are tied for 21st after each turned in an opening-round, 3-over-par 75.
Segundo Oliva Pinto is one stroke behind Perico and Overstreet and the junior is tied for 57th. William Buhl is T77 and Manuel Lozada, playing as an individual, is T86 to round out the Razorback contingent.
Round two of three of the Cabo Collegiate is set for Tuesday. The 54-hole event will conclude Wednesday.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
Hogs tied for 12th after first round at Gamecock Intercollegiate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 13 Arkansas finished the first round at the Gamecock Intercollegiate at 299 (+11), good for a share of 12th place.
Duke currently leads the event at six-under, while six players are tied atop the individual leaderboard, all of whom shot 69 (-3) in round one.
The duo of Kajal Mistry and Cory Lopez led the Hogs on day one, as both fired rounds of 74 (+2), placing them tied for 35th on the leaderboard.
Lopez carded a team-high four birdies, but shot four bogeys along with a double on 17 to finish at two-over in the round. Mistry, meanwhile, played at even par on holes one through nine, but bogeyed hole 11 and hole 14 on the back.
Sophomore Julia Gregg is tied for 47th after day one, shooting a first round 75 (+3). While she was three-over on the back nine of the course, Gregg was one-under on the front nine, firing a birdie on hole one and paring holes two through nine to close out her round.
Finishing fourth in the Hog lineup was redshirt junior Brooke Matthews, who currently sits at four-over, good for a share of 61st place.
Like Gregg, Matthews played much better on the front of the course, recording three birdies and two bogeys on her way to a one-under score over those nine holes.
On the back, though, Matthews was +5, including back-to-back doubles on 13 and 14.
Sophomore Ela Anacona rounded out the lineup on day one, shooting a first round 78 (+6). She’s tied for 79th place headed into day two.
O’Gara on Razorbacks’ flying high in spring with high rankings
As Arkansas’ active programs continue to rise in the rankings and win SEC titles, Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara is impressed.
Moody named top freshman in SEC for second time
After wins over the top two teams in the SEC last week, Arkansas guard Moses Moody was named the SEC Freshman of the Week, the league announced today.
This is the second time Moody has earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors this season. He has also been named the overall SEC Player of the Week twice this season by College Sports Madness.
Moses Moody • Little Rock / Montverde (Fla.) Academy
• Averaged 21.0 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Set career highs in both games for assists and had a career-high for blocked shots:
• ALABAMA: 24 points – 5 rebounds – 4 assists – 3 blocked shots – 1 steal
• LSU: 18 points – 8 rebounds – 5 assists
• Was a combined 27-of-33 at the free throw line in the two games.
• Played all 20 minutes of the second half in both games and has done so a team-best 11 times this season, including six straight.
• Was 16-of-19 at the free throw line in the Alabama game (16 makes tie for 6th-most by a Hog in a game, 3rd-most in an SEC game; 19 attempts tie for 7th-most by a Hog in a game, 3rd most in an SEC game)
Against Alabama
• Moody scored 10 in the first half, thanks to 5-of-5 shooting at the free throw line, and had three of his then career-best four assists.
• In the second half, he scored 14 points, thanks to 11-of-14 at the line, as the Hogs out-scored the Tide 42-28 in the second half. Moody additionally had two of his career-high three blocked shots.
• With Arkansas up four in the second half (56-52 with 8:53 left) Moody was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. He made all three at the free throw line for a comfortable seven-point edge. Down the stretch, Moody scored seven of the team’s final 11 points.
Against LSU
Arkansas trailed by five at halftime and Moody helped the Hogs out-score the Tigers 51-38 in the second half.
• He scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, making 7-of-10 free throws.
• He had four of his career-high five assists in the second half.
• With the game tied (46-46 with 15:38 left), Moody made five straight free throws to put the Hogs up five and Arkansas never relinquished the lead.
Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.
