…BECAUSE THERE’S TOO MUCH STATE COLLEGE/SMALL COLLEGE/JUCO GOODNESS FOR JUST ONE BLOG!!!
But we’re going to try to get it in anyway. Please consider this the hybrid version of Roll Call, because we’ve got more than players of the week to cover. So here we go …
MIAA
MEGAN DENNIS
*The league softball tourney in Overland Park got pushed back a day — but at least they didn’t have to move the entire tournament (a la the KCAC). Your Emporia State Hornets are the third seed and open against No. 6 seed Washburn today. ESU 3B Miranda Campbell and P Megan Dennis took home MIAA player of the week honors headed into the tourney.
Just found out (by complete accident) that former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer is going to speak at Southwestern College in Winfield on Saturday night. That’s kind of a big deal. I must not be on the SC mailing list. All proceeds go to the new football stadium, which you can get a gander at below. FYI, Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz is writing a column about Fulmer for tomorrow’s Eagle. So make sure to read that.
Southeast point guard Joe Mitchell is headed to Hutchinson Community College — no surprise here — he’s a guy who seems like he’d be a great fit for the Blue Dragons. I think he looks to score a little more than most Steve Eck-coached PGs, but he was definitely one of the best players in the state this season, leading the Golden Buffaloes to a second-place finish in Class 6A. Was he the best guard in the state? I’m having trouble thinking of anybody that was better.
Here’s the release from Hutchinson SID Steve Carpenter:
The Jayhawk Conference has always been fertile ground for NFL prospects — look around the league and former KJCCC standouts dot league rosters. As far as I can tell, this year’s former Jayhawk star to hit it big, rich, whatever you want, is former Garden City Community College standout Phil Loadholt, who started two years at Oklahoma and was an all-Big 12 pick both years. Loadholt was taken by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2nd round — the 54th pick overall. I covered Loadholt his sophomore year at GCCC, and lemme tell you, dude is a BEHEMOTH. Six-foot-8 and 337 pounds. He protected Sam Bradford’s blind side at left tackle the last two years but translates into a right tackle in the league. ESPN’s Jeffri Chadiha has Loadholt listed in his top 10 impact rookies for next season.
I’ve looked over all the picks and Loadholt’s the only Jayhawk guy I see right now, although I’m sure a bunch will sign in free agency and I’ll let you know when I get that info. Posted some Loadholt highlights below. Nebraska-Omaha QB Zack Miller was the lone MIAA player picked — he went to Jacksonville in the sixth round and will probably end up a TE in the NFL.
Thought I’d take a look at how our league races are shaping up, and if these teams might be able to make some noise in the postseason, shall we?
MIAA
Baseball: Emporia State is ranked No. 3 and has a four-game lead over second place Nebraska-Omaha in the league standings. They’ve got four regular season games left — two against Missouri Southern, who handed them a loss Friday night to break a 12-game Hornet winning streak — and get to finish with a doubleheader against last-place Southwest Baptist. Consider this title ESU’s for the third time in the past four years. The MIAA Tournament? Too soon to judge. Pitcher Ryan Anthony (7-1, 2.17 ERA) could be the key.
Just a little down today … 88 is gone. Dude, I used to wear that number b/c of that guy. Sad day for Chiefs fans. KC management never ceases to amaze me.
Anyways …
We’re almost in the postseason for spring sports — strange to me that these sports exist in kind of a vacuum, it seems like, starting under the radar when nobody wants to think about anything but hoops. I think it makes for kind of an uphill climb to grab any of that audience in the spring, most of whom have some sort of sports-induced hangover from following their teams non-stop from when practices started in August. In other words, you gotta do something great to get that kind of pub in the spring. You know?
Thought I’d just throw this up there — Kollen Long broke the story for us in today’s paper — that’s a big step for Alex Melugin, who got where he is today via Sunrise Christian Academy-Dodge City Community College-Friends University-Wichita Wild. Melugin was the KCAC offensive player of the year last season and helped lead the Falcons to two league titles in his two seasons. Melugin travels to Sioux City for his first start, where the 1-3 Wild should have a shot at a winless team. Oh, and he likes to tell people he was on the Dodge City CC team that beat Butler back in the day. Roll Call on the way.
My state/juco notes for today focused on the Friends softball team, something I was leading up to for a couple weeks but hadn’t pulled the trigger on the story because I was waiting for them to make a move in the standings, which they did. If you don’t know the backstory, here it is in a nutshell: Two-time defending KCAC champs have 31-game league winning streak broken, fall into second place then regroup to peel off six straight wins including a sweep of the first place team and take back the league lead.
Thought a little spring football update was in order, now that Emporia State and Pitt State have both wrapped things up … but first lemme let everybody know that Sunflower Slate has gone national — our post on Phillipsburg’s Dylan Frantz got picked up on a Cornell (that’s in NY, people) basketball blog. So we’re shining on the East Coast. Gotta love Cornell … one of my all-time fave authors, Thomas Pynchon, went to school there, and so did his homeboy Richard Farina. Imagine those two, circa 1958, taking a writing class from Vladimir Nabokov? Man.
Heard the Binghamton rumors. Heard the Cornell rumors. Now Phillipsburg’s Dylan Frantz is headed to Hutchinson Community College — which makes me think he’s got his sights set on becoming a mid-major Division I player, or higher. Either way, if Steve Eck thinks he can play for him … that’s a pretty nice endorsement right there. And a pretty good chance he’ll get him ready for the next level.
It’s Eck’s first signing at HCC — and a nice fit for the 6-foot-2 guard, who was a Class 3A honorable mention all-state pick after averaging 17.8 ppg this season. I’m thinking there’s more signings on the way for Eck and the Blue Dragons so stay tuned.
