MARK CARVALHO

Kansas Wesleyan has hired former Friends University coach Mark Carvalho as its new baseball coach. The Coyotes have won the last two KCAC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NAIA World Series this season … so it’s not a bad gig if you don’t mind a little pressure and winning all the time. Former KWU coach Dave Dawson was hired away by NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech after the season. Click above for the full release from KWU.

Carvalho, you might remember, had big-time success with the Falcons in his nine seasons there, going 231-172 from 1997 to 2006 and won KCAC titles in 2004 and 2006. His tenure there ended on a sour note after coming to loggerheads with the Friends administration over fundraising, but he’s bounced back with a successful assistant stint at Bethany and now he’s off to Salina.

The Ark City native is also a writer — he is possibly the only man in the world who is a member of both the American Baseball Coaches Association, American Writers Association and the Midwest Entertainment Connection and Screenplay Guild. That’s pretty sweet.

I’m out. TA

DAVE DAWSON

First Doug Hall leaves Southwestern for UMKC, and now this. The KCAC, with all its quirks, proves year after year it is a pretty fertile proving ground for up and coming coaches. The latest is Kansas Wesleyan baseball coach Dave Dawson, who makes the move to the NCAA Division II level in a big way, taking over as head coach at Arkansas Tech. Dawson, 36, coached the Coyotes for four seasons, and wrecked shop when he was there. Dude finished with back-to-back KCAC titles after winning the tourney in 2007, and took KWU to the NAIA World Series and snag its first-ever top 25 ranking. He was also the KCAC coach of the year three times. So he pretty much did all he could do while in Salina. And now he’s going to coach the Wonder Boys.

-TA

We put McCorkle in the crosshairs:

MCCORKLE

PRESTON MCCORKLE ** 6-foot-1, 225 pounds ** SR. ** Stratton, Colo.

1. He’s almost from Kansas … but not really

McCorkle won a Class A 8-man state championship at Stratton (Co.) High School, just 30 miles West of the Kansas border. Any time I see somebody from an 8-man school doing it big on the college scene — I don’t care what level — it lets me know what kind of a player they are. My favorite 8-man player of all-time in Kansas? Got to be Argonia’s Bo Boatright, who was an All-Jayhawk tight end at Coffeyville then went on to play for Arkansas State. Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam (for Colorado, ironically) was also an 8-man guy. I drive through Stratton on my way to see family in the Denver area a couple of times a year … if he makes All-American can he get a sign up or something? In a town of 669 people, I don’t see why not.

2. Gang tackle

McCorkle has 120 carries this year, 35 more than the next most, Bethel’s Beau Cox at 85 carries. And he leads the KCAC in rushing by almost 300 yards. He’s 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, so he’s hard to tackle and he gets the ball a lot. He’s taking a pounding, no doubt, but for sure he’s also dishing it out. And it’s not like he’s not used to it … he led the KCAC with 229 carries last season.

3. His back is against the wall

To have an outside shot at the NAIA playoffs or a KCAC title, the Coyotes have to beat Friends. They’re the hard-luck Coyotes so far this season, with both of their losses coming to ranked opponents (No. 18 Bethel & No. 24 Ottawa), and both by a combined 13 points. A win over the Falcons on Saturday in Salina could save the season for KWU.