DDD Sports

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Rain covered the field at Hillhouse Park on Tuesday, forcing the Fighting Squirrels game to end prematurely. Despite Mother Nature, Charleston still managed to put up runs in three innings of play, before the contest ended. The Fighting Squirrels defeated Festus 9-0, scoring five runs in the first and four in the third...

Kennett graduate Maddy Nigut has been twirling since she could hold a baton in her hand. “I’ve been twirling since I was two-years-old,” Nigut said. “All of the female members of my family were twirlers so I was put into it at a young age. I’ve always enjoyed it and dreamed of twirling in college.”...

Recently-hired Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn sat in a conference room with one of his recently-hired assistants, Sam McMahon, Wednesday and hovering over the two was a dry-erase board covered end-to-end with information on how to build the Redhawks into a formidable Ohio Valley Conference program.

Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke is figuratively driving a car down a road – at night – and with no headlights as he tries to navigate a sporting world that has never existed.

KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett girls tennis program hopes to benefit from putting in more work than normal on the courts this summer. “We are practicing several times a week now,” Kennett longtime tennis coach Janet Hilburn said at an open court session Tuesday. “We got a late start but the weather has cooperated since we started. The girls have been working hard because they were ready to get out of the house and do something.”...

Brad Korn has been a college basketball coach for 15 years. You can multiply that number by several hundred and tally the number of times his mind has wandered in terms of the tasks he would like to accomplish when – if – he ever received an opportunity to be a head coach.

COOTER, Mo. - Friday evening students from Cooter High School gathered at Elk Chute Lodge in Gobler after months of having to postpone prom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the evening was one they all enjoyed, it sadly turned to tragedy after an accident occurred just after the students ended the event and were leaving...

SIKESTON — After a week off, the Southeast Missouri Challenger Tournament concluded Monday at VFW Stadium in Sikeston. Featuring the 18-and-under Charleston Fighting Squirrels and 17-and-under Perfectos, the Squirrels prevailed in six innings — as the game ended due to time limit — 4-3...

The Kennett senior golfers missed an opportunity to claim their third straight district title when their season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic this spring. But they will have one more opportunity to wear the Kennett uniform next week at SEMO Conference Senior Golf Tournament at Fox Haven Country Club in Sikeston on July 9...

Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor was somewhat prophetic when he recently told the Wichita Eagle “I am still confident that we are going to play football, but I am less confident that we are going to play 12 games.”

Kennett track coach Andrew Webster thought senior Larry Payne was in a position to put together a record-breaking performance in the 400-meter dash when preseason practices got underway in March. “When we started practice in March and everyone was still out of shape he was only about a second off the record,” Webster said. ...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Scoring came in droves in the Charleston Fighting Squirrels doubleheader sweep of the Mineral Area Orioles on Sunday at Hillhouse Park in Charleston, Mo. In the first game, the Fighting Squirrels defeated the Orioles 15-6 and then turned around and won 13-1 in the second game to improve its perfect resume to 21-0...

SIKESTON — Basketball season doesn’t start for another four months, but that isn’t stopping multiple area girls players from improving. In June, a summer league started at the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex and continues every Thursday night at the venue until July 9. Sikeston’s Karris Allen and Oran’s Katie Webb and Grace Davis, among others, all play on select teams and have bettered themselves as a result...

The final piece of a changing of the guard at Three Rivers is official. On Wednesday, the Three Rivers Board of Trustees confirmed Tyler Smith as the new baseball coach for the Raiders. “I want to thank (Three Rivers President) Dr. (Wesley) Payne and the Board of Trustees for giving me the opportunity. ...

The Southland Rebels baseball squad will be under the direction of a new head coach when it returns to the diamond this fall. The Southland Board of Education recently hired Chris McCormick as its varsity baseball coach for the upcoming school year. McCormick takes over for Matt Bailey who is departing to work at another school district...

JACKSON, Mo. — Runs came at a premium to start the first game of the doubleheader for the Southeast Tropics on Wednesday evening. Leading 1-0 after the first inning, the Tropics did not push another run across the plate until the fourth and, from there, managed to score 10 more runs in the final four frames. ...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Brevin Giebler advanced to the second round of match play at the 113th Missouri Amateur. The Cape Girardeau golfer earned a 2 and 1 victory over Jake Mikesch of St. Joseph on Thursday at the Ozarks National Golf Course. Jackson’s Case Englehart survived a 10-player playoff for the final seven spots to earn the 63rd seed in the 64-player field after climbing from 139th place with a 2-under 68 round Wednesday...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Brad Thielemier started his round Wednesday with an eagle as the Poplar Bluff golfer clawed his way back at the 113th Missouri Amateur. Thielemier, who started the day tied for 94th, made the cut for match play with an even-par 71 at the Ozarks National Golf Course...

Holcomb native Cayden Mitchell knew she wanted to speed down a dirt track when she was less than 10-years-old. “My dad has always been my best friend,” Mitchell said. “Growing up we always went and watched the races together at Poplar Bluff, Malden, and Paragould. I was drawn to it right away and wanted to do it. My dad got me started with drag racing, then we got in go-karts, and two years ago I started racing modified.”...

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Fifteen games into the 2020 summer season and the Charleston Fighting Squirrels have won every one of those games. A loaded group, this season’s Charleston team can beat you in more ways than one. At the plate, on the mound, or running the bases, this team continues to show how cohesive a unit they are...

HOLLISTER, Mo. — Area golfers will be need to be on the move Wednesday during the final round of stroke play at the 113th Missouri Amateur. None of the players from Southeast Missouri are in the top 64 following Tuesday’s opening round at the Ozarks National Golf Course...

KENNETT, Mo. - The Kennett cheerleading program continues to prepare for its first public routine of the school year after holding tryouts last week. “We’ve gone right into cheer camp this week after having tryouts last week,” Kennett volunteer assistant cheerleading coach Malinda Harris said. “Everybody is here this week working hard to try to get ready to perform at fall activities."...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — There are four games — made up of seniors from all eight SEMO Conference baseball programs — scheduled for July 6 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. Seniors from Cape Central and Sikeston play seniors from Notre Dame and New Madrid County Central at 1 p.m...

Allison Hoffmann has been involved with the Senath-Hornersville Lions volleyball program for close to a decade. “I played for my mom in high school,” said Allison, who is a 2016 graduate of Senath-Hornersville. “I’ve always enjoyed my time at Senath-Hornersville. They are always so good to their students.”...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

SIKESTON — For the second-straight year, a belt is up for grabs, as pool play started for the Southeast Missouri Challenger Tournament Thursday afternoon at VFW Stadium. Six teams make up the tournament and after the first night of pool play, Sikeston Silver Sox general manager Craig Templeton is looking forward to the weekend...

Kennett graduate Brenton Tidd entered his sophomore campaign at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, hoping he would enjoy enough success on the diamond to receive an offer to play baseball at the University of Missouri. “Last fall I got a chance to talk to one of the assistant coaches at Mizzou,” Tidd said. “He planned on coming and watching me play in the spring after he liked what he saw when he watched me last fall.”...

The controversial basketball coach who led Dora (32-2) over Delta in the Missouri Class 1 playoffs this spring en route to a state basketball title is moving to Viola High in northcentral Arkansas. Rick Luna’s contract at Dora was not renewed after the 2019-20 season despite the Falcons winning a MSHSAA championship. Dora’s school board failed to give a reason for voting 5-1 against extending Luna’s coaching job with the school...

Jeremy Walker has received ample opportunities to work with the players in the Gideon boys basketball program over the last three years. “Our returning seniors are the first group of freshman I coached when I became the junior varsity coach in 2017,” Walker said. ...

Jordan McGowan will not have a chance to repeat as Tri-County Conference Boys Basketball Coach of the Year. McGowan, who was named Conference Coach of the Year after Gideon finished 22-6 and won its conference tournament for the first time since 2016 earlier this year, is departing the Tri-County Conference to coach in the Bootheel Conference...

New Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn and Redhawk assistant Dustin Yoder have roots in the state of Illinois that both hope to tap into as they build their basketball program.

When Kennett graduate Chris Sledge returned home to run the family business in 2001 he wanted to find a way to give back to his community. “Once I got back I really wanted to give back to the youth,” he said. “I just wanted to give back to the community and make a difference in kids’ lives.”...

The coronavirus pandemic has altered the 2020 Semoball Awards into a production like never before, as the event will be conducted as a “virtual” event on Facebook Live on July 11 at 7 p.m. instead of a live show that the sports fans throughout Southeast Missouri have grown accustomed to through the years.

Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Andy Sawyers didn’t have any doubts that fifth-year senior Justin Dirden would be coveted by Major League Baseball teams this spring. It was simply a matter of whether or not the star outfielder would be selected in the abbreviated five-round MLB Draft this week or not.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — He never appears in boxscores, never gets a hit, or never strikes out a batter, but Izaac Pursley is just as important to any baseball team he helps as any of the players. A Jackson, Mo., native, Izaac has helped with the Indians baseball team, the Bell City Cubs, multiple college teams and during the summer, you can see him at Hillhouse Park, in Charleston, as a member of the Charleston Fighting Squirrels...

Halle Smith has a natural curiosity when it comes to solving problems. The Belle High School senior aspires to study psychology in college with the goal of becoming a psychiatrist one day.

When high school sports stopped in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it left some very big questions to determine a winner of the Semoball Cup for the best overall sports program in the area. Notre Dame’s basketball teams had their seasons end before playing in the state semifinals while Oran teams were unable to play for third place...

KENNETT, Mo. - FCC Behavioral Health, local businesses, and local golfers teamed up to raise money for the Kennett D.A.R.E. Program Thursday afternoon. The money was raised at the sixth annual FCC Behavioral Health “Fore Wellness” Golf Tournament at Kennett Country Club...

If you drive around the cities and towns dotting the Southeast Missouri landscape, one thing is undeniable: Kids are playing sports again in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kennett baseball standouts Reese Robinett and Riley Henfling didn’t get an opportunity to impress a growing list of scouts this spring due to fact their high school season was cancelled. But the up-and-coming talents put together eye-popping performances when they returned to action last weekend at a PBR Baseball Showcase in Emerson, Georgia...

Kennett native Kevonte Mitchell isn’t passing up an opportunity to share his baseball knowledge this summer. Mitchell, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs shortly after graduating high school in 2013, has been offering youth baseball lessons at Ultimate Sports in Kennett since he returned from the spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona, in March...

The 2020 Southeast Missouri State baseball squad pounded out 21 home runs in its 17 games during this abbreviated spring season, and none were hit by freshman infielder Landon Hahn. However, don’t think for a moment that the Jackson High School graduate didn’t help the Redhawks be successful, as they won 8 of their last 11 games prior to the season ending due to the coronavirus pandemic.

SEMO Conference baseball players will have the opportunity to take the field together one more time this summer. The first annual SEMO Conference Senior Baseball Showcase is slated to take place Monday, July 6, at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau. “It’s exciting to get the opportunity to get on the field with the boys again,” Poplar Bluff Bluff senior Dawson Hanner said. “It’s going to be a fun day.”...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — To say it was a strong out by Anthony Klein on the mound Sunday would be an understatement. Klein was perfect for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels as they defeated the Southern Illinois Stix 11-0 in the championship game of the COVID-19 Baseball Showcase, at Capaha Park, in Cape Girardeau...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Through two games this season, the Charleston Fighting Squirrels have either out-pitched or out-hit their opponents. That trend continued on Saturday afternoon after the Fighting Squirrels became advantageous on pitching miscues to defeat the Missouri Outlaws 11-4 in their final game of pool play, in the COVID-19 Baseball Showcase, at Capaha Park...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — What pitching was for the Fighting Squirrels on Thursday night, hitting was for them on Friday afternoon in the second day of the COVID-19 Baseball Showcase. Charleston scored in every inning they played, leading to a 15-4 victory over the Tropics in four innings, at Capaha Park, in Cape Girardeau...

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Pitching separated the Charleston Fighting Squirrels and Missouri Bulls on Thursday night at Capaha Park. Luke Nichols toed the slab to start the game and was nothing short of excellent, in the Fighting Squirrels 4-1 win on the first day of the COVID-19 Baseball Showcase...

About a month after deciding to play football at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Malden seniors Shay Amoss and Garrett Rackley finally got the opportunity to participate in a traditional signing ceremony at their high school. Amoss and Rackley gathered with coaches, family members, and friends for signing photos Thursday afternoon at the Malden High School Library...

When Southeast Missouri State assistant men’s basketball coach Dustin Yoder was hired, he got to work in building the Redhawks very quickly.

Gene Bess’ fingerprints can be found all over Southeast Missouri high school basketball. His teachings of fundamentals and hard wor,k and his willingness to try new things influenced the way thousands over the last half century play the game. Three of his former players — Danny Farmer, Paul Hale and Lennies McFerren — took what they learned from Bess and became hall-of-fame coaches. The trio combined to win 17 state championships while coaching in the area...

Gene Bess honed his coaching skills at the high school level before he took over the Three Rivers College men’s basketball program. Before arriving at Three Rivers as an assistant coach, Bess coached high school basketball for 12 years, spending stints with Lesterville, Anniston and most notably Oran. ...

In the first game of the 1991-92 season, Three Rivers coach Gene Bess picked up his 600th win in a hard-fought 86-81 win against Oakland. Then DAR Sports Editor Bob Pfeiffer wrote, “If the first 599 wins had been as difficult as the 600th, Three Rivers basketball coach Gene Bess might not be around to enjoy another milestone.”...

In late August 1978, Three Rivers Assistant coach Herb Slate left the Raiders after one season with the team to be a full-time recruiter at St. Louis University. Three Rivers was coming off a third-place finish in the national tournament, the Billikens needed someone who could recruit, and that was Slate. But before he left, he put together one of the great recruiting classes in Three Rivers history...

In 1993, Gene Bess decided to hire his son as his new assistant coach. Gene says his career was extended by a good 20 years, but more importantly, father and son have gotten to spend nearly every day together. “I feel like I was totally blessed to get him. When he left here and went and played two years and came back, I raised him, got him back, and he’s been with me (ever since),” Gene said...

The stage is set for the sixth annual FCC Behavioral Health “Fore Wellness” Golf Tournament. The four-person golf scramble is slated to take place Thursday at Kennett Country Club. “This year we are going to do things a little bit different,” FCC Chief Administrative Officer Seth Roso said. ...

Seventh-year Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz was concerned about the play of his 2020 quarterback group in February after two-year standout Daniel Santacaterina graduated. But when the Covid-19 pandemic completely wiped out the Redhawks’ spring football practices, Matukewicz altered his entire mindset as it related to the position.

It’s the dream of every college football player to one day make it onto an NFL field, and it is the same for a college coach wanting to make it into an NFL meeting room.

JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — Seven Arkansas State athletes tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating for 14 days, Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said Thursday. The seven athletes are from three sports, and all were asymptomatic. They learned the results Wednesday night...

Major League Baseball ownership and its players continue a standoff as to whether professional baseball will ever be played this summer, while the Prospect League recently put the kibosh on the 2020 Cape Catfish season. However, fear not baseball fans, Capaha Field will be filled with the sounds of baseball being played over the next four days.

There weren’t many glaring concerns with the Southeast Missouri State football program in 2019, as it won a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship. And that certainly applied to the running back corps.

Holcomb graduate Ronnie Lewallen got his first taste of sports when he was still in elementary. “I was the bat boy for the final four team at Holcomb in the sixth grade,” Lewallen said. “Coach McCullough gave me a uniform and everything to be a bat boy. I liked being around the guys and got to practice with them and everything. I felt like I fit in and really liked that surrounding.”...

The Holt High School girl’s basketball program increased its victory total this past season to 18 wins from 10 wins in the 2018-19 season and an obvious reason as to why was the improved play of junior forward Jaliyah Green.

POPLAR BLUFF — Brad Thielemier went from 1-under-par to 1-over at the midpoint of his round Wednesday trying to qualify for the state amateur tournament. “I knew where I was, just don’t do anything silly,” the Poplar Bluff golfer said of his score in relation to the field...

Bootheel native Kurt Penn has made several memories at Senath-Hornersville High School in recent years. “I remember playing Senath-Hornersville in high school and they were always a team we circled on our calendar because they were always a tough team that was ready to play,” Penn said. ...

Athletic leaders throughout our country are taking this time to post their thoughts on the racial strife that has simmered for centuries throughout this country, and ignited on occasion, in wake of the tragic death of Minnesota resident George Floyd.

Memorial Day traditionally kicks off the summer for everyone across this country and for many that means heading to the local water park for some fun.

In the first game in franchise history, the Cape Catfish fell behind 9-2 by the sixth inning and eventually lost to the Quincy Gems 11-3 in front of a packed Capaha Field throng that enjoyed the atmosphere, if not the result.

A year ago, the Cape Catfish orchestrated a “dream season” through its inaugural year as a franchise. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been more of a nightmare than any dream.

Time flies when you are having fun, and make no mistake about it, the past year has been a lot of fun for me both personally and professionally.

Country music singer Noll Billings was dribbling a basketball before he ever considered carrying a tune in Nashville. “The first love I ever had in life was basketball,” he said. “I was pounding a basketball as a little kid and watching Hoop Dreams and Hoosiers. My whole life I’ve always had a love for basketball and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of success playing it.”...

There is no hidden agenda as to why Nolan Taylor is going to suit up for the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program this coming season.

Longtime Kennett swimming coach Malinda Harris has never struggled getting swimmers to sign up to participate in her summer league swim program. “We are fortunate enough to have so many swimmers in our own program we can have a very competitive meet without going beyond our own team boundaries,” Harris said. “We typically have several swimmers in each age group competing against each other within our own program.”...

There would be little debate that the 2020 baseball season for the Southeast Missouri State program will long be remembered, but that is because a global pandemic shut the season down 17 games into the season. However, there were positives to take from the shortened spring, most notably that the Redhawks fielded their first All-American player in four years...

First-year Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball assistant coach Dustin Yoder has spent four years as an actual college coach but has never been able to recruit at the NCAA Division I level.

Craig Rodgers is no stranger to Hayti Indians athletics. Since arriving on the scene to teach at Hayti in 2016 Rodgers has coached girls basketball, track and field, and served as an assistant varsity football coach. Rodgers recently learned he would have the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities at Hayti. The Hayti Board of Education named Rodgers its new athletic director at its regularly scheduled meeting in May...

Cooter senior Jake Faulkner had an academic-first thought process when he decided to attend Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. “Mississippi State is one of the Top 5 engineering schools in the nation and when I went for a tour it felt like a place I wanted to call home for few years,” Faulkner said. “It has a great student environment with lots of things to do inside and outside of classroom.”...

Each year the Semoball Awards recognizes outstanding high school athletes from around the region. That tradition continues this summer albeit in a different format because of lingering COVID-19 concerns and social distancing requirements.

The 2020 Semoball Awards will be conducted in a "virtual" fashion on Facebook Live on July 11 at 7 p.m. Here is a list of the 2019-20 Winter Sports Finalists for the 2020 Semoball Awards. 2019-20 Winter Semoball Nominees Taydrianna Barnett, Sikeston...

Kennett High School didn’t look far to find its next boys basketball coach. The Kennett Board of Education approved the hiring of Dunklin County native Corbin Clark as its new varsity boys basketball coach at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night...

The Kennett Indians will have a new varsity boys basketball coach next school year. The Kennett Board of Education accepted the resignation of varsity boys basketball coach Andrew Halford at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. “It was a very hard decision to make because the kids I had a chance to work with and be around at Kennett were great, hard-working kids,” Halford said. ...

The sport of swimming is notorious not just for the level of physical work put in by those who compete in it, but the amount of training is just as important.

Several assistant coaches at Kennett are shifting positions following Tuesday’s school board meeting. Noll Billings will be the new assistant varsity boys basketball coach at Kennett. Connor Gahr, who served as the assistant varsity boys basketball coach last season, is transitioning to the wrestling program and will be the new assistant varsity wrestling coach...

SIKESTON — Baseball is gearing back up. Practices and drills are starting all in anticipation for the first game for each summer program, and although it may not be the season each team envisioned, there is still going to be a season. After the cancellation of the Missouri American Legion baseball season, Sikeston Silver Sox general manager Craig Templeton was trying to find a different alternative...

Crowley’s Ridge College in nearby Paragould, Arkansas, has made three staff additions to its athletic program for the 2020-21 school year. Tori Hardin is the new assistant women’s volleyball coach, Brista Hinklin is the new assistant softball coach, and Dustin Semore is the new sports information director at Crowley’s Ridge College...

Risco senior Mackenzie Myers liked the atmosphere when she attended a college basketball game at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff. “Last year I went to a basketball game because my brother attends Three Rivers,” she said. “I observed how they were able to show off their cheers and their stunts. Then I asked my brother if he would show me around the school and I absolutely fell in love with the campus.”...

You have to feel for Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Andy Sawyers a tad. He’s been guiding the Redhawks for four years as of this summer and half of his tenure has been a mess due to just poor luck.

Malden graduate Tanner Murphy spent time with two major league baseball organizations before he began playing in the Prospect League in 2019. The 2013 Bootheel Conference Player of the Year was taken 133rd overall by the Atlanta Braves in the June Amateur draft in 2013 after batting .600 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs for Malden his senior season...

Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Malden graduate Tanner Murphy has received the opportunity to play baseball for teams based on the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest since he was drafted in the 4th round by the Atlanta Braves in 2013...

The Cooter Wildcats baseball program didn’t have an opportunity to claim the Class 1 state baseball title this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But earlier this week the Wildcats learned they had finished atop the standings in another category in Class 1...

For the first time since 2015 the Malden Green Wave volleyball program will have a new leader at the helm. The Malden Board of Education hired Alex Glover as its new varsity volleyball coach at its most recent meeting. Glover will also teach physical education and serve as the middle school volleyball coach at Malden...

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Malden Green Wave veteran baseball coach Tim Harmon entered the spring hoping to develop a slew of underclassmen on his varsity baseball roster. A dozen of the 20 players that went out for baseball this spring for two-time defending district champion Malden were underclassmen...

Gene Bess arrived in Poplar Bluff in the fall of 1969 to be an assistant coach at what was then called Three Rivers Junior College. He told his wife Nelda not to unpack much in case he didn’t make it. The program was in its third season, coming off a losing year and didn’t have a gym to practice in. A year later, Bess was in charge...

College basketball’s all-time wins leader has retired. After 50 years and 1,300 wins, Three Rivers College men’s basketball coach Gene Bess announced this past season will be his last. “I’ve been realizing the time was near for me to go. The bottom line is, I want to be here to make the players better,” said Bess, who has battled health problems the past few seasons. “I felt like I was just as effective, but I didn’t have the energy level to do what I need to do to excel as a coach...

Atlanta Braves scout Jon David French is preparing for the 2020 MLB draft in a much different way this spring. “I’m typically on the road at a baseball game almost every day of the week in the spring,” French said. “I typically visit high schools during the week and colleges on weekends.”...

The stage is set for the 2020 Kennett Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The latest selections to the Kennett Sports Hall of Fame will be recognized at halftime of Kennett’s varsity football home opener against Doniphan on Sept. 4. "We will have a reception before the game at 6 p.m. ...

During this time of social distancing, the SuperFan series of articles focuses on fans who are geographically distant from the teams they support, who are fiercely loyal to a team outside the state of Missouri. Today: Harry Rediger, 82, former two-term mayor of Cape Girardeau, longtime local J.C. ...

New Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn added a couple more pieces to his first personnel puzzle Wednesday, as he hired Missouri Southern associate head coach Sam McMahon as an assistant, while on the floor, he received a verbal commitment from one of the more versatile, talented, and highly successful players in the state.

The history of Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball at the NCAA Division I level has been one of mostly mediocre to poor results (21 losing seasons in 29 years), with a handful of flashes of success sparingly sprinkled in. However, recently-hired Redhawk coach Brad Korn made clear from his first day that accepting a fate of non-success was going to be unacceptable.

Kennett graduate Kevonte Mitchell isn’t accustomed to spending springtime at home. Mitchell, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft, has grown accustomed to preparing for baseball season at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona...

A first-ever high school baseball tournament featuring seniors who lost their 2020 season due to COVID-19 is being planned for early July by SEMO Conference athletic directors.

New Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn has officially been on the job for six weeks as of today and he has taken some important steps towards building a foundation for success.

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Matthew Ball didn’t pass up a chance to coach at his alma mater when the opportunity presented itself. Ball, who is a 2004 graduate of North Pemiscot High School near Wardell, Missouri, signed a contract to be the new varsity boys basketball coach in his hometown earlier this month...

Southland junior softball standout Jenna Gibson is preparing for softball season in a much different way this spring. Gibson now finds herself spending countless hours at indoor training facilities since high school softball season and school was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic...

The Prospect League announced Wednesday that it was delaying the start of its 2020 season from May 28 to July 1, with the season culminating on August 15.

It wasn’t the photo finish at the state tournament the Kennett senior golfers had hoped for in 2020. But the grand finale was still uniquely memorable. The Kennett golf program honored its three seniors - Jack McHaney, Hayden Faulkner, and Jonathan Jain - with a senior recognition ceremony Tuesday evening at Kennett Country Club...

The sport of men’s college basketball has been in the throes of a figurative virus for several years due to several issues, most notably the transfer epidemic. However, in the past month, the sport has been placed in the hospital because of threats from professional leagues, while on Wednesday, the NCAA sent the sport – and football, as well – to the intensive care unit.

The Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball program is going to celebrate its most successful season at the NCAA Division I level in a “virtual” manner Thursday. However, make no mistake about it, what the Redhawks accomplished during the 2019-20 season was very, very real.

Southland junior softball standout Jenna Gibson received more than a few calls when she became old enough for colleges to contact last fall. “Once colleges could talk to me in September I probably had about 20 to 30 schools reach out to me,” she said. “I had an email list and stayed in communication with several schools. There was even one school from up in New Jersey but I felt like that was too far away. I never even really considered some of them but did go on around 10 visits.”...

When Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke was asked last month what it took to build a successful sport at his institution, he was very specific about the core of what was needed.

Malden senior Garrett Rackley liked what he saw when he went for a visit at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. “They had nice facilities,” he said. “The campus felt nice. I liked the campus and loved their football field. I also liked the message I received from their coaches. It just felt like the right fit for me.”...

Success on the football field is breeding awareness and that has been evident in recent springs, as the Southeast Missouri State program is beginning to build a pipeline to the NFL.

Westminster College football coach John Welty made a good first impression on Malden senior Shay Amoss when he visited him at his high school earlier this school year. “When he came and talked to me at the school he related to us like you were in his shoes,” Amoss said. “He told me how things would work from his perspective. It made me feel like I really wanted to go there so I could be around him and people like him.”...

Famed comedian Jerry Seinfeld has an infamous bit centered on why it is so difficult to be a sports fan. With players changing teams so frequently, fans, Seinfeld explained, aren’t truly cheering for athletes, but in actuality are “rooting for laundry (uniforms).”

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity...

Malden Green Wave football coach Justin Peden has never been a fan of playing in a four-team conference. “I prefer a bigger conference,” Peden said. “I think things get a little watered down in terms of postseason awards playing in a four-team conference. There have also been a few times over the years a team finished below .500 and won a conference. I feel like you should actually have to win some games to be a conference champion.”...

Kennett senior Jackson Henfling wasn’t thinking about breaking the state record for most charges in a high school career when he began his sophomore season. “It wasn’t really something I was planning on doing when I started high school,” said Henfling, who played three years on varsity. “But after my sophomore year I was already halfway to the record. I knew I was within striking distance and it was a mark I had a good shot at reaching if I continued on the same pace.”...

For the time being, the NCAA rule book as it pertains to off-season diligence by Division I programs is a very, very fluid situation. What was allowed a few weeks ago (for example, virtual workouts), is no longer acceptable.

Kennett varsity boys basketball coach Andrew Halford has been around the game of basketball since he was in elementary. “Basketball was something that was fun to play as a young kid,” Halford said. “As I got older I started putting more time into it and got a chance to be around some really good basketball people.”...

Five boys and three girls from the semoball.com coverage area were selected to the 2020 Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State Team. Saxony Lutheran’s Luke Bartens, Notre Dame’s John Essner, Notre Dame’s Jack Floyd, Saxony Lutheran’s Ethan Koenig, and Sikeston’s Clark Steward were among the 100 boys selected academic all-state...

If anyone wants a study in frustration, they could do worse than following Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke around this spring.

Delta C-7 senior Kagan Teal has been playing softball since she could pick up a bat. “I’m involved in many sports but softball has always been my favorite sport,” Kagan said. “I’ve been playing since I was two. It was always one of those things that just clicked, and I was good at it. ...

When you look at first-year Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn today, you’ll see a soon-to-turn 40-year-old adult who just happens to make a nice living teaching basketball skills to athletes who aspire to play professionally.

Columbia, Mo. - The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors voted to grant relief of portions of the MSHSAA By-Laws that include summer limits on contact between coaches and student-athletes at its April meeting on Thursday...

Three Rivers College infielder Zane Wallace didn’t pass up an opportunity to make a good first impression when he played a double header at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, last fall. “Our very last game in the fall we played Itawamba College and East Mississippi Community College at Delta State’s home field,” said Wallace, who is a 2018 Kennett graduate. ...

Within minutes of being announced as the new men’s basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State, Brad Korn was talking about building a “long-lasting, genuine trust” with his players.

The Kennett football team’s path to a second straight undefeated regular season will have a much different look next fall. Kennett has added three new opponents and dropped three others from its 2020 varsity football schedule. Kennett has picked up Poplar Bluff, Doniphan, and East Prairie and dropped North County, Fredericktown, and Gosnell, Arkansas...

“Everybody likes a winner,” has been a fact throughout sports since Neanderthals took part in rock-throwing contests and it remains true today.

Recently-hired Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball coach Brad Korn has spent the initial three weeks in his new position operating with his hands tied behind his back, but in the world that exists today, he is no different from any other coach across the country.

South Pemiscot senior Noah Willingham received a gracious greeting when he went on a recruiting visit to Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, last fall. “I got to interact with some of their other players on campus,” Willingham said. “They did a great job welcoming me and made me feel like that’s where I needed to be.”...

Like ripples in a pond following a stone being tossed in, the repercussions of a collegiate coach bartering for more financial security in wake of a successful season are inevitable. And in some regards, Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball coach Rekha Patterson has never found herself in a more advantageous position.

Cooter senior Hayes Austin elected to change his approach at the plate entering his senior season.

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Nearly one month removed from long-time Charleston head boys basketball coach Danny Farmer’s announcement to retire, the Bluejays found their replacement. Former Bluejay player and assistant coach Jamarcus Williams will take over for the storied Missouri program, after being officially announced at a meeting on Thursday evening...

Cooter senior Lane McLevain didn’t want to rule out the possibility of being a two-way player when he signed to play college baseball. Neither did College of the Ozarks. “College of the Ozarks mentioned using me as a two-way player,” McLevain said. “They said I might come in and pitch, play in the outfield, or possibly catch. They said I could end up playing anywhere.”...

MSHSAA has cancelled the spring sports postseason. In a press release issued Thursday, MSHSAA announced it was cancelling all postseason events for the 2019-20 school year. The news followed Governor Mike Parson's announcement, also on Thursday, of "in-person school closure for the remainder of the school year."...

When Brad Korn was hired as the men’s basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State last month, he didn’t mince words when it came to what he planned to build the Redhawk program upon.

Highly touted high school baseball squads projected to make deep postseason runs are often blessed with a strong senior core. Such is the case for the Cooter Wildcats baseball squad this spring. Cooter has five seniors projected to crack its starting lineup on a squad that placed third in Class 1 last season and is ranked No. 2 in the Class 1 preseason state baseball rankings...

Cooter senior Jacob Watkins had College of the Ozarks on his radar before he ever stepped onto a high school baseball diamond. “Before baseball was ever a factor College of the Ozarks was one of the schools I was highly interested in attending because of their work-education program,” Watkins said. ...

The list of NCAA Division I men’s college basketball players choosing a new program in which to play continues to grow by the hour during this time of the year. According to the site devoted to tracking such, verbalcommits.com, the number is well over 600 and is trending toward the 2019 number (997).

Jim and Lisa Burns, high school sweethearts from the Deep South, have lived in Cape Girardeau for four decades. Jim retired in December 2018 after 39 years with KFVS-12 television. Lisa, administrative assistant for special services in the Cape Central schools, has been with the district 27 years...

The Kennett girls track team remains hopeful it will have an opportunity to fine-tune its skills this season. “It’s kind of a rebuilding year,” Kennett track coach Andrew Webster said. “We lost a lot of girls. Overall we are very young.” Kennett has 35 girls out for high school track. ...

For those fans of Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball that feel new coach Brad Korn has his work cut out for him, they should imagine what it was like for Redhawks gymnastics coach Ashley Lawson, who was hired to rebuild the program at her alma mater just weeks before the start of the 2018-19 school year.

Arguably the best-known figure from the first Gulf War, the late Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, loved few things more than taking off his combat helmet and putting on a fishing cap, festooned with artificial lures.

For those fans of the Southeast Missouri State football program that felt the lack of spring football would impede the development of the 2020 version of the Redhawks, those concerns need to have tampered a tad.