College Sports

Standard Democrat Sports Editor Alex Wallner is introducing a series of stories on former area spring-sport athletes who are playing in college and have had their seasons end due to the coronavirus pandemic. SIKESTON — Former Sikeston baseball standout Nate Self didn’t have quite the freshman season he envisioned at the University of Tennessee-Martin...

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.

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...

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.

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.

Southeast Missouri State softball coach Mark Redburn recently – and unexpectedly – got four commitments for the 2021 season and one of those players he feels pretty confident will be the best player in the Ohio Valley Conference next spring. When the NCAA recently voted to allow seniors from the 2020 class to return next year, due to the cancellation of spring sports, the Redhawks got a commitment from four seniors, most notably outfielder Rachel Anderson.

When the clock ticked Wednesday morning to 12:01 a.m., thus marking the start of a new month, there was no one involved in collegiate athletics more appreciative of the moment than Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke.

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...

Even though there has been a moratorium placed on recruiting for all college coaches at this current time due to the COVID-19 situation, Southeast Missouri State baseball coach Andy Sawyers received some positive news Monday when the NCAA voted to allow spring athletes – in all sports - to extend their career by one season.

Carroll Williams is wistful about his long tenure as head coach of the Southeast men’s golf program, ended by the university’s board of regents 15 years ago this spring. “All told, I coached golf at SEMO for 30 years,” Williams said. Williams, 82, is principal of Cape Christian Community School these days, which will be absorbed July 1 by Lynwood Christian Academy...

SIKESTON — Former Sikeston guard Parker Long is heading back to the area. Long announced on Twitter Saturday that he had committed to Southeast Missouri State University and first-year men’s basketball coach Brad Korn.

Wade Stauss saw the gathering storm coming for his team. The College World Series was cancelled. March Madness was called off. Still, when the waves finally hit in the middle of this month, washing out the rest of Southeast Missouri State’s baseball season, Stauss was put back on his heels...

Gary Squires, a St. Louis-born Korean War veteran, service station owner and well-known area golfer, passed away Tuesday at Chateau Girardeau. Squires, 87, was formerly the golf pro at Cape Country Club, Dalhousie and Arena Golf. He also acted as a coach for several area golf teams, including the now-discontinued program at Southeast Missouri State...

“We need someone who can come in and convey a vision, create a sense of unity within that program in terms of where they are headed.” Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke made that statement nearly a month ago when he was addressing the topic of hiring a new men’s basketball coach and he reiterated it Tuesday when he introduced former Kansas State assistant coach Brad Korn as the new coach of the Redhawk program...

Kansas State men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber admitted to being “surprised” that his former player at Southern Illinois, Brad Korn, wanted to go into the coaching profession upon graduating.

There has been no bigger problem encompassing the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program than roster instability.

When I was hired as the regional sports editor for Semoball.com nearly a year ago, one of the most repeated opinions that was delivered to me, whether I wanted to hear it or not, was the displeasure of those that followed the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program in former coach Rick Ray.

The Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program has been ravaged over the past five years by player departures.

Carson Webb and Dawson Hanner have been playing baseball together since as long as they can remember. The Poplar Bluff seniors recently signed their National Letters of Intent to play together at Three Rivers College on the same day...

Six years ago, Deanay Watson wasn't playing basketball. Now she's committed to play for Southeast Missouri State University. The 5-foot, 10-inch, third-year sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., led Three Rivers this season with 13.6 points to go with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.1 assists per game...

Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke had stated earlier this month that he wanted to wrap up the search for a new men's basketball coach by the end of March.

Fred C. Springer, Jr., a member of the Southeast Missouri State University Athletics Hall of Fame, died Thursday at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Springer, 70, was a member of SEMO’s 1969 men’s track and field team, winners of the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association’s (MIAA) indoor and outdoor track titles...

There are no silver linings to the coronavirus. It is not melodramatic to say COVID-19 has reached its microscopic fingers into every nook and cranny of all our lives. It’s an anxious, worrying time – and for good reason. While there is truly no upside to this existential crisis, there are a few compensations...

The only thing more challenging than finding a way to beat the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball program this past season is to find JUST five pivotal moments within the most successful season in Redhawk history at the NCAA Division I level.

When Southeast Missouri State athletic director Brady Barke made the decision to replace men’s basketball coach Rick Ray earlier this month, he had asked for two things from the two signed Redhawk recruits, as well as the returning student-athletes:

Southeast Missouri State’s gymnastics program was recognized Friday following a strong, yet shortened season.

Two Raiders have qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo with the season ending early. The final three events of the rodeo season were canceled due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, and through seven events Cannon Smith and Trevor Zerrusen finished in the top three in the Ozark Region standings to qualify...

The COVID-19 situation has not only cancelled spring football for the Southeast Missouri State program (as well as every other football program in the country), but it has also eliminated the opportunity for the Redhawk student-athletes to make an in-person impression academically, as classes are not being conducted on campus at this time.

For those that follow college basketball, the month of March is annually a time of uncertainty.

After initially suspending spring sports until April 3 due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, the NJCAA decided Monday to cancel “all upcoming basketball championships as well as spring competition, effective immediately.” This includes all practices, and off-campus recruiting for all sports is halted until April 15 with a further evaluation to be assessed at that time. ...

What has become a rite of spring within the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program showed the first sign of blossoming this year Sunday when college basketball writer Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported that Redhawk junior forward Isaiah Gable would be transferring. The exodus of a Southeast player isn’t surprising.

Andy Sawyers is used to the satisfying sound of a bat making solid contact. The sight of a perfectly executed double play pleases him. An outfielder leaving his feet and successfully snaring a line drive brings a smile. Sawyers, in his fourth year as Southeast Missouri State baseball coach, will have to content himself with memories...

Southeast Missouri State athletics director Brady Barke did not mince words Thursday afternoon as he met with assembled media. “It’s a very bad day,” said Barke, Southeast’s A.D. since June 2016. The fear of the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus, prompted the cancellation of the NCAA women’s and men’s basketball tournaments – considered the most lucrative event in college sports...

The only thing spreading more rapidly than the COVID-19 public health threat Thursday was the sporting events and leagues that were ceasing operations for the time being.

Southeast Missouri State’s athletics department is awaiting further word from the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) about what exactly the governing board’s ruling on Wednesday means for the NCAA-bound Redhawks. NCAA president Mark Emmert, in a statement, said the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball tournament will be played next week before largely empty arenas – due to fears about the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus...