College Sports

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.

After several years of success both on the field and in the classroom, the Three Rivers summer softball camps are experiencing growth in both demand and quality. “They all sold out real fast. I think everybody was tired of being cooped up,” Three Rivers coach Jeff Null said. “I feel like the level of kids that we’ve gotten this year over the past couple of years has gone way up. I think, just a little interested in our program and with it doing well, I think it is starting to show.”...

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.

Following a successful career at Scott City High School, Ram infielder Josh Schmitt recently signed to play at NAIA program Crowley's Ridge in Paragould, Arkansas.

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.”

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. ...

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. Responses are edited for clarity and brevity...

In February 2019, one of Three Rivers men’s basketball’s new signees tweaked his knee as Ashdown, Ark., was in the middle of a state championship run. Lamar Wilkerson, a 6-foot, 4-inch shooting guard, came down wrong during a 28-point win. His coach held him out of the following night’s game against Drew Central, and Ashdown lost by a point on a buzzer-beater...

College basketball coaches don’t have to type Delta, Missouri into their GPS trackers often as they embark on quests for talent. However, they did this spring in wake of an historic season achieved by the Bobcats.

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.”...

Former Jackson High School baseball standout Justice Crosnoe recently signed to play for his remaining three seasons of college baseball with NCAA Division II McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois.

Three Rivers’ Lydell Geffrard is going to Division I. Geffrard announced Wednesday morning that he had signed with Troy University after the redshirt sophomore spent one season with the Raiders. “I would like to thank the man above God himself for blessing me continuously and knowing that if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be in the position I am in right now!” Geffrard announced via Twitter. ...

There’s a small group of former Three Rivers College women basketball players who played between 2012-16 and come back for the Raider Reunion every year. Those from out of town often stay at one former teammate’s house in Poplar Bluff. Just like back in college, they go to Myrtle’s on Saturday morning before a game. ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

The man who gave Three Rivers the Raiders nickname and picked black and gold as the team’s colors is working in a different medium. Bob Cradic set scoring records for the Poplar Bluff High School basketball team and was the program’s first player to earn all-state honors before playing in college. He was a high school basketball coach at Salem when a former teammate called to see if he might be interested in a new job...

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...

Editor's note: This story was published in the Nov. 15, 2003 edition of the Daily American Republic. The DAR enlisted the help of several people close to the Three Rivers program to compile a list of the top games in Raider history. From those games, we came up with the top 10 Raider games of all-time:...