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PAGE 7 April 2025 E-Edition
Jax State took home a total of six Conference USA postseason awards on Monday, highlighted by Jaron Pierre Jr. being named the Conference USA Player of the Year and Ray Harper being named the Gene Bartow Conference USA Coach of the Year. Mason Nicholson and Quel'Ron House also earned CUSA honors, being named to the All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Teams respectively. Nicholson was tabbed All-Conference Honorable Mention as well. After averaging the fourth most points in all of NCAA Division I basketball with 21.8 points per contest, Pierre was also named First Team All-Conference. On top of his season-long scoring barrage, Pierre also leads Jax State in assists per game with 3.7 and averages 5.3 rebounds per game. Pierre has scored in double figures in 30 of 31 games, 20+ points on 22 occasions and 30+ points five times. His two double-doubles this season have come with 30 points and 10 rebounds on Dec. 2 and 29 points and 10 assists on Dec. 30. Harper takes home the Gene Bartow Conference USA Coach of the Year award after leading Jax State to its sixth season with 20+ wins in Division I program history, five of which have come under Harper. Harper managed to lead a Jax State squad riddled with injuries to a two seed in the Conference USA tournament after being selected to finish eighth by the league's coaches in the Preseason Poll. The Jax State head coach has managed over 150 wins across nine seasons at Jax State and is the program's winningest coach in Division I program history. Nicholson earned both All-Defensive Team and All- Conference Honorable Mention honors after a season that saw the redshirt junior set new career highs in several stats. On Jan. 9 at Western Kentucky, Nicholson powered Jax State to a victory over the Hilltoppers, scoring a career-best 20 points and adding 12 boards. On two separate occasions, Nicholson has finished with five or more blocks in a game, including on Jan. 4 at Kennesaw State (5) and Feb. 22 against UTEP (6). Nicholson averaged 7.7 points and 7.7 rebounds this regular season, leading Jax State in both total rebounds (250) and blocks (52). Nicholson also earned All- Conference USA Honorable Mention Honors last season. Quel'Ron House was a key piece for the Gamecocks after returning from injury, taking on the role as Jax State's second leading scorer in Conference USA play at 8.3 PPG while totaling a team best 58 assists in 17 conference games. Since joining the starting lineup on Jan. 9, House has tallied double-digit points seven times after only accomplishing the feat once in non-conference play. House immediately filled the shoes of Jax State guard Jamar Franklin, who suffered a season ending injury at KSU on Jan. 4, totaling 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. After a pair of low scoring affairs, House picked up the following week, setting a new career high with 19 points against Sam Houston on Jan. 18. He also shot 8-for- 12 from the field for 18 points in a crucial home victory over Liberty on Feb. 1. House finished a perfect 8-for-8 on free throws at Louisiana Tech on Feb. 15, helping lift Jax State to a victory over the Bulldogs. • Player of the Year: Jaron Pierre Jr., JSU • Defensive Player of the Year : Daniel Batcho, LA Tech • Newcomer of the Year: Essam Mostafa, MTSU • Freshman of the Year: Adrian Wooley, Kennesaw St. • Sixth Player of the Year: Taelon Peter, Liberty • Gene Bartow Coach of the Year: Ray Harper, JSU First Team All-Conference Jaron Pierre Jr., Jax State Adrian Wooley, Kennesaw State Jax State lands six on CUSA postseason Basketball Award List
SIDELINE SPORTS VICKERS NAMED AUBURN COACH - Larry Vickers, who has spent the past decade at Norfolk State leading the women’s basketball team, has been named Auburn University's head women’s basketball coach. This season, Vickers led the team to a program-record 30 wins, a perfect conference record and the MEAC regular season and tournament titles. The Spartans, who were undefeated in conference play, won 19 consecutive games entering the NCAA Tournament with the winning streak starting in late December with a victory at Auburn. Read more online at www.thesportsledger.com. MARSHALL COUNTY CHAMPS - The Douglas Eagles recently won the 2025 Marshall County Varsity Softball Tournament, which was played at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville. Douglas defeated Asbury 18-0 in the tournament's opening game and DAR 6-4 in the second game. The Eagles faced and defeated DAR again in the championship game 7-0. Ella Kate Adams was named the Marshall County Tournament MVP. She was joined on the All-tournament team by Chloe Green, Zoe Wright, and Kayley Aguado. LEAVING THE SHIP - Boaz Pirate football coach Jeremy Sullivan has departed the ship after eight season and set sail for Jacksonville High School. The Jacksonville City Schools Board of Education has approved hiring Sullivan as the Golden Eagles next head football coach. Sullivan had a 44-45 record at the helm of the Pirate's program. 2025 FCS KICKOFF CLASSIC - Mercer and UC Davis, two 2024 FCS Quarter-finalists, will meet in the 2025 FCS Kickoff Classic in downtown Montgomery. The Week 0 event is scheduled for Aug. 23, 2025, at the historic Cramton Bowl. Game time, ticket information and television coverage will be announced at a later date. Mercer will make its second appearance in three seasons, having used a swarming defense to knock off North Alabama, 17-7, in a lightning-altered game that opened the 2023 college football season. UC Davis is the first California- based school to play in the FCS Kickoff Classic. Both schools wrapped up historic 2024 campaigns as national seeds in the quarterfinals round of the FCS Playoffs. The fifth-seeded Aggies (11-3) dropped a tough 35-21 contest at fourth-seeded South Dakota, while the seventh-seeded Bears (11-3) fell 31-7 to second-seed North Dakota State. This will be the 11th FCS Kickoff and the eighth played in Montgomery. SE Missouri defeated North Alabama, 37-15 in last year’s game. 700 WINS - Kentucky Softball head coach Rachel Lawson earned her 700th-career win with the Wildcat's 8-0 run-rule win over the Evansville Purple Aces to close out the 2025 pre-conference schedule last month. STEPPING DOWN - Kennesaw State University Women's Golf Coach Erin Thorne, the 2024 ASUN Coach of the Year and ASUN Champion, has elected to step down at the end of the 2025 season. IN-STATE RIVAL SERIES - Separated by less than 25 miles on Interstate 75, Kennesaw State football and Georgia State will play each other in a home-and-home series beginning in 2026.
Oxford's Rachel Garica makes a play against Arab in the Lake City Cup soccer tournament at Sand Mountain Park on March 7, 2025. Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
University of Alabama Head Softball Coach Patrick Murphy earned his 1,300th win as head coach of the Crimson Tide on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, rallying in the seventh inning to defeat North Alabama, 4-2. Murphy is the seventh Division-I coach to earn 1,300 wins at one program and the first to do so entirely within the Southeastern Conference. 1,300 Career Wins
Alabama Women's Basketball Falls in Double Overtime at Maryland
The University of Alabama women's basketball season came to a heartbreaking conclusion on Monday, March 24, 2025, as the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide fell in double overtime at No. 4 seed Maryland, 111-108, in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s Sarah Ashlee Barker was phenomenal, finishing with a school record of 45 points to lead four players in double figures. Barker went 17-of-25 from the floor, 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and 7-of-11 from the charity stripe on her record-setting night. In addition to her scoring record, Barker now holds the school mark for field goals made in a game while she matched the fourth-most points scored in an NCAA Tournament game. Barker’s performance nearly led the Crimson Tide to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1998, as she sparked a 21-4 run through the opening six-plus minutes of the second half to give UA a 62-45 lead in the third quarter. However, Maryland battled back to eventually tie the game and force overtime. In the first overtime period Barker was fouled at the buzzer while attempting a 3-point shot. She stepped up to the line and made all three free throws with just tenths-of-a-second remaining to tie the game and force a second overtime. However the Terrapins outscored the Tide 15-12 in the second bonus period to seal the comeback win. “There's a lot of emotion in the locker room," commented Alabama Head Coach Kristy Curry. "What Sarah Ashlee [Barker] and Aaliyah [Nye] have given [to this program] and Zaay [Green] believed [in this team]. We're really blessed to have been part of her journey. Then Christabel [Ezumah] and JeAnna [Cunningham], my heart hurts for those five kids. They've represented the University of Alabama and their families with such amazing grace, hard work and grit, toughness and gratitude." "It's difficult," added Curry about the Crimson Tide's season ending loss. " We just wish we had another minute or two. Maryland was able to make a play down the stretch and we weren't, but I don't think you understand how much I love and how incredibly proud I am of that group of people in our locker room and how they've represented [Alabama] all year long. They had an amazing season, and I don't want this one day to take away from what they've accomplished during their journey at Alabama. I love them all very much," she said.`
Daniel Batcho, LA Tech Essam Mostafa, MTSU Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston
Second Team All-Conference
Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State Kaden Metheny, Liberty
Jestin Porter, MTSU Otis Frazier III, UTEP Don McHenry, WKU
Third Team All-Conference
Zach Cleveland, Liberty Taelon Peter, Liberty Sean Newman Jr., LA Tech Christian Cook, NM State Peter Filipovity, NM State Jayden Brewer, FIU Mason Nicholson, Jax State Colin Porter, Liberty Amaree Abram, LA Tech Camryn Weston, MTSU Cameron Huefner, Sam Houston Corey Camper Jr., UTEP David Terrell Jr., UTEP Khristian Lander, WKU Tyrone Marshall Jr., WKU Vianney Salatchoum, FIU Mason Nicholson, Jax State Daniel Batcho, LA Tech Corey Camper Jr., UTEP Otis Frazier III, UTEP
All-CUSA Honorable Mention
All-Defensive Team
Alabama Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker (3) shoots a layup against Maryland at Xfinity Center College Park in College Park, MD on Monday, March 24, 2025. She set a school record with 45 points in the game. Photo Courtesy of UA Athletics
All-Freshman Team
Quel'Ron House, Jax State Braedan Lue, Kennesaw State Adrian Wooley, Kennesaw State
Torey Alston, MTSU Julius Thedford, WKU
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