SPORTS LEDGER Established 2006 The April 2026 Page 1B Read More Online at www.thesportsledger.com Love Named UA Women's Basketball Coach
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By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger
it out of the park” with her elevator pitch during the interview process. “She has a well thought out plan in place,” said Byrne. Coach Love is originally from Luxora, Arkansas, and her story about growing up there, leaving to play college basketball, and her coaching journey brought a tear to Byrne’s eye during her introductory press conference. Folks in attendance, including the media, were challenged to look up Luxora. Well, challenge accepted. Luxora is a small town with a population of around 1000 people. It is located just across the state line, and only a few miles away from the Mississippi River. Coach Love grew up playing basketball and was named the 2005 Arkansas Miss Basketball. In 2006 she left the small- town life behind to play college basketball at Jones College.
believes that with her extensive SEC experience, which includes recruiting, Coach Love is the right choice for the Crimson Tide. He noted she has the energy and enthusiasm that Alabama needs to continue growing the women’s basketball program. Byrne added she will have ample resources as well, noting that Alabama has grown the women’s basketball budget by 170 percent over the past six years. Byrne said that marketing efforts will continue to be strong and that the University is working to stand out from the competition. He added that Alabama may not be the place for some student athletes if it is all about money. However, if a player hopes to maximize opportunities, grow as a person, and increase brand awareness, then the Capstone is the place to be.
TUSCALOOSA – The Alabama introduced Pauline Love as the 10th head women's basketball coach of the Crimson Tide during a press conference on Thursday, April 2, 2026. "This is a place with a Championship standard," said Love about the University. "I am incredibly honored to be your head coach." Coach Love said that her program at the Capstone will be built on three pillars, which are Toughness, Togetherness, and Trust. Love added that she University of plans to build a program that will include great players, as well as great people. "We're going to give you a team you can be proud of," she said. Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne was impressed by Coach Love, noting that she “knocked softball team is entering its second week as the nation's top-ranked team. The Mustangs remained No. 1 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball Rankings, which were released on Monday, April 6, 2026. NACC received all 13 first-place votes following another 4-0 week in which it swept conference foe Snead State. The week was a historic one for the Mustangs, who after earning their first No. 1-ranking posted the two- year-old program's 50th win last on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Also freshman pitcher Addie Edwards pitched the
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Pauline Love (center) has been named the Head Coach of the Women's Basketball program at the University of Alabama (UA). She is pictured with Alabama President Dr. Peter J. Mohler (left) and Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne (right).
A year later she joined the women’s basketball program at Southern Mississippi, where she played from 2007- 2010. She also played professionally, joining the WNBA Connecticut Sun
in 2010 and the French Professional League the following year. Coach Love has been assistant coach with five different college programs including three SEC programs: Arkansas (2017-
24), Alabama (2024-25) and Oklahoma (2025-26). This coming season will be her first year as a head coach. “We had a lot of interest in the job,” said Byrne about the women’s
NACC Softball Rank No. 1 The Northeast Alabama Community at No. 4, NACC spent two weeks ranked second
before moving to the No. 1 spot last week following its four-game series sweep of No. 12 Wallace State- Hanceville. NACC has outscored opponents 297-72 this season and leads the NJCAA in team batting average (.414). The Mustangs are also second nationally in fielding percentage (.975) and NACC pitchers are 10th in earned run average (2.02) and third in shutouts (15). Rounding out the NJCAA's Top-5 are No. 2-ranked Northwest Florida State College, No. 3 Florida Southwestern State College, No. 4 Santa Fe College (Florida) and Temple College (Texas).
Submitted Photo
NACC infielder Olivia Acuff
NACC was unranked in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll that was released in January, but the Mustangs debuted at No. 4 in the first in-season poll after opening the season 14-0. After a week at No. 3 followed by another week
program's first no-hitter on Saturday, April 4. The Mustangs are currently 35-1 on the season and have a four- game lead in the Alabama Community College Conference standings thanks to a 16-0 conference record.
Back-to-Back Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the No. 18 green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday, April 11, 2026. He is the fourth player in history to successfully win two consecutive Masters. Photo Courtesy of the Masters
SEC Football Media Days
The Southeastern Conference has announced the appearance schedule for its annual SEC Football Kickoff Media Days, which is set to take place at the Tampa Marriott Water Street and JW Marriott on July 20-23, 2026. This will be the first time the city of Tampa and the state of Florida have hosted the SEC’s preseason media extravaganza. Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta have served as hosts the previous three years. A more detailed daily schedule with full television information, rotational breakdown and student-athletes attending will be available prior to the event in early July. SEC Network will once again bring the four-day event to a national audience. Names below are listed alphabetically by school and not an indicator of actual order of appearance each day. MONDAY, July 20 • Kentucky – Will Stein • Missouri – Eliah Drinkwitz • Oklahoma - Brent Venables • Tennessee – Josh Heupel TUESDAY, July 21 • Auburn – Alex Golesh • Georgia – Kirby Smart • South Carolina – Shane Beamer • Vanderbilt – Clark Lea WEDNESDAY, July 22 • Alabama – Kalen DeBoer • Florida – Jon Sumrall • Ole Miss – Pete Golding • Texas A&M – Mike Elko THURSDAY, July 23 • Arkansas – Ryan Silverfield • LSU – Lane Kiffin • Mississippi State – Jeff Lebby • Texas – Steve Sarkisian
Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Dekalb County Champions
Collinsville Senior Chalina Andres (#3) battles with Geraldine's Mattia Wang (#88) during the opening round of the 2026 DeKalb County Soccer Tournament on Thursday, April 2. The Panthers defeated the Bulldogs 2-1. Collinsville went on to claim a 4-0 victory over Sylvania to earn the program's second straight DeKalb County Soccer Championship. Gio Varquez was named the boy's tournament's MVP. Collinsville also won the Girls County Soccer Title. The Lady Panthers defeated Crossville 1-0 in the Championship. Melanie Cantor was the MVP of the Girls' Tournament. In softball, Plainview defeated Ider 12-0 to win the 2026 DeKalb County Softball Championship on April 11. It was the Lady Bears 10th straight County Softball Title. Plainview's AnnaLee Shrader was named the DeKalb County Tournament MVP.
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