Four Former Jaguar Student-Athletes To Be Inducted Into USA Hall Of Fame
The University of South Alabama Athletics department announced that four new members will be added to the USA Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
Henry “Dock” Richardson, Ronnie Powell, Shaun Rothuysen and Virgil Stanescu will be inducted in to the Hall of Fame in November, the time and date is yet to be determined. All four will also be honored on November 15 at halftime of the Jaguars football game against Texas State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Richardson played baseball at USA from 1965-1968, in the schools first four years of competition. He led the team in batting average and RBI for three seasons and stolen bases all four seasons. He had a career high batting average of .371 as a freshman with 12 RBI and 12 stolen bases in just 15 games. As a sophomore he led the team with 11 steals and 10 RBI. As a junior he hit .316 with 17 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Then to close out his Jaguar career, he hit .355 with 21 stolen bases his senior season to help the Jaguars to a 18-9 record.
Ronnie Powell was an assistant coach in baseball from 1987-2006 where he served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. During his time at USA the team went 794-431-1 for a 64.8% winning percentage with 17 NCAA Regional appearances. During that time the Jaguars claimed nine Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championships, four division championships and seven tournament titles. Five other times the Jaguars were one win away from a regional championship and a berth in the College World Series. Six pitchers under coach Powell earned All-American recognition while 35 signed contracts with professional organizations. Six players would go on and advance to the Major Leagues.
Shaun Rothuysen played men’s soccer from 1993-1995 and led the Jags to a 49-15 record, three Sun Belt Conference Championships and its first-ever NCAA play-in game in 1995. He was voted the league’s player of the year twice, was a three-time All-Sun Belt selection and named second-team All-South Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a sophomore. He led the conference, ranked eighth in the Region and 17th in the country in scoring with 40 points in 1993 as the team finished 16-5. He scored 40 points against in 1994 to help the Jags to a 18-2-2 record. As a senior he scored a team-high 45 points to end his career as the fifth highest at USA with 47 goals and 125 points.
Virgil Stanescu played men’s basketball from 1999-2001 and was a First-Team All-Conference selection as a senior. He was named the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player his junior season. In his final two seasons as a Jaguar he led the team in scoring and rebounding while helping the team to a 42-21 record overall and a 24-8 record in conference action during that time. He ranks 12th in school history with 1,126 points and sixth overall with 648 rebounds. He was selected to the SBC All-Tournament team twice and led the Jags to the Western Division Championship and a berth in the NIT his last season as a Jaguar.
The four additions to the Hall of Fame will make 68 former Student-Athletes to be enshrined in the South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame since its inception in 1989.
St. Paul’s Standout Corner Commits To South Alabama
St. Paul’s defensive back Jalen Thompson stretches for a pass during the 2013 season. Photo credit: AL.com | Mike Kittrell
The University of South Alabama, head coach Joey Jones and his staff and players as well as head baseball coach Mark Calvi, his staff and players all made a huge ripple in college football recruiting coverage today. In a surprise to the SEC schools recruiting St. Paul’s senior cornerback Jalen Thompson, none of them received his verbal commitment. Instead Thompson gave his verbal to the Jaguars.
Thompson, a 6′ 170-pound cornerback was heavily recruited by several SEC schools including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Auburn and Alabama. His interest was not limited to SEC schools though. He also had offers from California, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Minnesota, NC State, Northern Illinois and Southern Miss, however he ultimately chose to stay close to home in Mobile to play both of the sports he loves at his hometown school.
Depending on which recruiting service you look at, he is either a 3 or 4 star recruit which is arguably the highest rated player to commit to the Jaguars to date. Though he cannot sign with the Jaguars until February 4, 2015 he claims to be “100%” committed to South Alabama.
As a junior in 2013, Thompson recorded seven interceptions and returned two for touchdowns while also forcing a fumble, recovering a fumble and recording 39 tackles. On the baseball diamond he was a Mobile Press-Register All-Region selection at shortstop while hitting .350 with 35 stolen bases as the St. Paul Saints finished the season with a 29-4 record and a berth in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Thompson expects to move from shortstop to center field for baseball and play cornerback and return kicks for the football team.
Could Jalen be the domino that Coach Jones, Coach Turner and the rest of the staff have been looking for? Could he be the one that opens the floodgates of 3*, 4* and opens the door to potentially getting one of the elite 5* recruits to the Jaguars? Only time will tell.
The recruiting process is not over, Thompson will continue to get interest from the other schools who offered scholarships to him, but the hometown school has the upper hand with the Mobile standout.
“It’s close to home,” Thompson told AL.com. “I think South is a school on the rise, and I really wanted to play football and baseball. I’m excited.”
Congrats Jalen and welcome to #JagNation!
Locke St. John Signs With Detroit Tigers
Locke St. John was selected in the 32nd round of the 2014 MLB First-Year draft by the Detroit Tigers. | Photo by: Brad Puckett usajaguars.com
Locke St. John, a junior, has reportedly signed with the Detroit Tigers after being drafted in the 32nd round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Draft. He was the 970th overall pick and one of 22 pitchers taken by the Tigers in the draft.
St. John finished the season, his only with the Jaguars, with a 6-3 record with a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out 52 batters and walked 29 in 97 1/3 innings pitched. He threw one complete game and combined for a shutout this season.
He is the second left handed pitcher to be selected in the draft in as many seasons.
St. John hails from Pell City, Alabama and came to South Alabama by way of Southern Union Community College in Wadley, Alabama where he pitched 100 1/3 innings as a freshman and had an 8-8 record with a 3.93 ERA with 88 strikeouts and two complete games. In his sophomore season he only pitched 8 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts and three walks with a 3.24 ERA before joining the Jaguars.
Congratulations Locke! We will be cheering you on!
Jaguar Pitcher St. John Drafted By Detroit Tigers In 2014 MLB Draft
Locke St. John, a junior from Pell City, AL, was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. This is the first for the Jaguars since March 25, 2013. He was selected in the 32nd round of the 2014 MLB First-Year draft on Saturday by the Detroit Tigers. | Photo by: Brad Puckett usajaguars.com
South Alabama’s Locke St. John was selected in the 32nd round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers on Saturday with the 970th overall pick and one of 22 pitchers taken by the Tigers in their 40 picks.
St. John, a Pell City, Alabama native, finished the season with a 6-3 record for the Jaguars with a 3.24 ERA in 15 starts. He Struck out 52 batters and walked 29 in 97 1/3 innings pitched. He also pitched one complete game and combined for a shutout this season. He finished tied for sixth in the Sun Belt Conference in wins, seventh in ERA (sixth among pitchers) while his number of innings ranked fifth in the conference.
This is the second consecutive season a Jaguar lefty has been drafted after Kyle Bartsch was taken in the seventh round of last years draft.
St. John said he was humbled and that he and his family has some thinking to do. He also said that, “I know this would not be possible without the great teammates and coaches I have at South Alabama.”
St. John is a junior and would have one more season of eligibility left if he returns to the Jaguars for next season.
UL-Lafayette Set To Host Baseball Regional
Coming off of winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns have earned a top ranking in the polls for the first time in program history and will host the Lafayette Regional in their quest to get to the College World Series.
The Cajuns (53-7) earned their first-ever top ranking in the Baseball America and USA Today polls and regained their top ranking in the Collegiate Baseball ranking, which they held for three weeks earlier this season.
Lafayette holds the national best record and the longest winning streak as they head into the NCAA Tournament with 10 games. Sophomore Blake Trahan was named the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and was named as one of six Louisville Slugger National Players of the Week. His home run against UT-Arlington in the championship game of the SBC Tournament gave the Cajuns a 6-5 win. In the past four games he has gone 7-for-11 with a home run, a double, two triples and 5 RBI.
The Cajuns will open play on Friday, May 30 at 7:00pm against #4 seed Jackson State. They will then face the winner of #2 seed Mississippi State and #3 seed San Diego State who will play at 2:30pm on Friday, May 30.
SBC Baseball Tournament Update
On one side of the bracket, #1 seed UL-Lafayette defeated #4 seed Texas State 11-4 to advance to face the winner between #4 Texas State and #8 UL-Monroe in Game 11 scheduled for Saturday at 11am on ESPN3.
Texas State and UL-Monroe will face off in Game 9 scheduled for 3:00pm on Friday.
In the other side of the bracket #6 seed Troy fell to #2 seed UT-Arlington 7-3 to advance to play in game 12 scheduled for 12:30pm Saturday on ESPN3. They will face the winner of Game 10 between #6 Troy and #3 Arkansas State which is scheduled for 6:30pm on Friday.
Jags Eliminated From SBC Tournament
The South Alabama baseball team was eliminated from the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday after they fell to #3 seeded Arkansas State 4-3 at Eddie Stanky Field.
Jaguar Locke St. John took the loss after throwing 7 2/3 innings where he only allowed one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and two walks. ASU’s Bradley Wallace allowed one earned run on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks to earn the win.
Arkansas State took the lead in the top of the first inning after a leadoff walk to Zach Maggio. He would move to second on a throwing error by St. John in a failed pickoff attempt at first base. Tanner Ring would hit a one-out RBI single up the middle to score Maggio for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, the Jaguars loaded the bases on three consecutive singles by Garrett DeGallier, Bud Collura and Cole Gleason. DeGallier would score when Erik Hindmon reached on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, Davis Knapp would hit a leadoff single to right field. Collura would single with one out then Gleason would single again to load the bases. However Wallace would get Connor Hawthorne to fly out to right field ending the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Jags took the lead after DeGallier reached on a two-base fielding error by the ASU first baseman to lead off the inning. Hawthorne would hit a two-out RBI single to right field to score DeGallier for a 2-1 lead.
ASU would tie the game in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by pinch hitter Derek Birginske. The would then retake the lead 3-2 with an RBI single to center field by Austin Baker and forcing St. John from the game.
The Red Wolves would add an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Stuart Levy would hit a one-out single to right field then advance to second when Cameron Cummings mishandled the ball in the gap. A two-out RBI single to center field by Lucas Feddersen would put them up 4-2 going into the bottom of the ninth.
With one out, DeGallier doubled down the left field line. He would then score the final run of the game on a two-out RBI single to right field by Gleason, but the Jags were unable to push another run across the plate to send it to extra inning.
Cole Gleason went 3-for-5 with one RBI to lead the Jags at the plate. Garrett DeGallier went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Bud Collura had two hits.
The Jags season ends with a 22-33 record overall while Arkansas State (31-26) to Advance.
Jags Baseball Fall In First Round Of SBC Tournament
The #7 seed Jaguars fell to the #2 seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks 8-4 on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Eddie Stanky Field.
Mavericks righty Daniel Milliman (6-0) allowed three unearned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and five walks in the win. USA’s Ben Taylor (3-5) took the loss in 3 2/3 innings while allowing four runs on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Matt Bell threw 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief and allowed just one hit while striking out three with only two walks.
The Mavericks led the Jags 4-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, but would double their lead in the inning after the leadoff hitter would get on base after being hit by a pitch, then moved to second on a bunt single. A walk would load the bases before Travis Sibley delivered a three run double down the left field line. An RBI double would score Sibley to increase the lead to 8-0.
In the top of the sixth, the Jags loaded the bases with two outs after a leadoff walk by Connor Hawthorne. Cameron Cummings would reach base on a fielding error by Sibley followed by Davis Knapp drawing a walk. Drew LaBounty would hit a two-out two-run single down the right field line to drive in Hawthorne and Cummings. DeGallier would double down the left field line to score Knapp and cut the Mavericks lead to 8-3.
In the top of the ninth, the Jags would plate their last run on a two-out RBI single by Hayden Jones.
USA will return to action on Thursday when they face #3 seeded Arkansas State at 12:30pm in an elimination game. ASU fell to #6 seeded Troy in the first round 4-3 in 13 innings prior to the Jagaurs game against UT-Arlington.
At 9:00 AM #5 seed Western Kentucky will face off against #8 seed UL Monroe in an elimination game.
Jags Close Out Regular Season At Troy
USA Baseball begins their final regular-season series this evening at Troy. They get underway at 6pm today, Friday and Saturday. The first two games can be streamed through the Jaguars All-Access. The finale on Sunday will be broadcast by the Sun Belt Network on CSS and WatchESPN.com. It will also be covered on 105.5FM WNSP and WNSP.com.
The Jags (21-29, 10-16) are in the midst of a five game losing streak while Troy (22-29, 9-17) enters after losing six of their last seven games and 10 of its last 12.
The Jags look to stay in the top eight of the Sun Belt Conference standings as only the top eight of the ten conference teams will make the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that will be held at Eddie Stanky Field in Mobile, Alabama.
The two schools split a pair of games to open conference play earlier this season in Mobile.
USA’s James Traylor (1-2) will get his first start of the season in the series opener while the Trojans will start Shane McCain (4-4) for the 14th time this season. Locke St. John (6-2) will start game two while Troy’s Tanner Hicks (2-9) will get the start, he threw a complete-game shutout in the conference opener earlier this season at Eddie Stanky Field. Neither team has announced starters for the series finale.
Campbell Named To All-District Team; Hallford To Watch List; Golf Begin NCAA Play
USA Softball’s Hannah Campbell, a senior, became the first Jaguar softball student-athlete in program history to earn Capital One Academic All-District honors as announced on Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The left-handed pitcher from Satsuma, Alabama earned first-team honors with a 3.47 GPA in Exercise Science which she just received her degree in.
She is currently ranked third in the nation in ERA with a 0.92 mark and walks allowed per seven innings (0.76) to lead the Jaguar pitching staff, which also leads the nation in overall ERA with a 1.28 mark.
She was drafted third overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Draft by the Akron Racers in March and will join them in August to become the first Jaguar softball player to move into the professional level and the first female student-athlete to be drafted professionally in program history.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be chosen later this month.
District 4, the district that Campbell was selected to, includes the states of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
USA Baseball’s Brandon Hallford was named to the 2014 Gregg Olson Award watch list on Tuesday.
The award is named after the former Auburn All-American right-hander and presented by Toolshed Sports is awarded annually to college baseball’s breakout player. Olson became one of the top collegiate players in the nation after an initial season filled with only mixed success then went on to become a two-time All American, a first round draft pick, American League Rookie of the Year and MLB All-Star.
Hallford is one of 80 student-athletes named to the initial watch list which will be narrowed down to a list of semifinalists on May 30. The winner of the award will be named in Omaha, Nebraska during the College World Series held June 15-26.
In 16 appearances this season, he has a 3-2 record with seven saves while striking out 27 with 15 walks in 36 innings pitched. He is tied for third in the Sun Belt Conference in saves on the season as the team enters the final regular-season series of the year.
The South Alabama Men’s golf team begin playing in the NCAA East Regional on Thursday in their second-consecutive NCAA appearance.
Last year Tyler Klava led the Jags at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Baton Rouge as he tied for sixth place individually and won a playoff on the first hole to advance to the NCAA Championship and finish in the top half of the field.
Both Lane Hulse and Blake Kelley tied for 17th place by shooting a 224 while Michael Garretson shot 230 over the three days. They propelled the Jaguars to a sixth place finish in the team standings and just two strokes off of a playoff for the final spot in the national championship.