TROCHEZ HAT TRICK POWERS GISH IN EL CLASICO:
Grand Island Men’s Soccer did something last night that they haven’t been able to do since 2018, and that was hoisting the Central Nebraska El Clasico cup, with a 3-0 win over Kearney.
Moises Trochez put the Islanders up 2-0 at halftime with a pair of goals in the first half, completing the hat trick in the 65th minute.
Both teams will take on Lincoln Pius in their next matchup, with Grand Island hosting the Thunderbolts on Thursday, and Kearney hosting them on Saturday.
NEBRASKA BASEBALL FALLS TO OLD BIG 12 RIVAL KANSAS:
Despite overcoming an early four-run deficit, the Huskers’ rally came up short in a wild back-and-forth affair, as Nebraska fell 13-11 to Kansas at Hoglund Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Nebraska (22-8) scored 11 runs on 12 hits with two errors, while Kansas (16-14) totaled 13 runs on 13 hits and an error.
Ty Horn started for the Big Red, lasting 1.2 frames while allowing five runs, one earned, on four hits with two strikeouts.
Nebraska travels to Piscataway N.J., for a three-game conference series this weekend with Rutgers on Friday-Sunday, April 12-14 at Bainton Field. First pitch of Friday’s series opener between the Huskers and the Scarlett Knights is set for 5 p.m. CT.
SEARS EARNS SECOND HONOR OF WEEK:
Senior Brett Sears was named the NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Pitcher of the Week, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Tuesday afternoon. Its in addition to the Big 10 Pitcher of the Week honor that he picked up yesterday
Sears improved to 6-0 this season with a two-hit complete-game shutout vs. Ohio State on Friday night. The complete-game shutout was the first by a Husker since Will Walsh in the Big Ten Tournament last season. Sears held the Buckeyes to just two hits, the fewest in a complete game by a Nebraska pitcher since Matt Waldron against Michigan State in 2019.
DANIELSON ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFF
Kearney High girls basketball head coach Drew Danielson announced his coaching staff this week.
Dave Zimmer as an assistant coach to assist Danielson, and Jamie Kissinger will join the two as a varsity assistant. Kissinger was a standout at the University of San Diego.
Dax VanLengen will lead the JV Team, while UNK standout Elisa Backes will lead the reserves. The freshmen teams will be lead by Karmen Grant and Barb Wegner.
HAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT SEEDING ANNOUNCED, TOURNAMENT STARTS TODAY:
Grand Island earned the #3 seed and Kearney earned the #5 seed in the 2024 HAC Baseball Tournament this week, which starts in Lincoln today.
Kearney will take on #12 seed Lincoln Northeast (1-13) at Noon. The Bearcats will play at Densmore Park Field 2. The winner will take on Fremont at 3PM at Densmore Field 2.
Grand Island earned a first round bye, and will play the winner of #6 Lincoln Southeast and #11 Lincoln High at 3PM Wednesday.
CALAPARI LEAVING KENTUCKY:
John Calipari is officially stepping away from Kentucky after 15 seasons with the program, he announced Tuesday. In a video posted to social media, Calipari said it’s time to step away “completely” from the UK program. He also mentioned another coaching opportunity — presumably to become the next coach at Arkansas.
Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart also released a statement on social media, just minutes after Calipari posted his video to social media,
“We’re appreciative of John Calipari leading our program for the last 15 years, adding to the legacy of championship success at Kentucky,” Barnhart’s statement read. “We’re grateful to John for his many contributions to the University, and our state, both on and off the court. We are working diligently to hire a proven, highly dedicated coach who embraces the importance of this program to our fans and the state of Kentucky.”
WOMENS BASKETBALL COACHING LEGEND VANDERVEER RETIRES:
Tara VanDerveer, the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history, announced her retirement Tuesday night after 38 seasons leading the Stanford women’s team and 45 years overall.
The 70-year-old VanDerveer surpassed Mike Krzyzewski for the wins record in January. The Hall of Famer departs with 1,216 victories at Idaho, Ohio State and Stanford.
“Basketball is the greatest group project there is and I am so incredibly thankful for every person who has supported me and our teams throughout my coaching career,” VanDerveer said in a statement. “I’ve been spoiled to coach the best and brightest at one of the world’s foremost institutions for nearly four decades.”
And as has been the plan for years, top Cardinal assistant Kate Paye is set to take over the program, and Stanford said in a statement that negotiations with Paye are underway. Paye played for VanDerveer from 1991-95 and has coached on her staff for 17 years.
NEBRASKA SENIOR ADMIN EWALD DEPARTS
Doug Ewald, who was the Executive Associate AD and Chief Financial Officer for Husker Athletics, has left the athletic department.
According to a tweet from Mitch Sherman, the Nebraska beat writer for The Athletic, Ewald’s last day was yesterday.
Ewald began his role as Nebraska’s Executive Associate Athletic Director and Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2021. Ewald joined the Huskers from his previous position as Vice Chancellor for Business, Finance and Business Development at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
CONNELLY NAMED USHL FORWARD OF THE WEEK:
Tri-City Storm forward Trevor Connelly has been named the USHL Forward of the Week for the penultimate week of the 2023-2024 regular season following his performance in the Storm’s weekend series against the Sioux Falls Stampede at the Viaero Center last weekend. This is the second weekly award of Connelly’s career.
Connelly, 18, of Tustin, California, scored four goals, and recorded four assists, for eight total points in two games played this weekend for the Storm. He became the tenth player in organizational history to record a thirty-goal season during Saturday night’s 6-3 win for Tri-City over Sioux Falls.
NDSU’S MORGAN COMMITS TO NEBRASKETBALL:
Six players left Nebraska for the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason. The Huskers finally made their first roster addition on Monday.
North Dakota State big man Andrew Morgan posted on social media that he committed to head coach Fred Hoiberg and NU. The 6-foot-10, 245-pound junior chose Nebraska over Minnesota.
Morgan’s commitment comes a few days after taking an impromptu visit to Lincoln on Wednesday, just before the start of the NCAA recruiting dead period. The Waseca, Minnesota, native also hosted Hoiberg and Co. for an in-home visit last Monday night.
KEARNEY TENNIS BLANKS PANHANDLE OPPONENTS:
Kearney High girls tennis defeated not only the winds yesterday, but also defeated Scottsbluff 13-0 and Gering 13-0 yesterday.
The Bearcats won nine of their matches in straight sets.
The Bearcat tennis teams have their home invite Thursday at Harmon Park.
NE HS HOF NOMINATION INCLUDE 2 FROM CENTRAL NEBRASKA:
Twelve athletes, five coaches, an official and a contributor will be inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame at its annual induction ceremony.
The Hall of Fame will also honor a family, two dominant dynasties, a golden anniversary team, a silver anniversary team, a great moment and an inspirational athlete during its induction ceremony on Sept. 29 at Lincoln East High School.
Inductees include Sargent’s Casey Beran, A three-sport star in the mid 90swho earned all-state honors in football, he also averaged a double-double in basketball and set the school record in the shot put. At Chadron State, Beran was a two-time Division II All-American defensive end and conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Kearney’s Jeff Wolf is also set to be inducted. A basketball official for 39 years and a football referee for 26 seasons, he was selected to work the finals in all 20 state basketball tournaments he officiated. He has also refereed five state championship football games. After retiring, he continues to work as an evaluator and mentor.
UNK WRESTLING PLACES 12 ON ALL AMERICAN ACADEMIC LISTS:
Twelve members of the Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team have earned Division II Scholar All-American honors from National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).
In order for a student-athlete to qualify, he must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale, with that benchmark at 3.25 for those who qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships and a 3.00 for those who were All-Americans at the NCAA’s. Additionally, a student-athlete must have competed on four dates of competition. This year, a total of 363 individuals from 61 institutions were honored.
National runner up and senior Nick James (Kearney) is honored for the fourth time with All-Americans Billy Higgins (Omaha Skutt) and Crew Howard (Creston, Ia.) qualifying for the third and second times, respectively.
KGFW Sports Schedule:
- Sports Nightly, 6PM – 8PM
