BASEBALL Arkansas hires Flanders
Arkansas has hired Brad Flanders as a volunteer baseball coach.
Flanders, 31, will work primarily with the Razorbacks’ catchers. He replaces Brian Walker, who took the hitting coach job at Wichita State last month.
Flanders, from Smithville, Mo., spent the past two seasons as a volunteer assistant at Saint Louis University, where he worked with Grant Nelson, a catcher taken in the ninth round of the major-league draft earlier this year.
“I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to join Coach Van Horn’s staff,” Flanders said. “I played against one of his Arkansas teams when I was a collegiate player at Missouri and have always had great respect for the way he runs his program.”
Flanders worked four years as a pitching coach at Texarkana Community College under Will Bolt, a former player for Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn when Van Horn was at Nebraska. Bolt is now the Cornhuskers’ associate head coach.
The volunteer coach is an unpaid position, although Van Horn said Flanders can be compensated for working baseball camps and giving private lessons. According to NCAA rules, programs can have only three paid coaches - including the head coach - on staff.
- Matt Jones
Schwanke leaves Hogs program
Willie Schwanke has transferred from Arkansas’ baseball program.
Schwanke, from Frisco, Texas, batted .214 in 31 games as a freshman last season. He started 22 games as an infielder and designated hitter, hitting one home run and driving in five runs.
Schwanke was named The Dallas Morning News offensive player of the year as a senior at Wakeland High School.
Schwanke is expected to transfer to a junior college in Texas, though the school is unknown. He is the third player to transfer this off-season, joining catcher Jean Ramirez and infielder Isaac Hellbusch.
- Matt Jones
Junior Deputy Rangers win regional
The Little Rock Junior Deputy 11-year-old 50/70 All-Stars, the Rangers, went undefeated in the Cal Ripken Southwest Regional in Gulfport, Miss., defeating Mountain Home 3-0 on Monday in the championship game.
Zac White, who pitched in the semifinal and final rounds, was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. White pitched three innings in the title game as the Rangers held Mountain Home to one hit, while Little Rock’s Matthew Gephardt had three of the Rangers’ 12 hits. Warren Heird knocked in two runs. Gephardt also allowed no hits over the last three innings in relief.
Benton was the third Arkansas team to reach the semifinal round in the regional, losing to Junior Deputy 9-4 in seven innings.
The Little Rock Junior Deputy team was managed by Jeff Poe. The Rangers defeated Benton for the Arkansas state championship in late June in Stuttgart to advance to the Regional.
GOLF Badges still available for Western Amateur
Patron badges for the 111th Western Amateur that begins next week at The Alotian Club in Roland can still be purchased online at thewesternamateur.com.
Any badges purchased prior to noon today will be mailed. All badges purchased after noon today will be available for pickup at the will call tent at tournament parking, which will be located at The Ranch on Arkansas 10. Badges can be picked up there during the week of the tournament, too.
The cost for a badge is $100, and all badges are transferable.
BASKETBALL Hanaway joins Lyon’s staff
Kyle Hanaway has joined the Lyon College men’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant, rejoining first-year Scots head coach Chad Tapp, who originally recruited him out of high school to play at Taylor (Ind.) University.
Hanaway was an assistant coach at Crown Point (Ind.) High School in 2012-2013, also working with guard development and scouting.
Hanaway, a four-year starter at Taylor, ranks fourth all-time in assists at the school.
A graduate of Crown Point, Hanaway helped the team to the sectional championship in 2008. He led his team to the state tournament rounds in back-to-back seasons and was a two-time all-conference selection.
MISCELLANEOUS Seven going into SAU Hall of Fame
Southern Arkansas University will induct six former athletes and a former coach into its Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 1 at the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center in Magnolia.
Inductees in the 11th Hall of Fame class include football players David Alpe and Travis Giles, men’s basketball player Donnie Denton, women’s basketball player Kathy Medley Sixbey, baseball player Wayne Glass, basketball/baseball player Johnnie White and men’s tennis coach Baylor Guy.
The induction ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1, and the class will be introduced the following day during halftime of SAU’s football game against Ouachita Baptist.
Sports, Pages 23 on 07/24/2013