FOOTBALL Facebook: Mitchell heading to N.C. State
FAYETTEVILLE - Former Arkansas quarterback Brandon Mitchell wrote on his Facebook page Monday that he has decided to transfer to North Carolina State.
Mitchell, a 6-4, 230-pound senior, and Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said on May 6 that Mitchell elected to transfer after finishing spring No. 2 on the depth chart behind sophomore Brandon Allen.
Mitchell wrote a message on his Facebook page Monday that included the lines, “Today I close the door to the past, just opened the door to future, taking a deep breath, stepping on through and starting this exciting new chapter in my life. Here I come Raleigh, NC. Lets make this ride one to remember for the ages Wolf Pack Nation!”
The move to North Carolina State will reunite Mitchell with former Arkansas strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp. First-year N.C. State Coach Dave Doeren was an assistant to Beilema at Wisconsin for five seasons from 2006-2010, the final three as defensive coordinator, before taking his first head coaching job at Northern Illinois.
The Wolfpack completed spring drills with 6-6 junior Pete Thomas and 6-1 sophomore Manny Stocker listed as co-starters at quarterback.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said in Little Rock last weekend he helped coordinate with Mitchell the announcement he was leaving to help attract attention from other schools.
“Best thing we could do for Brandon is help him through the process and let him see some places that might have an interest and let him finish his career and have his opportunity and wish him the best of luck,” Bielema told the Democrat-Gazette.
Mitchell was eligible to transfer and be eligible immediately based on the NCAA’s graduate transfer rule.
BASEBALL UCA’s Allday, McClanahan honored
Central Arkansas seniors Forrestt Allday and Caleb McClanahan earned first-team All-Southland Conference honors, the league announced Monday.
Allday, a right fielder, is second in the Southland in batting at .383 and leads the league in runs scored (51), on-base percentage (.514) and walks (42). McClanahan, a right-hander from Wynne, is 9-5 with a 2.18 ERA, which is second in the Southland. He leads the league in complete games (five) and is tied for first in victories (9) and second in innings pitched (103 1/3).
Also, senior catcher Michael Marietta (.311, 49 RBI) was named to the Southland second team while junior center fielder Jonathan Davis (.274, 22 stolen bases) was a third-team selection. Senior second baseman Blake Marchal, senior pitcher Jeffery Enloe and junior pitcher Bryce Biggerstaff were honorable mention selections.
The Bears (34-19) will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament at noon Wednesday in Sugar Land, Texas.
GOLF Roth named to Southland academic team
Central Arkansas senior Julia Roth was named to the Southland Conference All-Academic team.
Roth, from Karlskrona, Sweden, has a 3.16 grade-point average in business management. A three-time All-Southland selection and 2013 league golfer of the year, Roth led the conference with a 74.0 stroke average and finished in the top 10 of every tournament she played.
Roth was the only Southland golfer this year to participate in the NCAA regional field as an individual.
Sports, Pages 21 on 05/21/2013