Our No.2 Vanderbilt baseball team squares off with Ohio State tonight at the Hawk at 6. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

We are the SEC regular season and tournament champions for the first time since our great David Price-led 2007 team. We are 49-10 overall. Ohio State, winners of the Big Ten Tournament, 3-1 over Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha last Sunday, is 35-26.

Probable starters are RHP Drake Fellows for us vs RHP Garrett Burhenn for them. Drake is coming off a spectacular performance in the 3rd round of the SEC Tournament where he shutout a potent hitting Mississippi State team over 6 innings, giving up only 5 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 8. It was a warrior-like performance from our junior. We won the game 1-0 over Mississippi State’s vaunted left hander Ethan Small. Drake is now 11-0 with a 4.05 ERA. Burhenn is 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA, so he’ll be challenging.

Right fielder JJ Bleday has been named one of the 4 finalists for the 42nd Golden Spikes Award. The award honors the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The other 3 finalists are Adley Rutschman of Oregon State, Noah Song of Navy and Andrew Vaughn of California. Vaughn won the award last year. Bleday leads the nation in home runs with 26 and slugging percentage at .752, a spectacular percentage. Cody Bellinger of the Dodgers leads MLB with a .754 slugging % and has hit 20 homers and driven in 52. So JJ is right there with the best in the majors. JJ and Ethan Paul lead the team and the SEC in RBIs with 67 in 59 games. That’s sensational.

The winner of the Golden Spikes will be announced Thursday, June 13th at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha during “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN2 prior to the Detroit Tigers-KC Royals game. Hoping the great JJ can capture this coveted award.

So huge one tonight. Drake needs to be the bulldog he always is, we need to defend well, and hit with runners in scoring position. A couple of long ones wouldn’t hurt either.

The winner of tonight’s game plays the winner of No.2 seed Indiana State (41-16) and No.3 McNeese (35-24) at 6 PM Saturday. The loser will play the loser of game 1 at noon Saturday. Indiana State and McNeese will square off at noon today.

Stack adds another to ‘19 haul

Coach Jerry Stackhouse added another player to his impressive 2019 class by getting a commitment from Croatian big man Oton Jankovic.

Oton is 6’9”, 215 and an 88 3 star. Watched Oton’s tape, he’s a highly skilled player. Typical European with superb fundamentals, shooting, both inside and beyond the arc, boxing out on rebounding, setting screens and passing. Awesome kid too. Read his interview with Vandysports and he’s super. Wants to get better at his rebounding, but seems like a hard working, focused young guy who excels in the classroom and is serious about both academics and basketball. He’s ecstatic to play for Coach Stackhouse. He’s a good scorer inside and can stroke it from distance. He’ll add strength in the weight room, so his rebounding should be good next season. Oton played at prestigious Montverde Academy in Florida last year and was pursued by St. Louis, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin also.

Oton joins 93 4 star power forward Dylan Disu ( 6’8”, 185, Plugerville, Texas), 89 3 star point guard Scotty Pippen Jr (6’0”, 160, Sierra Canyon, California), 88 3 star small forward Kenyon Martin (6’6”, 195, Sierra Canyon, CA.), 87 3 star small forward Jordan Wright (6’6”, 200, Baton Rouge, LA.) and 98 4 star transfer shooting guard D.J. Harvey (6’6” 185). D.J. transferred to us from Notre Dame and will have to sit out the 2019-20 season but will be eligible for the 2020-21 season. He will have 2 years to play for us. He is a tremendous shooter and overall player.

So Stack is setting us up for a very bright future. I think we can be highly competitive next season and we’ll be a hard-nosed, lunch pale like team that will make you work to score. If we can score the ball with Saben, Aaron and Ejike and some of the other guys along with our new players, we could be dangerous. Like the way we look in the years to come and Stack is in on some awesome players for 2020.

Football

We will open the season on Saturday, August 31st @ Vanderbilt Stadium at 6:30 PM CT versus the Georgia Bulldogs. The game will be televised by the SEC Network. Georgia will most likely be a top 5 to 7 team in the country, but I like the players Coach Mason has added in recruiting and transfers. We need Deuce Wallace or Riley Neal to step up at quarterback. If we can get excellent play from one or both of those guys, though we’ll need to go with 1 quarterback in my opinion, if you have 2 quarterbacks you have no quarterback as the old saying goes, we have the weapons around the qb in Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Kalija Lipscomb, Jared Pinkney and a slew of wide receivers to make explosive plays. We’ve got some other pretty solid running backs. I’m really high on Ja’Veon Marlow. He can be exceptional in the backfield. I like Amir Abdul-Rahman, he will be a sensational wide receiver, and we’ll have former 4 star Cam Johnson back at wide receiver who was out with an injury most of last season and is a superb talent, and the awesome C.J. Bolar. We’ll have weaponry. The line needs to shape up this summer and we need a 10 man rotation, but there is talent led by left tackle Devin Cochran (6’7”, 315). There is plenty of size and physicality up front. Coach Cameron Norcross is a very good developer of the O line, so I expect us to be strong up front. Defense will have some new faces, but experience as well. I really like our secondary and defensive front though. Linebacker has talent led by Dimitri Moore, Caleb Peart and Alston Orji. We’ve got some good players at LB, and we’re loaded in the defensive backfield. Coach Mason has added a lot of players to the defensive front, so I expect us to be pretty good in the trenches too.

Will have more on football as the summer progresses.

The Golden State Warriors have their sights set on a 4th Lawrence O’Brien Trophy in 5 years. Standing in the way are Kawhi Leonard and a very talented Toronto Raptors team.

Golden State swept Portland in 4 games in the Western Conference Finals and has had an extensive rest. Kevin Durant could be out for the series with a strained calf, an injury that kept now Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson out for almost the entire season last year for the Toronto Blue Jays, though he had several of them. Durant could return at some point, but he is definitely out for the first 2 games in Toronto. DeMarcus Cousins, who came back in January after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon before the start of the 2017-18 season, is questionable with a torn quad he suffered in the Warriors first playoff series. Toronto has the home court advantage. The first 2 will be in Toronto, the next 2 in Golden State, then 1 in Toronto, 1 in Golden State, and, if necessary, game 7 in Toronto.

After sinking a buzzer beating corner 3 that hit the side of the rim bounced up above the rim and came down through the net to help his team win their series against the 76ers in the conference semifinals, Leonard dominated the Milwaukee Bucks leading his team to a 4-2 series victor. He was by far the best player on the court averaging 29.8 points and 9.5 rebounds and thoroughly outplayed presumptive NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who looked lost against a terrific Raptors D that collapsed on him every time he tried to get in the lane and score. Kawhi played a lot of defense on Antetokounmpo and was exceptional. He’s an elite defender, an elite all around player.

On the other side, Steph Curry has been spectacular in the Warriors last 6 playoff games averaging 34 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. He was catching some heat earlier in the playoffs for his foul trouble and his disappearing act in some of the earlier games. That just ignited the great Curry. And Draymond Green has been just as superb in those 6 games averaging 13.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Klay Thompson has been pretty good, and I expect him to step it up against the Raptors.

TV

Game 1 Thursday @Toronto 8 PM CT, ABC

Game 2 Sunday @Toronto 7 PMN CT ABC

Game 3 @GS Wednesday, June 5, 8 PM CT ABC

Game 4, @GS, Friday, June 7, 8 PM CT ABC

*Game 5 @Toronto Monday, June 10, 8 PM CT ABC

*Game 6, Thursday, June 13, 8 PM CT ABC

*Game 7, @ Toronto, Sunday, June 16, 7 PM CT ABC

*If necessary

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Prediction

It’s hard to go against Leonard, he’s playing the best basketball in the NBA right now, it’s historically good quite frankly. Toronto has the home court and have studs around Leonard in Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Fred Van Vleet, Serge Ibaka, and an amazing bench player in Norman Powell. That’s a ton of star power.

Despite that, I trust the Dubs. They prove it time and time again every time they are doubted. I would argue that they are a better team overall without Kevin Durant. Draymond Green told him that when they got into an intense argument back in January. Of course, Green was suspended for a game, and the prima donna Durant, who’s been a malcontent for a while now, came away unscathed. While the Raptors are a terrific team, I’m taking Steph and the Dubs to win their 4th NBA championship in 5 years.

Golden Stata in 6

44th Memorial Tournament prediction

Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin Ohio, 7,392 yards, par 72

Jack Nicklaus design

Defending champion: Bryson DeChambeau

Weather, questionable tomorrow and chances of rain and t storms throughout the weekend. High’s in the mid to high 70’s, wind anywhere from 8-15 tomorrow, 6-8 Friday and Saturday, and 8-15 on Sunday. Hopefully, the weather will not be a problem because it’s an awesome field as many of the top players in the world compete in this major like event to win Jack’s tournament and hone their games for the U.S. Open in 2 weeks at Pebble Beach. Tiger Woods, a 5 time winner, is playing, along with Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Justin Thomas and many other high caliber players. Super field.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 1:30-5 PM CT Golf Channel,

Saturday, 11:30 AM-1:45 PM CT, Golf Channel, 2-5 PM CT, CBS,

Sunday, 11 AM-1:15 PM CT, Golf Channel, 1:30-5 PM CT, CBS.

Prediction

I was thinking Tony Finau all week, he’s been playing well, finished 2nd last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, and finished tied 13th last year at the Memorial. But after some further thought, I’m going to go a different route. This 33 year old from Inverness, Scotland shot a 65 last Sunday at Colonial, and finished tied for 8th. He’s a pretty good closer, better than Finau. I like his chances in the Open Championship July 18-21 at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland. I’ll take him at Jack’s tournament.

Russell Knox

Philip Clarke with a phenomenally clutch line drive single up the middle scoring Austin Martin from 3rd as the No.2 ranked Commodores won both the SEC regular season title and the SEC Championship with an 11-10 walk off victory over the Ole Miss Rebels.

Philip hit the first pitch he saw from Ole Miss reliever Ryan Olenek and drove it on a line right up the middle. It was a no doubter.

So many heroes. Harrison Ray with 3 doubles and a spectacular play at 2nd to get a crucial out late in the game. Austin Martin with a couple of amazing catches on pop flies that looked very difficult. The second one he was falling on his back, hit the turf hard and still made the play. Jake Eder came in an gave us great middle relief, and Tyler Brown was his usual stellar self in 3 innings of no run work. Just an amazing effort by our team. We finish the season at 50-10 and now wait for the announcement tomorrow at 11AM CT on ESPNU on what seed we’ll be and who will be hosting at the Hawk for the NCAA Regional this coming weekend.

Just amazing perseverance and fortitude by our baseball team. Down 6-0, then 9-1 early, we kept fighting back. Pat DeMarco with a huge 3 run shot to cut the lead to 9-8 in the 4th.

Spectacular stuff from this elite baseball team. The postseason couldn’t more exciting coming up. D1 Baseball has us as a No.2 seed and UCLA at No.1. I don’t know how we can’t be the No.1 overall seed with this resume, but whatever. We’ll show up wherever the committee puts us. Just love the spirit and toughness mentality on this team. What a group. Now it gets really fun. Will let you know where we are tomorrow as soon as it’s announced.

Men’s Golf is in 6th place after day 3 at the NCAA Championships at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville. Played well today shooting -`1 as a team. Reid Davenport shot -2 and Will Gordon shot -1. Good stuff from the team. We now advance to the 15 team fourth round tomorrow with the top 8 making the Match play which begins Tuesday. Great stuff from Coach Scott Limbaugh and the team.

Kumar Rocker takes the hill for our No.2 Vanderbilt Commodores (47-10) vs.  No.16 LSU (37-23) Game time is approximately 3:30 PM CT or later on the SEC Network with Tom Hart, Kyle Parkinson and Chris Burke on the call, great crew.

LSU is red hot after a 4-3 victory over Auburn Thursday scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th, then blasting MS. State last night 12-2. They have won the SEC Tournament 12 times, so they’re extremely dangerous. They HAVE used a lot of pitchers though. I looked at the 4 games they’ve played, their only loss is to State, 6-5 in 17 innings Wednesday Night, and the best guesstimate I can come up with is righty Devin Fontenot. Fontenot is 5-1 with a 3.79 ERA. In 40.1 innings, he has walked 20 and struck out 39. He is a sophomore.

Kumar, a freshman, is 7-5 with a 4.32 ERA, but has been terrific since just past the halfway mark of the season. In 66.2 innings pitched, he has issued just 15 walks and struck out 68. Kumar can hit mid 90’s and throws a terrific slider and change up. Feel good about our star freshman on the hill. It’s going to be tough, this team has a rich tradition at the tournament, but their pitching staff is pretty thin right now, so that works to our advantage. The winner plays the Georgia-Ole Miss winner tomorrow at 2 PM CT on ESPN2. Should be quite a classic today. Ole Miss is leading UGA, 5-3 in the bottom of the 6th.

Dansby Swanson had a spectacular night last night in the Braves 5-2 victory over the Cardinals. Dans homered to left in the top of the 6th and homered in the 8th, 410 feet over the central field wall. It was phenomenal. Dans now has 10 homers and 35 RBIs. He’s hitting .370 in his last 7 days. The man is getting hot. The Braves are playing very well at 29-23 and 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies which are 30-21. Braves at Cards tonight at 6:15 on FOX.

Walker Buehler pitched another gem last night in another Dodgers victory, this one 10-2 over the Pirates. Walker went 6, gave up 5 hits, 1 earned run, with 1 walk and 6 K’s. His 97-98 MPH heat was cookin, and he combined that with an excellent change up and slider. Walker threw 99 pitches with 74 for strikes against 23 balls, more than a 3:1 strike to ball ratio. Walk is now 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning) which is phenomenal. Anything under 1.10 is excellent. Walk has walked 11 and struck out 52. Just under a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio. The Dodgers are 33-18, and 6 games ahead of the Padres, which are 27-24.

Just some seriously good stuff from Dans and Walk. Bryan Reynolds had a hit last night for the Pirates in their loss to Walker and the Dodgers. He’s having an awesome year hitting .312. The Pirates are playing well at 25-23 and 3 1/2 back of the Cubs and 2 back of the Brewers in the NL Central.

Tony got in the game, but didn’t hit last night for the ‘Stros. Tony is hitting .239, but getting better. He’s an awesome player. The Stros defeated the Red Sox, 4-3. The Astros are 34-18 and 7 up on the Rangers.

David Price on the mound tonight at Houston. David is 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, also excellent. David is so accurate. In 41 innings of work, Dave has walked only 10 and K’d 46, almost a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio, which is also superb. David is coming off a 12-2 victory over Toronto Monday Night. The Red Sox are 27-24 in third, 6 back of the Yankees (32-17). The Rays are 2nd at 29-19. David faces Brad Peacock of the Astros tonight at 6:15. David will face Brad Peacock of the Astros who is 5-2 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, so he’s a tough opponent. Trust Dave though. 

Mike Minor on the hill for the Texas Rangers tonight. Mike is having an awesome season with a 5-3 record, a 2.64 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 64.2 innings, Mike has walked 20 and K’d 67. He’s coming off a 10-9 victory over Seattle in which he actually pitched well before the bullpen kind of struggled. Mike got the victory going 6, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs, both earned, with 1 walk and 11 K’s. Mike has been spectacular this season. He’s hitting 95 with his fastball and his curve and changeup are close out pitches as well as his fastball. Mike very accurate. The Rangers are playing well at 25-23, 7 back of the Astros.Mike faces Tyler Skaggs and the LA Angels tonight. Skaggs is 4-4 with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.

Sonny Gray pitches Monday versus the Pirates at home. Sonny had an awesome outing @ the very good Brewers Tuesday night going 6, giving up 5 hits, 0 runs, with 4 walks and 9 K’s in the Reds’ 3-0 victory. Sonny moved to 1-4 on the season, with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He pitched well Tuesday and that’s a lot to build on. Sonny has walked 20 and struck out 57. If he can keep his control in good shape, Sonny will have an excellent season. The Reds are 23-27, but playing pretty well lately and only 6 1/2 back of the Cubs in the NL Central.

Our No.4 Men’s Golf team is presently in 13th place after finishing day 2 at even par as a team. We had a tough day yesterday at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark, shooting +19, but we came back today and played well. Harrison Ott shot -1, 71, Patrick Martin and John Augenstein shot even par 72, and Will Gordon shot +1 73.

The top 15 teams after round 3 tomorrow qualify for the final round of stroke play on Monday. After round 4, the top 8 teams compete in match play which begins Tuesday and the championship match is Wednesday. Got our work cut out for us, but fought hard today and had a good day. There are several teams left on the course including several behind us. So need another solid day tomorrow. No.1 Oklahoma State leads at -10. 

The 123rd edition of the French Open played at Roland Garros commences tomorrow. The Big Three Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the heavyweights in the men’s field. On the women’s side, Serena is playing, but I don’t consider her a favorite. I’ll tell you whom I like in the women’s side shortly.

The Men’s and Women’s Final will both be televised by NBC, with the women’s side starting Saturday, June 8th at 7 AM CT. on NBC The Men’s Final will commence Sunday, June 9th at 8 AM CT on NBC.

Men’s Semifinals

I like Rafa over Fed on the bottom half of the draw in straight sets

Nadal over Federer 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

I’ll take Djoker in the other semifinal over Juan Martin del Potro

Djokovic over Del Potro 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

Men’s Final

It’s hard to go against the 32 year old Manacor Balaeric Islands, Spain. This is a tough out in Djoker though. Rafa has won 11 French Opens and 17 majors, and turns 33 on June 3rd. Djoker, the 32 year old (turned 32 on May 22nd) from Belgrade, Serbia has won the last 3 slams, Wimbledon, the U.S. and the Australian. He has 15 slams to his credit and has won the Australian 7 times. His only victory at Roland Garros is in 2016, where he defeated a struggling Nadal, at the time, in the quarters. Both are still chasing Roger Federer’s all time record of 20 Grand Slam titles. Rafa defeated Djoker in the Italian Open final 2 weeks ago, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. I like Rafa to emerge victorious for the 12th time at Roland Garros, but with a lot of resistance from Djoker.

Nadal over Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5

Women’s Final

I like 27 year old Karolina Pliskova, who just defeated Johanna Konta of Australia to capture the Italian Open championship 2 weeks ago, to finally break through and win her first Slam. I see the young Czech coming through in the clutch here after reaching the semis of the Australian this year already, reaching the semis at the French in 2017, and the final of the U.S.Open in 2016. She has a very good serve and is a consistent player on the court. She’s very steady with her ground strokes, has an excellent serve and has a good, serene mentality on the court. I’ll take Karolina over a compatriot of hers from the Czech Republic. 29 year old Petra Kvitova, who has won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014. This will be a battle. I like Pliskovato to break through in Paris..

Karolina Pliskova over Petra Kvitova 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

JJ Bleday was 5 for 5 with an RBI, the great Stephen Scott, Player of the week in the SEC last week, was 3 for 5 with a homer and 5 Ribeyes, Pat DeMarco was 3 for 5 with a ribbie and Philip Clarke was 2 for 5 with an RBI as the No.2 Commodores pounded out 16 hits and Mason Hickman was spectacular on the mound in our 11-1 victory over Auburn last night at the Hoover Met.

JJ raised his average to .361 and now has 25 homers and 65 RBIs. Stephen, who’s been on fire in the past week, is now hitting .343 with 11 homers and 50 Ribeyes. Philip is now hitting .318 with 6 homers and 60 RBIs, and Pat is at .297 with 4 homers and 35 RBIs. Austin Martin was 1 for 5 with 2 runs scored and his 14th stolen base of the season in 19 attempts. Austin is now hitting .427. Harrison Ray stole his 16th base in 19 attempts and made a phenomenal leaping catch on a sinking line drive headed for right central field. Ty Duvall was 1 for 4 with 3 Ribbies. We are now hitting .320 as a team. We ,moved to 46-10 with the victory and play No.3 (rank nationally) Mississippi State tonight in the nightcap at 8 on the SEC Network. State defeated us in a heckuva Super Regional series last season, so we need to return the favor tonight.

Our defense was superb. We are now fielding at a .983 clip, best in the SEC and 8th best in the country. Mason was awesome, going 6 innings, giving up just 2 hits, 1 earned, with 3 walks and 9 K’s. Mason moved to 7-0 with a 2.20 ERA. Mason has walked only 18 and struck out 98, a better than 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio, which is spectacular. Jake Eder pitched pretty well in the last 2 innings allowing no hits, 0 runs with 2 walks and a K. We’ll need Jake some more, so I’m glad he looks like he’s getting his early season form back. Just needs to be accurate and then he’s a very effective pitcher with his 95-96 MPH fastball.

State defeated LSU, 6-5 in 17 innings last night. It ended very late. I was not awake for that. But I saw their great center fielder Jake Mangum hit. He was 2 for 5 and is now hitting .373. He has set the all time national record for hits. He’s a phenomenal player. They hit .319 as a team, their team ERA is 3.48 and they have a .973 fielding % team. So, we hit it a little better and field better, but they’ve got a little better team ERA than we have, so Drake Fellows and the bullpen will have to step up tonight. Our team ERA is 3.84. Drake is 10-0 but has a higher ERA at 4.34. We’ll need a stellar effort from him and the pen tonight, we’ll have to be sharp in the field and we need to hit the ball with runners in scoring position. State is No.3 in the country for a reason, so we have our hands full with a terrific team, but so are we, so we’ve got a good shot. State is 46-11. No.5 Arkansas (41-15) plays No.7 Georgia (43-14) in the other winner’s bracket game. First pitch for that game is at 4:30 PM CT. A&M is playing Ole Miss right now. It’s 0-0 in the top of the 4th. Auburn plays LSU at 1 PM CT today.

MLB guys

Dansby Swanson

2 for 5 last night with his 8th homer, a 3 run shot in the 2nd, and his 31,32nd and 33rd RBIs. Braves defeated the Giants 9-2 to move to 27-23 and 1 1/2 games back of the NL East leading Phillies (28-21).

Tony Kemp

Was 1 for 3 last night with his 2nd double of the season and is now hitting .250. Tony has really gotten his average up in the last 10 days. He was hitting under .200 a week and a half ago. The Stros lost to the Chixox, and dropped to 33-17, but still lead the AL West by 7 1/2 over the Rangers.

Bryan Reynolds

Was 0 for 3 but had a walk and an RBI for the Pirates last night in a 9-3 loss to the Rockies. Pirates now 24-22 and 4 1/2 back of the Cubs in the NL Central. Bryan is hitting .313 this season. Playing very well and has become a fixture in left field.

Curt Casali

Hitting .269 playing backup catcher for the Reds. Curt caught Sonny’s stellar game on Monday Night. Curt does an awesome job for the Reds as the backup catcher.

Sonny Gray

Sonny went 6, gave up 5 hits, 0 runs with 4 walks and 9 K’s in the Reds 3-0 victory over the Brewers at Milwaukee. Sonny threw 103 pitches with 58 for strikes against 45 balls. He pitched a spectacular game. Sonny moved to 1-4 on the season with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP (Walks plus hits per inning, key stat).Sonny will pitch next Monday Night against the Pirates at home. The Reds are 22-27 and 8 back of the Cubs in the NL Central. Playing a lot better than they did last year. Much improved team.

Walker Buehler

Walker lost 4-0 to the Reds last weekend, but went 6, gave up 7 hits, but only 1 earned run with 0 walks and 7 K’s. Walk is now 4-1 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP, which is outstanding. He’s walked 10 and struck out 46. Not only is he a flame thrower getting up anywhere from 97-99, but he’s also a strike thrower. Pretty outstanding combination for a pitcher. The Dodgers are 32-18 and lead the NL West by 6 games over the Padres. Walker pitches next tomorrow night (Friday) @ the Pirates

Mike Minor

Mike earned his 5th victory of the season going 6, giving up 6 hits, 2 earned, with 1 walk and 11 K’s. He ‘s now 5-3 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The Rangers’ bullpen almost gave it away, but held on for a 10-9 victory over Seattle. The Rangers are having a good season at 24-23 and 7 1/2 back of the ‘Stros. Like this Rangers team. Mike pitches next on Saturday @ the LA Angels.

David Price

David had an awesome game Monday Night in his return from the DL with elbow tightness. In a 12-2 Red Sox victory over Toronto at Toronto. David went 5, gave up 3 hits 2 runs with 0 earned, 0 walks and 4 K’s. He threw 67 pitches with 48 of them for strikes against 19 balls, which is terrific. The Red Sox had a pitch count on him due to protecting his elbow. David is now 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has walked 10 and struck out 46. David is another extremely accurate pitcher who is hitting 94-95 with his fastball The Red Sox have been coming on lately after a very slow start and are now 26-23 and 5 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the AL East. David pitches again Saturday@ Houston. It’s the 6:15 PM CT game and will be televised by FOX. The Braves are also playing @ St. Louis, which will also be televised by FOX at 6:15 PM, so we’ll probably get the Braves, but I’ll give you a report on all our guys the first of next week. Thanks.

I’m going to go with the chalk here. I like Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi State as the best 4 teams.

Semifinal game 1, Saturday noon CT, SEC Network

No.1 seed Vanderbilt vs. No.4 Mississippi State

The starting 8 for Vanderbilt is the best hitting team in the country right now. They’ve hit at a .316 clip and right fielder JJ Bleday led the conference and the country with 25 home runs. He was named SEC player of the year on Monday. Third baseman Austin Martin hit .432 this season to lead the SEC and was second nationally. He was also an All SEC player. Catcher Philip Clarke was a hitting machine as well hitting .323 and drove in 59 runs. Shortstop Ethan Paul hit .324 and drove in 63 runs. Bleday and Paul went back to back homers on a Sunday a week and a half ago in the top of the 9th inning against South Carolina to clinch that game. They did the same thing last Saturday in the final game of the regular season at Kentucky in the top of the 9th to clinch that game as well. This team is a hitting machine. But pitching can be a concern at times. The starters are pretty solid, but the bullpen, particularly the left handed arms can be wild and inaccurate. Mississippi State has the great Jake Magnum, who hit over .350 this season and is an outstanding baseball player in the outfield.

While Vanderbilt’s hitting is sensational, and the defense at a .982 percentage leads the nation, the pitching concerns me as the postseason matriculates. But I like the Commodores here.

Vanderbilt 5, State 4

Semifinal 2, No.2 Arkansas versus No.3 Georgia 4 PM CT SEC Network

I really like Georgia’s pitching. I’ll take the Dawgs over an outstanding top 10 Arkansas team that is coming back from a final appearance in the CWS where only a dropped pop fly kept them from winning it all. Pretty bullish on Georgia’s pitching though.

Georgia 4, Arkansas 2

Championship game, Sunday, 2 PM CT, ESPN2

I’m going to take the Vanderbilt Commodores to win the SEC Championship in a battle with the Dawgs. Just think Vanderbilt has the best team in the conference and while pitching is a concern at times, there are excellent arms on this team and closer Tyler Brown is a stud with 13 saves. I’ll take the Commodores.

Vanderbilt 4, Georgia 3

After an extremely successful regular season, our No.2 Vanderbilt Commodores begin the postseason and the SEC Tournament today at 4:30 PM CT versus the 33-23 Auburn Tigers, a 5-3 victor yesterday over the Tennessee Vols.

We finished the season at 45-10 and 23-7 in the conference and won the SEC. We won 18 of our last 19 games. JJ Bleday was named SEC player of the year after his phenomenal season in which he led the country with 25 home runs. Austin Martin, who hit .432 this season, leading the conference and second nationally, was a first team All-SEC selection also, as were catcher Philip Clarke and closer Tyler Brown, who led the SEC with 13 saves. 

Ethan Paul was selected as a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which recognizes the nation’s top shortstop. Philip was selected as a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, awarded to the nation’s top catcher. Austin and Julian Infante were selected on the All-SEC defensive team and Kumar Rocker was selected on the All-SEC freshmen team.

So the accolades have poured in. Still, we have a lot of work ahead of us in our pursuit for a trip to Omaha and a chance to win it all.

It starts today with Drake Fellows on the mound. Drake is 9-0 with a 4+ ERA right now, so he’s had some trouble recently giving up runs, but some of it has been not as solid defense behind him. Drake’s a warrior, he’ll be ready. Auburn has not yet announced their pitcher today.

Awesome season, but plenty of work left starting today.

The women’s golf team finished 24th at the NCAA Championships. Still had a super season and there is a lot of young talent returning.

Men’s Golf tees it up on Friday at the NCAA Championships at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Will keep you up to date on the men.

Big day for the team as we start our postseason journey. Will keep you abreast on all the action in the upcoming days.

Brooks Koepka sank his 6 foot par putt on 18 after scrambling out of a downhill lie in the rough just above the sand trap at Bethpage Black on his second shot. Vintage Koepka. He’s the best frontrunner in sports. He entered Sunday’s 101st PGA Championship with a 7 shot lead, but showed some signs of shakiness, however he maintained his poise and mental toughness to shoot a hard earned 74, 4 over, on a highly formidable course with winds gusting up to 30, and capturing the Wanamaker Trophy by 2 shots over Dustin Johnson, who made a charge on the backside but bogeyed 16 and 17 to fall short, though Koepka still had to earn it on 18.

Koepka looked to be cruising with a 7 shot lead as he made the turn, but 4 straight bogeys on 11-14, alongside a Johnson birdie on 14, cut the lead to 2. Johnson’s bogey on 17 extended Kopeka’s lead to 3 before Koepka bogeyed the par 3, 17th, to only have a 2 shot lead heading into 18. Koepka summoned his iron like mentality on 18 after driving it in the rough just above the trap with just a 2 shot lead. The shot looked close to impossible, but he got it out in the fairway, 110 yards from the green. From there he hit a lob wedge to 6 feet which clinched it. He made it even more emphatic by sinking the putt and captured his 4th major in 8 attempts in less than 2 years. Pretty phenomenal stuff. He now joins elite company that has won 4 or more majors prior to their 30th birthday led by Tiger Woods with 9. Koepka is 29 and won’t turn 30 till May, 2020, so he’ll have 3 more attempts to add to that historic number. He’ll play the U.S, Open, June 16th-19th, @ Pebble Beach, the Open Championship @ Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland July 18th-21st, and the Masters next April. This is an astonishing resume Koepka is putting together. He has paid his dues too, playing on the European Tour for 3 years to learn how to play those courses as well before moving on to the PGA Tour. The guy is so mentally tough and driven. Nothing seems to faze him. He thrives on pressure.

We’re seeing some historically superb golf being played by one Brooks Koepka. It’s fun to have a dominant player on tour right now and Koepka is just that.

Alabama football 2019

Nick Saban made several changes to his coaching staff after last season including hiring Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator, promoting Pete Golding to defensive coordinator, hiring Kyle Flood (Offensive line), Brian Baker (Associate head coach, defensive line), Charles Huff (Associate head coach, running backs), Charles Kelly (Associate head coach, safeties), Sal Sunseri (outside linebackers) and Holmon Wiggins (wide receivers). Saban went for a more veteran staff that can still recruit, but also has more experience in coaching practices and games. I like the move. I thought Tosh Lupoi was in over his head last year as was Mike Locksley. It worked most of the season because of Saban and the talent on the field, but imploded in the national championship game versus Clemson, a 44-16 loss.

While the younger coaching staff wasn’t as effective with their coaching, they did help secure the No.1 recruiting class in the country for 2019. And with the talent returning led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, this team looks destined to be elite once again. The 6’1”, 218 pound Tagovailoa led the country in passing touchdowns with 43, and quarterback efficiency at 199.5. He was 5th in the country with 3,966 yards passing and 6th with a 69% completion rate. And he wants to do better than that this year.

And he has a wealth of weapons around him to help him do that. Wide receiver is beyond loaded. Jerry Jeudy, the Biletnikoff Award winner last year (best wide receiver in the country), caught 68 passes for 1,315 yards and 14 TDs. He’s back for his junior season as are Henry Ruggs III (46-741 11 TDs), and Devonta Smith (42-693, 6 TDs), along with electric sophomore Jaylen Waddle (45-848, 7 TDs). And the Tide has some younger studs in Slade Bolden (redshirt freshman) Tyrell Shavers (sophomore), and stud 4 star freshmen Xavier Williams and John Metchie. Metchie had a superb r spring game catching 5 passes for 133 yards.

Taulia Tagovailoa, Tua’s younger brother, showed signs of being a terrific quarterback for the Crimson Tide in the future and a capable backup this coming season during the spring game. He zipped a 30 yard TD pass to Waddle late in the spring game that was very impressive. He’s going to be an elite signal caller in Tuscaloosa in the coming years. He’ll battle it out with Mac Jones for the backup spot. Jones had another impressive spring game, going 19 for 33 for 271 yards 2 TDs and 1 int. Early enrollee Paul Tyson will be working to get in the rotation this season, but may be redshirted for further development.

The backfield looks strong with Najee Harris and Brian Robinson leading the group. Najee along with Raekwon Davis are guys Saban would like to see become leaders of this team. Najee was a 5 star, but has yet to reach his potential. The Crimson Tide are hoping that Najee can realize that unlimited potential. Robinson had a pretty strong spring game, and looks like a great compliment to Harris. 5 star freshman Trey Sanders and 4 star freshman Keilan Roninson are coming in. Sanders is 6’1”, 205 and Robinson is 5’9”, 180. Of course, Najee (6’2”, 227) and Robinson (6’1”, 226) are horses. Chadarius Townsend (6’0”, 194) is listed as a wide receiver, but got some carries in the spring game and did well. He could be another weapon in the running game.

The offensive line is extra talented and physically imposing. Alex Leatherwood (6’6”, 310) looks to be the man at left tackle. He’s another player with unlimited potential. Emil Ekiyor (6’3”, 338) and Deonte Brown (6’4”, 342) will battle for one guard spot, Chris Owens (6’3”, 315) looks to be the anchor at center, while the trustworthy and talented Matt Womack (6’7”, 325) and Jedrick Willis Jr. (6’5”, 316) will handle right guard and right tackle respectively. And there are plenty of talented players with great size in the second and third groups that will be developed

The highly reliable Miller Forristall will be the starter at tight end most likely. Forristall, a 6’5”, 234 pound redshirt junior, has good hands and is a solid blocker. The Tide has always liked to use the tight end and have had elite players at that position, so he’ll be valuable. And there is Cameron Latu, who will join him in the starting lineup and some solid backups led by Kedrick James (6’5” 260) who made a very fine 34 yard catch and run for a TD in the spring game. He’s impressive.

Defense

The defense has some new faces who are also some great youthful talents along with some stud experienced players.

The defensive line will be anchored by Raekwon Davis (6’7” 309) who aims to fill the tremendously large shoes of Quinnen Williams, who was the 3rd pick in the draft by the New York Jets and a dominant player posting 19 1/2 tackles for loss and 8 sacks in 2018. Williams was an unblockable force for the Crimson Tide, and frankly, I thought he was the best player in the draft this year, better than Kyler Murray, who was the top pick by the Arizona Cardinals and Ohio State’s Nick Bosa, who was the second player selected by the 49ers. Bosa played only 3 games and once he got hurt, called it a college career. Quinnen will be the best pro of the three. He will have a multiple Pro Bowl career if he stays healthy, which he seems to do. Offensive tackle Jonah Williams was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals as the 11th pick of the first round, Josh Jacobs went No.24 in the first round to the Raiders. Irv Smith went in the second round to the Minnesota Vikings. Damien Harris went in the third round to the Patriots. Christian Miller was a fourth round pick by the Carolina Panthers. Deionte Thompson (Arizona), Riss Piersbacher (Redskins) and Mack Wilson (Browns) went in the fifth round, and Isaiah Buggs (Steelers) went in the 6th round.

Davis looks like he is the next guy in line and he’s already somewhat established himself as that kind of player. He posted just 5 1/2 TFLs and 1 1/2 sacks, but he’s poised to breakout this season. Joining Davis up front is the talented LaBryan Ray (6’5”, 285) who posted 6 TFLs and 2 1/2 sacks last season. He’s another stellar d linemen on this unit. DJ Dale is a 6’3”, 314 pound freshman defensive tackle who was a force in the spring game posting 2 sacks and emerging as a major disruptor to the offense. They’ll be backed up by sophomore Phidarian Mathis (6’4”, 317), also a major force in the spring game, 5 star freshman Antonio Alfano (6’4”, 288), redshirt freshman Christian Barmore (6’4”, 310), senior Tevita Musika (6’1”, 342), redshirt freshman Stephon Wynn Jr (6’4”, 295) and high 4 star freshman Justin Eboigbe (6’5”, 283). There are some new faces in this group, but Davis and Ray will lead and there is great depth and talent.

At linebacker, junior Dylan Moses (6’3”, 235) will be the leader of the linebacking corps, and, along with Davis, the leader of the defense. He may be the ultimate leader. Moses can potentially be a dominating player and a strong leader on this Crimson Tide team. He led the team with 86 tackles last season and posted 10 TFLs and 3 1/2 sacks. Joshua McMillon will join him in the starting lineup in the middle of the defense. McMillan is 6’3”, 237 and is looking to break out this season as well. Shane Lee, s 6’0”, 235 pound 6.0, 4 star freshman, was a major force in the middle during the spring game and had a terrific interception of a Mac Jones pass that he returned for 20 yards. He’s a superb athlete. Jaylen Moody is a 6’2”, 225 sophomore who intercepted a Paul Tyson pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. He’s an incredible athlete as well. Markail Benton (6’2”, 235) and Ale Kaho (6’1”, 224) are talented backups also.

At outside linebacker, the great Anfernee Jennings returns. Jennings is a 6’3”, 259 redshirt senior who posted 13 TFLs last season along with 5 1/2 sacks. He’s an enforcer on the edge as is Terrell Lewis (6’5”, 252) a talent who missed all of last season with an injury, but, like Jennings, is an NFL talent. Lewis and Jennings need to stay healthy, and if they do, they’ll excel. Eyabi Anoma (6’5”, 252), the talented Christopher Allen (6’4”, 250), 4 star freshman Kevin Harris II (6’4”, 218) and Ben Davis 6’4”, 238) will be key backups. Davis is kind of a mystery man. He was a 5 star out of high school but has never materialized. I’m sure Pete Golding is hoping he can get more out of this talented player this summer and into the season. Hoping senior Joe Donald (6’3”, 216) can get a shot at some point. Joe 4 was a standout at Mountain Brook High School in football, basketball and baseball and was a warrior linebacker. He was scout team player of the week 3 times last season, so if he gets a shot, he’ll produce. I’m sure his dad and mom would like that.

The secondary has exceptional talent. Trevon Diggs was hurt all of last season, but returns for his junior season. Diggs is a major talent at corner. He had an interception at the end of the spring game and he could be a 5 to 6 interception player this coming season. Patrick Surtain II and Shyheim Carter will man the corner and star positions. Both are extremely talented and experienced. Look for Josh Jobe to make an impact at corner. He had an awesome spring game. At safety, Xavier McKinney and Jared Mayden look to be the starters. McKinney and Mayden both have great talent. Mayden had a pick in the spring game and looks awesome. McKinney is a returning starter and should be set for a huge season. Daniel Wright and Eddie Smith will back them up. Jordan Battle, a 6.0, 4 star, and 5.9, 4 star, Demarcco Hellams are coming this summer.

Special Teams

Alabama’s Achilles Heel has been at kicker for several years now, but S went out and got super high school kicker Will Reichard from Hoover. Reichard will battle with Joseph Bulovas for the job. Skyler Long will punt, Jaylen Waddle will try to add to his already illustrious resume as a punt returner this season, and Ruggs III and Brian Robinson will return kicks. The holders are Mac Jones and Tua. The long snapper is Thomas Fletcher.

Schedule

The Crimson Tide opens the season Saturday August 31st versus Duke at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. David Cutcliffe has done an amazing job at Duke, winning 6 to 7 games even 8 every year and winning or being competitive in bowl games, but this one could get out of hand in the second half.

New Mexico State at home on Saturday, September 7th, then @ South Carolina on Saturday, 9-14 in what could be a tricky one, though the Gamecocks will be trying to get a quarterback ready as Jake Bentley has graduated. Then Southern Miss comes to Bryant-Denny on Saturday, Sept. 21. Ole Miss visits Tuscaloosa Saturday, Sept. 28th. Then an open week, followed by a key trip to College Station on Saturday, Oct. 12th to face Texas A&M, which will be charged up in Jimbo Fisher’s second season. Then Tennessee comes to Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Oct. 19th. Arkansas follows the Vols into Bryant-Denny on Saturday, Oct. 26th, then an off week, followed by a visit to Tuscaloosa by the LSU Tigers on Saturday, November 9th. Then @ Miss,. State on Saturday Nov. 16th, Western Carolina comes to town on Saturday, 11-23, then @ the Auburn Tigers, Saturday, November 30th. The SEC Championship game is Saturday, December 7th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Assessment of the season

I see Nick Saban having the material to win his 6th national championship at Alabama. The last 5 have come in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2017. The potential is there barring any colossal injuries, namely Tua, though he’s got some redeeming to do after the SEC and national championship performances last season. I see him answering the bell. This team has the tools to win it all once again.

The No.2 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are now SEC regular season champions by virtue of our 12-4 victory over Kentucky last night coupled with an Arkansas loss to Texas A&M.

With the win, we moved to 44-10 on the season and 22-7 in the SEC with one more game left. We will be the No.1 seed in the double elimination SEC Tournament at the Hoover (AL) Met. Our first game will be at 4:30 PM CT Wednesday and will be televised by the SEC Network. Our opponent is to be determined today. Will be either Alabama, South Carolina or Kentucky depending on the outcomes of today’s games.

JJ Bleday cranked his nation’s leading 24th home run. JJ now has 63 Ribeyes as well. Julian Infante hit a bases clearing double. Good to see our big man getting in the act. Stephen Scott hit his 4th homer in 3 days and his 3rd of the series. Stephen now has 10 homers and 44 RBIs on the year. Ethan Paul hit an oppo homer to left field, a 3 run shot in the 8th. We posted 12 hits on the night. Austin Martin was 1 for 4 and is now hitting .438. Not sure what the New Mexico State kid did, but will keep you posted on if Austin wins the batting average crown nationally. Austin also stole 2 bases and has 13 on the season. Harrison Ray was 1 for 5 but stole his 15th base in 18 attempts this season and had another terrific night at 2nd. JJ was 2 for 4 with 4 RBis, Ethan Paul was 2 for 3 with 4 ribbies. Ethan is now hitting .326 with 7 homers and 63 Ribeyes, tied for the team RBI lead with JJ. Philip Clarke was 2 for 4 and both were for extra bases. Philip had 2 doubles and an RBI. Philip is now hitting .319 with 13 doubles, 3 triples 6 homers and 59 RBI’s. We are a run driving in machine. Ethan and Stephen lead the team with 18 doubles and Austin leads the team with 4 triples.

Kumar had a solid night going 7, giving up 8 hits, 4 earned, with 0 walks and 6 K’s. Great stuff from one of our studs on the mound. Kumar just keeps getting better and better and the ceiling looks unlimited. He’ll be huge in the postseason. Kumar moved to 7-5 with a 4.32 ERA with 15 walks and 68 strikeouts. Kumar is a strike throwing machine with incredible stuff. Jake Eder came in and pitched superbly in the 8th and 9th, giving up 0 hits, 0 runs with 0 walks and 3 K’s. Kumar hit 95 a couple of times, and was in the 92-93 range throughout the game, while Eder was hitting 95-96 throughout his 2 innings of work.

One more hurdle to climb in the regular season as we face the Wildcats today in game 3. Patrick Raby (9-1, 2.42) will be on the hill for us, and Rabes will face Kentucky lefty Zack Thompson (6-1, 2.14) First pitch is at 1 PM CT with SEC Network+ broadcasting. Would be excellent to get one more victory and keep the momentum going into the tournament.

MLB guys

Dansby Swanson hit his 7th home run of the season, a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 6th to help lead the Braves to a 12-8 victory over a very good Milwaukee Brewers team. Dans now has 29 RBIs on the season as well. Dans has been in a little but of a slump lately, so it was really good to see him break out. He is now hitting .244. Would like to see that average keep climbing going forward. He’s too good a hitter to hit .244. Hitting can come and go in pro baseball, but I know Dans is working hard on it and has the potential to be a .285-.290 hitter, even .300 in the future. Just needs to get in a rhythm at the plate. Dans playing pretty solid short as well. The Braves are now 24-21 and have been on a tear lately. They are presently 1 1/2 games back of the Phillies, who lead the NL East at 25-19.

Bryan Reynolds was 2 for 4 last night with a 2 run homer and a pair of ribbies. That was Bryan’s second homer of the season and he’s now hitting .309 and looking pretty established in left field for the Pittsburgh Pirates which defeated the San Diego Padres 5-3, to move to 22-20 on the season and 3 games back of the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs.

Tony Kemp was hitless last night for the Astros and is hitting .227, but Tony is showing signs of hitting better. He’s been playing second as Jose Altuve has been battling injuries. Tony always plays stellar defense and his bat will come around. The Astros have been red hot lately They are 30-15 with the best record in baseball and lead the AL West by 6 1/2 games over the LA Angels.

Walker Buehler is on the hill for the Dodgers today at Cincinnati. Walk is 4-0 with 4.15 ERA and a very good WHIP (walks+hits per inning) at 1.04. Anything under 1.10 is very good. Under 1.00 is outstanding. So Walk is close. He got hit hard a couple of times earlier in the season, but he’s been cookln lately. Looking forward to seeing him pitch versus the Reds. The Dodgers are 30-16 and lead the NL West by 4 1/2 games over the Arizona Dbacks.

MIke Minor pitches Monday at home versus Seattle. Mike is 4-3 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP He’s been pretty spectacular many times this season. Mike’s always had awesome stuff, but his fastball hits 95 consistently now and can get to 96. It’s phenomenal.

David Price is scheduled to come off the DL and pitch Monday at Toronto. David has dealt with some elbow tightness, but looks to be ready to go. David is having a pretty solid year despite being banged up a little. He’s 1-2 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. David has walked only 10 batters in 36 innings and struck out 42. He’s just supremely accurate. Will be good to see DP back on the mound.

Sonny Gray pitches Tuesday @ Milwaukee. Sonny is 0-4 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He hasn’t pitched that badly this season, he’s just had problems giving up the long ball. Still believe in him.

Women’s Tennis battles, just falls short

Our No.8 women’s tennis team fought till the end against No.1 Georgia but just came up barely short, falling 4-3 at Orlando in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Championships.

Awesome season once again for Coach Geoff McDonald and the team though. I know we fell short of our goal, which is to win it all every year, but we’ve got some good players returning led by junior Christina Rosca and freshman Georgia Drummy, and some good players coming in, so we should be highly competitive once again next season. That’s always the case with Geoff McDonald teams.

Fernanda Contreras finished strong in her senior year winning in straight sets at No.2 yesterday. We’ll miss Fernanda. She’s been an awesome representative of Vanderbilt both on the court and in the classroom. She was the ultimate leader of this team. But Fern has a lot of tennis left in front of her. She’ll set out to make her way on the professional circuit. I’ll keep you posted on Fern’s progress.

Also, Astra Sharma will be competing next Sunday in the French Open which begins a week from tomorrow, June 26th. Will be awesome to see Astra compete at Roland Garros as she keeps matriculating up the world rankings. She is now at No.100.

Astra will also play at the Wimbledon Championships in July, July 1st-14th. So great stuff from our former All American. It’s amazing to think that Astra was a senior on the team just last year.the team that fell in the national championship match to Stanford but had a spectacular season. It just seems like a long time ago. Maybe because she’s already become so outstanding on the pro tour. She had a great career at VU and has an awesome career ahead of her on the WTA circuit. Excited to see her play next week in Paris

Women’s Golf fighting for a top 15 spot

Women’s golf is presently in 21st place at 34 over at the NCAA Championships at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville. We are 10 strokes behind No. 15 Wake Forest (+24). The top 15 after 3 days of stroke play advance to the 4th round of stroke play, so we have our work cut out for us. We are 7 over today through holes 9-10. Gotta start making some birdies. Still time left if we can start cranking it up.