Major League Baseball selects Jones, Martz and Morales in Draft

Videographer: NorthLouisianaRon; 2011 SWAC Baseball Tournament - Championship Game Slideshow

Rodarrick Jones (6-0/195), Southern University, Pittsburg Pirates

June 7, 2011: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 37th round, 1112th overall pick. Baseball America chose Jones as the #3 prospect in the New York Collegiate League in the summer of 2009, following his strong season at the University of New Orleans. He’s also a football standout and is athletic with good speed. His hitting fell off in 2010, though, and he transferred to Southern University. He was on the team’s roster but didn’t play, possibly due to ineligibility. He’s obviously very toolsy, but also obviously has some significant holes in his swing. Given the circumstances, there’s probably a good chance of him signing. If he does, he’ll be a project.

Chretien Martz, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Detroit Tigers

University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions baseball player Chretien Matz was selected in the 44th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Last season Matz was a standout on the Golden Lions baseball team leading the squad in batting average (.352) while ranking 5th in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. For his outstanding play on the diamond the Illinois native was chosen as a member of the SWAC's 2011 All-Conference First Team as an outfielder.

Julio Morales, Bethune-Cookman University, Kansas City Royals

Adding to the count of Bethune-Cookman baseball players selected in the draft, the Wildcats add one more for 2011, with the selection of senior RHP Julio Morales in the 45th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

“Julio is a pitcher that has great resources,” said Head Coach Mervyl Melendez. “He throws a fastball in the high 80s, low 90s, and his breaking ball and change-up are really good pitches. I think he is definitely going to excel at that level, and look for him to have a good pro career.”

Morales appeared in 23 games during his two-year stint with the Wildcats. He finished with a career record of 3-4, collecting 49 strikeouts, in 43 innings pitched.Originally from San Juan Puerto Rico, Morales transferred to B-CU from Wabash Valley Junior College before the 2010 season. Morales joins B-CU catcher Peter O’Brien as the second Wildcats drafted in the 2011 MLB Draft. O’Brien was selected 17th in the third round on June 7.

Spruce Creek's star Austin O'Brien signs with Howard University

PORT ORANGE, Florida -- Austin O'Brien is going places, judging from his selection of Howard University as the launching pad for his college soccer career.

O'Brien, a senior striker for Spruce Creek, went to the nation's capital in March to make it official: He has signed with Howard, a prestigious historically black university that U.S. News and World Report ranks No. 2 among all HBCUs and in the top 100 of all U.S. colleges and universities`.

While Howard is No. 2 on the magazine's list of HBCUs, O'Brien came out ranked No. 1 in voting by area coaches and The News-Journal prep staff to decide the 2011 Boys Soccer Player of the Year honor.

O'Brien, who had 28 goals and 13 assists for a Hawks team that lost 2-1 to Miami Varela in the Class 6A Final Four and played some of the toughest competition in the state, edged teammate Kiro Roman and Taylor's Jose Rios, both of whom had extraordinary seasons. Roman scored 22 goals and had 19 assists for the 26-2-4 regional-champion Hawks, while Rios had 43 goals for the 16-4-1 district-champion Wildcats.

Several schools in the Sunshine State, including Florida Gulf Coast University and South Florida, recruited O'Brien. But in the end he opted for one of his out-of-state options, deciding on Howard, which plays in the NCAA Division I Atlantic Soccer Conference that also includes Adelphi (Long Island, N.Y.), Longwood (Virginia), New Jersey Institute of Technology and Houston Baptist.



Boys soccer chatter with Spruce Creek's Austin O'Brien

O'Brien, a senior forward, is the Hawks' leading scorer with 23 goals and 11 assists for a total of 57 points. Creek is the No. 1 seed in this week's District 2-6A boys soccer tournament in large part to the offense put up by O'Brien and fellow Hawk Kiro Roman (18 goals, 13 assists, 49 points). O'Brien spoke to staff writer Sean Kernan.

You're having a great season. The team is 19-1-4. What's the mood going into districts?

"We plan on winning and doing really well. We just want to play our game and reach our goals -- stay focused on winning districts, playing well in regionals and just continue on and play out the season."

How old are you and how long have you been playing soccer?

"I'm 18 years old and I've been playing soccer since I was 3 years old. My mother (Maria) got me into soccer. She was a runner. She was pretty good at it. So she saw soccer as a running sport. I guess when you're 3 you can't run track. At first we started off just kicking a ball around the house and when I got to be 4 or 5 she put me in a YMCA league. I guess she saw that I was pretty good and she never took me out of it."

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Keys: Challenges ahead for Southern University, Mitchell

Baton Rouge, LA - Last summer, when Stump Mitchell boldly predicted his Southern football team could go undefeated, he didn’t exactly win over rival coaches. When his team fell disastrously short, finishing 2-9 ... well, he obviously didn’t win over the Jaguar Nation.

Still, as this summer begins and Mitchell prepares for his second year at SU, you have to feel a little sympathy. No, seriously.

Thursday afternoon, Southwestern Athletic Conference presidents and chancellors voted to keep SU and Jackson State from participating in the league’s championship football game, essentially expanding a one-year postseason ban handed down by the NCAA. Now, some three months before the season begins, Mitchell has to find a way to motivate his 18-to-23-year-old players — to give them reasons to keep fighting on every down, in a season that can’t possibly end with a title.

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A.J. Harmon Transferring To Alabama State, According To A.J. Harmon

Former University of Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle A.J. Harmon tweeted Saturday: "UGA love u all...Thanks for many lessons but another chapter has been written...Now a new one starts at bama state."  The FCS Alabama State Hornets of Montgomery play in the SWAC; Harmon will be eligible to play in 2011.

Harmon left the UGA program in May, citing personal reasons. It had been rumored for days before his exit that both he and Caleb King were on the brink of being declared academically ineligible. Whether that was actually the case, we might never know.

The sophomore's transfer marks the second potential starter the Dawgs have lost to a FCS school this year, following Washaun Ealey's exit to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Harmon came to Georgia as a four-star prospect, ranked the No. 2 guard in the nation and the No. 4 player in the state.

The (short) release from UGA in late May:

ATHENS, GA -- University of Georgia junior offensive tackle A.J. Harmon will transfer to another institution for personal reasons according to an announcement Tuesday by UGA head coach Mark Richt.  A native of Louisville, Ga., Harmon was redshirted in 2008 and appeared in seven games over the past two seasons in an offensive line backup role.

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FSU's Makusha breaks college 100-meter record

Florida State junior sprinter breaks 15-year mark with 9.89 time



DES MOINES, Iowa -- Florida State’s Ngonidzashe Makusha got word of the first national title he won on Friday when an official called him in his hotel room to tell him he’d taken the long jump crown.

Makusha made up for that anticlimactic victory with a win that brought everyone to their feet. Makusha broke the national collegiate record in the 100 meters Friday in the NCAA Outdoor championships, winning in 9.89 seconds to cap a stunning day in Des Moines.

It was the second dominant performance of the meet for Makusha, who won the long jump in 27 feet, 6 3/4 inches—the best mark at the NCAA meet in 18 years.

Running on a wet track and with a slight tailwind, Makusha broke the 100 mark of 9.90 set by Ato Boldon of UCLA in 1996. Makusha joined Michigan’s DeHart Hubbard (1925), Ohio State’s Jesse Owens (1935-36) and Houston’s Carl Lewis (1981) as the only athletes to sweep the 100 and long jump at an NCAA meet.

“It’s a blessing. I’m really thankful. I never planned to do this,” said Makusha, from Zimbabwe.

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Former Florida A&M Rattlers star preparing for NFL camp

Tallahassee, FL - Curtis Holcomb didn't waste a minute after walking into the Success Athletic Training building. The former Florida A&M cornerback swirled his outstretched arms at shoulder height a few times and dove right into a rigid workout. He worked his way around a variation of weights and at a non-stop pace, then went on to knock out almost 100 push-ups.

As the 250th pick by the San Francisco 49ers in this year's draft, Holcomb knows that little is guaranteed. The current NFL lockout brings on a certain level of anxiety, too.



"I'm working hard every day, but I've got to keep that mindset that I'm working harder than the next person," said Holcomb, the first FAMU football player to be drafted since quarterback JaJuan Seider in 2000. "But, then again, I want to work hard because it gives me motivation."

The daily evening workouts that usually run for an hour is a boost of confidence as well as preparation, he said. He's been training with SAT owner...

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Southern’s Halls sign pro baseball contracts

Baton Rouge, LA - From the moment they got friendly with a baseball glove, Frazier Hall and Cody Hall worked and waited for their shot at the pros. Now the wait is over, and their lives are speeding up.

The two Southern University seniors, both taken earlier this week in the Major League Baseball draft, have signed pro contracts and will head to rookie camps Sunday.

Frazier Hall, the two-time Southwestern Athletic Conference player of the year, was selected in the 16th round by the Los Angeles Angels. The first baseman is headed to Tempe, Arizona, with the rest of the Angels’ draftees, where they’ll take physicals and work out for a few days. Frazier Hall said after that, he’ll be assigned to Orem, Utah, where he’ll play for the Angels’ short-season Class A team.

“I’m ready to go at it,” he said. “Now that it’s here, it’s crazy.”

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