ASU soccer team reports to camp

MONTGOMERY, AL -- Alabama State University's soccer program has reported to campus and will begin practice for the 2011 season Thursday at 7 a.m.

Head Coach Jodie Smith enters his fifth season at the helm of the program and is very excited about this year's team as the Hornets are coming off the best season in the short seven-year history of the program.

"The girls realized towards the end of the last season we could be a different team," Smith said. "We have several starters returning and we actually had several players hang around this summer and you could tell they had a different approach during the spring and summer towards the program."

READ MORE

Former Crimson Wave Rassoull among new VSU players

Petersburg, VA - The Virginia State University men's basketball coaching staff, has announced their 2011-12 signees for the upcoming season.

Trojans' new head coach, Darryl Jacobs will bring in four freshmen that included Hopewell resident Manny Wallace who played at Christchurch and six transfers, includling Petersburg native Ibn Rassoull, to attend Virginia State University.  The Trojans look to rebuild after a 13-42 record over the past two seasons.

TRANSFERS

- Ibn Rassoull 6-4 190 G/F SR Petersburg, VA/St. Paul's

Rassoull averaged 14.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists last season at St. Paul's College and was also named to the 2010-11 All-CIAA team. He is also a graduate of Petersburg HS and can play multiple positions on the court for VSU.

- Daniel "Larry" Awosanya 6-8 220 F/C JR London, England/Campbell

Awosanya transfers from Div. I Campbell University where he maintained a 3.2 GPA while being named to the Atlantic Sun All-Academic team as a freshmen. Larry is a talented strong athletic player that attacks the basket extremely well while drawing contact from defenders.

- Richard "RJ" Hall 6-1 175 G JR Bay Shore, NY/Kennesaw State

READ MORE

Killingsworth-Putney joins Bethune-Cookman Coaching Staff

Daytona Beach, FL - Bethune-Cookman's volleyball team just recorded a big lift in its search for a new assistant coach. Kisya Killingsworth-Putney is joinging the team.

Killingsworth-Putney's accolades are all spikes, each more ball-flattening than the next. At Pine Ridge High, she was named Miss Florida Volleyball in 2003 and led the Panthers to a state tournament berth. At the University of Florida, she was an All SEC player and an All-American.

She played on teams that won the SEC and appeared in the NCAA Regionals all four of her years as a Gator. Killingsworth is of just five players in Gators history with 1,000 kills and 300 blocks in her career. And in the rally era of UF volleyball stats, Killingsworth-Putney is the only player in school history to accumulate 300 blocks and 300 digs, and she finished her career with a school record 65 solo blocks.

Killingsworth-Putney will be rejoining her longtime coaching partner Isaac Raphael, who was hired as the Wildcats' head coach in July.

READ MORE

Penny a profit to volleyball program, ASU says

Montgomery, AL - Alabama State athletic director Stacy Danley opened Monday's news conference with a simple declaration. "The transformation continues," he said.

And with that, the Hornets introduced Penny Lucas-White as the program's new volleyball coach, taking another step in the school's goal to be competitive in the Southwestern Athletic Conference as well as an annual participant in NCAA postseason play.

The spirit of optimism echoed the news conference in June announcing Mervyl Melendez as the Hornets' baseball coach. Monday's gathering showcased a program coming off its finest season in SWAC competition that now has its sights set still higher.

READ MORE

Southern football highlights fall camps

BATON ROUGE — Student-athletes from three Southern University programs will return to Baton Rouge this week as fall camp opens in preparation for the 2011 campaigns in football, women's volleyball and women's soccer.

Eager to erase the lingering effects from last season's 2-9 record, head football coach Stump Mitchell will welcome his Southern Jaguars to fall camp Wednesday at the A.W. Mumford Fieldhouse as the Jaguars prepare for the 2011 season.

"There's no question we're excited (about the start of fall camp) with a lot of guys coming back with a lot of experience and a coaching staff that I feel will take us to the next level," said Mitchell. "We're just excited to get started."

The Jaguars first practice is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Thursday and is open to the public. The Jaguars kickoff their 2011 season in LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, for the John Merrit Classic against Tennessee State at 6 p.m. Sept. 3.



READ MORE

ASU to begin football practice Wednesday

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- The 2011 Alabama State football team begins its quest for the SWAC Championship Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. when fall practice opens at Hornet Stadium.

"We have high expectations," head coach Reggie Barlow said of his team, which won the Eastern Division title last season. "We're coming from a different place; far different from where it was five years ago or even three years ago. We are at a place where we want to get back to the championship game and win it all this time."



Barlow and the football coaching staff will welcome approximately 90 players to camp, which opens with six consecutive practice days. The first two-a-day practice is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 8.

READ MORE

SC State Begins Football Drills; Elmore Declared Ineligible

ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State conducted its first preseason football workout Tuesday night as the Bulldogs began preparing for the 2011 campaign.

Tuesday’s practice was originally set for 3:10 in the afternoon, however, head coach Buddy Pough and his staff moved the drill to the evening to avoid scorching temperatures. Bulldog practices through Saturday will also begin in the evening at approximately 7 p.m.

Almost 100 players were on hand for Tuesday’s practice, which was conducted in shorts and helmets and concentrated mostly on conditioning.

Pough noted his team appeared to be in reasonable good shape but added that he and his staff considered it a sense of urgency that his players hit the ground running and learn quickly because of the many unknowns for a team that lost 11 starters, among them the Bulldogs’ three-year starting quarterback, three starting offensive linemen and the starting linebacker corps.

READ MORE