California defensive specialist is sixth to sign with Xavier Nuggets

ALEXIS CLAY
photos from the signing ceremony
 (via Facebook)

NEW ORLEANS — Alexis Clay, a 5-foot-1 defensive specialist from Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., is Xavier University of Louisiana's sixth women's volleyball signee for the 2012 season.

Clay signed with the Gold Nuggets on May 22.

Clay was a four-time defensive player of the year on the Palos Verdes Peninsula High School varsity, and she was second-team All-Bay League as a senior. She led the Panthers this past fall with 247 digs and averaged 3.58 digs per set.

"We are very excited to add Alexis to our volleyball family," XU coach Christabell Hamilton said. "She will definitely bring in a high level of play as well as a thirst for competition. So far she's our only true libero we've signed and she's excited to take on such a big role, especially coming in as a freshman."

Clay will be a communications major at Xavier.

"I was most interested in attending an HBCU," Clay said. "After researching Xavier and visiting the campus, I knew it was a place where I would fit in. And I am so looking forward to playing for Coach Hamilton. I love that she can be fun and serious at the right times."



Previously signed with the Gold Nuggets were defensive specialist Darian Harris of Gretna, La., middle blocker Claudia Haywood of Memphis, Tenn., middle blocker Jodi Hill of Prairieville, La., right-side hitter Patrice Smith of Glenn Heights, Texas, and outside hitter CeCe Williams of Houma, Louisiana.

Xavier was 23-7 in 2011, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and qualified for the NAIA National Championship.

2012-13 Xavier women's volleyball signees

Name Pos. Ht. Yr.* Hometown High School (College)
Alexis Clay DS 5-1 Fr. Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Palos Verdes Peninsula
Darian Harris DS 5-3½ Fr. Gretna, La. McGehee
Claudia Haywood MB 5-11 Fr. Memphis, Tenn. Cordova
Jodi Hill MB 5-9 Fr. Prairieville, La. Dutchtown
Patrice Smith RS 5-9 Fr. Glenn Heights, Texas DeSoto
CeCe Williams OH 5-6 Fr. Houma, La. Vandebilt Catholic

* classification at Xavier in 2012-13

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Chuck Landon: Former MU assistant is first white SWAC coach

ALCORN STATE, Mississippi -- Doesn't Jay Hopson's new job count as a minority hiring? It should. When a black man is hired as a head football or basketball coach at a college, isn't it hailed as a progressive move in racial equality? Yes. So, shouldn't the converse also apply? I believe so.

And that's precisely what happened when Hopson, a well liked and fondly remembered former Marshall University assistant coach, was hired Monday to be Alcorn State University's head football coach. Hopson is white, you see.

But Alcorn State is a historically black school. So, when Hopson became the Braves' 18th head coach in school history, he also became Alcorn State's first white football coach.


Videographer: cameraguy06

READ MORE

S.C. State AD Charlene Johnson Joins NCAA D-I Football Championship Committee

CHARLENE JOHNSON
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

ORANGEBURG, South Carolina - South Carolina State Athletics Director Charlene Johnson has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee, as announced by Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Media Relations Office.

Johnson will join a committee that will focus on developing policies and procedures that govern the administration of the NCAA Division I Football Championship. Her term on the committee began immediately and will run through September 1, 2015.

"I'm excited and pleased to ...

READ MORE

MSU men's basketball team signs three

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- The Morgan State University men's basketball team signed three players to national letters of intent.

The new additions are: Donte Pretlow, a 6-foot, 185-lb., guard from Baltimore, Cedric Blossom, a 6-6, 225-pound forward from Columbia, Md. and JuCo transfer Daryl Traynham, 5-9, 180-pound point guard from Upper Marlboro, Md.

Pretlow played at Dunbar where he played for head coach Cyrus Jones. While there, he helped guide the Poets to Class 1A state championships in 2011 and 2012.

“Ever since he came up to varsity, he's been winning state championships,” Jones said. “He's played a valuable role in those titles. He was really the leader out there on the court.”

“Donte is a tough hard-nosed guard in the tradition of a long list of Dunbar-Baltimore point guards,” said MSU head coach Todd Bozeman. “He brings that Baltimore inner-city toughness to the program. He can really run a team, can defend, has tremendous poise and can make the open shot. He's certainly going to give us added depth in the backcourt.”

Pretlow, whose Poets (24-3) finished the 2011-12 season as The Baltimore Sun's No. 1 boys basketball team, averaged around 10 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals. At Morgan, he'll be expected to continue filling up the stat sheet and serving as a leader.

Blossom spent a season at Hammond before transferring to powerhouse Montrose Christian where he started in just about every game during his two years. Last season he was named co-captain and was a supporting player on a team that featured Tyrone Johnson (Villanova), Tyler Hubbard (Loyola) and Justin Anderson (Virginia), among others.

“Cedric is a young man that is a 6-foot-6 versatile player who will allow us to play in different ways,” Bozeman said. “He can play on the perimeter or in the post, in terms of the wing or the four. Something he did in high school.”

“He comes from Montrose Christian, a perennial basketball powerhouse, and has played with great players and knows what it takes to win. He is a good rebounder with a great nose for the ball, as well as a great defender and is extremely athletic. He's going to add depth to our team for sure.”

Traynham spent last season as the starting point guard for Palm Beach State, which is one of the most renowned junior college basketball programs in the country. He helped lead the head coach George “Butch” Estes' Panthers to a 26-5 record and the FCSAA/District 8 State Semifinals.

“He's a general,” Bozeman said. He can really run a team and create for others. He started his career at UMass, before transferring to junior college. I've been knowing him ever since he was a young kid.”

Traynham completed the 2011-12 season by averaging 10.8 points per game, 5.7 assists and 2.5 steals for the Panthers.

COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Breakout freshman softball season for SAU's White

RALEIGH, North Carolina - Jolanda White’s St. Augustine’s College softball team practiced on a baseball field. It’s hardly surprising that she maintained her baseball-length hitting when the Falcons played on softball dimensions.

White, a freshman from Leland, bashed a Central Collegiate Athletic Association-leading 10 home runs, while batting .396, 10th best in the league. She also stole 18 bases, third best in the conference, was first in slugging percentage (.783) and was fourth in total bases (83). She led St. Augustine’s in nearly every offensive category.

“I was expecting to do good, but I wasn’t expecting to ...

READ MORE 

Who will be the next commissioner of the CIAA?

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - Who will be the next commissioner of the CIAA? That is the question on everyone’s mind around the conference.

Leon G. Kerry, who had led the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) for the past 22 years retired unexpectedly this year. While the CIAA suggests that Kerry stepped down on his own volition, there is speculation that the CIAA's chief might have departed involuntarily due in part to ethical questions surrounding $100,000 in payments that went to Ereka Crawford-Brim, an employee with Charlotte's Regional Visitor Authority. Kerry was also a big part of the move that shifted the conference tournament from Raleigh to Charlotte.

Peggy Davis, who had ...

READ MORE

Black Nouveau | Program: New Orleans - Xavier and Dillard Universities and more...

Black Nouveau and the Running Rebels Community Organization, which serves at-risk youth from the Milwaukee area, travel to New Orleans to volunteer, learn, and gain new experiences. The group visits the French Quarter, tours Xavier University and Dillard University (both Historically Black Colleges and Universities), views the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and cleans up the town of Violet. In Oxford, Mississippi, they visit the University of Southern Mississippi--Brett Favre's Alma mater, and later, they experience horse riding.   Let us never forget the challenges ahead ... And Still We Rise!