Author: Nathan Bloechl

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Coble Named to IAHSBCA All-Star Series Roster:

Despite the cancellation of the IAHSBCA All-Star Series, teams were still selected and Mount Pleasant’s Nik Coble was honored to the Large School East Division roster.

Coble, who will attend Southeastern Community College, finished this year with a 4-1 record on the mound with a 1.30 ERA in 37.2 innings.

He struck out a team-high 46 hitters while walking just 20.

Coble also was sublime at the plate, leading Mount Pleasant in home runs with five and runs batted in with 30.

He was selected to the All-Star roster as pitcher, one of just four honorees, joining Western Dubuque’s Casey Perrenoud, North Scott’s Grayson Drezek, and Alex McAleer of Central DeWitt.

On the Small School East All-Star roster was Notre Dame’s Drew Chiprez, selected as a third-baseman.

Chiprez feasted on Southeast Iowa Super Conference pitching this year, hitting .545 with seven home runs, 25 runs batted in and 27 runs scored, helping lead the Nikes to the Class 1A State Tournament.

Big Ten Announces Changes to 2020 Football Schedule:

The Big Ten Conference announced yesterday that they have approved plans for the 2020 football season, including a 10-game conference-only schedule beginning as early as the weekend of September 5.

The Big Ten Championship will be played on December 5th in Indianapolis.

Each team will play six division games and four cross-division games, while receiving two built-in byes with an open date on November 28th.

The Hawkeyes will open their season at home against Maryland before heading on the road to do battle with Purdue and Minnesota.

Iowa will then home for the next two weeks against rival Nebraska and Northwestern, before trekking east for a road date at Illinois.

The Hawkeyes have their bye in Week 7 and then will travel to Penn State and host Michigan State before another bye week.

They close the regular season with a home game against Wisconsin and a road game with Ohio State.

While the conference remains hopeful for a September 2020 start in all fall sports, including football, issuing a schedule does not guarantee that competition will occur.

Football will have, at minimum, two COVID-19 tests per week and testing will be managed by a third-party laboratory to ensure consistency across the conference.

Grand View tabbed to win Heart of America:

Grand View and Benedictine were each picked to take the titles for their divisions in the 2020 Heart Football Coaches’ Preseason Poll.

Grand View, last year’s North Division Champion, was selected as the favorite to claim the title this season after receiving five first-place votes and the maximum 50 points. Culver-Stockton claimed the final first-place tally and tied with William Penn as the second-place favorite after totaling 44 points each.

Clarke landed in fourth place after collecting 37 points, followed by Peru State (34 points) and Graceland (31 points).

For the second year in a row, Benedictine was selected as the favorite to claim the South Division title after receiving three first-place votes and tallying 48 points. Baker, last season’s defending South Division champ, landed in second after receiving two first-place votes and a total of 43 points.

The 2020 season is set to begin on September 12th with divisional competition slated to open on October 17th.

The NAIA Football Championship Series has been delayed to Spring 2021 with official dates still to be determined by the national office.

NCAA Division II, III Fall Championships Cancelled:

The NCAA has announced Division II and III fall championships have been canceled for the 2020-21 season.

According to the NCAA, the decision was made “due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related administrative and financial challenges.”

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Big 12 to Play 10 Game Schedule in 9+1 Format:

The Big 12 Conference announced on Monday they will play a nine-game conference slate and one non-conference contest in the 2020 football season.

The start of Conference play will be solidified in the coming weeks, with an anticipated start sometime between mid- to late-September, with the expectation that non-conference games are contested prior to beginning league games.

The model also gives the Conference flexibility to move back the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game to December 12^th or 19^th.

Iowa State is expected to open their season at home against Ball State — an opponent they added last week.

ISU Board Defers Approval of Hilton Coliseum Improvements:

There will be at least a temporary delay in planning for more upgrades to Hilton Coliseum in Ames, the home floor for Iowa State basketball, volleyball and gymnastics.

The original schedule had called for Board of Regents approval last week, to kick off the process of seeking bids for designs that would expand the arena’s north and south concourses, but amidst the coronavirus pandemic, there has been some trepidation in moving forward with the project.

The board will reconsider the proposal in their September meeting.

The board will review all the athletic budgets for Iowa State, Iowa and UNI at that meeting.

The board cited the “volatility surrounding college sports” as the reason for not conducting that review at its July 29 meeting.

Colorado Prep Transfers to West Des Moines Valley, The Start of New Trend?

In what high school coaches believe is just the first of many, a Colorado prep signal-caller has transferred to West Des Moines Valley to play football this fall.

According to the Denver Post, four-star quarterback recruit and future Kansas State Wildcat Jake Rubley — Colorado’s top prep prospect in this recruiting cycle — has also brought with him tight end Jade Arroyo, who has been offered by Colorado State and guard Tye Chirico, who has been offered by New Mexico State.

Valley now has seven players on their roster with Division I FBS offers.

Rubley sought out a new place to play after uncertainty surrounding whether the Colorado High School governing body would sponsor football this fall.

Illinois and Minnesota have already postponed fall sports until Spring, opening up for more possibilities of players leaving to play their season in Iowa.

Iowa State Basketball Picks Up Top-100 Commit: 

Iowa State’s 2021 recruiting class is off to a bang.

Iowa State picked up a commitment from top-100 point guard Tyrese Hunter on Tuesday when he announced his decision via social media.

Hunter is considered the No. 79 player in the country, No. 13 point guard and No. 2 player in Wisconsin by most recruiting outlets.

He chose the Cyclones over 24 other offers from schools such as Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Creighton and Texas Tech.

Hunter is Iowa State’s first commitment for the 2021 recruiting cycle in which they’re expected to have three open scholarships at this point.

He is the Cyclones’ highest-rated point guard commit since Lindell Wigginton in the 2017 class.’

MLB Scoreboard (8/5):

Minnesota 7, Pittsburgh 3

Cleveland 4, Cincinnati 2

Tampa Bay 5, Boston 1

Washington 5, New York Mets 3

Atlanta 10, Toronto 1

Chicago White Sox 3, Milwaukee 2

Chicago Cubs 5, Kansas City 4

Miami 4, Baltimore 0

Colorado 5, San Francisco 2

Oakland 5, Texas 1

Houston 8, Arizona 2

Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Diego 2

Los Angeles Angels 5, Seattle 3

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

IAHSBCA Releases 2020 All-District Baseball Teams:

Mount Pleasant senior Nik Coble has been named First Team All-Southeast District, the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association has announced.

Coble, who will attend Southeastern Community College, finished this year with a 4-1 record on the mound with a 1.30 ERA in 37.2 innings.

Coble struck out a team-high 46 hitters while walking just 20.

He also was sublime at the plate, leading Mount Pleasant in home runs with five and runs batted in with 30.

Mount Pleasant had three Second Team All-District honorees:

• P Jaxon Hoyle
• OF Chase Williamson
• UT Corbin Broeker

Hoyle, an Iowa Wesleyan recruit, started nine games for the Panthers logging a team-high 40.2 innings with a 1.55 ERA and 39 punch-outs.

Williamson hit .392 this season with three doubles and 11 runs batted in, while Broeker finished with a .324 average, two doubles and 13 runs batted in.

Mount Pleasant ended this year 15-7 and co-champions of the Southeast Conference.

In 1A, there was several local selections, headlined by New London outfielder Joshua Catala. Catala ended his sophomore season with a robust .389 batting average, helping guide New London the the district finals.

Other area first team selections included:

• Burlington Notre Dame P Mitchell Brent
• Burlington Notre Dame 3B Drew Chiprez

Second Team choices were:

• New London C Tucker Gibbar
• Burlington Notre Dame 2B Carson Chiprez
• Burlington Notre Dame SS Nick Skerik
• Burlington Notre Dame OF Jeron Conner
• Burlington Notre Dame UT Trenton Blythe
• Wapello UT Aidan Housman

Drake Stadium to Host Blue Oval Showcase:

Drake Stadium will host a professional track & field competition on August 29th.

Director of the Drake Relays Blake Boldon has announced the Blue Oval Showcase — a one-time event featuring pro athletes.

Safety measures for the Blue Oval Showcase include the absence of ticketed fans from Drake Stadium.

Only athletes and officials will be allowed on the competition surface and a limited number of event staff and credentialed athlete support staff will be allowed in the stadium seating area.

Athletes will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms upon their arrival to Central Iowa and events on the track will place competitors in every other lane to maximize the health of participants and officials.

The schedule will include sprints, hurdles, field events and the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships.

Field of Dreams Game Cancelled:

MLB Scoreboard (8/3):

Cincinnati 3, Cleveland 2

New York Yankees 6, Philadelphia 3

New York Mets 7, Atlanta 2

Chicago Cubs 2, Kansas City 0

Minnesota 5, Pittsburgh 4

Chicago White Sox 6, Milwaukee 4

Colorado 7, San Francisco 6

San Diego 5, Los Angeles Dodgers 4

Oakland 11, Seattle 1

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Two Panthers Named First Team All-SEC:

Mount Pleasant seniors Samantha Broeker and Sydni Coleman have both been named First Team All-SEC, the conference has announced.

Coleman was the Panther ace this summer starting 14 games logging 90.1 innings and 4.11 ERA. Coleman struck out 41 and walked just 18 in her senior season.

She was also outstanding at the plate for Mount Pleasant hitting .328 with four home runs, driving in 14 runs. Her four long balls was the top on the ball club.

Broeker, a Simpson College commit, hit a team-best .463 at the plate this year with a team-high eight doubles and 12 RBI.

The Panthers finished this year with a record of 4-18.

Garza Announces Return to Iowa City:

Luka Garza, the 2020 National College Basketball Player of the Year by six major news outlets and Big Ten Player of the Year, announced on Sunday that he is returning to the University of Iowa for his senior season.

Garza is one of five players since 1975, and first since 2008, to return to school after being recognized as the Sporting News National Player of the Year. The other four players are Tyler Hansbrough (2008), Dee Brown (2005), Michael Jordan (1983), and Ralph Sampson (1982).

The Washington, D.C., native had a historic season in 2019-2020, leading the nationally-ranked UI men’s basketball team to 20 victories and a likely NCAA Tournament berth if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Garza said that not having the opportunity to achieve two of its goals last March — winning the conference tournament and making an NCAA Tournament run — was difficult.

With Garza back in the fold, Iowa will be strong preseason favorite in the Big Ten.

Baseball Season Comes to Close Saturday:

Four teams were crowned State Champions on Saturday at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Here’s a look at the final scoreboard from our state capitol:

State Championships:

Class 1A: Don Bosco 3, Newman Catholic 2

Class 2A: Van Meter 6, Des Moines Christian 0

Class 3A: Norwalk 8, Gilbert 6

Class 4A: Johnston 11, Ankeny 8

UNI’s A.J. Green Withdraws from NBA Draft:

Northern Iowa guard A.J. Green has withdrawn from the NBA Draft process and will return to Cedar Falls for his junior season.

The Larry Bird Player of the Year winner in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, Green averaged 19.7 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range.

He also dished out three assists and had three rebounds per game.

The Panthers won last year’s Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship before a tournament loss to Drake in the conference quarterfinals.

MLB Scoreboard (8/2):

Cincinnati 4, Detroit 3 — 7 inn (Game 1)

Baltimore 5, Tampa bay 1

Atlanta 4, New York Mets 0

Chicago White Sox 9, Kansas City 2

Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1

Chicago Cubs 2. Pittsburgh 1 — 11 inn

Colorado 9, San Diego 5

Texas 9, San Francisco 6

Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Arizona 0

Houston 6, Los Angeles Angels 5 — 11 inn

Oakland 3, Seattle 2

Cincinnati 4, Detroit 0 — 7 inn

NY Yankees 9, Boston 7

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Two Panthers Named First Team All-SEC:

Mount Pleasant seniors Samantha Broeker and Sydni Coleman have both been named First Team All-SEC, the conference has announced.

Coleman was the Panther ace this summer starting 14 games logging 90.1 innings and 4.11 ERA. Coleman struck out 41 and walked just 18 in her senior season.

She was also outstanding at the plate for Mount Pleasant hitting .328 with four home runs, driving in 14 runs. Her four long balls was the top on the ball club.

Broeker, a Simpson College commit, hit a team-best .463 at the plate this year with a team-high eight doubles and 12 RBI.

The Panthers finished this year with a record of 4-18.

Iowa State Adds To Their 2020 Schedule:

Iowa State football has added Ball State as their 12th opponent on the 2020 schedule.

The Cyclones will host Ball State on September 12th.

The game is replacing the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game against Iowa which was canceled when the Big Ten made the decision earlier this summer to only play conference games this fall.

Ball State finished 5-7 in the Mid-American Conference one year ago.

Cyclone’s Purdy Named to Manning Award Watch List:

Iowa State’s Brock Purdy has been named to the 2020 Manning Award Preseason Watch List, Iowa State has announced.

Purdy was outstanding for the Cyclones one year ago, passing for 3,982 yards and rushing for an addition 249 more while accounting for 35 total touchdowns.

The Manning Award honors the top quarterback in college football and is the only postseason award that accounts for bowl performance.

SEC Announces They’ll Play Conference Only Schedule:

The Southeastern Conference announced Thursday that the conference will play just a 10-game, conference-only schedule this year.

As part of the revamped schedule formatting, the SEC Championship Game will now be played on December 19th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which is two weeks later than originally planned.

The new schedule also includes one mid-season open date for each school and an open date on December 12th.

NAIA Moves National Tournament to Spring:

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has decided to move its football championships to the Spring 2021.

The decision of course comes due to concerns over COVID-19.

“Moving the football championship to the spring was the right thing to do for the well-being of our student-athletes,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr.

“The decision also provides additional flexibility for our conferences and institutions to account for regional differences and plan their regular season accordingly.”

The move directly impacts Iowa programs such as Morningside, William Penn, St. Ambrose and Grandview, among others.