Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Preseason football poll & awards announced

(From the LSC Office)
Tarleton State was selected to repeat as Lone Star Conference football champion, according to the 2014 LSC preseason poll announced Tuesday.

      The league's preseason poll reflects the opinions of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

      TSU, which earned a share of the 2013 LSC title with a 5-1 mark, earned first place votes on eight of the 21 ballots to finish with 139 total points. 

      West Texas A&M was picked second with 127 points and four first-place tallies on the heels of an 11-3 campaign last season that ended in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals.

      Eastern New Mexico, the 2013 co-LSC champion, was third with 115 points and five top votes, while Midwestern State was fourth with 111 points and two first-place nods.

      Angelo State was fifth with 99 points and one top vote, followed by Texas A&M-Commerce sixth (95 points and the remaining first-place vote), Texas A&M-Kingsville seventh (49), and McMurry (21).

      The 2014 football season kicks off September 4, and the LSC has eight teams set to compete including McMurry, who joins the league as an affiliate member this season. 

      After playing seven conference games apiece over the first nine weeks of an 11-week regular season, the LSC's eight football teams will split into two brackets to conduct a two-week conference playoff.  The conference champion and playoff seeding will be determined by regular season results with the higher seeds hosting each round. 

      The top four teams (No. 4 at No. 1 and No. 3 at No. 2) comprise the championship bracket with Week 10 winners playing for the playoff title in Week 11, whereas Week 10 losers will meet for third place. The other half of the bracket includes the remaining four teams with No. 8 at No. 5 and No. 7 at No. 6 in Week 10.  The winners will play for fifth-place in Week 11, while the losers meet in the seventh-place game.

      Three LSC teams were included in postseason play last season, with WT advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs, A&M-C playing in the Live United Texarkana Bowl, and TSU being selected for the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, which was cancelled due to inclement weather.
 
RANKTEAM1STTOTAL
1Tarleton State 8139
2West Texas A&M4127
3Eastern New Mexico 5115
4Midwestern State 2111
5Angelo State 199
6Texas A&M-Commerce195
7Texas A&M-Kingsville49
8McMurry21






ASU's Washington, A&M-C's Tuaau take home preseason honors
Angelo State's Kyle Washington and Texas A&M-Commerce's Charles Tuaau were named Lone Star Conference Football Preseason Players of the Year for the 2014 season league officials announced Tuesday.

      ASU's Washington was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year, while A&M-C's Tuaau claimed the Defensive Player of the Year award. 

      The league's preseason awards were selected by a vote of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

      Washington, a 6-5, 210-pound junior from Humble, Texas, finished 2013 with 1,102 rushing yards and 2,073 passing yards while also breaking the school record for total offensive yards in a single season (3,175).  He is the first player in ASU history to throw for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season and earned second-team All-LSC honors.

      With 15 votes, Washington was the clear choice in front of A&M-C's Vernon Johnson (three votes) and three others who each received one vote.

      Tuaau, a 6-5, 310-pound senior from Wahiawa, Hawaii, was named the league's J.V. Sikes Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Lineman of the Year along with first team All-LSC acclaim after tallying 59 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 2013.  He set program records for tackles for loss in a game (5), tackles for loss in a season (25) and sacks in a season (12.5) to capture AFCA All-America first team and Daktronics All-America second team honors.

      Tuaau received 14 votes to top Midwestern State's Marqui Christian (three votes) and two others who each received two votes.




































Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Volleyball preseason poll and individual honors announced


West Texas A&M is the favorite to claim the Lone Star Conference title, according to the 2014 LSC volleyball preseason poll announced Tuesday.

      The league's preseason polls reflect the opinions of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

      WT claimed its 18th conference championship, eighth straight and 15th overall LSC Tournament title and 13th Regional Championship to advance to the Elite Eight last season.  The Lady Buffs were 35-4 overall and a flawless 16-0 in league play to mark the 15th time they have finished the LSC season unbeaten since 1986.

      WT earned first-place votes on 21 of the 23 ballots for a total of 205 points.  Angelo State was second with the remaining two top votes to finish with 184 points. 

      Texas Woman's ranked third with 149 points, while Texas A&M-Commerce was fourth (129), and Tarleton State fifth (125).  Midwestern State (83), Texas A&M-Kingsville (69), Eastern New Mexico (51), and Cameron (40) rounded out the poll.

      The 2014 volleyball season begins in early September, with nine teams set to compete.  LSC teams will use a one-conference double round-robin scheduling model, in which each team plays a home and away match against each of the other teams.

      The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by league matches, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the conference's automatic qualification.  The top eight teams in the final conference standings qualify for the postseason tournament set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 13-14-15, at the No. 1 seed.
 
RankTeam1stTOTAL
1West Texas A&M21205
2Angelo State 2184
3Texas Woman's149
4Texas A&M-Commerce129
5Tarleton State 125
6Midwestern State83
7Texas A&M-Kingsville69
8Eastern New Mexico 51
9Cameron40



A trio of Lone Star Conference volleyball standouts were recognized Tuesday as league officials announced the 2014 Preseason Players of the Year.

      Texas A&M-Commerce's Amy Davault was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year, Angelo State's Shelby Wilt selected as Defensive Player of the Year, and West Texas A&M's Kameryn Hayes claimed Setter of the Year honors.

      The league's preseason awards were selected by a vote of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.

      Davault, a senior outside hitter from Houston, Texas, picked up offensive honors with 12 of the 23 votes over WT's Lauren Bevan and four others.  She led the LSC in kills (425) and ranked second in the kills per set (3.43.  Davault was named AVCA All-America honorable mention, AVCA All-South Central Region first team, LSC Newcomer of the Year, and first team All-LSC.

      Wilt, a senior setter/defensive specialist from Dalhart, Texas, was the top choice for defensive recognition with 11 votes to finish in front of six others.  She recorded a league-best 628 digs (4.72 per set) with double-digit performances in all 35 matches last season en route to AVCA South Central honorable mention, Daktronics South Central second-team, and second team All-LSC acclaim.   Wilt is ASU's all-time digs leader with 1,862 career digs.

      Hayes, a senior right side/setter from Cypress, Texas, was the top choice for Setter of the Year with 12 votes to top three others.  She saw time in all 137 sets while starting all 39 matches, registering 156 kills on 427 attempts to hit .258 for an average of 1.14 kills per set while dishing out a team leading 1,323 assists for an average of 9.66 per frame.  Hayes earned second-team All-LSC honors for the Lady Buffs.

      These talented players will lead their teams into the 2014 season, which begins in early September.  The LSC has nine teams set to compete utilizing a one-conference double round-robin scheduling model, in which each team will play a home and away match against each of the other teams.

Friday, July 11, 2014

Long Time Overdue

It has been much too long since our last update.  The summer usually drags on as we wait the LSC Media Day to official signal the coming of the fall sports season.  In the past, fans had to settle for some periodic tweets or wait until the Media Day event was over and the SIDs, reporters and LSC office published their releases.  Not so this year.




From the LSC Office...
Fans are invited to attend the 2014 Lone Star Conference Football Preseason Media Day on Tuesday, July 29, at Coyote Ridge Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.

LSC Media Day features all eight LSC football coaches along with select football student-athletes from each team. At the event, LSC commissioner Stan Wagnon will speak and the league's preseason poll and players of the year will be announced.

This year, the event is open to the public to purchase tickets. Lunch will be provided, followed by a brief program, and golf at Coyote Ridge. There are several opportunities for parents, fans, and sponsors to attend. For additional information and to register click here: https://lonestarconference.launchtrack.com/register/lone-star-conference-media-day.

 The deadline to register is July 18.
 LSC Football Preseason Media Day Schedule:
11:00 AM: Luncheon attendee registration begins
11:30 AM: Luncheon registration ends and media program begins
2:30 PM: Shot gun start at Coyote Ridge Golf Course

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The Flash News
In other news, our good friend Brad Keith has a new source of sports news for LSC fans...   The Flash News (Link)  Here are some of the stories he has already...

Tarleton exploring Division I membership, stadium renovations
TexAnn guard changes number to honor injured boyfriend
Virginia PG transferring to Tarleton State
(scroll down the page for all of the stories)


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and be on the lookout for some very interesting updates in the upcoming days.  If nothing else, they should spark some conversation and debate (friendly, we hope).

Lone Star Conference

Angelo State University

Cameron University

Eastern New Mexico University

MSUMustangs.com

Texas A&M-Commerce

Tarleton State University

Texas A&M-Kingsville

Texas Woman's College

University of Texas of the Permian Basin

West Texas A&M University

Western New Mexico