Jonathan Adams new boys’ coach at Notre Dame
Notre Dame High School has named Jonathan Adams its new boys’ basketball coach. Adams, who played at Baylor and Old Dominion, has worked as an assistant at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and McCallie.
Adams was a two-time Mr. Basketball finalist and first-team all state player while at Baylor. He later became a four-year starter at Old Dominion, where he was named Colonial Athletic Association scholar athlete of the year in 2007. He played professionally in Germany for the Bochum Astrostars before returning to Chattanooga, where he earned his master’s in special education at UTC. He is nearing completion of his doctorate from Liberty University.
“I am very excited about taking over Notre Dame’s program. I am up for the challenge of trying to take this program to new heights,” said Adams, whose mother Priscilla Morgan played basketball at North Carolina State and whose father Charles Morgan was a standout defensive lineman at Howard and Tennessee.
Sandlin to Pepperdine
Girls Preparatory School senior Scottie Sandlin signed scholarship papers Thursday to run track for Pepperdine University, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, Calif.
The 5-foot-10 Sandlin is a 400-meter specialist who will be focusing on the 4x400 and 4x200 relays in the GPS postseason. She feels the 4x400 group in particular has a chance to do really well at the state meet.
“That is who she is, unselfish. ‘What can I do to help the team?”” GPS coach Jeff Gaither said. “She’s been an accomplished golfer for us, too. I’m excited about her opportunity to run at Pepperdine.”
A former 800 runner who intends to keep working on her upper-body and arm strength to continue increasing her speed, Sandlin said she “reached out to a few people” in the recruiting process. That included Pepperdine, which is a Christian school in NCAA Division I, and she attended its cross country camp last summer and its recruiting weekend in January.
She found out about the camp in response to her mother’s rule that she couldn’t go to a California school unless she spent a week in California without anyone from her family.
Scottie said she felt more welcomed by the Waves than anywhere else she considered and, not surprisingly, “fell in love with the campus. I also feel it is a place where I am going to be challenged on the track and in developing relationships — with teammates and (others) and with Jesus Christ.”
Smiling, she added, “And I’ll be looking at the big blue ocean each day.”
Boseman in SI’s ‘Faces’
The long-popular Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” feature includes Ooltewah junior Kayla Boseman in the May 15 issue.
The item highlights her no-hit pitching with eight strikeouts and 4-for-4 batting with a home run in an 11-0 win over Soddy-Daisy (the eventual District 5-AAA tournament champion) and notes that she had a 1.18 earned run average and a .495 batting average through 31 games this season.
The “Faces” entry points out that Boseman was 19-4 with a 2.04 ERA, a .589 batting average and 21 homers in her sophomore season and has committed to Mississippi State.
Former McCallie tennis player Cody Gubin also is mentioned in the newest “Faces,” in an item about Montgomery Bell Academy’s George Harwell adding the 2017 Rotary championship to his two prep state singles titles. Gubin is mentioned as the 2015 runner-up.
Swafford to LaGrange
Ooltewah libero Courtney Swafford will continue her volleyball career at LaGrange (Ga.) College, which is in the USA South in NCAA Division III.
The 5-foot-3 Swafford, who had more than 500 digs in each of the last two seasons while also totaling 63 aces, said she was welcomed to walk on at Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee State and also talked with Division II Miles in Birmingham, Ala.
“I love the atmosphere. It’s a small school where everybody knows each other,” she said of LaGrange, which went 22-14 and reached the USAS tournament semifinals last fall and hired a new coach, Madison Machurek, in late January. “The volleyball team is amazing. They made me feel welcome. The coach is amazing, too. That’s what won me over.”
Said Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen: “Courtney is an outstanding young lady. Not only is she a good athlete, but she excels academically and is well-liked by her peers. And her speed on the court is like none I’ve ever had.”
Coach Trish Flowers from Swafford’s club team, C4 Explosive Volleyball, and from high school District 5-AAA rival Cleveland reminded that Courtney’s father, Chuck, had been a star CHS athlete.
“She’s fast like her daddy. She’s a phenomenal athlete,” Flowers said, “and she’s a pretty strong presence on the floor. She makes an impact. And she’s scrappy but never loses her cool. LaGrange got a good one.”
Farr to Greenville (Ill.)
Red Bank pitcher and first baseman Kendall Farr will continue her softball career at Greenville, a Christian college in Greenville, Ill. The Panthers are an NCAA Division III program that competes in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Farr is batting .427 this season with three home runs, six doubles and 23 RBIs. She also has a 3.9 grade point average and is ranked No. 11 academically in her class.
Red Bank softball coach and athletic director Mandi Munn said Farr was discovered by Greenville through a recruiting website.
“She’s a very good student,” Munn said. “I think that will be a great fit for her.”
Howard team honored
Howard’s baseball team was recently recognized with the Terry Cordell Sportsmanship Award, voted on by area umpires and given to the team they believed showed outstanding sportsmanship.
“It’s a phenomenal honor,” said Hustlin’ Tigers coach Jon Johnson. “We want to have model students that our young kids can look up to, and I believe the way our players conducted themselves this season is a great example of that.”