HSU adds Carroll to 18-19 class
ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State men’s basketball coach Jimmy Elgas recently announced the signing of Jairus Carroll to the program for the 2018-19 season.
A native of Annapolis, Md., Carroll will join Henderson by way of Southern High School, as well as Scotland Campus Sports prep school, a consistent Top10 program nationally. Scotland Campus Sports is the same school where the Reddies signed point guard Chris Parker, a native of Plano, Texas.
“Jairus will be a great fit for our program in that his strengths are elements our team needed,” Elgas said. “His size, length and strength allow him to be a tenacious defender, who relishes defending the best player on the opposing team.”
Carroll, the 2017 Mid Atlantic Division II Player of the year, was a standout at Scotland Campus, where he averaged 18.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and three steals per game. A long, athletic wing, Carroll received interest from several Division I schools before signing with the Reddies.
His coach at Scotland Campus is the winningest coach in prep school basketball history. Chris Chaney is a three-time national coach of the year and has mentored multiple NBA players.
“Jairus also has a very high
basketball IQ and really can knock down open shots, which will allow him to thrive in our program,” Elgas said. “Having played a year for Chris Chaney, one of the most respected coaches in the country at any level, only makes him more ready to help our program.”
Carroll joins previous signees Graham Chenault, Adrian McConnell, Grayson Nix and Jeremiah Toney in Henderson’s 2018 signing class.
McConnell signed with the Reddies during the early signing period in November. He is a 6-9 forward from Warren High School in San Antonio.
Chenault, Nix and Toney inked with Henderson in April. Chenault starred for Bauxite; Nix signed from Red Oak, Okla.; and Toney will transfer from Arkansas-Fort Smith after graduating from Little Rock Mills.
Arkansas softball earns No. 7 seed
FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 16 Arkansas softball team was picked to finish 10 in the Southeastern Conference in the preseason, but the Razorbacks earned the No. 7 seed for this week’s conference tournament in Columbia, Mo.
Arkansas (37-14, 12-12) tallied the program’s highest conference win total since 2013. The Razorbacks are matched up in the first round with 10th seed Kentucky (31-18, 8-15), ranked No. 20 in the country.
They will meet on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network (Resort Channel 79) and the Watch ESPN mobile application.
This season marks Arkansas’ 11th appearance in the SEC Tournament and second consecutive under head coach Courtney Deifel. Wednesday’s game will be just the second time Arkansas and Kentucky will play in the conference tournament, and first time since 2001. The two teams did not play during the regular season.
Golden Suns garner GAC title
BENTONVILLE — Arkansas Tech completed an undefeated run through the 2018 Great American Conference Softball Championships as the Golden Suns rallied for a 2-1 win Sunday against Southern Nazarene at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
The Golden Suns (43-17) trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning until Bailey Bunch hit a two-out home run to even the score. Bunch notched the game-winning RBI in the top of the seventh.
Arkansas Tech, which finished second in the regular season and is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II Central region, began the tournament with a 10-2 victory over Ouachita Baptist (25-29, 21-23). The Golden Suns defeated Harding (32-26, 22-22),
9-2, on Friday before beating Southern Nazarene
(27-28-1, 20-18-1), 6-0, a first time on Saturday. Harding eliminated Henderson State (33-25, 2420), 6-2, Friday evening.
The Crimson Storm faced Arkansas Tech again after eliminating top-seeded Southern Arkansas (529, 38-6), 1-0, on Saturday night. The Muleriders are ranked No. 2 in the Central region.