Tyler Currie earns MVC honors
At 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, Missouri State University football player took it upon himself to finish the 2018 season leading the Bears with 548 receiving yards.
The junior – and former St. Benedict standout – also caught more touchdowns (five) than anybody else on the roster.
And for that, Currie earned some postseason accolades. Specifically, it was an Honorable Mention spot on the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s annual All-MVFC team. He was one of five Missouri State athletes recognized, joining Second-Team selection and offensive lineman tight end
and linebackers and
Murray, McNeece Egbim.
Lorenzo Thomas
Currie and finished tied atop the Bears with 35 total receptions. Currie’s finest singlegame performance came Oct. 6 at South Dakota, where he hauled in seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 loss. Three weeks later, he scored a pair of touchdowns against Southern Illinois.
"Tyler is an outstanding wide receiver with great play-making ability," Missouri State coach
said. "He has great hands and has really grown as a route runner. His explosiveness after the catch makes him a real threat in our league."
Currie played sparingly in 2017 after spending his first two seasons at Butler Community College in Kansas. This fall, Missouri State finished with a 4-7 record. The Bears were 2-6 in MVC action.
Steckel Tyler Currie Marquis Prophete, Jordan Angelo Garbutt Tiger baseball opens with Indiana
A pre-Thanksgiving treat for University of Memphis baseball fans included the team’s release of the 2019 schedule. And alas, there’s hardly a cupcake coming to town to kick things off Feb. 15-17, as Indiana will be making their way to FedExPark. It’s the same Hoosiers who’ve qualified for the NCAA Tournament five of the last six years.
“We are thrilled with the challenges that the 2019 schedule will bring to this team,” said Memphis coach
in a press release. “Our players are anxious to tackle the tests that will be presented by our normal non-conference foes, as well as the tremendous American Athletic Conference battles that we face every weekend.”
A 34-game home schedule also features a March 27 contest against Ole Miss at AutoZone Park. The Tigers will host Houston, Tulane, South Florida and Cincinnati during the AAC portion of their schedule, while traveling to Wichita State, UConn, UCF and East Carolina.
Daron Schoenrock, Dave Memphis softball begins 2019 in Florida
Not to be outdone in generating springtime excitement is the Memphis softball team, which unveiled its 2019 schedule in mid-November.
Tournaments in preferred warm-weather Sunshine State destinations: Miami (Feb. 8) and Fort Myers (Feb. 15) are on tap first, before a trip to Baton Rouge (Feb. 22-23) affords the Tigers an opportunity to face national powers LSU, Stanford and Michigan. The first home action is slated for Feb. 27.
“We needed our schedule to support our plan of not only winning an American Athletic Conference Championship, but also to gain an at-large for the NCAA tournament,” said Memphis coach in a release. “We feel that our spring schedule will provide the opponents we need to face to put us in that position. Our opponents will present our younger team challenges throughout the season. Our preseason tournaments and midweeks will allow us to see tough competitors from different conferences that will prepare us for our tough foes in conference.”
AAC play starts March 22 when East Carolina visits. The Tigers will also host Wichita State, Houston and
Natalie Poole,
UCF, meaning they’ll travel to Tulsa, UConn and South Florida.
Added Poole: “It is so great to compete in a conference that finished last season with an RPI of fourth in the nation. We will need to be ready to compete for our lives from Game No. 1, and I can't wait to get started on that journey.”
Memphis soccer tops in the South
The Memphis women’s soccer team certainly isn’t barring the door when it comes receiving more honors following its 2018 season.
The latest delivery of good news was a school-record five players being named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Team. Earning First Team nods were senior junior and sophomore
while senior and sophomore landed on the Second and Third Team, respectively. Impressively, the five selections were the most of all schools in the South Region.
The Tigers ended their year with a 17-4 record. They won the AAC championship, before losing to Wisconsin, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact Chris Van Tuyl at christopher.vantuyl@commercialappeal.com.
Olivia Gauthier, Clarissa Serena Dolan Larisey, Marie Levasseur
Elizabeth Moberg