Sidelines – Summer 2014
Baseball
Trio of Eagle Pitchers Selected in MLB Draft
Three Georgia Southern pitchers are one step closer to playing in the Major Leagues.
Georgia Southern left-handed pitcher Sam Howard was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 82nd overall pick in the third round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.
Howard’s selection is the first for an Eagle since 2012 and the fifth top-three round selection of the Rodney Hennon era. Howard joins a list of 89 other Georgia Southern players taken in the MLB Draft since 1953.
Howard finished his junior campaign with a 7-6 record and a 2.35 ERA (earned run average). Howard was a key part of the Eagles’ rotation and earned the win in relief in the Southern Conference Tournament Championship (SoCon) game.
Howard capped off his season with a complete game shutout of then No. 5 national seed Florida State. The junior lefthander struck out 10 batters and allowed just two hits and four walks in a 7-0 win over the vaulted Seminoles.
Howard finished second on the team in ERA, wins, starts, innings pitched and led the squad with 94 strikeouts to just 22 walks.
Two other Georgia Southern Eagles were selected in the final day of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Josh Wirsu and Eric Alonzo became the second and third Eagles taken in the 2014 draft, joining teammate Howard. Wirsu was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 30th round, and Alonzo was a 40th round selection of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Wirsu, SoCon Pitcher of the Year, was a staple in Georgia Southern’s rotation this season and was 9-3 with a 2.44 ERA. Wirsu started 16 games, including the Southern Conference Championship Game and a NCAA Regional contest against Kennesaw State. The junior righthander was one of two Eagles with over 90 strikeouts and allowed just 75 hits in 96 innings.
Alonzo was one of Georgia Southern’s top options out of the bullpen and ranked third on the team with 27 appearances. Alonzo went 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA and made three starts in 2014. The junior righthander struck out 42 and walked just 16 batters in 52.1 innings pitched.
Basketball
Coach Riley Returns Home
Carolyn Riley has rejoined the Georgia Southern women’s basketball program as an assistant coach. Riley will be responsible for game scheduling, scouting opponents, post player development, recruiting and coordinating academic support.
“We’re excited about bringing Carolyn back to our program,” said Women’s Head Coach Chris Vozab. “She has a tremendous work ethic, unbridled enthusiasm, attention to detail, an energetic personality and superior organizational skills. She built wonderful relationships with the student-athletes on the team our first year, and I know they are excited about her coming back as well.”
Riley was an assistant coach for the 2012-13 season, Vozab’s first campaign at Georgia Southern. She went overseas to play semi-professionally last season, serving as a player coach for JRC Boxtel in the Netherlands. She averaged 22.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 2.2 assists in helping her team to a Division Championship.
“I had a great experience in the Netherlands, but I really missed being a part of the Georgia Southern women’s basketball program and coaching in a full-time capacity,” said Riley. “I’m happy to be back in Statesboro and to see some familiar and friendly faces, and I’m excited about the future of Eagle women’s basketball.”
Riley came to Georgia Southern from Virginia Commonwealth, where she spent three seasons. The Warrenton, Virginia, native, who was a part of 60 wins during that span, including four postseason victories, oversaw an academic unit that produced seven Athletic Director’s Honor Roll recipients and three Dean’s List performers in 2011-12.
Riley played four years of collegiate basketball with stops at Marymount University and Eastern Mennonite University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Marymount in 2009 before starting her coaching career as a graduate assistant on the Rams’ staff. She received her master’s degree from VCU in 2010.
Golf
Women’s Golf on Course
Emily Kuhfeld has been named women’s golf coach. Kuhfeld comes to Statesboro from Texas Tech, where she spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for JoJo Robertson, helping guide Tech to some of its most successful seasons in program history.
“I could not be more excited and honored to join the Georgia Southern family as the first women’s golf coach,” said Kuhfeld. “During the interview process, I was blown away by the University, facilities and beauty of Statesboro. I feel that everything is in place to create something very special here. Since accepting the job, Coach Mays and the staff have been so welcoming and enthusiastic… I can’t wait to start recruiting and building a first-class program.”
The Georgia Southern women’s golf team will begin competition in the 2015-16 season as members of the Sun Belt Conference. The program will have six full scholarships, the full complement allowed by the NCAA, and will share the Bennett-Ramsey Golf Center with the men’s program, after renovations have been completed.
Kuhfeld has a background in golf instruction, being an LPGA Class A T&CP member.
“We are excited to have Emily as our first women’s coach,” said Georgia Southern Director of Golf Larry Mays. “Her background as a player at Ohio State and her coaching experience both at Texas Tech and USC Beaufort have given her great experiences at many different levels. She will come in and get right to recruiting the best ladies possible to make up our first team in the fall of 2015. We all look forward to getting the program up and running.”
A native of Indianapolis, Kuhfeld earned her degree in history from Ohio State in 2005, after wrapping up her playing career. The captain of the 2004-05 squad, Kuhfeld was a four-time Academic All-Big 10 selection and helped lead the Buckeyes to the Big 10 title in each of her four seasons. Following graduation, she spent nearly two years as a professional player on the Futures Tour before moving on to caddie for Allison Hanna on the LPGA Tour.
She began her collegiate coaching career as head coach at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort, where she led the NAIA program to a third-place finish in the Sun Conference and a spot in the national tournament. After a year at USC-Beaufort, Kuhfeld moved on to Texas Tech in 2011, and helped the Lady Raiders advance to NCAAs for the third-straight season.
Track & Field
Atlanta Native Ready to Run
Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein has hired Kelly Carter as the Eagles’ new Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach. The three-time All-American and all-SEC selection, Carter brings a combination of experience as a world-class athlete and as a veteran coach to the Eagle program. Carter has more than 15 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level as well as serving as a coach for the U.S. Paralympic Games, following an outstanding career as a competitor.
“A veteran coach and former world-class athlete, Kelly Carter will convert the potential of our Eagle cross country and track and field programs to a higher level of success,” said Kleinlein. “His commitment to his student-athletes and their performances both in competition and in the classroom is in alignment with our mission of ‘rings and diplomas.’ We are excited to have him join our department and help our Eagles become leaders in the Sun Belt Conference.”
Carter comes to Georgia Southern after three years as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), working primarily with the Blue Raider sprinters and hurdlers. His student-athletes recorded more than 60 individual personal bests during the 2013-14 indoor and outdoor seasons. Prior to joining the MTSU staff, he served for 11 years as the head coach of the Men’s Track and Field program at Tennessee State from 2000-2011.
Joining the coaching ranks as a volunteer assistant coach at Auburn University, his alma mater, Carter spent two years under the tutelage of longtime Tiger coaching greats Mel Rosen and Ralph Spry. He was part of the staff for Auburn’s fourth place NCAA finish in 1999 and third-place finish in 2000.
A member of the U.S. Junior National team, he traveled to Cuba and Vancouver, Canada, prior to beginning his freshman year at Auburn. Recording the fifth-best 400m Hurdle and sixth-best 110m Hurdle times in Tiger history in his first outdoor season, Carter participated in the 1988 Olympic Trials in the 400m Hurdles, advancing to the quarterfinals. He competed at the Indy trials for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team against the likes of eventual gold medalist Andre Phillips and bronze medalist Edwin Moses. Carter also represented the United States at the Junior World Championships in Sudbury, Ontario, later that summer and claimed the gold medal in the 400m intermediate hurdles. His time of 49.50 was more than a full second faster than his nearest competitor.
The Atlanta native was a standout at Southwest DeKalb High School, setting numerous school, county and state records. Carter earned his Bachelor of Science degree in communications from Auburn and his master’s in sports administration from Tennessee State. He is married to the former Angie Johnson, an Auburn All-American as a member of the Tigers’ 4x100m Relay team. They have two children, Kyle and Haley.
Volleyball
Alumna Meredith Paskert Named Assistant Coach
Georgia Southern volleyball coach Dustin Wood has named former Eagle Meredith Paskert (‘13) an assistant coach. She will be involved in the day-to-day operations of the program, assist with recruiting and work with the outside hitters on the court.
Following a two-year playing career at Georgia Southern, Paskert served as a student assistant coach in 2013, helping the Eagles win the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history.
“Meredith gained a wealth of knowledge of our systems just being in our gym with the new staff last year,” said Wood. “She will hit the ground running, and I am looking forward to her helping our program grow and advance. Meredith will be an asset here at Georgia Southern in the start of her coaching career, and I know she will make an excellent coach.”
A native of Brecksville, Ohio, and graduate of Brecksville-Broadview High School, Paskert began her collegiate career at Kent State before transferring to Georgia Southern prior to her junior season. She earned first-team All-SoCon honors as a senior, after leading the Eagles in kills with 429 and hitting .273 with 153 digs, 38 blocks and 36 aces. Paskert logged 679 kills, 248 digs, 70 blocks and 43 aces in 63 career matches with the Eagles. She graduated from Georgia Southern with a degree in exercise science last year.
Georgia Southern returns seven letterwinners and six starters to the 2014 squad, which will compete in the Eagles’ inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference.