Arkansas

Preview | Saluki Baseball Travels to Central Arkansas for Weekend Series – Southern Illinois University Athletics

Published

2 years ago

February 22, 2024

Preview | Saluki Baseball Travels to Central Arkansas for Weekend Series – Southern Illinois University Athletics

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois baseball is set to faceoff with Central Arkansas for a three-game series starting Friday afternoon on the road. The Salukis enter the series at 4-0 while UCA is coming in at 1-4.

THE SCHEDULE
Friday – 3 p.m.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can also follow along via live stats or on Twitter @SIU_Baseball.

WEEKEND ROTATION
RHP Aidan Foeller (1-0, 0.00) vs RHP Jesse Barker (0-1, 5.79)
LHP Al Holguin (0-0, 6.23) vs RHP Cole MacRae (0-1, 2.25)
RHP Jake Combs (0-0, 19.29) vs TBA

AROUND THE HORN

Saluki baseball continues its seven-game road swing to open the 2024 season with a weekend series at Central Arkansas — the first time that SIU has made the trip to Conway in program history.
SIU has drawn 49 walks in four games this season which ranks second in the nation — three Salukis rank in the top-5 nationally in walks drawn (Jake Allgeyer – 1st/9, Bennett Eltoft and Steven Loden 5th/8).
Saluki infielder Steven Loden has carried over his power from a year ago when he hit 18 homers. The senior has a home run in each game (4) this season and ranks second in the nation behind Texas A&M’s Jace Laviolette (5).
SIU is fifth in the nation with an on-base percentage of .505.
Southern has scored at least 14 runs in each of its first four games. Its 57 runs scored ranks fourth nationally.
Seven Salukis hold an OPS of over 1.000 led by Steven Loden with a 1.355 OPS. Loden has eight hits in 16 at bats. Four of his hits are home runs, while he also has a triple and a double.
Similar to years past, the Salukis have made their mark on the base paths, swiping nine bases in nine attempts. Jordan Bach, Mathieu Vallee, and Bennett Eltoft are 2-for-2 to lead the team.
Friday night starter Aidan Foeller was nearly perfect last time out, allowing just one base hit and striking out eight batters. He did not issue a walk in five complete innings for the Salukis.

RHODES AT THE HELM

Lance Rhodes enters his fifth season at the helm of the program, leading the team to 40 or more wins during two of the last three seasons — including the first back-to-back 40-win seasons in program history (2021 & 22).
Rhodes holds an overall record of 130-69 and a 46-30 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.

THE SERIES & THE MATCHUP

The Salukis and Bears have met six times prior to the weekend with both teams winning three games each. This will be the first time that the Salukis will play UCA in Conway as both series were played at Itchy Jones Stadium, first in 2015 when SIU dropped all three games before SIU swept the Bears in 2022.
The Bears have played a tough schedule on the road thus far in the 2024 season, including a pair of close losses to defending national champion LSU last weekend in Baton Rouge. UCA fell to Memphis 14-4 on Tuesday.
UCA is hitting .193 with two home runs while its pitching staff holds a 5.36 ERA with 46 strikeouts.

THE 2024 DAWGS

THE BIG FLY

SIU’s eight home runs rank 19th nationally and tops in the MVC through four games. Loden leads the team with four in 16 at bats.
As a team, the Salukis hit the third-most home runs in program history in 2023 with 79 bombs, averaging 1.39 home runs per game.
Steven Loden and Pier-Olivier Boucher finished second and fourth, respectively in single-season home runs in 2023. Loden sent 18 homers out which ranked second while Boucher hit 16 home runs to tie for fourth place.

LET’S TURN TWO

The Salukis led the nation in double plays (61) and double plays turned per game (1.07) in 2023.
SIU has led the MVC in turning double plays in seven of the last 10 seasons. SIU led the MVC in double plays in 2013, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 2023. The Salukis were second in the MVC in 2016.

WINNING AT THE ITCH

SIU started the Lance Rhodes era by winning 13 consecutive home games (5-0 in 2020 (COVID), started 8-0 in 2021). Overall, SIU is 74-24 at Itchy Jones Stadium under head coach Lance Rhodes.

MVC PRESEASON POLL

Indiana State was picked in a poll of league head coaches to win the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference baseball title. The Sycamores are defending regular-season and tournament champions. ISU received 95 total points and eight of 10 first-place tallies in this season’s poll, while Missouri State and Evansville earned the other two first-place votes. The Bears finished second in this year’s poll with 89 points, while Evansville is in the No. 3 spot with 81 points. Murray State (4th, 67 points) and Southern Illinois (5th, 63 points) are tightly bunched for the next two spots, followed by Belmont (6th, 40), Illinois State (7th, 39), UIC (8th, 34), Valparaiso (9th, 22), and Bradley (10th, 20).

PRESEASON MVC HONORS

Right-hander Jake Combs was named Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference. A Second Team All-MVC selection a year ago, Combs led the team in ERA with a 2.97 mark in 63.2 innings across 16 appearances, including 15 starts. In MVC play Combs held opponents to a 2.01 ERA in 31.1 innings.

DAWGS WITH WALK-OFF MAGIC

Southern Illinois recorded six walk-off wins in 2023 and has 11 walk-off wins under Lance Rhodes.

FAST FACTS

Bob Goalby was a letter winner for the Saluki Baseball team in 1948, just the second year as a program. He went on to star in another sport: He won the 1968 Masters, defeating, among others, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Sam Snead.

SIU has led the MVC in turning double plays in seven of the last 10 seasons. SIU led the MVC in double plays in 2013, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, and 2023. The Salukis were second in the MVC in 2016.

The Salukis are one of the most senior-laden teams in the nation with 18 on the roster this season.

Utah Valley – 20
Texas State – 18
Houston – 18
Notre Dame – 18
Southern Illinois – 18
6. Georgetown – 17

SIU BASEBALL: A RICH HISTORY

Southern Illinois has made five College World Series appearances, finishing second in the nation twice (1968, 71) and third twice (1974, 1977).

SIU has produced 25 Major Leaguers. Some notable MLB Salukis include Steve Finley, Duane Kuiper, Dave Steib, Jerry Hairston Jr., Al Levine, Jason Frasor, and Jim Dwyer.

The Dan Callahan MVC Baseball Coach of the Year award is the only Valley coaching award in any sport named after a former coach. Callahan coached SIU from 1994-2010, amassing 595 wins. In the decade of the 1970’s, Southern Illinois had the second-best winning percentage in all of Division I baseball, trailing only Texas. SIU was 383-106-3 (.782) from 1970-79.

The Salukis have won eight Missouri Valley Conference championships. All but one came during a 16-year stretch from 1975-90. (SIU was independent in baseball before joining the MVC in 1975). Southern claimed its eighth Valley title and the program’s first in 32 years in 2022 after going 16-5 in conference play.

UP NEXT
The Salukis will welcome Butler on Tuesday for its first game of the season at Itchy Jones Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. and admission is free.

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Baseball, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiBaseball, and on Instagram at @SIU_Baseball. Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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Arkansas

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Published

4 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security

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Arkansas

Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC

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Arkansas

Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

1 day ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026.

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.

Tom Murphy

tmurphy@wholehogsports.com

Tom Murphy is a sports reporter for WholeHogSports. A graduate of Louisiana Tech University, he is a member of the Football Writers Association of America and voter for the Heisman Trophy and AP Top 25 football poll. He was voted the 2017 Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year.

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