Kentucky

How Ole Miss baseball’s pitching options will factor in elimination game vs Western Kentucky

Published

5 months ago

May 31, 2025

How Ole Miss baseball’s pitching options will factor in elimination game vs Western Kentucky

OXFORD — The Rebels need to borrow the blueprint that Murray State used to beat them if they want a chance to stay alive.

Regional No. 1 Ole Miss baseball lost 9-6 to No. 4 Murray State on May 30. The loss puts the Rebels, the host team after earning the No. 10 national seed entering the NCAA tournament, in an early hole. They will face Western Kentucky, another 40-win team staring elimination in the face, on May 31 (1 p.m. CT).

Murray State’s upset, which sent a shockwave through the Oxford Regional, was derived in large part from Nic Schutte’s workhorse, 119-pitch performance. The Rebels (40-20) may need something similar against WKU (46-13).

“When their starter throws 120 pitches, it’s usually not good for you,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said.

Ole Miss will benefit greatly from its starter against Western Kentucky — probably ace Hunter Elliott, or he risks not throwing in the Oxford Regional — going deep into the game. The Rebels used much of their top bullpen talent in the loss against Murray State. Starter Riley Maddox was pulled after three innings. Mason Morris threw 54 pitches. Gunnar Dennis threw 14. Will McCausland threw 33. Connor Spencer, the closer, threw 11.

How does Bianco feel about his bullpen the rest of the way with his top options, especially Morris and McCausland, depleted?

“I don’t know,” Bianco said. “We’ve got a lot more pieces left, but when you have to get into the losers bracket, there’s going to be other guys that have to step up and pitch well. It starts with tomorrow. You’ve got to get through the game.”

Second baseman Judd Utermark reiterated the Rebels’ “Shower well” motto after the loss. It means players must have a short-term memory.

“It’s obviously frustrating, it being postseason,” Utermark said. “This is my first regional game. I had high hopes for us today. Ultimately we can’t control anything about this game anymore. We just have to put it past us.”

Western Kentucky has a strong offense. The Hilltoppers ended Conference USA play with the best team batting average (.318) and hits (542) in the league. Bianco said the key to Ole Miss overcoming its early stumble will be by taking one game at a time, starting with WKU.

“Somebody does it every year,” Bianco said. “Somebody loses Game 1 and makes it through. I like this club and I know we’ll stick together. I think you’ve got to be careful of trying to look to the finish line and look to the next step. The next step is tomorrow.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

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Kentucky

KFCA names top players, linemen, coaches for each of state’s 48 football districts

Published

3 hours ago

November 11, 2025

Press Room

KFCA names top players, linemen, coaches for each of state’s 48 football districts

The Kentucky Football Coaches Association has named its Players of the Year, Linemen of the Year and Coaches of the Year for all 48 districts, eight in each class.

Players of the Year, Linemen of the Year and Coaches of the Year for all six classes will be named during the state finals Dec. 5-6 at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field in Lexington. The KFCA Mr. Football and statewide Coach Haywood Lineman of the Year and Jimmie Reed Coach of the Year awards will be announced in mid-December.

Louisville-area Player of the Year winners are Christian Academy’s Ja’Hyde Brown, North Oldham’s Colin Daniels, Spencer County’s Keyon Davis, Atherton’s Garyon Hobbs, Bullitt Central’s A.J. Lee, Manual’s Gerian Traynor, Male’s Steron Davidson and Trinity’s Zane Johnson.

Louisville-area Lineman of the Year winners are Kentucky Country Day’s Kris Mandy, Christian Academy’s Kellan Hall, Valley’s Josh Vaughan, Spencer County’s Richard Gilbert, Iroquois’ Jeremiah Jackson, Fairdale’s Chaz Tutt, Male’s Christian White and Trinity’s Nate Shields.

Louisville-area Coach of the Year winners are Christian Academy’s Hunter Cantwell, Butler’s Gary Wheeler, Fairdale’s Louis Dover, St. Xavier’s Kevin Wallace, Male’s Chris Wolfe and Oldham County’s Jamie Reed.

Here are the award winners for each district, with Player of the Year listed first and followed by Lineman of the Year and Coach of the Year.

District One – Zayden Kinney (Fulton County), Drake Thorpe (Fulton County), James Bridges (Fulton County); Two – Kace Eastridge (Campbellsville), Kris Mandy (Kentucky Country Day), Dale Estes (Campbellsville); Three – Eddie Bivens (Newport Central Catholic), Will Sandfoss (Newport Central Catholic), Steve Lickert (Newport Central Catholic); Four – Charles Oglesby (Covington Holy Cross), Beckett Meersman (Bishop Brossart), Curt Spencer (Covington Holy Cross); Five – Caden Jones (Sayre), Wyatt Moore (Sayre), Chad Pennington (Sayre); Six – Landen Stiltner (Raceland), Jacob Litteral (Raceland), Michael Salmons (Raceland); Seven – Deakon Partin (Middlesboro), Christian Davis (Middlesboro), Larry French (Middlesboro); Eight – William Shoptaw (Hazard), Caden Thacker (Pikeville), Brian Melvin (Paintsville).
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District One – Caden Howard (Crittenden County), Ashton Rodgers (Mayfield), Cliff Dew (Mayfield); Two – Miles Edge (Owensboro Catholic), Caden Conkright (Owensboro Catholic), Robert Eubanks (Hancock County); Three – Kris Hughes (Somerset), Andrew Houk (Green County), John Petett (Monroe County); Four – Tyler King (Lexington Christian), Sasha Wade (Danville), Lawrence Smith (Washington County); Five – Tyler Fryman (Beechwood), Lucas Tillery (Owen County), Steve Tarter (Bracken County); Six – Waylon Abner (Breathitt County), Waylon Abner (Breathitt County), Mark Easterling (Morgan County); Seven – Devan Maynard (Martin County), Preston Shepherd (Knott County Central), Randall Mullins (Knott County Central); Eight – Jonah Bartley (Shelby Valley), Bo Wolford (Belfry), Matt Varney (Belfry).

District One – Wyatt Robbins (Murray), Ryan Walls (Murray), Melvin Cunningham (Murray); Two – Hudson Gumm (Glasgow), Matt Stephens (LaRue County), Josh Robins (Butler County); Three – Ja’Hyde Brown (Christian Academy), Kellan Hall (Christian Academy), Hunter Cantwell (Christian Academy); Four – R.J. Blair (Garrard County), Mark Hosinski (Lexington Catholic), David Clark (Lexington Catholic); Five – Kaleb Evans (Lloyd Memorial), King Lee (Bourbon County), Kyle Niederman (Lloyd Memorial); Six – Jayden Frasure (Russell), Zach Brown (Russell), T.J. Maynard (Russell); Seven – Blake Burnett (Bell County), Spencer Phipps (Bell County), Dudley Hilton (Bell County); Eight – Luke Fetherolf (Lawrence County), Ty Brooks (Lawrence County), Alan Short (Lawrence County).

District One – Avery Thompson (Paducah Tilghman), Ben Myers (Paducah Tilghman), Coby Lewis (Calloway County); Two – Cavalli Pittman (John Hardin), Bryten Close (Taylor County), Josh Boston (Nelson County); Three – Colin Daniels (North Oldham), Josh Vaughan (Valley), Brock Roberts (North Oldham); Four – Keyon Davis (Spencer County), Richard Gilbert (Spencer County), Eddie James (Franklin County); Five – Tayden Lorenzen (Highlands), Max Merz (Highlands), Bob Sphire (Highlands); Six – Logan Music (Johnson Central), Drew Ferguson (Johnson Central), Jesse Peck (Johnson Central); Seven – Seneca Driver (Boyle County), Trashaun Bryant (Wayne County), Justin Haddix (Boyle County); Eight – Cole Stevens (Corbin), Malachi Brown (Corbin), Jacob Saylor (Harlan County).

District One – Markezz Hightower (Madisonville-North Hopkins), J.W. Muster (Owensboro), John Edge (Apollo); Two – Davis Chaney (Greenwood), Zach Jordan (Bowling Green), William Howard (Greenwood); Three – Garyon Hobbs (Atherton), Jeremiah Jackson (Iroquois), Gary Wheeler (Butler); Four – A.J. Lee (Bullitt Central), Chaz Tutt (Fairdale), Louis Dover (Fairdale); Five – Cam O’Hara (Cooper), Noah Reichel (Cooper), Randy Borchers (Cooper); Six – Timmy Emongo (Scott County), Justyn Perez (Woodford County), Dennis Johnson (Woodford County); Seven – Cooper Swaim (West Jessamine), Isaiah Wilkinson (West Jessamine), Scott Marsh (West Jessamine); Eight – Mason Griffin (South Laurel), Brady Hull (Pulaski County), Steve Nelson (North Laurel).
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District One – James Bradley (Hopkinsville), Foster Jackson (Hopkinsville), Tyler Brooks (McCracken County); Two – Kayden York (South Warren), Malik Butler (South Warren), Brandon Smith (South Warren); Three – Gerian Traynor (Manual), Josiah Hope (North Hardin), Kevin Wallace (St. Xavier); Four – Steron Davidson (Male), Christian White (Male), Chris Wolfe (Male); Five – Zane Johnson (Trinity), Nate Shields (Trinity), Jamie Reed (Oldham County); Six – Jacob Savage (Ryle), Bo Gay (Ryle), Mike Engler (Ryle); Seven – Darnell Burnside (Tates Creek), Josiah Hernandez (Paul Dunbar), Jon Lawson (Lafayette); Eight – Dakari Talbert (Frederick Douglass), Camden Burke (Madison Central), William Blair (Madison Central).
More high school football: Check out the Louisville-area all-district selections
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Follow on X @kyhighs.

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Kentucky

Addictive kratom byproduct could become a Schedule I drug in Kentucky

Published

2 days ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Addictive kratom byproduct could become a Schedule I drug in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration is taking steps to classify a form of kratom, a popular legal stimulant known to possess opioid-like qualities in low doses, as a Schedule I narcotic.

According to a press release on Nov. 5 from Beshear’s office, leaders are targeting the 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) byproduct, making it illegal to sell, possess, or distribute in any isolated or concentrated form.

“We have marked three straight years of declines in overdose deaths in Kentucky, and that is progress we’re committed to building on as we work to protect more lives in the fight against addiction,” said Gov. Beshear. “Deadly and addictive drugs like 7-OH have no place in our communities, and this step will help us get these drugs off the streets and provide us more tools to keep Kentuckians safe.”

Officials wrote that while 7-OH is a naturally occurring component in the kratom plant, it’s only found in small amounts. Highly concentrated forms of it are put in shots, powders, and capsules at dosages that make it highly addictive and dangerous.

State leaders said that back in August, Beshear issued an emergency designation of bromazolam, also known as “designer Xanax,” as a Schedule 1 drug. The Cabinet of Health and Family Services is reportedly working to put 7-OH kratom in the same category alongside heroin, LSD, and fentanyl.

More information about the Beshear administration’s work to ban 7-OH in Kentucky can be found here.

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Kentucky

Cutter Boley and the Cats are Rallying behind Mark Stoops

Published

2 days ago

November 9, 2025

Press Room

Cutter Boley and the Cats are Rallying behind Mark Stoops

The temperature of Mark Stoops‘ seat has been toasty. Criticism for the Kentucky head coach has not been hard to find, and it was amplified after the Wildcats dropped consecutive SEC games at Kroger Field.

Players and coaches will say they don’t pay attention to the noise, but let’s be real. They’re human. It’s unavoidable. As Big Blue Nation debated on Stoops’ future at Kentucky, his players rallied behind him.

“We hate it. We’re kind of taking it on our shoulders and putting it on ourselves,” Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley said after the game.

Even though Stoops may have lost some fans in recent weeks, he never lost the locker room. Win or loss, they showed up to work because that’s the approaches every single day.

“He’s a players’ coach. All the guys in here love him. All the guys want to fight for him, want to win for him, everything like that. We have a really good thing going in the locker room. You can see our heartbeat that we had tonight,” said Boley.

“Everybody loves Coach Stoops, what he does, and what he stands for, and how he addresses the team in every situation, loss, win, no matter what it is. He’s always the same guy. Loss, win, whatever it is. He’s always the same guy in the locker room. He’s always the same guy talking to us on Mondays, no matter the outcome. And I think every guy respects that and really wants to play for him.”

That feeling has manifested in exceptional play from this Kentucky football team, especially at quarterback. Over Boley’s last three starts at Kroger Field, the redshirt freshman has completed 75-97 (77.3%) passes for 756 yards (252 per game) and seven touchdowns. His play has elevated his teammates, giving Kentucky a shocking amount of late-season momentum.

For years, Kentucky relied on transfer portal players to start under center. For the first time in a long time, the Wildcats have a proficient passer they recruited from the high school ranks. Stoops is proud to see Boley develop into the player they believed he could become.

“I’ve believed in Cutter for a long time, for many years, three, four years. I’m really proud of him, the growth that he’s making, and the improvement that he’s making each and every week,” said Stoops. “It gives everybody some hope.”

Hope. That was hard to find around this Kentucky football team, but inside the locker room, it never wavered. That hope turned into unshakable confidence in a dominant victory over Florida.

“To be honest, this whole week, this whole day, we came with juice,” Boely said. “Everybody was excited, and everybody was ready to play. We had felt, not that we had won this game before we came out here, but we were so confident. We had a heartbeat tonight.”

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