Primarily a collection of news links about all 12 Missouri Valley League teams on a daily basis, culled from online newspapers, school athletic websites, the conference website, and school newspapers, plus some other content from time to time.
The
6-1 guard was the City Player of the Year and a state champion as a
senior at Cathedral in the 2021-22 season. He started all 37 games as a
freshman at Eastern Kentucky (playing alongside Leland Walker),
averaging 8.0 points, 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game
to earn Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman honors. Comer then averaged
7.8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds as a sophomore while shooting
37% from the 3-point line. Third-year Evansville coach David Ragland
landed Comer after he entered the portal as the Purple Aces look to
build off a 17-win season.
16. Ben Humrichous to Illinois
The
6-9 Humrichous was an honorable mention all-state player out of Tipton
as a senior in 2019-20 after averaging 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds on
35% shooting from the 3-point line. He was not highly recruited out of
high school, landing at NAIA Huntington University, where he averaged
12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in his sophomore and junior seasons before
transferring to Division I Evansville for the 2023-24 season. Humrichous
started all 24 games he appeared in at Evansville (missing time due to a
foot injury) and led the Purple Aces in scoring (14.7 ppg) and second
in rebounds (4.7 per game). He was also Evansville’s top 3-point shooter
in volume (2.2 makes per game) and efficiency (41.4%), which led him to
Illinois as a grad transfer. Illinois was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA
tournament last season and played in the Elite Eight but are losing
several key pieces, including All-American Terrence Shannon and Coleman
Hawkins. Humrichous will be expected to help fill the void.
15. Isaiah Swope to Saint Louis
This
one hurts from an in-state perspective. Swope, after averaging 22.2
points and 3.9 assists as a senior at Castle in 2020-21, was an
immediate impact player at Southern Indiana, where he averaged 15.6
points, 3.5 assists and shot 42.3% from the 3-point line as a sophomore
in 2022-23 to earn all-conference honors. Swope then transferred to
Indiana State, where he had a remarkable season as he averaged 15.9
points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and shot 36.2% from the 3-point line
for a 32-7 team that won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season
and was runner-up in the NIT.
His 113 3-pointers ranked fourth in college basketball. Swope then
announced after the season he was transferring to Saint Louis to follow
his Indiana State coach, Josh Schertz. The Billikens were just 13-20
last year but have six incoming transfers.
11. Connor Hickman to Cincinnati
The
6-3 Hickman averaged 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists as a
junior at Bloomington South in 2019-20 before missing his senior season
due to injury. He committed to Bradley out of high school and was
immediately an impact player, earning all-freshman honors in Missouri
Valley Conference as he averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 rebounds, shooting
37.4% from the 3-point line. Last season, Hickman averaged 14.5 points,
2.9 assists and shot 40.2% from the 3-point line to earn all-MVC honors.
After starting 87 games at Bradley, Hickman considered hometown Indiana
before committing to Cincinnati, where former Bradley assistant Drew
Adams is on staff. Cincinnati is coming off a 22-15 season.
5. Ryan Conwell to Xavier
The
left-handed guard and Pike grad averaged 22.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and
3.7 assists coming out of high school in 2022 as a member of the Indiana
All-Star team. He finished his high school career with 1,083 points.
Conwell committed to South Florida, where he started 21 games as a
freshman in 2022-23 and averaged 5.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9
assists, shooting 30% from the 3-point line. He transferred to Indiana
State for the 2023-24 season, earning the Missouri Vally Conference
Newcomer of the Year award as he averaged 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and
2.5 assists, shooting 40.7% from the 3-point line. When Schertz left for Saint Louis, Conwell put his name in the transfer portal and committed to Xavier coach Sean Miller. The Musketeers were 16-18 last season.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University Department of
Athletics announced its 2024 Saluki Hall of Fame class today. The
distinguished class will be formally inducted in a ceremony on Friday,
Oct. 11, and then make public appearances during Homecoming festivities
on Saturday, Oct. 12.
The 2024 six-person class features Jorge Delgado (Swimming), Korey
Lindsey (Football), Rick Murray (Baseball), Rishonda Napier (Women's
Basketball), Sally Perkins (Athletic Trainer) and Rick Walker (Swimming
& Diving Coach).
Napier (2012-17) finished her career among the all-time leaders in
school history in multiple statistical categories. She finished second
in scoring (1,728 points), third in assists (436) and first in
3-pointers (277). Napier became just the third player in school history
to earn First-Team All-Conference honors three times during her career.
She was also a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete and helped guide SIU to
two WBI postseason appearances during her career.
