College Sports

Veteran Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz was certainly not born with a silver whistle in his mouth, which enabled him to have a carefree journey through his career, so, when it comes to hiring Redhawk assistant coaches, he takes a liking to guys who had to climb their way to this point. That absolutely applies to first-year SEMO defensive line coach Kevon Beckwith. “He has kind of had to take the back stairs,” Matukewicz said of Beckwith’s career.

There is only one tight end that receives recognition by the Ohio Valley Conference on each of its postseason honor squads, and Southeast Missouri State senior Will Weidemann was named to the league’s Second Team last season, which means there was only one other player at that position in the conference deemed better than him.

The Three Rivers College softball team used a potent combination of strong hitting and strong pitching to sweep a doubleheader against the St. Charles Lady Cougars Tuesday at J.D. Rains Field. The Lady Raiders took the opener 7-3, then won the nightcap 9-0 in a game that was shortened to five innings...

As Spring Training comes to a close, this is the time of the year when dreams are about to be made for players who entered camp with long shots but high hopes. Spring Training is the greatest preseason in sports. One of the main reasons why is this is the sport where an unknown can earn his way into the big leagues with a productive month...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Three Rivers College baseball team outscored the Metropolitan Wolves 45-22 to take three games of a four-game set over the weekend. The Raiders (15-14) took both games at Metropolitan on Saturday, winning the opener 11-1 and taking the nightcap 15-7. The two schools then split a twin bill on Sunday, with the Wolves winning the opener 10-6 and TRC taking the nightcap 13-4...

TRENTON, Mo. — The Three Rivers College softball team overcame a loss Friday to win three in a row and take a four-game series over the weekend at North Central Missouri College. After dropping the first game of a doubleheader last Friday 5-3, the Lady Raiders bounced back and won the nightcap 16-7 in five innings. TRC followed that up the next day by sweeping a twin bill from the host Lady Pirates, taking the opener 5-1 and the second game 10-4...

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — The Atlanta Braves will open the season with two rookie left-handers in their rotation while giving right-hander Kyle Wright more time to prepare for his first start. Wright was told Sunday he would start the season on the 15-day injured list. He was the only 20-game winner in the majors last season but had a slow start this spring after getting a cortisone shot in January to address a shoulder issue...

Veteran Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz didn’t necessarily plan on having to utilize Redhawk true freshman outside linebacker Latrevion Thompson last fall. However, injuries, as well as Thompson showing some potential, forced the Redhawk coaches' hands, and the former Kennett High School standout ultimately participated in five games.

Demarcus Sharp is on the move again. The former Charleston High School standout and Southland Conference Player of Year this past season recently announced on social media his plans to transfer to Austin Peay University. Gipson played this past season for head coach Corey Gipson and Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana where he averaged 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field 81 percent from the free throw line and 55 percent from behind the 3-point arc.. ...

Southeast Missouri State's rare run in the NCAA Tournament ended before it began in the First Four. The aftermath was met with Phillip Russell's announcement on social media to enter the transfer portal, compounding the natural departure of Chris Harris, who will likely go down as one of the greatest players in Redhawk history...

What has never been debatable has been the talent level on a football field that former North County High School standout Nolan Reed possessed. The only question was: Where exactly should he play to best utilize his talents?

LUBBOCK, Texas — Thursday’s first-round NJCAA women’s basketball tournament game between Three Rivers College and the Gulf Coast State College Commodores might have been decided by a couple of runs. First, Gulf Coast State scored 14 consecutive points to take the lead for good early in the second quarter, then used another big run over the third and fourth quarters to pull away and take a 71-47 win over the Lady Raiders at the Rip Griffin Center...

UNION, Mo. — The Three Rivers College baseball team split a Region 16 doubleheader Wednesday at East Central, dropping the opener 10-6, but winning the nightcap 11-6 to earn the split. With the win in the second game, the Raiders improved to 12-13 on the season...

There are six pages distributed each game week by the Southeast Missouri State media relations department chronicling the accomplishments of 10th-year Redhawk football coach Tom Matukewicz. However, if you listen to Matukewicz speak in advance of the opening of spring practice on Wednesday, he comes across as a guy who is hungry for success as a coach on his first day on the job.

The sixth inning was the difference in the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks’ 12-2 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Tuesday in Fayetteville. While SEMO lost 12-2 due to the mercy rule, Redhawks coach Andy Sawyers was proud of the way his team looked against the Razorbacks, the #5 team in the country...

Joey Lucchesi was the last Southeast Missouri State baseball player to play in the big leagues. His last season was in 2016, a year in which the Redhawks won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship, just before Andy Sawyers began his coaching tenure in SEMO...

LUBBOCK, Texas — The Three Rivers College women’s basketball team will face a solid challenge when it opens play at the NJCAA women’s national tournament at the Rip Griffin Center. The 22nd-seeded Lady Raiders will tip off the tournament’s final first-round game at noon Thursday against No. 11 Gulf Coast State College of Panama City, Fla...

Southeast Missouri State guard Phillip Russell announced via Twitter on Monday that he has entered the transfer portal. Russell is coming off a season where he averaged 18.1 points per game and 5.1 assists a game leading the Redhawks to their first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship since 2000...

Southeast Missouri State third baseman Chance Resetich has as many hits as games started (19) this season. On a long Sunday afternoon, he made his 19th hit count by driving in the winning run to complete the series sweep against Western Illinois at Capaha Field...

A big day from Gunnar Doyle led the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks to a 10-3 win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Friday at Capaha Park. With the Redhawks leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 6th Doyle came through with a 2-run single to extend the lead to 3-0...

The common themes enveloping Southeast Missouri State athletics in recent years have been two things: Elite student-athletes achieving greatness. Anyone that follows Redhawk athletics can point to the never-ending list of championships won throughout the athletic department, all of which took student-athletes who are certainly worthy of future consideration as SEMO Hall of Famers.

DAYTON, OHIO - Over the two-day stretch in Dayton you wouldn’t have a hard time seeing the support the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks had. That was true as Redhawk fans and alumni met at Warped Wing Brewing Company in Dayton to get set for the First Four matchup...

DAYTON, OHIO - A late comeback was not enough as the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks fell 75-71 to the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders on Tuesday at UD Arena. The Redhawks were led by Chris Harris who had 23 points in the loss. Harris was key in orchestrating a run that tied the game at 64 after the Redhawks trailed by 9 in the 2nd half...

As we’ve all been realizing, March Madness is a phenomenon that involved not just the Southeast Missouri State players but fans, band, administrators, and cheerleaders. Even the mascot, Rowdy the Redhawk had to enter the court and compete in a fierce dance battle against the mascot of the Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Izzy the Islander...

As the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks play on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, it will be in front of a national audience as March Madness tips off with the Redhawks First Four matchup against the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders at 5:40 p.m. Southeast president Dr. Carlos Vargas said seeing the run the Redhawks have made has been fun to watch...

DAYTON, OHIO - Experience in March can be crucial for a team hoping to make some noise. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks head coach Brad Korn has been a part of March Madness as a player, an assistant coach and now a head coach. Korn made his debut in the big dance in 2002 with the Southern Illinois Salukis where they made a Sweet 16 run with wins over Texas Tech and Georgia before losing to UConn...

2000 seems like such a long time ago, and not at the same time. A lot has changed between Southeast Missouri State’s first run in the NCAA Tournament and the second. For starters, they were the Indians in 2000 and are returning to March Madness as the Redhawks...

So, this is it. On TruTv at at 5:40 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, March 14, all eyes will be on Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M Corpus Christi at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. SEMO has waited 23 years to return to March Madness. Now they will kick off the tournament as the opening act...

The Southeast Missouri State University men’s basketball team did not have to wait long get their assignment on Sunday afternoon. The Redhawks, coming off their Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship, were the second team announced Sunday, March 12 during the NCAA March Madness Selection Show.

NATCHITOCHES, La. – After engineering a 13-win turnaround for the Northwestern State men's basketball team, head coach Corey Gipson has resigned his position to accept the head coaching position at Austin Peay. Gipson will be introduced as the Governors' new coach Tuesday...

As the Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program begins its historic quest tonight (5:40 p.m., TruTV) against Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the opening game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, the Redhawk followers probably won’t have much familiarity with the No. 16-seed Islanders (23-10), who won both the Southland Conference regular-season titles, as well as the league tournament.

The Three Rivers College women’s basketball team is going back to the big dance. For the third year in a row — and fourth time in the last five years — the Lady Raiders will be making the trip to the NJCAA women’s basketball tournament in Lubbock, Texas, after receiving an at-large bid to the national tournament on Sunday evening. TRC will open play at the national tournament at noon Thursday, March 23, against 11th-seeded Gulf Coast State out of Panama City, Florida.

Southeast Missouri State senior pitcher Noah Niznik lived up to the role of ace and threw seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts, leading the Redhawks to an 8-0 win over Butler on Friday at Capaha Field. “I'm really just staying focused out there,” Niznik said. ...

NEOSHO, Mo. — It was a day of good news and bad Friday for the Three Rivers College baseball team. The Raiders took on host Crowder in a doubleheader to open a four-game series, with Three Rivers taking the opener 11-3 and the host Roughriders winning 15-0...

After two seasons of playing behind Andrew Keck and Wade Stauss, Redhawks junior Ty Stauss now finds himself with the starting catcher job for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks baseball team. Stauss said he’s enjoying the responsibility that comes with having the catcher job...

When Three Rivers College men’s basketball coach Brian Bess was asked about the amount of adversity the Raiders had battled this season, his response spoke volumes — figuratively and literally. “I’ve got a notebook full of that,” Bess said. Adversity arguably was a defining theme for the Raiders this season. A slew of injuries, a midseason bus crash and a brutal schedule all played roles in turning a promising season into one that ended with a 14-17 record...

The Three Rivers College baseball team ran its winning streak to three games Wednesday as it took a pair of games from Williams Baptist‘s junior varsity squad. The Raiders won the opener 10-0 and took the nightcap 11-1 and improved to 7-8 on the season...

The postseason always brings out the best in a team, and Tuesday’s Region XVI women’s basketball semifinal between Three Rivers College and Mineral Area College was one for the ages. Survive and advance was the theme for the matchup against the No. 2 seeded Three Rivers Lady Raiders and No. 3 seed MAC...

The Three Rivers Lady Raiders softball team broke out of its recent scoring slump in a big way Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Raiders scored 16 runs — 11 in one inning — and pounded out 18 hits as they rolled to a 16-1 win against the Kankakee (Illinois) Cavaliers in the first game of a doubleheader at J.D. Rains Field...

NATCHITOCHES, La – Another day, more recognition for first-year Northwestern State head men’s basketball coach Corey Gipson. A day after being named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, Gipson was honored as a finalist for two more coaching honors – the Hugh Durham Coach of the Year Award and the Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year Award...

An interesting stat has emerged after the first three weeks of the young college baseball season. When first baseman Lincoln Andrews drives in a run, the Redhawks win. The junior drove in a total of four runs during the Redhawks' series win over Milwaukee at Capaha Field, their first of the season...

NATCHITOCHES, La. – After nearly 30 years, Northwestern State has its second Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Senior point guard and former Charleston High School standout DeMarcus Sharp was named the Southland’s 2022-23 Player of the Year on Friday afternoon in a vote by league coaches, becoming the first Demon named the league’s top player since Eric Kubel in the 1993-94 season...

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks didn't just win the Ohio Valley Conference championship on Saturday in Evansville; they concluded what may be the most dramatic trilogy in conference history. The Redhawks won the rubber match against Tennessee Tech in overtime 89-82 to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament...

Chris Harris scored 26 points, Phillip Russell added 21 — including the game’s last seven points — and No. 5 seed Southeast Missouri State beat Tennessee Tech 89-82 in overtime Saturday night to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

It's been 23 years since the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team played in the NCAA Tournament. Nobody in my sports staff at the Southeast Missourian was alive back then. I was a fourth-grader playing Pokemon Silver and waiting for the Xbox to hit the shelf...

It took two more games than originally imagined after the last home game of the season, but Southeast Missouri State reached the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville, Indiana. SEMO won the free throw battle 34-17 and eventually the game 91-83 over Tennessee State in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. ...

If there is a team that can speak to dealing with adversity, the Three Rivers men’s basketball team can speak loudly on that issue. From injuries of all kinds — including a ghastly leg break and a semi truck running into the team bus — and playing arguably the toughest schedule in the country, the Raiders have battled it this season. ...

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks led wire-to-wire as they blew by the Morehead State Eagles 77-38 on Thursday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Redhawks took care of business in every aspect of the game which was key to their success to open OVC Tournament play...

A big second half was key in the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks’ 84-65 win over the Lindenwood Lions on Wednesday in the first round of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. It was a slow start offensively for both sides as SEMO went down 7-0 four minutes into the game...

Carlos Aranda made an impressive Capaha debut on Wednesday by hitting his first career grand slam in his first home game as a Redhawk. “I thank God for the opportunity to be a Redhawk and have fun with the boys,” Aranda said. The senior designated hitter was the lone bright spot in an otherwise disastrous 14-8 home-opening loss to Evansville. Aranda’s slam put the Redhawks within two runs, making it a 7-5 contest in the bottom of the third inning...