KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011 / SPORTS
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SOFTBALL
New season with hope of perfection
BY HANNAH WISE
BY HANNAH WISE
hwise@kansan.com
Mental focus and preparedness are this season' goals for the women's softball team. The team is looking for perfection in every aspect of the game whether it is
offense, defense or being mentally prepared.
"Our philosophy this year is being big and being really locked into what we are doing every
single pitch and every single play," said sophonore infielder Mariah Moltgomery. "We are almost there, but we can be there ten out of en times. We can be at that level."
The team played six fall-ball seapn games in Lawrence against other teams from around the state and came away with a record of 5-1. The team had a few miscue and missed signals, however. These mishaps along with base running errors led to their 2-1 loss to Vashburn.
Since then, the team has been working out to be stronger and fastir. The athletes reported to Lawrence for pre-season two-day on Jan. 13 despite the winter weather that has plagued the city While in Lawrence, the team worked on fundamentals and techniques and participated in eambuilding activities.
The team left Lawrence on Jan. 17 for the Mustang softball Academy indoor facility in Widitna. The facility includes a fullsoftball field, batting ages and pitching lanes, giving theteam the ability to practice and perfect all aspects of the game.
"We really focused on team defensive concepts and scrimmate," coach Megan Smith said. "The team has done rally well."
The players are leaping to anticipate every pitch, hitor throw that
comes their way and the coaches say they do see improvement.
"We have seen just a different presence from the players out on the field every day," Smith said. "They are determined. They are focused. They have a lot of energy and they are focused in on every play."
During the off-season, Smith announced the signings of five players for the 2011-2012 season. Lexi Bryant, Chanin Naudin, Alicia Pille, Cassen Salamone and Maddie Stein will join the Jayhawks in the fall. They will complement the current roster and add further depth. Bryant, a catcher from Chicago, was recently named an ESPN RISE High School All-American and was chosen as the Illinois Athlete of the Year during her junior year.
"It is a really solid class," Smith said. "We are really excited about them. They are really good athletes who played comparable travel softball and have competed at the highest level."
Also during the off-season, Smith named redshirt junior Liz Kocon and sophomores Montgomery and Alex Jones as captains. The captains will lead the 19-member team this spring. Kocon is back in the starting line up after a season-ending injury last season. Montgomery was named to the All-Big XII Second Team and will be returning to the infield for the Jayhawks. Coaches expect Jones to make a difference on the mound and in the outfield.
The team is relatively young with only two seniors, but the strength provided by freshmen infielder Ashley Newman and pitcher Kristin Martinez will support the team.
Freshman infielder Ashley Newman fields a ground ball at Arrocha Ballpark Wednesday. Kansas defeated Johnson County Community College. The team's first competition is Feb. 11-13 in Florida
The Jayhawks continue to work in practices to prepare for their first weekend of competition in Jacksonville, Fla. on Feb. 11-13 Its first match up is against the University of North Carolina.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
- Edited by Tali David
FOOTBALL
KU wide receivers coach to leave for Texas
BY KOXY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
After another stint on the Kansas coaciling staff, wide receiverscoach Darrell Wyatt accepted a job for the same position at the
University of Texas in Austin.
ing to Lawrence last January. This will be Wyatt's fifth coaching stop in the big 12, with previous experience at Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Wyatt is originally from Killeen, Texas, which is less than 70 miles from the
"The opportunity to get back to Texas was too much," Wyatt told KUAthletics.com in a Jan. 2 interview.
Along with working with receivers, Wyatt was also a crucial part of Turner Gill's recruitment efforts. The 2011 recruiting class, which is currently ranked 31st in the country by rivals.com, shows three committed but unsigned players whom Wyatt recruited: defensive back Kenneth Lynn, receiverJaCorey Shepherd and quarterback Michael Cummings, all three-star recruits and all from Texas. It is unknown whether those recruits will keep their verbal commitments to Kansas, but it does seem likely all three will remain Jayhawks.
Wyatt's departure welcomed the return of former coach David
Beatty, who coached receivers in 2008 and 2009 and will have the same position under Turner Gill in 2011. Beatty returns after working at Rice in 2010 as the offensive coordinator, where his offense averaged more than 28 points per game.
During his previous tenure in Lawrence, Beatty witnessed some of the most explosive offenses in school history, and he is most known for his work with former KU receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier, who are currently in the NFL. While working with Beatty, Briscoe and Meier broke numerous KU receiving records, including receptions in a season, season yards, game yards and touchdowns in a season.
The loss of receiver Johnathan Wilson notwithstanding, the 2011 receiving corps brings back a good
chunk of last year's production. Senior Daymond Patterson led the team with 60 catches and 487 yards and looks to team with a
stable of young talent including Bradley McDougald, Chris Omigie, DJ Beshears and incoming freshman ,JaCorey Shepherd. Beatty will probably focus
Turner Gill and staff have landed the 31st best recruiting class in the nation according to rivals.com. Playing time was up for grabs in
"The opportunity to get back to Texas was too much."
DARRELL WYATT
Wide recievers coach
on keeping Shepherd in the fold as well as on continuing to recruit receivers.
RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
If fans want any sort of consolation after the rough year they just witnessed, it's right here;
2011, and the coaching staff was able to land a number of talented recruits on the premise of immediate experience.
A m o n g those committed are four-star recruits
Anthony Pierson and Darrian Miller. Pierson could see the field as a receiver or running back and had scholarship offers from Arkansas and Kansas State, among others. Miller, a running back from Blue Springs, Mo., had offers from Iowa, Wisconsin,
Kansas State, and Minnesota, and joins an already stacked running back group for the Jayhawks. Another potential starter in 2011 is quarterback Brock Berglund, who de-committed late from the University of Colorado before pledging his allegiance to Kansas. Likely sold on the potential of early playing time, the 6-foot-4 dual-threat quarterback graduated early and will be working out with the team this semester. The final hole pegged by the coaching staff was the offensive line, which struggled with injuries in 2010 and was already thin to begin with. The 2011 class has six offensive linemen committed who will help boost the line's numbers next season.
—Edited by Helen Mubarak
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