Pitchfork Posts

1983, 1993, 2003....CAN A SUN DEVIL DO IT IN 2013?

dougtammaro — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:12:40 -0700

The NCAA men’s golf Championships get going next Tuesday in Atlanta, and ASU will try to extend an interesting 10-year anniversary.

In 1983, 1993 and 2003, a Sun Devil won the NCAA individual title. Jim Carter (not the President), Todd Demsey and Alejandro Canizares won the titles in 1983, 1993 and 2003. Canizares was only a freshman. Six titles in the past 30 years is pretty solid. How solid? As solid as there is.

Only Oklahoma State (five), UNLV (two) and Illinois (two) enter the multiple-champion conversation in the past 30 years.

ARIZONA STATE (6)
1983    Jim Carter, Arizona St., 287
1989    Phil Mickelson, Arizona St., 281
1990    Phil Mickelson, Arizona St., 279
1992    Phil Mickelson, Arizona St., 271
1993    Todd Demsey, Arizona St., 278
2003    Alejandro Canizares, Arizona St., 287

OKLAHOMA STATE (5)
1986    Scott Verplank, Oklahoma St., 282
1987    Brian Watts, Oklahoma St., 280
1988    E.J. Pfister, Oklahoma St., 284
2000    Charles Howell, Oklahoma St., 265
2006    Jonathan Moore, Oklahoma St., 276

ILLINOIS (2)
2010    Scott Langley, Illinois, 206
2012    Thomas Pieters, Illinois, 208

UNLV (2)
1991    Warren Schutte, UNLV, 283
2004    Ryan Moore, UNLV, 267

Sun Devil Randy Lein coached both Demsey and Canizares to the titles. Canizares was a freshman from Spain in 2003 and was the Pac-10 co-Freshman of the Year.

Be weird if ASU had a Pac-12 Freshman of the Year who was from Spain now 10-years later…hey, wait a second…we do! Jon Rahm swings it below at Karsten. He has played 43 rounds this year, and everyone of them has counted, and his 4.52 scoring average on par 5s is the best in the nation.

Patterson's Post

kbrandt81 — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:51:38 -0700

With Memorial Day upon us, Sun Devil Athletics wants to say a special thank you to all those who help protect our nation. Our military ties run deep. If you have not had a chance to visit the Pat Tillman Veterans Center at the Memorial Union, next time you are on campus stop in and you will be impressed at the good work being done. Remember that you can support both the Pat Tillman Foundation and Sun Devil Athletics through PT-42. Take time to read about the strong history of Sun Devil Athletics in the military.

Congratulations to the men’s golf team and coaches Tim Mickelson and Joe Prince as they took a great step towards returning to our glory days reaching the NCAA Championship with a convincing final round at the NCAA Regional held at Karsten last weekend. A Tempe freshmen took charge on Saturday, as McClintock High School graduate Trey Kaahanui fired a 5-under 65 with seven birdies. While we are talking golf, a reminder who is the only school to win both men’s and women’s NCAA titles in the same season. The sweater of the day award goes to Steve Loy and Linda Vollstedt!

OTHER TIDBITS:
Softball is on a roll, and Dallas Escobedo is shutting down teams at a record pace. She tossed a no-hitter last weekend and will look to do the same this weekend against Kentucky. Things are changing a little bit in the college softball world, as only three Pac-12 teams made Super Regional play and no teams from California are still competing. Game time Saturday is a perfect 7 p.m. Buy your tickets here and make sure to stop by and support the Oklahoma Relief Drive. Details here.

Here is a great story on Gilbert’s own Max Rossiter, one of five current Sun Devil baseball student-athletes to have earned a degree this spring and one of nine to graduate in the 2012-13 school year. Keeping the local talent here and then watching them earn a degree while playing NCAA postseason is the perfect Sun Devil circle. Max will do all that this season.

TO DO:
May 25-26

Sun Devil Softball hosts Kentucky in NCAA Super Regional play

Buy Tickets »

May 28
Sun Devil Baseball’s 30th Annual Awards Banquet

Buy Tickets »

June 21-22
6th Annual White Mountain Alumni Chapter Steak Fry and Heritage Night Cocktail Party

Register Today»

AROUND THESUNDEVILS.COM

Our Fan Stories are back! Share this link with all your Sun Devil friends! We are excited to highlight another crop of great Maroon and Gold personalities and memories. Deadline to submit your story is June 30!

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Keep your fingers crossed on baseball! We aren’t out of the regional hosting business just yet. Three big games at Washington this weekend and then we find out where we are playing Monday at 9 a.m., with the selection show broadcast by ESPNU.

Oklahoma Relief Drive - Sun Devil Athletics

kbrandt81 — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:34:00 -0700

Sun Devil Athletics will partner with the Red Cross and other Athletic Departments around the country to help aide those affected by the weather storms that passed through Oklahoma this past week. A relief drive will open in the Carson Student-Athlete Center starting Thursday on the first floor as well as at the front gate of Farrington Stadium on Saturday and Sunday during the NCAA Super Regional games. Two locations at the Memorial Union will also accept donations, Changemaker Central on the first floor and Sparky’s Den on the lower level.

Monetary donations, canned goods, non-perishable food and baby formula will be collected at all areas to assist in the relief effort.

Worldwide Sun Devils

kbrandt81 — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:47:21 -0700

Sun Devil Fans send in photos of you wearing Sun Devil gear around the world and you could be featured on the Sun Devil Athletics Pinterest account. E-mail your pictures to SDAsocialmedia@asu.edu with the subject line “Worldwide Sun Devils.”

SUN DEVILS DID IT, AND NO ONE ELSE HAS...

dougtammaro — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:21:37 -0700

There are 13 schools (including your Sun Devils) who have a chance to add to some golf history as men’s and women’s golf championships get going this week (women) and next (men).

UCLA, Stanford, Oregon, Arizona State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Carolina and USC all have teams competing in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

Only one school has won the NCAA title in the same season, and that was Arizona State in 1990 under coaches then and current Sun Devil Hall of Famers Linda Vollstedt and Steve Loy, picture eloquently in this cover photo by the Arizona Golf Journal in September of 1989 (how about that forshadowing? More importantly, how about those sweet sweaters).

The men were led by Phil Mickelson’s NCAA individual championship, and on that team who also notched top-10 finishes that year were Per Ulrik Johansson, Todd Kernaghan, Jim Lemon, Scott Frisch, Cade Stone and Keith Sbarbaro. Coach Loy’s team also won the Pac-10 title, and the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, the Ping/Arizona Intercollegiate (Tucson), the Rebel Classic (Las Vegas) and the U.S./Japan Intercollegiate in Tokyo.

As for the women, that 1989-90 team was the first of a ridiculous amount of titles in a decade. You can read about them all here … and it is easy to say that in the history of the Pac-10/12 there haven’t been too many more dominating teams on a national scene in any sport.

So there is your tweet of the day if you are a Sun Devil: The only school to win NCAA golf titles in the same year was @thesundevils in 1990 with Steve Loy and Linda Vollstedt as head coaches.

Traffic advisory for Sunday's baseball game #OccupyPackard

tlennebe — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:06:57 -0700

For those planning on attending game three of Sun Devil Baseball’s Territorial Cup showdown and celebrating Senior Day this Sunday, May 19th, please be advised that Rio Salado will be restricted to one lane due to the Tempe International Triathlon.

Guests attending the game at Packard Stadium are advised to use the Rural Road and 6th Street entrance, or Veterans Way and 6th Street.

In other words, stay clear of Rio Salado unless you really need to use it.

The specifics:

Information from City of Tempe

• Eastbound Rio Salado Parkway will be restricted to one lane between Priest Drive and Ash Avenue.

• Eastbound Rio Salado Parkway will be closed between Ash Avenue and Mill Avenue.  

• Eastbound Rio Salado Parkway will be restricted to one lane between Mill Avenue and Rural Road. Note all northbound traffic at intersecting streets and driveways will be required to turn right (east). No lefts or through movements will be permitted along this stretch of Rio Salado Parkway.  

• Westbound Rio Salado Parkway will be restricted to one lane between Rural Road and Mill Avenue.  

• Westbound Rio Salado Parkway will be closed at Mill Avenue. All westbound traffic must turn right onto northbound Mill Avenue.

For more information regarding the Triathlon and road restrictions visit the City of Tempe website.

#OccupyPackard #OccupyPackard

Patterson's Post

kbrandt81 — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:27:00 -0700

Last week we proudly announced 86 more student-athletes who have graduated, including 13 from football. Twenty-seven of them were at the minimum for Cum Laude (3.4 or above) and four graduated from the prestigious Barrett Honors College. On the court, both Carrick Felix and Janae Fulcher finished their graduate degrees. LA total of 109 student-athletes earned degrees this year when you count the December graduation. As Jordan Clarke gets ready to add more NCAA trophies to his shelf, did you know he has a degree in Wellness Foundations and Food and Nutrition Management? Chris Coyle set a Sun Devil tight end receptions record last year and will play next year with degree in hand. A name from the past who finished their degree include Tempe’s Donnell Knight, who played basketball from 1999-2003. I encourage you to look at the link here and scroll down the names and be proud you helped!

Huge weekend for us right here at home. Men’s golf hosts NCAA Regional play at Karsten Golf Course, with 14 visiting teams plus five individuals from other schools part of the 75-player field. Admission is FREE. Softball hosts NCAA Regional play starting Friday and here is my chance to remind you Coach Myers is 25-3 at home in the postseason. I don’t have to tell you how important baseball is, but here is a cool addition… Coach Graham will be out signing autographs with the Territorial Cup on Friday night at Packard.

OTHER TIDBITS
Did you see what Brandon Magee had to say about Todd Graham? This story has really good stuff on both ends. It is hard to find a student-athlete who gave more to the community and the locker room than Brandon Magee did last season, the way he welcomed the new coaching staff and took on a role of a senior leader. We don’t win those last three games without Brandon’s leadership. Coach Graham and his staff know that, and will always appreciate players like Brandon and Cameron Marshall who put the footprints in the ground to Pasadena.

Speaking of former athletes, keep an eye on volleyball graduate, Erica Wilson as she tries out for the USA National Team. She is proud Sun Devils, and I just love the last line of this story as she talks about graduating and moving on: “Although I will be leaving Arizona, I will forever be a Sun Devil and leaving to play for my country as my father did with pride while in the Marine Corps.” How powerful is that?

TO DO:
May 16-18
Sun Devil Men’s Golf hosts NCAA Regional Tournament at Karsten Golf Course
Free Admission!
First Round Recap»

May 17-19
Sun Devil Baseball hosts Arizona for the deciding point in the 2012-13 Territorial Cup Series. Final Sun Devil Club Saturday of the season!
Buy Tickets »

Sun Devil Softball hosts NCAA Tempe Regional Tournament
Buy Tickets»

May 30
Sun Devil Baseball’s 30th Annual Awards Banquet
More Info»

AROUND THESUNDEVILS.COM
We are really excited Stan Johnson and Jason Ludwig have joined the Sun Devil Family as part our men’s basketball staff, joining Herb Sendek, Eric Musselman and Larry Greer. And if you are not excited about Jahii next year and our game with Marquette, please get your maroon and gold blood check. Speaking of Coach Musselman, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com wrote tis excellent piece on all that “Coach Muss” is thinking of these days, and we are glad his wife Danyelle will be joining us in the Valley this year.

Kellogg Earns Spot On Latest National Pitcher of the Year watch list

tlennebe — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:59:46 -0700

Freshman left-hander Ryan Kellogg is one of 22 pitchers named to the latest watch for National Pitcher of the Year.

Kellogg, who is one of five Pac-12 student-athletes and one of just three freshmen on the list, is 10-0 on the season and is tied for first in the Pac-12 in wins. He threw the ninth hitter in ASU history earlier this season in a road win over then-No. 3 Oregon State.

The award, sponsored by Diamond Sports, will be presented on June 29 as part of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s annual Night of Champions event in Lubbock.

Kellogg has defeated four top-10 teams this season, including No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Oregon. He is the only Sun Devil freshman in school history to begin his career 10-0 and is just the sixth Sun Devil to collect at least 10 wins in his freshman season

He held a 16 consecutive scoreless-inning streak from the 2nd inning against Washington St. on March 16 to the 2nd inning against UCLA on March 29, and also went 20 consecutive innings without issuing a walk, including two consecutive starts, from 6th inning vs. Washington St. on March 16 to 2nd inning vs. Oregon on April 6.

Kellogg is one of just five pitchers in the country, and one of only two freshmen, with at 10 wins and no losses, and trails the national leader by three victories.

For more information on the Pitcher of the Year Award of the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s Night of Champions, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.

AS NBA MEASUREMENTS COME IN, A REMINDER JAMES WAS 6-5 AND JEFF 6-9...

dougtammaro — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:28:00 -0700

Back in 2009 some people were questioning if James Harden was really 6-5 and Jeff Pendergraph 6-9. As Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic pointed out Coach Sendek is pretty set in stone in his way of publicizing heights and weights.

No reason to lie now, they will find out later. Here is the story below…

Nothing amuses me more than the popular trend by basketball teams of misstating a player’s true height. During the USA Basketball team trials leading up the 1992 Olympics, we learned that Charles Barkley was really 6 feet 4-1/2 and not 6-6 and that Magic Johnson checked in at 6-7 and not 6-9.

Earl Boykins, meanwhile, called himself 5-8 coming out of high school because he feared his true height of 5-5 would scare away colleges.

This fudging at the NBA predraft camps wasn’t too bad this year, although some truth-stretching did occur. DeJuan Blair, who Pittsburgh always listed as 6-7, check in at 6-5 1/4 - 6-6 1/2 with shoes.

Arizona State’s James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph were true to their measurements, and that’s very much a Herb Sendek thing. When the coach arrived in Tempe, he insisted measurements come straight from the strength-and-conditioning coach.

When one player came in at 6-2 1/4 and groaned about not being listed at 6-3, a team liaison came to Sendek, unsure how to handle it.

“What do I tell him?” he said.

“Grow,” Sendek deadpanned.

The coach’s attention to detail is paying off. Harden’s measurements at the NBA combine were a pleasant surprise, because many speculated he would come in under 6-4.

Harden, who ASU listed at 6-5, came in at 6-4 without shoes and 6-5 1/2 with. Pendergraph, who ASU listed at 6-9, measured 6-8 3/4 without and 6-10 with… .

What a Weekend: ASU T&F Pac-12 Championship Recap

jhawkes88 — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:20:00 -0700

by Jeremy Hawkes

As the Arizona State University men’s and women’s track and field teams prepare for the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships in Austin next weekend, it is worth nothing the exceptional performance both squads put up at this past weekend’s Pac-12 Championships.

Just how exceptional? Well, here are a couple notes to help put the performance into perspective.

*The Sun Devils won eight total conference championships this year (seven individual, one relay). That was the team’s second-highest tally at a Pac-10/12 Championship in school history. Only the 2008 squad, where the squad won 13 total titles en route to a victory on the women’s side and a runner-up finish for the men, fared better.

*ASU’s eight titles were the second-most of any team in the conference. Only Oregon (9) had a better outing.

TOTAL 2013 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

9 - Oregon

8 - ARIZONA STATE

7 - USC

6 - Arizona

3 - Stanford

2 - Colorado

2 - Washington

2 - Cal

2 - UCLA

1 - Washington State

*In finishing third overall, the ASU women have now finished in the top-four at the Pac-10/12 Championships in 11 of the last 12 seasons (since 2002). No other school in the conference can lay such a claim (Stanford has done so in 10 of the last 12). Taking that even a step more, ASU has been in the top-three at the conference championships in eight of the last nine seasons (since 2005). Again, no other school can lay such a claim (Stanford has done so in seven of the last nine).

*On the men’s side following the team’s fourth-place finish this past weekend, the Sun Devils have been a top-four team in 11 of the last 14 seasons (since 2000). Only USC and Oregon (both 12 of 14) have a better track record in that time.

*Keia Pinnick was named the Athlete of the Meet for the women as she helped contribute toward 29 teams points out of the 110.3 the Sun Devils scored. Pinnick won the heptathlon before coming back and taking third and fourth in the 100 and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. The Pac-12 first started honoring a men’s and women’s athlete of the meet beginning in 2008. With Pinnick’s honor, the Sun Devils have now won four of the six honors given out on the women’s side since then. If you count the men’s side as well, ASU has won six of the 12 Athlete of the Meet honors awarded in history and has earned one in all but one of those seasons.

ARIZONA STATE PAC-12 ATHLETES OF THE MEET

2013 – Keia Pinnick (W)

2012 – Jordan Clarke (M)

2011 – Jasmine Chaney (W)

2009 – Sarah Stevens (W)

2008 – Jacquelyn Johnson (W)

2008 – Matt Turner (M)

*The Sun Devils set two meet records at the competition in Christabel Nettey (long jump) and Chelsea Cassulo (hammer throw). Nettey had knocked off one of the longest-standing records in the conference as she downed Gail Devers’ 1987 long jump record with her winning leap of 6.68m (21-11.00). Devers (yes, that Gail Devers) held the previous record with her mark of 6.65m (21-10.00). Cassulo knocked off former USC standout Eva Orban’s meet record of 67.53m (221-07) set in 2006 with her winning mark of 68.00m (223-01).

*In winning the men’s 4x100-meter relay for the second consecutive season, the Sun Devils became the first team to do so since UCLA in 2009 and 2010 and just the seventh team in Pac-12 history to repeat as champions.

*Shelby Houlihan, a sophomore, led wire-to-wire in a 1500 win with a time of 4:14.84 to take down a field that included no fewer than five former All-American seniors – including the two-time defending Pac-12 Champion, Jordan Hasay of Oregon. In doing so, she became the first Sun Devil to win a Pac-10/12 title in the event since Kim Toney did it in back-to-back years in 1993 and 1994.

*Jordan Clarke and Anna Jelmini made a bit of history, as they each became three time conference champions in the shot put and discus events, respectively. Clarke became the first person to accomplish three shot put titles since Olympian John Godina did it for UCLA from 1993-95. It was just the fourth time in conference history an athlete had accomplished the feat (with the other two taking place back in the 1960s). Jelmini became just the second person to ever win three discus titles behind former UCLA standout Dawn Dumble, who won four during her career (1991-93, ’95). Oddly enough, Dawn was Jelmini’s first throws coach in her career. And even more oddly enough, Dawn is the sister of Dave Dumble, the ASU throws coach and Jelmini’s current coach.

*With Nick Happe’s win in the 5,000-meter run, the Sun Devils have now won three of the last six conference titles in the event.

*Christabel Nettey’s victory in the long jump gives ASU seven victories in conference history - the most in the conference.

*Keia Pinnick’s heptathlon victory was ASU’s fifth in the event in conference history, which is tied for first in the conference. However, all five of those have come in the last decade as the Sun Devils have dominated the event since 2004.

*With a win in the men’s 4x100-meter dash, the Sun Devils continued to exact their dominance in the men’s relays since 2000. The victory was ASU’s 12th relay victory since the turn of the millennium, more than any school in the conference. USC is second on that list with nine.

*The ASU women have had one Pac-12 champion in 16 straight seasons, the second-longest active streak behind Stanford’s current running tally of 17. The Sun Devil men have also had a conference champion in 16 straight seasons.

*The men’s distance team scored 25 points toward the team’s total in a fourth-place finish this weekend. That was the second most among any distance team, trailing only Colorado. So yes, more than perennial powerhouses Oregon and Stanford.

SUN DEVILS AVOID RURAL AND UNIVERSITY IF YOU CAN...

dougtammaro — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:22:00 -0700

For those that have been near campus recently, there are some road improvements happening that the City of Tempe talked about recently that affect traffic near our facilities.

Here is what you should basically know…

Rural Rd between Apache & University is going to be under construction through October for the waterline project. The current work in the intersection with University is probably the most impactful, as Rural will continue to be limited to one lane in each direction for the duration of the project.

If going north on Rural, consider the following detour if coming to Packard Stadium, Farrington Stadium or the Karsten Golf Course:

—Apache east to McClintock, McClintock north to Rio Salado, Rio Salado west to Rural.

SO WHAT WE ARE SAYING HERE IS AVOID UNIVERSITY AND RURAL WHEN YOU CAN AND TELL A SUN DEVIL FRIEND THE SAME!

BRANDON MAGEE NOT AFRAID TO PICK THE BRAIN OF FORMER COACH...

dougtammaro — Tue, 14 May 2013 09:12:23 -0700

A few weeks back, @DougHaller of azcentral.com wrote a good story on Brandon Magee ready to prove critics wrong. One part of the story jumped off the page.

You can break down a coaching change however you want, but when a senior is #allin like Brandon was, you have a chance to have a great season. Brandon believed, even when a losing streak set in. Didn’t matter, he wasn’t finishing his senior season on a losing note. Especially in Tucson and not in a bowl game. Todd Graham didn’t recruit Brandon, but that didn’t matter from the second Coach Graham arrived on campus.

Brandon was an incredible leader, and Coach Graham will never forget that. But what can a coach do once that player leaves rather than just thank him with a pat on the back and give him his game jersey?

You can help him get ready for the NFL at any hour of the day.

Coach Graham and Sun Devil Athletics will always appreciate what Brandon did for this program, and one way to show it is to help him get ready for the NFL. Check out the quick note from the story.

During NFL interviews, teams called up video clips from Magee’s college career. A couple showed him making plays, others showed him making mistakes. They asked him to explain. Then they asked him to detail the responsibilities of everyone else on the field.

To prepare, Magee leaned on Todd Graham. He said he called the ASU coach five or six times. Once, he drove to ASU and visited with Graham at 6 a.m. before spring practice.

“I’d be in a hotel room in a whole different state, two hours ahead, and I’d call him and he would get up and we’d go over defensive formations, defensive calls and I would just take notes to make sure I had everything down pat,” Magee said. “There was no, ‘I’ll call you back,’ or anything like that. Sometimes we’d talk for 30 minutes. It could be about a 4-3, it could be about a 3-4. Or what I was doing in the Missouri game, or what I was doing in the Utah game. I don’t know many coaches who would do that for (former) players.”

MARQUETTE ABOUT AS SOLID OF NOVEMBER GAME AS ANYONE CAN GET...

dougtammaro — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:24:00 -0700

Coach Sendek announced last night the Sun Devils will host Marquette in November next year in Tempe.

There has been plenty of chatter over a few cold ones in a Sparky mug about trying to get better non-conference teams into Wells Fargo Arena, and a look below at these numbers screams this is a great step.

One thing to remember…not everyone from a major conference in the midwest wants to jump on a three-hour flight and come west. It takes two to agree on a contract.

If you look at other Pac-12 schools, not too many teams from Big East (what used to be), ACC, SEC, Big Ten or Big 12 are heading west. Last year no ACC teams played at a Pac-12 school. Only one from the Big East did (DePaul at ASU). Two from the Big Ten did (Nebraska at Oregon and Minnesota at USC). Three from the SEC did (Florida at Arizona, Missouri at UCLA and Vanderbilt at Oregon).

Props to Marquette for doing just that next year.

The Sun Devils will return the trip in 2014-15.

What makes the Marquette game so special? Consider these digits…

—Marquette has had a top-30 RPI in six of the past eight seasons, including No. 12 this past season.

—Has advanced to Sweet Sixteen in each of the past three seasons, including an Elite Eight Appearance this past season.

—Has made eight straight NCAA Tournaments, the sixth-best current streak in the nation. Only Kansas (24), Duke (18), Michigan State (16), Gonzaga (15) and Wisconsin (15) have better current marks.

—Has posted eight straight 20-win seasons (while playing a very challenging non-conference schedule and competing in the Big East).

—Already they are in one preseason top-25 (Jason King of ESPN has them No. 15, below is the link)
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9222871/an-updated-look-top-25-2013-14-season-ncaa-men-college-basketball

—Here is their RPI and record breakdown the past eight seasons.

MARQUETTE PAST 8 SEASONS: RPI/OVERALL RECORD
2012-13: 12/26-9
2011-12: 17/27-8
2010-11: 30/22-15
2009-01: 40/22-12
2008-09: 48/25-10
2007-08: 21/25-10
2006-07: 17/24-10
2005-06: 22/20-11

Traffic On Campus Prior To Softball Game - Thursday, May 9

corinnecalabro — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 -0700

STREET CLOSURES AND RESTRICTIONS | CAMPUS MAP
Arizona State fans that are planning to come to the softball game against No. 3/2 Oregon on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT, please plan accordingly as you make the trek towards campus. Traffic will be heavy and parking limited outside of the Verde Dickey complex, as graduation ceremonies will be taking place near the athletic facilities.

We encourage fans to arrive early and enjoy the festivities at softball. Traffic flow will be heavy before and after the graduation ceremonies near the softball stadium. Times include:

Thursday, 7 p.m. Softball game time
Ceremony times
12:30 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena
4:30 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena
7:30 p.m. Sun Devil Stadium

Friday 5 p.m. Softball game time
Ceremony times
12:30 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena
5 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena

Saturday 5 p.m. Softball game time
Ceremony times
9 a.m. Wells Fargo Arena
1 p.m. Wells Fargo Arena

BUY TICKETS
Have you gotten your tickets yet for this weekend? Grandstand seating is still available for Thursday and Friday. Saturday, BERM seating (grass area in RF) is $8, standing room only is $5.

Remaining Softball TV Schedule 
May 10 vs. Oregon 5 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network 
May 11 vs. Oregon 5 p.m. PT Pac-12 Network

Tickets For Final Home Series May 9-11 vs. Oregon | BUY TICKETS
Field Level $15 
Reserved $12 
GA Adult $10 
GA Jr/Sr $9 
Groups are still $8 for reserved and $5 for GA, minimum 15 tickets purchased

Road to the Championship | NCAA.com 
NCAA Selection Show: May 12, 7 p.m. PT on ESPNU 
64 teams, 31 automatic qualifiers, 16 seeded teams 
Regionals: May 16-19 on 16 campus sites. Four-teams, double elimination 
Super Regionals: May 23-26 on eight campus sites. Two teams, best-of-three format  (ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPNU) 
WCWS: Oklahoma City May 30-June 5.   (ESPN, ESPN2 and/or ESPNU)

Men's Basketball Fan Forum Tomorrow

kbrandt81 — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:37:00 -0700

The Sun Devil Men’s Basketball team will host a Fan Forum this Wednesday, May 8th from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Join in to be the first to hear exciting news about next season’s non-conference schedule!

Joining former player and current color analyst Kyle Dodd on the call, will be Men’s Basketball Coach Herb Sendek and Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year, point guard Jahii Carson.

Both Coach Sendek and Jahii will be taking your questions live, talking about the future of Sun Devil Basketball and their preparation during the off-season.

To participate, dial in at 877-229-8493 using the ID 19543. To ensure compliance with NCAA rules, no listed ticket holder who is a high school or junior college student may join the call.

We hope you will join us this Wednesday, May 8th at 6:30 p.m.! Click here to read the latest news on Sun Devil Men’s Basketball featured on azcentral.com today and get your questions ready!

Go Devils!

The Tradition Continues at the 6th Annual White Mountain Alumni Chapter Steak Fry and Heritage Night Cocktail Party

tlennebe — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:19:00 -0700

Join Coach Graham and Sun Devil Legends in the Cool Pines of Pinetop!

The White Mountain Alumni Chapter is holding its sixth annual Steak Fry and Heritage Night Cocktail Party at the Pinetop Country Club during the weekend of June 21-22, and all Sun Devil fans are invited to join in on this great Maroon and Gold tradition.

Start your weekend on Friday, June 21, at the Heritage Night Cocktail Party where you can socialize and dance to the live band, “Shallow Waters.”

Curley Culp, Sun Devil great and 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, will be attending, as well as legendary coach Frank Kush, ASU head football coach Todd Graham, ASU head women’s golf coach Melissa Luellen, ASU head softball coach Clint Myers and ASU head men’s basketball coach Herb Sendek.

Forty other ASU football legends will also be joining in on the fun, including Ron Pritchard, Jeff Van Raaphorst and Randall McDaniel.

Then on Saturday evening, June 22, come to the Steak Fry event where you and 500 other ASU fans will be treated to delicious food and a unique experience under the chapter’s outdoor tent. The Steak Fry Program will include interviews with ASU coaches, ASU’s College Football Hall of Fame Legends, and a live and silent auction, among other activities.

The White Mountain Alumni Chapter provides scholarships to deserving high school students from eastern Arizona who attend ASU, helps fund an endowment to the ASU Alumni Association and hosts a variety of Sun Devil events throughout the year.

The chapter’s board, volunteers and sponsors took the lead for the Sun Devils’ successful “Return to Camp T” campaign this past spring/summer and helped to make the return to the famed camp in the Tonto National Forest a reality with a matching donation program.

Pinetop Country Club 

6734 Country Club Drive

Pinetop, AZ 85935

Charli Turner Thorne Gives an Update on Pac-12 Women's Basketball Television Coverage

srod776 — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:54:30 -0700

Editor’s Note: Pac-12 Conference leaders and administrators and coaches from member schools gathered in Phoenix last week for Pac-12 meetings. Below, Sun Devil head women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne provides an update on the league’s plan to continue expanding its coverage of women’s basketball:

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott and his team continue to make strategic moves to advance our conference. While the success of our conference across all sports speaks for itself, the Pac-12 Network is giving our student-athletes much-deserved recognition.

We were informed there will be a significant increase in the number of women’s basketball games that will be aired during the 2013-14 season. Now, instead of our young talent in the west heading east for more exposure, we will have players from all over the world choosing places like ASU to be seen.

They will of course choose ASU for a plethora of reasons including our outstanding basketball program, our academic excellence, and quite simply our Sun Devil culture!

An enormous ‘thank you’ to our forward-thinking, get-it-done conference leaders for enabling us to be one of the top conferences in the country in women’s basketball television coverage!

I’ll be providing updates about our program in this space throughout the offseason so please continue to check back. Thanks for all your support and GO DEVILS!

CTT

Patterson's Post

kbrandt81 — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:13:35 -0700

Congratulations to women’s tennis standout Jacqueline Cako, who like Carrick Felix in basketball, Jake Meredith in wrestling and Nick Happe in cross country, earned the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is presented in each of the 22 Pac-12 sports and honors standouts both academically and athletically. Ready to feel like you haven’t got much accomplished today? Cako graduated in THREE years from the Barrett Honors College with a degree in biological sciences and a 3.68 GPA. When her professional playing days are done she plans to attend medical school. Congratulations to both Jacqueline and head coach Sheila McInerney, who for almost three decades has recruited and coached some of the best student-athletes we have.

MAY DAY! MAY DAY! We need you at softball and baseball in May! Softball has a huge home series left with current Pac-12 leader Oregon (May 9-11). Baseball has home series this weekend with Stanford (May 3-5) and the other Arizona team (May 17-19). We need each and every Sun Devil to get out to Packard or Farrington over the next month to try and keep us home for NCAA action in late May. Win now at home, play in May at home! Get your tickets here! Did you know that freshman LHP Ryan Kellogg is 10-0? Want one more reason to come out and support baseball? How about an unreal amount of local talent?

OTHER TIDBITS

Here is your football note of the week: Will Sutton had 13 sacks last year, and by the way that is the same amount as Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina and remember Will missed a few games. Carl Bradford had 11.5. Guess how many other teammates returning in 2013 had double-digit sacks in 2012? If you guess zero, you know my style. Best sack duo returning in 2013 in the nation? Easy choice, our guys Will and Carl.

Our water polo team won a school record 26 matches this year and finished fourth at the MPSF Championships, the best finish in school history. Coach Todd Clapper has the program in prime position moving forward with freshmen goalie E.B. Keeve. Keeve posted 372 saves on the year, an ASU record.

Noemi Jimenez and Jon Rahm came from Spain to play golf for Arizona State. So far, so good! Noemi, a sophomore, became the first ASU women’s golfer to win back-to-back titles since 2005 earlier this spring. Jon already has won two tournaments this year. Remember we host NCAA Men’s Golf Regional play May 16-18 at Karsten, and admission is…FREE!

We take a lot of pride in making sure our student media gets great opportunities in Sun Devil Athletics. Edmund Hubbard was sports editor of the State Press this past year, and he wrote this very nice end of year column I wanted to share. Our student media has great leadership from faculty such as Mark Lodato, Jason Manning and Mike Wong and if you have not visited the Cronkite School yet, you are missing out.

TO DO:

May 3-5

Sun Devil Baseball hosts the Stanford Cardinal for a three game series.

View Full Schedule

Buy Tickets »

May 9-11

Oregon Softball comes to Tempe for Sun Devil Softball’s final regular season series.

View Full Schedule

Buy Tickets »

May 15
Texas Tech visits Tempe to battle Sun Devil Baseball.

View Full Schedule

Buy Tickets »

AROUND THESUNDEVILS.COM

Sun Devil Football will visit Camp Tontozona Monday, August 12 through Saturday, August 17. The stay at Camp Tontozona will culminate with the annual scrimmage on Saturday, August 17.

Click here for more info»

WHO SHOULD BE PAC-12 MEN'S GOLF FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR?

dougtammaro — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:41:00 -0700

So who should be the Pac-12 Men’s Golfer Freshman of the Year?

We think Sun Devil Jon Rahm.

Yes, we know that is not a shock that we would pick him, and we realize we drink out of a Sparky mug with a Pitchfork coaster underneath, but here is why.

Let’s break it down into the usual golf categories…

2: As far as tournament wins, Jon won the Bill Cullum Invitational and the Lamkin Grips San Diego Classic.

4.53: For folks who dig the long holes, JR is averaging 4.53 on par-5 holes, which is the best mark in the nation overall…of any class, not just freshman.

5: The term “top-10” usually comes into play in golf, so let’s use that as a measuring stick. JR (easier to use initials now right?) has five top-10 finishes.

8: JR has eight eagles, again tied for the best mark in the nation.

13: JR now has 13 rounds in the 60s.

26/40: Jon has 26 top-25 wins (the next best Pac-12 freshman has 15), and 40 top-50 wins (next Pac-12 freshman has 31).

40: Jon is one of just four players nationally who has played 40 rounds. Guess how many times one of his rounds didn’t count? You will have to check below.

41: Our friends at Golfweek have Jon ranked 41st.

64: JR’s lowest score on the year was a 64.

71.72: Using the old-fashioned method of old-school scoring average (before GolfStat, this was done on a calculator), JR is at 71.72 in 40 rounds, which is the fourth-best mark by a freshman in the nation. In the past 29 seasons of Sun Devil men’s golf, only one freshman has had a better stroke average, and that was NCAA champion Alejandro Canizares (71.65 in 2002-03). What about Todd Demsey you say? Nope, he was at 72.10. Phil? 72.14 in 1988-89. Paul Casey when he was lighting it up his freshman year of 1997-98? 72.30.

138: JR also has 138 birdies, third in the nation.

One final note…Jon Rahm has not had a bad day at the course.

He has played 40 rounds, and his score has counted each time.

Trio of Sun Devil baseball student-athletes earn midseason recognition

tlennebe — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:45:30 -0700

Right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams, shortstop Drew Stankiewicz and left-handed pitcher Ryan Kellogg have all earned midseason recognition.

Williams has been named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, which recognizes the top amateur baseball player in the country. The watch list will continue to be a “rolling” list until May 28, when the 30 semifinalists for the award are announced. The Golden Spikes Award trophy will be awarded live July 19 on MLB Network.

Williams, who is 5-3 with a 3.30 ERA, currently ranks first the Pac-12 with 79 innings pitched, is tied for sixth in batters struck out with 55 and is tied for ninth in the conference in walks allowed with 13. He has thrown three complete games this season and has not walked a batter in two of them.

Kellogg was named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame’s National Pitcher of the Year Watch List. He is 10-0 on the season in 11 starts with a 2.21 ERA in 73.1 innings. He ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in ERA (2.21), seventh in opposing batting average (.210), tied for ninth in innings pitched (73.1) and is tied for sixth in walks allowed with 10.

He is one of just four pitchers in the country with 10 wins, trails the national leader by one victory and is the only freshman with at least 10 wins. He is the only Sun Devil freshman in school history to begin his career 10-0 and is just the sixth Sun Devil to collect at least 10 wins in his freshman season

Kellogg held a 16 consecutive scoreless-inning streak from 2nd inning against Washington St. on March 16 to 2nd inning against UCLA on March 29, and went 20 consecutive innings without issuing a walk, including two consecutive starts, from 6th inning vs. Washington St. on March 16 to 2nd inning vs. Oregon on April 6.

Stankiewicz earned a spot on the Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year Award Watch List. Stankiewicz, who is one of just four Pac-12 student-athletes on the list, is hitting .316 with 21 RBI and 48 hits this season. He has eight doubles, two triples and a home run to go with five stolen bases. He has played in 41 games and scored 25 runs.