ST. LOUIS, MO., January 24, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals congratulate former third baseman and Cardinals Hall of Famer Scott Rolen, who earned selection this evening to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  Rolen was the lone player who received the necessary 75 percent of all ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to congratulate Scott Rolen on the well-deserved honor of being selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame,” stated Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr.  “Scott was a cornerstone of our infield and lineup during his six seasons in St. Louis, and helped create many fond memories as part of the great Cardinals teams of the mid-2000s.”

Rolen, a standout three-sport athlete at Jasper (Ind.) High School in baseball, basketball and tennis, was originally drafted and signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of the 1993 MLB Draft.  He played in 325 minor league games before making an instant impact in the Major Leagues with his debut on August 1, 1996 versus the Cardinals, starting and playing both ends of a doubleheader at Veterans Stadium.

The following season, Rolen won the 1997 Rookie of the Year Award in the National League, batting .283 with 21 home runs, 92 RBI, 35 doubles, three triples, 93 runs scored and a .377 on-base percentage.  He led the Phillies in games played (156), runs, home runs, RBI and tied for the team lead with a career-high 16 stolen bases.  Rolen was the first Phillies player to win rookie honors since Dick Allen in 1964.

The slick-fielding third baseman would go on to play 17 seasons in the majors covering 2,038 games while earning eight Rawlings Gold Glove Awards, fourth-most all-time among third basemen only to Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (16), Mike Schmidt (10) and current Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (10).  Rolen would add a Silver Slugger Award in 2002 and selections to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game seven times including four straight seasons with the Cardinals (2003-06).  He finished his career batting .281 with 316 home runs, 1,287 RBI, 517 doubles, 43 triples, 1,211 runs scored while amassing 2,077 hits and a .855 OPS.

On July 29, 2002, Rolen was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and played parts of six seasons helping lead the Redbirds to four postseason appearances, including two World Series and the 2006 World Series Championship.

His finest season came in 2004, during his age-29 season, when he set career-highs in home runs (34), RBI (124), batting average (.314), on-base percentage (.409), slugging percentage (.598), OPS (1.007) and bWAR (9.2), while finishing fourth in NL MVP voting alongside MV3 teammates Albert Pujols (3rd) and Jim Edmonds (5th). 

In Game Seven of the 2004 National League Championship Series, Rolen’s two-run home run off Houston Astros starting pitcher Roger Clemens in the 6^th inning, broke a 2-2 tie, shaking Busch Stadium II and sending the Cardinals to their first World Series in 17 years.  Rolen played in 32 postseason games for the Cardinals, and concluded his postseason efforts by hitting safely in his final 10 postseason games, scoring a run in nine of them.

Rolen concluded his career with parts of two seasons (2008-09) with Toronto and four years (2009-12) in Cincinnati.

Rolen will become the 54th individual with ties to the St. Louis Cardinals organization to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame during its induction ceremony to be held on Sunday, July 23, 2023 in Cooperstown, N.Y., joining fellow Class of 2023 member Fred McGriff who was unanimously elected by the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December. 

Rolen is the sixth former player with ties to the Cardinals to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the last five years joining relief pitcher Lee Smith (2019), catcher Ted Simmons (2020), outfielder Larry Walker (2020), pitcher Jim Kaat (2022) and outfielder Minnie Miñoso (2022).

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State women’s basketball signee Addy Brown has been recognized among the top high school players in the Class of 2023 and will play in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Girls Game, announced on Tuesday. Brown, from Derby, Kansas, is the second Cyclone signee in program history to earn a spot in the prestigious competition, joining Lexi Donarski, who earned a spot in the 2020 game.

Brown is ranked No. 31 in the ESPNw/Hoop Gurlz Class of 2023 rankings and headlines a five-person Iowa State signing class that is currently ranked No. 13 in the country by ESPNw/Hoop Gurlz. A two-time First Team All-State honoree, Brown is averaging 20.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists for Derby High School this season, helping lead her squad to an 8-1 record.

Brown is not the first member of her family to earn a trip to the McDonald’s All-American came as her older sister Kennedy, currently a member of the Duke women’s basketball team, earned a roster spot in 2019.

The 2023 McDonald’s All-American Girls Game will happen on March 28 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas and will be televised on ESPN2.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State men’s basketball signee Omaha Biliew has been named to the McDonald’s All-American Game. Biliew is the third Iowa State signee to be named to the game. The game is scheduled for March 28 in Houston.

Biliew, out of Waukee, is part of the highest-ranked recruiting class in Iowa State history. The class is rated No. 6 nationally by Rivals, while ranking No. 7 by 247Sports and ESPN. It is the top-ranked class in the Big 12 by all three outlets.

A consensus five-star recruit, Biliew is the highest-ranked signee for Iowa State in the modern era. He is ranked in the top 15 in the country by all three national outlets, ranking as high as ninth on the ESPN Top 100. As a sophomore at Waukee High School, he led the Warriors to the Iowa 4A State Title, averaging 10.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. He played his junior year at Link Academy before returning to Waukee for his senior season. He played for MoKan Elite on the AAU circuit, helping the team its third title at the Peach Jam.

This season, Biliew has led the Warriors to a 13-2 overall record, while averaging a team-best 22.7 points per game. He is averaging a double-double with 11.0 rebounds per game, while adding 2.7 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. Waukee is currently ranked second in the state.

Jaren Holmes scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half as 12th ranked Iowa State held off number five Kansas State 80-76. The Cyclones shot better than 62 percent in the second half to move to 6-2 in the Big 12.

That’s Cyclone T.J. Otzelberger who says the ball movement was better in the second half.

The Cyclones out-rebounded the Wildcats 28-20 and had 17 second chance points.

Gabe Kalscheur added 19 as the Cyclones improve to 11-0 at home.