IRVING, Texas – The 2024 Big 12 Conference announced the 2024 softball schedule on Thursday afternoon. Each team will play every league opponent in a three-game series and will total 27 conference games.

Iowa State will host 15 Big 12 competitions at the Cyclone Sports Complex in the spring while playing 12 league games on the road.

Conference play begins March 8, as the Cyclones open Big 12 play with the defending national champion, Oklahoma, in Norman. It’s the second straight season that the Cyclones will open league play with Oklahoma.

Following its opening weekend on the road, ISU returns to the CSC for back-to-back home series, welcoming both Houston and Texas Tech to Ames. Big 12 newcomer Houston will visit Ames for the first time on March 15, while the Red Raiders make their way north for a series starting on March 22.

Following its pair of home series, the Cyclones head to Waco for an Easter weekend meeting with the Baylor Bears. The Baylor series will begin on a Thursday and conclude on Saturday to accommodate the Easter holiday on Sunday.

The Cyclones will return from their Texas trip to host another pair of back-to-back home series. Kansas comes to town on April 5 before Oklahoma State arrives in Ames a week later on April 12.

Iowa State follows up a home stretch with back-to-back away series, beginning with a trip to Provo, Utah for its first Big 12 meeting with the BYU Cougars on April 18. The BYU series will also be a Thursday-Saturday format. After a westward trip, ISU heads to Austin to match up with the Longhorns in what could be the teams’ final meeting on April 26.

ISU wraps its Big 12 regular season schedule by hosting UCF on May 3. UCF and Iowa State will meet for the first time as conference opponents but have previously met five times, all away from Ames.

The Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship returns to Oklahoma City’s USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium at OGE Energy Field, the home of the Women’s College World Series, from May 8-11. All ten teams will compete in the single-elimination format, with the top six finishing regular season teams receiving a first-round bye.

Big 12 Schedule

March 8-10             @ Oklahoma

March 15-17           vs. Houston

March 22-24           vs. Texas Tech

March 28-30           @ Baylor (Easter weekend, Thurs.-Sat.)

April 5-7                  vs. Kansas

April 12-14              vs. Oklahoma State
April 18-20              @ BYU (Thurs.-Sat.)
April 26-28              @ Texas

May 3-5                  vs. UCF

May 8                     Big 12 Championship Play Starts

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three prep student-athletes – Jack McCarty, Chance Rinkol and Ryan Shellberg — have signed National Letters of Intent with the University of Iowa men’s golf program, it was announced Thursday by head coach Tyler Stith.

Jack McCarty | Solon, Iowa | Solon High School

– Three-time Iowa Junior Open champion (2021, 2022, 2023)

– Attended Solon High School for four years, leading his team to three top-five finishes at the state tournament

– As a senior, finished third at the state tournament in Class 3A

– Won the Principal Charity Classic Jr. Open (-1)

– Started as a safety for Solon football team in the state semifinals

 – Father, Sean McCarty, was a member of the Iowa men’s golf team from 1992-95.

Tyler Stith on Jack McCarty 

“Jack is a multi-sport athlete with a ton of potential. He has a lot of speed and great touch around the greens. Once he develops the other parts of his game, he will be a strong competitor in the Big Ten. I expect Jack to be very competitive and pushing to get into the lineup next season.”

Chance Rinkol | Leawood, Kansas | Blue Valley High School

– 2021 Kansas 6A Individual State Champion

– Scoring average of 70.8 in 2023

– Ranked No. 46 on the Rolex Class of 2024 rankings

– Led team to two state tournament victories

– Winner of the 2023 AJGA Joplin Junior Championship & 2023 Midwest PGA Junior Championship

Tyler Stith on Chance Rinkol

“Chance is coming off of a great 2023. He improved his stroke average by nearly four shots per round and won two national tournaments. He is an extremely hard worker and will make a positive impact on the team.”

Ryan Shellberg | Prosper, Texas | Rock Hill High School

– Three-time all-district and two-time all-region selection

– Set school record for low score, carding a 63

– Posted a 71.1 scoring average as a senior

– Won the Texas Junior Golf Alliance Invitational (-2)

– Placed second at the AJGA Mizuno Junior Championship

– No. 71 on Rolex Class of 2024 rankings

Tyler Stith on Ryan Shellberg

“Ryan is an outstanding player who has established himself as one of the best players in Texas. He’s a consistent performer and has a well-balanced game. He showed a lot of improvement this year and will be ready to step in and contribute next fall.

The Atlantic Trojans Girls basketball team had their best season in over a decade last year and the Trojans are looking to build off that success in 2023-24. The Trojans were 18-5 last year and tied for the Hawkeye Ten Conference Championship with Glenwood as both teams were 10-3 in conference play. This came after the Trojans had three consecutive seasons going 9-14 and just a few winning seasons in the last 10+ years. Head Coach of the Trojans Dan Vargason hopes his team can build off their breakthrough season and continue that success heading into the new campaign.

The Trojans did lose a lot off of last seasons team as they lost their second, third, and fourth leading scorers so the Trojans team has some big holes to fill. The Trojans got a lot of their success down low inside the paint as they were able to use their height to the teams advantage and do most of their scoring from down low. That will look a lot different this year as Coach Vargason said this years team is much smaller, but the team is quicker and will look to try and score more from the perimeter line.

With official practice for the new season starting this past Monday the Trojans are eager to get started and find out how some of the new pieces will play together. The Trojans with the speed and quickness will look to use that on both ends of the floor to wear opponents down. Coach Vargason said he has loved the energy and enthusiasm through the first week and said that girls energy is very consistent on both ends of the floor and he and his coaching staff love that.

The Trojans season starts a few days earlier than usual as they tip their season off on Friday November 17th but the Trojans have two scrimmage games before to help prepare the team and see where they currently are. Coach Vargason said the biggest thing about the scrimmage games is wanting to get the girls comfortable playing with each other and building the chemistry.

The Trojans girl teams will start their year for the first official game on November 17th when they travel to Pella to take on the Dutch for a 6pm tipoff.

You can listen to the full interview with Head Coach Dan Vargason below.

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With one year under his belt, Griswold Girls Basketball Head Coach Ryan Lockwood to make this Tiger’s basketball team even more competitive. Griswold is coming off a (2-21) season that saw the Tigers at the bottom of the Corner Conference. It was a year and team that had growing pains. Coach Lockwood noted the youth and inexperience resulted in a modest amount of wins last year.

This offseason for Coach Lockwood and the Tigers has been focused on becoming more cohesive and learning how to play quicker. Over the summer the team traveled to Okoboji for a three-day basketball camp. There the team grew, and Coach Lockwood took away quite a few positives from Okoboji.

Now with their season starting in a few weeks, the Tigers are looking to a few familiar faces to help bring more leadership and a fierce nature to their team. Seniors like Karly Millikan and Madison Rush. Millikan had 147 rebounds, 23 steals, and 5 blocks in her sophomore campaign, but sat out her junior year due to an injury. Rush last year had 13 completed 3-pointers, 25 rebounds, with 7 assists, and 7 steals.

In Coach Lockwood’s eyes one of the measuring sticks for a successful season is how aggressive and competitive his girls play. He knows that if they focus on hanging on late into the games, pushing themselves and consistently driving towards the basket. This Tigers team will have opportunities to win.

Griswold travels to the Atlantic High School Gym Saturday November 11th to take on Boyer Valley in a IGCA Scrimmage/Clinic starting at 8:40am.

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CHICAGO, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference and Big Ten Network (BTN) today announced the addition of Air National Guard as an official partner of the Big Ten Conference. Air National Guard becomes the Official Armed Services Partner of the Big Ten Conference, as well as the presenting sponsor of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and On The Mat, BTN’s multi-platform storytelling franchise focused on Big Ten wrestling.

“In welcoming Air National Guard as the Official Armed Services Partner of the Big Ten Conference, we are proud to associate with an organization committed to leadership and service as we work together to highlight Big Ten wrestling and basketball,” said Big Ten Chief Operating Officer Kerry Kenny.

Beginning next week, the Air National Guard will present the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of The Week and Freshman of the Week awards. In addition to their sponsorship of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, Air National Guard will also have a significant presence at the Big Ten Football Championship Game Fan Fest and the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, including in-arena and television visible signage, as well as media assets on BTN.

As the primary combat-ready reserve of the Air Force, the Air National Guard provides mission-ready Airmen to safeguard the homeland, serve communities and execute global operations.

“The partnership with the Big Ten Network represents a significant step in broadening the Air National Guard’s recruiting outreach,” said Lt. Col. Robert Fore, Air National Guard director of marketing at the Air Force Recruiting Service. “By partnering with Big Ten Conference and the Big Ten Network, the ANG is positioned to connect and engaged with a loyal audience, furthering our mission of recruiting the next generation of ANG Airmen. This initiative is more than just about brand visibility; it’s about building a connection with future Airmen of the Air National Guard.”

“As interest and viewership in Big Ten wrestling continues to grow, as seen by audience records the past two seasons, we are looking forward to working with Air National Guard to cover the conference’s attempt at a 17^th consecutive national championship,” said BTN President François McGillicuddy.

Iowa State will try to hand BYU a rare home loss at night when the teams collide in Provo Saturday night. Both teams are 5-4 overall but the Cougars are 4-0 at home.

That’s sophomore safety Malik Verdon who says the coaches have emphasized BYU’s success at home.

With two road wins already in the Big 12 senior linebacker Gerry Vaughn says the Cyclones look forward to the challenge.

Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins says depth on the defensive line has been a big factor for the Hawkeyes improving run defense. That unit will be tested on Saturday by a Rutgers ground attack that ranks second in the Big Ten by averaging nearly 185 yards per game.

Higgins says the defensive line is allowing the linebackers to run free.

With three games remaining the Hawkeyes control their own destiny in the Big Ten West. Senior linebacker Kyler Fisher.

The Iowa Hawkeye men return to action Friday night by hosting Alabama State. The Hawkeyes opened with a 110-68 victory over North Dakota while Alabama State dropped a 69-59 decision at Ole Miss.

That’s Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. Ten players saw 17 minutes of playing time against North Dakota and McCaffery says they are still in the process of defining roles.

After spending most of their life as teammates the Murray twins squared off as foes last night in the NBA. Keegan Murray played 31 minutes and scored nine points in Sacramento’s 121-118 overtime victory against Portland. Kris Murray went scoreless in nine minutes of action for the Trail Blazers.

The stakes are high for the Drake football team as the Bulldogs get set to host Presbyterian this weekend. At 6-0, Drake needs a win to maintain at least a share of the Pioneer Football League lead and it will be the final home game for a senior class that endured a COVID shutdown as well as three straight losing seasons.

That’s Drake coach Todd Stepsis. A win on Saturday and next week at Butler would clinch the PFL title and Drake’s first trip to the FCS playoffs.

Drake needed a goal line stand last week to preserve a 10-3 win at Marist. The Bulldogs are giving up a shade over 12 points per game in the PFL and only 74 yards on the ground per game. They also lead the league in turnover margin.