Yankee trainer honored
The Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society has announced its 2019 Minor League award winners, with Pulaski Yankees ATC Manny Ozoa being named the 2019 Appalachian League Athletic Trainer of the Year. Ozoa will now be eligible for the Minor League Athletic Trainer of the Year award to be voted on by the full membership of PBATS and presented at the 2019 Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego, Calif. this December.
Ozoa is in his fourth season with the Pulaski Yankees, having worked as an athletic trainer in the New York Yankees organization since May 2016. He earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Illinois State University and his master’s degree in medical sciences with a concentration in athletic training and adolescent athletics from the University of South Florida. Since 2014 Ozoa has spent his off seasons as a seasonal athletic trainer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jolly new Georgia coach
Georgia College Director of Athletics Wendell Staton has announced the hire of Ross Jolly to be the next head coach of Bobcat Women’s Basketball.
Jolly joins Bobcat Nation after spending the last three seasons as Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Division I Radford University.
RU tops JMU
The Radford University women’s soccer team unofficially opened the 2019 season with a 2-1 exhibition win over James Madison at Sentara Park on Thursday night.
The two teams didn’t get underway until 8:45 p.m., after a pair of lightning delays held back kickoff. After James Madison took an early 1-0 lead in before the 45-minute mark, the Highlanders were poised to bounce back.
Lily McLane set up freshman Alexeis Kirnos, who notched a goal in the 76th minute, and tied the match at one. Another underclassman in Izzy Armstrong gave Radford a 2-1 lead when she scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute.
McGlynn All-ACC
Virginia Tech senior Mandy McGlynn has been named to the 2019 Preseason All-ACC Women’s Soccer Team, as announced by the league office on Thursday morning. The Hokies’ goalkeeper is one of 11 student-athletes to make the preseason team, which was voted on by the conference’s coaches.
McGlynn, who racked up a number of honors last season which included being named to the All-ACC First Team, a first for a Tech goalkeeper, enters her final campaign for the Hokies after a turning in her best season while playing for Tech in her three-year career.
Last season, McGlynn was also named an All-Atlantic Region Second Team by the United Soccer Coaches after starting all 22 matches and playing every single minute (2,056:43, the second-most ever in a single season at the school) of the year.
She stopped 91 shots (seventh) for a 79.8 save percentage (eighth) and posted a 1.01 goals against average (T-fifth).
E&H athletic charter
The Emory & Henry College Department of Athletics has partnered with Chi Alpha Sigma (XAΣ), the National College Athlete Honor Society, to recognize student-athletes who are leaders in the classroom, on the court and in the community.
Emory& Henry joins five other institutions in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) – Bridgewater College, Hollins University, University of Lynchburg, Randolph College, and Virginia Wesleyan University – as members of the nationwide organization.
Chi Alpha Sigma was founded in 1996 by then-DePauw University head football coach, Nick Mourouzis. The organization provides the opportunity to become connected within a fraternal association that aligns their educational and athletic successes for a lifetime.
CHS grad added to practice squad
Former Christiansburg High School and University of Charleston wide receiver Joey Augustin has been moved to practice squad for the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions. He was signed earlier this summer as a free agent and appeared in two preseason games. Augustine suffered a shoulder injury and spent most of his rehab time back in the New River Valley. The BC Lions moved him to the practice squad this past week.
Track changes for Maroons
Roanoke College Director of Athletics Scott Allison announced Monday that Kirk Nauman has resigned as the Maroons Head Coach for Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country and Track & Field to accept the same position at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Allison also announced that current assistant coach Tim Smith ’13 has been named the interim head coach for both cross-country programs, while fellow assistant Gene Galloway will lead the track & field programs on an interim basis.
Smith is a 2013 graduate of the College and has been on Nauman’s staff for the past two years. A two-time NCAA qualifier for the Maroons, Smith was named the ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the ODAC Runner of the Year and First Team All-ODAC in 2011.
Ramsey All-American
For the second straight year Radford University graduate Ben Ramsey has been recognized as a Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American.
Ramsey maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA in the Master of Business Administration program that he started last fall. He totaled a cumulative 3.94 GPA at the undergraduate level and earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance with a minor in Economics last May.
It was a record setting year for the award as 540 student-athletes earned the title of All-America Scholar, the most since the awards inception in 1982. Out of the 555 honorees, 279 players were Division I selections, 113 in Division II, 24 NAIA recipients, and 18 NJCAA award winners.
Ramsey was part of the record-breaking number of student-athletes that earned All-America Scholar status that included 279 golfers at the Division I level.
To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status an individual must be a junior or senior academically, compete in at least three full years at the collegiate level, participate in 50-percent of his team’s competitive rounds and have a stroke-average under 76.0. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.