Marty Gordon
NRVsports@mainstreetnewspapers.com
Former Radford High standout and current LSU quarterback Landon Clark is returning to the area to give back to the community. Clark, who led Radford to a state title, will hold a youth football camp on Sunday, May 17, 2-4 p.m. The camp will be at Radford High School on Dick Davis Dr. and is open to all ages.
Last season, Clark starred as the quarterback at Elon College. This past January, he transferred to the Southeastern Conference’s LSU Tigers.
State high school HOF
A Blacksburg woman has been announced as one of the newest members of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Natasha Belcher Holt was a standout tennis player at J.J. Kelly High School.
She was the first state tennis singles champion across all classifications to win three straight titles (1993-95). She compiled a four-year singles record of 79-0 and a doubles record of 67-3 and won three straight district and regional singles and doubles championships. Holt led her team to four consecutive state titles and was the district and region player of the year three straight years.
She now lives, works and volunteers her time to youth athletics in the New River Valley.
The Virginia High School Hall of Fame, presented by the VHSL and VAcorp, will induct 11 new members recognized for outstanding contributions to high school athletics and activities. The Class of 2026 includes All-Americans, All-State athletes, state champions, legendary coaches, and contributors, and an esteemed sports journalist.
The induction ceremony for the 37th Annual Hall of Fame enshrinement dinner will be on Sunday, April 19, at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel,
Athletes are eligible for consideration ten years after completing their high school careers and are judged primarily for their achievements in interscholastic sports. Coaches are eligible after 15 years of experience or upon retirement and evaluated on the merits of their accomplishments at the high school level. Contributors have rendered significant services in other capacities, such as administration, academic activities, officiating, media, or sports medicine.
RU women fall in playoffs
The Radford women’s golf program saw their 2026 Big South Championship run come to an unfortunate end last week as the team tied for fourth but ultimately came up short in a sudden death tiebreaker.
Through the front nine, the Highlanders played solidly and were in a good spot sticking to their second place ranking in the team leaderboard. Shea Smith had an incredible start, playing par in eight of the first nine holes. Grace Addison was right there as well, playing even through the front nine thanks in part to a birdie she sank on hole seven.
Hole 10 marked a surge for the Highlanders as Smith, Caroline Gilreath and Mckenzie Weddle all recorded birdies. Gilreath and Weddle would go on to birdie on the 12th hole as well, but a rough showing on the 13th hole proved pivotal down the stretch. As a group, Radford shot seven-over on that hole.
The team would regroup well through the final stretch, but the standings grew tight and not in the Highlanders’ favor. Longwood and UNC Asheville would leap into the third and second spots while Radford tied with Winthrop and Charleston Southern for the final spot of match play.
NRCC regional champs
The New River Community College club baseball team is this year’s Division II New Penn Regional East champs. The team captured the title this past week at the National Club Baseball Association Tournament.
Hagan wins #1,000
Matt Hagan has made history as this past week the local National Hot Rod driver picked up his 1,000 NHRA win. Hagan claimed the mark in the Funny Car race in Pomona, California.
Flag football honors
Flag football season is underway at Radford University, and a Blacksburg alum has stood out in the school’s first year.
In three games, Kailyn Brawley has 28 receptions for 342 yards with eight touchdowns. On defense, she has collected 15 tackles with nine interceptions.
Frazier signs one-year contract
Mike Young announced this past week that Associate Head Coach Chester Frazier has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him in Blacksburg through the 2026-27 season. Frazier, who just completed his third season overall with the program, rejoined the Hokies in April of 2025 after four seasons away from Blacksburg, that featured stints at Illinois and West Virginia.
Frazier brought more than a decade of coaching experience from the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten conferences to the Tech men’s basketball program when he moved back to Blacksburg
During his first stint at Virginia Tech (2019-21), Frazier served as associate head coach, helping guide the Hokies to a third-place ACC finish and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021.
ACC all-academic team
Rising Virginia Tech juniors Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond were named to the ACC’s 2025-26 All-Academic Team the league office announced Tuesday afternoon. Both men have recently announced their intentions to return to the Hokies in 2026-27, forming a core group of returners that includes forward Amani Hansberry.
Hammond stepped up his play in his second season in Blacksburg, starting in 18 of 32 games and leading the Hokies in scoring in ACC play at 14.9 ppg.
Johnson started 13 times in 17 appearances for the Hokies in 2025-26, averaging 26.1 minutes per game. The 6-foot-5 guard was sidelined for the first 15 games of the conference season with a lower body injury.
Carrico freshman watch list
With an excellent freshman campaign thus far, Virginia Tech’s Bree Carrico has been named to the NFCA DI National Freshman of the Year Top 25 Watch List.
The redshirt freshman has been outstanding in the circle throughout the Hokies’ 2026 campaign. She currently leads the ACC with a 1.43 ERA, a number that also ranks her 10th nationally. Carrico sits with a 12-1 record in 27 appearances, including a three-hit complete-game win over No. 21 Virginia on April 11.
Carrico has been most effective coming into the circle for relief, with 20 of her 27 appearances coming from the bullpen. She has picked up four saves so far this season. The Appomattox, Va., native has struck out 106 batters and has held opponents to a .185 average this year.
She was named the D1 Softball National Freshman of the Week (3/24) and the ACC Freshman of the Week (3/24) after a week that she finished with 16 strikeouts, one hit and a .029 opponent average.
Highlander post-season honors
Following the conclusion of the 2026 Big South Championship, Radford University Women’s Golf has earned a trio of awards for their impressive 2025-26 campaign including Macy Johnson (Scholar-Athlete of the Year), Mckenzie Weddle (Second Team All-Conference) and Shea Smith (Honorable Mention All-Conference).
Johnson goes back-to-back with her second straight season being named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and her second straight season on the all-academic list. She is currently set to graduate early this spring with a perfect 4.0 GPA studying Economics with a Minor in Accounting and will continue to work towards her MBA next year. In every semester at Radford Johnson has been selected to the Dean’s List and is the president of Beta Gamma Sigma, a highly respect business fraternity.
Weddle caps her impressive 2025-26 season with her naming to the second team all-conference squad. During the regular season, Weddle earned an individual championship at the Elon Invitational and was named the Big South Golf of the Week for her efforts. Throughout the season, she was the Highlanders top placer in three tournaments. At the Big South Tournament, Weddle placed top 10 individually.
Smith earns her first all-conference award with her selection to the Big South’s honorable mention team. For the Highlanders this season she posted the third best scoring average on the team and led the team’s efforts at two tournaments while consistently finishing within the top three. In the third round of the Edisto Island Invitational, she also tied the program record for lowest round at 5-under.
Austin Peay’s Robinson to RU
Ja’Corey Robinson is transferring from Austin Peay to Radford University. The 6-6 point guard played in 30 of Austin Peay’s 31 games this season. The Governors tied for first place in the ASUN regular season standings. They finished with a 22-9 record and a 15-3 league record.
Robinson averaged 17 minutes per game along with 6.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Robinson’s best game came against conference foe North Florida where he dropped 18 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
In high school, Robinson was named the Meadowlark Conference Player of the Year during his final two seasons and was also a first-team all-Class 5A honoree.
