BASKETBALL
ASU, UCA to play in Preseason WNIT
The Arkansas State and Central Arkansas women's teams are among the 16 teams that will participate in the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.
The field, announced Wednesday, also includes Colorado, Mississippi State, Penn State, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Western Kentucky, among others. Nine of the 16 teams are coming off postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournament teams.
The tournament includes a three-game guarantee for all teams. The first round opens Nov. 14-15, the second round will be Nov. 16-17 and the semifinals will be Nov. 19-20. The championship game will be Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Central and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The official tournament bracket with first-round opponents, game dates and times will be announced in June.
BASEBALL
Vallejo named award semifinalist
Arkansas Tech junior pitcher Randy Vallejo was named Wednesday as a semifinalist for the Josh Willingham Award, given to NCAA Division II's most valuable player.
Vallejo tied for the Division II lead with 18 saves this season while posting a 2.43 earned run average and holding opponents to a .245 batting average. The Wonder Boys set a single-season record with 44 victories, including a 25-5 mark in the Great American Conference, claiming their first outright conference title since 1992 and climbing to No. 3 in the national rankings.
The winner of the award, named for former North Alabama All-American and Minnesota Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, will be selected following this week's Division II Championships in Cary, N.C.
Sports on 05/29/2014