State sports briefs

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

ASU DC, line coach heading to Houston

The University of Houston has hired Arkansas State defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen and defensive line coach and running game coordinator Brian Early for the same positions, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette confirmed Monday afternoon.

ASU running backs coach and special teams coordinator Norval McKenzie also has accepted the same position at the University of Louisville under the Cardinals' new coach, former Appalachian State Coach Scott Satterfield, according to a published report by FootballScoop, which cited sources.

Under McKenzie -- a 2018 nominee for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation's top assistant coach -- ASU allowed (minus)-15 punt return yards in 2018, the fewest in NCAA history.

ASU has ranked among the top four Sun Belt Conference teams in scoring defense in each of the past three seasons with Cauthen as its defensive coordinator, allowing 21.5 points per game in 2016, 25.7 in 2017 and 25.6 in 2018.

Under Cauthen and Early, ASU ranked No. 1 in the league with 43 sacks in 2016, No. 4 with 35 sacks in 2017 and No. 2 with 35 sacks in 2018.

Cauthen and Early recently completed their fifth seasons at ASU and were two of the longest-tenured assistants on Coach Blake Anderson's staff since his hiring five years ago in Dec. 2013.

-- Christian Boutwell

Hendrix's Stanton to play in Dream Bowl

Cole Stanton, tight end and deep snapper for Hendrix College will play in the Dream Bowl on Monday in Roanoke, Va.

The all-star game is for NCAA FCS, Division II and Division III seniors.

Stanton is the fourth Hendrix player to participate in the game, joining Seth Peters, Nate Hodapp and Dayton Winn.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Hogs ranked No. 16 In D1Baseball.com poll

The University of Arkansas baseball team, coming off a national runner-up finish at the College World Series, will open the season ranked No. 16 in the D1Baseball.com poll.

The Razorbacks (48-21) tied Ole Miss for the SEC West title last season before beating South Carolina in two of three games at the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional to qualify for the CWS. The Razorbacks swept their bracket with victories over Texas, Texas Tech and defending national champion Florida before losing two of three against Oregon State in the finals.

Arkansas has also been ranked No. 13 in the preseason by Perfect Game and No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball.

The Razorbacks, who begin individual workouts this week, are scheduled to open the season Feb. 15 against Eastern Illinois at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville.

-- Tom Murphy

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Travelers hire new manager

The Seattle Mariners announced Monday that Mitch Canham, 34, will become the Arkansas Travelers' new manager in 2019.

The upcoming season will be Canham's first at the Class AA level and his fourth in the Mariners' system as a minor-league manager.

Canham spent the past two seasons managing the Modesto Nuts, the Mariners' Class-A Advanced (High-A) affiliate.

Canham will replace Daren Brown, who managed the Travelers for the past two seasons and was elevated as the new manager of the Mariners' Class AAA affiliate, Tacoma.

Pete Woodworth (pitching coach), Kyle Wilson (hitting coach), Michael Apodaca (performance coach) have also joined Canham's staff, the club announced.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Lyon's Riley scores her 1,000th point

Lyon College junior guard Madison Riley became the 18th player in school history to score at least 1,000 career points as the Scots defeated Lindenwood-Belleville 69-56 on Monday.

Riley scored a team-high 20 points for Lyon (13-9, 9-2 American Midwest Conference) which overcame a 33-26 halftime deficit and trailed 49-44 after the third quarter.

Lyon outscored Lindenwood 23-7 in the final quarter to secure the victory.

Liz Henderson finished with 17 points and Samantha French had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Brianna Mueller led Lindenwood-Belleville (7-11, 7-5) with 26 points

Sports on 01/15/2019

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