SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – The Kansas City Royals have plucked left-handed pitcher Patrick Schuster off waivers from the San Diego Padres.
The Royals also sent catcher Adam Moore to the Padres on Tuesday for cash considerations.
Schuster, who has not pitched above Class A, was placed on the 40-man major league roster. To clear roster space for Schuster, the Royals designated for assignment outfielder Carlos Peguero.
The 23-year-old Schuster had a 1.83 ERA in 55 games last year for Visalia in the California League. He struck out 45, allowed 30 hits, and walked 18 in 44 1-3 innings.
After earning two wins and shutting out the Big 12’s top offense, redshirt freshman Nate Griep has been named big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the period ending March 23, the conference announced.
In his first career start, Griep quieted Oklahoma, which leads the conference with a .305 team batting average, by throwing a complete game, three-hit shutout against the Sooners in K-State’s win March 23.
k-statesports.com reported that the Omaha, Nebraska native helped lead Kansas State to its first shutout at Oklahoma since April 24, 1971, and the Wildcats’ first shutout on the road against a conference opponent since April 26, 1992 at Nebraska.
The media and fans a like filed into the club level of the West Stadium Center Tuesday for the introduction of Jeff Mittie as the ninth head coach of the Kansas State Women’s Basketball Program.
Noel Schulz, Kansas State University’s first lady and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering, Presented Coach Mittie with a Purple Coat
Mittie was announced as the successor of Deb Patterson who was let go by the University on March 9th after 18 seasons at Kansas State.
Mittie is one of the winningest active coaches in the NCAA Division I with more than 450 career wins, 15 postseason appearances, nine conference titles and five conference coach of the year honors in 22 years of coaching. He had spent the past 14 seasons as the head coach at TCU, a fellow Big 12 Conference member.
It’s not very common that a team looking for a new head coach would look within it’s league but John Currie, K-State Athletic Director, explained that they went about it the right way.
Jeff Mittie, Kansas States New Women’s Head Basketball Coach
“Chris Del Conte, their Athletic Director, is one of my closest friends and we went about it the right way. Coach Mittie did talk to Chris before we talked to him and then Chris and I had a dialogue that I think was very healthy and constructive and open throughout this whole process,” Currie said.
The Manhattan region is close to home for Mittie and his wife Shanna. Mittie is a native of Blue Springs, Missouri, just on the outskirts of Kansas City and Shanna is a Junction City native and graduate of Chapman High School.
That is one thing that helped bring the Mittie family to Kansas State.
“We just feel like there’s just so many great things that we can do here. This fits our family very, very well,” Mittie said.
Coach Mittie meeting with fans.
Having been in the Big 12 Conference the past two seasons allowed Mittie to have an idea of what he would be stepping into at Kansas State.
“I felt like watching from a far and scouting the young ladies who play here I felt like this was a basketball team that I would really enjoy coaching and really enjoy teaching.”
He will be hitting the recruiting trail right away and adding depth, not just specifically in size but in every other area as well he said.
“Because the one thing that can impact the season is foul trouble and injuries. We’ve got some young ladies that are bouncing back from injuries, so I would like to just improve our depth here in the spring.”
Mittie is retaining two coaches from the previous KSU Staff, Claire Coggins, Director of Basketball Operations and Tasha Dickie, Director of Video Operations. He is still unsure of if any of his staff from TCU will be coming with him as well, but expects to iron that out in the next seven to ten days.
He is inheriting a young team that finished 11-19 this past season with a 5-13 record in Big 12 play.
Jeff Mittie is being formally introduced as the new women’s head basketball coach at Kansas State University during a noon press conference in the Club Level of the West Stadium Center.
Fans will be able to participate in a brief meet-and-greet with Mittie following the news conference.
Mittie agreed to a five-year contract last week. He will be paid $375,000 in the first year of the deal with $25,000 annual increases each year remaining on the contract. He will also receive a $140,000 signing bonus.
Mitie, 47, has achieved an overall record of 454-234 in his 22 years as a head coach, which includes stops at Missouri Western, Arkansas State, and TCU.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Troy Tulowitzki homered, Franklin Morales struck out seven over five innings in a strong audition for a spot in the Colorado rotation and the Rockies beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 Monday.
Tulowitzki wrapped his third homer of spring training around the left field foul pole off former Rockies teammate Jeremy Guthrie in the second. He finished 1 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and is hitting .160.
Charlie Culberson added a two-run double in the third. Guthrie allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.
Morales gave up an unearned run, thanks to his own error, and three hits.
Colorado’s Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer off Spencer Patton in the sixth, two days after getting hit on the left hand by a pitch.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Dwight Powell had 15 points and seven rebounds and No. 10 seed Stanford wrapped up its second straight upset at the free throw line, knocking off No. 2 Kansas 60-57 in the South Regional on Sunday.
Chasson Randle added 13 points, six steals and four assists for the Cardinal (23-12), who advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 2008 – also their last NCAA appearance. They beat No. 7 seed New Mexico on Friday.
Stanford will play 11th-seeded Dayton, which beat No. 3 Syracuse 55-53, in the round of 16 in Memphis, Tenn.
Freshman Andrew Wiggins had just four points on 1-for-6 shooting with four turnovers in his final college game for Kansas (25-10). Wiggins is a likely NBA lottery pick and had averaged 28 points the previous four games.
Kansas is the second No. 2 seed to be eliminated. Villanova lost 77-65 to seventh-seeded Connecticut in the East Regional.
Tarik Black had 18 points and six rebounds for the Jayhawks, but he fouled out with 5:25 to go. Conner Frankamp had 12 points on four 3-pointers, the last two in the final 23 seconds to make it close after Stanford had pulled ahead by seven.
Stanford was 9 for 12 at the free throw line over the final 2:04 and needed all those points. Frankamp’s second 3-pointer narrowed the gap to 59-57 with 14.9 seconds left.
Anthony Brown hit just one of two free throws with 12.9 seconds and Frankamp banged a third 3-point attempt off the glass near the buzzer in a bid to tie it.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Andrew Harrison scored 20 points, twin brother Aaron had 19 and Kentucky ended Wichita State’s pursuit of perfection Sunday when Fred VanVleet’s potential game-winning 3-pointer missed in a 78-76 victory in the NCAA tournament.
Julius Randle had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and James Young also had 13 points for the No. 8 seed Wildcats (26-10), who made a series of clutch free throws in the final minutes to hold off the top-seeded Shockers in arguably the most captivating game of a thrilling first weekend.
Kentucky will play in-state rival Louisville in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Indianapolis.
Cleanthony Early scored 31 points and Ron Baker had 20 for the Shockers (35-1), who hadn’t lost since last year’s Final Four.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison says he plans to play in Sunday’s game against top-seeded Wichita State after hurting his elbow late in Friday night’s win over Kansas State.
Harrison replied, “Yes, sir,” when asked before the Wildcats’ practice Saturday whether he planned to play. Asked whether he planned to practice, Harrison stumbled before replying, “Coaches told me to do whatever I can do. I’m going to go out and do everything I can.”
Harrison hurt his elbow with 74 seconds left while trying to strip a Kansas State player of the ball. He had an X-ray after the game that came back negative.
Harris said the belief is that he hyperextended the elbow. He was still in pain on Saturday, and said he was “taking it day by day.”
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Kansas freshmen Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden Jr. ducked away from the microphones and giggled when asked about the challenge of controlling Stanford’s leading scorer, as if they had never heard of Chasson Randle.
Less than a day after beating Eastern Kentucky and less than a day before the second-seeded Jayhawks’ game against the No. 10 seed Cardinal, coach Bill Self said he would go over the scouting report with players later on. Although more experienced Stanford players sent to the podium Saturday were more forthcoming about their opponents’ stars, it’s that time of year when teams must adjust on the fly.
Both schools got to this point, an early Sunday matchup with a berth in the round of 16 at stake, by surging late. Kansas (25-9) powered from three down with 9 minutes left to win 80-69 and Stanford (22-12) surrendered an early 16-point lead and then found its second wind to eliminate No. 7 seed New Mexico 58-53.
