By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
Two Panthers Named First Team All-SEC:
Mount Pleasant seniors Samantha Broeker and Sydni Coleman have both been named First Team All-SEC, the conference has announced.
Coleman was the Panther ace this summer starting 14 games logging 90.1 innings and 4.11 ERA. Coleman struck out 41 and walked just 18 in her senior season.
She was also outstanding at the plate for Mount Pleasant hitting .328 with four home runs, driving in 14 runs. Her four long balls was the top on the ball club.
Broeker, a Simpson College commit, hit a team-best .463 at the plate this year with a team-high eight doubles and 12 RBI.
The Panthers finished this year with a record of 4-18.
Garza Announces Return to Iowa City:
Luka Garza, the 2020 National College Basketball Player of the Year by six major news outlets and Big Ten Player of the Year, announced on Sunday that he is returning to the University of Iowa for his senior season.
Garza is one of five players since 1975, and first since 2008, to return to school after being recognized as the Sporting News National Player of the Year. The other four players are Tyler Hansbrough (2008), Dee Brown (2005), Michael Jordan (1983), and Ralph Sampson (1982).
The Washington, D.C., native had a historic season in 2019-2020, leading the nationally-ranked UI men’s basketball team to 20 victories and a likely NCAA Tournament berth if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garza said that not having the opportunity to achieve two of its goals last March — winning the conference tournament and making an NCAA Tournament run — was difficult.
With Garza back in the fold, Iowa will be strong preseason favorite in the Big Ten.
Baseball Season Comes to Close Saturday:
Four teams were crowned State Champions on Saturday at Principal Park in Des Moines.
Here’s a look at the final scoreboard from our state capitol:
State Championships:
Class 1A: Don Bosco 3, Newman Catholic 2
Class 2A: Van Meter 6, Des Moines Christian 0
Class 3A: Norwalk 8, Gilbert 6
Class 4A: Johnston 11, Ankeny 8
UNI’s A.J. Green Withdraws from NBA Draft:
Northern Iowa guard A.J. Green has withdrawn from the NBA Draft process and will return to Cedar Falls for his junior season.
The Larry Bird Player of the Year winner in the Missouri Valley Conference last season, Green averaged 19.7 points per game while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range.
He also dished out three assists and had three rebounds per game.
The Panthers won last year’s Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship before a tournament loss to Drake in the conference quarterfinals.
MLB Scoreboard (8/2):
Cincinnati 4, Detroit 3 — 7 inn (Game 1)
Baltimore 5, Tampa bay 1
Atlanta 4, New York Mets 0
Chicago White Sox 9, Kansas City 2
Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1
Chicago Cubs 2. Pittsburgh 1 — 11 inn
Colorado 9, San Diego 5
Texas 9, San Francisco 6
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Arizona 0
Houston 6, Los Angeles Angels 5 — 11 inn
Oakland 3, Seattle 2
Cincinnati 4, Detroit 0 — 7 inn
NY Yankees 9, Boston 7