University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior outfielder Aly Walker was voted the Southern Conference softball preseason player of the year in the coaches’ poll released Thursday, and senior third baseman Devan Brown joined her from the Mocs on the all-conference first team. Brown is a previous Ringgold High School and Chattanooga State standout. With senior first baseman Emma Sturdivant, junior pitcher Celie Hudson and junior utility player Taylor Chadwick picked for the second team, UTC was picked third out of seven teams behind favorite UNC Greensboro and Mercer. Another preseason All-SoCon first-teamer was East Tennessee State sophomore second baseman Lauren Lee from Cleveland. UNCG senior Stephanie Bryden was the preseason pitcher of the year. Walker was a first-team all-conference selection at the end of the 2018 season, when she batted .361 and scored 28 runs and hit .451 with a .706 slugging percentage in SoCon games. The 2019 Mocs open a week from today at Kennesaw State’s tournament.
Basketball
» The Bryan College women’s basketball team ran its win streak to 20 games with a 74-63 Appalachian Athletic Conference victory Thursday at Reinhardt, and the Bryan men won 74-69. For the Lady Lions (21-1, 19-0), ranked 15th in NAIA Division II, Deandra Luna had 14 points, three blocked shots and three steals, Tesa Johnson and Tristan McClellan had nine rebounds each with 11 and nine points and Destiny Kassner scored 10. To’Nesha Allison added seven rebounds with nine points for Bryan, which prevailed with a 29-17 fourth quarter. Ringgold’s Bethany Headrick had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for Reinhardt (12-10, 11-8). The Bryan men (12-11, 9-8) got 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists from EJ Bush and 12 points and eight rebounds from Brandon Thomas. Clay Hertel had 11 points, seven steals and five assists, while Keaton Dotson also scored 11 points with Justin Warner adding 10.
» Hunter Simpson and Jacobi Lynn scored 25 and 23 points in the sixth consecutive win for Tennessee Wesleyan’s women, a 71-61 AAC triumph with a 48-31 second half at Columbia International. Lynn made seven 3-point shots and Simpson hit 11 of 12 free throws for the Lady Bulldogs (15-7, 13-7). The TWU men (8-13, 4-12) endured a 10th loss in a row, 66-61, but Ty Patterson had 19 points and 19 rebounds and Jalen Oliver had 18 points and five assists.
‘ Sean Cranney scored 24 points with five 3s as Dalton State won 93-87 in Southern States Athletic Conference play at Faulkner. Elijah Staley scored 19 and Malik Pugh had 14 points, six assists and four steals for the winning Roadrunners (13-9, 8-6), and Aaron Burress added 13 points. Raheem England and Randy Bell had seven rebounds apiece, and Sean Chislom blocked three shots.
Fishing
» Michael Neal of Dayton and Jacob Wheeler of Harrison were 14th and 15th at 37 pounds, 2 ounces and 35-13 after the Group A elimination round Thursday on the Kissimmee Chain in Florida in the first event of Major League Fishing’s new Bass Pro Tour. Making the top 20, they secured spots in the knockout round Saturday. Three-time FLW Tour points champion Andy Morgan was 32nd at 17-1 after two rounds. The other 20 places for Saturday will be determined today. Ott DeFoe of Blain, Tennessee, was second at 60-8 in Group A behind California resident Ish Monroe at 61-4. The MLF Bass Pro Tour has 80 proven top anglers by invitation, and it includes several innovations for fishing events.