Former Soddy-Daisy and Kentucky star Kelsey Nunley has a 4-0 pitching record with a 1.91 earned run average and 19 strikeouts in 18 innings for the first-place USSSA Pride in the six-team National Professional Fastpitch softball league. The team based in Viera, Fla., is 11-2, three games ahead of the second-place Scrap Yard Dawgs of Woodland, Texas - the Pride's next opponent Friday.
Golf
* Chattanooga's Blakesly Warren narrowly missed earning a spot in the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur in the qualifying tournament Tuesday at Roswell, Ga. The University of Tennessee golfer from Baylor School shot a 76, one shot behind second alternate Cammie Gray from Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the two players Gray edged in a playoff. UTC's Megan Woods carded an 80, and Jenna Burris from Manchester shot 83.
Basketball
* Former Tyner basketball player Thomas Cooper, who went on to college stardom in Canada after stops at North Carolina A&T State, City College of San Francisco and Nebraska-Kearney, has signed a contract with Uni Baskets Paderborn in Germany's Pro A League, according to a release Monday from Slan Sports Management. Cooper, a 6-foot-4 guard who graduated from Tyner in 2010, made the All-Canadian first team in both 2016 and this year with the University of Calgary Dinos, the release reported. He was No. 2 in scoring in U Sports with 25.8 points a game in 2015-16, when he also averaged 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists and was the All-Canada West player of the year, and he averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists this past season. "I am more than thankful that Paderborn gave me my first opportunity to play professional basketball," Cooper said in the release. "I plan on making a huge impact in every way I can to help the team win as many games and have as much success as possible." Said Paderborn coach Uli Naechster: "We believe that Thomas can have an immediate impact in Pro A. He is a versatile scorer, and he will certainly be able to prove that as a professional." Paderborn was 10th in the league at 14-16 in the most recent season.
* Bryan College women's basketball coach Jason Smith was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference overall coach of character for the 2016-17 school year, and Bryan's T.J. Zinke was honored as the league's athletic trainer of the year. Smith not only guided his Lady Lions to a historic four-wins-in-four days run to the AAC tournament title and a berth in the NAIA Division II nationals, but he was deemed to exhibit consistently the five "core values" of an NAIA champion of character: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. Zinke went from interim head athletic trainer in 2015-16 to the permanent position this past year, and he guided a rebuilding of the Dayton school's athletic training department that earned frequent praise from opponents for the care he and his staff provided. It previously was reported that Tennessee Wesleyan received the AAC Duard Walker All-Sports Trophy and TWU's Grant Willhite was the AAC faculty athletics representative of the year.
Soccer
* Covenant College has released its 2017 women's soccer schedule, and it will begin with home matches Sept. 2 against Berea and Sept. 7 against Belhaven. Coach Mark Duble's Lady Scots, who went 13-5 last year, play Kentucky school Transylvania at Berry College on Sept. 9 and visit Sewanee on Sept. 13. After homecoming against Oglethorpe at 5 p.m. on Sept. 16 and another Scotland Yard match against Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 19, Covenant will begin USA South play at 2016 league tournament champion Piedmont on Sept. 23 and at home against Agnes Scott on Sept. 27. Later home games are Sept. 30 against Brevard, which is transitioning from NCAA Division II to Division III, Oct. 11 against Berry, Oct. 19 against Maryville, Oct. 21 against Wesleyan (Ga.) and Oct. 23 against Emory. The USAS tournament begins Oct. 25.