VA Gameday Bulletin: Hoos Take Series Over Duke, VaSID Basketball Awards & More

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Summarizing some of the most important news and notes from the week in Virginia college sports.

Monday, April 19 – Sunday, April 25

Virginia Baseball Wins Series vs. Duke

The Virginia baseball program kept itself on the bubble this weekend by taking two of three against Duke. The Wahoos won 9-3 Friday night behind a 14-strikeout performance from starter Andrew Abbott and grand slam by Charlottesville native Nic Kent. On Saturday, they picked up a 4-3 win to secure the series win. Virginia, who lost the series finale 7-4 on Sunday, is now 19-19 overall and 11-16 in conference action. They’ll have a big mid-week game against red-hot Liberty, followed by a three-game weekend set vs. rival Virginia Tech.

Radford Hires New Head Basketball Coach

Former West Virginia star Darris Nichols was hired as the new Radford men’s basketball coach. A native of Radford and assistant at Florida for the last seven seasons, Nichols will be the eighth coach in program history.

https://twitter.com/RadfordMBB/status/1385408016812580865

James Madison Basketball Inks Two More Big-Time Transfers

After already signing two all-conference players from the transfer portal, James Madison head coach Mark Byington continues to work the recruiting trail. This week, he added Summit League Freshman of the Year Tyree Ihenacho (from North Dakota) and 6-foot-7 Alonzo Sule (from Texas State). Sule started every game for the Bobcats this season, averaging 7.8 points in 21 minutes per game. The roster “appears set” for next season, according to James Madison beat writer Shane Mettlen.

Historic VMI Football Season Comes to an End

VMI’s dream season came to an end over the weekend when they fell to James Madison 31-24 in the FCS playoffs. It was their first-ever appearance in the FCS Playoffs and first winning season at all since 1981. The SoCon champs, VMI finished the season with a 6-2 record. Top-seeded James Madison will play No. 7 North Dakota in the next round.

VaSID Basketball Awards Released

Virginia college hoopers were honored on Friday with the release of the VaSID Awards. Bones Hyland of VCU and Sam Hauser shared Player of the Year honors, while William & Mary’s Connor Kochera was voted Rookie of the Year. Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard (Defensive Player of the Year) and Mike Young (Coach of the Year) round out the individual awards. First and second-team honors are listed below:

First Team:
Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech
Sam Hauser, Virginia
Nah’Shon Hyland, VCU
Matt Lewis, James Madison
Davion Warren, Hampton

Second Team:
Malik Curry, Old Dominion
Jay Huff, Virginia
Luke Loewe, College of William & Mary
Darius McGhee, Liberty
Greg Parham, VMI

Ten of the 14 programs in the state of Virginia were represented; No players from Longwood, Radford, Norfolk State, or George Mason were recognized. Awards are voted on by university or conference media workers in the state.