News and Notes from East Carolina, Conference USA and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

07.07.06: Report: No. 1 prep hoops star choosing USC ... Motorcycle wreck claims Georgia Southern star ... NBA exhibition games coming to Dean Dome

07.06.06: Owls' St. Clair chosen for Team USA baseball ... Houston, Rice rookies make all-frosh team ... Case-era Pack hoops legend Dickey passes

07.05.06: National honors piling up for Houston's Lincoln ... Wade's wallet now packs a wallop ... Duke gets QB from prestigious prep program

07.04.06: Howard joins ECU media relations staff ... Bertman leads college baseball hall's first class ... Temple gets prized hometown grid recruit

07.03.06: Paper: C of C and Cremins come to agreement ... Four depart Oregon in search of playing time ... Gator recruit wins national prep QB award

07.02.06: College of Charleston hires Bobby Cremins ... Duke gets pair of football commitments ... Georgia Tech baseball coach gets extra year ... Big Sky Conference expands by one

07.01.06: SI.com columnist rates O'Leary among best ... Bogdan, Floyd get top awards in C-USA track ... Northwestern mourns passing of Walker

06.30.06: NCAA gives new life to Houston bowl game ... Memphis duo makes school history in NBA draft ... LSU selects Mainieri to direct baseball program ... Marshall backpedals back to Winthrop

06.29.06: BCS to tweak timing of weekly poll ... Louisville to push two players for Heisman ... Redick fares well in draft despite impediments

06.28.06: Postgraduate scholarship goes to ECU's Davenport ... UCF center foregoes final year of eligibility ... Sinclair named women's athlete of the year

06.27.06: Beavers beat Heels to win College World Series ... Irish baseball coach to interview for LSU job ... Cal quarterback suspended after assault charge

06.26.06: Mustangs lead
C-USA teams in Director's Cup ... Tulane AD receives prestigious service award ... Calipari racking up some broadcast work

06.25.06: Coal industry to sponsor Marshall-WVU series ... Mountaineers extend Rodriguez deal to 2012 ... Vols add non-league challenges

06.24.06: Del Conte takes reins as AD at Rice ... Contact at combine means fine for Emory ... UNCW aligns with adidas for shoes, uniforms

06.23.06: Witter starts professional ball with a flourish ... Big Ben's little sister commits to Sooners ... Wake Forest football recruit faces felony charges

06.22.06: Big Ten scores momentous television deals ... Former ECU diver Derr to coach at JMU ... Grizzlies turn to Tinkle on hardwood

06.21.06: Troth returns to the fold as ECU assistant ... College of Charleston, Herrion settle on buyout ... Another national award for Houston's Lincoln

06.20.06: ECU announces long-term pact with Nike ... Pirates release women's soccer schedule ... Three C-USA linemen on Outland Trophy list

06.19.06: USM-Memphis game shifts to Sunday for ESPN ... Tar Heels AD Baddour gets contract extension ... U.S. Women's open to have distinct Duke flavor

06.18.06: Rice rallies in its College World Series opener ... Houston's Lincoln gets 2006 Howser Trophy ... C-USA's top scorer backs away from NBA draft

06.17.06: ECU grad Millican wins N.C. women's amateur ... College World Series: Tigers win in comeback ... LSU's Carter sweeps national track honors

06.16.06: Ex-ECU assistant named Campbell grid coach ... Pirate softball ace Keli Harrell named All-State .. Report: Back woes nix Redick draft workouts

06.15.06: Camels expected to name football coach ... Rice leads C-USA contingent on A-A team ... K-State, UCLA announce football dates

06.14.06: ECU's Smith among 7 C-USA All-Americans ... Duke star Redick charged with drunk driving ... UAB selects Shoop to guide baseball program

06.13.06: Owls carrying C-USA banner to Omaha ... ECU's Ray shares Coastal Plain League honor ... Terms of Huggins' K-State contract reported

06.12.06: ECU ticket office temporarily relocates ... Irish safety's ring debut: Bell rung quickly ... Miners seventh in NCAA men's track

06.11.06: Miami loses Berry- recruited QB to baseball ... Clemens award finalists have C-USA flavor ... Buckeyes announce series with Toledo

06.10.06: ECU network announces blowtorch flagships ... "The Buzz" remains in Pirate broadcast lineup ... Former LSU athlete turned pro wrestler dies

06.09.06: ECU's "Voice" revving up for benefit "Ride" ... Pirates bow out at NCAA track & field meet ... ODU makes plans to add I-AA football

06.08.06: MLB Draft: Smith selected by A's, Mathews by Giants ... ECU's Hunt, Krug take Scholar Athlete honors ... NCAA nixes course credits from 'diploma mills'

06.07.06: ECU's track elite at NCAA meet in Sacramento ... Super region pairings pit Rice against Sooners ... Cleared USC quarterback says he's rejoined team

06.06.06: NCAA change on grad transfers gets reaction ... Duke reinstates men's lacrosse with conditions ... Cardieri resigns as baseball coach at USF

06.05.06: Owls carry C-USA banner against Bears ... Laval steps down as LSU baseball coach ... Date of "Civil War" changed for TV

06.04.06: C-USA players reap All-America honors ... "Flesh- eating" germ claims Tulsa gridder ... Blazers baseball coach hangs up cleats

06.03.06: ECU's Jake Smith named 2nd-team All-America ... Pirates get first signee in McPhaul golfing era ... Duke men's lacrosse program to be reinstated

06.02.06: Bucs' new pitching coach has LeClair pedigree ... Three gridders depart WVU program ... ECU announces blue chip tennis signees

06.01.06: Pirates announce kickoff times, TV games ... ECU excels among C-USA's academic elite ... Rice's Degerman makes Academic All-America

Former East Carolina first baseman Joe Hastings has been named assistant baseball coach at Boston College, according to an announcement made by Boston College head baseball coach Mikio Aoki posted on ecupirates.com.

Hastings, who served as an assistant coach at the Virginia Military Institute in 2006, began his coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia in 2005. He worked primarily with the Cavaliers' outfielders and first basemen.

A native of Connelly Springs, Hastings had an outstanding four-year career at East Carolina (1997, 1999-2001). A first baseman, he captured All-America third-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in 2001. He also gained All-Colonial Athletic Association accolades that same year, while leading the Pirates to an NCAA regional title. In his four years at ECU, Hasting and his classmates won a class-record 166 games.

In 2000, Hastings led East Carolina in batting average (.352), home runs (13), runs batted in (60) and slugging percentage (.605), while tying for the team lead in runs (50). As a senior, he paced the Pirates with 62 RBI's.

Drafted in the 24th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, Hastings played four seasons (2001-04) in the San Diego Padres' organization. He advanced as high as AA, where he played for the Mobile Baybears of the Southern League in 2003.

UNC-Chapel Hill baseball standouts Jay Cox and Jonathan Hovis have signed minor league contracts with the Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees, respectively, and reported to their professional clubs, according to a release at tarheelblue.com.

A 22nd-round pick in last month's draft, Cox is on the roster of the Casper Rockies of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, while Hovis has been added to the Staten Island Yankees of the A-level New York-Penn League.

Cox enjoyed a career year as a junior in 2006 and picked up first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in the process. The Smithfield native hit .375 with a team-best 15 home runs and a career-high 65 runs batted in. He led the team with a .634 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base mark.

Cox ranked among the top five in the ACC in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage and finished in the top 10 in RBI's, total bases and slugging percentage. The Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, Cox was at his best in the postseason with 21 RBI's in the NCAA tournament to earn spots on the regional and College World Series all-tournament teams.

The NCAA's leader in earned run average, Hovis was undrafted despite posting an 8-2 record with two saves over 38 appearances and 69.1 innings. His 1.17 earned run average was the fifth-best mark in UNC-CH history and the lowest qualifying ERA since 1970. The Gastonia product's 38 appearances were the second-best mark at North Carolina, and his 106 career appearances are fourth all-time.

Hovis, who wrapped up his collegiate career with an 18-7 record, seven saves and a 2.58 ERA, led the ACC in ERA and appearances and was third in opponent batting average (.199) in 2006.

Rice junior basketball player Patrick Britton is one of 12 current and former collegiate basketball players from across the United States who will embark on a two-week competitive tour of the Philippines as one of 11 Athletes In Action international-touring teams this summer.

Athletes in Action is the sports branch of Campus Crusade for Christ International.

According to a release on the Conference USA website, the team also will include John Chappell (South Carolina), Kyle Cruze (Holy Cross), Trent Drafts (Charleston Southern), Tim Lyle (James Madison), Beau Muhlbach (Texas A&M), Luke Murphy (Cleveland State), Gabe Norwood (George Mason), Yuliyan Radionov (Bulgarian National Team), Reed Rawlings (Samford), Larry Sharrett (King), and Matt Short (Oregon).

After assembling in Dayton, OH, for a five-day training camp, the team will play 12 games over a 14-day span in addition to conducting basketball clinics for children. The goals of the tour are to provide a rich cross-cultural experience for each team member, serve and love all the people they meet, provide worthy competition for some of the best teams in Asia, help develop a Philippines AIA basketball touring team, bring honor to Jesus Christ through sharing God's love and truth, and prompt good spiritual movements within that part of the world.

"We fully expect the personal growth and cultural exchange to be rich and life-changing," stated Michalski. "We are looking for victories both in and beyond competition and pray that we will receive them. This will be a whirlwind experience that I believe everyone on our team will embrace with arms wide open. The tour is looking for great battles to fight, great adventures to live, and great opportunities for personal growth, making better men — not just better players."

The team will play an array of teams during its two-week excursion, including major Filipino collegiate and professional squads as well as the country's national team and other high-level Asian professional teams. Many of the exhibition games will be tournament formatted and nationally televised. Most countries are using such exhibition games to tune up for the 2006 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Championships to be played in Tokyo, Japan in August. AIA has sent touring teams to the Philippines for over 20 years.

Dave Hannah, who desired to capitalize on society's great love of sports and utilize the platform given to athletes to reach the world for Jesus Christ, founded AIA in 1966. AIA's outreach includes ministry to college and professional athletes and coaches globally across a great number of sports. International competing teams partner with in-country staff and other mission organizations to resource Christian ministry around the world.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.