Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Baseball starts 16-game homestand tomorrow!
2/20/2023 5:20:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Tennis, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, BRAA, Track & Field/Cross Country
Fans will get to celebrate $1 Opening Day with the Blue Raiders. Tickets, as well as hot dogs and soft drinks, will be $1. The first 200 fans through the gate will receive a Blue Raider baseball T-shirt.
📣 At long last, the Blue Raiders are back in action tomorrow at Reese Smith Jr. Field! And we have some exciting promos!
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) February 20, 2023
⚾️ $1 Opening Day: $1 Hotdogs, soft drinks, and tickets!
⚾️ First 200 fans receive a Blue Raider Baseball T-Shirt!
Don't miss out!#BLUEnited | #BlueCrew pic.twitter.com/8aBi7q4v53
MTSU's lineup features four players batting .300 or better after the three-game opening weekend, led by Brett Coker's .429/.500/.857 slash line after hitting two home runs down in Myrtle Beach to start the year.
Track & Field Brings home medals at C-USA Track and Field Championships
Three different Blue Raiders took home four different gold medals for MTSU at this weekend's C-USA Championships, as the Middle Tennessee women finished third in the overall team standings while the men's team finished fifth.
Alaba Akintola was the star of the meet for MTSU in sprints, taking home wins in both the 60m and 200m dash. His 20.59s time in the 200m final was a new record for the C-USA Championship. Brian Rono took home the gold in the 800m final, while Esther Isa was the lone Blue Raider women to reach the top of the podium, taking first in the women's triple jump with a distance of 13.08m
🏆 2023 ITF Women's Triple Jump Champions 🏆
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) February 19, 2023
🥇Esther Isa - @MT_TrackField
🥈Oreoluwa Adamson - @UTSATrackXC
🥉Ginnie Okafor- @RiceTFXC #CUSATF pic.twitter.com/7XbQRgQILm
🚨 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 🚨@MT_TrackField's Alaba Akintola sets a new C-USA Championship record in the 200m with a time of 20.59! #CUSATF pic.twitter.com/0Ux1Begb0y
— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) February 19, 2023
Stephen Eloji (Men's 60m), Benjamin Onyekwelu (Men's Long Jump), Glory Nyenke (Women's 400m), and Isa (Women's High Jump and Long Jump) all picked up silver medals, while Lyn'Nikka Vance earned the bronze in the women's long jump.
Lady Raiders back in the Top 25!
In this week's AP poll, your Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders are back in the Top 25 after two big wins on the road over FAU and FIU. MTSU checks in tied for No. 25 with Illinois, both programs earning 29 votes from the ballots of the AP's voters.
𝙂𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤'𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 👀
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) February 20, 2023
Lady Raiders are tied for 25th in this week's AP poll, receiving 29 votes!#BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/DCadlhhNJQ
The Lady Raiders clinched the top seed in the C-USA Tournament with their wins, as well as losses from both WKU and UTEP over the weekend. With any Lady Raider win or Lady Topper loss the rest of the season, MTSU would win the conference outright.
Don't miss tonight's Coaches' Shows at The Boulevard!
With both men's and women's basketball off this Thursday in the bye rotation of the 11-team C-USA, make sure to check out tonight's basketball coaches' shows at The Boulevard!
Both teams will take on LA Tech on Saturday, with the men's game in the Glass House being their final home game of the 2022-23 season. The women will return to the Murphy Center next week for a pair of Texas showdowns with North Texas and UTEP.
Fresh off two wins in Florida and another road trip set for later this week, another Rick Insell Live takes place tonight at The Boulevard!
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) February 20, 2023
Catch tonight's player guest, Kseniya Malashka, early in the show before she heads to class. #BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/BKYmegnaGd
Nick McDevitt Live is back at The Boulevard!!
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) February 20, 2023
Join us from 7-8 p.m. in person or on 94.9/9.1 The Fan! The show will re-air on WGNS on Wednesday at 6 p.m. pic.twitter.com/kFhtJaQNL0
Tickets Available for the C-USA Basketball Championships in Frisco
With both teams carrying a lot of momentum at the moment and plenty of healthy competition from around the league, this year's C-USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas promises to be an exciting one for Blue Raider fans.
Make sure to secure your tickets to the tournament below! And enjoy the highlights of this weekend's four wins on the hardwood, put together by our video teams!
.@MT_MBB and @MT_WBB are getting closer to the @ConferenceUSA Championships, which will be in Frisco, Texas from March 8-11.
— MT Athletics (@MTAthletics) February 14, 2023
Blue Raider fans, purchase your tickets TODAY and support your #BlueRaiders!
🎟 https://t.co/Wtsg5fLZA8#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/qPV9xmjYza
Inside an upset.#StickTogether pic.twitter.com/GFRRNlo0B3
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) February 17, 2023
Feeling good after this one. #BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/J3CsMUTqzk
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) February 17, 2023
Capped off a big week last night. #StickTogether pic.twitter.com/heh2thssxG
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) February 20, 2023
All Lady Raiders yesterday in Miami. #BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/NLjO1VIWiy
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) February 19, 2023
Softball returns home with three wins over the weekend
Middle Tennessee softball continued its strong start to the 2023 campaign, picking up three wins in Florida at the FGCU Kickoff Classic, including the program's third win over a Power 5 program in the Jeff Breeden Era with an 8-2 win over Boston College on Saturday.
The Blue Raiders' lineup is filled with players off to hot starts at the plate in 2023, led by shortstop Laura Mealer, who's batting .469 to start the season. In the circle, the pitching staff continued to build off of their strong opening weekend and are holding opposing teams to a batting average of just .227 through the team's first 10 games.
MTSU will stay on the road this week, heading to Georgia Southern for a quartet of games with the Eagles and NC A&T.
Outdoor Tennis Complex makes progress near Murphy Center
My office is right inside near where the MTSU On-Campus Tennis Courts used to be, or rather where they will be soon, as construction continues on the project through the spring as both men's and women's tennis continue their homestands at the Adams Tennis Complex in Old Fort Park.
Men's Tennis Coach Jimmy Borendame, Associate AD Larry Maples and Director of Athletics recently chatted with Rutherford County Breaking News on Facebook to help explain the project to locals driving by on Middle Tennessee Boulevard and the construction projects coming soon to MTSU Athletics.
Edlin takes second for women's golf after strong finish in first tournament of the spring
Women's Golf teed off their spring in Eatonton, Ga. over the weekend, with Taylor Edlin recording the best finish of her college career, finishing second in the field as the Blue Raiders closed the tournament strong with the second-best record in the tournament's final round.
It's the highest finish of @tayloredlin01's career! pic.twitter.com/Eogw2Ige5F
— MT Women's Golf (@MT_WGolf) February 19, 2023
Taylor Edlin finishes second as MTSU is one stroke off the best round of the day! pic.twitter.com/WGqDjhrzJZ
— MT Women's Golf (@MT_WGolf) February 19, 2023
"Before the round started, we talked about going out there and winning the day, and we came up one shot short of the low round for the day," Head Coach Chris Adams said. "I'm very proud of the girls for hanging tough and ending our last round with some great scores and a lot of positives going into our next tournament.
"Taylor played her heart out today and fell just short of the win. She showed amazing resilience, and I couldn't be more proud of how she played this week."
Players Mentioned
