Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
NOTEBOOK: Akintola wraps up Blue Raider career at NCAA Championships with Second Team All-American finish
6/12/2023 6:22:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Cross Country and Track & Field, BRAA, Track & Field/Cross Country
The senior sprinter finished 13th in 100-meter with a time of 10.07s and 16th in 200-meter running 20.46s.
"Alaba has had an exceptional career at MTSU making every NCAA Championships since arriving," Head Coach Keith Vroman said. "Our coaches Raymond Bonner and Alex Kline have done great work to guide him in the last two years. We appreciate Alaba's dedication and desire to work hard every day, the type of athlete that makes coaching that much more enjoyable."
Akintola, who hails from Ondo, Nigeria, will compete in the 4x100 Worlds in June.
Good luck to @MT_TrackField's @alabaman__ as he competes in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship this week in Austin, Texas!
— MT Athletics (@MTAthletics) June 7, 2023
Alaba will run in the 100-meter and 200-meter races tonight on the national stage.#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/7R3fGOgcm7
Soccer Releases 2023 Schedule
Mark your calendars for Blue Raider Soccer this fall, as Middle Tennessee Soccer released their schedule for the 2023 season earlier today.
The Blue Raiders will play 10 home games at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium this fall out of a total of 18 fixtures on their schedule, including four of the program's eight Conference USA games at home.
It's here! ⚽️
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) June 12, 2023
Learn all about our 2023 schedule now! ⤵️
📰 https://t.co/4y1xZoOhGc
🗓️ https://t.co/IRZ5XAgQfF#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/x41nBqNaOo
Highlights of the schedule (from my perspective) are the opening weekend of the regular season against Louisiana (Thursday, August 17) and Belmont (Sunday, August 20), as well as back-to-back home games in C-USA play against Sam Houston (Sunday, October 8) and UTEP (Thursday, October 12).
Head Coach Aston Rhoden, entering his 22nd season at the helm of the Blue Raiders, will lead a balanced, but new look, team into the season, with the help of four fifth-year graduate students: Goalkeeper Hannah Suder, Defender Caroline Manley, Forward Cambell Kivisto and Forward Elizabeth Slavinsky.
Hayes inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame
Earlier this month, the Ohio Valley Conference elected former Middle Tennessee Track and Field Coach Dean A. Hayes to the conference's Hall of Fame, the seventh hall of fame Hayes has been inducted into for his coaching career.
The Hayes family, former Blue Raider student athletes and friends and colleagues from his career at MTSU were on hand on June 2nd accept his induction posthumously.
During his time in the OVC, Hayes led MTSU to 29 OVC titles, more than any other OVC member in conference history. He was named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times, including 10 in a row from 1977-86. Nine of his OVC-era athletes went on to represent their country in the Olympics.
Football Summer Workouts Hit the Ground Running
It's always impressive to see the work our student athletes put in even in the offseason here in Murfreesboro, and MTSU football starting its summer work out program is no exception.
Things have been busy both within the Murphy Center and on the turf in Floyd Stadium, where head strength coach Matt Hickmann and his staff have adapted their workout plans thanks to the impending demolition of the Game Day Building, and with it the current weight room, ahead of the start of construction for the new Student Athlete Performance Center.
Moving some weight 💪#BLUEnited | #EATT pic.twitter.com/Nk0EpdDyKk
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) June 12, 2023
Everybody's getting quicker this offseason... including @CoachStock 💨#BLUEnited | #EATT pic.twitter.com/SgLwbsGVxB
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) June 9, 2023
Speed all over the field ⚡️#BLUEnited | #EATT pic.twitter.com/l33MseNndH
— Middle Tennessee FB (@MT_FB) June 8, 2023
Want to learn more about the move to Dance Studio A this summer? Check out my feature from last week HERE.
Early Bird Catches the Worm for Men's Basketball
While football has been dominating the weight room, men's basketball has been busy as well, waking up just as the sun is rising for early morning conditioning these first few weeks of June.
One big benefit to that timing, besides beating the summer heat, is the access that gives teams to areas they might not always go to in-season, like the track at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium
Improving every day.#StickTogether pic.twitter.com/tZNNMuty18
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) June 11, 2023
If you missed it earlier, our sports communications staff have been conducting interviews with the plethora of newcomers entering the men's basketball program this offseason. Check out the first three of those below, featuring Ty Mosley, O'Zhell Jackson and Josh Ogundele!
Get to know newcomer Ty Mosley!#StickTogether | @Ty_Mosley0 pic.twitter.com/1cvjVmEt9Z
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) May 19, 2023
Take a moment to get familiar with O'zhell Jackson!#StickTogether | @OzhellJ pic.twitter.com/8B7NmbuV8v
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) June 1, 2023
Catch up with brand new big man Josh Ogundele!#StickTogether | @damijosh2047 pic.twitter.com/ayUdJymLMv
— MT Basketball (@MT_MBB) June 4, 2023
Women's Basketball gets up early morning shots
Ahead of the always busy Women's Basketball Team Camp last week, Lady Raider Basketball got plenty of chances to get up shots early in the morning before helping the camp run as referees during the day.
Back in the lab 💼#BLUEnited | #TrueBlue pic.twitter.com/IzfpeZllDP
— MT Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) June 8, 2023
Camp starts at 8 and this is what I see when I walk into the gym at 6:15!!! Already in a full sweat getting her work in before camp starts at 8 #ProudCoach pic.twitter.com/YDhBBsLlua
— Matt Insell (@minsell) June 7, 2023
If you're not following Associate Head Coach Matt Insell on Twitter, by the way, you should be! The offseason is really when his feed shines, showing plenty of behind the scenes work from practice for his team. He also gave additional highlights from MTSU's latest signees, all four of whom signed last week. Check out their tape below!
Looking forward to having Sifa and Iuliia in #Blue #BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/kh2vvDtwkW
— Matt Insell (@minsell) June 7, 2023
Looking forward to having Dora and Stanisolva in #Blue #BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/5LfO4MhCTY
— Matt Insell (@minsell) June 7, 2023
Boyd Named Academic All-American
Middle Tennessee Baseball's Jeremiah Boyd was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Second Team on last Wednesday.
A 4.0 graduate student in the Sports Management postgraduate program at MTSU, Boyd was named to the second team in the designated hitter spot. The native of Harrisburg, N.C. played and started in 55 games this season, catching in eight.
A transfer from Presbyterian College, Boyd led the team with 13 home runs and a .903 OPS. He was also fifth in batting average with a .295 clip. He's the first Blue Raider to earn a spot on a Academic All-America team since Aaron Aucker in 2018.
All-American.@Jay_Fly18 is is named to the Academic All-America Second Team!
— MT Baseball (@MT_Baseball) June 8, 2023
🔗 https://t.co/IvzxR1b7XZ#BLUEnited | #BlueCrew pic.twitter.com/QD2FKXOG8A
Breeden, Peña earn MidEast Coaching Staff of the Year Honors from NFCA
The Middle Tennessee softball staff was named to the Mideast Region Staff of the Year announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA).
The Blue Raiders' staff included head Coach Jeff Breeden and assistant coach Helen Peña in the 2022-23 season and helped lead MTSU to a program record 42 wins (42-20) and a Conference USA Championship. MTSU was selected for the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional and advanced to the final for the first time in program history. The Blue Raiders finished with a 3-2 record at the Tuscaloosa Regional and the most wins by a C-USA team in a NCAA regional since 2014.
The Blue Raiders led C-USA in batting average, hits, doubles, total bases, runs and RBIs. Breeden and his staff coached six players to All-Conference USA teams.
This award qualifies Breeden and his staff eligible for the NFCA's Division 1 National Coaching Staff of the Year announced June 22.
NFCA Mideast Region Coaching Staff of the Year! 👏
— MT Softball (@MT_Softball) June 12, 2023
🔗 https://t.co/ELY9YH2UEB pic.twitter.com/737lyK22em
🙏🏼to Coach Breeden, and our ENTIRE support staff to help make this year so special! Our managers, our S&C coach, athletic trainer, SWA, academics, marketing team, compliance- everyone involved earned this award with us. All the late nights, tears, & sweat was so worth it 🥹⚡️ https://t.co/hxIMNiAQrT
— Helen Peña (@CoachPena_MTSU) June 8, 2023
Women's Tennis Takes Home ITA Ohio Valley Community Service Award
Middle Tennessee women's tennis are the recipients of the 2022-23 ITA Ohio Valley Community Service Award, announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday, June 6.
This is the second year in a row the Blue Raiders have earned this award. The team spent over 344 hours making an impact in the Middle Tennessee community through their servant leadership initiative, spearheaded by head coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall.
The #BlueRaiders receive the Ohio Valley Regional Community Service Award for the second year in a row! 👏
— MT Women's Tennis (@MT_WomensTennis) June 7, 2023
📰 https://t.co/NoF8XcLvCR#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/nucD9ckqcz
"We are honored to receive the ITA regional community service award again this year," said Bailey-Duvall. "Our community continues to be important to the overall success of our program. I am proud of our team's willingness to give back and positively impact our Murfreesboro and Nashville communities."
Men's Tennis Takes Home Host of ITA Ohio Valley Regional Honors
Middle Tennessee men's tennis' freshman Ondrej Horak and graduate student Francisco Rocha added additional hardware this season, receiving ITA Ohio Valley awards announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday, June 6.
"It's great to see our boys getting rewarded for their hard work," said MTSU assistant coach Andrea Caligiana. "I am glad Francisco's improvement hasn't gone unnoticed. He has been working extremely hard for years and I am excited to see what he will do in the pro tour. Ondrej has been one of the best freshmen in the nation. His award of Rookie of the Year was well deserved."
Ondrej Horak earns ITA Ohio Valley Regional Rookie of the Year, Francisco Rocha is named Most Improved Senior and the #BlueRaiders receive Community Service Honorable Mention! 💪
— MT Men's Tennis (@MT_MensTennis) June 7, 2023
📰 https://t.co/XKiwf8yhjZ#BLUEnited pic.twitter.com/bsRqGpt3v2
Horak was tabbed ITA Ohio Valley Rookie of the Year. The freshman tallied a total of 25 singles wins which places him tied for fifth in program history in freshman singles wins. The native of the Czech Republic won his match against eight Power-5 teams this season.
Rocha was named ITA Ohio Valley Most Improved Senior Award as he finished the season with a 49-22 record in singles and doubles combined this season. He finishes his collegiate career with a combined total of 167 wins which is good for eighth overall in program history.
MT Athletics Remembers Matt Riley
We were all saddened to learn of the passing of our colleague and True Blue Raider, Matt Riley, earlier this month. My own paths never personally crossed with Matt during my time at MTSU, as Riley had been battling health issues since I started on staff in 2021. But it was very easy to understand the impact he had on generations of Blue Raiders by his reputation alone.
If you haven't already, please check out the quotes from our obituary below, to understand the man Matt Riley was and the way he made his impact on so many.
Middle Tennessee Athletics is saddened to learn of the passing of Matt Riley.
— MT Athletics (@MTAthletics) June 2, 2023
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Players Mentioned
