Sports

Kill talks offseason progress

carmitz@mndaily.com — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:29:38 +0000

Amid a hectic offseason, head football coach Jerry Kill met with reporters last Friday at TCF Bank Stadium to talk about the Gophers' progress in the offseason.

- Kill said he had about 85 to 90 percent of guys back on campus last week and he expected the rest of the team to return over the weekend. He added there is a different feel amongst the team this offseason.

Kill said it was important that the players maintain the progress they achieved throughout spring practices.

“I met with each one of them before they left and said, ‘This is exactly where you need to be strength-wise at the end of the summer,’” he said. “Those results don’t lie. We’ll see what happens August 1 when we start.”

- Kill preached the youth of his squad again Friday, much like he did most of last season. He added that the culture change of the locker room is still in motion, but he said it continues to improve with time.

“We’re farther along,” Kill said. “We’re just young, and the biggest thing we need to do is get older.

“We’ll maybe start one or two seniors on offense and maybe three on defense. We’re a very young football team yet.”

- Kill said his players had 17 major surgeries in the offseason. He said the biggest question marks in terms of recovery are wide receiver Devon Wright, offensive linemen Jonah Pirsig, Brian Bobek and Zach Mottla and linebacker Peter Westerhaus.

- Kill said sophomore wide receiver Andre McDonald is back with the team, but he wouldn’t say much more.

McDonald was previously not enrolled in school last semester and was taken off the team. He has since returned, and Kill said he was optimistic.

“I’m not going to tell everyone his situation,” Kill said. “I will tell you Andre is in summer school right now and working out. I feel cautiously optimistic that he’ll be ready to go.”

- Kill received a lot of criticism last season after he pulled the redshirt off true freshman quarterback Philip Nelson in the game against Wisconsin. Nelson was baptized by fire at points last season, but Kill said he knows it was the right decision.

“We’ve got somebody [this season] that’s played," Kill said. "There’s no question that’s helped him.”

- Kill seemed confident with Nelson, but he also spoke highly of redshirt freshman quarterback Mitch Leidner and the strides he has taken.

Kill said the quarterback duo reminds him of his circumstances at Northern Illinois with Chandler Harnish and Jordan Lynch.

“We’ve got two quality kids there that understand what we’re trying to do,” Kill said of Nelson and Leidner. “I feel good about that right now.”

- Minnesota’s football team scored a 994 in the NCAA annual APR report, six points off a perfect score. This is a significant jump from the team Kill took over in 2010.

Kill said upon his arrival, the team was one player away from losing scholarships and had 25 people on academic warning, as well as three players suspended due to academic performance.

“I would say give the kids the credit,” Kill said. “All we did as a coaching staff is we held them accountable. That’s how that turnaround came about.

“If I got fired today I could tell you this: It’s farther along than it was. Now we’ve got to continue and continue to do better.”

Men’s program faces offseason rebuilding challenges

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:12:13 +0000

By: Charlie Armitz

The Gophers men’s track and field program isn’t the Midwest powerhouse it was a few years ago, but it took small strides toward regaining its edge this season.

Minnesota earned 11 All-America honors at the NCAA outdoor meet June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore. That’s eight more than it tallied in 2012, an off-year by the program’s high standards.

The Gophers’ 27th-place finish was one better than their national ranking. The team tied for 12th and earned seven All-America honors — six on the All-America First Team — at the NCAA indoor meet in March.

To avoid another letdown in 2014, Minnesota will have to recover from losing seven All-Americans to graduation. Head coach Steve Plasencia said the recovery process begins with more hands-on coaching in the offseason.

“I want to make myself very available this summer to talk with guys and help guide them … and [make] sure we’re all on the same page and nobody’s falling between the cracks,” Plasencia said. “We can’t afford that right now.”

The Gophers have had steady success at the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships since Plasencia became head coach in 2009. But they haven’t earned a Big Ten title since winning five straight from 2009-11.

Plasencia coaches the team’s distance runners, who struggled throughout the season. He said he’ll have to stay “a little bit more attuned” to his athletes while finding time to rest after a 10-month season of coaching track and cross country.

The Gophers relied on their depth this year, but they’ll have a tougher time doing so next year because of inexperience.

To compound the challenge, freshman All-American high jumper Wally Ellenson may quit track to focus on his other sport: basketball.

Dual-sport college athletes are rare, especially in major sports such as basketball in which coaches often have greater demands.

“He’s on a basketball scholarship, so he’s a basketball player first,” Plasencia said of Ellenson, who played nine games and 48 minutes last season. “We certainly would like him to continue to be able to jump. I would guess he would probably like to do that as well, but we haven’t had any conversations with Coach [Richard] Pitino or the basketball staff about that.”

Ellenson missed the indoor track season because of basketball, but he made an immediate impact during the outdoor season. He set a personal record with an eighth-place jump of 2.20 meters at the NCAA meet, where he was the only Gophers underclassman to make the All-America First Team.

“As the meets got bigger, he got bigger,” Plasencia said.

If Ellenson comes back, he’ll likely be the Gophers’ best shot to place high at the 2014 outdoor meet. Junior John Simons, who missed that honor by two places at this year’s outdoor meet, will also carry high expectations next season.

Minnesota will return two other outdoor All-Americans —freshman Goaner Deng and junior Jacob Capek from the 4x400 relay — and one indoor All-American — junior Jon Lehman — in 2014.

Gophers begin life in the Northwoods

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:09:34 +0000

By: Jace Frederick

The end of the Gophers baseball season means the beginning of a new season for many players: summer ball.

And for 10 Gophers, this summer will be spent competing in the Midwest-based Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league featuring 16 teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

“It’s one of the premier leagues,” said Gophers junior Matt Halloran, who plays for the league’s Rochester Honkers.. “You get the most fans here out of any league, and it’s a lot of baseball, so a lot of guys want to play here.”

Teams in the league play 70 regular-season games from late May to August, and four teams advance to the playoffs. Gophers sophomore catcher Mark Tatera said his Duluth Huskies team has just five off-days.

“You’re playing every day,” Gophers head coach John Anderson said. “That’s a lot of baseball. If you want to play professionally, that’s what it’s all about.”

The stretch can be grueling for college players accustomed to playing four games a week.

“It’s only been two weeks, but it almost feels like two months already,” Tatera said.

The number of games gives opportunities to players who didn’t play as many during the college season.

Gophers shortstop Michael Handel played for the Madison Mallards in 2011 after redshirting his first season with the Gophers.

Between pregame work and the games, Handel said he regularly spends 10 hours at the park during a day.

The season is a grind physically and mentally, Halloran said.

“You’ve got to make sure you rest up that body because it’s a long summer,” Handel said.

During homestands, players without friends or family in the area, like Tatera, stay with host families.

Handel’s Madison Mallards have a fan base that averaged 6,200 in home-game attendance last season, he said. In comparison, an announced crowd of 1,161 attended the Gophers’ inaugural game at the new Siebert Field in April.

“There’s only a few teams in college baseball that attract [as] many fans” as the Mallards, Handel said. “It’s an unbelievable experience because you’re not used to playing with the crowd and the atmosphere.”

Prolonged bus rides from park to park, the high number of games and the raucous atmosphere provide a minor-league feel, players said. Post-game player autograph sessions can last up to 45 minutes, Handel said.

The league, which features talent from college conferences around the country, offers a similar competition level to the Big Ten, Handel said.

Northwoods is also full of potential major-league talent. Halloran’s Rochester Honkers had 17 former players selected during last weekend’s MLB draft, including Gophers pitcher DJ Snelten. While the league is competitive, Anderson said the focus is on player improvement.

Handel said summer ball is the best time for players to improve.

“For basically everybody your main focus ... is baseball,” Handel said. “Every day you wake up and you get to play baseball.”

Bauman chooses music, preps album

akreiter@mndaily.com — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:07:34 +0000

By: Dane Mizutani

Joel Bauman made national headlines earlier this year as the college wrestler who chose music and the chance to inspire others over a career on the mat.

Nearly four months later, Bauman has not lost his vision.

“It’s only grown from all these other things that have happened to me,” he said, with the same sense of conviction with which he always speaks.

Bauman is working on his first album with Foreign Affairs Media Enterprises, an ar tist development company that assists up-and-coming talent.

It’s a better position than Bauman was in four months ago with the NCAA.

He received a letter from the University of Minnesota compliance that said he wasn’t allowed to use his name in his music. Bauman had to take down his music or use an alias to maintain his eligibility with the Gophers.

Bauman chose not to comply with either request.

“This is bigger than me,” he said in February. “I know my calling to make a difference is bigger than my eligibility.”

His vision made waves on the national stage, but it also caught the eye of FAME President Jay Escobar, who said he has worked with big-name artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Taio Cruz.

Escobar said Bauman’s positive message needed to be expressed.

“There is a lot of attraction to a person that can make positive music,” he said. “I saw Joel and he has the raw talent, he takes care of himself, he looks the part and he has a positive message.”

Bauman’s song “Ones in the Sky,” which he released in December, has amassed nearly 70,000 views on YouTube. But Escobar said Bauman sounded like an amateur on the track.

Bauman agreed and said his time with FAME has allowed him to better showcase his talents and grow as an artist.

Bauman wrote “Ones in the Sky” in one day and said the goal with the track was to inspire others. Bauman’s new songs are completely different, he said, and more representative of his ability.

“In this first album people are going to see … the ar tist Joel Bauman,” he said. “That other guy was the protégé.”

Escobar said the difference is like night and day, and Bauman’s development of flow is a big reason for that evolution.

He said he tried to stress to Bauman the way the words and music flow together on a track. Though “Ones in the Sky” was a hit, Escobar said he saw no glimpses of that type of flow on the track.

“That was the opposite of flow, in my opinion,” he said. “It just sounded like a speech over a good beat.”

Bauman’s progression is noticeable to outsiders as well. Escobar said he conducted a focus group with interns who had never heard Bauman’s music to illustrate the strides he’s made in his time with FAME.

“We really wanted to see if an outside perspective could see the progression we’ve seen,” he said. “We played seven songs out of order, and the interns were able to pick in the exact time in which he recorded those songs because they could hear the development.”

Bauman said he works six to seven hours a day for three or four days a week on his new album. He records out of GoodLook Studios in Minneapolis, which is headed by Casey Golden.

Golden said he toured with the Black Eyed Peas in his heyday and has worked with Prince and Macy Gray. He has also released a solo record but said he has shifted his focus to helping up-and-coming artists succeed.

“I’m taking the 15 years of lessons and the wrong turns I made along the way and making sure that stuff doesn’t happen to people like Joel Bauman,” he said.

Golden said he sees a lot of potential in Bauman because of his ability to take criticism.

“He’s got a direction, but he’s open to modifying that on the fly so it works better,” Golden said. “That is a huge thing in the music industry.”

Escobar agreed and said Bauman has the “it factor” because of his work ethic.

“I’ve worked with some really amazing artists in the past … the one thing those that make it have in common is star quality,” he said. “I think Joel Bauman has that.”

Bauman and Escobar said the album is about half done, and they hope to complete it by mid-July. Escobar said they will then market the album to record labels and gauge interest.

Bauman said the goal in this process is not the album or making money. It’s about making a difference.

“I truly believe that I was put here to change the world,” he said. “I’ve believed that since I was a little kid and the way things keep falling into place is crazy.”

Bauman said he is still technically a member of the Gophers wrestling squad, but he doesn’t know if he’s eligible to compete. He said he’ll worr y about that later, as he has bigger things on the horizon now.

Bauman said he has always been passionate about music, but it can be a grind at times. He said he keeps at it because of his original vision.

“I wouldn’t just be able to do music if it was just for me,” he said. “If it was me I’d be sitting on a beach or working out or lifting weights. … I’m here to inspire people.”

MLB draft turns best friends into rivals

carmitz@mndaily.com — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:37:37 +0000

By: Dane Mizutani

Tom Windle and DJ Snelten’s friendship is about to tread into unmarked waters.

The two former Gophers pitchers have become best friends in their last three years in college. Now — after the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft last week — the two will have to learn how to compete as bitter rivals.

Windle, a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Snelten, a ninth-round pick of the San Francisco Giants, are now on opposite ends of one of the biggest rivalries in baseball.

“It was the first thing I thought of when I learned I got drafted by the Giants,” Snelten said. “I started laughing and I looked at my parents, and they were on the same page.”

Windle said the two met each other on their official visits to the University of Minnesota and decided to room together shortly after that first encounter.

They’ve been best friends ever since.

“We were close right away as freshmen, and then we just stuck close and we pushed each other out at the baseball field,” Windle said. “We also lived together our sophomore and junior years, so we’ve been pretty close.”

Snelten said amid the close friendship rests a friendly rivalry between the two men.

Windle agreed and said competition helped them develop into a duo with prospective futures at the next level.

“We pushed each other a lot,” Windle said. “It was always a sort of competition, whether that was lifting weights, velocity — anything just trying to compete to stay at the same level.”

That three-year contest boded well for the Gophers this season.

Windle and Snelten were Minnesota’s No. 1 and No. 2 starters, respectively, and were two of the most dominant pitchers in the Big Ten.

Windle finished this season 6-4 with a 2.14 ERA and 86 strikeouts. Snelten missed most of the first month of the season with an elbow strain and finished 5-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 42 strikeouts.

Snelten said he and Windle leaned on each other for support throughout the grind of the season. Windle said that won’t change in the pros.

“We’ll keep in touch and keep tabs on each other to make sure that both of us are staying on the right path and keep things going for our futures,” he said.

Many factors will need to fall in sync for Windle and Snelten to compete against each other in the majors, but both Windle and Snelten seemed excited at the potential of the matchup.

“That’d be unbelievable,” Windle said, “to grow so close to somebody and to have the same dreams and then eventually be accomplishing that at the same time.”

Williams has a lot to prove in NBA

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:30:03 +0000

By: Jace Frederick

Rodney Williams wowed Gophers fans with highlight dunks and spectacular athleticism throughout his four-year career at the University of Minnesota.

Now that he’s graduated from the team, some analysts are projecting Williams to be a second-round pick in the NBA draft at the end of the month. But some say he’ll need to do more to warrant playing time in the NBA.

“Everyone knows he’s always been a great athlete,” said Flip Saunders, president of operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, after Williams’ workout with the team last week. “But at this level, you just don’t get by with athleticism.”

Saunders said Williams needs to work his ball handling, shooting and perimeter game to succeed at the professional level.

Williams’ shooting troubles were well documented during his time with the Gophers. He shot 25 percent beyond the three-point line during his collegiate career. That’s well below average for an NBA small forward, the position Williams said he sees himself playing professionally.

The Gophers coaching staff unsuccessfully tried to fix Williams’ shooting form during his time at the University, even placing straps on his left hand to prevent his thumb from touching the ball, former head coach Tubby Smith said.

Williams could have spent more time working on his shooting and ball handling in school.

“Every once in a while, I think that,” Williams said, “but I’ve just got to look forward. I can’t take back what I did and what I didn’t do.”

Williams’ lack of improvement in those areas contributed to his inconsistency with the Gophers, ESPN college basketball writer Myron Medcalf said. Williams scored more than 10 points just once in his final 10 games with the team.

“He didn’t develop on his own the way that I think he could have in four years at the U,” Medcalf said.

Smith said Williams’ shoulder injury last season aided in his inconsistency, as did the fact that he and fellow forward Trevor Mbakwe played similar roles. Smith said he expects Williams to make big strides with his shooting and ball handling without the commitment to education looming over him.

“Those are areas he needs to work on,” Smith said, “but you’re not going to find a guy more willing … especially now that he can focus on those things.”

Williams said he had gotten frustrated with himself for not playing up to expectations with the Gophers.

“For me to be able to kind of get a fresh start and be able to go work on things I need to work on — I think that was good for me,” he said.

Smith said he thinks Williams will be a long-term player in the NBA and also said Williams has the athleticism to defend some of the league’s top wing players.

“He has a good feel for the game,” he said. “He’s a very intelligent basketball player, and he’s a very efficient player, so ... he could play well in most systems in the NBA.”

Williams said he’s confident he’ll get drafted. If he’s taken in the second round, he’ll likely have to play his way onto a team through the NBA’s summer league. Only first-round selections are guaranteed contracts.

“Hopefully I can sneak on a team somewhere,” he said.

Historic duo prepares for final throws at NCAAs

cfenimore@mndaily.com — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:23:01 +0000

By: Jace Frederick

Gophers hammer throwers Micah Hegerle and Quentin Mege took two different paths to land in the same position at the end of their illustrious collegiate careers.

Hegerle, a Minnesota native, and Mege, a transfer from Chelles, France, have developed into two of the best collegiate throwers in the U.S.

The two seniors have competed against each other at some of the nation’s biggest events while building a close bond.

“They’ve pushed each other and helped each other overcome a lot of obstacles to accomplish what they’ve done,” said Gophers throwing coach Lynden Reder.

Hegerle and Mege will wrap up their careers at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.

Instant success

Hammer throw wasn’t on Hegerle’s radar coming out of Kasson-Mantorville High School in Kasson, Minn.; he had previously thrown shot put and discus.

But when Hegerle arrived on campus, Reder saw his potential in the event.

“I really thought he had the tools to be a really good hammer thrower,” Reder said. “Most guys come [into college] having not thrown the hammer. ... There’s an opportunity to outlearn your competitors.”

Hegerle did just that. He quickly adjusted to the differences in footwork and turns and won the 2010 Big Ten outdoor title in his first year of competition.

Mege transferred to Minnesota from a school in France before the 2011 season. Reder said he worked tirelessly with Mege to jump through the hoops necessary for the transfer.

“I really felt like if we stick with this, the payoff is going to be really big for both sides,” Reder said.

It was almost immediate. Mege beat Hegerle to win the hammer throw at the 2011 Big Ten championships.

The throwers racked up more accomplishments their sophomore and junior seasons. Mege repeated as Big Ten hammer throw champion in 2012, and Hegerle won back-to-back Big Ten weight throwing titles in 2011 and 2012.

Both earned All-American honors in the hammer throw at last year’s NCAA meet. Mege finished fifth, while Hegerle took seventh.

A throwing family

Hegerle reclaimed his Big Ten title in the hammer throw this season, while Mege finished second as he battled back from a broken hand he suffered earlier in the season.

Hegerle’s win gave both throwers two conference hammer throw titles.

“I think they probably wouldn’t have it any other way,” Reder said.

Though the two compete, Hegerle and Mege still root for each other.

They aim to improve at practice rather than compete, Mege said.

They feed off each other to get better, especially in the offseason, Hegerle said.

“We both like to see each other succeed, but at the same time we want to beat each other,” Hegerle said. “It’s definitely a way to motivate each other in the weight room and in training.”

Reder said the time practicing, training, attending meets and traveling has pushed him and the two throwers together.

“We’re kind of like family,” Reder said. “We probably really enjoy each other’s company at times and want to smack each other at times and get on each other’s nerves at times.”

He said the throwers are also close when they aren’t practicing.

“I think it’s a special relationship,” Reder said. “They’ve contributed to not only their athletic success, but maybe even more than that, the overall depth and richness of their experiences here as athletes.”

Neither thrower is eliminating the possibility of winning the NCAA hammer throw title, but expectations are tempered. Mege said he wants to finish in the top three, while Hegerle said he hopes to be an All-American again.

Regardless of this week’s result, both throwers have left their mark on the sport.

“They’re going to be inseparable in the history of our program,” Reder said. “[They’re] … definitely the best hammer duo that the Big Ten has ever had [and probably] one of the best duos that the country has ever had.”

Junior enters draft with better discipline

carmitz@mndaily.com — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 19:30:36 +0000

By: Dane Mizutani

DJ Snelten admits he has flown under the radar for most of his baseball career.

This season was no different. The junior lefty enjoyed a successful spring as the Gophers’ No. 2 starter, while ace Tom Windle dominated the headlines.

Both pitchers have attracted attention from scouts in the weeks leading up to the 2013 Major League Baseball draft June 6-8.

Snelten is Baseball America’s No. 141 prospect in the draft, and he’ll likely be selected in the first 10 rounds. He has an inherent advantage as a left-handed pitcher, as lefties are coveted at the next level.

Snelten called it “a blessing in disguise” that Windle attracted most of the media attention this season.

“It’s easy to get all caught up looking at clippings of yourself, but when there are less of them you spend more time working on the things you need to work on,” Snelten said. “It’s a lot easier to be more disciplined.”

That discipline has translated to success at the college level, especially in Snelten’s junior campaign. He finished 5-2 with a 2.15 ERA and 42 strikeouts this season.

Snelten missed the first month of the season with an elbow strain, but he returned to full form after that minor setback.

His season culminated with a clutch performance against Illinois in the final game of the regular season. Snelten scattered seven hits and didn’t allow a run over eight innings in a game Minnesota had to win to make the Big Ten tournament.

Snelten lost his second game of the season five days later against top-seeded Indiana in the second game of the tournament.

“DJ … came in as a kid that looked like he had great potential but had a lot of work to do,” said head coach John Anderson. “It’s been a work in progress for three years.”

Snelten’s repertoire features a fastball, changeup, slider and an occasional curve ball. His fastball tops out in the mid-90s, but he said he leans on his changeup to get out of most jams.

“That’s always been my bread and butter,” he said.

Though he has developed an “out pitch” with his changeup in his third year with the program, Snelten said he struggled to find the strike zone his first two seasons. He said a lot of his problems on the mound were mental, and he has worked to improve that aspect of his game.

Anderson recognized these struggles as well, and he said Snelten’s improvement with the Gophers has impressed him.

“He’s worked very hard at it,” Anderson said. “He’s elevated his game through hard work, and he’s gotten better both mentally and emotionally out there on the mound.”

Snelten was a 30th-round pick of the San Diego Padres in the 2010 MLB draft. He said he considered his professional options but chose to play for the Gophers.

Snelten didn’t succeed like he expected in his first year, though. He made four starts and boasted a 5.22 ERA.

“I came in cocky and thought that I knew everything about the game,” he said “I had some bad outings, and the game humbled me quite a bit.”

He said he’s tried to establish the right side of the plate and has used his head more on the mound since his freshman year.

Anderson said Snelten came to the Gophers as more of a “thrower” and has progressed into a “pitcher.”

“I went to the mound as a freshman and threw without a pitch or a purpose,” Snelten said. “I threw the ball and just hoped people would get themselves out. I learned over the years that I had to develop more of a plan with each batter at the plate.”

Snelten cited maturity as the reason he’s ready to play professional baseball. He said he’ll make the jump if he’s drafted in the first 10 rounds.

“It’s been a dream since I was a little kid to play professional baseball,” Snelten said. “I’ve matured in my three years with the Gophers, and I’m prepared physically, mentally and emotionally to compete at the professional level.”

High-schoolers prepare for draft

carmitz@mndaily.com — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 20:50:24 +0000

By: Dane Mizutani

Tyus Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis have dominated recent headlines as the “Big Three” basketball recruits from Minnesota. But on the diamond, colleges and scouts have flocked to a less well-known trio of local prospects.

Ryan Boldt, Logan Shore and Max Knutson are the best high school baseball prospects in Minnesota, and the Gophers didn’t ink any of them to a scholarship.

Boldt and Knutson committed to play at Nebraska, and Shore committed to Florida.

The three players all rank in Baseball America’s Top 250 prospects list for the 2013 MLB draft June 6-8. Though they’ve all signed letters of intent to play in college, they will have an opportunity to forego their scholarships and make the jump to the next level.

If Boldt and Knutson stay with Nebraska, they could terrorize the Gophers in the Big Ten for the foreseeable future.

Boldt, a senior outfielder at Red Wing High School, is the top-ranked prospect in Minnesota. But he missed most of his senior season after partially tearing the meniscus in his right knee in the first game.

“It’s all about getting healthy and back to the level I used to be at,” Boldt said. “It’s going to be a slow process, but I should be back by the middle of August.”

Boldt garnered attention from college scouts despite his knee injury, but he said the Gophers never offered a scholarship.

“They never reached out to me,” Boldt said, adding he was a little surprised with the lack of interest.

Boldt visited Nebraska at the start of his junior year and said the campus and athletics facilities caught his eye.

Knutson, a stud senior pitcher at Mounds View High School, also said Nebraska’s facilities factored into his decision.

He said Nebraska pushed the hardest for his services, but the Gophers recruited him as well. Arizona, Arizona State, Florida and Florida State were also interested.

Knutson said it was an honor to get so much attention from his hometown school, but Nebraska was a better fit.

“It was a no-brainer for me to go to Nebraska,” Knutson said. “There’s an incredible coaching staff there, and the facilities are unbelievable.”

Though the Gophers missed out on the top-three prospects in the state, the program still boasts a formidable class of recruits.

They’ll need those recruits to step up as they will lose seven seniors to graduation and likely lose pitchers Tom Windle and DJ Snelten to professional baseball.

Knutson said it will take a perfect fit to pull him from Nebraska to the pros, but Boldt said he’ll weigh his options after the draft.

“I just want to finish out my senior year,” said Boldt, who is graduating the day after the draft, “and then cross that bridge.”

Coach Allister leads Gophers’ turnaround in third season

lbain@mndaily.com — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:22:59 +0000

By: Dane Mizutani

Jessica Allister arrived on the University of Minnesota campus three years ago with a vision: turn around the Gophers softball program.

She may have already done it.

The Gophers ended one of their most successful seasons in the last 10 years two weeks ago with a 3-0 loss to Hawaii in the NCAA Seattle Regional.

Minnesota finished the year 36-19, recording its most wins in a season since 2003, the last year it made an NCAA regional.

The Gophers have won more than 30 games in each of Allister’s three seasons.

“She has the heart, and she believes in us,” said senior catcher Kari Dorle. “She knew how good we were as soon as she got here, and she pushed us to get that out of us.”

In 2010, the season before Allister was named head coach, the Gophers finished 16-37 — 2-17 in the Big Ten.

Allister was an All-American catcher at Stanford in the early 2000s and coached at Georgia, Stanford and Oregon before she accepted the head coaching job at Minnesota.

She has experienced success at every stage of her career, but she said she entered her first season with the Gophers blind. Allister was familiar with some of the talent on the roster, but she hadn’t really seen the team in action.

“I’m not going to sit here and say it was easy,” Allister said. “I think people are always resistant to change in some respect, but we had a core group of players on the team that wanted to win.”

Junior Sara Moulton has been part of that core group from the start. She has since morphed into the backbone of the team as a dominant pitcher at the top of the Gophers’ rotation.

“There were a lot of players that wanted to help turn the program around,” Moulton said. “That was added motivation for us — and with Coach Allister, that was her goal, too.”

Moulton said her success as well as the team’s success stems from Allister and her attitude on the diamond.

“She’s the most competitive coach I’ve ever played for in my life,” Moulton said. “She brings a very competitive approach to her coaching style, which definitely rubs off on the rest of us.”

Dorle is one of the few players on the current roster who played under the previous regime of co-head coaches Lisa Bernstein and Julie Standering. Dorle said she noticed significant differences in Allister’s coaching style right away. She, too, said there was an increased sense of competitiveness with Allister at the helm.

“She wants to win, and she will do whatever it takes to win,” Dorle said. “She’s a perfect fit for this program.”

Minnesota was a perfect fit for Allister, too.

She said she looked at the success of women’s programs at the University and at the overall commitment placed on women’s athletics before she made her decision.

“It’s not just a focus on men’s basketball and football with this University,” Allister said. “That is something that was important to me because there was a support system in place to succeed.”

The Gophers have been near the top of the Big Ten in defense in each of the past three seasons, and Moulton has become one of the top pitchers in the nation.

Allister credited assistants Jessica Merchant and Piper Ritter for the team’s improved defense and pitching.

“I couldn’t do it alone,” Allister said. “It’s a 24/7 job with college athletics, and it never stops, so the fact that we are on the same page is important.”

This is only the start for the softball program, said Allister, who wants to focus on the major aspects of building a program in the coming years.

“We have to keep all of our staff together and recruit the right athletes to this program,” Allister said. “It’s a little piece at a time with building a program.”

The Gophers have an inherent disadvantage in college softball because they play in a cold climate. But Moulton said there’s no doubt Allister will lead the team to a College World Series appearance in the future.

Dorle has more lofty goals for the program.

“I can see this program as the next Arizona, Oklahoma, Alabama or one of those top schools,” she said. “I cannot see [Allister] ever letting up.”

“She will achieve her goal of making our program a top school in the nation.”