Blue Raider Podcast | 8-21-26

[00:00:00] Now, here's your host, Jake Bolden. Welcome back to the Blue Raider Podcast. We have a big show for you. We are finally back in season. We've got women's soccer off to their first week of action. They went 2-0-1. We're going to be diving into recapping their games this week as well as looking ahead to this next week.

[00:00:23] And then Conference USA Roundtable, our always faithful roundtable, released their fan poll for the upcoming football season. We're going to talk about where the Blue Raiders landed and, of course, even recapping last week's media day availability. And then lastly, we have some men's basketball news. They pick up a big-time commitment out of Chattanooga. You're not going to miss that in our final segment. But before we get into that, I want to make sure to remind you, if you're listening for the first time,

[00:00:50] follow along in our social media account, at Blue Raider Pod. We're on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and, of course, where we're live streaming today over on YouTube. And we do have every Saturday morning, as we always do after Fridays, a re-upload of today's episode. So if you miss any of the action, if you miss any of the action from last week, of course, make sure you're following along anywhere where you get your podcasts over on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, at Blue Raider Pod.

[00:01:17] And if you do want to join into today's episode, our phone lines are open at number 615-893-1450. And our producer here will take your call. As I said at the top, talking about women's soccer, finally got the season up and running this last week. They got a win. They actually two wins this week on their season opener, home opener, against Troy, by a score of 2-0 on Thursday. And then they went on the road for the beginning of a three-game schedule at Southern Indiana,

[00:01:47] where they defeated a heavy favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference 2-0. And then actually last night, they're in the middle of their road trip and there in Martin, where they ended in a 0-0 tie. So a lot to talk about in that regard. Also to finish up our recap, we have women's volleyball. They actually had their first exhibition matchup this last week, last Saturday at Lipscomb, and they fell there 3-2.

[00:02:15] We'll be talking a little bit more about volleyball here at the back half of this first segment. But back to soccer. Like I said, their season began last Thursday at home against Troy. Demi Gronauer got the start, as we all have envisioned, in goal, going 83 minutes, only having to make one save. And the defense was tremendous and has been tremendous in their first three matches thus far. And we'll be kind of highlighting one of those defenders in specific.

[00:02:42] Hannah Murphy, the senior, getting the first goal of the season in that second half. And then our first freshman finds her way onto the score sheet as well. Anaya Denham picks up her first goal. And then on, I believe it was Sunday, yes, Sunday afternoon matchup against a Missouri Valley Conference favorite, Southern Indiana, defeated them 2-0 in really very similar fashion to when they defeated Troy.

[00:03:08] The score was 2-0, taking two second half goals there behind a stellar defensive effort. This time it was led by sophomore goalkeeper Ella Sellers, who had to work a little bit more for her clean sheet, but she went a full 90 minutes against Southern Indiana and made five saves. And for her, at least for Ella Sellers, that is now her sixth shutout in her career. And she's made seven starts. A really impressive start. And it's nice to have that depth piece.

[00:03:36] We know how good Demi Gronauer is. And if you missed our interview with Demi a couple weeks ago, where we previewed the upcoming season for the soccer program, she was a great interview. But it really speaks to the depth that Coach Roden has in net there with two really stellar goalkeepers in Demi Gronauer and Ella Sellers. But back to the goal scorers of that game against Southern Indiana. Megan Carroll, the graduate captain, picking up a goal there.

[00:04:04] And then Haley Phillips, senior transfer from Troy, picked up a goal in that second half as well. And then last night, they had a tie with UT Martin, another Missouri Valley team who, in their preseason poll, was picked on top of that league there just outside of Southern Indiana. But I think, although not a win, but it's not a loss in the book of soccer. But I think more impressive, though, it's the third consecutive shutout to start the season. And it's three straight games. They've outscored opponents four to zero.

[00:04:33] You have four separate goal scorers. I mean, that alone is impressive. And that's something that Demi talked about her team in her preseason preview, was that there's just so much talent across that, I'm going to say front court in terms of basketball, but in the forward attacking positions that really they can rely on a lot of people to be goal suppliers. And then on the defensive side of things, they've been impressive to say the least.

[00:05:02] Demi was the shutout goalkeeper last night against Tennessee Martin, and she extends her scoreless streak to 273 consecutive minutes without scoring a goal. So between her and Ella Sellers splitting time through these first three matches, no goals, and really against, I would say, quality opponents in Southern Indiana, like I said, who is receiving first-place votes in the Missouri Valley preseason poll,

[00:05:31] UT Martin outside, I think, in fourth place in the Missouri Valley, and Troy, who is a formidable opponent. But moving into this next week's games, you're going to face West Georgia. And then on Thursday, it's Miami of Ohio back at home, who Miami of Ohio is favored to win the Mid-American Conference. So you're going to be tested this upcoming week, facing a little bit better competition, to see if they can improve on that best start since 2015.

[00:06:02] And I bring up that, too, because this is the first time that this program has gone three consecutive wins, or three consecutive shutouts to start a season since 2015. And that 2015 team, if you like just hearing about old news, they were finished fifth in Conference USA and lost in that tourney semi. So great company to be a part of early on in this season. Circling back to the conversation, though, about some accolades for this team already,

[00:06:28] sophomore defender Scotty Newton picked up CUSA Defensive Player of the Week, as it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. A great start for Ms. Newton, especially coming off of a 2025 campaign, where she earned Conference USA All-Freshman. So Scotty is going to be, I would say, the leader of that defensive front ahead of Groneau or Sellers, whoever's in net. But for them, again, as a group that is entirely new, other than Newton and Groneau, your goalkeeper and your main defender.

[00:06:58] But with three new defenders along with Scotty, I think it's impressive that they're able to have that level of chemistry, that they're already able to force scoreless streaks early on in the year. So I look forward to seeing how this team is going to grow in that role. And plenty of players got substituted in these early goings, as I'm sure Roden will do as he finds his pairings as he gets closer and closer to Conference USA season. And still plenty of time to do that. I don't believe their first conference matchup is for another month.

[00:07:27] But as he's still shuffling through some of these new pairings, these new faces, obviously new goal scorers in every single game thus far. So I think it's a great start for Coach Roden and this entirely brand-new roster just about. Again, to recap their upcoming schedule this week, they're on the road at West Georgia this Sunday, the 23rd. That game will be on ESPN Plus at 11 a.m. And then they're back home finally on Thursday, the 27th, where they're hosting Miami of Ohio.

[00:07:57] Again, that's their favorites to win the MAAC this year, so you should expect some good soccer here in Murfreesboro. But that game is also viewable on ESPN Plus and then their promotional calendar. That is Mental Health Awareness Night. So get on out there. They're going to be giving away soccer stress balls to the fans that do make that game. Other fall sports finally getting underway this week. Volleyball started their first exhibition this last Saturday at Lipscomb.

[00:08:24] They fell 3-2 in that match. Exhibitions are always good practice, and you can always take them with a grain of salt because they are a scrimmage, all things considered. Nothing counts towards the record here. But it is good insight for those of us that like to follow the volleyball program as it is Alexa Keckler's second season under the helm for the Lady Raiders volleyball program.

[00:08:51] Much like soccer, there's a lot of new faces on this volleyball team. And to highlight those that I think are going to be mainstays for this program, all things considered, it was an exhibition. But Sophia Henry, a junior transfer in from Mercer, she had 16 kills in that exhibition. Gabrielle Klingscale is a sophomore. She's a returner from last year. Didn't get many, I wouldn't say many sets last year, but she had 11 kills.

[00:09:18] Danielle Lee is a junior transfer from Pensacola State Community College. She had 8 kills, so those are your top 3 hitting percentage players there. And then we also have a new setter in the mix to go along with Caroline McAnder. Veronica Searzant, she's a senior transfer from Syracuse. She had 23 assists, led the team in assists in that exhibition against Lipscomb. So that was kind of an interesting, I would say, new development for this team

[00:09:44] because Caroline McAnder, another player that we had on for an interview last year, and I would anticipate hearing from her again soon for another volleyball preseason. But she's a graduate transfer, been a part of this program for 5 years. And Coach Keckler brings in someone from Syracuse who has plenty of experience as well, obviously P4, Pedigree, kind of getting, I would say, some more sets. But it is just an exhibition. But you have 2 very talented setters doing their thing for you.

[00:10:13] And then just some other notes I had from that matchup. The attack percentage, 23.9%, roundup 24%. That would have been the fifth best game in terms of attack percentage for this team last year. Something that was really the Achilles heel for Coach Keckler was the hitting percentage. Just, I would say, a lot of errors. Obviously, your opposition plays a big role in that.

[00:10:39] Conference USA is known for having really good volleyball with Western Kentucky at the top. And, of course, you have UTEP, who was a top 25 team last year as well. Now they're out of Conference USA. But still, I think this is a promising turn for this team that had that issue last year, that they're already making strides of improvement there. And a lot of it is because of new additions like Sophia Henry and Danielle Lee.

[00:11:03] And then, my last note was one of the areas that kind of hurt them on Saturday was the service areas. They had 19 service errors. It's the most they would have had in a game last year was 13. So, I would say quite the outlier relative to last year. I know you're still ironing out some of those kinks. You're probably trying some new things. But 19 service errors, I mean, when you're giving the opposition 19 free points, that certainly becomes problematic considering they went into the fourth set up 2-1.

[00:11:33] And so, when you drop that fourth set 25-13 service error, you just can't, obviously, you can't give away free points. But, alas, that is their last, or excuse me, they have one more exhibition coming up tomorrow. Tomorrow, they're going to be at home against Chattanooga before they move on to the Bulldog Invitational out in Asheville, North Carolina. That's going to be Friday at 11 a.m., and that's when the season officially starts. So, we'll be having all the live updates for our next live stream next Friday.

[00:12:02] But when we get back from this break, we're going to be looking back into more football talk. As we had media day last week, we weren't able to be a part of it, but we've got news from there. Of course, we've got Conference USA Roundtable, their preseason fan poll came out, and we're going to learn about where MTSU landed on that list, and what does that mean for Derek Mason moving into 2026. You don't want to miss that. You're listening to the Blue Raider Podcast. This is the Blue Raider Podcast, presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee,

[00:12:30] on FM 101.9 and AM 1450 Murfreesboro, 100.5 Smyrna, WGNSradio.com, and the Blue Raider Podcast YouTube channel. Now, back to your host, Jake Bolden. Welcome back to the Blue Raider Podcast. Conference USA Roundtable are always reliable Conference USA Roundtable. They released their preseason fan poll that was voted on by members,

[00:12:58] including yours truly of the Roundtable and fans from all around the league. And so, we're going to be talking about where the Blue Raiders landed on that preseason poll, and if you can believe it, and I've got a feeling you might. So, before we get into it, I've got to remind you to make sure you're following us on our social medias, at Blue Raider Pod. That's X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and of course, our live stream over on YouTube today, at Blue Raider Podcast. And don't miss tomorrow's re-upload of today's episode.

[00:13:27] So, if you missed segment one, don't worry. We've got you covered anywhere you listen to your podcasts, at Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts. You can find us there tomorrow morning at Blue Raider Pod, and you can catch up where you missed out. And of course, if you want to join into today's episode, our lines are open at number 615-893-1450. Getting us back to football talk.

[00:13:51] We are just 15 days away from the start of the season where the Blue Raiders will host Murray State at home. This last week, we had the media days that's hosted there at fall camp, unfortunately. And typically, the Blue Raider Podcast makes an appearance, and we like to do live interviews. My personal life schedule didn't align with it, so I wasn't able to make my way out there. But there's not really a problem.

[00:14:16] We're able to get some of that media availability, and we'll be talking some takeaways from that. But the topic at hand was the roundtable. And where did they see Middle Tennessee finishing this year? Well, if you're not already following them over on their X and Twitter account, that's CUSA Roundtable. They released their preseason poll as well, which is voted on by members and fans from Conference USA.

[00:14:43] The favorite this year, and I think it was a lot closer than I even envisioned, but Western Kentucky is the favorite amongst the roundtable, with Jacksonville State narrowly in second, and then even more narrowly was Liberty in third, which I thought was— I have my thoughts on Liberty and who they're going to be this upcoming year. And I'll save that for later because we are talking MTSU. But the Blue Raiders finished in ninth out of tenth place amongst Conference USA.

[00:15:12] And really, in terms of voting, they narrowly were in ninth, just eked out by Sam Houston for that tenth spot. And I think, including my poll, for most of Conference USA members, it's a pretty steady Missouri State, New Mexico State, MTSU, Sam Houston, and that bottom four rung. And really, I think from the eyes of most voters, those four could finish in any order in that bottom half.

[00:15:40] And so, we touched on this in our show a couple weeks ago when we had some questions from the roundtable as they were preparing for this poll. How does this team—you know, what does this mean for Derek Mason moving into 2026? Because league-wide, obviously, the expectations are pretty low. So, if they deliver on another bad season, what does that mean? And we've talked about this a lot this offseason. What does it mean?

[00:16:09] I mean, obviously, going back-to-back years of only winning three games, you can't have that again. And obviously, with changes in leadership at the university level, that could obviously trickle down into the athletic department and then ultimately down to the football program. So, there's a lot at stake, I think, for this team being successful as well as the future for a lot of people that are tied to this program.

[00:16:31] But bringing this—looping this all back to Media Day two weeks ago, they have live media that's available there where they get to interview players and coaches and get to ask all the questions that maybe we've all been speculating about all season long. Again, unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there, but there were plenty of media members that were there that were at that press conference. And I like to dissect at least what was said at that.

[00:16:58] And I think it was interesting, too, that the media availability for the press conference, Coach Mason didn't speak. And he actually had—and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Mason was in so many interviews throughout the day with radio and other podcasts alike. But I think it was interesting that he had both of his new—or both of his coordinators, Brian Stewart, defensive coordinator, and his new offensive coordinator, Anthony Selfo. And then I think it was of no surprise that he had his quarterback, Roman Gagliano, speak.

[00:17:26] But we got to hear from new transfer linebacker, Caven Call, kind of get his piece on the new-look defense this year with so much transitioning there. But I think some main takeaways that I think may not surprise you. So I like to get these out of the way, but just kind of see where, I guess, the bigger picture is for a lot of these players and coaches when they're asked about this. The main thing that they all want to be, obviously, like any football team, is physical. They want to be aggressive.

[00:17:57] They want to be versatile. But I think the biggest takeaway was everyone that came in that press conference, they knew the importance of controlling the line of scrimmage. If this team doesn't win the line of scrimmage, it's going to be really tough for them to win football games. Now, I added that last part, but I think that that goes for anybody that follows this football team and knows that that's where their struggle has been in years past, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

[00:18:22] The offensive side of the ball, for the most part, is going to be brand new in regards to the trenches, particularly at your tackle position where we don't necessarily know who is starting week one at the tackle position. But if you haven't shored that up yet, there's reason for concern. Luckily, you kind of ease your way into the season with a matchup with Murray State, who, if you haven't seen the preseason poll for football, they were picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference.

[00:18:50] So a significantly easier opponent to start the season off for Derek Mason, unlike his first two seasons with a top 25 Tennessee Tech team and then an Austin Peay team who also had some top 25 votes last season as well. But getting into each of them, Roman in particular, one of the biggest question marks that he had was, obviously, how do you carry over your success from his last three starts of the year, going two and one of those into this next year?

[00:19:20] I think for the biggest part that I like hearing from him, and as I've said all offseason long in a lot of his interviews, is that the numbers don't matter to Roman. It's about winning football games. He's going to do whatever it takes to win football games. He's not someone that cares about the accolades. He's not someone that cares about breaking freshman records like he did last year. It's more about being better than a three-win football team. And I think that, again, that is the overarching idea. I don't necessarily care how pretty or ugly a win is.

[00:19:49] As long as you win a football game, that is all that matters. And he was very complimentary of his supporting cast on the offensive skill positions. And I know that there was a quote that he said that was floating around. He says that the confidence that he has in his receivers, a lot of what we would define as 50-50 balls to him, he feels like it's 70-30, which is high praise coming from your quarterback, obviously.

[00:20:15] And there's a lot of guys that are going to be a big asset. Some new guys that I know that new OC Anthony Selfo had highlighted is Cam Lacey. Obviously, we know how dynamic he is. But new guys like Neo Clifton, Hogan Watson, he was the new transfer D2 All-American. Marcus Allen, the transfer in for Mississippi State. And he even said redshirt freshman Neo Clifton had a great camp.

[00:20:43] So I look forward to seeing him get some snaps this year. He's the redshirt freshman from Brentwood Academy who signed last year, didn't play in any games. But someone that I think I look forward to seeing. And then finishing up on Roman and his talk, owning the line of scrimmage. That was something that he really, a theme that he liked to use a lot was owning the line of scrimmage. And that's an area that this team has to be good at.

[00:21:11] And I parlay that into the next interviewee, which is Anthony Selfo, who talked a lot about if the offensive line will only determine how far this offense can go. And I think that that's, I think any offensive coordinator would say that. I like to hear from Selfo in regards to the balance of the run-pass game. Because I think Mason's years past, he's always talked about how he wants to be a run-first team.

[00:21:37] And Bode Reeder never necessarily utilized the skill that he had in the backfield to run the football, albeit the offensive line wasn't particularly good. But parlaying that back to what Anthony Selfo said, one of the things that he wanted to say was, whatever it is that we're good at, we're going to go do that thing. So that means that we find that we are better passing the ball. If we are better at running the football, we are going to execute those things.

[00:22:03] I don't love hearing that with two weeks to the start of your season. Because I want to have identified what it is that we are good at. If we're not good at running the football, if we're not good at passing the football, I want to, and again, it could be smoke and mirrors, two weeks out, football coach talk. But I would like to have an identity on the offensive side of the ball. I've speculated that they would run the ball more because that was the identity that Selfo had in his last year at Southeastern Louisiana.

[00:22:32] Obviously, getting his running back back in Antonio Martin, I think is a great step in that direction of maybe being a team that does pound the rock a little bit more. But I didn't feel any vote of confidence from Selfo in regards to a side that he necessarily feels better about. But he had a lot of confidence and a lot of praise.

[00:22:54] And his quarterback, Gagliano, said that he has great energy, great leadership, good command, his attention to detail, professionalism, a lot of those things that I think he was very complimentary of him. Also, too, he said the running back room is deep. He says that DJ is still returning from injury, and he's still got some added experience there with Antonio and Terrence. So I think that we're going to see a good blend.

[00:23:23] But if it's not Antonio Martin and Terrence, I would expect those two to be your week one starters in the backfield, with DJ still, I guess, technically returning back from injury last year. Then to move on to the defensive side, the new face was Caven Call, the linebacker. He's going to be a redshirt sophomore this year. He's new to MTSU. He's coming to him from East Tennessee State all the way up in Johnsonville, all the way up in Johnson City, Tennessee.

[00:23:52] But this guy, I thought it was an interesting addition to the media day availability because he wasn't really anyone that was on my radar. He has plenty of experience. He's played on multiple teams, and obviously his integration might be, I think, a nice touch to perspective for this team. Because maybe someone that hasn't been spoon-fed a lot of the mottos or mantras that a lot of these other guys might have, he just gives a new, fresh take on some things.

[00:24:21] But he still carries a lot of the same principles that I know that Mason and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart really instill in their guys. He talked a lot about how this team has to be aggressive, how this defensive side has to be fast, physical, and attack. But he also, too, speaks about how the defensive line has got to perform for this team to go places. And that's something, too, that defensive coordinator Brian Stewart said is because he still, the defensive line, all considered,

[00:24:49] you've got a lot of guys like Felix Hickson, Zion Simpson-Smith that are coming back, Bodford that are coming back. He feels that it's still going to be a defensive line by committee. So similar to the offensive side, he may not have worked out the kinks, may not have worked out the depth chart exactly where he wants it. And again, Murray State is a great first-week opposition to figure those things out. But it's not a great vote of confidence early on that you're still trying to iron out some of those details.

[00:25:19] But he does feel really good about his linebacker group, talking about Caven Call, who's an outside linebacker, obviously can be in a three technique on the defensive line. But he also has guys like Jalen Thompson, someone who I'm super excited about, Ashton Taylor. And that I think that are great additions to that linebacker core. He also talked to, years past, he was talking about how this defense would be a 4-3 just based on personnel.

[00:25:47] We are moving into this, I'd say third year, but really the second recruiting cycle for Mason and Brian Stewart, that he thinks the personnel now, where they'll be 3-4 full-time. He says they might even be moving to a 4-2-5 in some certain personnels. But he even alluded to just taking what the offense gives them, similar to the offensive notation, that whatever we're good at, that's what we're going to excel at. And that's what we're going to try to, I guess, lean on a lot more.

[00:26:19] Situational masters is another term that I think that he said that was well put. But how has this team answered to certain situations? Because Conference USA is so vast in their offensive systems, like you've seen with Jack State, who runs a Corvette quick offense, much like Western Kentucky does. Liberty, who runs a good multiple style. You even have some teams that like to run the spread. And you have teams that really slow you down, like Kennesaw State does. So you have to be versatile on defense.

[00:26:48] Brian Stewart working with a lot of new guys. Didn't really get to touch much on his cornerback play because I think that's going to be one of the bigger question marks for this team. And then lastly, though, I thought was an interesting take from anybody, was Coach Stewart. He said that if we can stop the run, eliminate the big plays, we're hosting the Conference USA Championship. Which is a lot, obviously, to make that call that you would be hosting Conference USA Championship.

[00:27:18] But a big if, if they can stop the run and eliminate big plays. And this team was really good at stopping the run last year. They were second in Conference USA in rush defense. However, as he touched on the big plays, that was the area that killed them a lot. Looking back to their game against Jacksonville State, it was a big play in the fourth quarter. You led going into that fourth quarter that lost you that game. Same with Kennesaw State. Delaware had multiple big plays in the second half that put you out of that Western Kentucky.

[00:27:47] I mean, it was five games last year that they lost by one possession. And I believe it was six times last year they had a lead at one point in the second half. So, I mean, he's not wrong, but you've got to make that next step. Obviously, eliminating the big plays. But a big vote of confidence internally from defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, saying that if they can stop the run, eliminate the big plays, they can host the Conference USA Championship.

[00:28:15] So, a lot to be said. We're going to be going into our final break here. When we come back, we'll wrap up some football talk. As again, we are only two weeks out from a season opener against Murray State. And we have some more off-season recruiting news from our other programs. Men's basketball signed an ESPN four-star from Chattanooga. You don't want to miss it. You're listening to the Blue Raider Podcast. Next on All Sports Talk, it's the Blue Raider Insider Report with Chip Walters of Exit Realty, Bob Lamb & Associates.

[00:28:46] Well, good afternoon, everybody. Let's start with women's soccer. Middle Tennessee completed the second leg of its three-match road stint with a nil-nil draw at UT Martin Skyhawks Soccer Stadium on Thursday night. The blue and white defense was on lockdown once again, holding its third consecutive opponent scoreless, a feat last achieved at the start of the 2015 season. Goalkeeper Demi Gronauer returned in between the post for MTSU,

[00:29:13] making two saves in the second half and extending her scoreless streak to 273 minutes. With the result, the Blue Raiders remain unbeaten at 2-0-1 and UT Martin moves to 1-0-2 on the young season. Up next, Middle Tennessee will conclude its three-match road trip with a midday kickoff on Sunday against West Georgia before beginning a three-game homestand starting with Miami of Ohio

[00:29:40] on August 27th at 7 p.m. Congratulations to three Blue Raider baseball players playing in summer leagues this year. Alex Bedford was named the Volunteer State League Player of the Year. Walker Shaw named the Volunteer State League Pitcher of the Year. And Brett Von Dolan had a monster season in the Coastal Plain League and was named the CPL Hitter of the Year.

[00:30:10] Well, the Blue Raider Athletic Association had its annual donor celebration on August 13th at Hollings Head Aviation in Smyrna. And during that event, they gave out individual awards for the year. The Doug Young Impact Award went to Jeff Nebel, a local business and community leader who serves on the BRAA board and has partnered with several Blue Raider student-athletes through NIL Agreements, his restaurants, the Boulevard and 2Js, fan favorites,

[00:30:39] and also the Boulevard where the Blue Raider coaches shows are hosted. The Roxy McHenry Loyalty Award went to Ray Bonner, a Blue Raider legend who made an extraordinary impact on MTSU athletics both as a student-athlete and a coach. Bonner was one of the first two African-American student-athletes signed to play football on scholarship by legendary MTSU coach Bubber Murphy in 1969.

[00:31:07] Bonner started at cornerback for four years and established himself as one of the nation's outstanding punt returners. And since 2013, he has continued to serve MTSU as an assistant coach in track and field. The Jeff Hendricks Business Person of the Year Award was split between Jerry White and Stan McNabb, two automobile dealers from Coffey County, Jerry White of Al White Motors,

[00:31:34] a Ford dealer in Manchester, and Stan McNabb of Stan McNabb Automotive in Tullahoma. The Liz Ray Member of the Year went to Randy Cornwell. He lives in Nashville but makes every opportunity to attend as many MTSU home athletic events as possible while continuing to support the Blue Raiders unconditionally. And the Bill and Teresa Ketron Lifetime Leadership Award goes to John Floyd,

[00:32:01] who was presented by the award by Bill Ketron. Floyd is a longtime BRAA member and was one of the early leadership donors for the Build Blue campaign. So congratulations to all. Don't forget Fan Day coming up tomorrow at Floyd Stadium from 5 until 7 p.m. All the activity on the east side of the stadium on the main concourse.

[00:32:25] Don't forget Convocation is going on tomorrow afternoon from 2 until about 4, 4.30. And so Greenland Drive parking will be tight, but you're welcome to park inside campus, over near the baseball field, the nursing building. Lots of interior campus parking will be available, and that may be your best bet on getting a good spot going into the stadium.

[00:32:51] Again, that'll be tomorrow, Fan Day, 5 to 7 at Floyd Stadium. Have a great weekend, everybody, and keep listening to the Big G, WGNS. This is the Blue Raider Podcast, presented by Gold's Gym of Tennessee, on FM 101.9 and AM 1450 Murfreesboro, 100.5 Smyrna, WGNSradio.com, and the Blue Raider Podcast YouTube channel. Now, back to your host, Jake Bolden.

[00:33:21] Welcome back to the final segment of the Blue Raider Podcast. Today we were highlighting soccer early on, talking a little bit of football from their media day last week, and then finally we're getting to some more basketball news. Big news, really making waves for the men's basketball program today. But before we get into that, I want to remind you to follow us on our social media, at Blue Raider Pod. We're on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok,

[00:33:49] and of course our live stream today over at YouTube, at Blue Raider Podcast. And don't miss tomorrow's re-upload. So if you missed first two segments, go over anywhere you consume your podcast. That's Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify. You can find us at Blue Raider Podcasts and catch up where you missed. And if you do want to call into our final segment, the line is open. That number is 615-893-1450.

[00:34:18] Chip always steals my thunder in my final segment with his Blue Raider Inside Report. As far in regards to the upcoming schedule this week, again briefly soccer on the road this Sunday against West Georgia at 12 noon on ESPN+. And they're finally back home after their three-game soccer road trip against Miami of Ohio on Thursday against a really good Miami team. It's going to be really good soccer out there on Thursday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

[00:34:44] Again, soccer stress ball giveaway for mental health awareness night. Volleyball's last exhibition is tomorrow at 2 p.m. on the road, or excuse me, at home against Chattanooga. And then their season begins next Friday, the 28th, at 11 a.m. That is on the road. And they'll be all the way out in Asheville, North Carolina, kicking their season off against Boise State. Now, to the topic of men's basketball and their signing.

[00:35:12] It was announced last weekend that they picked up a verbal commit from 6'7 combo guard Ryan Wingard from Chattanooga. He actually attends McCauley School down there. And really big news outside of whatever you believe on the recruiting services, but he's ranked as a four-star according to ESPN recruiting. He's third in the state of Tennessee, but at 6'7 combo guard, really lengthy,

[00:35:41] obviously quite the athlete. And I think even more regard to how much of an athlete and how good of a basketball player Mr. Wingard is. He held offers to LSU, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, amongst the P4s as well as a handful of other G5 schools as well. But a big splash. This is the first, at least, verbal commitment that I am aware of for the upcoming 2027 class for head coach Nick McDevitt.

[00:36:09] But that news alone I think is a great start. And as we've talked about all offseason, you have the potential to return quite a bit of this roster from 2026. So having a guy with high pedigree like Wingard going along with other fellow freshmen for this upcoming year and Landon Colliers and Aiden Bolden, you've got a good young core already starting to build and great length on Ryan Wingard as well.

[00:36:38] So big news for men's basketball. In other news in regards to offseason, transfer portal, whatnot, baseball, since the last time we really touched base with baseball this offseason, they've got four new transfers coming in, two of which by way of the community college ranks and really the top echelon of the junior college ranks.

[00:37:04] Kicking it off, Jack Jones, he's a sophomore utility player for Johnson County Community College who won the national championship this last year for junior college. But for Johnson County, he batted 343, had five home runs, and had a perfect fielding percentage for the national champions. And was also, I think of note, he committed to University of Tennessee-Knoxville out of high school

[00:37:32] before transferring into Johnson County and spending one year there winning a national championship. And now he's making his way back to Division I and going to MTSU. And then another player that also committed to University of Tennessee out of high school, Jackson Walker. He is a sophomore outfielder who went to Walter State Community College who also made the trip out to Grand Junction this year in the junior college World Series.

[00:37:59] But for Walter State, he batted 307 with a 458 on base percentage and a 472 slugging percentage and had four home runs himself. So you've got two guys that made it all the way to Grand Junction, one of which won the national championship. But these are guys that also were committed to the University of Tennessee, which obviously we know what kind of program they were running out there. These guys were obviously committed to Tony Vitello, went there their first semester,

[00:38:28] didn't play, then went to the junior college ranks. But if you're getting recruited by a mate who is now a major league manager, it's high praise for those two. Then rounding out two more transfers, you have Ryan Apolisky, who's a junior transfer from Pittsburgh. He was a pitcher up there for the Panthers. But prior to Pittsburgh, he had two seasons at Gulf Coast State Community College

[00:38:53] where he threw 24 innings pitch in his sophomore season to the tune of a 148 ERA. So I'm sure his role may be expanded here as needing some pitching help and certainly some relief pitching depth. But obviously a great ERA number to work with there. Then Jake McGlynn, who's a sophomore transfer from D2 Newberry College.

[00:39:17] He threw for over 52 innings of relief there in Division II, 41 strikeouts to 18 walks. So we've got a good strike thrower, another guy that came out of the pen for his Division II school. So that's four new transfers since our last conversation on baseball. And that brings their total now up to 11 incoming transfers along with three incoming freshmen.

[00:39:43] So obviously there's a heavy lean into the transfer portal versus finding talent via high school, which I think is to be expected in years to come, particularly with how good a lot of the junior college baseball is in the mid-state. So not necessarily a big surprise that that is the route that the staff is taking. And much like, I'll piggyback off of what Chip said there in his insider report, off-season news for baseball, Alex Bedford, freshman Walker Shaw.

[00:40:14] Bedford was player of the year in his Vol State League, and then Walker Shaw was pitcher of the year in the Vol State League. They don't offer any stats, but accolades nonetheless. And then Brett Von Dolan, I think, is with a very impressive hitter of the year in the Coastal Plains League, which is a summer league that has been around for a very long time. When you check their website, it's like over 200 major league players that are alumni of this league.

[00:40:40] And I bring that up because he set two records in the league this summer. He had 74 RBIs and had a 787 slugging percentage. Again, that's setting the record for this league that hosted over 230 major league alumni. And then he also tied the league record with 18 home runs, which, ecstatic. Obviously, the level of competition that Brett plays in this league is second really to none.

[00:41:07] Maybe a few leagues, but really it's a competitive league, no less. But 18 home runs, 74 RBIs. After what I think even Brett would probably describe as a down year, his junior year. These numbers are very reminiscent of that sophomore breakout season we saw from Brett. So I think that obviously reps are great, but 18 home runs, 74 RBIs to the tune of a 787 slugging percentage. Phenomenal numbers from Brett.

[00:41:34] Obviously, we can get that same level of production that we saw his sophomore year. If this is any indication of that, we will gladly welcome it because the bats, we're going to need to find them this year with a lot of guys moving on. So many guys signing pro contracts this offseason. So and I'm told that there might even be some news now with the ruling of the fifth year extension for those 2025 graduates that we may have some guys that return that didn't sign those pro contracts.

[00:42:03] So something to just kind of keep your thumb on going into this next season. Lastly, in other news, Alec Oglesby, someone who we all thought had actually transferred out to go to Stetson for another year. My understanding is wasn't granted another season. So he ends his college career as a Blue Raider, which I think is important because he's just signed a professional contract out in Austria. That news was made today. So big congratulations to Alec Oglesby.

[00:42:31] Also, professional basketball news, Justin Porter spent a couple years here with the Blue Raiders before transferring to Clemson last year. He just finished up in July his summer league season with the Memphis Grizzlies. So again, big news for MTSU basketball as far as moving on to the pro ranks after time here with Nick McDevitt. But we are finally done with our segment here. We're going to be turning it over to the Friday Night Thunder pregame show ahead of the WG&S primetime game of the week.

[00:43:00] Brian Barrett and crew, they're going to be out at Blackman versus Clarksville and Will Hester's first game as head coach for the Blaze. So thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider podcast. Remember to follow us on social media at Blue Raider Pod. That's X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. And if you're tuned in to our live stream on YouTube, subscribe so you don't miss another one of our Friday live stream. Thanks to my producer, Jonas Harmon. You're listening to the Blue Raider podcast.