Episode 23

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[00:00:53] Welcome back into the Blue Raider Podcast. I'm your host Jake Bolden and today is Tuesday,

[00:00:58] May 14th and I want to welcome all the Blue Raider faithful for joining me in on my last

[00:01:02] episode here of the spring season. That is unfortunately the truth folks we are rolling

[00:01:07] into the summer now so that'll be it for a lot of our content but don't be alarmed if we're not

[00:01:12] going away completely for the summer. Just our recording schedule is going to change up just

[00:01:16] slightly as we roll through the summer months again with fewer games being played less content

[00:01:20] to actually be able to talk about in regards to the athletic events. We'll just roll back

[00:01:26] our our recording schedule to every other week so our release today on the 14th and then

[00:01:31] your next release won't be for two weeks until the 28th so don't be alarmed. We still have

[00:01:35] plenty of content for you guys. The main objective over the summer is going to be talking with

[00:01:40] players and coaches. I know that those are kind of more interviews that might intrigue some of

[00:01:44] you to kind of learn a little bit more about your Blue Raider players that you get to see

[00:01:47] every night so I think that that's something that has really interested me. One of the

[00:01:51] main reasons I kind of wanted to do a podcast setting like this is most of us don't

[00:01:54] ever get to hear from these players. I think it's a kind of a cool thing that I want to

[00:01:57] introduce to you guys over the summer again as the games slow down for us that you guys can

[00:02:02] kind of see some behind the scenes with some of these players, see what life is like for them,

[00:02:06] get to know them, kind of get a little bit more intimate. I think it's important especially we

[00:02:10] have a unique opportunity at a school like MTSU where you get to meet these players more on a

[00:02:15] one-to-one basis that they're less of a smoke and mirrors, less behind a paywall if

[00:02:20] you will for some of these larger universities so I think it's it's unique and I'm excited

[00:02:24] to bring that to you Blue Raider fans everywhere. But before we wrap up everything let's go

[00:02:30] ahead and we'll do a rundown of everything that happened this last week. It was still an eventful

[00:02:34] week across the board for all MTSU. The main thing is in regards to spring sports go is

[00:02:39] baseball. Baseball had a big weekend road matchup with Jacksonville State they were able to

[00:02:44] win the series it all came down to a Sunday rubber match where they defeated the Gamecocks

[00:02:48] three to two. Trace Phillips big outing from him seven innings nine strikeouts held the

[00:02:54] Gamecocks are just a single run. It got a little dicey there in the end of the eighth

[00:02:58] inning but Coach Myers called on Colin Carrigan he comes in gets a one pitch or

[00:03:03] it's a one batter double play in the bottom of the eighth inning. Base is loaded jam so it was

[00:03:08] a huge double play in that moment they didn't get any insurance runs in the top of the ninth

[00:03:12] as they may have needed but they didn't need any they were able to pitch their way around

[00:03:16] in the ninth and pick up that series win so that the big thing about that with the Raiders

[00:03:21] if you've missed our episode last week they have to finish in the top eight in order to

[00:03:24] make the conference tournament and with the win on Sunday against Jacksonville State that puts

[00:03:29] them in the eight seed spot with a tiebreaker over Jacksonville State there is only one scenario

[00:03:35] in which the Raiders still don't make the conference tournament is that they get swept this

[00:03:39] upcoming weekend against Dallas Baptist and Jacksonville State will have to sweep Sam

[00:03:43] Eason State on the road there in Huntsville Texas so still not set in stone but the Raiders

[00:03:50] do control their own destiny if you win just one game against Dallas Baptist you secure it and if

[00:03:56] you aren't able to do that which is which is possible Dallas Baptist is a top three team in

[00:04:00] this conference they should be battling for the top seed this weekend with Louisiana Tech

[00:04:05] but in the event that you don't get a game from Dallas Baptist if Sam Houston wins just one

[00:04:10] against Jacksonville State you will also be locked into the eight seed so there's another

[00:04:14] scenario where you could slide up into the seven seed with a sweep of with a sweep of Dallas Baptist

[00:04:22] and then Jacksonville State sweeps Sam Houston State but I would I would call that one very very

[00:04:28] low chance of even happening so I wouldn't even worry about that scenario but

[00:04:32] the Raiders as of now are in good position to get in just win one game and you're in

[00:04:36] they do have a midweek matchup their last non-conference on the road tonight in southern

[00:04:41] Indiana that first pitch is at 6 p.m and as I've already said this weekend they will wrap up their

[00:04:46] season in a conference series with first place or tied first place Dallas Baptist one note to

[00:04:53] change on the schedule there is that that series will begin on Thursday as opposed to what we're

[00:04:57] accustomed to on Friday so on Thursday the Raiders first pitch will be at six and then on

[00:05:03] Friday their first pitch will be at three and then on Saturday the first pitch is at 1 p.m all

[00:05:08] those games will be on ESPN plus and it's my understanding that on Saturday they're going to

[00:05:12] do a dedication for coach Peterson so a really cool thing there not only to honor your seniors

[00:05:18] but also to see that presentation there for coach long-tenured coach Peterson and then like

[00:05:24] I said I won't be here for two weeks so the conference tournament will be next week beginning

[00:05:28] on Wednesday there in Ruston Louisiana at Louisiana Tech University and that whole tournament

[00:05:33] will be on display on ESPN plus men's basketball had a big weekend as we saw with the returning of

[00:05:41] two very familiar faces the biggest name I think we're all really excited to hear about is Justin

[00:05:46] Porter making his return back to Murphy Center huge news for a lot of reasons one thing that

[00:05:52] I mentioned when I was doing my breakdown earlier in the month when we were going through

[00:05:57] the transfer portal pickups was that you're kind of lacking that proven score from a season

[00:06:00] ago as of now on roster you've got two guys that have scored double digits you got counter

[00:06:05] Oglesby Oglesby is more than likely going to be a starter so where do you find some other

[00:06:09] scoring production or proven scoring production I think Mostaf is a great option but there's

[00:06:13] none better and more proven that's going to return this next year than Justin Porter

[00:06:18] huge news I can't I can't stress enough how big I think I think that this is I did allude

[00:06:24] to it but I think that this is just a huge thing for the Raiders coming going forward he

[00:06:28] averaged 14 points last year shooting numbers aren't great for a guard at 40% but he did shoot

[00:06:33] 34% from three so it's still a respectable number his role will change once again the

[00:06:38] thing that I that changed significantly for him as we've all talked about ad nauseam is that

[00:06:44] Cameron Weston goes down Justin Porter takes a reign of point guards well now that Weston's

[00:06:48] healthy again you've got Weston a pretty reliable backup in jail encounter you might

[00:06:53] even have someone like Trey Green take those reins as well but with now that he's going to

[00:06:57] be the guard that you want him to be that he was recruited to be at a junior college

[00:07:02] you have to imagine that Porter's game can just go to another level this next year

[00:07:06] being back in a more comfortable position being able to catch off off the bounce those kind of

[00:07:11] things shoot off the shoot off the bounce I should say so a lot of things that you

[00:07:14] should be excited about Porter the other name that we saw returning back to Murphy Center is

[00:07:18] Christian Fussell Christian comes back after just a one-year hiatus and at UT Martin

[00:07:24] didn't get very many minutes at Martin is just 10 minutes a game two points per game two rebounds

[00:07:29] a game so didn't get nearly the playing time that I think he probably thought that he deserved

[00:07:34] but one thing I like about Fussell a lot not only is he 6'10 that's something that those that

[00:07:38] have been listening on the middle forums is my discussion on the need for height I think we

[00:07:44] have good scores we're very athletic all across the floor but I just I think height is

[00:07:50] an area that we could definitely be improving in and Fussell adds that a 6'10 another thing

[00:07:55] that's kind of interesting about Fussell and maybe his role I don't think that he's a guy

[00:07:59] he's a he's certainly going to be a depth piece I wouldn't be concerned about him taking

[00:08:03] over a starting role or anything like that but he's definitely a depth piece but something that

[00:08:06] I think is very intriguing about him was his contributions in the 26 win season the Raiders had

[00:08:12] back in 2020-21 or excuse me 21-22 season he played in all 37 games there didn't make

[00:08:18] any starts but he started in all 37 games averaged 13 minutes a game three points per game three

[00:08:23] rebounds per game so he was quite he got quite a bit of minutes there backing up the Andre

[00:08:27] Dishman down on the five spot so I don't know where his role fits obviously it's a much

[00:08:31] different team makeup than what we saw back in 21 and 22 but I think that there's still room

[00:08:37] for him to be a major part of this team again it's certainly going to be a depth piece

[00:08:42] I would assume Mostafa is the one and then you've got Loof there behind him but if someone's in

[00:08:48] foul trouble if you need to if you need to add length at the four and five Fussell's a guy that

[00:08:53] you could probably throw in there for a few minutes they at least get you by if someone

[00:08:56] were to be in foul trouble or like I said maybe even lengthen the floor but not really a

[00:09:00] score but he is he is adds a lot of length down low so I think there's still it's a good

[00:09:05] depth add and again back to being back to picking up Porter as well it's got to be a

[00:09:10] level of comfort with these guys you're coming back to a program you know it's a system you

[00:09:14] understand so there's a level of comfort that you wouldn't be able to get with anyone in the

[00:09:19] portal and at this late in the season that is the transfer portal season there's there's very

[00:09:24] few guys that are just going to blow your team out of the water in regards to taking

[00:09:27] them to the next level so at what point do you start to sacrifice going to get just somebody

[00:09:34] over someone who at least has some familiarity with the with the process with the system

[00:09:38] with the coaching staff and of course some of these players were were still here when Fussell

[00:09:43] was here as well as obviously Justin was here just a season ago so I think that's that's huge

[00:09:47] news for the men's basketball team should be really excited to see what those guys are able

[00:09:51] to to do and and again applaud to Nick McDevitt he answered the call when it comes time to

[00:09:58] picking up players this coming up season a lot of people are down on the roster makeup and what

[00:10:03] he could potentially return this upcoming season but I think he answered the call

[00:10:07] he's got a great roster I think that as I said with Porter added this team becomes a Conference

[00:10:11] USA contender once again. Western Kentucky didn't see the fall off and their roster

[00:10:17] break down like we might have thought they would with Steve Lutz moving on to Power 5

[00:10:21] school because they retain everybody especially Don McHenry is another guy that I thought for

[00:10:26] sure would go with Coach Lutz but they call up an assistant coach and they keep their

[00:10:32] whole roster so applaud to them for you know being able to retain that Conference Championship

[00:10:38] team so they're definitely gonna be a tough test but I think on paper right now you've got

[00:10:42] Western at the one and this team right here depending on how the chemistry goes this first

[00:10:46] summer and those first non-conference games you might be looking at the second best team

[00:10:51] in Conference USA if not the first so time will tell but one thing that does get me

[00:10:55] really excited is where this 100 miles of hate game turns up to this next season now

[00:10:59] that our roster has kind of been revamped to kind of match more of a competitive style

[00:11:04] Conference USA team and then obviously you're gonna face a more veteran laden hilltopper team

[00:11:11] that just came off a Conference Championship. Lady Raiders they also welcome back a familiar

[00:11:17] face and this lady doesn't need any introduction for me for those that have watched tons of

[00:11:22] MTSU basketball but Courtney Blakely huge news for the Lady Raiders I think everyone

[00:11:27] knew that we were looking for a point guard on the transfer portal Sam and I spoke about it

[00:11:32] last week that he said that Matt Insull had alluded to it on a radio show last week at WGNS

[00:11:37] that he had a senior point guard and Courtney is the girl that they were able to find and

[00:11:42] pick up and she entered the portal at the 12th hour out of Arizona. I always thought that

[00:11:47] she had potentially had an eye to come back to MTSU now that the point guard position has

[00:11:51] kind of opened up. I think prior to the signing you thought Jada Harrison the redshirt

[00:11:57] freshman coming off of her foot injury would make the start at point guard but with Blakely

[00:12:01] now on roster I'd have to imagine it's her spot at the one and it be hers to lose and that's not

[00:12:06] to say that Jada won't get the playing time and her time will definitely come she's a very

[00:12:11] talented ball player a four-star athlete so excited to see what she's capable of doing but

[00:12:17] but I don't want to take anything away from Courtney Blakely. I think this is something

[00:12:20] that a lot of Raider fans are very excited about because we're very disappointed to see her

[00:12:24] move on. Her last season here she made 10 starts averaged nearly seven points a game and had a

[00:12:30] positive assist to turnover ratio at nearly three assists per game. She obviously gets a great

[00:12:35] amount of steals given her speed we know what she's able we know what she's capable of doing

[00:12:39] in transition I'm super excited about bringing her back and to see what she can be a real

[00:12:46] catalyst for this team again because of the fact that the familiarity aspect is there she's

[00:12:51] going to provide a level of comfort not only within the system but she knows how MTSU plays

[00:12:56] she plays hard defense she's going to rebound even at the guard position she's going to push

[00:12:59] the pace something that we saw a ton with Savannah Wheeler so I don't think that we're

[00:13:04] the offense is even going to skip a beat now that Courtney Blakely is back and again I think

[00:13:08] that there's a lot of reason to be excited about her for a number of reasons but I think

[00:13:12] one thing is that I think she's missed not only by the fans but I think a lot of her

[00:13:16] teammates showed that on social media this last week that they're very excited about Courtney's

[00:13:20] return and rightfully so and I still my tune has not changed I think this is going to be one of

[00:13:25] the most talented teams Rick Insell's ever had in his 20 years here so I'm really excited to

[00:13:30] to at some point interview a coach and get his feedback on where this team stands right now

[00:13:36] because it's talented top to bottom they're going to obviously be pushing Conference USA

[00:13:42] to another level just as themselves but I'd have to I'd love to see what the non-conference

[00:13:47] schedule is going to shape up to really put this team to that next level get those rpi those net

[00:13:52] numbers up and hopefully get you in that top 16 where you can host an instead of a tournament

[00:13:56] that would be spectacular to host a tournament here at Murphy Center so exciting times Courtney

[00:14:02] Blakely glad she's back and really excited as I've been all spring about the Lady Raiders

[00:14:08] and what they have to bring to the table the track and field outdoor track and field they

[00:14:12] just had their Conference USA championships this last weekend in El Paso we have a lot of

[00:14:17] metal finishings Steven Elogi he broke the Conference USA record in the 110 meter hurdles

[00:14:22] at 13.28 seconds he also that was just one of his two gold medals he won another gold

[00:14:27] medal in the 400 meter hurdles which sounds absolutely brutal but big congratulations to

[00:14:31] Steven on those two gold medals and then the three case steeplechase team actually swept

[00:14:37] the podium there and that in El Paso or Carmelo Kenizarro placed first gold medal

[00:14:43] Brian Kiptu was second and then Vincent Yagon was the third place finisher so good suite for the men

[00:14:49] with those five gold medals there that was enough to put them into fourth place overall for the

[00:14:54] men's side of Conference USA and the Lady Raiders they also got three gold medals on the Lady's

[00:15:00] side you got Lakeisha Smith who placed first in the long jump Victoria Rosanikova who placed

[00:15:05] first in the triple jump and then Odelia Jeff Chumbo who placed first in the 1500 meter

[00:15:11] the ladies also had enough points to finish them in fourth place in Conference USA so good season

[00:15:17] for them I know we'll probably have some that would compete in the Nationals I'm not sure the

[00:15:24] qualifications for those but obviously keep your eyes peeled for those announcements as they come

[00:15:28] through and then they'll be covered on our next episode there on the 28th so congratulations

[00:15:32] to the outdoor track and field team to a successful year and to those that were able to

[00:15:38] the five individuals that got gold medals this past week and to build off our honorees in

[00:15:44] Conference USA softball had two players get added to the all CUSA team sophomore Ansley Blevins

[00:15:51] first team Conference USA had the most home runs in conference play with 10 so big

[00:15:56] congratulations to her hope to have her return we've seen years pass our best players kind

[00:16:01] of head on to the transfer portal it's a weird game that we play now in all sports so

[00:16:07] Ansley really good year for her as a sophomore I hope to have her return and then Shelby Echols I

[00:16:12] don't think anyone's didn't see this one coming her placing on the first team Conference USA

[00:16:17] board as well she's kind of a great all-around great hitter I know she was top five in hits

[00:16:21] in Conference USA so not too not too surprised on her placing but she will certainly be

[00:16:26] missed and her contributions to the Lady Raiders season men's golf Owen Stamper right now he is

[00:16:31] in the individuals West Lafayette Regional so we're still keeping an eye on him he had an

[00:16:35] even finish through the first round I know halfway through the second round on the turn

[00:16:40] there he was somewhere tied for 60 seconds so still some work to do but keep an eye on Owen

[00:16:45] Stamper of course those results will be put on all of our social medias tennis and individuals

[00:16:52] those doubles won't begin until next Monday on the 20th you got Ray Queen in the individuals

[00:16:56] and then Ray Queen and Horak both competing in the doubles that again will also begin next

[00:17:03] week so keep your eyes peeled for those and of course the next episode will have your results

[00:17:07] covered for you and then the last bit of news Missouri State they get added to the Conference

[00:17:12] beginning in the 2025 season so this year those that may have forgotten got Kennesaw

[00:17:17] State that's going to be joining us in football and all sports for that matter

[00:17:20] and then next year you're going to have Delaware and Missouri State so really exciting

[00:17:25] news I think Missouri State some I don't know really where most people feel on this

[00:17:30] for me I'm pretty excited I think from football it's a pretty mediocre edition I know that Bobby

[00:17:35] Petrino was there the year before last for a couple seasons and they became relevant under

[00:17:40] Petrino and for a multitude of reasons outside of probably their own control just having

[00:17:44] Petrino as your head coach but Missouri State is a quality add in regards to basketball

[00:17:51] I think men's basketball side especially they're going to be a quality add the team

[00:17:54] I think the conference just got a little bit better and then on the women's side I think it's

[00:17:58] an excellent addition with Missouri State I think again women's basketball kind of gets

[00:18:04] especially at the mid-major level those don't that don't follow it very closely Missouri

[00:18:08] State probably doesn't catch your radar but I will try to re-jog your memory that the

[00:18:13] Missouri State and back in 2021 made this week 16 and they were actually a top 25 team

[00:18:18] going out of the season at the final AP poll so that Missouri State team

[00:18:22] granted that was three years ago that's nothing to bat an eye at because the last

[00:18:26] four years collectively they've been in the top 110 and net rating so that puts them if you just

[00:18:32] put them across the board in all conference USA and all those years that would put Missouri

[00:18:36] State as a number two team in the conference so that's a really good quality add for the

[00:18:41] Lady Raiders especially when you're talking about boosting those net ratings and getting

[00:18:45] quality wins and quality road wins Missouri State is a team that has always been able

[00:18:50] to feel a really talented team so really exciting news on the Lady Raiders front again

[00:18:55] just from the perspective of having a tougher conference schedule because a lot of most part

[00:19:01] the conference tends to kind of it doesn't help it doesn't help their case now granted they beat

[00:19:06] them by 20 plus but having a good quality opponent like Missouri State can definitely boost

[00:19:11] all those behind-the-scene ratings that are that'll help the Lady Raiders as far as

[00:19:14] seeding goes into the NCAA tournament so Missouri State added 2025 along with Delaware

[00:19:21] the conference continues to grow I know that there's been reports of them adding more teams

[00:19:26] who knows where they're going to necessarily grab them from I've heard reports of

[00:19:30] someone like Tarleton State Central Arkansas they're trying to find a way to have some

[00:19:34] more continuity in regards to geography so who knows what they're necessarily going to do

[00:19:40] as far as picking anyone up I wouldn't be surprised if they try to pick up another

[00:19:43] team for that 2025 season to join Delaware and Missouri State but who knows still good

[00:19:51] stuff and again hopefully it's always quality adds to help benefit all sports across so

[00:19:56] that pretty much wraps up our spring sports and puts a good little bow on what happened

[00:20:02] this last week in Blue Raider athletics again the content is going to slow down we're going

[00:20:07] to release my next episode on the 28th of May on a Tuesday so the Tuesday release schedule

[00:20:13] will stay the same just have your patience with me it's summer vacation for myself and

[00:20:18] I'm sure it is as it is for many of you so but keep your eyes peeled for those interviews with

[00:20:22] some of your favorite players your favorite coaches of course as always go the forums will

[00:20:26] be up I plan to have the opportunity for those that want to answer some questions

[00:20:32] that's always great information I think it's valuable to you guys if you have questions

[00:20:37] for the players I think that's something that I want to provide a little bit differently than

[00:20:40] what you may have seen from previous interviews with players and stuff like that I'd love to

[00:20:45] get your feedback love to hear what you guys have for these for these kids and of course they're

[00:20:49] always they're always happy to answer those questions too so final plug for the podcast

[00:20:54] you got all of our socials you got Twitter Instagram TikTok at Blue Raider pod of course

[00:20:59] our visual presentation is over on youtube.com under Blue Raider podcast I always forget those

[00:21:05] that are on YouTube we are also on your streaming services on all your favorite ones

[00:21:09] you got iTunes Spotify Google Podcasts all that good stuff as well so and if you don't

[00:21:15] like if you want to switch over to just the just the regular old streaming you got all

[00:21:19] you got your bases covered there too other thing Blue Raider podcast.com it's a new website

[00:21:25] I've put together it's nice clean I've got a lot of great feedback on it one thing to help

[00:21:30] support the show again kind of a soft opening I plan to do a little bit more marketing for

[00:21:34] it as we move through the summer but um I've got apparel there feel free I appreciate your

[00:21:41] support if you can do anything to help the podcast to keep this thing going

[00:21:45] I would always appreciate your help by buying apparel over on our website at Blue Raider

[00:21:49] podcast.com of course I will have as I've spoken about in the past I plan to do some

[00:21:57] NIL partnership with some players so I'm always happy to feel whatever I can in regards to

[00:22:03] the players I think I want to give back I don't necessarily do this obviously for those

[00:22:07] that don't know I don't do this for profit I do this for fun it's a passion thing for

[00:22:10] me I love them to issue athletics I want to be a voice for the fans get you in touch with a lot

[00:22:15] of people that we all want want to listen to we want to hear about we want to hear a lot of

[00:22:20] the behind the scenes get some unbiased opinions that are outside the university so I think

[00:22:24] there's a lot um it's a lot of things that I could still cover and dive deeper so your

[00:22:29] support is much needed as well as supporting these athletes that'll come on here and again

[00:22:33] as we try to blossom into some NIL partnerships with some of these kids as well so that should

[00:22:39] wrap us up for the episode today it's a short one I appreciate everyone sticking on by through it

[00:22:46] don't forget again keep those eyes peeled two weeks away summer schedule every two weeks

[00:22:50] I'll have a schedule for you in regards to the players that are coming through

[00:22:54] for the interviews and I'll have all that on social media so again keep your eyes

[00:22:57] peeled don't forget to join that conversation over at go middle.com and until next time go bull