Welcome, Skylah!

Wow... our hoops teams move stealthily in recruiting, huh? Seemingly out of nowhere, Robin Pingeton has signed a new player, Skylah Travis. Travis is a 6-foot-3 athletic post who has four years of eligibility remaining— she was injured last season and did not play a game for the Monarchs.

MUTigers.com’s press release highlighted a number of things about the new post player, including this tidbit:

Travis earned District 1 Player of the Year and North Carolina All-State honors in 2019-20 after leading Weldon High School to the Class 1A championship game while averaging 20.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.1 steals, 3.9 blocks and 4.9 assists per game. Travis lifted her team to the state championship game after sinking a game-winner in the semifinals to beat Bishop McGuinness. As a junior in 2018-19, Travis led Weldon to the State Tournament while averaging 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

According to coach Robin Pingeton, on the addition:

“We are thrilled to have Skylah joining our family,” said Pingeton. “Her athleticism, versatility and dynamic skill set, along with her passion for the game make her a really exciting addition to our roster for the next four years. Skylah’s authenticity, energy and humility are invaluable qualities that we know will have an instant impact on the court, in the locker room and in our family.”

Skylah joins newcomers: 5’7 guard Izzy Higginbottom, 6’1 forward Kiya Dorroh, 6’0 forward Sarah Linthacum and 6’3 forward Da’Necia Trusty and a handful of returnees.

On to the Links! Have a nice weekend!

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Aaron’s new best Mizzou duos featured an underrated pair.
• Nate and BK were back with a new BTBS podcast, looking at the new schedule.
• COMING UP: More player reviews. This time, it’s my favorite, Javon Pickett’s turn. Kortay previews the baseball matchup, while BK xx

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More Links:

Football

• A new Eye on the Tigers podcast with Matter and BenFred focused on a variety of topics, including football’s projected wins, hoops’ new transfer additions, and Ben Askren’s upcoming fight with Logan Paul. In need of more assorted Mizzou talk? Check out Matter’s newest chat at STL Today.
• I see a familiar name listed here.

Hoops

• For subscribers of The Athletic, you MUST check out CJ Moore’s piece on Men’s Hoops, who is reloading with transfers with an eye towards space-and-pace.
• On the new KC SportsBeat podcast, Blair Kerkhoff shared audio of Cuonzo Martin’s meeting with the media earlier this week. Give it a listen!
• Looking good, Sean!

Diamond Sports

• Need a preview for baseball’s upcoming series before Kortay’s preview comes out later today? Check out Reid Glenn’s preview for Mizzou’s toughest test yet— against No. 1 Florida. In addition to the preview, Reid also goes in depth on Mizzou’s future since it’s becoming increasingly unlikely the Tigers will play in the postseason.

• Mississippi State is coming into town, and Mizzou has a chance to end their three-game losing streak. According to Ben Miglore’s story, this is good for the Tigers, MSU is currently winless in SEC play, has the second worst ERA and sit dead last in offense. MUTigers.com also has a preview.

Volleyball

• Volleyball’s NCAA Tourney came to an abrupt end with their loss to No. 9 Ohio State in the second round Thursday. The Tigers were swept 25-17, 25-20, 25-21. In an article by Langston Newsome, Joshua Taylor said, “Ohio State is a really good volleyball team and they played some pretty volleyball. I don’t think there was a point in the match where we were folding or gave up. I’m pretty proud of our girls today.”
• According to Blair Kerkhoff’s story in the KC Star, Kylie Deberg finished with 17 kills and added six digs for the Tigers. Missouri led 4-2 in the first set, but did not lead again in any of the other sets. The Tigers closed got as close as 20-18 in the third set, but couldn’t get it done.

Other Mizzou Sports

• Women’s golf struggled to move up in the second round of the SEC match play qualification on Thursday. According to Calum McAndrew, only the top 8 move on to next round. While the Tigers improved upon their previous round by two strokes, they are 15 strokes behind Alabama, who currently holds on to the last remaining qualifying spot with one round to go.
• Track & Field travels to Auburn, Alabama for the War Eagle Invitational this weekend. According to MUTigers.com, Mizzou is set to compete against Auburn, Alabama State, Cincinnati, Memphis, Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee, Samford, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Troy and UAB in the two-day event.
• Track announced the signing of Illinois native, Austin Popplewell.

• Hannah McCrary and Sydney Schaffer kick off their individual runs at the NCAA Championships today, when they compete in the first semifinal session noon. You can watch the action on ESPN2. More info is available at MUTigers.com.

Mizzou in the Pros

• Michael Porter, Jr. was awesome on Wednesday night, leading all scorers in the Nuggets’ 123-106 victory over the Miami Heat. In his 33 minutes, he shot 10-14, including 3-6 from three. He also had 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and was +17. In Benyam Kidane’s article in The Sporting News, he wrote that the Nugggets need MPJ to play like a superstar, and he’s doing exactly that.

• Aldon Smith has reportedly signed with the Seahawks on a one year deal, and joins an deep defense, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
• In honor of Thursday night’s WNBA draft, Mizzou Basketball posted a graphic commemorating each of their eight draft picks throughout the years.

• Former Mizzou football player, Franklin Agbasimere was selected in the CFL draft by the Calgary Stampeders.

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