Welcome, Mark Hankins!

A new era of Mizzou Men’s Golf is set to begin in the near future. The program announced yesterday that they have hired Mark Hankins, who will serve as Missouri’s Co-Head Coach for the time being and will be Mark Leroux’s successor when he retires in 2023.

Recently with Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, and Texas-Arlington, Hankins comes to Columbia with an impressive resume. In 19 seasons as a head coach, he’s led his teams to 13 trips to the NCAA Regionals, including three appearances in the NCAA Championship Finals. He was also the head coach of Team USA in the 2007 World University Games.

Here’s Jim Sterk’s statement on the hire, via MUTigers.com:

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark Hankins as the co-head coach of our men’s golf program and eventual successor to Coach (Mark) Leroux. When Coach Leroux brought this idea (of co-head coaches) to my staff back in January, we were intrigued, and then after sitting down with Coach Hankins as he shared our vision for our program, we collectively believed that this move will position Mizzou Men’s Golf for great success in future seasons.”

“Coach Hankins is a highly-respected leader in college golf with an outstanding reputation for building championship teams. Each of the four programs that he has led enjoyed historical program success under his leadership with consistent NCAA Championship participation. He has tremendous passion for the game of golf and helping young men achieve excellence not only on the course, but in the classroom and community, as well, and we are excited to watch him build upon the foundation that Coach Leroux has worked so hard to establish at Mizzou over the last 17 years.”

From Mark Leroux:

“I’m very excited to have Coach Hankins joining our program. He brings with him a wealth of experience and success as a Division 1 Head Coach. I’m confident Mark will have an immediate on our team’s success both on the course and in the classroom. His proven track record an ability to coach at the highest level is unparalleled. He is the right guy at the right time. Adding Mark to our coaching staff will secure the future of Mizzou Men’s Golf for years to come.”

And from Mark Hankins himself:

“I’m very excited to join Coach Leroux and the Mizzou Men’s Golf program. It is a great opportunity to work with Coach and continue to build on his foundation of success. I also want to thank Athletic Director Jim Sterk and Deputy Athletic Director Nick Joos for their commitment to the golf program and its future.”

On paper, this really sounds like a home run for the Mizzou Golf program. Well done, Sterk!

And as we inch closer and closer to the Super Regional weekend in Columbia for the Mizzou/James Madison match up, The Tuscaloosa News previewed all eight Super Regional match ups with predictions. Five of the seven beat writers (including Eric Blum of the Columbia Daily Tribune) picked Mizzou to win the Super Regional and advance to the Women’s College World Series.

Here’s a hype video to get you ready!

And Jenna Laird’s diving play to save Jordan Weber’s no-hitter came in at No. 6 in NCAA Softball’s Top 10 plays from the regionals.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Brandon Kiley writes what all of us are wondering: What happened to all of Mizzou’s cornerbacks?
• Team Texas Running Back: Henry Josey, from Brandon Kiley

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More Links:

(Columbia Missourian)

• Anthony Kristensen has the coverage of the Mark Hankins hiring

(Columbia Daily Tribune)

• On Eric Blum’s latest Blum Banter: Mizzou Softball won’t question the legitimacy of JMU

(Miscellaneous/Tweets)

• Michael Bratton of that SEC podcast ranked Missouri 8th (Drinkwitz 5th, Wilks 10th) among SEC Play Callers

• Sophie Cunningham has her own podcast coming out this summer....if you’re into that kind of thing

• Michael Maietti (First Team Offense) and Trajan Jeffcoat (Second Team Defense) have been named to Athlon Sports’ Preseason All-SEC teams

• According to a report from ABC17’s Andrew Kauffman, nine Mizzou Baseball players have entered the transfer portal
• From ABC17’s Andrew Kauffman, here is Larissa Anderson’s press conference to preview the Super Regionals this weekend.
• Our own Aaron Dryden joined Robert Zeglinski of Windy City Gridiron for a Q and A on Larry Borom. Give it a read!
• CBS has announced their 2021 College Football broadcast schedule, and Mizzou at Arkansas on Black Friday will be a 2:30 p.m. CT kick-off.

• According to BetOnline, Mizzou’s over-under regular season win total sits at seven.

• If you’re looking to sign up for ESPN+, Rock M Nation now has an affiliate link: click Here for ESPN+ Now!
• If you’re looking to sign up for a new streaming service, you can try FuboTV: click HERE for FuboTV access — FuboTV now has ESPN, CBS, FS1 and more sports channels.
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