Some Days are Just Like This

Mizzou Athletics, just like life in general, sometimes goes through highs and lows, and Wednesday was no different. For every “YESSSS!” seemed to be a corresponding, “DAMMIT!”

Kinda like this.

Let’s get started with the roller coaster news day, shall we?

YAY.

Mizzou Softball picked up a nice transfer from Columbia Least in South Carolina infielder Maddie Gallagher, who played 97 games (82 starts) over two seasons. From the press release:

In 2022, she started and played in all 56 games, mostly at second base. Gallagher hit .292 while leading the team with four triples (87th in the nation). She ranked second on South Carolina with 47 hits and tallied 11 multi-hit outings. Gallagher also compiled an OPS of .813 with 35 runs, eight doubles, and 28 RBI.

She ranked 27th in the class of 2020 by Extra Innings coming out of high school. In 2019, Gallagher was selected to the Team USA U-17 squad that played in the Pan American Games in Colombia.

CRAP.

Not Mizzou-related per se (that we know of, anyway), but yikes…. Bad look. I had this talk with someone earlier in football season, re: Sam Horn. Dude’s getting his bag and on the side lines, and as Matter had earlier reported “less than engaged”, while his teammates are working their asses off for a less/no deal.

YAY.

Kris Abrams-Draine announced he’s returning to Missouri for another season. Love to see it, KAD! [insert speculations that KAD finally got his payday]

CRAP.

Bush Hamdan, the Tigers’ QB coach and recent “OC-lite” the last few games of the regular season, is returning home to Boise State to run their offense. Can’t say any of us saw that coming…

YAY.

Hayley Frank announced at Tiger Talk (I sadly missed this one), that she’s coming back for a fifth year. HUGE news for Pingeton’s crew. [Lauren immediately starts calculating roster math]

Per Payton Havermann’s post in the Missourian, Hayley has been huge for the Tigers this season, averaging 14.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, and has scored in double-digits in all but two games, shooting 49.2% from the field and 41.2% from three.

CRAP.

And in tremendously sad news, former Missouri Tiger and high school teammate of Dennis Gates, Najeeb Echols, passed away from a heart attack. The Chicagoland legend was only 39. Rest In Peace, Coach.

Here’s a wonderful photo from his Whitney Young days, courtesy of the Chicago Sun-Times, who also published a lovely tribute to him by Michael O’Brien. Man….

Chicago Sun-Times

YAY.

Love to hear this from Tre. Positive attitudes.

On to the Links.

Keep the vibes positive, y’all. It’s tough out there.

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Yesterday at Rock M

• Brandon attended the newest Mizzou Hoops presser: UCF week
• Adeen revisited his Mizzou WBB non-con preview (with an assist from me)
• BK’s newest recruiting reset is about Daniel Blood (this reset was usurped by the bigger Theo Wiese, Jr. news last week)
• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Listen to the new Dive Cuts! | Nate investigated Wake Forest’s performance in bowl games | Parker told us what to watch for when the Tigers face Wake | Read Volume 4 of the Rock M Digest!

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More Links:

Football

• Bush Hamdan News: Chris Kwiecinski (Columbia Tribune) | Chanel Porter (ABC-17) | Dave Matter (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) | Jarod Hamilton (PowerMizzou) | Kyle Pinnell (Columbia Missourian) | Sydney Hunte (Saturday Down South)
• Columbia Missourian: Missouri cornerback Abrams-Draine to return for senior season (Jack Soble) | Missouri offers trio of recruits from Lewisville, Texas (Kenny Van Doren)
• HA! WE TOLD YOU THEY WEREN’T SCARED! The Liberty Bowl didn’t want us!

• I spy a Tiger, Ennis Rakestraw, Jr. here:

• SEC news: Enjoy these two videos of Coach Mike Leach. What a character he was. Rest In Peace, Coach. Here he compares the mascots of the PAC-12. And in this one he is worried about the future generation of his MS State WRs, who may end up with T-Rex arms.

Hoops

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Dickey Nutt, at 63 years old, is proud to be ‘the old man’ on Mizzou basketball staff (Dave Matter)
• Columbia Tribune: Mizzou needs to be ready for the moment to contend in a challenging December (Chris Kwiecinski)
• Columbia Missourian: SEC men’s basketball power rankings: A new No. 1 and where Missouri stands after its first loss (Jaden Lewis)
• Nice words about Mizzou from 2024 target, center John Bol.

• Big congrats to Kimmie on his induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame!

• A fun anomaly for sure…

Other Mizzou Sports

• Former South Carolina player Maddie Gallagher joins MU softball (Kevin Ma, Missourian)
• Marks calendar….

Mizzou in the Pros

** Tune in for the weekly NBA performances/how former players are doing on Friday. **

• Big congrats to Soph on her gig with the other team in The Valley, the Suns! From the press release:

The Phoenix Suns today announced that Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham has joined the Suns broadcast team as a guest analyst for the 2022-23 NBA season. Cunningham will make regular contributions to Suns basketball coverage on the team’s exclusive local television home, Bally Sports Arizona, while preparing for the 2023 WNBA season. She will make her Suns broadcast debut on the Suns Live! pregame show on Saturday, December 17 against the New Orleans Pelicans at 6:30pm MST.

• AND another cool opp for Soph with The Shoot-A-Way:

• MPJ Progress;

• Eye emojis…

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