Sports briefs
W&J’s Litman, Mountain earn honors
Washington & Jefferson junior Henry Litman was named Mideast Region Pitcher of the Year and 19th-year Presidents head coach Jeff Mountain earned Mideast Region Coach of the Year honors from D3baseball.com, the organization announced Tuesday morning.
Following an outstanding 37-3 campaign, the Washington & Jefferson baseball team was well-represented with five honorees on the D3baseball.com All-Mideast Region Teams. The five honorees matches Marietta for the most in the region.
Litman was joined by sophomore utilityman Tyler Horvat on the first team. Senior outfielder Adam Morris and senior relief pitcher Michael gained second team recognition. Senior starting pitcher Nick Dr4ake, a Canon-McMillan graduate, was listed on the third team.
A two-time ABCA Regional Coach of the Year, Mountain earned his first Mideast Region Coach of the Year honor from D3baseball.com. Mountain guided the Presidents to 37 wins and a Division III best .925 winning percentage in 2021. Last month, Mountain was named PAC Coach of the Year for a ninth time.
Litman is W&J’s first D3baseball.com Mideast Region Pitcher of the Year since Eddie Nogay earned the honor in 2013.
Litman finished 2021 with a 9-0 record (11 starts) and a 1.49 ERA over 72.2 innings. He struck out 63 and walked just nine. He allowed just seven extra base hits and limited the opposition to a .200 batting average.
Sherman returning to WVU basketball
Guard Taz Sherman will return to West Virginia’s basketball team for his fifth season, the school announced Tuesday.
Sherman had declared for the NBA draft process after the Mountaineers lost to Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in March to finish the season 19-10. Sunday was the deadline for an early-entry player to apply for this year’s NBA Draft.
Sherman was third in team scoring at 13.4 points per game.
“Taz is a leader on and off the court, and he will provide us with veteran leadership this season,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said in a statement.
Top defender Gabe Osabuohien also is returning, taking advantage of an NCAA ruling that gives athletes an extra year of eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WVU guards Sean McNeil and Miles McBride also previously declared for the draft process. Early-entry players have until July 19 to withdraw from the draft, which is July 29.
Edmonton CFL team changes nickname
The Edmonton CFL franchise has changed its team name to Elks.
Edmonton dropped its longtime name, Eskimos, last year following a similar decision by the NFL’s Washington team amid pressure on franchises to eliminate racist or stereotypical names.
It had been called the Edmonton Football Team up until the announcement, but its logo continued to feature two Es.
Elks was one of seven potential name changes the Edmonton Football Team provided on its shortlist. The others included: Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements.