Tag: Dayton Flyers

LSU baseball adds another power hitter in the transfer portal

Eddie Yamin IV has played catcher before but he spent all of the 2024 season as a first baseman. 

Recently, I mentioned how [autotag]Jared Jones[/autotag] was turning heads with his power during the MLB draft combine. As every day passes, it looks more likely that he will be drafted and won’t be coming back to LSU.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] may have just found a guy who can fill that role at first base. [autotag]Eddie Yamin IV[/autotag] is a 6-foot-5 infielder/catcher from Dayton. He had a phenomenal year for the Dayton Flyers this season as he finished with a .342 batting average in 53 games played. He had 14 doubles, 13 homers, and 54 RBI and he had a .608 slugging percentage. He has played catcher before but he spent all of the 2024 season as a first baseman.

LSU has gone from a team that lost all of their catchers and their first baseman to a team that has two or three different options at each position. Johnson has been on fire in the portal and I don’t think he is stopping anytime soon.

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All-American DaRon Holmes II among third wave of players invited to draft

Former Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II is among the prospects invited to attend the draft at the Barclays Center.

Former Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II is among the prospects invited to attend the 2024 NBA draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Holmes was a consensus second-team All-American last season with the Flyers, averaging 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks in 33 games. He was also named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Joining Holmes in the third group of prospects to be invited to the draft green room on June 26 are Pitt guard Carlton Carrington, Colorado forward Tristan da Silva and Indiana center Kel’el Ware.

Teams with first-round picks each year vote on the players they believe will be drafted early, typically the top 20-25 prospects. Last year, 25 prospects were invited to the green room and only one wasn’t selected in the first round (Rayan Rupert, 43rd overall pick).

The first group of players invited to the green room included French players Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr and Tidjane Salaün; UConn players Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle; G League Ignite players Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland; and Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard.

Included in the second batch of invitations were Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, Serbian guard Nikola Topić, Duke players Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski, Miami forward Kyshawn George, Baylor center Yves Missi and Kansas forward Johnny Furphy.

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All-American DaRon Holmes rumored to have received first-round draft promise

Former Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II is reportedly gaining traction to become a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

Former Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II is reportedly gaining traction to become a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Holmes recently canceled predraft workouts with several teams, creating speculation that he has received a draft promise. He was considered a borderline first-round pick but has apparently improved his stock to be a lock to go in the top 30.

Sources told ESPN Holmes recently canceled several workouts, raising strong suspicions that he has secured a guarantee in the back part of the first round. Coming off a productive career at Dayton in which he made strides as a shooter (38% from 3 last season), Holmes appears to have helped himself in the pre-draft process, moving himself into the first-round picture.

Holmes was a consensus second-team All-American this past season with the Flyers, averaging 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks in 33 games. He was also named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The 6-foot-10 center appears to have had a strong predraft process. It now looks like Holmes will be drafted toward the back of the end of the first round, with teams like Washington, Minnesota, Utah, Denver and Boston positioned in that range.

The 2024 NBA draft will take place June 26-27 in New York City.

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UPDATE: Dayton sharpshooter Koby Brea no longer visiting Duke

Dayton’s Koby Brea no longer plans to visit Duke next week.

After seeing more than nine players leave the program for the portal or professional opportunities since Duke’s season ended, head coach Jon Scheyer has been deliberate in the transfer portal.

However, it seems like Dayton shooter Koby Brea won’t be a part of those plans.

After a Friday report from national insider Jon Rothstein that Brea would visit the Blue Devils from Tuesday to Thursday of next week, The News & Observer’s Stephen Wiseman confirmed Brea would not take a trip to Durham.

Brea averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this past season while shooting an NCAA-best 49.8 percent beyond the arc for a Flyers group that posted a 25-8 record and reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 before ultimately falling to Arizona.

Duke does still have two transfers so far this offseason. Maliq Brown is officially a Blue Devil, and he adds defensive prowess and energy and is an elite finisher at the rim. Purdue transfer Mason Gillis, who also officially joined the program on Friday, is a sharpshooter who can guard multiple positions along the perimeter. He was the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and brings leadership, toughness, and range to hit big shots.

Duke in the running for former Dayton guard Koby Brea

According to a Monday report from On3’s Jamie Shaw, the Blue Devils are one of five contenders for former Dayton guard Koby Brea.

The Blue Devils aren’t done in the transfer portal.

According to a Monday report from On3’s Jamie Shaw, former Dayton guard Koby Brea listed Duke among one of his final five options.

As a junior last season, Brea averaged 11.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-6 New York native shot 49.8% from beyond the arc, by far the best season of his career.

He scored 20 points in two different games last season, first a 22-point night against SMU in November before a 21-point game against Saint Louis in March. He averaged 14.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.

Brea has played in 113 games across the last four seasons, but he’s only started 21 times.

After the commitments of Syracuse forward Maliq Brown and Purdue guard Mason Gillis, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer still has three additional scholarships to dole out in the portal. One of them could be going to the former Flyer.

Brea is also reportedly considering Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, and two-time defending national champion Connecticut.

Ohio State softball gets win over in-state foe Dayton

It was a winning effort for the home opener. #GoBucks

The Ohio State softball team had a midweek contest on Wednesday against in-state foe Dayton, and came away victorious by a 6-2 score in its home opener.

It didn’t take long for the Buckeyes to get on the board. Kami Kortokrax singled home the first run in the bottom of the first inning to give OSU the early 1-0 lead. Ohio State would add two more runs in the bottom of the second inning on a McKenzie Bump RBI single, followed by a two-out single by Jasmyn Burns that brought Bump around to score.

OSU would add three more runs in the bottom of the third inning and that would be more than enough with starting pitcher Allison Smith tossing 3.2 shutout innings on just one hit. She notched her fourth win of the season with the effort that improved Ohio State’s record to 18-10.

Next up, the Bucks will open up Big Ten play when they host the Northwestern Wildcats for a three game series this weekend.

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Instant Analysis: LSU men’s basketball falls to Dayton on last-second heartbreaker in Charleston Classic opener

The Tigers squandered a major opportunity on Thursday evening in Charleston.

LSU’s men’s basketball team looked like it was going to bounce back from the loss to Nicholls in tremendous fashion with a win over Dayton for nearly 40 minutes on Thursday afternoon, but a gutsy comeback and last-second go-ahead three gave the Flyers the 70-67 win in the quarterfinal round of the Charleston Classic.

After a tightly contested first half that saw the Tigers take a 32-30 lead to the locker room, they stretched that lead to as much as 15 with under 10 minutes to play in the game. But Dayton went on a 17-2 run to get back in the game, and Nate Santos’ shot in the final seconds proved to be the game-winner as a Carlos Stewart three fell short at the buzzer.

LSU finished the game shooting above 50% as a team, but it wasn’t as efficient down the stretch and had eight second-half turnovers.

[autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag] was a bright spot, leading the team with 16 points, while [autotag]Tyrell Ward[/autotag] scored 12 and [autotag]Will Baker[/autotag] scored 10. Defensively, LSU held the Flyers under 40% shooting but struggled to contain stars Santos (19 points), Javon Bennett (16) and Koby Brea (13).

It was an excellent opportunity to earn a win over a possible tournament team, but now the 1-2 Tigers will have to look elsewhere to start rebuilding their resume. They will be back in action on Friday morning against North Texas, which lost 53-52 against St. John’s. at 10:30 a.m. CT.

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Ohio State basketball beats Dayton in charity exhibition

We got our first peek at the OSU hoops team during a worthy, charitable game. #GoBucks

Awaken Ohio State basketball fans, it’s almost hoops season on the banks of the Olentangy despite the football team still taking names on the gridiron. In fact, we’ve already seen Big Ten basketball media days. And in a further step toward the start of the season, the men got on the court Sunday for an exhibition charity event on the road against the Dayton Flyers.

It was really the first public look at the team, including a number of newcomers, and on top of that, it was a winning look, with the Buckeyes winning by a score of 78-70.

It wasn’t a true game-type environment, but pretty close. The final score was there to see, but none of the stats in the box score count and players couldn’t foul out in the sold out in the UD Arena.

But back to the game. It was a revealing show for the Buckeyes with another year of plenty of new faces. It was a tight affair pretty much throughout, with OSU holding just a three point lead at halftime, then extending it out late to win fairly comfortably.

All 11 scholarship players that were available played, with Bruce Thorton leading the way with 21 points. Minnesota transfer, Jamison Battle, showed that he’s going to be counted on to score this season with 15 points, and Roddy Gayle also finished in double figures with 12.

The game was held to benefit mental health and dubbed, “Take hope to the hoop,” with the proceeds from the game reportedly raising over $500,000 for mental health initiatives.

Now, that’s a cause worthy of a televised (ESPN+) exhibition if I’ve ever heard of one.

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LSU basketball to open against Dayton in Charleston Classic

The Tigers are returning to the Charleston Classic for the first time since 2011.

The Tigers already knew they were heading to South Carolina from Nov. 16-19 to take part in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, and now they know their bracket, as well.

LSU will open against Dayton on Nov. 16 at TD Arena. Coach Matt McMahon’s team will face off against either St. John’s or North Texas the following day. That opening matchup will be televised on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. CT.

This will be the Tigers’ second all-time trip to the Charleston Classic. They went 2-1 at the event in 2011.

Regardless of the results in the tournament, LSU will face three opponents with Houston, Towson, Utah and Wake Forest rounding out the field. The two unbeaten teams will face off in the championship on Nov. 19.

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Report: DaRon Holmes II declared for the draft ahead of the deadline

Holmes led the A-10 in blocked shots and field-goal percentage and was first in the country in dunks.

Dayton sophomore DaRon Holmes II on Sunday reportedly declared for the 2023 NBA draft while retaining the right to return to school, according to Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win.

Holmes, who was named to the All-Atlantic 10 first team, averaged 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 assists on 59% shooting from the field in 34 games. He led the conference in blocked shots and field-goal percentage and was first in the country in dunks (89).

The 6-foot-10 center is considered a potential second-round pick this year with his ability to score in the paint, rebound and defend at a high level. He also projects to develop into a big man who can space the floor with an improved jump shot.

Holmes declared for the draft just before the early entry deadline on Sunday and will have the opportunity to gain feedback from teams during the pre-draft process. He will likely be among those prospects invited to compete in the draft combine next month in Chicago, Illinois.

He will have until May 31 to withdraw from the draft and return to school.

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