Badgers guard wins another Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Thrice as nice for Blackwell

The Badgers men’s basketball team took down Indiana 91-79 on Friday and Max Klesmit stole all the headlines, but freshman guard John Blackwell was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.

Blackwell has now earned the conference honors three times this season, becoming the first Wisconsin freshman to do so since Ethan Happ in 2015-2016.

He played 43 minutes between the team’s loss to Penn State on Tuesday and their win over the Hoosiers on Friday, averaging 13.0 points and 3.0 rebounds over the two contests.

Blackwell will look to continue his strong play when the Badgers return to the court Tuesday, facing Minnesota on the road at 6PM.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Wisconsin guard wins Freshman of the Week

Another Badger wins freshman of the week

Wisconsin women’s basketball guard D’Yanis Jimenez was selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.

The Badgers defeated St. Thomas on Wednesday night 78-55 and Jimenez had a career-high 20 points (7-13 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 5-5 FT) while also recording three steals, a rebound, an assist and a block over 29 minutes.

On the season, the Florida-native is averaging 10.7 points per game in her first year with Marisa Moseley’s squad in Madison and the team is out to a 6-4 start to the 2023 campaign.

Wisconsin’s next contest will come Thursday night at the Kohl Center, hosting Eastern Illinois at 6:30. Jimenez will look to build off of her career night when her squad takes on the Panthers.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Wisconsin guard selected as Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Blackwell snags conference award after performance in Florida

The Badgers men’s basketball team defeated Western Illinois 71-49 on Monday night, but before that, freshman guard John Blackwell was announced as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.

Wisconsin won the Fort Myers Tip-Off last week, beating both #24 Virginia and SMU on their way to the title. Blackwell was an integral part of the team’s success, averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds over the two contests.

With his selection as the conference’s top freshman last week, Blackwell became the first Badger to be chosen for the award since Chucky Hepburn in December 2021.

In Monday’s win over the Leathernecks, Blackwell was able to pitch in five points, only his second contest this year not in double-digits.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzzyj3n3jt6m7 player_id=none image=]

Will Nolan named SEC Freshman of the Week

More SEC honors for Auburn athletes.

Auburnโ€™s Will Nolan was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after a win at Georgia Tech.

Nolan, who is from Derbyshire, England, beat Georgia Techโ€™s Angel Guerrero 6-4 and 6-1 to clinch Auburnโ€™s first road win of the season. He is now 5-0 in singles and has not lost a single set. He is also 2-0 in doubles.

โ€œWill has been an unbelievable addition to our team this year,โ€ head coach Bobby Reynolds said. โ€œHis carefree but intense on-court personality has given him confidence to anchor this team at No. 6. He battled through adversity this past week with an illness that kept him from practicing, but he assured the coaches he was ready to battle vs. Georgia Tech.

โ€œHeโ€™s a player who wants the match to come down to his court and thrives in big moments and in the spotlight.โ€

With the win, Auburn improved to 5-0 on the season and is now ranked No. 24 in the Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25 and No. 24 in the ITA rankings. Itโ€™s the first time the Tigers have been ranked since 2013.

Auburn has two home matches this weekened. They will face South Alabama Friday at 2 p.m. and Tulane on Sunday at noon. Entry is free and free pizza is being given away.

Auburn Gymnastics: Suni Lee, Sophia Groth earn SEC Honorsย 

Auburn gymnasts honored by the SEC in their weekly honors

Following a record-tying performance at LSU, Auburn freshman gymnasts Suni Lee and Sophia Groth were honored by the SEC on Tuesday.

Lee was named the SEC Gymnast of the Week, and Groth the Freshman of the Week. They helped lead Auburn to a record-tying score of 197.750.

Lee had one of the best performances in Auburn history, winning her second-straight all-around title with a score of 39.825. The score was the highest in program history and tied for the highest score in the country this season.

Her performance was highlighted by a perfect 10 on bars, Auburn’s first 10 since 2014. She also set career highs on beam (9.975), floor (9.95), and vault (9.9).

Goth was named the Freshman of the Week for the second time this season after setting career highs on beam (9.95), vault (9.9), and floor (9.9).

No. 7 Auburn will host No. 9 Missouri in Auburn Arena Friday night. The meet is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. CT and will be on the SEC Network.

Jabari Smith, Walker Kessler earn SEC Honors

Love this team.

To cap off a historic week for Auburn basketball, Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith Jr. have earned weekly honors from the SEC.

Kessler was named the SEC player of the week after a dominant two-game stretch against Georgia and Kentucky. The sophomore center averaged 17 points, 6.5 rebounds and four blocks last week. He blocked six shots against Georgia and scored a game-high 19 points in Auburn’s win over Kentucky.

Smith was named SEC freshman of the week for the fourth time this season. Smith, Auburnโ€™s leading scorer and star freshman, averaged 13 points and seven rebounds in the two games.

Despite his age, Smith continues to come through when Auburn needs him most, constantly stopping opposing runs with clutch baskets.

Auburn, ranked No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in program history, will return to the court Tuesday at Missouri.

Texas WR Xavier Worthy is 247Sports’ True Freshman of the Week

Well deserved!

One of the biggest recruiting wins for Steve Sarkisian throughout his brief stint at Texas thus far was bringing in Michigan signee Xavier Worthy. Continue reading “Texas WR Xavier Worthy is 247Sports’ True Freshman of the Week”

Women’s Basketball: Celeste Taylor earns Big 12 Weekly Honors

Texas freshman guard Celeste Taylor had a huge week in helping lead the women’s team to back-to-back wins. She picked up two Big 12 honors.

The Texas women’s team has found themselves on a bit of a hot streak, after dropping three of their last four games the Longhorns have won two-straight. Part of the spark came from freshman guard Celeste Taylor. She recorded her first career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the number 25 team TCU. Taylor followed up that game with a career-high 27 points against the Oklahoma Sooners.

For her efforts in the two wins, Taylor picked up both the Big 12 Freshman of the Week and Co-Player of the Week. She shares the player of the week honors with Baylor’s senior forward Lauren Cox. The two players will be on the floor together this Thursday in the final road matchup of the regular season for Texas.

Taylor will look to keep her hot streak going as the women try to upset the number two ranked Baylor Bears.