FHSU Athletics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former FHSU men’s basketball standout Dominique Jones was selected by the USA Basketball 3×3 National Team Selection Committee to represent the United States in the upcoming 2019 Pan American Games in July, located in Lima, Peru. An NABC Division II All-America selection as a senior for FHSU in 2011, Jones is now one of the top FIBA 3×3 players in the world.

Jones is a member of the four-player men’s team for USA that includes Kareem Maddox, a former standout player at Princeton University and recent gold medal member of Team USA at the 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, and NBA G-League members Sheldon Jeter and Jon Octeus. Jeter played at both Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh in his collegiate days, while Octeus played at both Colorado State University and Purdue University. The women’s 3×3 team includes Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams from the University of Connecticut and Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard from the University of Oregon.

Jones has enjoyed a tremendous professional career on the FIBA 3×3 World Tour. He is currently holds a No. 2 national ranking in the FIBA points system for players from the United States on the World Tour, and sits among the top 30 players in the world. Jones has helped his 3×3 team from New York/Harlem to several team titles in FIBA World Tour tournaments over the past few years. His NY Harlem team won the 2019 OPAP Limassol Challenger in Cyprus earlier this month and was a member of tournament champion teams in 2018 at the Edmonton Challenger in Canada and the 3BALL USA Showcase in California. He was a member of nine tournament winning teams on the World Tour from 2014-2017.

Jones was a two-year standout player at Fort Hays State, helping the Tigers to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009-10 and 2010-11 as the team’s point guard. He nearly scored 1,000 points in his two years, finishing with 983. He also averaged 5.1 assists per game in his career, good for fifth-best in program history with a total of 324. Tiger fans also remember him for his unique one-handed free-throw shooting style, as he shot 80 percent at the line in his career at FHSU. He shot 40.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line, draining 132 shots from long range.

Jones was an NABC All-America selection as a senior in 2010-11 with 592 points and 207 assists for the season (17.9 ppg, 6.3 apg). He was a two-time All-MIAA First Team selection and helped guide the Tigers to an MIAA Tournament Championship in 2011. He helped the team to a record of 49-14 over the two years, reaching No. 3 in the NABC national rankings both seasons. He is one of four players to earn All-America honors under current FHSU head coach Mark Johnson. Prior to his time at FHSU, Jones was a two-time all-region performer at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, a member of the NJCAA.

Following his time at FHSU, Jones went on to play professional basketball in Europe before returning to the United States. He enjoyed a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters in the summer of 2015 before turning his focus to traveling the world playing in FIBA 3×3 World Tour events. See some of Jones’ highlights on the FIBA World Tour below.

Pan American Games Tournament Schedule – PDF of Schedule
The USA men begin play on July 27, facing Venezuela at 4 pm and Brazil at 8 pm. On July 28, the U.S. men complete preliminary round play against Puerto Rico at 3 pm, Argentina at 6 pm, and Dominican Republic at 9:30 pm.

The first men’s semifinal on July 29 will feature the No. 1 and No. 4 placed teams at 10 am, and the second semifinal will include the No. 2 and No. 3 finishing teams at 10:30 am. The bronze medal game is set for 12:30 pm, and the gold medal game will be at 1:30 pm. The No. 5 and No. 6 men’s teams will play for fifth place at 11:30 am on July 29. All times listed are Central Time.

This year is the first time 3×3 basketball will be included at the Pan American Games, and the men’s and women’s tournaments will feature six teams each from July 27-29 at the Coliseo Eduardo Dibo in Lima, Peru. Similar to the Pan American Games, 3×3 basketball will make its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

3×3 basketball is played on a half court with a 10-minute clock, and a 12-second shot clock, the first team to 21 points, or the team in the lead at the end of regulation.

FHSU University Relations

Fort Hays State junior Brandon Ball was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team for At-Large Sports as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Earning Second Team honors, Ball is one of just 45 student-athletes nationally in NCAA Division II recognized on the At-Large Team, chosen from several sports that are part of the at-large category. Men’s sports included in the at-large category include wrestling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and water polo.

Ball is a Technology Studies major at Fort Hays State. He carries a 3.80 cumulative GPA (3.77 at the time of the nomination as noted below). CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America programs are voted on based off both a student-athlete’s athletic and academic accomplishments.

Recently, Ball was a men’s finalist for the MIAA Ken B. Jones Award. The annual award recognizes the conference’s male and female student-athletes of the year, combining athletic and academic accomplishments along with campus/community service.

Ball is one of the top wrestlers in NCAA Division II. He held the No. 1 ranking at 141 pounds from February 4 all the way through to the NCAA Championships at the end of the 2018-19 season. He entered the NCAA Championships undefeated at 24-0 and won his first three matches before dropping an overtime decision in the semifinals. He went on to earn All-America honors with a fourth-place finish, completing the year at 28-2 overall. In the process, Ball ran his career record at FHSU to 114-21. Ball is a two-time All-America performer for FHSU and a three-time national qualifier. He finished sixth in the nation at 141 pounds in 2017.

Though this award is for Ball’s accomplishments as a member of the wrestling team, he also competes as a pole vaulter for the FHSU Track and Field team. His top mark this season was 14-feet, 11.5 inches.

This is Ball’s first Academic All-America honor from CoSIDA. He is also a three-time member of the NWCA Division II All-Academic Team. Ball is the 49th CoSIDA Academic All-America selection in FHSU history and joins Connor Shedeed of football as Fort Hays State’s two Academic All-America selections by CoSIDA in 2018-19. He is the first Tiger wrestler to receive the honor since Jon Inman in 2016.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State University’s women’s basketball team announced the addition of Cassidy Haufler for the upcoming 2019-20 season. A 6-foot, 1-inch post player, Haufler is a sophomore transfer from Cloud County Community College where she played one year and earned All-KJCCC East Division Honorable Mention honors.

Haufler finished the 2018-19 season at Cloud County averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. She averaged 12.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Haufler pulled down 314 rebounds in 31 games for the Thunderbirds, ranking second in the KJCCC for rebounding. She ranked 15th in the conference in scoring and scored in double figures 22 times with a season high of 23 points. She reached double figures in rebounds in 15 games with a season high of 21. Haufler posted 13 double-doubles on the season.

Prior to college, Haufler was a standout athlete at Centralia High School in both basketball and volleyball. She was a three-time all-state selection in both sports and named the 1A Division I Player of the Year in volleyball by the Kansas Volleyball Association as a senior. She helped Centralia to three state championships in volleyball and one in basketball during her prep career.

Fort Hays State has added four players for the upcoming season. Below is the list of additions.

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State landed 74 student-athletes on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for the spring sports season of 2019, announced by the conference office Friday. All seven of Fort Hays State’s spring sports are represented, which includes baseball, softball, women’s tennis, women’s and men’s golf, and women’s and men’s outdoor track and field. Five of the individuals earned special recognition with four receiving the Scholar-Athlete Award and one receiving the Academic Excellence Award.

Included in this release of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll are 20 student-athletes from men’s track and field, 16 from women’s track and field, nine from baseball, nine from softball, eight from men’s golf, seven from women’s tennis, and five from women’s golf.

Individuals earning the Scholar-Athlete Award include Sara Breckbill and Terran Caldwell from softball, Lauren Lindell from women’s tennis, and Layton Werth from men’s track and field.

Mark Faber of men’s track and field was the only athlete to receive the Academic Excellence Award for his perfect 4.0 GPA.

To be recognized on the Academic Honor Roll, one must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.00 at the certifying member institution. The individual must also have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. Transfers and true freshman from all sports at FHSU will be recognized in an upcoming release.

To earn the Scholar-Athlete Award, an individual must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 3.50 at the certifying member institution. They must also have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. If competing in a championship sport of the MIAA, the student-athlete must earn All-MIAA honors.

An MIAA Academic Excellence Award recipient must have a grade point average used by the institution for purposes of NCAA academic certification of 4.00 at the certifying member institution. The honoree also must have at least two terms of attendance at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms.

Over 880 student-athletes across spring sports conference wide received recognition on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.

The complete list of Fort Hays State Spring MIAA Academic Honor Roll recipients can be seen HERE.

FHSU Athletics

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Five Tigers have been selected to compete in the 2019 edition of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event will be hosted in Kingsville, Texas from May 23-25. For FHSU, four men and one woman earned the right to compete in the meet.

Alexcia Deutscher qualified in the javelin after throwing her best of 160 feet, 2 inches to sit her at No. 7 on the national performance list. Last season, Deutscher finished eight at nationals in her event when she recorded her top throw of 145 feet 4 inches.

Brett Meyer earns his qualification after hitting an automatic mark in the 1,500-meters with a time of 3:44.18. This time puts Meyer had No. 4 on the performance list. Last season, Meyer earned his fourth All-American trophy in two years after placing fourth in the event with a time of 3:46.43.

Philip Landrum qualified in the 200-meters following his time of 21.07 to put him at No. 24 on the national performance list. Kolt Newell will be heading to Kingsville to compete in the high jump where he turned in a qualifying mark of 6 feet, 11 inches to put him at No. 14 on the national performance list. The final Tiger to head to nationals is Ryan Stanley who will attempt to earn a title in the pole vault following his best height of 16 feet, 9 ¼ inches and a No. 10 placement on the national performance list.

Below is the schedule for the Tigers at the 2019 National Championships

Thursday, May 23
Men’s pole vault finals (Stanley) – 2:30 pm CT
Men’s 1,500-meter prelims (Meyer) – 6:10 pm CT

Friday, May 24
Men’s 200-meter prelims (Landrum) – 5:50 pm CT

Saturday, May 25
Women’s javelin throw finals (Deutscher) – 11:30 am CT
Men’s high jump finals (Newell) – 5:30 pm CT
Men’s 1,500-meters finals (Meyer) 5:45 pm CT

FHSU Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State junior wrestler Brandon Ball has been selected as a finalist for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association’s Ken B. Jones Award, announced Tuesday (May 21) by the league office. The annual award recognizes the conference’s male and female student-athletes of the year.

The winners will be announced at the 2018-19 MIAA Awards Celebrations presented by Husch Blackwell on Monday, June 3 at the Truman Forum Auditorium in the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch.

A 15-member panel of athletics directors, senior woman administrators, faculty athletics representatives and sports information directors – including a representative from each member institution – select the finalists. Each nominee is judged in three areas – 2018-19 athletic accomplishments, career academic accomplishments and 2018-19 campus/community service.

Ball, a native of Great Bend, Kan., is the only junior among this year’s five male finalists. He will be joined in Kansas City by Emporia State’s Landon Nault (football), Lincoln’s Grant Olsson (basketball), Nebraska-Kearney’s Jacob Bartling (track & field) and Pittsburg State’s Levi Wyrick (football and track & field).

Ball was one of the top wrestlers in NCAA Division II this season, holding the No. 1 ranking at 141 pounds from February 4 all the way through the NCAA Championships. He entered the national championships with an unblemished 24-0 record and won his first three matches before dropping an overtime decision in the national semifinals. He battled back to earn his second All-America honor with a fourth-place finish, concluding the season 28-2 overall.

Ball was the champion of the 141 pound weight class at the NCAA Super Region IV Championships, the Bethany Swede Open and the Bob Smith Open as well as earning the 2018-19 MIAA Dual Meet Championship at 141 pounds. He pushed his career record to 114-21, good for a .844 winning percentage.

Ball maintains a 3.80 cumulative GPA as a technology studies major and was recently named a CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree, making him one of 85 nominees for Academic All-America honors from the NCAA Division II sports of wrestling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and water polo. He is also a three-time member of the NWCA Division II All-Academic Team, a three-time recipient of the MIAA Scholar-Athlete Award, a four-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a four-time recipient of the FHSU Athletic Department Academic Excellence Award.

Off the mat and outside the classroom, Ball donated his time to help with multiple events and organizations. He helped behind the scenes with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure as well as the SAAC dodgeball tournament. Ball volunteered his time to help coach wrestling at Hoisington High School and the Hoisington Kids Club while also serving in his church youth group.

The female nominee from Fort Hays State was senior basketball player Tatyana Legette. Legette wrapped up her senior season with multiple All-America honors while being named MIAA Player of the Year. The Topeka, Kan. native holds a 3.39 GPA as a Health and Human Performance major while donating her time to numerous charitable organizations around town.

FHSU Athletics

Brandon Ball of Fort Hays State Wrestling was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for At-Large Sports on Thursday (May 16). Ball is one of just 11 student-athletes on the District 7 Team chosen from several sports that are part of the at-large category. Men’s sports included in the at-large category include wrestling, fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and water polo.

Ball is a Technology Studies major at Fort Hays State. He carries a 3.77 cumulative GPA. The CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America programs are voted on based off both a student-athlete’s academic and athletic accomplishments.

Ball is one of the top wrestlers in NCAA Division II. He held the No. 1 ranking at 141 pounds from February 4 all the way through to the NCAA Championships at the end of the 2018-19 season. Ball entered the NCAA Championships undefeated at 24-0 and won his first three matches before dropping an overtime decision in the semifinals. He went on to earn All-America honors with a fourth-place finish, completing the year at 28-2 overall. In the process, Ball ran his career record at FHSU to 114-21.

Ball is a three-time member of the NWCA Division II All-Academic Team and a two-time All-America performer on the mat.