WRITER: Shane Jackson

Former KU hammer thrower Gleb Dudarev will put his lifelong experience to the test at the Olympics

When former Jayhawk Gleb Dudarev squares off against some of the best hammer throwers in the world in the Olympics, he’ll have a lifetime of experience — and a long family history — backing him up. The 24-year-old thrower, who is representing his home country of Belarus, grew up in a family of throwers. His mother once held a national record in the hammer throw, and his grandmother held one in discus. And ...

Joe Waldron becomes new soccer coach at FSHS ahead of 2021-22 campaign

When Free State's soccer players take the field this school year, they'll be led by a new coach who's had decades of experience leading club, high school and college soccer teams. Earlier this week, Joe Waldron was named the new head coach of the boys and girls soccer programs at FSHS. He comes to Free State after 10 years as an assistant for Mill Valley High School's girls and boys programs, and he was the ...

Longtime assistant Audrey Pope-Trowbridge promoted to head track coach at LHS

When Audrey Pope-Trowbridge was attending Lawrence High about 20 years ago, she wrote down a big goal in her journal: One day, she would become the head coach of the Lions' track and field team. Earlier this week, she finally made that dream a reality. She's stepping up to the program's top job after serving as an assistant for 15 seasons. The head coach spot was left vacant in June when the previous coach, ...

KU volunteer coach Christina Clemons enters her first Olympic Games as fan favorite

Despite being a first-year participant at the Olympics, Christina Clemons is already well known entering the track portion of this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Clemons, a 31-year-old Olympic athlete and volunteer coach for the Kansas track and field program, became a fan favorite by wearing earrings shaped like miniature bags of Cool Ranch Doritos during the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in late June. ...

Kansas center Mike Novitsky named to Rimington Trophy Watchlist

New Kansas football center Mike Novitsky enters the 2021 campaign as one of the top players at his position. Novitsky was named to the Rimington Trophy Watchlist on Friday, the Boomer Esiason Foundation announced. Novitsky, a redshirt junior transfer from Buffalo who arrived in Lawrence this summer, is one of 40 centers nationally to be recognized. He is one of five centers in the Big 12 to make the list along ...

A look at initial projections for loaded KU basketball squad ahead of 2021-22 season

http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2021/feb/02/331970/ A lot can still happen, but the Kansas basketball squad appears to be loaded on paper entering the 2021-22 campaign. So much so that trying to figure out a rotation or projecting out minutes for individual players seem near impossible, especially with KU having double-digit players worthy of seeing the floor. And good luck trying to pinpoint the team’s ...

KU football has lost 2nd-most players in college football to transfer portal

It is no secret that the transfer portal has not been kind to the Kansas football program this past year. But the exact damage wasn’t known until Wednesday. Bill Connelly, who is a writer for ESPN, posted a tweet on Wednesday that listed out the teams who lost the most players via the transfer portal over the last year. By his unofficial count, the Jayhawks have lost 27 players to the transfer portal. Only ...

Quintet of Jayhawks slated to represent KU at upcoming Olympics

Five athletes with ties to the Kansas track and field program are slated to participate in this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, bringing pride to the KU program and head coach Stanley Redwine. “I'm really excited for this moment because it’s just, to me, a result of hard work paying off,” Redwine said during a press conference in late June. “I think it's really good for KU when we have athletes and ...

FSHS boys soccer leans on senior leadership during uncertain offseason

In an offseason of uncertainty, the senior class has become more important than ever for the Free State boys soccer team. And they showed that during the team camp last week, which went Monday through Thursday. FSHS has yet to name its new head coach for the upcoming season, as it looks to replace Hussam Mohammed after he stepped down in the spring. That has made the leadership of the senior class instrumental ...

Kansas football has crazy long odds to win Big 12 conference

Vegas certainly isn’t expecting a miracle in the first year of the Lance Leipold era. With the college football season just around the corner, Superbook recently released conference title odds for those able to place a bet in either Nevada or Colorado. The odds were shared via Twitter on Monday by Brett McMurphy, who is a college football insider for the Stadium Network. Unsurprisingly, the Kansas football ...

Free State football closes out busy summer with strong team camp

Free State’s football players know how to keep the energy and enthusiasm high — even when they’re running the same plays back to back at summer camp. Take Thursday’s session, when starting quarterback Jet Dineen threw two go balls and each one prompted a big celebration — but on opposite sides of the ball. The first time, Dineen threw toward Jerred Willits but was thwarted by cornerback Johnnie ...

Free State's Michael Uhler to continue baseball career at Hutchinson CC

Former Free State pitcher Michael Uhler finally knows where he will continue his baseball career. Uhler announced his commitment to Hutchinson Community College via a tweet from his personal Twitter account on Thursday. “I want to thank all my coaches, trainers, teammates, and family for making me the athlete I am today,” Uhler wrote in the tweet. Uhler had a sensational senior season as the ace for the ...

A look back at how KU receiver Kwamie Lassiter II performed in 2020

Kansas receiver Kwamie Lassiter II will be one of two representatives for the Kansas football program at Big 12 media days this week, and it is hard to think of someone more deserving than Lassiter. Lassiter climbed up the ranks during his career at Kansas, going from walk-on to leading receiver on the team. He hauled in a team-high 43 receptions last season for 458 yards and two touchdowns on his way to ...

A look back at how KU safety Kenny Logan Jr. performed in 2020

As the unquestioned leader of the defense, it makes sense that junior safety Kenny Logan Jr. was picked to be one of the two representatives of the Kansas football team at Big 12 media days this week. Logan emerged as one of the top producers on the team last year, playing in all nine games and leading the Jayhawks in tackles with 58 on the year. He produced 40 solo stops to go along with three pass breakups ...

Jake Schoonover believes KU has 'nice nucleus' on special teams entering 2021 season

Jake Schoonover has only been coaching the special teams since joining the Kansas football staff in February, but he saw enough in the spring to be optimistic about the unit entering the 2021 campaign. It is mostly because of a core group that gives Schoonover plenty of confidence that the Jayhawks will have success in all phases (kick, punt, return and coverage) of special teams play this fall. “I think ...

Kansas football ranks 106th overall in returning production ahead of 2021 campaign

After an offseason that featured plenty of change to the roster and the coaching staff, the Kansas football program will be below the national average in terms of returning production ahead of the 2021 season. Bill Connelly of ESPN released his updated returning production rankings via his personal Twitter account on July 6. The list should provide a better understanding of where all 127 Division I rosters ...

Key returners to represent KU football at Big 12 media days

One player on each side of the ball will represent the Kansas football program at the Big 12’s annual football media days event next week in Arlington, Texas. The conference announced Thursday the representatives for all 10 schools, a list that included wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II and safety Kenny Logan Jr. for KU. They will have the honors of joining head coach Lance Leipold at AT&T Stadium, where ...

LHS senior OL Noah Smith's recruiting process 'reignited' with latest Division I offer

Fresh off a busy June, Lawrence High senior Noah Smith received a scholarship offer from Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday to rejuvenate his recruiting situation. It was the first offer of the summer for Smith, who was contacted by the other schools on his college list this past spring. Smith, a 6-foot-4 and 295 pound offensive lineman, now has offers from South Dakota, Dartmouth, Middle Tennessee State, ...

Kansas basketball has national title odds cut in half at one online sportsbook

In a matter of three months, the Kansas men’s basketball team has catapulted from possible contender to an early favorite entering the 2021-22 campaign. Remy Martin and Ochai Agbaji both announced they were withdrawing from the NBA Draft to return to KU on Tuesday, which meant that this roster finally appears to be set. So it was a good time to view the updated betting odds for the upcoming season. According ...

Eudora juniors earning offers from Division I programs ahead of 2021 campaign

The recruitment process is picking up steam for two standout juniors on Eudora’s football team, one of whom has already received offers from a dozen programs. Both players — Jaden Hamm and Jaiden Bender — have gotten offers from Kansas and K-State. And Hamm has collected ten more offers: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Penn State and TCU. ...