Michael Gainey, who spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach for Apprentice School, was promoted to head coach. He replaces Evan Kee, who became Randolph’s head coach after guiding the Builders to the 2024 U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association championship.
Gainey, from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, graduated from Apprentice in 2018 and played two seasons for the Builders. He is a production planner for Newport News Shipbuilding.
Welcome @CoachMJ_Gainey as the new head men's basketball coach!#GoBuildershttps://t.co/Rs4wjouVGP
— Apprentice Athletics (@GoBuilderSports) May 2, 2024
Crabbers star heading to Elizabeth City State
Guard Malik Johnson, who led Hampton High to a VHSL state championship and was the Class 4 Player of ther Year, announced his commitment to Division II Elizabeth City State on social media. He averaged 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a senior.
Raymond leaving HU for ODU
Former Hampton University player Donovan Raymond, a 6-foot-9 forward from West Charlotte High in North Carolina, will transfer to Old Dominion, according to Verbal Commits. He averaged 4.4 points for the Pirates as a freshman.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
UVA signs former UNC reserve
Virginia recently signed RyLee Grays, a 6-foot-3 forward from Pearland, Texas, who is transferring for North Carolina. She played five games last season for the Tar Heels and has three years of eligibility remaining.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Cavaliers gain commitments from QB, offensive lineman
Virginia gained commitments from quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen of Orlando’s Bishop Moore High and former Dartmouth offensive lineman Ethan Sipe.
Last fall, Jurgensen completed 186 of 277 passes for 2,466 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He rushed for 632 yards and 12 touchdowns. He committed to UVA Tuesday, according to 247 Sports, which said he made visits to Appalachian State, Western Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, Florida Atlantic, James Madison and Liberty.
Jurgensen has a 247Sports grade of 86, which makes him the No. 107 player in Florida and the No. 44 quarterback in the nation.
Sipe, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound graduate transfer from Nashville, Tennessee, with two years of eligibility remaining. He was also offered by Old Dominion, UTEP, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State, according to reporter Jerry Ratliffe.
PRO FOOTBALL
Former Cavalier gets invite to Giants’ minicamp
Receiver Billy Kemp was invited to the New York Giants’ minicamp. The former Highland Springs High star played five years for Virginia and his final college season for Nebraska.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Apprentice falls victim to first-round upset but stays alive in tourney
Eli Lowery pitched a five-hit shutout as Lighthouse Christian (4-27) stunned Apprentice 5-0 in the opening round of the four-team New South Athletic Conference Tournament in Wilson, North Carolina.
The Builders (36-8) bounced back at night in an elimination game, edging Mid-Atlantic Christian 3-2 as infielder Jett Winslow hit a home run in the third inning and drove in a walk-off run in the ninth at Historic Fleming Stadium.
Apprentice will play an elimination game at 4 p.m. Friday against Virginia State, which beat Mid-Atlantic Christian on Thursday but lost 11-9 to Lighthouse on Friday. The victor between the Builders and Trojans will need to beat Lighthouse twice for the championship.
Apprentice’s Ben Jones, a Builders star pitcher from 2003-06, was the conference’s Coach of the Year. Nick Redman was the conference’s Pitcher of the Year. He was joined on the All-NSAC team by six fellow Builders: infielders Nolan Edwards and Camden Weston, pitcher Isaac McAllister, catchers Jeremy Harmon and Caleb Russell and outfielder Nate Yeary.
NSU changes weekend series schedule
Norfolk State altered the schedule for its upcoming homestand against Fairleigh Dickinson due to impending inclement weather in Sunday’s forecast.
The Spartans will no longer play Sunday, instead opening the series with a noon doubleheader Friday. The teams will conclude the series at 3 p.m. Saturday.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Hampton starts final series with loss to Towson
Visiting Towson held off Hampton 6-5 to start the Pirates’ final series of the year. HU is 16-34, 6-19 in the Coastal Athletic Association, and will not qualify for a tournament whose six teams all will have CAA records above .500.
Cara Bohner scored twice and had two hits, and Grace Franczyk hit a two-run double for the Tigers (21-31, 9-16).
Angelina Branch’s two-run double in the fourth and Brooke Williams’ infield single in the first and two-run homer in the fifth provided Hampton’s scoring, but Towson reliever Faith McCullough held the Pirates without a hit or run in the final two innings.
Bryant & Stratton drops tournament opener
Sixth-seeded Richard Bland defeated third-seeded Bryant & Stratton 10-2 in five innings at the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 Division II tourney in Louisburg, North Carolina. The Bobcats dropped to 32-12 and fell into an elimination game at 10 a.m. Friday against fourth-seeded Pitt Community College.
Top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan will play host to Shenandoah in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament at 2 p.m. Friday.
Wednesday night, No. 16 Virginia Tech (39-11-1) won 4-1 at Liberty (31-20) before 1,212 in Lynchburg as winner Emma Lemley (12-5) pitched a six-hitter.
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate Addy Greene clubbed a two-run homer to right-center in the first inning, and Bre Peck hit a two-run homer to center in the fifth. Peck had three of the Hokies’ nine hits.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
Hampton’s Shaw wins high jump at Liberty
Hampton’s Emmani Shaw won the women’s high jump at Wednesday’s Liberty Twilight Qualifier in Lynchburg, clearing 1.76 meters (about 5 feet, 9 inches). Dieusi Armand grabbed second in the triple jump at 12.07 meters (about 39 feet, 7 inches) in HU’s final meet before the Coastal Athletic Association championships May 10-11 at Elon.
Virginia Tech’s Vlad Puchko was named the ACC Men’s Field Performer and Rookie of the Week. The freshman from Belarus won the discus at the Drake Relays with a program-record mark of 61.9 meters. He ranks sixth in the country in the event this season.
UVA’s Gary Martin has earned ACC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors for the second time this season. He helped the Cavaliers finish second in the 4xMile championship and third in the distance medley relay at the Penn Relays.
COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS
Virginia Wesleyan falls in ODAC quarterfinal
Second-seeded Averett shut out seventh-seeded Virginia Wesleyan 5-0 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal. The Marlins finished 8-12, while the Cougars (14-5) advanced to Saturday’s semifinals.
CNU’s Trate honored as Scholar-Athlete of Year
Christopher Newport senior Tessa Trate was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference women’s tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Part of the C2C Doubles Team of the Year alongside Raine Weis, Trate is a psychology major with minors in business administration and leadership studies.
