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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University's football team will be looking to use the MIAA preseason polls as motivation after being picked No. 9 in both the coaches and preseason media polls that were released Monday by the conference office at the MIAA Football Media Day hosted Emporia State.

Washburn senior safety Jordan Finnesy, first-year head coach Zach Watkins and junior offensive lineman Jakobe Harmon addressed the MIAA media Monday at Emporia State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Ichabods, coming off a 3-8 season (2-7 in the MIAA) will open the 2025 season under first-year head coach Zach Watkins on Aug. 30, hosting former MIAA foe Truman State in Yager Stadium (1 p.m.). The Ichabods will open conference play on Sept. 6 at home against Northwest Missouri (1 p.m.).

The Ichabods were 2-5 in games decided by less than 10 points last season.

"(The polls) are based off of last year and nobody knows what each team is doing behind the scenes,'' Watkins said. "It's a good talking point that I will address with our team and let them know that it doesn't matter what that says.

"All that matters is if you execute and if we play well on Saturdays.''

The Ichabods were 2-5 in games decided by less than 10 points last season

The Ichabods are slated to have six starters returning on offense and eight on defense as well as three on special teams for the upcoming season.

Watkins was named the 38th head coach in program history on Nov. 26, 2024 becoming the first Ichabod alumnus to fill the top spot on the Ichabod sidelines in more than 30 years after spending the previous 11 seasons as the co-defensive coordinator on the Ichabod coaching staff.

Defending conference champion Central Oklahoma, 12-2 overall and 8-1 in the MIAA, was tapped as the preseason favorite in the coaches' poll, receiving seven of 10 first-place votes, while Pittsburg State (8-3, 7-2) topped the media poll.

Emporia State (7-4, 5-4) was picked fifth in the MIAA coaches poll and sixth in the media poll. The Hornets will open their season on Aug. 28 at Welch Stadium against non-conference foe Minot State (7 p.m.).

2025 MIAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Central Oklahoma [7] – 78 points
2. Pittsburg State [3] – 75 points
3. Fort Hays State – 62 points
4. Central Missouri – 57 points
5. Emporia State – 50 points
6. Northwest Missouri – 41 points
7. Missouri Western – 29 points
8. Nebraska Kearney – 28 points
9. Washburn – 21 points
10. Missouri Southern – 9 points
[#] - Number of First Place Votes
 
2025 MIAA FOOTBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. Pittsburg State [13] – 310 points
2. Central Oklahoma [18] – 307 points
3. Fort Hays State [2] – 271 points
4. Central Missouri [1] – 239 points
5. Northwest Missouri – 215 points
6. Emporia State – 167 points
7. Nebraska Kearney – 120 points
8. Missouri Western – 107 points
9. Washburn – 88 points
10. Missouri Southern – 46 points
[#] - Number of First Place Votes
 
 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Former Washburn Rural star Brooklyn DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, scored eight points on seven kills and a block Sunday in San Jose, Costa Rica as the U.S. Women's U21 National Team completed its undefeated run to the gold medal in the NORCECA Women’s Pan American Cup with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-13 win over Chile.

Former Washburn Rural star Brooklyn DeLeye (7) helped lead the U.S. U21 team to the Pan Am Cup championship Sunday in Costa Rica. [Photo by NORCECA] 

The U.S. finished the tournament without losing a set in its five matches and won its third straight Pan Am title after winning in 2022 and 2023.

The U.S. finished with large margins in kills (42-15), blocks (10-2) and aces (8-2) in the title match.

The U.S. hit .516 for the match with 42 kills and just nine hitting errors in 64 attacks, while limiting Chile to a .000 hitting percentage on the same number of attacks.

In Set 1 DeLeye led all players with five points on four kills and a block and had back-to-back kills in the second set to put the U.S. in front 8-3.

 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

It may seem remarkable that a kid who grew up in Gove, Kansas would eventually play Major League Baseball. But according to Bobby Randall, it’s not quite as unlikely as it seems today.

Former Major Leaguer and Division I coach Bobby Randall will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday at Washburn University. [Submitted photo/Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]

When Randall was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966, he wasn’t unique.

“It was a time when small towns played baseball,” Randall said. “We played baseball fall and spring, didn’t have football. So, all those little towns played baseball, while a lot of the big schools didn’t have school baseball.

“The year that I was drafted, Ron Schueler, from a town called Catherine, over by Hays, was drafted. And Bill Russell from Pittsburg was drafted. All three of us small town Kansas kids were drafted that same year.”

Randall eventually reached the major leagues, became a Division I head coach, and is now a Kansas Sports Hall of Famer. With nine other inductees, he will be enshrined in a ceremony at Washburn University on Aug. 2.

Growing up in Gove wasn’t the obstacle it might seem. It was, in fact, a great place to grow up, Randall said.

“In Gove, they would turn the lights on at the baseball field and the whole town would come and sit in their cars around the fence and watch the game,” Randall recalled. “If you got a basehit, they would honk. It was like having 40,000 people at Yankee Stadium. That’s what it felt like to us.

“Baseball was an important part of the culture. It’s changed now. There is no small-town baseball anymore. That is sad.”

Randall said baseball games – pickup or organized – were rare in Gove. He said he never played more than 25 games in a season. Most of his training came from playing catch with his father or throwing the ball against the garage.

“I had no idea (the Dodgers) were going to draft me. I didn’t know anybody had been watching me,” Randall said. “If you’ve got talent, they will find you. There’s umpires, other coaches, people spread the word. Those scouts have their ear to the ground and it’s rare that a stone gets unturned.”

Randall turned down the Dodgers to attend Kansas State.

“I didn’t think I was ready to play professional baseball coming from a town of 300 people. I’d never played on a grass infield,” Randall said. “I just thought ‘I need to go to college.’ I didn’t have any dreams of playing in the major leagues. I wanted to play professionally just because I wanted to keep playing baseball. But I knew that going to college was the wise thing for me to do.

“I was not offered much of a bonus, so it was easy to turn that down. I had a partial scholarship to K-State. I figured, if I’m any good, I can go there and get better, then sign out of college.”

Randall didn’t get much of an opportunity at K-State until his junior season. He made the most of it, batting .390 and earning All-Big Eight honors.

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