SPORTS ROUNDUP

Alstrup named head volleyball coach

Ijeoma “IJ” (Moronu ’12) Alstrup, one of the greatest volleyball players in Abilene Christian history, was named the Wildcats’ head coach on July 5, 2023. She was a 2022 inductee to the ACU Sports Hall of Fame.

Alstrup has been playing and coaching professionally in Europe since 2011 – including teams in Denmark, Cyprus, Austria, Iceland and Sweden – except for 2012-15, when she was an assistant coach at ACU.

She was named head coach in 2019 for Farum Holte Volley in Copenhagen, Denmark, before becoming the co-head coach at Gentofte (Denmark) Volley. Teams she coached won two bronze medals in league play and a Danish U21 Championship in 2022.

The head coaching position at her alma mater opened June 9 when Alisa Blair resigned after one season to take an assistant coaching position at Texas Tech University.

“This is truly a dream come true for me,” said Alstrup. “ACU made such a big impact on my life, and to be able to give back to the university and program that gave so much to me is a privilege. I wouldn’t be who I am without those relationships. I’m excited to bring some consistency to the program and rebuild something excellent.”

She is still second in career assists at ACU (4,813 from 2007-10) and 10th in blocks (300) after serving as a standout setter on teams that were 97-35 in her four seasons and advanced in 2010 to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.

Alstrup was twice named first-team All-Lone Star Conference and LSC MVP in 2010. 

Men’s Basketball

• Senior guards Damien Daniels and Tobias Cameron, who each played five seasons because of the pandemic, finished their careers in 2022-23 as the winningest players in school history. They were part of teams that were 109-51 since 2018-19, with Daniels setting a program record for most games played (160). He became ACU’s career steals leader with 227.

• Daniels and Cameron were also key contributors to teams that won Southland Conference and WAC tournament titles and earned berths to March Madness. They were also on the floor when ACU beat Texas, 53-52, in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament to earn a spot in the second round with UCLA.

• ACU will open its 2023-24 season Nov. 17-20 in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament with Norfolk State, Fordham, San Jose State, Hampton, Kent State, Missouri State and Florida Gulf Coast. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Women’s Basketball

• Senior forward Maleeah Langstaff – who transferred to ACU from Northeastern State (Oklahoma) for her final season of eligibility –made her only Wildcat season memorable. She averaged a team-high 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and was voted first-team All-WAC and to the WAC All-Newcomer Team.

• Sophomore guard Aspen Thornton – who transferred to ACU after leading NCAA Division II in scoring at Ouachita Baptist in 2021-22 – averaged 12.1 points per game and was voted to the WAC AllNewcomer Team.

• Senior guard Madi Miller completed her career with a program-record 147 games played since 2018-19. She also scored 1,148 points, one of the best totals in ACU’s NCAA Division I history.

Women’s Soccer

• After ACU finished 4-10-4 overall and 0-8-3 in the WAC, vice president for athletics Zack Lassiter announced that veteran head coach Casey Wilson (’99) would not return for a 17th year. The founding head coach of ACU women’s soccer in 2007, he had a career record of 167-117-29. Wilson led the Wildcats to three NCAA Championship appearances, one league title (2011 in the Lone Star Conference), and two conference tournament titles (2010 in the Lone Star and 2018 in the Southland). In 2018, Wilson became the first coach in Wildcat history to take a team to an NCAA Division I national tournament.

• On Dec. 20, 2022, Lassiter announced that Stephen Salas had been hired to replace Wilson as the head coach. Salas was the Wildcats’ assistant coach from 2013-18, when they won the Southland title and earned a berth in the NCAA Division I national tournament. He coached

Nunez named WAC Coach of the Year

Juan Nunez (’09) was named 2023 Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year by the Western Athletic Conference. A season after his team won ACU’s first WAC title, Nunez had his Wildcats back in the league’s championship match this spring against Texas-Arlington. ACU finished 12-5 overall and second in the WAC with a 4-1 record.

WAC, ASUN form football conference

This fall, Abilene Christian joins the United Athletic Conference, a new football-only alignment with eight other members from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and Atlantic the past four seasons at both the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Hardin-Simmons University.

Sun Conference (ASUN): ACU, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton and Utah Tech.

The conference will officially add the Texas Rio Grande Valley in Fall 2025 when it begins sponsorship of football.

Each team will play six conference games in 2023 and eight league contests in 2024. ACU’s six league games in 2023 are with Central Arkansas, North Alabama, Stephen F. Austin, Southern Utah, Utah Tech and Tarleton.

The WAC-ASUN merger became necessary when each league lost one team to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) when Sam Houston of the WAC and Jacksonville State of the ASUN joined Conference USA for the 2023 football season.

The WAC moved its offices in July 2023, to Arlington, Texas. It was headquartered in the Denver area since the conference’s inception in 1962 until 2022, with a two-year stay in Phoenix from 1964-66.

Volleyball

• The Wildcats wrapped up their only season under head coach Alisa Blair at 7-19 overall and 4-10 in the WAC, but hopes are high for the future because of the play of several talented players returning for the 2023 season.

• Sophomore outside hitter Bryley Steinhilber and freshman outside hitter Ashli Edmiston led the team in kills with 263 and 255, respectively, while Edmiston had a team-best 255 digs. Sophomore setter Madeline Guffey led the team with 511 assists and was second in digs with 240. Junior middle blocker Braden Bossier recorded 85 total blocks. Edmiston – a 5-8 outside hitter from Wilsonville, Oregon – was voted to the WAC All-Freshman Team.

Cross Country

• Irene Rono completed the cross country portion of her distinguished career with a 110th-place showing at the NCAA Championships, finishing the Oklahoma State 6K course in 20:41.9. She qualified for her third consecutive NCAA appearance after placing fifth at South Central Regionals (20:30.0) and leading Wildcats to a sixth-place finish at the WAC Championships, running a 6K time of 20:20.2.

• Levi Chambers was the Wildcat men’s cross country leader much of the season, and set personal records in the 8K (24:01.2) and 10K (31:38.3) at the WAC Championships and NCAA Regionals.

Baseball

• The Wildcats posted their third straight 30-win season in 2023 and once again made a deep run in the WAC Postseason Tournament in late May in Mesa, Arizona, falling to Sam Houston in the consolation semifinals.

• Senior outfielder Grayson Tatrow was voted the WAC Player of the Year after hitting a school record 25 home runs in 2023 and driving in 68 RBI. Named third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Tatrow finished his career with an ACU record 52 home runs.

• Junior outfielder Logan Britt – who transferred to ACU from Texas A&M – was voted to the WAC All-Defensive Team and hit .354 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI, while stealing 34 bases to set an ACU single-season record.

• In July, three current Wildcats were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft: junior pitcher Riley Bauman (13th round by Los Angeles Angels), junior pitcher Tyler Morgan (14th round by San Diego Padres) and Britt (17th round by Los Angeles Angels). After the draft, senior pitcher Breck Eichelberger signed a free-agent contract with San Diego.

• The Wildcats were 5-5 in 10 games against Power 5 opponents, including 2-0 against Baylor and a 5-4 walk-off win against defending national runner-up Oklahoma on Feb. 22 at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Wildcats also played two teams that went to the College World Series, beating Oral Roberts, 10-8, in Abilene and dropping two games to TCU.

Golf

• The Wildcats capped their Spring 2023 season at the WAC Championships at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City, Nevada, with an eighth-place finish. The Wildcats shot rounds of 289-282-285 for a total of eight-under-par 856. Grand Canyon captured the team championship at 34-under-par 830.

• Junior Zane Heusel was the Wildcats’ top finisher at the WAC Championships as he fired rounds of 72-66-73 for a five-under-par 211. His second-round 66 was the third-best round of the tournament.

• Head coach Tom Shaw – who begins his 10th season in 2023-24 – was nominated in June 2023 for The Leadership Playbook Coach of the Year. The award honors coaches who maximize success, value growth, and make a positive impact on those they’re entrusted to lead.

Men’s Tennis

• The Wildcats – who won the league championship in 2022 – returned to the WAC championship match in 2023 but fell to Texas-Arlington in the title match.

• Dario Kmet , a junior from Sydney, Australia, was named WAC Player of the Year after earning WAC Player of the Week honors each week of the conference season. Kmet and sophomore Cesar Barranquero were each voted first-team All-WAC in singles.

Women’s Tennis

• Freshman Maria Cascos from Gijon, Spain, was voted second-team All-WAC after a season in which she went 13-6 in singles play, including 8-1 in conference matches. She and junior Maryjoe Crisologo were 7-1 against the WAC in doubles play.

• Head coach Bryan Rainwater returns a wealth of experienced and talented players to the roster for his third season as head coach in 2023-24.

Track and Field

• The men’s team finished sixth at the indoor and fifth at the outdoor WAC Championships, while the women’s team finished sixth at both meets.

• Women’s triple jumper Ella Anttila won her event at both the indoor and outdoor WAC Championships, setting a school record indoors with a jump 44 feet, 0.75 inches.

• The women had three outdoor WAC champions with Anttila in the triple jump, senior Payton Kirk in the pole vault, and sophomore Zoe Burleson in the discus throw. Anttila and Burleson each narrowly missed trips to the NCAA Division I outdoor championship meet.

Softball

• Senior centerfielder Mercedes Eichelberger was voted first-team All-WAC and to the league’s All-Defensive Team. She hit a team-best .336 and had a .991 fielding percentage with just one error.

• Junior catcher/utility Avery Miloch totaled 13 home runs and 34 RBI and returns to lead her team.