West Virginia offensive lineman and junior Zach Frazier was named to the preseason All-Big 12 Conference football team on Wednesday. He was the lone representative for the Mountaineers.
On Thursday, West Virginia football was selected to finish in 14th place in the Big 12 by the media. Texas was picked atop the conference’s 2023 preseason poll as voted on by media representatives.
First-place votes were spread among six teams with Texas receiving 41 and a total of 886 points. The reigning Big 12 Champion, Kansas State, placed second with 14 and 858 points. Oklahoma and Texas Tech each received four first-place votes with 758 and 729 points, respectively. TCU, coming off appearances in the Big 12 Championship Game and CFP National Championship Game, rounded out the top five with three first-place votes and 727 points.
Baylor gathered 575 points to place sixth, while Oklahoma State secured the final first-place vote with 470 points for seventh place. The remaining positions were 8. UCF (463 points), 9. Kansas (461 points), 10. Iowa State (334 points), 11. BYU (318 points), 12. Houston (215 points), 13. Cincinnati (202 points) and 14. West Virginia (129 points).
In other West Virginia news, opening-round matchups for the Beach Division of the 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off (men’s basketball) are set as Wisconsin will square off against Virginia at 6 p.m. and West Virginia will face SMU at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College. Third-place and championship contests are set for the same times on Nov. 22. All games will be televised by FS1.
Robert Morris selects women's lacrosse coach
Robert Morris announced Wednesday that Courtney Grove has been named head coach of the Robert Morris women's lacrosse program.
Grove joins the Colonials after spending the last 10 years as head coach at Seton Hill. The last decade marked her second tenure as head coach with the Griffins, as she also led the program for four seasons from 2008 to 2011 before being named the first assistant coach in program history at Marquette. Grove spent two seasons as the top assistant with the Golden Eagles before returning to the Greensburg campus.
While leading Seton Hill in the last decade, Grove helped guide the Griffins to a record of 106-64, including a mark of 76-31 (.710) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Grove guided Seton Hill to each of the last three PSAC West Division crowns, compiling an overall mark of 42-13, including 32-2 in conference action, from 2021 to 2023. The Griffins appeared in two of the last three finals of the PSAC Championship and also earned automatic bids to each of the last four NCAA Division II Tournaments (2019, 2021-23).
Grove is a four-time PSAC Coach of the Year honoree (2014, 2019, 2021, 2023), and her student-athletes have won numerous PSAC postseason awards and all-conference accolades.
Grove is a 2007 graduate of Duquesne. A student-athlete for the Dukes, Grove appeared in 68 games, including 66 starting assignments, and finished with 118 points courtesy of 93 goals and 25 assists. She concluded her career ranked in the top 10 in program history in eight different categories. As a senior in 2007, Grove was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, a year after earning honorable mention accolades.
Grove and her husband, Matt, have two daughters, Mia and Brooke, and a son, Austin.
Penn State adds softball assistant
Penn State softball announced the promotion of softball volunteer assistant coach Alexis Gallagher to become the program's third assistant coach for the upcoming 2024 season on Thursday.
Gallagher spent the past two seasons as the Nittany Lions' volunteer assistant coach. Prior to joining the Nittany Lion staff, Gallagher had more than two years of prior coaching experience with the varsity team for Williamsport Area School District her native Williamsport, Pa.
As a student-athlete at Saint Francis, Gallagher started in all 49 games her freshman season, 50 games her sophomore season, and 56 games in her junior season. She was named the 2014 NEC Rookie of the Year and became just the second player in SFU softball history to be named to an NFCA All-Region Team. She was also named a First Team All-NEC selection in 2014 and 2015. Gallagher was a member two NEC championship teams in her junior and senior seasons despite being unable to play both years due to ACL injuries. Gallagher was designated a three-year team captain from her sophomore season through her redshirt-senior campaign. Gallagher earned a master's degree in 2018 from Saint Francis, the same university which issued her bachelor's degree in 2017.
First Published: July 10, 2023, 8:14 p.m.
