Former CBC Coach Hanson Hired as Branson Boys Coach

If you spoke to Kirk Hanson 6 months ago, you would learn that he was in his 34^th and final season of coaching Central Bible College. Hanson would have been glad to continue many more years in his mentorship of basketball players both on and off the court; however, due to the upcoming consolidation of Central Bible College, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, and Evangel University, this would not be possible. The merger meant many things for many people, and for Hanson, it meant the end of the CBC basketball program. 

Big Sports did speak with Hanson about 6 months ago, and he said, “There are days that it’s painful to know that this is the last year I’ll do this, but I’m not at the reflective stage just yet. There are so many uncertainties right now.” Hanson was unsure of his future in sports, and he was even undecided on a future in the Ozarks.

Today, the 3-time national-championship-winning coach has announced his decision to accept the boys coaching position at Branson High School. According to the Springfield News-Leader, Branson’s athletic director Tony Berry said, “[Hanson] considered it as a huge open door and a blessing for him, and there you go. We had some really good applicants. But coach Hanson still has the passion; I compare it to a guy in his first year out of college. He wants to teach and he wants to win.”

In November, Hanson told Big Sports, “In answer to what I’ll be doing this time next year, you know only God knows. My wife and I have talked that maybe five years down the road we’ll look back on all of this and say, isn’t it crazy how God stepped in and took care of everything for us?”

And all his people said, Amen!

Missouri State's Petree, Gordon, Voit Selected in MLB Draft

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Missouri State pitchers Nick Petreeand Grant Gordonbecame the first Bears to be chosen in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as the St. Louis Cardinals selected Petree in the ninth round with the 275th overall pick before the Los Angeles Angels picked Gordon in the 10th round (307th overall) on the second day of the 40-round amateur draft Friday afternoon.

A First-Team All-MVC selection this spring, Petree became the first Bear hurler to win the club's Dave Dickensheet Outstanding Pitcher award three times. he right-hander was a semifinalist for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award, which honors the top amateur player in the country. A two-time MVC Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2013 and a College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award candidate, Petree earned his second-straight first-team all-conference nod after compiling an 8-1 mound record and a 1.61 earned run average. The right-hander was the Bears' lone representative on the MVC's All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row as well.

Petree led the Valley in strikeouts (111) while ranking second in the circuit in wins, innings pitched (100.1) and ERA. Additionally, he became the first MSU pitcher to log back-to-back 100-strikeout campaigns and climbed to No. 2 on the Bears' career lists for both victories (27) and strikeouts (306) this spring.

Last week, Petree became the first player in the 50-year history of the Missouri State baseball program to earn All-America recognition in three different seasons with his selection as a second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. The Clinton, Mo., product was a consensus All-America choice in 2012, when he led all of Division I baseball with a 1.01 earned run average to earn Collegiate Baseball's National Player of the Year award. He was also a Freshman All-America pick of both Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association following a standout rookie 2011 season, in which he led the Bears with nine wins to bring home MVC Freshman of the Year honors.

A Salem, Mo., native, Gordon is coming off a solid senior season in which he posted a 3.66 ERA and team-best four saves in 25 appearances out of the Bears' bullpen. The right-hander saved 12 games over his four-year career to rank fifth all-time at MSU, and ranks second on the Bears' career pitching appearances list with 82. Gordon struck out 206 hitters over is four-year stay in Springfield, good for 12th on the Bears' career chart.

Gordon recorded his best work as a junior in 2012, going 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 19 games out of the MSU bullpen. The two-time MVC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll member also registered a memorable freshman campaign, fanning 74 batters in just 56 innings for an 11.89 strikeout/nine innings ratio that ranked seventh nationally and set a Missouri State single-season record. He also recorded seven saves in 2010 to break the Bears' rookie record, and played in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League for the Harwich Mariners each of the last two summers, earning league all-star recognition in 2012 after allowing just one earned run over 18.0 innings spanning 12 outings.

Under the terms of Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement, professional clubs must sign a drafted player by July 15, or the rights to that player are lost and he may re-enter the draft in 2014. The 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft concludes Saturday with rounds 11-40, beginning at Noon (Central). 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State senior Luke Voit became the third Bear to be chosen in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, as the St. Louis Cardinals selected the catcher in the 22nd round with the 665th overall pick on the final day of the 40-round amateur draft Saturday afternoon.

A three-time All-MVC honoree, Voit backstopped all but one of the Bears' 54 games this season, recording a .299 batting average, two homers and team highs of 30 RBIs and eight stolen bases. The Wildwood, Mo., native was nearly flawless behind the plate with a club-best .996 fielding percentage this season, reaching base safely in 19 consecutive games and in 46 of his final 48 games as a Bear overall. Voit was named to Johnny Bench Award watch list each of the last two seasons and called each of the Bears' 13 shutouts over the last two seasons, helping MSU lead the nation in that category in 2012. He also helped the Bears post a Division I-best 2.57 team ERA in 2012.

Voit finished his MSU career 16th on the Bears' career hits list with 226 and 10th on the school's all-time doubles chart with 48. Additionally, he drove in the game-winning run 18 times over his MSU career to rank fourth on the Bears' career list and ranks among the Bears' all-time leaders in sacrifice flies, defensive putouts and fielding chances. A model of consistency and durability, Voit played in 140 consecutive games over three seasons to close his MSU career.

Voit joins a pair of pitchers on MSU's list of 2013 draftees after junior Nick Petree was taken by the Cardinals in the ninth round with the 275th overall pick and senior Grant Gordon, who was a 10th round selection (307th overall) of the Los Angeles Angels Friday afternoon. Additionally, a pair of MSU signees were selected, as infielder David Masters (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Central Arizona Junior College) was chosen by Washington in the 14th round (436th overall pick) and infielder Drew Bridges (Carthage, Mo.) was picked up by the New York Yankees in the 20th round (614th overall) Saturday.

Evangel's Blake McKnight Drafted by St. Louis Cardinals

Springfield, Mo. – Blake McKnight became the first Evangel baseball alum to be drafted by a major league baseball today after the St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 38th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.

McKnight completed his senior season with the Crusaders earlier this year. The O’Fallon, Missouri native was an NAIA honorable mention All-American and a first team All-Heart of America conference selection after going 11-3 with one save and a 1.56 earned run average. He had 83 strikeouts in 92.1 innings and opponents hit just .156 against him. McKnight led the conference in wins, strikeouts, opposing batting average and innings pitched.

Should he sign with the Cardinals, McKnight would become the third Evangel player in program history to sign with a major league affiliated team. 1B / OF Jim Mittan played in the Atlanta Braves organization in 1988 and P Kirk Hasenzahl signed with the Cleveland Indians organization in 1990.

McKnight helped Evangel to a program record 32 wins going 32-19 and 16-10 in the Heart of America conference.

He is expected to meet with Cardinals personnel early next week. St. Louis has rookie level minor league affiliates in the Gulf Coast League, Johnson City in the Appalachian League and State College in the New York-Penn League.

See more information on McKnight here.

Matheney, Petree Take Home MSU Team Honors

Freshman Outfielder Becomes First MSU Rookie to Claim MVP Recognition Since Bob Blakley in 1974

After turning in record-setting performances in leading Missouri State to its third-consecutive 30-win campaign, freshman outfielder Tate Matheny <http://www.missouristatebears.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/tate_matheny_821473.html>  and junior pitcher Nick Petree <http://www.missouristatebears.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/petree_nick00.html>  made history yet again Wednesday when the Bears unveiled their team award-winners for the 2013 season. Matheny swept the club's A.E. "Ted" Willis Team Most Valuable Player and Danny Cook Rookie of the Year awards, becoming the first MSU freshman to take home team MVP honors in 39 years, while Petree claimed the Dave Dickensheet Outstanding Pitcher award for the third-straight season.

Matheny joins only Bob Blakley (1974) on the Bears' distinguished list of freshman most valuable players after leading Missouri State with a .336 batting averge this season. Matheny ranks among the Valley's top 10 in hits (77), runs scored (40), doubles (14), home runs (4), total bases (105) and multi-hit efforts (24) while starting all 54 games for the Bears in center field. The St. Louis native's average of 1.426 hits per contest is the third-highest on record for any MSU freshman in the 50-year history of the program, trailing only all-time hits leader Matt Gardner (1.491) and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard (1.456). Matheny, a Second-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick, recorded at least one hit in 45 of his 54 games as a Bear, failing to notch a safety in just seven games since opening weekend.

The third Bear in as many seasons to claim the MVC's Freshman of the Year award, Matheny matched a Missouri State single-game record with three doubles against SEMO on March 27, and drove in five runs in the Bears' March 9 win over Northwestern. He logged a pair of four-hit contests and posted hits in 12-straight games, April 6-26, marking his third separate hit streak of at least 10 games this season.

A First-Team All-MVC selection, Petree becomes the first Bear hurler to win the club's pitcher of the year honor three times. The right-hander is one 30 Division I players under consideration for USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award, which honors the top amateur player in the country. A two-time MVC Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2013 and a College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award candidate, Petree earned his second-straight first-team all-conference nod after compiling an 8-1 mound record and a 1.61 earned run average. Petree was the Bears' lone representative on the MVC's All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row as well.

The Clinton, Mo., native leads the Valley in strikeouts (111) while ranking second in the circuit in wins, innings pitched (100.1) and ERA. Additionally, he became the first MSU pitcher to log back-to-back 100-strikeout campaigns and climbed to No. 2 on the Bears' career lists for both victories (27) and strikeouts (306).

Missouri State's annual team awards are named in honor of three former Bears who made significant contributions to the University's athletics programs. Ted Willis was an MSU football letterman in 1918, and the Bears' team MVP award carries his name through a plaque donated by his widow in memory of his long-standing interest and support of lMSU athletics. The Bears' top rookie honor is named for Danny Cook, a standout third baseman for the Bears from 1966 through 1969 who died of leukemia in 1989. Finally, Dave Dickensheet is a Missouri State Athletics Hall of Famer who pitched for the Bears from 1979 through 1982 before succumbing to cancer in 1991.