THE LATEST LINE: LOCAL DRAFT LIST INCLUDES LEDBETTER

Add Blake Ledbetter to the list of players with local ties who were selected in last week's amateur baseball draft.

A 1995 Sikeston High School graduate and a former all-state catcher for the Bulldogs, Ledbetter was selected in the 34th round by the Cardinals.

Ledbetter signed with Southeast Missouri State University and started school there but never actually played for the Indians. He had a couple of recent private tryout sessions with the Cardinals and they apparently liked what they saw.

Ledbetter said he is extremely excited and will be reporting to the Cardinals' Johnson City (Tenn.) team in the next few days.

Two seniors on this year's SEMO team, LaMonte Collier and Dave Siboda, were taken in the 34th and 48th rounds by the Phillies and Blue Jays, respectively.

* Each of the four finalists that were in town last week to vie for SEMO's head basketball coaching position gave extremely impressive presentations and pretty much said all the right things.

Now it's going to be the school's difficult task to separate the four to come up with the one that is best suited to try and lead the Indians into Division I success.

The new coach is expected to be named this week, perhaps as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.

* Word has it that Richard Lyte, a junior forward on last season's SEMO basketball team, did not meet his academic requirements and won't return for next season.

* Cape Central High School has elevated Curtis Shelton to the position of assistant varsity and head JV boys basketball coach.

Shelton, a former sharpshooting guard for SEMO's basketball team, moves up from the position of head freshmen coach, which he has held the past few years. Micoe Cotton, last year's varsity assistant and head JV coach, recently accepted the head coaching post at Malden.

Matt Boyer, formerly Central's eighth grade coach, will replace Shelton on the freshmen level.

Central head varsity coach Brett Reutzel said he is elated that Shelton is moving up to become the Tigers' top assistant. Shelton had been working closely with Central's varsity program even while coaching the freshmen.

* Another familiar name from the local coaching scene, Paul Lynch, is moving to Mansfield to take over that school's boys basketball program.

Lynch, a Notre Dame High School graduate who starred in basketball and baseball for the Bulldogs and later played baseball for SEMO, has held several coaching positions in the area, most recently being the head girls basketball coach at Portageville.

* Touted quarterback transfer Heath Graham has moved to Cape Girardeau and is working out several times a week with some of the other SEMO football players that are staying in town this summer.

Graham, second on Southern Mississippi's career passing yardage list behind Green Bay Packers star Brett Favre, will have one season of eligibility with the Indians.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian