Nutt bolsters team's depth with invited walk-ons

As Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt continues to recruit in search of scholarship players to bolster his roster, he also continues to add potential players as invited walk-ons.

Jamaal Calvin, a senior guard at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., is the latest player who has been invited to walk on for next season. He recently announced that he would be joining the Redhawks' program.

I have heard various reports that Calvin would be a scholarship player, but I have been told that is not the case -- at least not right now. I'm sure things could change if Southeast enters the school year with an available scholarship.

Either way, Calvin -- who can play both guard positions -- sounds like a solid prospect who would be more than a typical walk-on. He averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, four assists and 3.4 steals last season for a team that advanced to the Tennessee Division II-AA state quarterfinals.

Calvin is a product of the same prep school that produced Southeast point guard C.J. Reese, who redshirted as a freshman last season after not joining the team until the second semester due to academic issues.

Also invited to walk on recently was Sikeston High School graduate Will Holifield, a shooting guard who spent the past two seasons at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. He is the son of Sikeston basketball coach Gregg Holifield.

And, as previously reported, Leopold senior shooting guard Kyle Stroder recently accepted an invitation to join the Redhawks as a walk-on.

One thing to remember is that, unlike with scholarship athletes, there is never a guarantee with walk-ons that they will follow through and join the program.

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It was certainly a disappointing season for the Southeast softball squad, which finished 15-33 overall and 10th-place 6-18 in the 12-team OVC. The Redhawks missed the conference tournament for the second straight year.

But there were extenuating circumstances for Lana Richmond, the OVC's all-time winningest softball coach who has a 31-year record of 873-676-2.

Richmond was put in a lurch late in the summer when Southeast's top two pitchers from the 2012 season, who combined for 21 of the Redhawks' 25 wins, left the program despite having eligibility left.

At that point, with school just about ready to start, there was no way Richmond could bring in any new hurlers.

Southeast was left with a makeshift pitching staff that had the OVC's worst ERA of 4.82, including a whopping 6.03 in league play.

The result was the rough season.

Any hopes the Redhawks have of being able to bounce back next year lie in their ability to seriously upgrade their pitching staff.

On the bright side for Southeast this year, junior Alexis Anderson batted .403 -- the fifth-highest single-season mark in program history. She hit .500 in conference play and earned first-team all-OVC honors.

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The area high school baseball season has entered its crucial district tournament phase, with many local teams beginning district play over the weekend and others seeing action today.

Quite a few area squads have had strong seasons and are among the favorites to bring home district titles. That group includes Jackson in Class 5, Notre Dame in Class 4, Scott City in Class 3, Chaffee in Class 2 and Oran and Leopold in Class 1.

It's not likely all of those teams will emerge as district champions, but the area figures to have a strong representation in next week's sectional round.

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This has been the year for successful local high school baseball coaches to call it quits.

Oran's Mitch Wood is the latest to announce he is stepping down after directing the Eagles for 21 seasons. He has led nine Oran teams to the final four, and there is a solid chance the 2013 Eagles will get there for the third straight year.

Wood joins Central's Steve Williams and Jackson's Tatum Kitchen in recently announcing that this season will be the last at their respective schools.

Wood, who will continue to serve as Oran's superintendent, will -- like Williams and Kitchen -- be missed on the area coaching scene.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.