SEMO ROUNDUP: Knight third-team OVC pick, Ray adds to men's basketball staff

Southeast Missouri State punter Alex Knight was one of eight Ohio Valley Conference football players named a STATS Preseason FCS All-American on Monday morning.

Knight, whose senior season kicks off September 3 at Memphis, was a third-team selection.

Two-time defending OVC champion and FCS runner-up Jacksonville State had four players selected.

Senior quarterback Eli Jenkins and senior offensive lineman Casey Dunn were both first-team selections while senior wide receiver Josh Barge was a second-team pick and senior offensive lineman Justin Lea was a third-team pick.

Eastern Kentucky junior punter Keith Wrzuszczak was a second-team selection and Murray State senior quarterback KD Humphries and Tennessee State junior defensive lineman Ebenezer Ogundeko joined Knight on the third team.

Knight was a second-team all-conference performer last season. He ranked fifth nationally with 44.8 yards per punt. He had 29 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and 18 that traveled 50-plus yards.

The Southeast tennis team was named to the Inercollegiate Tennis Association's All-Academic Team, it was announced Monday.

Any ITA program with a cumulative team GPA of 3.2 or higher is eligible for the award and 700 men's and women's teams on all levels were recognized with the award.

Mila Majtan, Ana Canahuate-Torres, Anais Emelie, Annisa Warasanti and Isabella Krupa each helped Southeast earn the honor.

"I am very proud of how much hard work the student-athletes put into their academics this past year," coach Mary Beth Gunn said in a press release. "We strive to be at the top in academics at the university. We reached our team goal of having a 3.6 or higher cumulative GPA for the spring semester, and I know they are excited to get back in the classroom this fall."

Berryman joins basketball staff

Rick Ray found the final piece of his Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coaching staff, the university announced Monday.

Tom Berryman has been hired as the program's Director of Operations. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Charleston and has nine years of coaching experience.

Ray's connection to Berryman dates back to the head coach's hiring of assistant Benjy Taylor last offseason. After talking to Berryman at the time, he kept him in mind.

"I made a note to myself that if my staff would change in the future, to pick up the phone and reach out to him right away because I was so impressed with him," Ray said in a press release. "After visiting with Tom again, I knew he was the man for the job.

Prior to Charleston, Berryman served on Anthony Grant's staff at Alabama, where he was video coordinator after two years as a graduate assistant and one year as a volunteer graduate assistant. During that time, the Crimson Tide made three postseason appearances, including a 2012 trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"The people that Tom has worked for and with are coaches that I trust and were extremely impressed with his job performance," Ray said. "Tom is organized, driven and stays up with all the new cutting edge technology. We are excited to welcome Tom and his wife, Kinsey, to the Redhawk family."

Berryman was an assistant coach at Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa from 2008-10 and Holt High school in 2007-08. He graduated from Alabama in 2010 and earned a master's degree in 2012.