Athletics News

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players in the new RU baseball stadium

There once was a time when folks off campus — locals, friends, family members — would ask redshirt junior pitcher Abram Williams how the season was going for the Highlanders, or how he was playing. Now they’re asking new questions. What’s it like playing baseball under the lights? When can we come watch?

With hundreds of students and hometown fans on hand despite threatening skies and storm warnings, Radford University officially opened its remodeled baseball stadium April 8, 2011, for the Highlanders’ first night game at home. The upgrades were funded entirely from private donations.

Steve Bailey ’98

He wasn’t a standout on the baseball or golf team. In fact, he wasn’t a student athlete at all. When Steve Bailey was a student at Radford University, he was an assistant in the Sports Information Department. Twelve years later, the 1998 graduate is in the middle of his first year as head coach for men’s golf at Marquette University.

Martin and Nicholas Sayers

Martin Sayer ’09 arrived at Radford in 2005 and blazed a path of glory on the men’s tennis team. He racked up a 114-25 record and received Big South Player of the Year honors four years in a row. He is now an assistant coach under Mike Anderson, and one of his pupils is his brother Nicholas.

This Pittsburgh wide receiver has suffered through a dislocated shoulder, a ruptured right Achilles and left knee cartilage issues, “but nothing keeps me down,” the player boldly notes. The receiver has won a championship and also is gearing up for a big season. Think you know the receiver? Think again.

Dav Nbongba

Head Women’s Basketball Coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba has been named “Big South Coach of the Year.” The former NCAA and WNBA star and St. Croix native was named the Highlanders head coach in 2008.