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USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How an interim coach led Central Arkansas men's golf to its first conference championship
How an interim coach led Central Arkansas men's golf to its first conference championship Josh Turnock wasn't blindsided by the news. An assistant coach for the Central Arkansas men's golf team, Turnock has spoken with head coach Jay Rees toward the end of the fall season when Rees, an accomplished coach at numerous stops during his career, first mentioned he was considering stepping away. With family back home having health issues, Reese wasn't sure whether he'd be able to finish the season. Right before Christmas. Rees made it official and stepped down. That left Turnock, a graduate assistant, as the lone coach on staff. "I graduated with my MBA in December of last year, and so I was just planning on going to finding a job, you know, using the MBA and going down that route," Turnock said. "But obviously, once Jay retired, the (UCA) athletic director came to me and asked me if I'd consider doing it. More: 2025 NCAA men's college golf conference championship dates and results "I thought about it a little bit and actually had a couple of job offers, other jobs related to business. In the end, decided to take the interim role." Turnock didn't accept the interim title until about three days before the start of the spring semester, he said. And it has been an adjustment. Rees has offered help where he can, but for Turnock, who played collegiately at UCA before spending three semesters as a graduate assistant, the differences are drastic. "I didn't realize how much there was to do being head coach," Turnock said. "It's been different, but I've enjoyed it. This semester has just gone very quickly." Central Arkansas placed second at the Gulf Coast Collegiate, Turnock's second event as interim coach, and added a couple more top-five finishes heading into the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. The Bears had a stellar opening round, shooting the third-lowest score in ASUN Championship history with a 271. That was tied for second in program history, too. Then UCA held on in the second and third round, with junior Noah Blaickner pouring in a par putt on the closing hole to secure a one-shot win over Stetson. The victory was UCA's first ASUN Conference title in school history and the first conference title since claiming the AIC Championship in 1972. It locked up a spot in NCAA Regionals, too, with the Bears finding out their destination Wednesday. "I think most of us still can't believe it," Turnock said. "Going into the week, we were ranked the nine seed in the conference, but went in kind of believing we had a good chance to win it because the guys struggled in the fall. They didn't play as well, didn't really show kind of how good of players they were. Our ranking doesn't show how good we are as a team. So we always had belief that we had a good chance of winning it. UCA's lineup is comprised of three juniors and two freshman, all new faces after last season's starting five either graduated or hit the transfer portal. Turnock mentioned how the team was more nervous teeing off in the opening round of the ASUN Championship than it was day two or three, when they grasped to the lead. Come Wednesday, the Bears will have a watch party to see which NCAA Regional they'll head to. In the meantime, it's business as usual for a team that has had a year unlike most others. "I've enjoyed it a lot," Turnock said. "The guys make it a lot easier with with how hard they work and how well we've been playing this semester, it makes my job a lot easier. So I've enjoyed it a lot. It's been hard at some times, but with how hard the guys work every day, it's nice to see that pay off."
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles face the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears in ASUN Championship
Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (23-8, 17-3 ASUN) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (29-3, 20-0 ASUN) Fort Myers, Florida; Saturday, 2 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: FGCU plays Central Arkansas in the ASUN Championship. The Eagles have gone 20-0 against ASUN teams, with a 9-3 record in non-conference play. FGCU ranks seventh in the ASUN in rebounding with 33.2 rebounds. Lauryn Taylor paces the Eagles with 9.1 boards. The Sugar Bears are 17-3 in ASUN play. Central Arkansas ranks second in the ASUN giving up 62.1 points while holding opponents to 37.8% shooting. FGCU averages 8.7 made 3-pointers per game, 1.9 more made shots than the 6.8 per game Central Arkansas gives up. Central Arkansas scores 16.5 more points per game (69.7) than FGCU gives up to opponents (53.2). The teams play each other for the second time this season. FGCU won the last matchup 95-71 on Feb. 21. Emani Jefferson scored 20 to help lead FGCU to the win, and Leah Mafua scored 17 points for Central Arkansas. TOP PERFORMERS: Jefferson is averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Eagles. Taylor is averaging 11.8 points over the last 10 games. Elizabeth Abiara is averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Sugar Bears. Kinley Fisher is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 10-0, averaging 74.9 points, 34.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 55.4 points per game. Sugar Bears: 8-2, averaging 70.7 points, 33.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Associated Press
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles face the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears in ASUN Championship
Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (23-8, 17-3 ASUN) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (29-3, 20-0 ASUN) Fort Myers, Florida; Saturday, 2 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: FGCU plays Central Arkansas in the ASUN Championship. The Eagles have gone 20-0 against ASUN teams, with a 9-3 record in non-conference play. FGCU ranks seventh in the ASUN in rebounding with 33.2 rebounds. Lauryn Taylor paces the Eagles with 9.1 boards. The Sugar Bears are 17-3 in ASUN play. Central Arkansas ranks second in the ASUN giving up 62.1 points while holding opponents to 37.8% shooting. FGCU averages 8.7 made 3-pointers per game, 1.9 more made shots than the 6.8 per game Central Arkansas gives up. Central Arkansas scores 16.5 more points per game (69.7) than FGCU gives up to opponents (53.2). The teams play each other for the second time this season. FGCU won the last matchup 95-71 on Feb. 21. Emani Jefferson scored 20 to help lead FGCU to the win, and Leah Mafua scored 17 points for Central Arkansas. TOP PERFORMERS: Jefferson is averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Eagles. Taylor is averaging 11.8 points over the last 10 games. Elizabeth Abiara is averaging 6.5 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Sugar Bears. Kinley Fisher is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 10-0, averaging 74.9 points, 34.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 55.4 points per game. Sugar Bears: 8-2, averaging 70.7 points, 33.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points. ___
Associated Press
14-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
FGCU and Central Arkansas meet in ASUN Championship
Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (23-8, 17-3 ASUN) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (29-3, 20-0 ASUN) Fort Myers, Florida; Saturday, 2 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: FGCU and Central Arkansas play for the ASUN Championship. The Eagles are 20-0 against ASUN opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play. FGCU has a 25-1 record in games decided by 10 points or more. The Sugar Bears' record in ASUN action is 17-3. Central Arkansas is 8-1 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 13.7 turnovers per game. FGCU averages 72.3 points, 10.2 more per game than the 62.1 Central Arkansas allows. Central Arkansas averages 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.5 more made shots on average than the 4.2 per game FGCU gives up. The teams meet for the second time this season. The Eagles won 95-71 in the last matchup on Feb. 21. Emani Jefferson led the Eagles with 20 points, and Leah Mafua led the Sugar Bears with 17 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Jefferson is averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Eagles. Alahna Paige is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Jade Upshaw is averaging 15 points for the Sugar Bears. Kinley Fisher is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 10-0, averaging 74.9 points, 34.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 55.4 points per game. Sugar Bears: 8-2, averaging 70.7 points, 33.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points. ___
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
FGCU and Central Arkansas meet in ASUN Championship
Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (23-8, 17-3 ASUN) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (29-3, 20-0 ASUN) Fort Myers, Florida; Saturday, 2 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: FGCU and Central Arkansas play for the ASUN Championship. The Eagles are 20-0 against ASUN opponents and 9-3 in non-conference play. FGCU has a 25-1 record in games decided by 10 points or more. The Sugar Bears' record in ASUN action is 17-3. Central Arkansas is 8-1 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 13.7 turnovers per game. FGCU averages 72.3 points, 10.2 more per game than the 62.1 Central Arkansas allows. Central Arkansas averages 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.5 more made shots on average than the 4.2 per game FGCU gives up. The teams meet for the second time this season. The Eagles won 95-71 in the last matchup on Feb. 21. Emani Jefferson led the Eagles with 20 points, and Leah Mafua led the Sugar Bears with 17 points. TOP PERFORMERS: Jefferson is averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Eagles. Alahna Paige is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games. Jade Upshaw is averaging 15 points for the Sugar Bears. Kinley Fisher is averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Eagles: 10-0, averaging 74.9 points, 34.9 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 55.4 points per game. Sugar Bears: 8-2, averaging 70.7 points, 33.0 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
