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Senior center Mark Howell, senior defensive end Jason Indestad and senior wide receiver Anthony Melvin were named first-team preseason All-America (NCAA Div. II non-scholarship) by Football Gazette and senior tailback Drew Hall and senior tight end Shaun Logsdon received honorable mention All-America recognition.

Howell, a 5-foot-10 inch, 245 pounder from Hardinsburg, Ky./Breckinridge County HS, started all 11 games as a junior and has started 20 consecutive games at center.

Indestad, a 6-foot-5 inch, 232 pounder from Burlington, Ia./Burlington HS, started seven games (missed four due to injury) where he had 25 tackles (19 solo-eight assisted), six tackles for loss of 36 yards, one sack, one pass breakup and one forced fumble last season.

Melvin, a 6-foot-2 inch, 184 pounder from Radcliff, Ky./North Hardin HS, caught 35 passes for 599 yards and five touchdown last season. He also scored a 32 points for the Panthers.

Hall, a 5-foot-10 inch, 214 pounder from Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro HS, rushed for 480 yards on 68 carries and four touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Hall scored a fourth-best 36 points for KWC.

Logsdon, a 6-foot-4 inch, 238 pounder from Leitchfield, Ky./Grayson County HS, caught 34 passes for 432 yards and two touchdowns last season as a junior. He also rushed for six yards on two carries and recorded 14 points.

Kentucky Wesleyan opens their 18th season of modern football on the road at the University of Missouri Rolla on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 1 CT.

Football Gazette tabbed Kentucky Wesleyan No. 1 in their NCAA Division II non-scholarship preseason poll. This marks the third-time in KWC football history they have been ranked in the preseason football polls. The Panthers were No. 4 in 1995 and No. 7 in 1999.

KWC returns seven starters (five offense, two defense) and 25 letterwinners from last season's record breaking seven wins (7-4) and their highest final national ranking where they finished No. 2 in the non-scholarship poll.

Following KWC in the preseason top eight poll was No. 2 Southern Connecticut (7-3), No. 3 LIU/C.W. Post, NY (9-2), No. 4 Bryant, RI (5-4), No. 5 American International, Mass. (10-2), No. 6 Pace, NY (6-4), No. 7 Merrimack, Mass. (7-3) and No. 8 St. Anselm, N.H. (4-5).

Seventh year KWC head coach John Johnson announced that Brian Hoffman, a 6-foot-2 inch, 210-pound, fifth-year senior transfer from the University of Connecticut, will be the starting quarterback for the Panthers season opener at the University of Missouri Rolla on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 1 CT.

Hoffman, a native of Orlando, Fla., started eight of 11 games last season for the Huskies where he completed 149 passes on 264 attempts for 1,681 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also rushed for 237 yards on 93 carries.

The Panthers wrap up their second week of preseason practice with a free scrimmage on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT on KWC's practice field.

The Kentucky Wesleyan men's and women's basketball schedules for the 2000-01 season will feature new foes and renewed opponents from past seasons on the non-conference slate followed by the rugged Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule.

The men's non-league schedule includes first-time foes Arkansas Tech (16-10 in 2000), Clayton State [Ga.] (11-15) and Northwood [Mich.] (15-13) along with renewed rival Kentucky State (13-14) plus last season returnees Lees McRae (10-16) and Oakland City (12-15). Highlighting the GLVC are Southern Indiana (25-6, NCAA Regional Runner-up) and Northern Kentucky (26-7, NCAA Regional Semifinalist).

The women's non-league slate includes former opponents Lindsey Wilson (20-10), Lipscomb [Tenn.] (16-17), Montevallo [Ala.] (9-15) and Alabama Huntsville (9-17) along with last season regulars Lincoln [Mo.] (4-21) and Lincoln Memorial [Tenn.] (18-8). Defending NCAA Champion Northern Kentucky (32-2) and Missouri St. Louis (19-11, NCAA Regional Semifinalist) draw the most attention in the GLVC.

The 2000 NCAA Finalist (31-3) will play 16 contests at the Sportscenter and 10 on the road and the women (12-14) will play 12 games at the Sportscenter, one at Kentucky Wesleyan's Health & Recreation Center and 13 on the road.

Should the men and/or women qualify for the fourth-annual GLVC tournament (top eight in each), the Panthers will play at Roberts Stadium (12,300) in Evansville, Ind. on Feb. 28 through March 3.

The NCAA Great Lakes Regionals will be March 8-10 at two sites to be determined and the NCAA Division II National Championship, better known as the Elite Eight, will be March 21-24 at Bakersfield, Calif. for the men and at Rochester, Minn. for the women.

Note: Schedules may be accessed on the basketball home page.

Kentucky Wesleyan College Head Basketball Coach Ray Harper announced the addition of Florida junior college standouts Thad Key from Pasco-Hernando Community College in New Port Richey, and Marshall Sanders from Brevard Community College in Cocoa, to the Panthers 2000-2001 roster.

Key, a 6-7, 215-pound forward/center from Russellville, Ky., averaged 15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field as a sophomore last season. He helped Pasco-Hernando to a 27-3 record and the semifinals of the NJCAA regional where he was a first-team all-conference selection.

"Thad is a very good athlete who can play inside out," said Harper. "He adds strength in the low post with his rebounding and defense. Offensively, Thad can shoot the three-pointer or put the ball on floor to drive to the basket."

Sanders, a 6-6, 250-pound center/forward from St. Petersburg, Fla., averaged 13.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, two blocks and one assist a game as Brevard posted a 29-7 record, advancing to the NJCAA national tournament last season. He shot 56.3 percent from the field and 68.1 percent from the free throw line. Sanders earned first-team all-conference and all-Florida honors as a sophomore.

"Marshall is a monster inside," said Harper. "He's a great athlete who can run and jump and that is very evident with his rebounding and shot blocking stats. Marshall also gives us a real physical presence inside the paint."

The Panthers return two starters including All-American guard Lorico Duncan and seven letterwinners from last season's NCAA National Runner-up squad that finished 31-3.

Tandy Bradford, who served as assistant women's basketball coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College for the past two seasons, has been promoted to head coach as announced by Larry Moore, KWC director of athletics. She succeeds Scott Lewis who resigned to enter public school administration.

Bradford, 26, becomes the 11th head coach in the college's upcoming 25th year of women's intercollegiate basketball. The native of Hutchinson, Kansas came to Kentucky Wesleyan after two seasons at Simon Kenton High School in Independence, Ky.

"After a thorough search, I concluded that the best person for this position was just right down the hall," said Moore. "Tandy's familiarity with the players, the program, the college and the tough Great Lakes Valley Conference make for some very strong points.

"She's proven to be an excellent recruiter with contacts across the nation and her ability to promote the program is very unique and innovative. We expect Tandy to grow with the program and move it to the next level of success".

"Obviously it's very exciting to become a college head coach for the first time," said Bradford. "This opportunity comes with a big challenge as we keep pushing toward the right direction which is more wins, especially in February, challenge for the Great Lakes Valley Conference title consistently and participate in the NCAA tournament.

"A few changes will take place on offense and defense. We will run the fast break more because our offense scores well in the open court but we will spread the floor to use more motion in half-court. Defensively we have the talent and speed to press more. However, one trait of this team that will not change is our work ethic," added Bradford.

"My first priorities are to sign two more players, find an assistant coach and make sure that the team will be comfortable with the staff and my appointment as head coach".

Bradford began her collegiate career as a freshman and sophomore at Highland Community College in Highland, Kan., before transferring to Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. for her final two seasons.

At Thomas More, Bradford was the captain for the Saints and earned the Most Improved Player award as a senior. She graduated from Thomas More in 1997 with a degree in English and secondary education. The 1992 graduate from Nickerson High School in Nickerson, Kansas is married to Josh Bradford.

Kentucky Wesleyan returns seven letterwinners including three starters from the Panthers 12-14 squad last season.

The Kentucky Wesleyan College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will host the first KWC Alumni Athletic Weekend on Friday, August 25 and Saturday, August 26. This will bring back former KWC athletes from all sports to participate in games and social activities.

"The purpose of this event is to gain recognition of our student-athletes by hosting this weekend and to begin the foundation for establishing a KWC Athletic Hall of Fame," said SAAC president Allison Estes. "We invite all KWC fans to come watch these former Panthers in action and to visit with them."

The activities starts on Friday with a softball game on campus at 4 p.m., followed by a volleyball match at 7 p.m. in the Health & Recreation Center and a social gathering at Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3s) restaurant at Towne Square North at 10 p.m.

On Saturday the activities begin with golf at 8 a.m. at Ben Hawes State Park, then men's and women's soccer and tennis at 9:30 a.m. on campus, a flag football game at Noon on the practice field. The current Panther football team will play their annual fall Purple-White game at 1:30.

Baseball follows the football scrimmage at 4 p.m., with a barbecue set for 6 p.m. near the baseball complex. The weekend activities ends with a coed basketball game at 7:30 in the HRC.

"We will also have raffles and giveaways to add to the fun of this weekend," added Estes.

For information on the weekend and to purchase barbecue tickets, contact Tandy Bradford at 270/926-3111 or come by the KWC athletic office.

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Kentucky Wesleyan College
Office of Sports Information
270-926-3111

07/11/06
pickeril@kwc.edu