ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have hired former batting champion Bill Mueller as assistant hitting coach. The 43-year-old Mueller, a St. Louis native, was a .291 career hitter with a .373 on-base percentage. He served as the Chicago Cubs’ hitting coach last season, and they finished 26th in the majors in runs, 27th in batting average and 28th in on-base percentage. The Cardinals announced the move on Monday.

Mueller led the American League with a .326 average in 2003, and batted .429 for the Red Sox in their World Series sweep over the Cardinals in 2004. He has worked in front offices and instruction since retiring after the 2006 season, and will be working under hitting coach John Mabry.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Gabe Olaseni had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Iowa rolled to an 87-56 win over North Dakota State on Monday night. Jarrod Uthoff added 12 points for Iowa (2-0). Lawrence Alexander scored 21 points on 6 of 10 3-point shooting to lead the Bison (0-2). The Hawkeyes used a 27-2 run in the middle of the game to pull away from North Dakota State. The Bison shot only 26.9 percent from the floor, including a six-minute scoreless stretch to open the second half.

Iowa’s Adam Woodbury had 10 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds. Anthony Clemmons scored 11 points with a career-high three 3-pointers. Aaron White added 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The Hawkeyes committed 18 turnovers, but shot 54 percent from the field and made 18 of 20 free throws.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines will host first and second-round games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2016.

The NCAA announced Monday that Iowa’s capital city will be among eight sites to host early-round games next season.

Landing such a prestigious event is a major coup for Des Moines, which has hoped to host the NCAA tournament ever since Wells Fargo Arena opened in 2005.

The arena hosted the NCAA women’s basketball tournament — which included legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt’s last game — and the NCAA wrestling championships in 2013.

Iowa State will serve as the tournament host, so the Cyclones can’t play in Des Moines in 2016.

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have dealt outfielder Jason Heyward and reliever Jordan Walden to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Shelby Miller and a minor-leaguer.

The deal was announced Monday and ends Heyward’s tenure with his hometown team.

The 25-year-old outfielder never lived up to expectations after a brilliant rookie season, when he homered in his first at-bat and was voted to the All-Star Game. This past season, he hit .271 with 11 homers, 58 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He also won his second Golden Glove.

Miller went 10-9 with a 3.74 for the Cardinals, after going 15-9 with a 3.06 ERA in 2013.

Walden was 0-2 with a 2.88 ERA and three saves.

The Braves also acquired pitcher Tyrell Jenkins, who played for Class A Palm Beach last season.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State senior tight end E.J. Bibbs has been named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award, announced today by the Friends of John Mackey.

The Mackey Award is given annually to the nation’s best tight end and Bibbs is now one of eight tight ends in the running to win the coveted award.

A senior from Chicago, Ill., Bibbs has posted impressive statistics in his final season as a Cyclone, leading all “power five” conference tight end in catches per game (4.4) and tying for first among all “power 5” tight ends in TD receptions (7).

Bibbs’ seven TD catches ties for 23rd nationally and is tied for seventh on ISU’s all-time single-season chart. His 40 catches on the year is the second-most by an ISU tight end in school history.

In his last five games, Bibbs has 29 catches, 251 yards receiving and six TDs and he’s caught a pass in 21-straight games, tying for the third-longest streak in school history.

The three finalists for the Mackey Award will be announced next Monday (Nov. 24).

First Team Offense:

• Quarterback – Austin Kloewer, Jr, Dallas Center-Grimes
• Running Backs – Chase Shiltz, So, Creston; Nick Tarney, So, Harlan
• Wide Receiver – Bryce Briley, Sr, Creston (Unanimous); Jacob Sloss, Sr, ADM; Joe Sloss, Sr, ADM
• Offensive Line – Jordan Thompson, Sr, Creston (Unanimous); Nick Tank, Sr, Winterset (Unanimous); Garrett Gibson, Jr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Max Langenfeld, Jr, Harlan; Elijah McCartney, Sr, ADM
• At-Large – Alex Nielsen, Sr, Creston (Unanimous); Frank Weiland, Jr, ADM
• Kicker – Conner Pals, Sr, Creston

First Team Defense:

• Defensive Line – Jacob Protzman, Sr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Trey Hockemeier, Sr, Winterset; Cory Rathe, Sr, Creston; Brevin Townsell, Sr, Dallas Center-Grimes
• Linebackers – Matt Baur, Jr, Winterset (Unanimous); Seth Maitlen, Jr, Creston; Michael Sorfondon, Sr, Harlan; Zach Ostendorf, Sr, ADM
• Defensive Backs – Jacob Mueller, Sr, Dallas Center-Grimes; McClain Haines, Sr, Creston; Will Lansman, Jr, Harlan; Jack Barker, Jr, Winterset
• At-Large – Luke Hall, Sr, Harlan
• Punter – Trey Washington, So, Dallas Center-Grimes

Second Team Offense:

• Quarterback – Joey Walker, Sr, Atlantic
• Running Backs – Brogan Weddum, Sr, Glenwood; Brandon Herr, Sr, Winterset
• Wide Receiver – Keaton Means, Jr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Doug Heritage, Jr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Jonathon Reel, Sr, ADM
• Offensive Line – Hunter Sehman, Sr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Jon Stavas, So, Glenwood; Jake Gutchenritter, Sr, Creston; Hunter Gibson, Jr, ADM; Skyler Svoboda, Sr, Atlantic
• At-Large – Chris On, Sr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Brandon Ryerson, Sr, Winterset
• Kicker – Ethan Knudsen, Jr, Harlan

Second Team Defense:

• Defensive Line – Jacob Hardy, Jr, ADM; Will Elderkin, Jr, Winterset; Nick Podhajshy, Jr, Atlantic; Jon Bieker, Jr, Harlan
• Linebackers – Caleb Grose, Jr, Winterset; Logan Buck, Jr, Dallas Center-Grimes; Alex Tamerius, Sr, Creston; Carter VonEssen, Jr, Glenwood
• Defensive Backs – Brendan Holmes, Jr, Atlantic; Conner Pals, Sr, Creston; Robby Bodine, Sr, Atlantic; Andrew Tilley, Sr, Glenwood
• At-Large – Brody Petersen, Sr, Atlantic
• Punter – Drew Little, Sr, Glenwood

Honorable Mention:

• Dallas Center-Grimes – Austin Winter, Sr, WR; Nate Osborn, Jr, LB
• Creston – Christian Groumoutis, Sr, WR; Tayler Petit, Sr, DL
• Winterset – Jake Larson, Sr, QB; Jordan Kaldenberg, Jr, DB
• ADM – Nathan Heath, Jr, DL; Blake Crannell, Jr, RB
• Harlan – Josh Brelji, Sr, RB; Adam Rasmussen, Sr, LB
• Atlantic – Tyler Thomas, Sr, LB; John McConkey, Fr, OL
• Glenwood – Kolten Wilwerding, So, QB; Austin Jarosz, Sr, OL

With Jim Field.

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The Iowa Hawkeye men are at home tonight (Monday), to take on North Dakota State. The Hawkeyes opened with a lopsided win over Hampton and senior forward Aaron White had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the game. White says he is trying to bring energy to the court.

North Dakota State opened with an 85-50 loss at 10th ranked Texas. You can hear tonight’s game on KJAN, beginning with the pre-game at 6. The tip-off is slated for just after 7-p.m.

(Learfield Sports)

Freshman Bryanna Fernstrom poured in 25 points as the Iowa State women opened the season with a 98-76 win over South Carolina Upstate. ISU coach Bill Fennelly was happy with the win but not pleased with the effort on defense. The Cyclones led by as many as 25 points in the opening half and it was never close after that. Fennelly says the Cyclones need to shore up the defense going forward.

Brynn Williamson had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Cyclones who visit Drake on Tuesday.

(Learfield Sports)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Melissa Dixon scored 21 points and Kali Peschel a career-high 19 as No. 19 Iowa beat Robert Morris 85-67 on Sunday. Dixon, who became the 32nd 1,000 career point scorer for Iowa, made 6 of 11 shots from beyond the arc. Bethany Doolittle added 12 points. The Hawkeyes (2-0), made 31 of 63 shots for 49.2 percent. Samantha Logic had 14 rebounds and 11 assists, her 25th career double-double.

Anna Niki Stamolamprou scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Colonials (0-1), the defending Northeast Conference champions. Megan Smith and Ashley Ravelli added 11 points each and Rebeca Navarro 10. The Colonials shot just 37.5 percent.

Iowa, which has been to the last seven NCAA tournaments, scored the last eight points of the first half to lead 42-31. Dixon’s 3-pointer with 9:58 left had Iowa ahead 63-52 and it led by double figures the rest of the way.

(Learfield Sports)