Atlantic senior-to-be Cooper McDermott announced earlier this week that he will attend Dakota State University next year and play baseball for the Trojans.  Cooper will be following in his father’s footsteps. Current Atlantic Head Football Coach Mike McDermott played football and baseball at Dakota State.

Dakota State is a member of the NAIA’s North Star Athletic Association and are coming off a 2-30 season. Geoff Schaab was promoted from interim to full-time Head Coach of the Trojans this spring.

McDermott is being recruited as a pitcher and infielder at the next level.  McDermott went 2-2 on the mound this season with a 4.30 ERA. He recorded 16 strikeouts, 8 walks, and 7 hit batters. At the plate McDermott recorded 20 hits with 3 RBI’s and a .282 average.

Cooper has a full year of activities left with Atlantic beginning with the recently started football season.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a grand slam one pitch after a cat ran onto the field in the sixth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals rally to beat the Kansas City Royals 8-5 on Wednesday night. Melky Cabrera hit his 15th home run, a two-run shot, that had given the Royals a 5-4 lead in the fifth.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cardinals have a friendly feline to thank for their rally against the Royals. With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth on Tuesday night, the game was delayed for a couple minutes when a small, feisty cat sprinted onto the field at Busch Stadium. On the first pitch after play resumed, Yadier Molina hit a grand slam off Peter Moylan to give the Cardinals an 8-5 lead. The cat was instantly dubbed #RallyCat on Twitter.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Two teams from Nebraska are ranked in the top 10 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are No. 5 and the Creighton Bluejays are No. 9 in the poll released Wednesday.

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — William Byron will replace Kasey Kahne next season at Hendrick Motorsports, the latest teenager to earn a promotion to NASCAR’s top level. The 19-year-old Byron will drive the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Cup series. Kahne and Hendrick announced their split earlier this week.

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The Iowa basketball team opened a trip to Europe with a victory. The Hawkeyes outscored the German All-Stars 51-21 in the second half in a 99-65 win. Iowa finished with four players in double figures. Freshman center Luka Garza showed he will be an impact player for the Hawkeyes with 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action.

The Hawkeyes travel to Switzerland where they will play the Swiss All-Stars on Thursday.

(Learfield Sports)

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yadier Molina, Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk went deep, the Cardinals scored so much in the fifth inning that they broke the scoreboard, and St. Louis rolled to a 10-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night. Michael Wacha allowed a three-run double to Cheslor Cuthbert but otherwise kept the Royals in check, surrendering six hits over six innings to win for the sixth time in seven decisions.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hall of Fame quarterback-turned broadcaster Len Dawson, who led the Kansas City Chiefs to three AFL titles and their only Super Bowl, will retire from the radio booth after the upcoming season. The Chiefs and their radio network announced Dawson’s decision in a joint statement Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kentucky, Syracuse and the Big Ten recorded three of the top NCAA basketball attendance marks during the 2016-17 season. In a short video released by the NCAA on Tuesday, the two storied programs and the powerhouse league were recognized for their accomplishments.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Nebraska receiver Keyshawn Johnson Jr. will enter a pretrial diversion program on two marijuana charges. The case was sent to diversion Monday in Lancaster County Court. Charges would be dismissed if he complies with terms of the program for one year.

Atlantic senior to be Austin Alexander announced on Tuesday his commitment to continue his basketball career at Northwestern College in Orange City.

The point guard averaged 11.9 points and 4 assists per game during his junior season in which the Trojans earned their way to the Class 3A State Basketball Tournament.  Alexander shot 46% from the field and from three point range last year. Austin has also been active on the AAU basketball circuit this summer.

The Northwestern College Red Raiders play in the NAIA’s Great Plains Athletic Conference and went 27-7 last season under Head Coach Kris Korver.

Alexander will be one of 4 returning starters for Coach Alan Jenkins’ Trojan squad this season.

(IHSAA) At its August 4th meeting, the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Board of Control approved administrative recommendations effecting the State Swimming Meet and State Basketball Tournament, effective this winter.

The changes approved a three-year contract to return the State Swimming Meet to the campus of the University of Iowa, while the State Basketball Tournament will become a Monday through Friday event and remain at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Neither of the changes will impact how teams and/or individuals qualify for the State Tournament. Both changes are supported by the advisory committees and coaches’ associations in their respective sports.

IHSAA Executive Director Alan Beste commented, “The Marshalltown YMCA/YWCA and Marshalltown Community Schools were exceptional hosts and the Y provided a great venue for our state swimming championships. The move to The University of Iowa’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Center provides an opportunity for our championships to be held at a site where the NCAA Men’s Championships have been held and will be held again in the future.”

He continued, “Our goal in moving the state basketball tournament to a 5-day event is to reduce conflicts with college basketball tournaments and spring breaks that many school districts are engaged in and provide our schools, communities and fans a shorter tournament week experience. We believe we can create more of a championship environment by playing all championship games on the same day – Championship Friday. Each day/evening of the tournament will be considered a single session ticket whereby all games on a given day will be included in the admission price.”

A five-day State Basketball Tournament is the first major move in the tournament since moving from three to four classes in 1985 and marks the first time the final day of the tournament is not scheduled on a Saturday.
There will be seven games on Monday and Tuesday of Tournament Week starting at 9:30 AM and six on the remaining three days, starting at 10:30 AM. Consolation games, which have been played since 1929, will continue to be played under the new format, with the four championship games being played Friday afternoon and evening. The order of the games will continue to be class 1A – 4A.

Full 2018 State Basketball Schedule: 2018-BOYS-STATE-TOURNAMENT-SCHEDULE

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Jacob Park hopes to complete a rarity at Iowa State: Start and finish the season as the Cyclones’ starting quarterback. The native of Charleston, South Carolina, began last season as the back up to Joel Lanning before taking over as the starting signal caller the final five games. He finished 2016 with nearly 1800 yards of passing and 12 touchdowns and says the experience has helped his confidence.

The redshirt junior began his college career at Georgia and feels much more comfortable in his second year with the Iowa State program. Park says his expectations for this season are much higher. Park will have plenty of weapons at his disposal with experience at running back and receiver.

The Cyclones open September second against Northern Iowa.

(Learfield Sports)