ESPN Will TeleviseThree Friday Night Boise State Games

Boise State's Friday schedule just got a lot clearer.

ESPN will televise all three of Boise State's Friday football games this year.  The Broncos will host Air Force September 13 at 6 P.M.) while road games against Fresno State (September 20 at 7 P.M.) and BYU (October 25 at 6 P.M.) will also be shown on ESPN.

Kickoff times and broadcasts for the remainder of the Boise State schedule have yet to be finalized.

VanderMalle, Bates Set Boise State Records

The Boise State women's track team set three new school records at the Mt. SAC Relays in Sacramento, California.

Marisa VanderMalle was timed in 10:27.24 in the 3000-meter steeplechase.  She finished 13th, but set a school record, indicating how far the program has to go.  Robin Nixon set the school mark of 10:30.98 in 2003.

Bates was third in the 10,000 meters in a time of 33:49.64, beating her career best by nearly one minute.  Bates broke the mark of 34:16.14 set by Abby Peters in 2000.

The Bronco 4x100-meter relay team of Heather Pilcher, Taryn Campos, Mackenzie Flannigan and Steffanie Jordan set the new school mark iwith a time of 45.67.

Boise State Last in Mountain West Softball

The Boise State softball team sits in last place with a 2-8 record; the Lady Broncos are 18-23-1 overall.

San Diego State (6-2, 28-15)
Colorado State (6-2, 20-19)
Nevada (6-5, 27-19)
Fresno State (6-5, 25-20)
UNLV (4-5, 18-25)
New Mexico (3-8, 19-28)
Boise State (2-8, 18-23-1)

Rice Inks Another Bronco

For the second straight day, Boise State made news with the announcement of another commitment.

Nicholas (Nick) Duncan, a 6-8, 225-pound forward from Sydney, Australia has signed a letter of intent and will enroll this fall.  Duncan is from the Australian Institute of Sport, which also produced current Broncos Anthony Drmic and Igor Hadziomerovic.

"Nick is a big, strong, physical player with a great feel for the game," Rice said. "He reminds me a lot of Bishop Kelly's Cory Violette."

Duncan led NSW Metro to the gold medal at the 2011 U18 National Championship, averaging 17.6 points and 14.9 rebounds a game.  He led Australia to the silver medal at the 2012 U17 World Championship, leading the team in rebounding with 8 per game.  Included was a 13-rebound performance against the United States.

Trent Signs With Boise State

Dezmyn Trent has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Boise State, according to head coach Leon Rice.

Trent (6-4, 210) is from Foss High School in Tacoma, Washington, and will enroll this fall.

Trent was a 3A All-State performer last season when he averaged a school record 26.9 points per game.  Included were eight games in which he scored over 30 and four with more than 40.  Trent was a three-year starter at Foss.

"We love guys that can score the basketball and Dezmyn is certainly adept at scoring in a variety of ways," Rice said. "He can play multiple spots on the floor, and he's got a toughness and competitiveness about him that will fit in with what we have been building at Boise State."

Trent was the Most Valuable Player of his conference last year, and shared league MVP honors after his junior season in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists.  Trent was all-league as a sophomore, averaging 16 points a game.

We have high hopes for you, Trent!

Broncos Down Fresno State

It has been an up-and-down season for the Boise State tennis team, but the #46 Broncos put away Fresno State 6-1 in Fresno.

The Broncos won the doubles points, then Thomas Tenreiro won when Fresno's Sam MacNeil retired in the first set.  Andy Bettles won 6-1, 6-2 and Filipp Pogostkin downed Nikolas Papic 6-4, 6-3.  Bettles has won 20 matches in each of his three seasons at Boise State.

The Broncos are now 16-9 overall and 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference with the win.  Boise State hosts Nevada this Friday at 1 p.m. to finish the regular season.

No. 46 Boise State 6, Fresno State 1
 Singles
1. No. 33 Andy Bettles (Boise State)def. Felipe Fritz (FS) 6-1, 6-2
2.  Nathan Sereke (Boise State) def. Reid deLaubenfels (FS) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3.  Scott Sears (Boise State) def. Sai Kartik Nakireddi (FS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4.  Filipp Pogostkin (Boise State) def. Nikolas Papic (FS) 6-4, 6-3
5.  Thomas Tenreiro (Boise State) def. Sam MacNeil (FS) 3-0, retired
6. Jeremy Quiroz (FS) def. Garrett Patton (Boise State) (BSU) 7-5, 6-4

 Doubles
1. Andrew Bettles/Nathan Sereke (Boise State) def. Reid deLaubenfels/Sam MacNeil (FS) 9-7
2. Garrett Patton/Scott Sears (Boise State) def. Sai Kartik Nakireddi/Jeremy Quiroz (FS) 8-1
3. Felipe Fritz/Nikolas Papic (FS) vs. Toby Mitchell/Filipp Pogostkin (Boise State) 7-7, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5,1,4,6,2,3)

Boise State Ranked #24 in CBS Preseason Basketball Rankings

As they say, definitely too early, but it's amazing to me because Boise State has never been mentioned in any kind of poll for basketball.  Coach Rice definitely has the program on the upswing:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/22036310

Boise State Football Schedule Released

2013-2014 SCHEDULE Overall 0-0 Conf. 0-0 Home 0-0 Away 0-0

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
08/31/13	at Washington	Seattle, Wash.	TBA
09/07/13	vs. Tennessee-Martin	Boise, Idaho	TBA
09/13/13	vs. Air Force	Boise, Idaho	TBA
09/20/13	at Fresno State	Fresno, Calif.	TBA
09/28/13	vs. Southern Miss	Boise, Idaho	TBA
10/12/13	at Utah State *	Logan, Utah	TBA
10/19/13	vs. Nevada *	Boise, Idaho	TBA
10/25/13	at BYU	Provo, Utah	6:00 p.m. MT
11/02/13	at Colorado State *	Fort Collins, Colo.	TBA
11/16/13	vs. Wyoming	Boise, Idaho	TBA
11/23/13	at San Diego State *	San Diego, Calif.	TBA
11/30/13	vs. New Mexico	Boise, Idaho	TB

Boise State Goes Wire To Wire To Win Cowgirl Classic

Excuse the phrase, but this one came out of nowhere.


The Boise State women's golf team led all three rounds in winning the Cowgirl Classic in Handler, Arizona by 19 strokes.  Four Broncos finished in the Top 25 individually, led by medalist Hayley Young, who won the title by seven strokes.

The only way to sum up what this means is to compare it to past efforts in Bronco women's golf.  The last time a Bronco women's golf team won an event outright was 13 years ago.  The last time a Bronco individual won an even was eight years ago, and Young's win is just the sixth in the program's history.  To say they haven't done well is an understatement.  

"This is one of the proudest moments of my coaching career," head coach Nicole Bird said.. "To see how hard this team has worked and how positive they stayed throughout the week, was amazing.  "Leading a tournament for three rounds is a hard thing to do, but they have an incredible amount of talent and they never got flustered. The team remained confident and positive, and they definitely earned this trophy."

Young tied her career best with 71 on the first two days and finished with an even-par, 72.  Young was the only golfer in the 103-woman field to finish under par.  Freshman McKenzie Ford finished in fourth with a score of 225.  Lori Harper finished with a 72 to finish in a tie for 14th with a score of 231.  Freshman Sammie Pless scored her third Top 25 finish in four tournaments in finishing tied for 22nd with a 233.

Boise State (901 final score) not only led the tournament after each day, but they improved their performance each successive day.  The Broncos shot 307 on opening day, then went into the clubhouse with a 301 on day two, only to improve that with a sizzling 293, just two shots off the school record.

Xavier finished 19 shots behind Boise State for second.  The margin of victory was the most since 1993 when the Broncos won the Big Sky Championship.

Whether this means the team just got hot in Arizona, or whether it's a statement that the team will be a factor in the upcoming Mountain West Championships, we'll know soon.  That test is set for April 25-27 in Palm Springs, California.

Lewis Commits to Boise State

Boise State received its third commitment of the year and its second this week as talented defensive back Brandon Lewis (5-11, 180) of Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove, California gave his verbal.  Lewis is regarded as one of the top ten cornerbacks in the West and joins Khalil Oliver as a defensive back in the 2014 recruiting class. Quarterback Jalen Greene committed to Boise State earlier in the week.

Lewis had 45 tackles, eight pass deflections, two interceptions and three blocked field goals as a sophomore in 2011.

Boise State One of 14 Schools with a First Round NFL Draft Pick in Three of Five Years

Like everything else, even the talent evaluation-challenged NFL is catching up to the most successful college football team since 1900.  With first-round selections in 2008, 2010 and 2012, Boise State is tied for eighth in the nation with three first-round picks in the last five years.  The Broncos are one of 14 schools with that distinction.  Boise State also ranks 10th in the nation with four first-rounders in the last five years.

NFL All-Pro Ryan Clady was selected in the first round of the 2008 Draft, while Kyle Wilson was a first-round choice of the Jets in 2010 and Doug Martin and Shea McClellin were each taken in last year's first round.

Alabama has promoted a player to the NFL in each of the last five years and also leads in total first-rounders with 11.  Boston College, Florida, Illinois, LSU and USC have featured first-round choices in four of those years, while Baylor, Boise State, California, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Tennessee are tied with first-rounders in three of those years.  Georgia, Florida State, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin have featured first-round choices in two of the five years.

I bring this up because more and more, the talk is that Boise State cornerback Jamar Taylor will be a first-round choice in this year's NFL Draft.  Can the Broncos make it three of four years and four years in the last six?    

USC is second in total first-rounders in the last five years with 10 and then it's a big drop-off to Florida with six.  Baylor, Boston College, Illinois, LSU, Missouri and Oklahoma State have five first-rounders in the last five years while Boise State, California, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee have four each.

Boise State Piles Up Titles in All-Idaho Cup

Luke Schafer tied for first in the pole vault today with a vault of 15-1.  Boise State doing well in the All-Idaho Cup.  Jordin Andrade took first in the 400 in 47.57, while Bryce Bergevin won the 800 with a time of 1:52.29.  Daveon Collins (10.70) and Mackenzie Flannigan (12.13) swept the 100 in men's and women's, respectively while Marissa VanderMalle captured the steeplechase in 10:31.77.

Jessical Bottleberghe, Yvonne Bennett, Megan Kelley and Chelsey Washington teamed to win the women's 4 x 400-meter relay for the Broncos.

Malnes Wins 110 Hurdles

Justin Malnes continued the day of celebration at Ed Jacoby Track, capturing the title in the short hurdles in a time of 14.40.

Bronco Women's 4 x 100 Relay Team Comes Through

The Boise State women's 4x 100 relay team won today, with Yvonne Bennett, Shannon Jacobs, Megan Kelley and Chelsey Washington combining for a time of 47.39.

Post Wins Hammer

Matt Post continued his winning ways, taking the title in the hammer throw at the All-Idaho Cup track meet at Dona Larsen Park in Boise.  Post dominated the event, winning by over 21 feet.

Bronco Harriers Win Four On Opening Day of Idaho Cup

This is an exciting time in the Treasure Valley.  Spring is in the air, there's plenty of awesome sunshine, the spring sports are in the air, and Bronco fans got to witness the debut of the track at Dona Larsen Park.

Boise State is hosting the All-Idaho Cup at the Park, and Bronco student-athletes celebrated the opening with four victories yesterday.  Jordan Andrade, fresh off his record performance in the 400-meter hurdles last week, won the event with a time of 50.93, while Chase Sexton won the discus with a heave of 170-feet, 4-inches.  Coach J.W. Hardy's team also took titles in both the men's 200 (Daveon Collins with a time of 20.86) and the women's 200 (Mackenzie Flannigan in 24.05).

Emily Funkhouser took second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.91, the third-best outdoor time in Lady Bronco history.  The fact that she recorded a historic school time and still didn't win (Idaho State's Hayli Worthington was first) shows how far the program still needs to go.

Bronco fans got an added bonus as they got to witness former NCAA decathlon champion Kurt Felix in the javelin competition.  Competing as an "unattached" athlete, Felix won the event with a toss of 228-9, more than 19 feet in front of the closest competitor.

Action concludes today at Dona Larsen with field events getting underway at 10 this morning and running events commencing at 12:20.  The "All-Idaho Cup", though, is a bit deceiving--schools from Utah and Washington are also there for the festivities.  Join us today  for a great day of Bronco track!

Home Run Gives New Mexico 7-6 Win

With losses to Big Sky schools earlier in the year, prospects were dimmed for the Mountain West season and today, Boise State lost 7-6 despite leading 3-0 and getting what appeared to be a three-run homer in the top of the seventh that would have given them a 7-6 lead.  The two teams will meet again tomorrow and Sunday in the opening series of conference play.

Mackenzie Whyte Homer

Would have been a 7-6 game on a three-run homer, but Whyte passed Weir on the basepath.  It results in a second out instead, with Whyte on first.

Weir Single Makes It 6-4

Makenna comes through to score Glover making it 6-4.

Boise State with Two On, One Out in 7th

A Glover single and Bridges walk brings the tying run to the plate in Boise State's last shot.  It would be tough to swallow to lose this one after leading 3-zip.