courtside

With 2025 recruiting having arrived this week, these are SLU’s 2023 and 2024 commits: 2023: Tanner Anderson, Cole Dougherty, Carlos Leatherman, Marcos Moore, Jack Sullivan, Axel Torres. Incoming transfers: Galen Flynn, Diego Konicks, Diego Lawson Redmon, Matthew Wrobel, 2024: Jackson Delkus, Connor Dillman, Drake Fournier, Andrew Heckenlaible, Gershon Henry, Braydon Sellers, Zach Stanton.

Your sources, unsurprisingly, would be wrong.

SLU offered Luke Walsh today. BBE and Vianney. (He's the 2nd cousin of former Billiken soccer player Donny Ross.) https://twitter.com/LukeWalsh1414/status/1669535547533000706?t=vf6cdBdEaWb6qNlBs2cY6A&s=19

Missouri State Awards: Class 4: Nina Preusser: State Co-Offensive Player of the Year. 1st Team All State. Maddie Sibbing: State Goalkeeper of the Year. 1st Team All State. Class 3: Audrey Smith: State Player of the Year. 1st Team All State. Ashley Miller: 1st Team All State. Lucie Schwartz: 1st Team All State.

High School Soccer Award Season for SLU commits: Arkansas: 2023 Sam De Luca scored all 3 goals, and was named the most valuable player, leading her school to its first ever Arkansas Class 3A State Championship. (She also won a state title in tennis) ………….. Illinois: 2023 Jordan Gary 1st Team All State. Also ran track. 2024 Sarah Sarnowski 1st Team All State for 2nd straight team state runner up team. 25 goals. 2024 Ulla Sharp: All Sectional and All Conference Teams. Also played for the ODP National Team. ……………. Kansas: 2023 Ashley Koch was named the Kansas Class 6A State Forward of the Year. Finished 3rd in both goals and assists, and led her team to its 2nd state title game in 3 seasons. Also once again the Sunflower League Forward of the Year. 2024 Nimu Karani was named the Kansas Class 6A State Goalkeeper of the Year. Nimu was also the Eastern Kansas League Goalkeeper of the Year. 2024 Addy Lang was named 1st Team All State Kansas Class 5A. State Quarterfinalist. 2024 Hope Kim was named 1st Team All State Kansas Class 5A. State Quarterfinalist. ……………… Kentucky: 2024 Emily Paul was named 2nd Team All State. (Fall) ……………….. Missouri: Missouri has not yet named its All State Teams. But it is has named its All Region Teams. 2023 Nina Preusser was named Class 4 Region Player of the Year. Finished State Runner up every year she played as a two way forward. 2024 Audrey Smith was named Class 3 Region Player of the Year. 41 goals 22 assists. 3 time Missouri Class 3 State Champion. 2024 Ashley Miller was named All Region. Led the state in assists with 32, while adding 25 goals. 3 time Missouri Class 3 State Champion. 2023 Maddie Sibbing was Class 4 Region Goalkeeper of the Year. Also Conference goalkeeper of the year. 2023 Lucie Schwartz who missed some time with injury was named to the Class 3 All Region Team. Also played basketball. 2023 Ella Nelson was named Class 4 All Conference. …………… Tennessee: 2023 Eva Schreiber was named II-A All State after helping her team to its 4th straight state title game, winning two. (Fall) 28 goals 15 assists. …………… (2023 Alyssa Bockius, 2023 Macy Lutz, and 2023 Autumn Jackson did not play high school soccer. Bockius played Super Cup. Lutz played at Rome City, and AJ rehabbed a knee injury) Independent workouts and home study for 2023’s. Club ball playoffs in June and July for 2023’s and 2024’s. ……………….

SLU has a commitment from 2024 Jackson Delkus. Jackson is a two footed, finishing Forward, who combines well with others, and, who can also play either wing. He is the captain and leading scorer of the U17 St. Louis City Academy team. This season he has helped lead his team to the division title heading into the playoffs. Last season he helped his team to the MLS Next Final Four. Prior to that Jackson was a two time USYNT Regional Camp invitee. Jackson also has experience playing with St. Louis City 2.

https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/uconn-interesting-program-country https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/uconn/article/david-benedict-big-east-big-12-18104155.php

I’m very aware of what is going on with Yuri. It has even been discussed privately here. You seem to be unsurprisingly missing some info about it.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2023/05/19/power-5-conferences-earnings-billions-2022/70235450007/

All the best to Liz Stureman as she made official her medical retirement from soccer. (6 surgeries for compartment syndrome and popliteal entrapment syndrome in 2 plus years) Liz gave it go playing this Spring, and she was scheduled to play Summer Ball with FC Pride in Indy. Great effort through frequent pain for 2 seasons at SLU. From Fort Wayne, Liz played with Indy Fire, ODP, and at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, at the youth level.

This is the link to the Department of Education, where one can look up any school by following the prompts. I believe Brian posted it in a recent discussion we had on the topic: https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/

SLU is adding transfer Isabelle “Izzy” Luebbert from Arkansas. A left footed, left back and wingback, Izzy played in 13 games as a Freshman, starting 2, including the opener at SLU, on the Arkansas Elite 8 team Izzy is from Jefferson City, MO, where she was a First Team All State (Helias) attacking player in high school. In club ball, she helped lead her SLSG team to the Champions League National Final Four as a left back and wingback. Izzy’s older brothers both played at Truman State, and her sister, is NWSL (Chicago) and Liga MX (Club America) star, Sarah Luebbert. SLU first explored adding Izzy as a transfer at mid-semester. Izzy remained at Arkansas for the Spring season.

SLU usually likes to wait until mid July to make a formal class announcement. Incoming 2023 Freshmen: Tanner Anderson Cole Dougherty Carlos Leatherman Marcos Moore Jack Sullivan Axel Torres …………. Incoming 2023 Transfers: Galen Flynn Diego Konincks Lawson Redmon Matt Wrobel …………….. 6 Seniors graduated/out of eligibility. 5 players have transferred out. …………….. Feel free to ask about specific players and their backgrounds.

SLU has a new 2024 commitment from Gershon Henry. Gershon is a left footed 6’1 center back, from Real Salt Lake Academy. Gershon was one of 45 players selected to the inaugural MLS Next Pro All Star Game last Summer. He has competed with both the U15 and U17 United States Youth National Team, (including last Summer’s friendlies in Argentina) and recently, with the U17 Finnish Youth National Team. Back row, 3rd from the right: https://twitter.com/usynt/status/1504930403014094849?s=46&t=fgPIFeUaiqF-yIMzPyXZ3w Bottom right, #13: https://twitter.com/huuhkajat/status/1618881353650692096?s=46&t=fgPIFeUaiqF-yIMzPyXZ3w https://twitter.com/huuhkajat/status/1618637291962138624?s=46&t=fgPIFeUaiqF-yIMzPyXZ3w Gershon previously helped lead his team to the U15 MLS Next Cup Championship. He was born in Ghana, and he was adopted by Finnish and American parents.

SLU is adding Olivia “Liv” Layton. Liv is a recent Colorado State alum, where she played 4 seasons. She was a First Team All Mountain West Conference F/MF player. A skilled, left footed, central attacking player, Liv played in 61 games while at CSU, starting 43, where she led the team in several offensive categories. She also took many of their set pieces. Liv was a standout left back and wingback at SLSG in St. Louis as a youth player. She played club ball with several current and recent Billikens, including Miller, Houck, Lawler, Puricelli, etc….and Liv was a high school classmate with Emily Groak. While there, she was a 3 time First Team All State player, and a MAC All Star game participant.

MLS Next Pro has proven to be a good player development path post college, and a bridge to MLS, especially with some SLU players. It also provides valuable experience for younger college bound players. Several incoming SLU commits have been playing on various MLS Next Pro teams. (Leatherman, Sullivan, Sellers, etc) It has helped Kipp Keller this season: https://www.austinfc.com/austinfcii/news/keller-s-leadership-plays-key-role-in-unbeaten-start-for-austin-fc-ii And MLS Next Pro success for Isaiah Parker led his loan to San Antonio in USL, where he gets to start and play. He’s stuck behind Farfan in Dallas. ……………… SLU is adding Cole Ross to its Fall roster. He is a former SLSG Academy midfielder who played club ball with multiple current Billikens. He sat out the year at Dayton. He’s the cousin of former Billiken Donny Ross.

Here is the link to watch SLU alum Mujeeb Murana start tonight for Houston in their U.S. Open Cup game vs Sporting Kansas City. Let's get it Jeebs: https://www.youtube.com/live/nqra5Xefzjo?feature=share

Media relations did walk by me along the track at half time of the recent Illinois game. I was a little busy at the time, but I believe they were drinking bottled water instead of Moii Coffee. Here is a reminder that Moii coffee and merchandise, can be found here: https://moiicoffee.com/pages/about

I'm a positive solution person Steve. So, I will make you an offer: I will do my best to treat you and all others here with the same equal respect that I would equally seek from from you and all others. What do you say Steve? Deal? Please allow me to respectfully respond to your post as there is an awful lot to it. Thanks. As for a response to your above post: First, there seems to be some confusion. No one is on a tirade. This couldn't be more calm and matter of fact. Maybe don't read tone that isn't there. And with regards to cluttering the board, my posts are in respone to yours. I'm pretty sure I post on topic in threads as much as many people here. Minus the coffee thread which I still at least mentioned. I didn't need a discussion with you, nor did I request one. I didn't need or want or ask you to take action of any kind this week. I did think it was okay for me to provide a timely plagiarism example in response to your post about plagiarsm. That seems fair. You made yourself clear about the topic and its unimportance to you long ago. I didn't forget, but that doesn't mean I hold the same opinion as you about it. It's still okay to have different opinions about the importance of plagiarism and the like, yes? With regards to stirring the pot, respectfully, I think you have it backwards Steve. I think the people plagiarizing stir the pot first by doing just that. Then you continued to stir the pot in this thread by trying to make a plagiarism joke. It isn't the first time either to be fair. Holding people accountable for it is not stirring the pot in my opinion. I am not the one who brings it up periodically. But I don't mind that it gets brought up periodically here by some others, because if it wasn't true it would have been laughed away in minutes years ago. (By the way fyi, copying and pasting someone else's work without credit is also plagiarizing.) In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are the janitor at the company or if you are the President of the company. Everyone is held to the same standards, and everyone is worthy of the same equal level of respect. That seems simple enough. With regards to the actual example, of course you and a few others don't want to discuss the specifics in this specific example. People often ask for specific examples in real time, but when taken up on the offer, then it's either crickets, who cares, levity, avoidance, etc... Each person can pick out his or her category in my above post. You mentioned volunteering. To me plagiarizing is even worse when it is done to people who are kindly volunteering their time and information to benefit others. It isn't any different if a student plagiarized in one of your classes. It's the exact same thing if an Elections class political science student wrote a paper, and another student stole it and turned it in as their own. Ethics and decency aren't situational, at least not to me. There also isn't a hierarchy to their value. At least, not to me. I believe this is where we differ most. It's also interesting that you have these conversations with other posters. That would have been easy to do with me as well. But not once since I have been here all of these years have you ever reached out to me privately for a conversation or discussion about any topic, good, bad, indifferent. And not once have you ever replied in the very infrequent times I have ever reached out to you in all these years. Otherwise we could have also more productively done that instead. It isn't in any way hurting the soccer programs, or any of the other programs I discuss here when plagiarism is revealed. Gotta say I found that comment odd. Unsurprisingly many of these people connected with these programs also aren't fans of plagiarism and the like. At least that's what they tell me privately. It's also what other readers of the board tell me privately too. (Much of my time here is spent in private messages.) I don't post about plagiarism in the sports teams threads. With the exception of the recent coffee thread, I post mostly on topic in any thread. But again in that example, I replied to your post. It's your board Steve. You get to do whatever you want with it. I'm happy to work with you. I am not going to compromise my values just because it's your site. But I'm willing to work with you for a solution if something is bothering you. I'm pretty comfortable with how I post, and with how I treat others here, both on the public board, and privately. Most of it is volunteering my work and info here for others to enjoy. It's like how the old saying goes, treat all others the same, and treat all others how you wish to be treated. That seems to work for me. Maybe come to a practice, or a training, or a game, or on the road recruiting, or hang with the players, coaches, staffs some time, in a variety of Women's and Men's sports. I only get the chance to share a small, tiny part of it all. So many fun and exciting things are going on out there. There is no offseason. There are SLU sports in every season. I'm here for all of the SLU Women and Men's sports. So what do you say Steve, I will treat you and all others here with the same equal respect that I would seek for myself. Deal? Seems fair. I'm happy to move on with coffee talk in this thread, and sports talk in sports threads.

Do you drink coffee? I am generally a medium dark roast, Columbian coffee type of coffee drinker. Everyone has his or her own personal preferences Firaol makes and sells various types of regional Ethiopian coffee. Very roughly speaking some of it has fruity and flowery components, citrus, berry, wine taste. I’m happy to support his story, journey, and his business.

I appreciate the levity. Fun dad jokes aside, it isn’t a common grounds thing. Plagiarism and ethics aren’t meeting in the middle types of things. Just be thankful I’m not a regular listener to their podcast. Steve made a plagiarism comment, so I matter of factly gave a current example. Nothing more nothing less. Good luck to Firaol.

Some people would consider plagiarism, and having ethics, anything but trivial and unimportant, (definition of pettiness) Some others wouldn’t. Examples of those that wouldn’t include: 1) Consumers only. People who consume information as opposed to producing it. They just want to consume at any and all costs and not be bothered. 2) Fellas. These are people who are more concerned about being part of a social group, being one of the fellas at any cost including integrity. 3) These are people who can only relate to things when it happens to them personally. We see this frequently in a wide variety of topics. As far as the topic changing from coffee to plagiarism, that was the doing of the board moderator. I just so happened to have replied with a real time example. I have publicly and privately supported Firaol, encourage others to do so, and I wish him and his business well.

This is another example of distracting and changing the subject. Did Pete take a trip to St. Louis over 5 days and attend 2 soccer games? In his post above, last Friday, 11:52pm Steve posted in this thread about plagiarism and changed the course of this thread. I did kindly reply about both the coffee topic and plagiarism, as opposed to starting a new thread about plagiarism. I'm sure you wouldn't have enjoyed that. And now here you are replying and extending the thread. I'm good. But if you'd like to keep going, that's up to you.

No need to @ signguy because he was the one who brought up plagiarism. I saw hus post and gave him a current same week example of it. My first reply was to Steve. I didn't ask him for anything. I was merely pointing it out as you all were having some fun with the tooic. So you are now saying Pete came in town for 5 days and attended 2 soccer games? He spoke first hand about 2 games that were not televised. And the exact comments he made just so happen to have been posted here. Amazing coincidence. 1) He took the information from here. 2) Even if he took information from somewhere else, which he didn't, he still passed it all off as his own. So now you are saying Pete visited St. Louis for 2 games over 5 days.

This response is called gaslighting, a distraction from the specific topic and example. No one said I was the only person with insight to the games. I said as much in my previous post by saying he does this with other people and posters too. Pete spoke in the first person, in specific detail, about games he did not attend, were not televised, were not covered by sports media, and were not covered by SLU. (And it wasn’t the first time.) The exact same details were provided here. It must have been a big coincidence those happen to be the exact same things he discussed as opposed to adding any one thing not from there. That’s plagiarism under any definition. Pete is so informed, and he avoids those threads here so much, that he posted in those exact same threads last week discussing players who haven’t been on the team in 5 months, as well as eagerly believing a false rumor from an another poster. By defiantly saying you don’t and you haven’t ever taken information from here (and elsewhere) and passed it off as your own, it only makes it laughably worse. You’d rather double, triple, quadruple down, on a plagiarism reputation, than simply say: According to xyz thread on Billikens Dot Com…” Mistakes and accidents happen to everyone. But what you have been doing for years is an ongoing pattern of behavior, of passing off other people’s work as your own. And it's so easily avoidable too.