Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Nearad makes all-tourney at Canada Cup

SURREY, British Columbia - Taylor Nearad of Kirkwood was named to a prestigious all-tournament team at the Canada Cup International Softball Tournament in Canada this month.

Nearad batted .462 in the tournament in 12 games with three doubles, two triples, six RBIs and nine runs. She hit in the leadoff spot in  most of those games and helped the NJCAA All-Stars compile a 6-6 record against some of the top teams in the world.

Nearad was joined on the all-tournament squad by players from Venezuela, Australia, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico and  Japan. She was the two-time National Player of the Year at Kirkwood and has a full scholarship to Iowa State.

Morgan Frost of Kirkwood also excelled at the tournament. She hit .457 with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and 10 runs.

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Eagles help NJCAA all-stars in Canada

SURREY, British Columbia - Four members of the Kirkwood softball team have helped the NJCAA National All-Star team compile a 4-1 record so  far at the Canada Cup in British Columbia.

Taylor Nearad, the two-time National Player of the Year, is hitting .400 in the tournament and went 3-for-3 in one of the games with a single, double, triple and RBI.

Morgan Frost is hitting .385 with a home run, four RBIs and four stolen bases. Maddie Hansen has played in four games, but does not have a hit in the tournament so far.

Lexi Kinnaird has pitched a total of four innings in two games. She has a 3.50 ERA with no wins or losses.

Kirkwood Coach Joe Yegge is a member of the NJCAA coaching staff.

The NJCAA All-Stars have defeated the Quebec Nationals (3-1), Team Canada Juniors (9-2), Cahahoo Erins of Canada (5-2) and Team BC U21 (9-0). Their only loss was to Team Canada Elite (2-0).

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4 Eagles playing for U.S. in Canada Cup

Taylor Nearad, Maddie Hansen, Lexi Kinnaird and Morgan Frost of Kirkwood were four of the top junior college softball players in the United States the past two years.

Now they hope to shine on an international stage as well.

Nearad, Hansen, Kinnaird and Frost are members of the NJCAA National  Team that is playing in the Canada Cup International Softball Championship in Surrey, British Columbia. Kirkwood Coach Joe Yegge is a member of the coaching staff for the NJCAA all-stars.

The tournament begins today and will run through July 17.

Nearad, a center fielder, was a two-time All-American and two-time National Player of the Year at Kirkwood. She hit .516 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs this season.

Hansen, a catcher, also was a two-time All-American. She hit .534 with 19 homers and 92 RBIs this year.

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Da'Rion King signs with East Central

Kirkwood center Da'Rion King will continue his college basketball career at East Central University in Ada, Okla.

East Central is an NCAA Division II school that competes in the Great America Conference.

King, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Racine, Wis., averaged 11 points and six rebounds for Kirkwood this season and shot 58 percent from the field during his career.

King received all-regional honors at Kirkwood and helped the Eagles win the NJCAA Division II national title as a freshman in 2016.

Nearad repeats as National Player of Year

Kirkwood Community College center fielder Taylor Nearad has been named the Schutt Sports/NFCA National Junior College Player of the Year for the second straight season.

The award goes to the top player at any level of junior college softball, including NJCAA I, II, III, Cal JC and NWAC.

Nearad, who is from Solon, led the nation in hits (112), doubles (35) and runs scored (106). She hit .516 and finished fourth in the nation in homers (19) and sixth in RBIs (80).

Nearad shattered a long list of school records during her two years at Kirkwood. She hit .561 for her career with 257 base-hits, 66 doubles, 19 triples, 49 home runs, 209 RBIs and 220 runs.

Kirkwood led the nation with 55 victories this season and reached the Junior College World Series.

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4 Eagles named softball All-Americans

Maddie Hansen, Taylor Nearad, Lexi Kinnaird and Lexi Ferrari from Kirkwood have been named softball All-Americans for 2017.

Hansen and Nearad were named first team All-Americans, while Kinnaird and Ferrari earned second-team honors.

Hansen, a catcher from Cedar Rapids Jefferson, hit .534 with 19 home runs and 92 RBIs to rank in the top-4 in the country in all three categories. She will continue her career at North Dakota State.

Nearad, who has been named the National Player of the Year for the second straight season, hit .516 with 19 homers and 80 RBIs. She led the nation in runs (106), hits (112) and doubles (35).

Kinnaird, a right-handed pitcher, led the nation with 30 victories, 285 strikeouts and 12 shutouts. She will continue her career at Wisconsin-Green Bay.

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KCC's Howell drafted by Royals

Kirkwood shortstop Korry Howell was selected in the 19th round of the Major League draft by the Kansas City Royals.

Howell, a freshman from Chicago, hit .394 for the Eagles this season with six homers, 33 RBIs and 43 stolen bases.

In addition to his hitting and base-running, Howell excelled on defense and impressed scouts with his range, agility and strong arm.

KCC stars Goods, Harris find new homes

Simone Goods and Deleyah Harris, the All-Americans who helped Kirkwood  win the national title this season, have found new homes for their college basketball careers.

Goods, a 6-foot-2 center, has signed to play at Illinois State and compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Harris, a versatile wing player, has signed with West Texas A&M, an NCAA Division II school that plays in the Lone Star Conference.

Goods averaged 16.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks this season and was named the NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year. She shot 67.9 percent from the field, which led the nation.

Harris averaged 14.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2 steals per game as a do-it-all performer for Coach Kim Muhl's club.

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Kirkwood golfers finish 8th at nationals

MESA, Ariz. - The Kirkwood men's golf team finished in a tie for  eighth place at the NJCAA Division II national tournament Friday at  the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.

Mesa Community Community College took advantage of playing in its home  town and captured the title with a 72-hole total of 1,155 shots.

Kirkwood finished 52 shots behind the winner at 1,207 shots.

Colin Troxler of Mississippi Gulf Coast won the individual title at  2-under-par 282.

Louis Flynn of Kirkwood tied for 24th at 14-over 298. Jordan Even tied  for 39th at 19-over 303. JD Goodfellow tied for 45th at 21-over 305.  Niall Powell tied for 56th at 26-over 310. Charles Hartwig tied for  68th at 29-over 313.

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Mesa 1155, 2. Mississippi Gulf Coast 1160, 3. Murray State 1167, 4.  Tyler 1184, 5. South Mountain 1189, 6. Meridian 1196, 7. Illinois  Central 1205, 8. (tie) Kirkwood 1207, Southeast 1207, 10. Parkland 1219. 11. Copiah-Lincoln 1220, 12. Mott 1232, 13. Oakland 1250, 14. Black  Hawk 1255, 15. Iowa Central 1258, 16. Grand Rapids 1274, 17. Walters  State 1276, 18. Abraham-Baldwin 1282, 19. DMACC 1284, 20. Waubonsee  1315, 21. Allegeny 1409.