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As we put 2022 on the back burner, we look into 2023 with some stories that are sure to dominate the New Year’s headlines.
Take a look at Southwest Missouri’s top sports stories to watch for 2023.
How will Springfield react to Link Academy at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions?
Springfield Sports’ Super Bowl kicks off on January 12 with the 38th Annual Bass Pro Champions Tournament at the Great Southern Bank Arena.
Branson-based Link Academy will headline the event. The program finished as a national runner-up last year and has a roster full of 4- and 5-star athletes participating in the nation’s largest college basketball program.
more:Who is on the rink academy high school basketball roster for 2022-23?
The event also includes some teams from outside the area that are worth the price of admission. Christ the King (New York), St. Rita (Chicago), Sunrise Christian (Kansas), Calvary Christian (Florida), Bartlett (Tennessee) and Staley (Kansas City) will join the rink and Kickapoo on the field.
How far will the Lady Bears go after Beth Cunningham’s first season?
First-year head coach Beth Cunningham has a young roster that has made some progress in the second half in non-conference play. Whether the Lady Bears are ready to join the Missouri Valley in his conference is an open question.
The main focus is not on winning or losing, but on the growth of Lady Bear. Seeing the development of young players such as Kennedy Taylor and Jade Masogayo is very important as they are among the players to come out this season.The win is one of the most winning players in program history It’s a great sign for Sydney Wilson, who will graduate at the end of the year.
What will the conversation about men’s basketball in Missouri be in the coming months?
With a top and bottom non-conference slate, Missouri State men’s basketball fans were unhappy with the direction the current team is heading in its fifth season under head coach Dana Ford.
All is forgiven if Ford can turn the Bears into winners, challenge for the Valley title, or run in Arch Madness. An acquisition is likely at the end of the year if Missouri decides it needs to go in a different direction.
Winning fixes everything. A great run from the Bears and it could change whether or not MSU can keep him at Springfield.College basketball is so weird.
Which High School Basketball Team Contends For State Championships?
As usual, Southwest Missouri has a handful of elite high school basketball programs that pose a big threat in the postseason.
On the men’s team, the likes of Nixa, Republic and Kickapoo proved themselves elite earlier in the year and have the ingredients to make a statement from a state perspective. won, and both Nixa and Catholic advanced to the state semi-finals.
On the girls’ side, there are many high-level programs such as Republic, Nixa, West Plains, Strafford and Fair Grove. The region is brimming with women’s basketball talent, and can typically pick up multiple title-worthy teams each year.
From Missouri to the Sunbelt? who?
Talks of conference reorganization aren’t slowing down anytime soon, and Missouri is often connected to the Sun Belt.
The latest report on the Bears’ connection to the Sun Belt came out in October. It wouldn’t be surprising if MSU had or continued to talk to the league, despite the university’s denial of the reports.
What will happen to the high school baseball scene in 2023?
The Ozarks’ baseball talent is on an upward trajectory and is about to climb even higher into the new year.
Ozark baseball could be as good as ever with some of the talented players in the region and some of the state-contending teams we have.
Logan-Rogersville is headlining this year, following their state championship last season. There are three Missouri Baseball commits, all three capable of pitching big innings in the postseason.
Catholics could get there too, but it looks like the Wildcats and Irish could end up in the same district. will be one.
These are not the only two great teams with great programs including Nixa, Glendale, Willard, Kickapoo, Fair Grove, Marionville, Aurora and more. It should be a great season for high school baseball.
Will Baseball Missouri live up to the hype?
Missouri State Baseball made a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament at the end of last season. With the Bears’ hype this season, they shouldn’t surprise anyone right now.
The Bears are expected to revamp their pitching staff this year, keeping many big bats and adding them to their lineup while being more consistent.
There are big names in the field like Spencer Nievens, Mason Hull, Mason Greer, Will Duff and Cam Kratic, but Charleston Southern Transfer’s Nick Rodriguez, former Lebanese standout Zach Stewart etc. can also be known.
Pitchers will be like top-tier MLB prospects like Alabama transfer Jake Eddington and Johnson County Community College transfer Hayden Minton (who will return to the Bears after the transfer). Added there, along with Billt-transferred Gage Bradley, Crowder College-transferred Reed Mets, and St. Louis-transferred Scott Youngbrandt.
If this is a team around .500 at the end of the regular season, something must have really gone wrong.
Can Ryan Beard Lead the Bears to a Comeback Season?
Ryan Beard was recently promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach. He’s tasked with getting the Bears back on track after Bobby Petrino’s departure.
No one predicted a 5-6 season heading into 2021, but the Bears have leveled off. Areas of weakness need to be addressed while trying to figure out who will be the starting quarterback in 2023.
more:Missouri’s new 33-year-old head football coach, Ryan Beard, preaches the “standard of excellence.”
Beard will return the entire coaching staff under Petrino. This is a plus. He also has a promising batch of freshmen, as the team is a more developed team within the MSU system. He’s playing one of the harder schedules in the country while he sees if that turns into a better show.
Who will have a hard postseason run on Southwest Missouri’s next surprise high school football team?
Leeds Spring were a surprise team for 2022 as they qualified for the state championship game for the first time in school history. Anyone else have that type of magic?
We know Lamar and Webb City are running and Nixa and Carthage are there. Perhaps this year will be the year the Republic leaps to challenge the Central Ozarks for his conference title, or the year Seneca can pick up his skills and jump past Lamar in the postseason. Mount Vernon and Fair Grove are perhaps another leap forward team.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist for the Springfield News-Leader. He can be reached at 417-371-6987, his email is at his wwheeler@news-leader.com, and his Twitter is at: @WyattWheeler_NLHe also co-hosts Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6pm.
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