K-State Slate: 4.2.15 - Of home games and resignations

The baseball team has played its last seven games away from Manhattan, and indeed, 19 of its 26 games so far. Kansas State has not played well on the road, but is 6-2 at home this season, so the BatCats are justifiably relieved to finally open the home conference slate with a series against West Virginia. The first pitch will be at 6:30 PM tonight, with RHP Colton Kalmus.

This is a Black Out game, so if you're going to Tointon to catch the action, be sure to wear black.

Assistant coach Claire Coggins has resigned from the coaching staff. Coggins was a member of the 2004 Big 12 championship team as well as the most valuable player of the 2006 Postseason NIT championship. She became the 32nd player to score more than 1000 points in her career at Kansas State, finishing with 1,236 points. Coggins played professionally (first for WNBA's Chicago Sky and later for Panathanaikos in Greece) and then spent several years as an assistant coach at Oklahoma City University and Connors State. She returned to Kansas State in the 2012-2013 season, serving first as director of video operations and later as director of team operations. Last year, she was named to the coaching staff by first-year head coach Jeff Mittie.

Citing a desire to pursue interests and passions outside basketball, Coggins thanked the program and Kansas State fans. The team will honor her informally at a National Championship game viewing party at Old Chicago on Tuesday, and the public is invited to attend.

Bring on the Cats wishes Coggins well in all her future endeavors.

The equestrian team is getting ready for the national championships. Seeded ninth, the Wildcats riders will take on No. 8 SMU in the first round of the NCEA Championships, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 Georgia. The event takes place April 16-18 in Waco, Texas.

It's the Sunflower Showdown, this time in tennis. Kansas State will take on the Jayhawks as part of a seven-game road trip on Saturday in Lawrence. Although the Jayhawks lead the all-time series 39-14, the Wildcats have won the last six meetings. Kansas State will look to Iva Bago and Palma Juhasz, both with 16 singles wins this season, to lead the charge.

The track and field athletes are headed to Waco for the Baylor Invitational. The Wildcats are among nine teams competing, including Big 12 teams Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma and TCU, along with Minnesota and SMU. The event marks the outdoor season debut for several athletes, including Reinis Kregers (decathlon), Zack Riley (high jump), Tia Gamble (sprints), Akela Jones (high jump and multis) and A'Keyla Mitchell (sprints).

The women's team is No. 11 in the preseason rankings, the second-highest women's squad at the event behind only No. 10 Baylor. Meanwhile, veterans Sonia Gaskin (who set meet records at the ESU Invitational last week in the 400m and 4x400 relay) and Sara Savatovic (who took second in the hammer throw at the TCU Invitational) look to continue their strong outdoor seasons.

Back in 1998, when Michael Bishop was turning heads at Kansas State, Brian Shay was quietly compiling NCAA records down the road at Emporia State. Shay, a three-time All-American and the Harlon Hill trophy winner for the best player in Division II in 1998, is one of ten athletes being elected into the MIAA Hall of Fame this year. Shay set 17 Division II records and six NCAA all-division records while in Hornets uniform, including earning 6,958 rushing yards and 9,301 all-purpose yards.