Recently in Neuqua Valley Category

"Naperville Sports Weekly" will be back on the air just as the prep seasons begin again. The show starts its third season on Naperville Community Television on Aug. 30 at 6:30 p.m.

Viewers have three ways to watch: Channel 17; NCTV17.com through simultaneous streaming and on-demand; and iTunes podcast. The complete schedule can also be found at NCTV17.com.

The half-hour program has highlights and features from Benet, Naperville Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley.

Naperville and its high school cross country teams are currently featured at Running Times magazine.

Ian Krol, a seventh-round pick out of Neuqua Valley, has agreed to terms with the Oakland Athletics. The lefty pitcher declined his scholarship offer from the University of Arizona and instead signed a professional contract before Tuesday's 12:01 a.m. deadline.

Credit Sun sports editor Brad Engel for the information and look for more in Tuesday's print edition.

Connor Powers apparently couldn't reach an agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers and decided to return to Mississippi State. The corner infielder out of Benet - who showcased his swing this summer by winning the Cape Cod League's home run derby at Fenway Park - was picked in the 11th round. According to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers signed each of their first 11 picks from the first 10 rounds of the June draft.

"It was long and drawn out," Powers told The Clarion-Ledger (Miss.) on Monday. "I had expectations coming into the draft. I told the teams that and they understood. I just, unfortunately, couldn't get anything done."

Joe Henricksen of City/Suburban Hoops Report has a recruiting update on 6-foot-5-inch Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans, who -- if everything breaks right -- could eventually join his friend Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) at Northwestern. Henricksen writes:

After a strong finish in the high school season and a solid start in the spring AAU season, Evans did not play his best basketball during the July evaluation period. Although he has been a highly productive player who finds ways to get things done, he still has the dreaded 'tweener label attached to him.

Hoops Report Analysis: While Northwestern is still heavily involved and the biggest player in the Evans recruiting, the mid-major level would be ideal for Evans. If Evans to Northwestern doesn't get done, keep an eye on these schools as we inch closer to November and the signing period: Loyola, Drake, Toledo, Western Michigan and Fairfield.

Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley have earned top seeds in the upcoming Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association summer state tournament. For the full brackets, click here and follow the "IHSBCA SUMMER 09" link.

Last week we caught up with Stanford's Chris Derrick, the distance runner out of Neuqua Valley with Olympic ambitions. We mentioned the Cardinal's rich and varied athletic history, which includes John McEnroe, Tiger Woods and at least one national championship in 33 consecutive years.

But even Stanford isn't immune to the global financial crisis, as Mark Schlabach explains in a fascinating piece for ESPN.com. Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby told Schlabach that he will have to slash $7 million from his department over the next two and a half years. Bowlsby couldn't guarantee that sports won't be cut. Schlabach reports:

Across the country, Stanford isn't alone in its financial difficulties. Many athletic departments are struggling to balance their financial books after receiving less funding from state legislatures and fewer donations from alumni and boosters.

Stanford's economic woes are directly tied to the loss in value of its endowments, which are used to cover scholarship funding and other operating costs. In 2008, the Cardinal's athletic endowment was worth about $520 million. But the endowment lost about 20 to 30 percent of its value when the financial markets went south, dropping its current value to about $410 million. The value of the school's general endowment fell from $17.2 billion in 2008 to about $12 billion this fiscal year.

City/Suburban Hoops Report guru Joe Henricksen ranks 6-foot-5-inch Neuqua Valley forward Dwayne Evans at No. 15 on his list of the state's top 50 players from the Class of 2010. The scouting report on Evans:

Still trying to shed the dreaded 'tweener label. Perimeter shot extends to the three-point line and has gained consistency, though he's more of a pull-up/spot-up shooter. He's not one to rise up and get his own and must improve his comfort with his handle. Just an old school player who plays with a warrior's demeanor, winner's mentality and high motor. Manages to get a lot done against bigger, more athletic players around the basket.

Not surprisingly, Waukegan's Jereme Richmond, an Illinois recruit, topped the list. A few other names you might recognize: No. 11 Jordan Threloff, DeKalb; No. 23 Tim Rusthoven, Wheaton Academy; No. 31 Antoine Cox, Bolingbrook; No. 38 Jay Harris, Oswego East; and No. 50 DeAndre McCamey, St. Joseph.

Benet senior pitcher John Boyle and Waubonsie Valley junior third baseman Sam Carius were recently named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association's all-state team.

Boyle, who will throw for Creighton next season, went 8-2 with a 1.51 ERA. Carius, a unanimous all-Upstate Eight Conference pick, hit .431 with 31 RBI.

West Aurora senior outfielder Brady Renner - son of Robin, the Neuqua Valley head coach - was also selected for the Class 3A/4A team.

For the full list, click here.

--Benet senior pitcher John Boyle and Waubonsie Valley junior third baseman Sam Carius were honorable mentions on the Chicago Sun-Times all-area baseball team.

West Aurora senior outfielder Brady Renner - the son of Robin, Neuqua Valley's head coach - was selected to the second team. Wheaton North's Jack DeAno made the first team.

--From Prep Baseball Report guru Sean Duncan, here's more on the pitcher who eliminated Naperville Central in the supersectional round:

O'Fallon junior right-hander Miles Quintal won't light up any radar guns, but the kid knows how to pitch. He improved to 11-2 with his complete-game victory in the Class 4A third-place game. Quintal already has 22 career wins.

--Our all-city baseball package will be running later this month.

Five girls soccer players from Illinois made the 2009 Parade All-America Soccer Team.

Neuqua Valley's Alexa Gaul was one of three goalkeepers on the list, and Waubonsie Valley's Bri Rodriguez was one of 12 midfielders. Both girls are seniors.

Within this column, we mentioned an ESPN.com scouting report on Oakland draft pick Ian Krol out of Neuqua Valley. Here's the Insider link, which is excerpted below:

"(Krol's) fastball is consistently 88-90 mph; most have good tailing life but he can run it in on a right-hander's hands. His changeup is 76-78 with a lot of fading action, while his curveball has good depth and some two-plane break, but he prefers to pitch off his fastball and change. His command and control are both good for a high school pitcher, and he was dominant in three outings in the scout league this spring, although rainouts made him tough for scouts to see. He stays over the rubber well and separates his hands high to keep his arm action short. His stride is long and he finishes in good position to field a ball back at him. He's not big and doesn't have great physical projection, but if he does add a couple of mph to his fastball despite that, he could have a No. 3 starter upside."