Archbishop Hoban is seeking a head varsity baseball coach for the 2008-2009 school year, athletic director Sean Quinn said.

Hoban elected to not renew the contract of Scott Koenig, who recently completed his first season as the Knights coach and compiled a 15-10 record.

“I was thankful for the opportunity to get one season under my belt,” said Koenig who played baseball at Nordonia and was an assistant coach at Firestone. “It was a great learning experience. I am sad because I wanted to get something going there.”

Koenig said that Quinn gave him “no specific reason” for not retaining him.

“I have had several parents call me on the phone and say they were shocked to hear I was let go after one season,” Koenig said. “They thought I got a raw deal.”

When asked why Koenig was not being brought back, Quinn said: “I’m not going to comment on that.”

Koenig, who is the president of Titan Transportation in Akron, said he is not planning on coaching next season.

“If something else comes up I will look into it, but right now I am going to dedicate my time to other things,” Koenig said. “I don’t want to put myself through all this again.”

Quinn said interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to the high school at 1 Holy Cross Blvd., Akron, OH, 44306.

- Michael Beaven

Fairless high School stand out Jordan Jennings will continue his basketball career at Ashland University this fall. The 5-10, 150 pound Jennings won the PAC-7 player of the year award twice at Fairless and was first team All-Stark County. Jennings may be best known for scoring a school record 54 points against Canton Timken last year. He also holds school records for assist in a game (15) and 3-point field goals in a game (10). Jennings will join former North Canton Hoover standout Bret Wackerly on the Eagles roster.

Wadsworth High School graduate Brett Cline has committed to attend Mount Union College this fall and play on the baseball team.
 
Cline was a three-year letterman as an outfielder at Wadsworth and plans to study Psychology at Mount Union.

Walsh Jesuit left-handed pitcher David Starn, 18, has made a commitment to continue his academic and baseball career at Kent State University.

Starn, 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, was a three-year lettermen for Walsh Jesuit and helped the Warriors win Division II state titles in 2006 and 2008. He earned wins in both the state semifinal and final games and allowed no runs — earned or unearned — during the entire 2008 state tournament.

Starn compiled a 10-1 record this season and had a 1.60 ERA in 57 innings pitched. He struck out 68 and held opponents to a .167 batting average when he pitched.

“David Starn has truly been a tremendous brother to his teammates and a son to the staff for four
years,” Walsh Jesuit head baseball coach Chris Kaczmar said in a press release. “I couldn’t be more proud of what David has accomplished during this time in terms of his commitment to the team, to the game of baseball, and to his family — both at home and at Walsh Jesuit.”

Starn’s win total in 2008 is the second most during a single-season in Walsh Jesuit baseball history. Patrick O’Brien went 11-1 and helped the Warriors win the 1999 Division II state championship prior to playing in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system. Chad Rodgers (Atlanta Braves minor leaguer) and Bobby Simone (University of Akron) are also high on that list after excellent 2006 seasons.

Starn, a Hudson native, is undecided on his major at Kent State. He earned first-team Cuyahoga River Valley Conference honors and the ESPN Pitcher of the Week award after the state tournament. He was also named Walsh Jesuit’s pitcher of the year for 2008 and shared the team’s MVP honors.

“He is an extremely talented player who combines an infectious smile with a strong and accurate arm, a smooth delivery, pinpoint accuracy, and a perfect balance of competitiveness, intensity and composure,” Kacamar said. “Above all, David is a fine young man who will have a place in our history books and our hearts forever.”

Starn is the sixth member of Walsh Jesuit’s class of 2008 to commit to play collegiate baseball and the 32nd Walsh Jesuit baseball player in the past 13 years to advance to the NCAA Division I level. Warriors 2008 seniors Ross Brunello and Brannon Belair are also headed to Kent State to play baseball.

Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce III were selected to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2008 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Travis and Joyce were each standout players at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and The University of Akron. The tandem were high school teammates of current Cavaliers star LeBron James, who will play for USA in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Travis, the 2007 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, played on the Cavaliers Summer Team last season.

Travis and Joyce were professional teammates this past season in Germany on Ratiopharm Ulm in the Bundesliga League after Travis briefly played for Alerta Cantabria and Ciudad de Huelva in Spain.

Joyce played 34 games for Ulm and averaged 9.5 points and 4.4 assists in about 26 minutes per game. Travis played 10 games for Ulm and averaged 10.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in about 23 minutes per game.

Former Cavalier Robert “Tractor” Traylor is also on the Summer League team with current Cavalier roster players Lance Allred and Billy Thomas and rookies J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson.

Here is a link to the Cavaliers website with schedule and roster information: http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/summer_league_080708.html