TITANS-MOVES
Titans agree to terms with TE Westbrook, OLB Johnson
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β The Tennessee Titans have reached deals with tight end Tevin Westbrook and outside linebacker Dezmond Johnson, who both took part in the team’s rookie minicamp last weekend on a tryout basis.
The Titans made room for them by waiving running back Lache Seastrunk and outside linebacker Dontay Moch.
Johnson, who is 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, had 16 Β½ career tackles for loss and 7 Β½ sacks as a defensive end at Duke.
Westbrook had 11 catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns at Florida. He is listed as 6-5 and 257 pounds.
SEC TOURNAMENT
South Carolina puts NCAA hopes on line in SEC tournament
UNDATED (AP) – South Carolina understands what’s at stake this week in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Gamecocks (32-24, 13-17 SEC) head into their first-round game Tuesday with Missouri (29-26, 15-15) at Hoover, Alabama, knowing they need a productive week to earn a 16th straight NCAA Tournament bid.
South Carolina isn’t the only SEC team with much at stake.
LSU already likely has sealed one of the eight national seeds in the NCAA Tournament and is chasing its third consecutive SEC tournament crown. Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Florida also are seeking national seeds.
Other teams have joined South Carolina on the NCAA bubble.
Tuesday’s single-elimination games feature Ole Miss facing Alabama, Kentucky meeting Auburn and Arkansas battling Tennessee plus the South Carolina-Missouri matchup. Winners advance to the double-elimination portion of the tournament.
SEC AWARDS
Arkansas’ Andrew Benintendi named SEC player of the year
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) β Arkansas outfielder Andrew Benintendi is the Southeastern Conference’s player of the year and Vanderbilt’s Carson Fulmer is the league’s pitcher of the year.
The SEC announced its annual awards Monday. Other award winners included LSU’s Alex Lange as freshman of the year, LSU’s Paul Mainieri as coach of the year and Mississippi State’s Seth Heck as scholar-athlete of the year.
Benintendi leads the nation in slugging percentage (.771) and tops the SEC in batting average (.415) and homers (17). Fulmer leads the SEC in wins (11), ERA (1.51) and strikeouts (132).
Joining Benintendi, Fulmer and Lange as first-team all-SEC picks were LSU’s Kade Scivicque, Conner Hale, Alex Bregman and Andrew Stevenson, South Carolina’s Kyle Martin, Kentucky’s JaVon Shelby, Tennessee’s Christin Stewart, Texas A&M’s Mitchell Nau and Arkansas’ Zach Jackson.
CITADEL-ATHLETIC HALL
McNeill 1st woman elected in Citadel athletic hall
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) β The once all-male Citadel has named former two-time Southern Conference woman field athlete of the year Stephanie McNeill as the first woman in its athletic hall.
McNeill is among five named to the hall on Monday, including past pitchers Randy Corn and Mike Pendleton, swimmer Milton Williams III and former Citadel Football Association president Dr. John Moore.
McNeill came to the Citadel soon after it lifted its all-male policy. She won Southern Conference honors in 2006 and 2007, becoming the school’s first woman athlete to compete in the NCAA championships. McNeill qualified for the discus and shot put in the NCAAs in 2006 and the hammer throw and shot put a year later.
The group will be inducted in ceremonies on Sept. 25.
ACC TOURNAMENT
Louisville enters 1st ACC baseball tournament as favorite
UNDATED (AP) – Louisville hasn’t even been in the Atlantic Coast Conference for a full year. For these Cardinals, that’s still long enough to feel the weight of the league’s pesky national title drought.
The ACC’s best chance at its first national championship in 60 years might ride with its newest member.
The Cardinals (42-14) enter this week’s league tournament in Durham, North Carolina, as the No. 1 seed after going 25-5 in league play β three games better than Miami.
Notre Dame coach Mik Aoki on Monday called Louisville’s season “nothing short of remarkable.”
The ACC Tournament begins Tuesday with two play-in games, followed by round-robin pool play during the next four days. The two pool winners meet Sunday in the title game.
