COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Baseball has added veteran coach Fred Corral to its coaching staff, announced Tuesday by head coach Steve Bieser. One of the nation’s most experienced and sought-after pitching coaches in the country, Corral brings with him nearly a quarter century of coaching experience after a successful career in both college and professional baseball. Corral brings a ‘no-limits’ approach to coaching with a tireless work ethic, and stood out to Coach Bieser due to his incredible ability to develop young men, both on and off the baseball diamond.

“Fred is not only a great pitching coach who has a wealth of knowledge and passion, Fred is a developer of men,” Bieser said. “Going through the process and talking to former players and coaches, the one thing that kept standing out to me was his commitment to developing the entire person. Fred personifies the Mizzou baseball motto “commit to excellence. His commitment to academic excellence, athletic excellence, and social development was very evident through the interviewing process. I am excited to welcome the Corral’s to the Mizzou baseball family.”

With 24 years of coaching experience across all levels of baseball, 11 of those years have come in the Southeastern Conference with three coming in professional baseball. He spent the last five seasons at fellow SEC East foe Georgia, coaching 12 pitchers to MLB Draft selections, including 2016 first-round pick Robert Tyler (38th overall to Colorado). He coached Tyler to a 2.68 ERA as a freshman in 2014, the lowest ERA by a UGA pitcher in 10 years. The highlight of his coaching tenure at Georgia came last season when the Bulldog staff limited batters to a .241 average, resetting the program record.

“First, I want to take the time and say how excited I am to be working with Coach Bieser and a guy like Evan Pratte, who I have known for a long time,” Corral said. “I am excited to get to know Lance Rhodes and Dillon Lawson as they are two incredible young coaches and I can’t wait to get after it with those guys. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such a talented group of guys.”

Before his time at Georgia, Corral helped Memphis to arguably its best four-year stretch on the mound in program history. His 2013 team posted a 3.05 staff ERA, the lowest by a Memphis team since 1976, while striking out more than 400 batters in three of four seasons, including a school-record 462 in 2010. He also mentored a pair of first-time draftees while at Memphis, including 2013 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Dan Schoenrock.

Corral’s SEC roots run much deeper than his most recent time at Georgia. He coached at Tennessee in two different stints from 2002-04 and 2007-09. During Corral’s first run at Tennessee, the Volunteers’ pitching staff ranked among the best in the SEC. His staffs posted consecutive sub-3.90 ERAs, and UT’s 3.51 ERA in 2004 was the nation’s 13th-best. The 2004 Volunteer staff recorded the fifth-most strikeouts in school history and held opponents to a .243 batting average, which was UT’s lowest mark in nine seasons. Tennessee also had three pitchers in 2004 with ERAs that ranked among the top-12 in the SEC. Four of Corral’s pitchers at Tennessee were selected in the MLB Draft. He signed James Adkins and coached Luke Hochevar, hurlers who rank first and third on UT’s all-time strikeouts list. Hochevar was the No. 1 overall pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2006. Corral’s former pupils who have reached the Major Leagues include Matt Riley, Adam Bernero, Mike Neu, Joe Horgan, Daniel McCutchen, Garrett Richards, Charlie Zink and Hochevar.

Corral is no stranger to professional baseball either, having served as a pitching instructor in both the Los Angeles Dodgers (2000-01) and Montreal Expos (1999) organizations.

As a player, Corral was a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a LHP at Cal in 1987. The Golden Bears’ eighth 10-game winner, Corral set a school record for single-season win-loss percentage with a perfect 10-0 record as a junior in 1987. The southpaw added five saves and a 3.75 ERA in en route to earning the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher honor. Corral helped lead the Golden Bears to their fourth College World Series appearance in 1988. He finished his two-year Bear career with a 13-5 mark, a 4.50 ERA and six saves. Corral starred at San Joaquin Delta Junior Colleg,e where he garnered All-Camino Notre Conference honors in 1985 and 1986, before transferring to Cal.

— Mizzou Athletics —

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Missouri announced Wednesday that prep basketball standout Jontay Porter has reclassified and signed as part of first-year coach Cuonzo Martin’s 2017 recruiting class.

The 6-11, 240-pound forward joins his older brother and father for what will be one of the most highly anticipated seasons in years in Columbia. Porter, who recently completed his junior season in Seattle, averaged 14.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game for undefeated Nathan Hale High School.

”We’re very excited about Jontay’s decision, which was a big one for him and his family,” Martin said. ”He has the skill and knowledge of the game to contribute from day one, at both ends of the floor.”

Porter’s father, Michael Porter Sr., was hired by Martin as an assistant in March. His older brother, Michael Porter Jr., then signed with the Tigers after initially committing to Washington. The Porter brothers won a Missouri state high school championship in 2016 before combining to win another state title in Washington this season.

Michael Porter was the nation’s No. 1 recruit this offseason. The 6-foot-10 Porter initially chose Washington last year when his father worked as an assistant for then-coach Lorenzo Romar. But when Romar was fired, Porter’s father was hired by the Tigers, and the talented forward soon made a verbal commitment. He averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds as a senior at Nathan Hale last season, quickly becoming one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits and a potential NBA lottery pick in 2018.

The Porter family has deep ties to Missouri that extend beyond his father. Older sisters Bri and Cierra play for the women’s basketball program, which is coached by their aunt, Robin Pingeton.

The Tigers went 8-23 last season, leading to the firing of Kim Anderson after three seasons in charge. The once-proud program hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and hasn’t made it out of the opening weekend since Mike Anderson took Missouri to the Elite Eight during the 2008-09 season.

Martin, who grew up in East St. Louis and began his head coaching career at Missouri State, has brought a renewed energy to the program.

— Associated Press —

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Less than 40 days after closing out the best fund-raising year in Mizzou Athletics history, the department kicked off the 2017-18 academic year by receiving an anonymous $1.2M gift to the Tiger Scholarship Fund (TSF) in support of the football and basketball programs, as well as future TSF initiatives.

“The generosity and passion that our donors have for Mizzou Athletics continues to amaze me, and our coaches and staff deeply appreciate the generosity of those who are stepping forward to help us enhance our programs” said Mizzou Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. “These transformational gifts allow us to provide the best possible academic and athletic experience for our more than 550 student-athletes who represent this great University.”

Mizzou Athletics received a school-record 11, seven-figure gifts during the recently-completed fiscal year which allowed TSF to generate a school-record $50.7 million in support of the institution’s 20-sport intercollegiate athletics program. TSF’s record-breaking 2016-17 tally shattered the previous record of $45.7 million raised in 2011-12, which marked Mizzou’s maiden voyage in the Southeastern Conference. It also marked just the second time in school history that the TSF surpassed the $40 million threshold in philanthropic support and just the fifth time it topped the $30 million plateau.

Thanks in part to outstanding support from over 7,000 TSF members, Mizzou student-athletes continued to thrive academically and athletically during the recently completed academic year.

In the classroom, 269 Mizzou student-athletes received SEC Honor Roll recognition, 303 garnered University Dean’s List status for at least one semester and 14 teams registered a 3.00 grade-point average for the Spring 2017 term. In addition, Mizzou student-athletes spent over 4,800 hours volunteering with more than 50 organizations in Columbia and surrounding Mid-Missouri communities.
Mizzou, which registered its highest finish ever in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings with its 33rd-place showing in the final 2016-17 rankings (highest previous final ranking was 36th in 2008-09), won a pair of conference team championships (volleyball and wrestling), had 16 of 20 teams represented in NCAA postseason play, and saw 10 squads finish their respective season ranked among the nation’s Top 25, including Top 10 NCAA championship placings in wrestling (fifth), women’s indoor track & field (eighth) and men’s swimming and diving (ninth).

In addition, two Tigers combined to win four 2016-17 NCAA individual championships as wrestler J’den Cox won his third national title at 197 lbs., and Karissa Schweizer became just the fourth female in NCAA history to win the distance triple crown (cross country, indoor 5,000m and outdoor 5,000m national titles), and first since 2008. Mizzou also produced 13 individual conference champions and saw 31 student-athletes earn 69 All-America certificates in 11 different sports.

— Mizzou Athletics —