TCU News: Baseball gets a win, Blackshear talks TCU decision

Baseball:

TCU Powers Past Abilene Christian | GoFrogs.com

The Frogs got a much-needed win.

The Frogs picked up a pair of runs in the inning to extend its lead to three, 4-1. Adam Oviedo tripled and scored on a base hit from Bobby Goodloe. Josh Watson’s second hit of the night drove in Goodloe. In the eighth, the Frogs sent 10 men to the plate and scored six times to open up a 10-1 lead. Johnny Rizer tripled home Austin Henry and scored on an Oviedo base hit. Dean Frew and Zach Humphreys executed hit-and-runs to drive in two more runs. Watson’s line his sixth home run over the right field fence for a two-run shot.

Football:

Seahawks 2019 NFL Draft Pick: L.J. Collier | Seahawks.com

Take a stroll down memory lane with some great photos of LJ.

With the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks selected L.J. Collier, a defensive end out of TCU.

This TCU star is projected to be a high first-round pick in next year’s NFL Draft | The Star-Telegram

Hopefully, we have a QB to throw him the ball...

Junior-to-be Jalen Reagor is rated as one of the top wide receivers in the 2020 class, and is projected as a first-round pick by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

In his admittedly way-too-early 2020 mock draft, Brugler has the Jacksonville Jaguars taking Reagor with the 14th overall pick.

Brugler writes, “While he doesn’t have ideal size for a receiver drafted this early, Reagor just makes plays. His speed is a difference-making trait, as he shifts gears to keep defenders off-balance mid-route and hits his top speed to pull away from pursuit.”

Why Shameik Blackshear left South Carolina. And why he chose TCU | The State

GP is one of a handful of coaches willing to do the work himself.

That was TCU head coach Gary Patterson, and that’s why Blackshear is moving to Fort Worth, Texas, at the end of this month and enrolling at TCU in June in preparation of playing his final season of college football with the Horned Frogs.

“He reached out on Twitter, and he explained to me how much they needed a player of my caliber and that I could help them right away because they were graduating two guys and they had other guys off the team for other reasons,” Blackshear said. “It stood out to me that the head coach reached out to me, and he told me, ‘This is what we need.’ ”

Basketball:

Report: Jamie Dixon in talks with UCLA days after TCU officials said he’d return | The Star-Telegram

It doesn’t matter any more - Dixon is here and he’s staying here.

Well, according to a Los Angeles Times report, Dixon wasn’t out of the mix at UCLA and the two sides made “colossal efforts” to make a deal work as late as April 8.

The thought had been that Dixon wasn’t a candidate for UCLA by the end of the week of April 5 when TCU wouldn’t budge on his contract buyout that was “a little north” of $8 million.

But, befitting a Hollywood script, the Bruins reportedly circled back to Dixon a few days later after they came up with the money to cover Dixon’s buyout. The holdup this time?

“Because of a California provision that taxes buyouts as a gift, Dixon was going to be on the hook for around $4 million in taxes even after UCLA restructured his contract to cover the buyout, two people close to the situation said,” according to the LA Times report.

“Despite colossal efforts by both sides, hopes of a deal fell apart.”

TCU officials question the accuracy of the report on UCLA circling back days later, and Donati addressed the report on Tuesday.

“I do not doubt for one minute Jamie’s commitment to being here at TCU,” Donati said.