Newell led a resurgent |
McKay hired as men's basketball
coach McKay had been the head coach at Colorado State the past two seasons and served as the head coach at Portland State for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. "The last time I heard that fight song, we were here with my Portland State team getting whupped," McKay said. "Hopefully, we'll do a little whupping of some other people. "I'm very excited and I feel blessed and honored to be the next head coach here at Oregon State. This program has such a great, rich tradition combined with great interest from this community. That is a combination that will lead to success." McKay, 34, guided CSU to a two-year mark of 37-22 (.627), which included a tie for fourth in the newly formed Mountain West Conference in the 1999-2000 season with an 8-6 record. College Hoops Insider Magazine named McKay its MWC Coach of the Year. The Rams posted an overall mark of 18-11, which included a nine-game winning streak. During the streak, CSU defeated Pac-10 Conference foes Oregon State, UCLA, and Washington State. The Rams also defeated Brigham Young University and Utah, both of which advanced to postseason play. McKay's winning percentage is second all-time at CSU, behind only Boyd Grant. McKay officially was introduced as the CSU head coach Aug. 21, 1998. Inheriting a team that was predicted to finish near the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference standings, he led CSU to the National Invitation Tournament. The Rams won NIT games against Mississippi State and Colorado before falling to eventual tournament champion California. The team ended the season with a 19-11 record, including 7-7 in the WAC. "This is truly a banner day for Oregon State University," OSU President Paul Risser said when McKay's hiring was announced on March 24. "Ritchie McKay is considered one of the bright young coaches in the sport of basketball, and it is with great enthusiasm that OSU welcomes him and his family to Corvallis." McKay began his head coaching career at Portland State, where he resurrected a program that had been discontinued after the 1981 season. He guided the Vikings to a two-year mark of 24-29, including 15-12 and a third-place finish in the Big Sky Conference in 1998. Following his first year, when his PSU schedule was ranked the sixth-toughest in Division I, McKay was named one of six finalists for the Clair Bee Award. The award is presented to the coach with the most influence and innovation in the game of basketball; two of the other finalists were then-North Carolina coach Dean Smith and Duke mentor Mike Krzyzewski. "We are extremely excited to have Ritchie and his wife,
Julie, join the Oregon State University family," OSU Athletic
Director Mitch Barnhart said. "I hope everyone will embrace
the efforts of this staff as they try to rebuild the tradition
of this program." McKay graduated from Seattle Pacific in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in athletic administration. He was a three-year letterman at SPU, earning team MVP honors as a senior. McKay went on to play professional basketball in New Zealand. McKay inherits the OSU program from former coach Eddie Payne, who was dismissed March 12. Eight lettermen return, including six who started games last season. The Beavers also have four scholarships available for the spring signing period, which is April 5-May 15. The financial package for McKay includes a five-year contract with a base salary of $140,000. His package also includes $125,000 for media/public relations appearances. Apparel/shoe and camp compensation are in addition to his salary package. McKay and his wife are the parents of three children: sons, Luke and Gabriel, and daughter, Ellie. The McKay File Assistant Coach Notable Accomplishments
Bray hired as new defensive coordinator For Bray, it will represent a reunion with his former boss. Bray previously has been an assistant coach on Erickson's staff at Idaho, Wyoming and Washington State. Bray also has close ties with present OSU assistant coaches Tim Lappano, Gregg Smith, Dan Cozzetto, Eric Yarber and Jim Michalczik. Bray replaces Willy Robinson as defensive coordinator on the OSU staff. Robinson recently was hired as the secondary coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League. Bray is a 1975 graduate of UNLV, where he earned two letters as a wide receiver. Bray is a native of Yreka, Calif., and attended Yreka High. Football schedule announced Former major leaguer Leovich dies Leovich lettered in football at Oregon State in 1939 and 1940 and was a baseball letterman in 1940. He then signed a professional baseball contract; in 1941, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics under legendary manager Connie Mack. Leovich was born May 5, 1918, in Portland and attended Lincoln High in that city before graduating from Lakeside Prep in Seattle. After his pro baseball career ended, Leovich owned and operated Captain John's Restaurant in Lincoln City until retiring in 1979. Leovich is survived by his wife, Janet; son, Ted; and sister, Josephine Kuzmanich. Remembrances are suggested to the American Cancer Society. Parker earns broadcasting honor For Parker, it is his first award. Parker replaced Darrell Aune as Oregon State's radio play-by-play voice with the start of the 1999 football season. He also broadcasts men's basketball and baseball. Aune was the NSSA's selection for top broadcaster in 1998. He had also won the award 11 times previously. Scott Lynn, currently OSU's play-by-play voice for television, has been a seven-time winner of the NSSA Sportscaster of the Year award. Payne fired The Beavers concluded their season against Oregon on March 11, suffering an 83-65 setback. The defeat left OSU with a 13-16 overall record and a 5-13 Pacific-10 Conference mark. In five seasons as the Beavers' head coach, Payne's teams produced an overall record of 52-88, percentage of .371, and a Pac-10 overall record of 22-68, a winning percentage of .244. "Making changes in your program is never an easy thing to do, especially when it involves good people," said Barnhart following a very difficult decision. "Sometimes the chemistry of teams and events doesn't always produce the success level you are hoping to achieve," said Barnhart. "It is important for Oregon State at this point in time to make a change in its basketball program to allow us to return to our rightful place among the nation's elite traditions. Payne, 48, had a base salary of $135,000 at Oregon State and had one year remaining on his current contract at the time of his dismissal. The Beavers did provide a last hurrah to the season on March 2, beating third-ranked Arizona 70-69 in overtime. In one of the most thrilling finishes in Gill Coliseum history, junior guard Deaundra Tanner hit a 3-pointer from the left corner as time expired to give OSU the victory. Tanner led the Beavers in scoring at 14.2 points per game and was an honorable mention All-Pacific-10 and All-District selection. Freshman forward Brian Jackson averaged 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in being named to the Pacific-10 All-Freshman team, while juniors Josh Steinthal and Jason Heide and senior Ramunas Petraitis were all named to the Pacific-10 All-Academic team. Women's basketball Senior center Sissel Pierce averaged 12.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game in earning a place on the All-Pacific-10 team. She was joined by OSU sophomore guard/forward Felicia Ragland, who averaged 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. Freshman Nicole Funn earned honorable mention on the Pacific-10 All-Freshman team. The Beavers led the Pac-10 in scoring defense (61.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.389), rebounding margin (plus-5.7 rpg) and blocked shots (4.9 bpg). Oregon State also set a Pac-10 record for fewest points allowed in a 52-33 win over California at Gill Coliseum. Wrestling Besides Cooley's title, OSU had conference finalists in freshman 141-pounder Shane Cunanan, junior 157-pounder Eric Jorgensen and sophomore 174-pounder Nathan Coy. Oregon State had wrapped up the dual meet season with a 10-7 overall record and 6-3 Pacific-10 mark after beating Oregon 27-12 at Gill Coliseum, and the Beavers were ranked as high as No. 20 in the national poll. OSU also had a representative in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic, as Jorgensen represented the Beavers while climbing as high as No. 4 in the national rankings. Women's swimming For the season, OSU swimmers set school records 21 times in nine different events. That included 12 records by freshman Naya Higashijima and five by freshman Paula Finlay. Baseball OSU senior first baseman Joe Gerber, a preseason second team All-America pick, tied the school record for career home runs by belting his 28th in a 5-3 win over Central Michigan on March 20. Gerber had broken the career doubles record March 12 in an 11-6 loss to Washington State at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. He was batting .370 with three homers and 33 RBIs through the Beavers' Texas trip. The Beavers were not due to open Pacific-10 play until March 31, but OSU had already played longtime Northern Division foes Washington and Washington State in non-league series. Oregon State swept two games from the Huskies in Seattle, including a 27-4 win that was the fourth-largest margin of victory in Beaver baseball history; and OSU took two of three from the Cougars in Corvallis. Senior righthander Mark Newell was regaining the form that saw him win all eight of his decisions in 1997 before being hampered by an elbow injury. Newell opened the season with a 3-1 record and 3.60 earned run average to lead a resurgent Beaver pitching staff. Softball Senior pitcher/infielder Tarrah Beyster, a returning All-America selection, was off to another strong start. Beyster was batting .485 with eight homers and 24 RBIs through the Kia Classic, and on the mound she was 13-5 with a 2.53 earned run average. Junior second baseman/outfielder Brooke Rutschman suffered a broken arm early in the season but returned to action and is batting .439. Sophomore pitcher Crystal Draper opened the season with a 9-1 record and 1.81 ERA. Sixth-year Beaver head coach Kirk Walker earned his 150th win at Oregon State in a 3-0 win over Nevada-Las Vegas on March 16. He is Oregon State's all-time winningest softball coach. Women's gymnastics The Beavers finished second at the NCAA Region 1 meet at Gill Coliseum on April 1, posting a score of 196.175. UCLA scored a 197.025 to win the meet. The top two finishers at each regional site advanced to the NCAA meet April 13-15 at Boise State. OSU scored a season-high 49.350 on beam, just .025 off the school record. Oregon State placed second in the Pacific-10 Championships at Arizona State on March 18, scoring a 196.575 to UCLA's 197.700. The Beavers went 10-6 in the dual meet season, including a 3-3 mark in the Pacific 10. The Beavers' top all-around mark of the season was Campbell's 39.375 against Utah on March 12. Men's golf Sophomore John Lepak was leading the Beavers in scoring average at 72.9 strokes per round and senior Eric Dahm was second at 73.3 strokes per round. Women's golf Crew |
