The News Journal will recognize the spring All-State teams starting Saturday. We are missing headshots of the following athletes. Photos should be at least 200 dpi and can be emailed to sports@delawareonline.com. For more information, call (302) 324-2539.

Appoquinimink’s Mackenzie Short earned first-team, All-State honors.

GIRLS TRACK & FIELD

Yeila Correa, Caesar Rodney

BOYS TRACK & FIELD

Isaiah Morris, Lake Forest

Adam Funkhouser, Milford

When Jordan Hutchins started to get comfortable with getting out of his comfort zone, it made opponents uncomfortable.

It also led to an 18-3 season and berth in the state semifinals for the Dover Senators. And it led to Hutchins being voted the state’s Baseball Player of the Year by the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association.

Hutchins embraced pitching for the first time, and went 7-0 with a 0.78 ERA. He embraced hitting the ball to the opposite field, and produced an eye-popping .524 average with seven doubles, 18 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 26 runs scored.

Most importantly, he had fun.

“Once the season got going, we just loved each other,” Hutchins said. “It was really fun to go to practice. Every single kid, some of them were football players, some were basketball players as their main sport, but even they loved coming to practice. We had so much fun.”

Of course, winning is fun. Even when the Senators lost, it was close. Dover’s only setbacks were 3-2 to Smyrna, 5-3 to Sussex Tech and 5-3 to St. Mark’s in the semifinals of the DIAA Baseball Tournament.

The Senators were stocked with talent, including senior Garrett Lawson, who made first-team All-State both as a pitcher (5-2, 1.26 ERA) and designated hitter (.479, 17 RBIs). But Hutchins, a four-year starter at shortstop, was the catalyst.

“He was just more mature on the baseball field,” Dover coach Dave Gordon said. “We had a couple of kids like that. They grew up a lot more, didn’t let the little things bother them. If they had a bad at-bat, they took it on the chin, got back in the dugout and learned from their mistakes.”

Hutchins pitched only once as a freshman, once as a sophomore and four times as a junior. But this year, the Senators needed a second starter to complement Lawson. Hutchins had the arm strength, but he was reluctant.

“At first, I didn’t really want to pitch,” Hutchins said. “But I knew if we wanted to be successful, we needed a second pitcher to step up. Whatever coach asked me, I just told him I’d do it for him.”

His coach was a little reluctant, too.

“I always felt like he’s been the best shortstop in the state the last four years, even when he was a freshman,” Gordon said. “Why would I take the best shortstop off of shortstop?

“But this year, we needed more guys on the mound. We gave him the ball, and he did well with it.”

Hutchins didn’t lose a decision and wound up striking out 53 batters in 44 2/3 innings, even though that was never the goal.

“I just lit up the strike zone,” he said. “I just threw as many strikes as I could. I tried to limit the walks, and I didn’t really worry about striking out a lot of people.”

Meanwhile, his offensive game expanded, with help from assistant coach Daniel Bunnion.

“A lot of times after practice, coach Bunnion would stay and throw to me whenever I asked him to,” Hutchins said. “I give him a big thank you for that.”

They worked on driving the ball to right field, which had always been a struggle for the right-handed Hutchins.

“I started taking inside pitches, which is what I like,” he said. “I ended up being more comfortable with the away pitches. I had a lot of success with that, took a lot of pitches the other way.”

Gordon noticed.

“One of the biggest things he improved on was using the whole field,” the head coach said. “Last year, he was very pullish up there. This year, I think he had five triples, and probably four of them were in the right-center gap. That was good to see.”

University of Delaware coach Jim Sherman also noticed. Now Hutchins is thrilled to be headed for the Blue Hens, although that wasn’t his original plan.

“My sophomore and junior year, I kind of wanted to get away from home,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could go as far away as possible. Then once I started talking to UD and I visited the campus, I just loved it. I was just praying that I could have a chance to play there, and as soon as they offered me I knew where I wanted to go.”

UD went 33-22 overall this season, but just 10-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Gordon believes Hutchins could be a key piece in a turnaround.

“I think he’s going to fit really well with what they’re trying to do with their roster,” Gordon said. “I think they’re trying to get a little more athletic, a little more speed guys. Jordan is definitely one of those guys.”

He is keeping his skills sharp while playing American Legion ball for Fox Post 2 this summer. Hutchins projects as a middle infielder in college, but he’s willing to play anywhere.

“If a spot in the outfield, third base, wherever it’s open, if they want to give me the shot I don’t really care where I play,” he said. “As long as it gets me in the lineup.”

His comfort zone has expanded.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Dover High School baseball player Jordan Hutchins.

Smyrna quarterback Nolan Henderson looks for a receiver against Sussex Tech last season. Henderson recently led Smyrna to victory in the USA Football 7 on 7 Northeast Regional tournament.

Matt Rubincam went to grade school at St. Elizabeth. He has lived near the school for more than 30 years. And he served the Vikings’ boys basketball program in various roles for 19 years.

So it comes as no surprise that Rubincam, 45, has been named St. Elizabeth’s new boys basketball head coach. He replaces Dick Rago, who announced his retirement earlier this summer after compiling a 358-319 record over 30 years.

“It’s like going home,” Rubincam said Tuesday.

The connections were obvious.

“I still have family in the school. I’m still connected to the school,” Rubincam said. “When Dick retired, he actually called me and told me and I thought about it. He thought I should go for it.”

The Salesianum graduate began working at St. E in 1992 as the freshman boys coach. He became junior varsity coach and a varsity assistant the next year, then served as associate head coach of the varsity team until 2011, when he began a five-year tenure as head coach of the Charter of Wilmington boys team.

Rubincam coached the Force to a 36-65 record in the ultra-competitive Blue Hen Flight A. Now, he’s happy to be back where he started.

“It’s a really good program,” Rubincam said. “I’m kind of honored and kind of blessed to take the head coaching job. It’s a good program, it’s a good atmosphere, it’s great kids. St. Elizabeth is a second home to me.”

The Vikings have plenty of talent returning from teams that went 31-12 the last two years and reached the DIAA quarterfinals in 2014-15. The new coach wants them to be able to play at a variety of paces.

“Hopefully, we can win the first boys state championship there,” Rubincam said. “We’re going to be uptempo, but I will run whatever system we’ll need to run to beat the opponent. That could change in any game we play.”

Eagles still flying high

Defending DIAA Division I football champion Smyrna showed that it should be a major contender again this season by edging Middletown 25-24 in a thrilling championship game at the USA Football 7 on 7 Northeastern Regional tournament on July 9 at Middletown.

The 7-on-7 format doesn’t involve linemen or contact, but it does give high school coaches a chance to work with many of their players over the summer.

“It can be fun, and the kids have a blast doing it,” Smyrna coach Mike Judy said. “Anytime the DIAA OKs some get togethers to meet with the kids in a 7 on 7 league or tournament, that’s one more time to try to get better. We can turbo through some reps and try to get as many touches to the football as we can.”

The victory in the one-day tournament qualified the Eagles for the USA Football 7 on 7 National Championship in Hoover, Ala., but the team wasn’t able to manage the logistics necessary to make the trip last week. But Smyrna is also playing in the New Castle County 7 on 7 league this summer, giving returning All-State quarterback Nolan Henderson valuable time to work with a new receiving corps without worrying about a pass rush.

“When there’s nobody breathing down his throat, he can put the ball anywhere he wants it at any time,” Judy said of Henderson. “That’s a big advantage for us.”

Rounding it up

— Red Lion Christian sophomore-to-be Austin Barbin got off to a flying start on Monday at the U.S. Junior Amateur golf tournament, but his finish wasn’t as strong. Barbin, 15, birdied three of his first four holes at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., but erased that success with a triple bogey two holes later and finished with a 76. He is tied for 80th, but has 18 more holes to play Tuesday in a bid to reach the low 64 and qualify for match play.

— Padua senior Sarah Brush is one of 52 girls named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America High School Scholar All-America team. Brush finished with a 4.37 grade-point average while earning first-team All-State honors and helping the Pandas (18-0) win their fifth straight state championship and finish second nationally in the NSCAA’s Top 25 spring rankings.

— The Delaware High School Baseball Coaches Association honored retiring St. Andrew’s coach Bob Colburn prior to a Blue Rocks game at Frawley Stadium on June 29. Colburn, who is stepping down after 55 seasons as coach, was the second recipient (following former Newark football coach Butch Simpson) of a DIAA Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by incoming DIAA executive director Tommie Neubauer. Colburn also was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame this spring.

— Tracey McCracken has been named field hockey coach at St. Mark’s. McCracken coached at St. Elizabeth the previous five seasons.

— A.I. du Pont High School is seeking nominations for its next Hall of Fame class. People may be nominated for athletics, academics and/or service to school and community. Email athletic director Mark Alley at mark.alley@redclay.k12.de.us for a nomination form. Nominations must be submitted by Aug. 1.

— Sussex Tech junior Nathan Quillin has been selected to participate in the inaugural Warrior National Prospect Invite lacrosse showcase, being held Tuesday through Friday in Richmond, Va. Dover junior Grace Gast will participate in the girls event.

— Archmere is seeking a head coach for varsity field hockey. For more information, email athletic director Dave Oswinkle at doswinkle@archmereacademy.com or call (302) 798-6632, ext. 798.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ

Tatnall’s Weymouth Field will be illuminated by temporary lights for the school’s first night home football game Sept. 30 against Tower Hill.

Friday night lights.

Every high school football player wants to play under them on their home field, but some in Delaware never get the chance.

That will change this season at Tatnall, which is revving up for what could be its best football season in years.

The Hornets return 14 seniors — a large football class for a small school — and all but one starter from last season. The exuberance will reach a fever pitch on Sept. 30, as temporary lights will be brought in to illuminate Tatnall’s Weymouth Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Independent Conference rival Tower Hill.

It will be the first night home game in the school’s history.

“It’s something for the kids to get excited about, for the school community to get excited about,” said Jody Russell, who is entering his 15th season as the Hornets’ head coach.

Tatnall lit up the scoreboard last season, reaching at least 22 points in all but one game and averaging 34.8 per game. Everyone but quarterback Drew Kobasa returns, and Russell believes he has a capable QB replacement in junior Carl Marvin.

“We’ve got a bunch of returning seniors, a great group,” Russell said. “They worked really hard all summer. They proved that they could play a little bit last year, so hopefully they can continue their success.”

The Hornets jumped from 4-6 in 2014 to 6-4 last year, their first winning season since 2010. And Marvin will have plenty of established performers ready to take a handoff or catch a pass.

Senior Sam Ragland rushed for 1,352 yards and 22 touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 370 yards and three more scores last season. Senior receiver Cam Easton (40 catches, 763 yards, 8 TDs), junior receiver Jared Duncan (9-153-3) and senior tight end Oliver Campbell (28-440-2) also return.

“We’ve got awesome skill guys,” Russell said.

Karl Holler, a 6-foot-5, 250-pound senior who has been starting since eighth grade, will lead the lines as a left tackle and defensive end. Holler ran a 4.85-second 40-yard dash this summer, and has received recruiting interest from Army and several Ivy League schools.

“He’s really athletic,” said Russell, a former University of Delaware tight end. “He should have a breakout year this year.”

It could be a breakout year for all of the Hornets. But their coach is going to make sure it goes one step at a time.

“It’s doing what we do, having attention to detail, discipline, all of that kind of  stuff,” Russell said. “Doing everything the right way and having that championship mindset.”

Rounding it up

— Delaware Military Academy is seeking an assistant coach for varsity and junior varsity girls volleyball. Interested candidates should email athletic director Michael Ryan at michael.ryan@dma.k12.de.us as soon as possible.

— Howard is seeking a head coach for wrestling. Interested candidates should contact principal Stan Spoor at stanley.spoor@nccvt.k12.de.us or call (302) 571-5411.

— Sanford has hired Tim Lucky as its boys lacrosse coach. Lucky, an outstanding player at Towson University from 1992-95, has been an assistant at Towson and two Maryland high schools, and most recently coached Sanford’s middle school boys team.

— The second annual St. Elizabeth High School Alumni Association golf outing will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 19 at Rock Manor Golf Course in Wilmington. Cost is $150 per golfer, which includes golf, gift bag, lunch, a cocktail hour and awards. To register or receive more information on sponsorship opportunities, email Kathleen Houghton at khoughton@sehs.org or call (302) 225-8675.

— The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Student Leadership Conference was held Aug. 5-7 at the Virden Retreat Center in Lewes. The annual event, supported in part by the Allstate Foundation, brings together student-athletes from around the state for activities, speakers and practical experiences designed to hone their leadership skills, including games with Special Olympics athletes.

Attendees included Brandywine’s Sarah Meinecke, A.I. du Pont’s Tyler Eddy, Caesar Rodney’s Stephanie Horne and Jackson Hollinger, Cape Henlopen’s Logan Shuttleworth, Conrad’s Sarah Bessel, Wilmington Friends’ Margaret Sullivan and Owen Sheppard, Mount Pleasant’s Alexa Rhodunda, Newark’s Alexis Bedford and Greg Biddle, St. Mark’s Meredith Fish, Sanford’s Paige Amendum, Seaford’s Hannah Doyle, Tatnall’s Caroline Foley and Karl Holler, Tower Hill’s Briana McCoy, Wilmington Christian’s Christina Bourantos, William Penn’s Makayla Robinson and Darren Ryals, Appoquinimink’s Ryan Candy, Charter of Wilmington’s Mike Cicconi, Concord’s Brandon Dennis, Delcastle’s Jeffrey Hewes, McKean’s Davin Reid, Sanford’s Brendan Lamey, St. Elizabeth’s Kellen Sweeney, Sussex Central’s Andrew Evan, Sussex Tech’s Ben Bamforth, Tower Hill’s Jamie Spruance and Sussex Academy’s Nathaniel Riddle.

— Mount Pleasant rising senior Maurice Parson has verbally committed to play baseball at Delaware State.

— Caravel rising sophomore Nicole Marcon has verbally committed to play softball at Delaware.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

Ursuline’s Alisha Lewis (left) – shown here against Concord’s Caroline Procak last year – scored 15 points in a season-opening win over the Mary Louis Academy last Saturday.

Five of Delaware’s best girls basketball teams went against some top competition over the weekend at the She Got Game Classic, especially defending state champion Ursuline and Caravel.

Both the Raiders and Buccaneers lost to Rufus King High of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which features Sydnee Roby, a 6-foot-3 sophomore rated the fourth-best center in the Class of 2019 by espn.com.

“She was physical, on offense and defense. She was tough,” Caravel coach Kristin Caldwell said of Roby. “And around her, they had really athletic guards that challenged you on every possession, getting the ball up the court. That’s great for us.”

The Buccaneers (2-1) limited Roby to 16 points, but lost 66-57 on Saturday despite 19 points from junior forward Kaylee Otlowski. Caravel returned on Sunday to down Vincentian Academy of Pittsburgh 56-34, as Maia Bryson scored 13.

“What I’m exceptionally happy with is our toughness, and just how hard we’re playing,” Caldwell said. “You could feel it, just how bad the girls wanted it against the team from Wisconsin. We came up short, but there were so many positives to take from it.”

Roby cranked it up for 29 points in a 54-49 win over Ursuline on Sunday. The Raiders only trailed by one point with 13 seconds remaining, but couldn’t get over the hump despite 12 points from Maggie Connolly.

“We didn’t play well,” Ursuline coach John Noonan said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’ll be all right. We’ll get there.”

Alisha Lewis scored 15 as the Raiders (1-1) edged Mary Louis Academy of New York City 54-50 on Saturday.

“Everybody down there was trying to do the same thing, trying to get their team ready for the season and see what you have and what you don’t have,” Noonan said. “We definitely found out some things, and that’s good.”

She Got Game has mushroomed into a three-day showcase that featured 87 games over three days, in seven gyms at five locations in the Washington, D.C., area. Conrad routed National Cathedral School (D.C.) 61-13 on Friday, then edged Anacostia (D.C.) 53-52 on Saturday. Sanford got past Boyertown (Pa.) 50-47 on Saturday, with Olivia Tucker scoring 17 points. Padua lost to National Cathedral 40-30 on Saturday, despite 15 points from Camryn Scully.

Rumble By The River

St. Georges boys basketball coach Rod Griffin has worked to put together the second annual Rumble By The River Upstate Downstate Hoops Challenge, to be held Saturday at St. Georges.

Four boys basketball games will be featured, each matching a New Castle County team against a Kent or Sussex County team. The action begins at noon with Howard vs. Polytech, followed by Sussex Central vs. Appoquinimink at 1:45, Caesar Rodney vs. Concord at 3:30 and Dover vs. host St. Georges at 5:15.

Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for students. One ticket is good for all four games.

Rounding it up

— Quarterback Nolan Henderson of back-to-back DIAA Division I football champion Smyrna has been named the Gatorade Delaware Football Player of the Year.

— Speaking of Smyrna, the 12-0 Eagles finished 16th in the maxpreps.com Northeast Region computer rankings.

— Smyrna senior Chase Archangelo earned the 100th victory of his high school wrestling career last Friday at the Milford Invitational. Archangelo went on to take the title at 145 pounds.

— Brian Derrickson of Middletown has been named the 2016 Atlantic Region spring season large schools girls soccer coach of the year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Derrickson guided the Cavaliers to a 14-1-2 season and a spot in the DIAA Division I tournament semifinals.

— Glasgow High is honoring former boys basketball coach Donald Haman before the 5:30 p.m. start of the Dragons’ home game against Mount Pleasant on Dec. 20. All former Glasgow basketball players, coaches and alumni are invited. For more information, contact Glasgow coach Jeremy Jeanne at (302) 442-0286 or Mark Sills at (302) 389-8558.

— Polytech right-handed pitcher Joey Haass and Salesianum catcher Zach Miller have signed to play baseball at the University of Delaware.

— St. Elizabeth junior Nathan Thomas has given a verbal commitment to play baseball at Saint Joseph’s.

— Delaware was well represented at the annual National High School Baseball Coaches Association convention last week in Columbus, Ohio. Ten First State coaches received plaques for years of coaching: St. Georges’ Jeff Rodgers (10 years); Wilmington Christian’s Jim Fedena, Hodgson’s Chris Moxley and Tatnall’s T.J. Ostrishko (15 years); St. Mark’s Matt Smith (25 years); St. Elizabeth’s Tom Beddow, Delmar’s Dave Hearn and Caravel’s Paul Niggebrugge (30 years); Brandywine’s Larry Wheeler (40 years) and St. Andrew’s Bob Colburn (55 years). Former William Penn coach Mel Gardner will serve as president of the association next year.

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.