Gage Bobe named Men’s Basketball Graduate Assistant

Bobe played five seasons for the Purple Aces

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Gage Bobe’s journey with the University of Evansville men’s basketball program began as a walk-on in 2019.  After earning a scholarship, Bobe worked his way into the starting lineup on a regular basis.  With his playing career complete, Bobe will remain with the program as a graduate assistant.

“Gage has been a part of the Aces program since he entered college 6 years ago and that will continue.  He embodies all that we look for in our program when my staff and I are recruiting,” Purple Aces head coach David Ragland said.  “We want self-starters, everyday guys, hard workers, consistent workers, vocal leaders, individuals willing to sacrifice for the greater good, and individuals focused on leaving a situation better than they found it.”

“Those that know his story know that he came to UE as a walk on then earned a scholarship.  Gage didn’t stop there, he then earned playing time and eventually a starting role on our team. He was not given anything along the way, he worked his tail off to create opportunities for himself,” Ragland continued.  “As my staff and I learned Gage more, we admired not only his work ethic but also his knowledge of the game of basketball. As time went on and Sammy was towards the completion of his graduate assistantship, it became clear to my staff and I that Gage was the perfect replacement. We are very much excited to have Gage remain here at the University of Evansville in the role as our Graduate Assistant.”

Bobe improved in each season with the UE program.  The 2022-23 campaign may have been his best as he completed the conference portion of the season converting 44.0% of his attempts, tops in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Starting 31 games, Bobe averaged 5.6 points and set his career scoring mark with 22 points at Valparaiso.

“Accepting the position of GA at UE was a no brainer when Coach Ragland offered me this opportunity. I am going on year 6 now in the city of Evansville and this place feels like home. All I have ever wanted since I have been here was to see this program succeed,” Bobe exclaimed. “When I had the opportunity to continue to accomplish that goal, saying yes was easy. I believe Coach Ragland and the rest of the staff are the perfect people to get this program on track and I am thrilled to be part of it. This new chapter of my life is not just a professional milestone but a personal mission to give back to a program that gave me so much.”

His sharpshooting continued in 2023-24 as he connected on a 3-pointer in 15 of the final 16 games while chipping in an average of 4.1 PPG.  Over the final 11 games of the season, he drained 22 of his 48 outside attempts.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The three-time defending Region 24 Champion Vincennes University volleyball team picked up another big addition this week to close out their 2024 recruiting class with the addition of outside hitter Karen Kodi.

Kodi is a five-foot 11 outside hitter that comes to Vincennes University from West Carrollton High School just outside of Dayton, Ohio.

“We needed to recruit pins,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “We graduated several from last year’s team. We have a lot of middles returning, but it was definitely a priority after losing that many outsides and right sides, the pins were really a priority in recruiting.”

“The thing that I like about Karen is that she can hit on either side,” Sien added. “She does play six rotations. We’re always looking for six rotation players. I just really like the way she plays. She plays with an attitude and I like the way that she carries herself on the court. She has a real presence on the court and if we do end up using her on the left side, you need to have that. You have to go up there with the mentality of getting a good swing on the ball and not making an error because the sets are coming from all over the court.”

“We will have a tough competition to replace our two outsides from last year,” Sien said. “We had two outsides that were six rotation players for two years. To have both of them gone, it’s been a few years since we’ve had to replace both at the same time. How tough it’s going to be to replace those two is a big compliment to both Audrey Buis and Paige Parlanti for their consistency and their leadership.”

“We’re not just looking to replace the positional skills, but we are also replacing the intangibles too,” Sien added. “Not that they have to step up right away and be a leader from day one, but that wouldn’t hurt either. We are looking for Karen to definitely be in that mix, possibly on the left side or the right side depending on who goes where.”

Kodi had a stellar senior season for the Pirates last year, finishing with 221 kills, 393 digs, 95 aces and 43 blocks while also finishing with a .380 hitting percentage.

Kodi was named the Team MVP last season for West Carrollton High School and was also an Honorable Mention for the 2023 All-Miami Valley League team.

Kodi also spent time playing for the Western Buckeye Volleyball Club in Fairfield, Ohio just outside of Cincinnati.

“Karen is going to a program where she can be a major contributor to the team’s success and to a team where she can be a star,” Kodi’s High School Coach Rob Hays said. “Karen is the best athlete I have ever coached. She works hard and plays harder. She makes any team instantly better.”

Kodi’s addition closes out the 2024 recruiting class for the Trailblazers as the VUVB team begins to set their sites on the first day of official practice on Aug. 1, the first scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 10 ta St. Mary-of-the-Woods and the start of the 2024 regular season Friday, Aug. 23 when VU hosts Region 24 opponent Wabash Valley College at 7 p.m. eastern.

The Vincennes University Athletic Department is excited to welcome Karen Kodi to the 2024 Trailblazer recruiting class.

EVANSVILLE, Ind – For the first time this season, the Evansville Otters are walk-off winners in a 3-2 extra innings finish over the Washington Wild Things at Bosse Field.

On the first pitch in the bottom of the tenth inning, Pavin Parks launched a blast into the night sky that cleared the right field wall to send the Otters (22-26) home with a series-opening victory.

Drawing first blood in the opening frame, the Wild Things (38-19) jumped ahead 1-0 before starting pitching took over the game.

Parker Brahms settled down after a rocky start and finished the night going eight innings, allowing one run on four hits, four strikeouts and no walks. He battled against Dariel Fregio, who also pitched into the eighth, but the Otters gave Brahms the offensive edge to make the difference.

The bats took until the eighth inning to get a run on the scoreboard, but it shifted the momentum of the game. Parks led off with a double. After moving to third on a flyout, he was brought home with a sacrifice RBI from Mason White.

No team could score in the ninth, but Washington jumped ahead again in the tenth inning with a run. Despite giving up the lead, Jon Beymer (4-1) left the bases full to limit the damage, as he would later earn the win because of the walk-off in his two frames of work.

Parks’ home run tonight was his fourth of the year. It was the club’s third extra-inning victory this season.

Gyeongju Kim (3-3) was dealt the loss after pitching in the final frame.

Evansville has a chance to win their first series of the year against Washington with the series middle game tomorrow. The first pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.