This Week in Saluki Athletics: March 9-15

03/09/2026 | 3:27:00 | General

By: Peter Borkowski

CARBONDALE, Ill. – As the weather continues to warm, spring season continues to ramp up at Southern Illinois. Baseball inches closer to their conference schedule, while softball opened Missouri Valley Conference play this past weekend. Meanwhile, men's basketball's season came to a close last week and the women's team prepares for their tournament.

Men's Basketball (16-16, 10-10)
The men's basketball season came to an end last week in the opening round of the MVC Tournament. But first, Quel'Ron House was named to the All-MVC Second Team and All-Newcomer Team. Meanwhile, Rolyns Aligbe was honored with a spot on the MVC's Most Improved Team.

SIU drew #9 Drake in the first round of Arch Madness, where Southern's season ended with a 67-63 loss. House had a monster game with 28 points and three assists but was only supported in the points column by Davion Sykes and his 11 points. Aligbe did good work cleaning the boards, grabbing 16 rebounds.

Southern finishes the 2025-26 regular season with a perfectly even record of 16-16 overall and 10-10 in conference play.

Women's Basketball (10-19, 7-13)
The regular season ended for women's basketball on Sunday with a 75-69 win over Evansville. Alayna Kraus and Indya Green both scored 20+ with 22 and 21 while Green also snagged 12 rebounds to complete a double-double. Kayla Cooper also helped with 14 points. Kynnedi Davis facilitated with seven helpers.

It is now tournament time for the Salukis. On Thursday, March 12, they head to Coralville, Iowa, for the Credit Union 1 MVC Tournament. Their first matchup will be at 3:30 p.m. against Indiana State.

Softball (13-9, 2-0)
Conference play began this past weekend for softball, who won a pair of games over Valparaiso on Friday.

The doubleheader began with a 12-0 run-rule win for SIU. Emily Williams hit a home run on her way to a pair of RBIs. Most of the damage came from Jordan Stewart however, who drove in four runs off two hits. Hailey Lucas earned the complete-game shutout by allowing just one hit over her five innings of work.

Southern then shut Valparaiso out again in game two, 4-0. Amanda Knutson had the biggest hit of the game, driving in three runs with a double. Brooklynn Danielson and Emily Delgado combined for the shutout.

SIU and Valparaiso were supposed to square off again on Saturday, but the match was canceled due to weather.

The Salukis are back at home this weekend for a three-game slate against Bradley. On Friday, March 13, the two face off at 2 p.m. They play again on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The series concludes on Saturday, March 14, with a 1 p.m. game.

Baseball (6-8, 0-0)
It was a successful week for baseball, who added three wins to their season total.

First was a 9-4 win over North Dakota State on Tuesday. Cecil Lofton powered a ball over the outfield way on his way to four RBIs while Julio Guerrero had multiple RBIs as well with two. Southern's bullpen was excellent, allowing just one earned run over 5.1 innings of work.

The Salukis then traveled to Minnesota for the Cambria Classic Tournament, which started with a 9-1 win over Omaha on Friday. Tim Simay drove in four runs while Henry Kufa had two RBIs. On the mound, Andrew Evans earned the win after five innings of shutout ball.

Southern then fell 16-8 against UNLV on Saturday. Kristian Sprawling had a home run as he was one of three Salukis to have multiple RBIs.

The Tournament ended on Sunday with a 5-4 walkoff win. Jaden Flores drew the game-winning walk and Gabe Petrucelli hit a homer. Jack MacIntosh earned the win thanks to 3.2 innings of shutout ball in relief.

SIU stays on the road for the next contest, visiting SIUE on Tuesday at 4 p.m. They then return home for a weekend series against Southern Indiana. The two play Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m., Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m., and Sunday, March 15, at 1 p.m.

Women's Golf
Women's golf resumes action this Friday, March 13, when they start the three-day Red Rocks Invitational.

Men's Golf
Men's golf is currently competing at the Louisiana Classic today, March 9, and on Tuesday, March 10. They then head to the Seminole Intercollegiate on Sunday, March 15, for a three-day competition.

Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X at @SIUSalukis, on Instagram at @siusalukis , and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SalukiAthletics/. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.