Jason Burton resigns as A&M-Commerce Women’s Basketball coach.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball coach Jason Burton has resigned to accept a similar position at the University of North Texas. A comprehensive national search is underway. 

A&M-Commerce has issued the following statement: “We thank coach Jason Burton for his exemplary leadership in building one of the premiere Division II women’s basketball programs in the country and leading the program through the first year of the Division I transition. The program’s success over the last nine seasons is unparalleled. We wish Jason and his family the best in their new endeavor.” 

Burton ends his tenure as the Lion coach with 171 career wins, the most in program history. In his nine seasons at the helm, the Lions recorded just one losing season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament four times and advancing to the conference tournament semifinal or further in five straight seasons. 

In the first season of Division I, Coach Burton tied for fourth in the Southland Conference during the regular season and suffered an overtime defeat to Southeastern Louisiana University, the eventual conference tournament champion, in the semifinal round. The Lions have recorded a postseason win in four straight seasons.  

A&M-Commerce will have further public comments on the search once the new coach is named.

McCulloch, Zavaczki in top 20 at The Big Texan

 

KERRVILLE – Nathan McCulloch and Balint Zavaczki are in the top 20 at The Big Texan after the two rounds on Monday at Riverhill Country Club. 

McCulloch (Edinburgh, Scotland) shot a 143 (72-71) on Monday and sits in a tie for 11th place. Zavaczki (Nyíregyháza, Hungary) carded two rounds of 72 each to tie for 16th place. 

Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk (Phuket, Thailand) climbed 12 spots in the second round and tied for 29th place with a score of 147 (75-72). Simon Haas (Lorch, Germany) tied with Phaithuncharoensuk for 29th place. Haas shot a 70 in the morning and 77 in the afternoon. 

Chance Mulligan (Dallas – Bishop Dunne) tied for 60th with a score of 153 (76-77). Corey Maher (Frisco) is competing as an individual this week, and he is in 78th place with a score of 165, shooting a 90 in the morning and improving by 15 strokes for a 75 in the afternoon round. 

The Lions tied for fourth with Tarleton with a team score of 581. Midland Community College and Southeastern are tied for first with matching team scores of 576, while UIW’s Ken-Marten Soo, Texas Tech’s Gustav Andersson, and New Orleans’ Ryan Fulton sit atop the player leaderboard with a score of 139. 

The third and final round of the tournament begins on Tuesday morning.

Pos	Team	Round 1	Round 2	Total
T1	Midland CC	283	293	576
T1	Southeastern	285	291	576
3	UT Rio Grande Valley	296	284	580
T4	Tarleton	293	288	581
T4	A&M-COMMERCE	289	292	581
6	Stephen F. Austin	292	290	582
7	Odessa College	292	294	586
T8	UIW	295	293	588
T8	New Orleans	292	296	588
10	Ranger College	296	296	592
11	Houston Christian	293	303	596
12	Schreiner	297	300	597
13	Texas Southern	303	303	606

 

T4	A&M-COMMERCE	289	292	581
T11	Nathan McCulloch	72	71	143
T16	Balint Zavaczki	72	72	144
T29	Simon Haas	70	77	147
T29	Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk	75	72	147
T60	Chance Mulligan	76	77	153

INDIVIDUAL
Corey Maher • T78 • 90-75 • 165