Former Southeast Missouri State baseball standout Alex Winkelman promoted by Astros

Alex Winkelman was going through a workout during his team's practice before the Greeneville Astros headed to their game against the Johnson City Cardinals on Thursday when he was called into his manager's office and given the news of his promotion.

Just shy of a month since he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 21st round of the MLB Draft on June 10, the former Southeast Missouri State pitcher has made his first move up to the Tri-City ValleyCats, the short-season Class-A affiliate of the Astros.

"It's awesome," Winkelman said in a phone interview Thursday. "It's what I want to do here. Obviously don't want to stay stagnant in one place. I want to keep moving and the quicker the better, but I'm just glad to get the opportunity and glad for what I learned while I was here."

The ValleyCats, based in Troy, New York, compete in the 14-team New York-Penn League. Former Belmont outfielder and All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team selection Drew Ferguson is currently on the ValleyCats' roster.

"I think that's what it is -- getting acquainted to the difference in pro baseball and how much time goes into it," Winkelman said of what he learned at the rookie level. "I mean, obviously college baseball there's a lot of time put into it but professional baseball it's all you do. There's no school or anything else. You spend quite a bit of time at the field working and that's your job. It was nice to get acquainted and meet some of the guys down here and hopefully they'll be moving up with me eventually."

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound lefty made his professional debut with Greeneville on June 23. He made two more relief appearances, earning a win each time, and had a 1.29 ERA prior to making his first start on Wednesday.

He was tagged for five runs, four earned, on six hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts as he was handed his first loss the night before his promotion.

"Three innings I went fine and then in the fourth I ran into some trouble," Winkelman said. "Couple bad-luck singles and a couple hard hit balls and then I ended up leaving the game with a couple guys on and the reliever gave up a home run on his first pitch, so the stat line was pretty rough on that. Overall it wasn't as bad as it might have looked. The one bad inning will get you."

Winkelman, a native of Crystal City, Missouri, who was primarily a starter in his three seasons with the Redhawks, has adjusted to professional baseball and relieving.

"Relieving is just so different from starting," Winkelman said. "I actually feel very comfortable with doing that, so whatever I'm doing in the future is fine. I feel more comfortable now being able to do both. I've been pretty happy with my first couple performances, getting acquainted with professional baseball."

McRoberts, McCrum garner preseason honors

Southeast football players Paul McRoberts and Ryan McCrum were named to another preseason All-American team.

McRoberts, a senior wide receiver, and McCrum, a junior kicker, were announced as third-team FCS preseason All-Americans by STATS on Thursday.

Both players, along with senior running back DeMichael Jackson, were also named USA College Football FCS Preseason All-Americans in June.

Nine Ohio Valley Conference players were named preseason All-Americans by STATS.

Eastern Kentucky running back Dy'Shawn Mobley, Murray State kick returner Pokey Harris and Jacksonville State defensive back Jermaine Hough were first-team selections.

Jacksonville State defensive lineman Devaunte Sigler and Tennessee Tech punt returner Ladarius Vanlier were named to the second team.

Eastern Kentucky offensive lineman Brett Eyckmans and Eastern Illinois linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill joined McRoberts and McCrum on the third team.

Former SEMO basketball stars receive invites to Vegas

Former Southeast Missouri State forward Tyler Stone will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the NBA Summer League. (File photo)

Former Southeast Missouri State basketball players and cousins Tyler Stone and Jarekious Bradley are headed to Las Vegas.

Stone, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA summer league while Bradley will compete in the Worldwide Invitational Camp, according to press releases from the Southeast athletic department.

Stone, a three-year starter who was named second-team all-Ohio Valley Conference twice and was a first-team selection as a senior, averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds while playing for Denizli Belediye in Turkey last year.

Minnesota is scheduled to play the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Chicago Bulls on Saturday and Utah Jazz on Monday before playing at least two games in a tournament beginning Wednesday. The championship game is slated for July 20.

Each game will be televised on NBA TV and games also can be viewed on NBA.com and the NBA Game Time app.

Bradley, a 6-5, 220-pound forward, wrapped up his two-year Redhawks career this year and was second-team all-conference twice.

He is one of 64 players that will compete in the Worldwide Invitational Camp hosted by UNLV Sunday through Tuesday

Coaches of each camp team hail from Australia, Germany, Belgium, Holland and Italy, and general managers and coaches of teams from Europe and Asia will also attend the camp, according to the press release.