Southeast Missouri State roundup: Nutt fills out his men's basketball staff

Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt has filled out his staff with a young assistant who boasts an impressive coaching bloodline.

Jonathan Cremins, a nephew of longtime successful college coach Bobby Cremins, is joining the Redhawks as their No. 3 assistant.

The university has not announced Cremins' hiring because he has not yet signed his contract, but that is said to be a formality. Nutt won't be able to comment on the hiring until the contract is signed and an official announcement is made, which should be soon.

Cremins spent the past two seasons on his uncle's staff at the College of Charleston.

Cremins previously served as an assistant and teacher during the 2009-10 school year at South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Ga. His coaching resume also includes a stint as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Valdosta State University, from 2007 through 2009, according to the College of Charleston website.

Cremins, a native of Roswell, Ga., earned his bachelor's degree in history from Valdosta State in 2007 and his master's degree in public administration in 2009.

Bobby Cremins ranked among the nation's winningest college basketball coaches during a 30-year run that ended with his retirement last season. He led Georgia Tech to the 1990 Final Four and is that program's winningest coach.

Jonathan Cremins joins veteran coach Jessie Evans, who recently was hired as Southeast's top assistant, as new additions to Nutt's staff.

The pair joins Jamie Rosser, who has been with Nutt during his first three seasons at Southeast and remains on the staff.

Football assistant leaves

The Southeast football program recently lost an assistant coach when Justin Kramer left to take a position on the staff at the University of Missouri.

Kramer served Southeast in a variety of roles the past five seasons, most recently as tight ends/offensive tackles coach and recruiting coordinator. He originally joined the Redhawks in 2006 as a graduate assistant.

Joel Beard, who coaches Southeast's wide receivers, will take over as the Redhawks' recruiting coordinator.

Peiffer honored again

Southeast senior linebacker Blake Peiffer has been named to another preseason All-American team.

Peiffer is a second-team selection by College Sports Madness. He is among seven Ohio Valley Conference players selected to the squad, including two first-teamers.

The Jackson High School graduate who is the OVC preseason defensive player of the year recently was named to the Sports Network preseason All-America first team along with being named to the preseason watch list for the nation's top defensive player.

Peiffer landed a spot on four All-American squads in 2011 after leading the OVC in tackles with a school-record 151.

OVC academic honors

A school record 137 Southeast athletes were honored Thursday when the OVC handed out its academic awards for the 2011-12 school year.

The 137 individuals were named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for having at least a 3.25 grade-point average. Eighteen were presented with the OVC Medal of Honor for achieving the highest GPA in a conference-sponsored sport. Seventeen of the 18 recipients had a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Southeast's Medal of Honor winners were Jason Blum (baseball), Oran High School graduate Kody Campbell (baseball), Bell City High School graduate Nick Niemczyk (men's basketball), Anna Steffel (women's basketball), Joel Krause (men's cross country, track), Alex Zisser (men's cross country, track), Brian Grote (men's track), Rebekah Lawson (women's cross country, track); Gloria Westlake (women's cross country, track), Erica Grajales (women's track), Nikki Edwards (women's soccer), Amy Ward (women's soccer), Taylor Cowan (softball), Renee Kertz (softball), Lindsey Patterson (softball), Paige Dossey (volleyball), Samantha Lowman (volleyball) and Meredith Stranges (volleyball).

Southeast's women's cross country team received an OVC Team Academic Achievement Award for having the greatest percentage of its eligible athletes earn a 3.25 GPA or higher.

Track academic honors

Four Southeast athletes have earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honors.

Jacob Kent, Kevin Farley, DeAndre Simmons and Notre Dame Regional High School graduate Jill Schnurbusch were among 18 Ohio Valley Conference track and field athletes to earn the distinction.

Eastern Illinois led the OVC with seven selections, while Southeast and Eastern Kentucky both had four.

An athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and met various performance standards to qualify for the award.