Spring has felt like a distant dream round right here this week because of the cussed snow and ice surrounding us, however the starting of the baseball, softball, tennis and golf seasons at Arkansas Tech University has arrived nonetheless.
Members of the ATU Green and Gold booster group gathered at The Old Bank Sports Grill in Russellville Downtown simply forward of the winter storm to listen to from Dave Dawson, ATU head baseball coach; Jordon Jones, ATU head softball coach; Shaun Wiseman, ATU head ladies’s tennis coach; and Lowell Stephens, ATU head males’s and ladies’s golf coach.
Dawson is starting his seventeenth season at Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys are at Daikin Park, residence of the Houston Astros, this weekend to compete within the season-opening 2026 Houston Winter Invitational.
Arkansas Tech averaged greater than eight runs per recreation and led the Great American Conference in staff batting common (.311) in the course of the 2025 season. That offensive manufacturing, coupled with the best staff fielding proportion within the GAC (.975), propelled the Wonder Boys to their third GAC common season championship within the final 5 years.
“We want to get off to a better start this year,” stated Dawson, who’s the ATU baseball program’s all-time chief in wins (482) and convention championships (4) by a head coach. “We have some good returning gamers who know what you need to do to achieve success at this degree. We’re going to lean on these guys.
“I do think we have a very good mixture of returners and new guys coming in such that hopefully we don’t see any kind of drop-off from last year, and maybe we can actually improve,” continued Dawson. “We did not hit for a lot of power last year, but we had a really hard-nosed group of guys who did the little things.”
The Golden Suns softball program gained 27 video games and reached the GAC Tournament for a thirteenth consecutive yr in 2025, however Jones is aiming to take a step ahead in 2026.
“Twenty-seven wins is not enough,” stated Jones. “All of our returners have come back with a vengeance. I think there’s a very common theme with this group. They are on a mission to win ballgames. They want to go make this community proud. The returners came back stronger, faster and more skilled.”
Wiseman inspired ATU followers to come back out to Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex and help the Golden Suns tennis program with their in-person attendance in the course of the 2026 season.
“My biggest goal is for everyone in this room to know the tennis team,” stated Wiseman, who led the Golden Suns to the 2023 GAC common season title and is in his fourth season as head coach at Arkansas Tech. “My resolution for that was to begin on the lookout for some extra native expertise. We have numerous homegrown children on our rosters (at Arkansas Tech). There are numerous nice athletes within the Arkansas River Valley, in northwest Arkansas and in central Arkansas.
“What I want, more than anything, is for you guys to come out,” continued Wiseman. “We’re going to have a great spring. We’re going to be super competitive. We’re going to beat a lot of teams. We’re going to win a lot of matches, and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it.”
Highlights of the spring 2025 golf season at Arkansas Tech included an NCAA Division II Championships look by the Golden Suns and a GAC particular person championship for Wonder Boys golf staff member Landon Lawson.
The success continued throughout fall 2025, which included a top-three end for the Wonder Boys on the Northeastern State University Classic and a staff event championship for the Golden Suns on the Tulsa Cup.
“With the guys, we’re hoping to get more consistent across the board this spring,” stated Stephens, who’s in his second season at Arkansas Tech. “They have a great attitude and are doing a fantastic job. On the women’s side, they had one of their better falls in recent memory. Ellen Spigner is ranked No. 30 in the nation as an individual. Jaylee Castro broke the conference single-round scoring record last semester. I’m excited about where that group is going.”
Visit www.arkansastechsports.com for rosters, schedules and extra data pertaining to the spring sports activities groups at Arkansas Tech.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of college relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU soccer and basketball.