AMHERST — The UMass men’s basketball program has added graduate transfer forward Djery Baptiste for the 2018-19 season, the school announced Friday.
Baptiste will arrive in December after graduating from Vanderbilt and have 1½ years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-10 center appeared in 64 games over the past two years for the Commodores, averaging 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.
“We are extremely excited about adding Djery to our program,” Minuteman coach Matt McCall said in a release. “Not only will he add physicality, athleticism and toughness in our front court, but he brings a ton of experience and leadership qualities to help our team.”
Baptiste joins freshmen Sy Chatman, Samba Diallo and Tre Wood as newcomers to UMass this season.
SMITH NAMED TO MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST — UMass sophomore midfielder Davis Smith was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list unveiled Thursday by the United Soccer Coaches and the Missouri Athletic Club.
Smith, an Amherst native who played at Williston Northampton School, is the second Minuteman ever named to the preseason watch list, joining Ben Arikian, who was recognized in 2009 and 2010.
The 6-foot-6 midfielder was the Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Year last season after leading the Minutemen with 10 goals and seven assists. Smith was also named a first-team A-10 honoree and became the program’s 19th All-American with a third-team nod from the USC.
The MAC Hermann Trophy is given annually to the best male and female college soccer players in the country.
SOFTBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS — Two former UMass softball players are participating in the 2018 Women’s Softball World Championships in Chiba, Japan.
Sara Plourde has pitched in two games for Canada, splitting a pair of decisions in the tournament. The 2012 UMass graduate threw four innings of two-hit ball in Canada’s 1-0 win over Italy on Aug. 4 to earn the win, but took the loss after allowing an unearned run in ⅓ of an inning on Aug. 7 in a 2-0 defeat to Japan.
Quianna Diaz-Patterson, a 2011 Amherst Regional graduate, is batting .333 with six runs in seven appearances for Puerto Rico. She helped lead Puerto Rico to a 6-1 record in group play, but a 7-0 loss to Japan on Friday relegated Puerto Rican to an elimination game with Canada on Saturday.
The winner between Canada and Puerto Rico will advance to face the winner between Australia and Mexico later Saturday. The champion of the tournament earns an automatic bid to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. If Japan wins, the runner-up qualifies because Japan has already qualified as the Olympics hosts.