Men’s Basketball
New Mexico announced the signing of forward Tohi Smith-Milner to a national letter of intent Wednesday.
Smith-Milner comes to UNM from New Zealand’s Rosmini College, where he propelled the team to a national championship in 2011. He was also named the tournament MVP his senior season.
“We are really excited to have Tohi joining our program,” head coach Craig Neal said. “Tohi comes to us with good size, at 6 feet 9 inches and 240 pounds. He is a versatile player who can play inside with his size but can also step out and shoot threes. We are fortunate to sign him after being the first program to recruit him. He will join us later this summer after trying out for the New Zealand national team in June.”
The freshman from Auckland was a member of New Zealand’s U-20 and U-18 national teams and will try out for the full national team in June.
Smith-Milner joins spring signees Jordan Goodman and J.J. N’ganga as well as prep signees Joe Furstinger and Xavier Adams.
Baseball
Pitcher Colton Thomson and catcher Alex Real earned Mountain West Pitcher and Player of the Week, respectively, the MW announced Monday.
It’s the first such honor for both players.
In Saturday’s 6-1 win over San Diego State, Thomson threw seven shutout innings. He gave up six hits, struck out two batters and did not walk a hitter. Thomson did not allow a single base runner over the last three innings.
Real hit .615 (8-for-13) against SDSU. In Sunday’s 13-5 victory, Real went 4-for-4, including a pair of doubles. For the week, Real had a .615 OBP and slugged .769 while striking out just once.
The Lobos now have collected seven weekly awards this season, which is the most in the MW. Victor Sanchez was named pitcher of the week once and Josh Walker twice. Sam Haggerty and Chase Harris have each been named player of the week once.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Track and Field
The New Mexico men’s track and field team moved up to No. 23 in the latest edition of U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national rankings.
It’s the first time in almost three years that the men’s team has been ranked in the top 25. The Lobos are the highest-ranked Mountain West team.
USTFCCCA rankings are based on individual performances, and UNM has accrued 85.37 points. A majority of the points came from long jumper Kendall Spencer and distance runner Luke Caldwell.
~ Compiled by Thomas Romero-Salas
