The Roost

Coastal picked third

CHARLOTTE | Let the wide-open race for Big South Conference supremacy begin.

Two-time defending champion Liberty was tabbed by the league's coaches and media members as the preseason favorite on Friday, but a league-record five teams received at least one first-place vote, meaning parity may reign in the conference's eighth season. Coastal Carolina was picked to finish third behind Stony Brook.

Now or never

Sorry for the amount of time between posts recently. There just hasn't been a whole lot going on over the last few weeks. That's all about to change, however. Coastal's players report on Sunday and the Big South will hold its media day festivities on Friday. Live video of interviews with players and coaches will be streamed on the Big South's Web site beginning around 1:45 p.m. You can submit questions on the Big South's Twitter page, but league officials won't be accepting questions after early Friday morning so get them in while you still can.

Check this logo out

I'll have an item in my Thursday notebook about the work that former softball coach Jess Dannelly is doing in his new position as associate athletic director for community outreach. His main focus will be on building a Coastal Carolina Letterwinners' Association for all former athletes. Check tomorrow's paper for more on that, but here is a look at the logo created for the group. It brings together all the former logos for the school:

Mack to MVSU

ITTA BENA, Miss. (AP) | Mississippi Valley State has signed former Big South freshman of the year Joshua Mack, who starred at Coastal Carolina, to a letter of intent. MVSU coach Sean Woods announced the signing Monday.

Bennett, NFL players to sign autographs

Coastal football coach David Bennett and former players Tyler Thigpen and Quinton Teal, both currently in the NFL, will sign autographs during a meet and greet this Sunday, said Matt Hogue, Coastal's associate vice president for marketing.

Breeze winds up at ASU

Former Coastal forward Anthony Breeze has enrolled in summer school at Appalachian State, Mountaineers assistant coach Jamie Kachmarik said on Monday.

Position changes looming?

When I was interviewing baseball coach Gary Gilmore for a story earlier this week, we talked about a number of different issues, including his impressions of how his current players are progressing in their summer leagues or on campus. One thing is obvious: Gilmore feels very good about this team's potential.

AD committee in place

Coastal President David DeCenzo and Board of Trustees member Charlie Hodge have completed a 14-person committee that will oversee the selection of the school's next athletic director.

Ellis completes Class of 2009

Coastal Carolina announced the signing of forward Chris Evans on Tuesday, completing the Chanticleers 2009 recruiting class.

Evans, who is 6-foot-7, averaged 15 points and eight rebounds at Petersburg (Va.) last season, earning second-team all-state honors. He becomes Coastal's 13th scholarship player, meaning coach Cliff Ellis has reached the NCAA limit after an offseason full of comings and goings.

Basketball adds transfer

Six-foot-11 Seton Hall center Mike Davis will finish his career at Coastal Carolina.

Coastal announced on Monday that the junior reserve had decided to leave Seton Hall after averaging 2.6 points per game during his first two years. Davis, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native, will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules.