MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (AP) — Pitcher Bobby Witt Jr., son of former major league pitcher Bobby Witt, and softball pitcher Kelley Lynch have been honored as national prep athletes of the year. They received their trophies on Tuesday night.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger has been tabbed the Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year, with Oklahoma junior linebacker Kenneth Murray taking the defensive honor. Former Alabama quarterback and Oklahoma graduate transfer Jalen Hurts was picked as the league’s newcomer of the year in media voting. The league’s media days are next week.

National Headlines

CLEVELAND (AP) _ The American League earned its seventh consecutive All-Star Game victory by downing the National League, 4-3 in Cleveland. AL hurlers combined to allow just five hits while striking out 16, with game MVP Shane Bieber, Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman each fanning the side. Michael Brantley opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second and Joey Gallo added a solo shot that put the junior circuit ahead, 4-1 in the seventh inning.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) _ Serena Williams has reached the Wimbledon semifinals by gutting out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over 55th-ranked Alison Riske. The 37-year-old Williams trailed 3-1 in the first set and was tied 3-3 in the third before a service break put her up 5-3. The 11th-seeded Williams next faces Barbora Strycova, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at age 33 with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over No. 19 Johanna Konta of Britain.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) _ Seventh seed Simona Halep will take on No. 8 Elina Svitolina in Thursday’s other semifinal match at Wimbledon. Halep defeated Zhang Shuai of China 7-6, 6-1 to get to her second semifinal at Wimbledon. Svitolina will make her debut in that round at any major tournament following her 7-5, 7-4 victory against Karolina Muchova.

UNDATED (AP) _ John Daly has withdrawn from the British Open three days after being told he can’t ride in a cart. The 1995 Open winner cited the Americans with Disabilities Act in requesting and receiving a cart for the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. Daly says he has difficulty walking due to osteoarthritis in his right knee.

DENVER (AP) _ Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has received a two-year contract extension through the 2021-22 season after guiding the team to back-to-back playoff appearances. The team made a 47-point turnaround in 2017-18, which matched the fourth-highest year-to-year improvement in league history. Bednar is 103-116-27 in three seasons at the helm of the Avalanche.

AUCKLAND, NZ  (AP)— Former Hutchinson Women’s Basketball All-American Kalani Purcell named to elite team.

Hot on the heels of Kalani Purcell playing a leading role in Auckland Dream’s Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) success news has emerged that the competitions MVP has been selected for Team World at the Aurora Games in August.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Former Kansas State star Dean Wade has seemed to impress the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer.

The team officially announced a two-way contract for the Kansas native on Tuesday.

A two-way deal means Wade would spend a majority of his season in the G-League and no more than 45 days with the Cavaliers. Two-way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league.

So far in Summer League, Wade has been productive for Cleveland. He’s averaging 8.5 points, 3.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.

The big man was a decorated star for the Wildcats. He finished his K-State career in 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list and is one of just three players to rank in the top 10 in both career scoring and rebounding.

Wade is a native of St. John, Kansas where he led the Tiger’s to great success as a high school All-State star.

But his career was also noted for dealing with injuries. He missed significant time for K-State, including the past two postseasons for the Wildcats, due to foot injuries.

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the second-straight year two Jayhawks picked up Preseason All-Big 12 First Team honors as sophomore Pooka Williams Jr., and junior Kyle Thompson each found their names on the list the conference office announced Tuesday afternoon. The awards are voted on by a panel of media who covers the conference. Williams, a running back, returns in 2019 as the Big 12’s leading returning rusher, while Thompson is back as the conference’s top punter.

A New Orleans native, Williams took home 2018 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors and was also named to the All-Big 12 First Team as a running back and a returner by the league coaches. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was a first-team honoree as an all-purpose player by the Associated Press, while taking home second-team honors at running back.

Williams rushed for a total of 1,125 yards on 161 carries, good for 102.3 yards per game, 7.0 yards per carry and seven rushing touchdowns. He added 289 yards and two scores on 33 receptions and 246 yards on 11 kick returns to lead the Big 12 and rank sixth in the FBS in all-purpose yards at 150.9 per game. Williams also threw for a touchdown—a nine-yard pass against Oklahoma.

Williams was one of two players in the Big 12 Conference to record a 100-yard rushing game (4) and a 100-yard receiving game (1) in 2018, joining TCU’s Jalen Reagor. He was also one of only two players in the league to score a touchdown by way of passing, rushing and receiving joining Texas’ Lil’ Jordan Humphrey and was one of just three true freshmen in Big 12 history to accomplish the feat.

Williams’ 1,125 rushing yards tied him for eighth place in KU’s single-season history books, ranking him second among Jayhawk freshmen on that list. His 252 rushing yards at Oklahoma rank sixth in KU’s single-game records, while his 16.8 yards per carry against the Sooners was both a Big 12 Conference and Kansas record for a game with a minimum of 15 carries. His 1,660 all-purpose yards rank third on KU’s single-season list.

Williams took home numerous national honors during his first season as a Jayhawk. He was tabbed a Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-America Second Team and Freshman All-America honoree as an all-purpose player and also took home Freshman All-America by The Athletic as a running back. He was named Midseason True Freshman of the Year by The Athletic and was tabbed a Midseason Freshman All-American by ESPN. He was tabbed the Big 12 Conference’s Newcomer of the Week on four occasions during the 2018 season.

Thompson, who hails from El Cajon, California, was the Big 12’s top punter in 2018, averaging 43.3 yards per punt. He recorded 17 kicks of 50 yards or longer and dropped 26 of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Thompson turned in a career-long 76-yard punt in KU’s season-finale against Texas. He earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors by the league coaches following the 2018 season.

The Big 12 media preseason poll will be released on Wednesday, followed by the annual Big 12 Football Media Days to be conducted in Arlington, Texas on July 15-16. Both days will be televised live from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. CT on FS2, FCS Central and other regional affiliates. Exclusive coverage from the event will also be available on the Big 12’s digital platforms – Big12Sports.com, Twitter and Instagram and You Tube (@Big12Conference). The official hashtag for the event will be #Big12FB.

A quartet of seniors in offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji, running back Khalil Herbert and safeties Mike Lee and Bryce Torneden, along with head coach Les Miles will represent the Jayhawks as they take part in Big 12 Football Media Days on Monday, July 15. Follow along with the KU contingent on all their social accounts: Twitter: @KU_Football; Instagram: @kufootball, and Facebook: @KansasFootball.

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State senior defensive end Reggie Walker was named to the 2019 Preseason All-Big 12 team as chosen by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Walker, a first-time honoree, was a 2017 Second Team All-Big 12 performer as a sophomore a year after earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year accolades in 2016. He has 16.0 career sacks sit two away from entering the school’s top-10 list, while his 30.0 tackles for loss are nine shy of entering the K-State record book.

A ballhawk throughout his career, Walker has eight career forced fumbles to tie for third in school history – one shy of the school record – and tie for second nationally among active players. Half of his career forced fumbles came last season when he also totaled 35 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks. He led the Big 12 and ranked 10th nationally in forced fumbles in 2018, in addition to ranking sixth in the conference in sacks and tied for eighth in TFLs.

Kansas State travels to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, next Tuesday to participate in 2019 Big 12 Football Media Days. Walker has been added to the list of Wildcat representatives, joining head coach Chris Klieman, Skylar Thompson, Dalton Schoen, Wyatt Hubert, Trey Dishon and Denzel Goolsby.

Live coverage of media day will be from 9 a.m., to 1 p.m., on FS2, FCS Central and various FSN regional affiliates. Fans can follow the Wildcats at Big 12 Media Day on K-State’s various digital media outlets – www.k-statesports.com, Twitter (@KStateFB), Facebook (@KStateSports) and Instagram (@KStateFB).

IRVING, Texas — The Big 12 Conference Office has announced it’s 2019 Football Preseason list.

Big 12 Conference 2019 Preseason Football All-Big 12 Team Video

WICHITA, Kan. — Wichita State will play host to Ole Miss this season in one of four men’s basketball scheduling alliance matchups between schools from the American Athletic Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Ole Miss comes to Charles Koch Arena on Jan. 4, 2020. The Shockers make a return visit to Oxford, Miss. on Dec. 5, 2020.

In addition to WSU-Ole Miss, Memphis welcomes Georgia to FedExForum, Houston heads to South Carolina and SMU travels to Vanderbilt.

All four 2019-20 matchups will air on ESPN networks.

This will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Shockers and Rebels and the first since Nov. 18, 2001, when the teams met in the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. The schools met in four consecutive Decembers from 1994-97 with each side winning twice. Ole Miss’ trip to Wichita will be its first since Dec. 13, 1997.

The 2018-19 men’s basketball season was one of the best in American Athletic Conference history, with seven teams reaching postseason play (most in the league’s six-year history). Seven teams enjoyed 20-win seasons (also a new high).

Ole Miss finished 20-13 in its first season under Kermit Davis and qualified for NCAA tournament play for the first time since 2015. The Rebels have banked 20-wins in 10 of their last 13 seasons.

WSU was one of seven American Athletic Conference teams that reached the postseason in 2018-19. A young Shocker team won 22 games and advanced to the semifinals of the NIT.

Shocker Athletics is currently accepting waiting list applications for 2019-20 men’s basketball season tickets. Fans can access the waiting list form on the GoShockers.com Tickets page or contact the Shocker Ticket Office directly at 316-978-FANS to sign up.

—goshockers.com—

IRVING, Texas — In the regular world, the Fourth of July holiday marks the midpoint of summer. In the college football world, it marks the end.

One week from today, college football will lumber its way out of hibernation and begin the laborious process of beginning the 2019 season in earnest–six weeks before the season officially begins with the Florida-Miami kickoff game in Orlando, and seven before it begins for everyone else–by kicking off the annual media day festivities. The Big 12 (and the American) will go head-to-head with the mighty SEC, at least for the first part of the week, by holding its gathering next Monday and Tuesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. (The SEC stretches its festivities out from Monday through Thursday.)

On Monday, the Big 12 announced which players will take the podium before the conference’s press:

Baylor
RB JaMycal Hasty
LB Clay Johnston
WR Denzel Mims
OL Sam Tecklenburg
WR Marques Jones

Iowa State
DL Josh Knipfel
LB Marcel Spears, Jr.
DE JaQuan Bailey
WR Deshounte Jones

Kansas
DL Hakeem Adenji
RB Khalil Herbert
S Mike Lee
S Bryce Torneden
WR Stephen Robinson

Kansas State
QB Skylar Thompson
WR Dalton Schoen
DT Trey Dishon
DE Wyatt Hubert
DB Denzel Goolsby

Oklahoma
DL Neville Gallimore
OL Creed Humphrey
WR CeeDee Lamb
LB Kenneth Murray
WR Nick Basquine

Oklahoma State
WR Tylan Wallace
CB AJ Green
C Johnny Wilson
LB Philip Redwine-Bryant

TCU
DT Ross Blacklock
S Innis Gaines
DT Lucas Niong
WR Jalen Reagor
LB Garrett Wallow
C Kelton Hollins

Texas
QB Sam Ehlinger
WR Collin Johnson
S Brandon Jones
DE Malcolm Roach
C Zach Shackelford
LB Jeffrey McCulloch

Texas Tech
OL Travis Bruffy
DL Braden Washington, Jr.
LB Jordyn Brooks
DB Douglas Coleman III
DB Adrion Frye

West Virginia
OL Colton McKivitz
WR TJ Simmons
CB Keith Washington, Jr.
DL Reese Donohue

In a quarterback-centric league, it’s a bit surprising that only two signal callers will make the trek to Dallas-Fort Worth in K-State’s Thompson and UT’s Ehlinger. Brock Purdy is entrenched as the starter at Iowa State, as are Charlie Brewer at Baylor and Alan Bowman at Texas Tech. The most glaring omission from this list? That would be Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, a guy who has never suited up in OU’s brand of crimson but is nonetheless 1A or 1B as the most high-profile player in the entire league.

And as much as they might like to, head coaches cannot skip media days, and four new ones will make their debuts next week: Kansas’ Les Miles (representing his second school at the event), Kansas State’s Chris Klieman, Texas Tech’s Matt Wells and West Virginia’s Neal Brown.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Pete Alonso took one final swing and flipped his bat high in the air. Another walk-off…..  Money ball.

As the crowd roared, the New York Mets rookie headed toward the mound and tightly squeezed his cousin and pitcher Derek Morgan, who had helped him win the All-Star Home Run Derby and $1 million.

Alonso outlasted a worn-down fellow rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final round Monday night to take home a prize that nearly doubled his 2019 salary.

With just seconds to spare, Alonso connected for a homer to left-center to edge Guerrero 23-22 after the Blue Jays’ powerhouse put on a historic display by hitting 91 homers before he ran out of gas following an epic semifinal matchup against Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson.

“There’s so many guys that just put on a show, like Joc, he was amazing, Vladdy, they did such a good job,” Alonso said. “Everybody put on a show. To me it didn’t really seem like the jitters were there, because everyone was awesome. I mean everyone was showing their stuff.”

After his last homer cleared the wall, Alonso was swarmed by the NL All-Stars who along with a crowd of 36,119 fans were treated to a power display unlike any in the event’s history.

“This was surreal,” Alonso said.

Alonso is the second rookie to win outright, following Yankees star Aaron Judge in 2017. He’s also the first Mets player to win the derby since Darryl Strawberry shared the title with Wally Joyner in 1986.

Alonso, making the major league minimum of $555,000 this season, has hit 30 home runs. The first baseman will showcase his swing again in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game as baseball continues this season of the longball.

And he’ll also give 10% of his prize money to charity — 5% each to the Wounded Warrior Project and to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

“I’ve been living a fantasy,” Alonso said. “And I just want to use my platform as almost kind of just reach out to people and just make people aware of these causes. And I hope that other people could find the kindness in their hearts.”

One of the only bright spots this season for the struggling Mets, Alonso gave New York’s NL fans something to brag about while the Yankees chase another title.

He showed some dramatic flair with two nail-biting wins to reach the final against Guerrero. He nipped Cleveland’s Carlos Santana 14-13 in the first round and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. 20-19 in the second to set up a showdown with the 20-year-old Guerrero, whose Hall of Fame father won the event in 2007.

With one of baseball’s most fearsome swings, Guerrero figured to be a force but there was no way of predicting he’d hit 91 homers — 74 more than his dad’s entire total 12 years ago.

Following the event, Guerrero slowly walked to his chair in the clubhouse and sat down.

“I was kind of scared he was going to beat me because he was hitting second,” Guerrero said through a translator. “It was back-and-forth and back-and forth. It was really tiring.”

His hands blistered, Guerrero more than equaled his season’s salary of $468,468. He got $500,000 for finishing second, plus a $100,000 bonus for hitting the longest homer.

“I gave all I had. I’m proud I hit 91 home runs,” he said.

Guerrero defeated Pederson in a semifinal that required three extra swing(ings) and will go down in derby lore.

They were tied 29-all after their four-minute round and then again following a 60-second session. Guerrero and Pederson then each homered once when given three swings, forcing another best-of-three round.

Guerrero hit two, screaming at his second shot, which barely cleared the 19-foot high wall in left. Pederson couldn’t match up, hitting a grounder on his final cut before both players shared an exhausted embrace near home plate as the fellow All-Stars stood and applauded like regular fans.

The last Home Run Derby in Cleveland was also won by a New Yorker — Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez, who took the 1997 crown over a field which included Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome, who didn’t clear the walls once.

Santana fared better than Thome, hitting 13 dingers in the first round. But Alonso rallied with two homers in the final 15 seconds to hit 14 as the Cleveland crowd sneered.

“I didn’t think I’d ever be booed at a Home Run Derby, to be honest with you,” Alonso said. “But I guess that’s the hometown home cooking.”

The derby lost its top seed on Sunday as Christian Yelich, the reigning NL MVP and current home-run leader, withdrew from the contest citing a nagging back issue. Yelich didn’t want to risk injury and his decision was certainly welcomed news to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yelich, who is still playing in Tuesday’s game, was replaced by Oakland’s Matt Chapman, who had the misfortune of being paired against the hard-swinging Guerrero in the first round.

When the ballpark gates opened at 5:30 fans, most of them wearing gloves, scrambled down the concourses to secure prime standing-room-only spots along the railing above the left-field wall and behind the lower bowl seats in right.

They were hoping to see some moon shots, towering drives and monstrous blasts from a group that didn’t disappoint with 312 total homers.

Alonso needed some time to get warmed up, but once he did, there was no stopping him.

“After we finally got in that rhythm it was money,” he said. “It was money.”

___

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CLEVELAND (AP) — We’ve seen Reggie hit the light tower, Pete Rose crush a catcher to score the winning run and a tribute to Ted Williams that sent shivers through Fenway Park.

But come the All-Star Game on Tuesday night, baseball fans might witness something they’ve never seen before.

Automatic runners.

Already employed in the minors, the World Baseball Classic and Olympic softball, a new rule will take effect in front of a major league audience: Every extra inning in All-Star play — top half and bottom — begins with a free runner at second base.

“They’re doing that? Really?” Houston reliever Ryan Pressly asked Monday. “I did not know that.”

The crowd at Progressive Field got a glimpse of the future, maybe, on Sunday night when the Futures Game tried the rule for an inning. No one scored, and the showcase for young talent wound up in a tie.

Jeff McNeil, the top hitter in the majors this year, saw the scenario a lot last season in Triple-A. There, the goal is to shorten games and save wear and tear on pitching staffs.

“Kind of weird,” McNeil observed.

Still, it could be real timely. The last two All-Star Games both went extras — Robinson Cano hit a leadoff homer in the 10th at Miami in 2017, Alex Bregman did the same last year in Washington.

Plus, there was the 15-inning affair at Yankee Stadium in 2008 and the dreaded 2002 game in Milwaukee that was declared a very unpopular tie after the 11th.

Naturally, in a sport where change comes slowly, not everyone is thrilled with this experiment. To many, instant intentional walks, constant shifts and talk about robot umpires has skewed the game enough.

If it’s any consolation, commissioner Rob Manfred says there are no foreseeable plans to put free runners on base in the regular season.

“I know how people are against it, especially players in the game. Yeah, the tradition is big in this sport, just like a lot of top-tier sports,” Baltimore pitcher John Means said.

AL manager Alex Cora of the Red Sox had a mixed view.

“I’ve seen the rule play before internationally. And it’s kind of like the coolest, more tougher thing ever in baseball, to be honest with you,” he said Monday.

NL manager Dave Roberts of the Dodgers was firm.

“I’d rather not see it in play tomorrow. I’d rather see nine innings of baseball. And going forward … I don’t know, probably the wrong thing to say, but I kind of like it the way it is right now,” he said.

Some teams actually tried this out during spring training, starting with ties in the ninth. San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy was the first to give it a go — mass confusion ensued, mostly because he forgot to tell his players what was happening.

Oakland right-hander Liam Hendriks realizes he could be on the spot Tuesday night.

“It’s not an ideal scenario for a reliever because we’re the ones that get stuck with it,” he said. “You’re coming into a situation already with the guy on base in a tie game, there’s so many possibilities that can happen.”

“For the All-Star Game, I understand it. And now with home-field advantage not being decided by it, I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world,” he said.

Olympic star pitcher Jennie Finch felt the pressure of the runner-on-second tiebreaker.

“It changes everything,” she said during the All-Star festivities. “Normally, in softball, there’s a bunt to get the runner over in that situation. It will be interesting to see in baseball if the same strategy is used.”

The automatic runner will be the player who made the last out of the previous inning. But in a caveat, players who have left the All-Star Game can re-enter to run.

For official scoring purposes, if a freebie scores, it will count as an unearned run. As for strategy, what to do with that runner?

“There’s a lot of different ways you can play it, too. I mean, you can either bunt him over or swing to get him over, or you can try to hit. You’ve got to play for more than one run there,” McNeil said.

That’s fine with New York Mets teammate Pete Alonso. The rookie slugger has hit 30 home runs this season — he’s never put down a sacrifice in college, the minors or the majors, and isn’t about to start now, even if he leads off the 10th with a runner on second.

“I’m not going to bunt, that’s for sure,” he said.

And, he doesn’t think Major League Baseball should change its approach.

“For me, I’m kind of an old-school guy. I like just playing it like a regular game. I think that’s kind of the most natural way to go about it,” Alonso said.

“Since the Civil War, the bags haven’t moved, the mound hasn’t moved and the rules haven’t changed until recently. So I think in the big leagues it should stay the way it is,” he said.

___

AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick, AP Sports Writers Tom Withers and Charles Odum and AP freelance writers Mark Didtler, Chris Talbott and Ian Harrison contributed to this report.