Plenty of capital has been invested in Little Rock Trojans athletic facilities, and more is on the way.
Little Rock Director of Athletics Frank Cuervo said at a Monday media luncheon that 10 total facility projects have been completed over the past year, with more on the way as the university mounts an aggressive athletic fundraising campaign.
“We replaced the soccer pitch and did some branding work at the Coleman Sports Complex,” Cuervo said. “We resurfaced the basketball courts both in our practice gym and on the game floor. If we can get a little cooperation from the weather, we’re going to replace the turf infield at Hogan Field. That’s a project that’s overdue. All told, we’ve invested a little over $3 million into our facilities over the past year.”
One of those changes involves the “Legends Room” at the Jack Stephens Center, which is used for media events and entertaining Trojans supporters during games. The room is currently undergoing renovations and will be rebranded as the Ray Tucker Legends Club, honoring Little Rock’s longtime radio and television broadcaster.
The university is in the midst of an even larger push for physical upgrades — including an on-campus baseball field and 24-hour indoor golf practice facility — in a campaign coined Trojans United.
“We thought the united theme struck a chord,” Cuervo said. “Not only because, hey, we really believe our fan base and our coaches and student athletes and administration truly are one, but it speaks to our new conference affiliation [United Athletic Conference].”
Little Rock made news in October by announcing that its athletic program would be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference for the UAC, effective July 1, 2026. The move is notable for bringing the Trojans under the same conference umbrella as rival University of Central Arkansas, and Cuervo said Monday he expects more moves in the near future.
“I still firmly believe that there will be additional schools added to the United Athletic Conference,” Cuervo said. “Who and where those will be, time will tell.”
Jack Stephens Center
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Trojans coach Darrell Walker is kidding when he says he’s scared of practices — probably.
The Trojans have been waylaid by injuries, including season-ending ones to guards K.K. and Kellen Robinson, and freshman forward Terrion Burgess. Another guard, Khasen Robinson, is on the shelf with a grade-three hamstring injury.
That makes for three guards — three primary ball-handlers — on the shelf for the foreseeable future.
“Guards control everything,” Walker said. “We’ve got bigs. We need guards. Some other guys are going to have to step up on the bench. The guys we’re putting in the game, it’s no knock against them, they’re walk-ons, and they shouldn’t be playing. But they’re going to have to play, it’s just the way the cards have been dealt.”
As it stands, Walker is pulling a precarious balancing act with remaining scholarship guards Jonathan Lawson and Braxton Bayless. Both are averaging over 30 minutes per game with little depth behind them, and Walker has had the Trojans playing more zone defenses in an attempt to keep the two guards out of foul trouble.
“We’re still trying to get our identity,” Walker said. “And we’re still trying to figure out who’s the best five or six I can keep on the court to win some basketball games. These guys are fun to be around and easy to coach; we’re just shorthanded.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Running a motion offense is a read-and-react proposition that takes some time to perfect. With 10 out of 14 players on the roster being brand new, it gets even harder.
“It takes a little time for your team to jell,” said Little Rock coach Steve Wiedower, who served under one of the state’s best-ever motion practitioners, Hall of Fame coach Joe Foley. “That’s nothing unusual for our program to struggle a little bit offensively, especially early in the year.”
Little Rock is averaging 62 points per game over six games, but that number is partially bolstered by a 99-point effort against NAIA Central Baptist. Yet Wiedower is comfortable with his team’s offensive progress, and his players are equally confident that the points will come.
“I think, for as little an amount of time we’ve been able to play with each other, we are doing well,” said junior forward Taelor Coxford. “Motion offense, it takes time. It takes getting to know each other and what our different skill sets are, where people like to score the ball and who can facilitate.”
Gary Hogan Field
BASEBALL
The question for the Trojans this fall has been what’s next, and it’s not easy to answer.
After an Ohio Valley Conference title and run through the NCAA regionals last spring, coach Chris Curry’s hope is for a team that goes “wire to wire.” That wasn’t possible a year ago, when injuries held the Trojans back until their run through the OVC tournament.
Little Rock’s roster has stayed mostly healthy through fall practice, but following last season’s success, the expectations have grown tenfold.
“The first order of business is making sure that we’re not looking backwards,” Curry said. “Although there were great things accomplished, it’s very important that we maintain the standard and expectation.”
With 23 newcomers, Curry has used five weeks of fall work and September scrimmages with Arkansas and Ole Miss to gauge what he has. One of the top first-year players to emerge has been junior shortstop Jerdy Lopez, who hit a .327 average at Western Oklahoma State College.
“I wanted to come here and play with these guys,” Lopez said. “When they went to the regionals, I was watching them play on TV. When I came here in the fall, it was real exciting.”
Another important addition has been pitching coach Evan Lee, who was promoted in the offseason from his position as director of player development. The Bryant native and former Arkansas Razorbacks pitcher was a 15th-round selection of the Washington Nationals in 2018, making his major league debut in 2022.
“He’s thrown in front of 50,000 people, and he can tell you exactly how to calm your nerves,” senior right-hander Preston Davis said. “That’s exactly what we’re going to need if we’re going to make it back to those big moments, which I think we will. He just gives everyone a new perspective.”
LR Trojans Wrestling
WRESTLING
Coming off the most successful season in program history, coach Neil Erisman has no complaints about the talent of his roster or the newcomers he has brought in.
The only thing on his fall wish list has been for veterans and newcomers alike to grind a little harder.
“We’re missing a little bit of that fight that got us here,” Erisman said. “And I believe they’ve got it in them, I just think they need to understand what that means and what it is and embrace that daily with a process-driven mindset.”
Junior Brennan Van Hoecke, who went 14-8 as a sophomore and helped lead the Trojans to a Pac-12 title and the NCAA championships, agrees.
“I think all it takes is just fighting every moment now,” Van Hoecke said. “There’s not a lot of technique to learn now, not a lot of fine-tuning. It’s just more having the will to fight. It just starts at the very beginning of the match, just setting that tone and going right after him.”
For Erisman, high expectations in practice are necessary if Little Rock is to move forward as a contender on the national stage.
“I think we can never forsake our first love, and that’s our grit and our toughness,” Erisman said. “That’s what has got us here. I think we’ve got to continue to recruit at a high level and we’ve got to stay ahead of the game.”
Coleman Sports Complex
TRACK AND FIELD
Deshawn Roberts hasn’t had an issue staying motivated.
The Hot Springs native has already been a five-time all-conference high jumper and is one of three Trojans to have qualified for last year’s NCAA nationals.
“There’s two different seasons, indoor and outdoor,” Roberts said. “Somebody can come up and beat you the next time. That’s what kind of drives me. My teammates, they’re always in my ear, saying, ‘Hey man, you’ve been good this week. But anything can happen.’”
Senior sprinter Takia Palmer just barely missed out on qualifying for nationals a year ago, but still posted a personal best of 7.63 in the indoor 60-yard dash and placed third in the OVC in the 400.
Palmer said she does not plan to miss out on nationals as a senior.
“I know I can do it, so I’m going to get it,” Palmer said.
Feature Photo: Hogan Field | Credit: Little Rock Trojans
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