Spring has felt like a distant dream around here this week due to the stubborn snow and ice surrounding us, but the beginning of the baseball, softball, tennis and golf seasons at Arkansas Tech University has arrived nonetheless.
Members of the ATU Green and Gold booster organization gathered at The Old Bank Sports Grill in Russellville Downtown just ahead of the winter storm to hear from Dave Dawson, ATU head baseball coach; Jordon Jones, ATU head softball coach; Shaun Wiseman, ATU head women’s tennis coach; and Lowell Stephens, ATU head men’s and women’s golf coach.
Dawson is beginning his 17th season at Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys are at Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros, this weekend to compete in the season-opening 2026 Houston Winter Invitational.
Arkansas Tech averaged more than eight runs per game and led the Great American Conference in team batting average (.311) during the 2025 season. That offensive production, coupled with the highest team fielding percentage in the GAC (.975), propelled the Wonder Boys to their third GAC regular season championship in the last five years.
“We want to get off to a better start this year,” said Dawson, who is the ATU baseball program’s all-time leader in wins (482) and conference championships (4) by a head coach. “We have some good returning players who know what you have to do to be successful at this level. We’re going to lean on those guys.
“I do think we have a very good mixture of returners and new guys coming in such that hopefully we don’t see any kind of drop-off from last year, and maybe we can actually improve,” continued Dawson. “We did not hit for a lot of power last year, but we had a really hard-nosed group of guys who did the little things.”
The Golden Suns softball program won 27 games and reached the GAC Tournament for a 13th consecutive year in 2025, but Jones is aiming to take a step forward in 2026.
“Twenty-seven wins is not enough,” said Jones. “All of our returners have come back with a vengeance. I think there’s a very common theme with this group. They are on a mission to win ballgames. They want to go make this community proud. The returners came back stronger, faster and more skilled.”
Wiseman encouraged ATU fans to come out to Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex and support the Golden Suns tennis program with their in-person attendance during the 2026 season.
“My biggest goal is for everyone in this room to know the tennis team,” said Wiseman, who led the Golden Suns to the 2023 GAC regular season title and is in his fourth season as head coach at Arkansas Tech. “My solution for that was to start looking for some more local talent. We have a lot of homegrown kids on our rosters (at Arkansas Tech). There are a lot of great athletes in the Arkansas River Valley, in northwest Arkansas and in central Arkansas.
“What I want, more than anything, is for you guys to come out,” continued Wiseman. “We’re going to have a great spring. We’re going to be super competitive. We’re going to beat a lot of teams. We’re going to win a lot of matches, and we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it.”
Highlights of the spring 2025 golf season at Arkansas Tech included an NCAA Division II Championships appearance by the Golden Suns and a GAC individual championship for Wonder Boys golf team member Landon Lawson.
The success continued during fall 2025, which included a top-three finish for the Wonder Boys at the Northeastern State University Classic and a team tournament championship for the Golden Suns at the Tulsa Cup.
“With the guys, we’re hoping to get more consistent across the board this spring,” said Stephens, who is in his second season at Arkansas Tech. “They have a great attitude and are doing a fantastic job. On the women’s side, they had one of their better falls in recent memory. Ellen Spigner is ranked No. 30 in the nation as an individual. Jaylee Castro broke the conference single-round scoring record last semester. I’m excited about where that group is going.”
Visit www.arkansastechsports.com for rosters, schedules and more information pertaining to the spring sports teams at Arkansas Tech.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
