Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Your Prep Sports Alumni News is a weekly segment that recognizes the accomplishments of graduates from YPS area schools that are continuing their careers as student athletes at the collegiate level.

Alumni News is a way for readers to keep tabs on former area standouts as well as honoring those athletes that continue to excel at the next level.

Ashley Joens

A former City High all-state pick and current sophomore at Iowa State, Joens posted one of the best seasons of any player in the country this winter.

Joens averaged 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on her way to being a unanimous selection on the All-Big 12 first team.

The 6-foot Joens was the only player in the country to average over 20 points and 10 rebounds per game and earned Big 12 player of the week honors six times.

Connor McCaffery

West High graduate and current Iowa sophomore Connor McCaffery was the recipient of Iowa’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award when the league released its postseason honors last week.

McCaffery leads the country in assist-to-turnover ration at 4.59 and is the only player in the country with more than 120 assists and fewer than 30 turnovers.

The sophomore point guard averaged 6.2 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game this season.

Nick Sueppel

The former City High standout is leading Mount Mercy in hitting this spring with a .429 batting average while driving in a team-high 17 runs in 18 games.

A senior first baseman, Sueppel has three doubles and a home run helping the Mustangs to an 10-8 start to the season that includes a 5-1 mark in Heart of American Athletic Conference play.

Sueppel was a second-team all-conference selection a year ago as a junior.  

Naeem Smith

A senior at Rice, the City High graduate made an immediate impact for the Owls during his junior season last fall starting the final 11 games of the season at safety.

Smith tied for fifth on the team with 50 tackles in his first season in the program and also tied for the team lead with two interceptions.

The 5-foot-11, 197-pound Smith had 20 solo tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and a sack during his debut season helping Rice close the season with three straight wins.

If you know of a Your Prep Sports area graduate currently excelling at the collegiate level let us know by sending information to rmurken@yourprepsports.com or @yourprepsports on Twitter.

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