Very special guests coming to the Ballin4God Talk Show for our big EPISODE 30.

We were joined by Army combat veteran Kris Taft, Navy veteran and former Blue Angels member Victor Munoz, and Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon as they shared stories of service, faith, family, and what it means to be an American.

We also welcomed Benton Rangerettes head coach Dave Brown along with returning players Kinley Glover, Preslee Morris, Makenna Drew, and Adalynn McCormick to talk about an undefeated summer, coming off last season's 26-8 regional championship team, and what's ahead this season.

We had a great time hearing from each of our guests, and we can't wait to share this episode. We hope you all enjoy it as much as we did.

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Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:04:08 - Kris Taft

0:26:49 - Victor Munoz

1:02:09 - Kyle Bacon

1:53:09 - Rangerettes Basketball

Very special guests joined us for this episode of the Ballin4God Talk Show.

We had 2022 Johnston City graduate Austin Brown on the show after his time playing college football with the Wisconsin Badgers and his recent opportunity with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent (UDFA).

Brown’s story is one that a lot of our local athletes in Southern Illinois can look up to. He went from Johnston City to the Big Ten, and now getting a shot at the NFL level, Austin has continued to represent Southern Illinois at every step of the way. We talked about his journey, his work ethic, his faith, the transition from high school football to Wisconsin, and the process of a UDFA.

Alongside Brown was Kent Herron, a chiropractor who has helped numerous athletes including Brown throughout Southern Illinois. Herron has spent nearly 35 years serving the area through his own practice at Herron Rehab & Wellness Center in West Frankfort, Illinois.

Kent has worked with athletes from all across the region, helping them recover, stay healthy, and continue competing at a high level. His impact goes far beyond the office, as he has built relationships with many different athletes and their families throughout Southern Illinois.

The Ballin4God Talk Show is brought to you by Rend Lake Cabins In The Woods and All Stars-N-Stitches.

SPONSORS:

ALL STARS-N-STITCHES

REND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODS

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @B4G_SIL

Twitter: @ConwellRussell

Facebook: Ballin4God

TikTok: B4G_SIL

Spotify: Ballin4God

Apple Podcasts: Ballin4God

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:04:45 - Austin Brown & Kent Herron

1:17:21 - Outro

Ballin4God Talk Show episode 28 features Pinckneyville head coach and athletic director Matt Laur alongside his son Ty Laur, a 2026 Pinckneyville graduate and plays for the SIU Salukis basketball team.

Matt Laur talks about his journey from South Central High School to becoming one of the top NAIA players of his era at McKendree, his professional opportunities, coaching stops and now leading one of Southern Illinois’ most storied basketball programs at Pinckneyville.

Ty Laur also joins his dad after a standout senior season where he averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and more than one block per game. Ty finished with 1,228 career points, earned first team All-State honors and is now taking the next step with the Southern Illinois Salukis.

The Ballin4God Talk Show is brought to you by Rend Lake Cabins In The Woods and All Stars-N-Stitches.

SPONSORS:

ALL STARS-N-STITCHES

REND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODS

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @B4G_SIL

Twitter: @ConwellRussell

Facebook: Ballin4God

TikTok: B4G_SIL

Spotify: Ballin4God

Apple Podcasts: Ballin4God

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

07:47 - Matt & Ty

We had the battery of Caidence Phillips & Colbie Bennett on the Talk Show after wrapping up their senior seasons where they won the IHSA 2A State Championship. They beat Seneca in the championship game 3-1, and finished their season 39-1.

We got to award Phillips with her Player Of The Year shirt, along with Bennett a Player Of The Week Shirt. Below are some cool stats from the last four years of their careers.

Overall: 95-12

Conference: 31-1 (2023 - AJ Lady Wildcats)

Last Southern Illinois team they lost to: Johnston City Lady Indians (2023)

Losses break down below

Out of State: 4

3A Schools: 5 (3 of them Glenwood: 2025 State Champion/2026 State Runner Up)

2A Schools: 3 (Beecher State Champion 2025/AJ Lady Wildcats 2023/Johnston City 2023 Sectional Championship)

Caidence Phillips: University Of Illinois

Colbie Bennett: John A. Logan

Taryn Ford: Wichita State

Savannah Gibbs: UT-Martin

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ALL STARS-N-STITCHES

REND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODS

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @B4G_SIL

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Timestamps:

0:00:00 - INTRO

0:07:05 - CAIDENCE & COLBIE

1:48:42 - OUTRO

Preview of the SICA All-Star Game in Marion. That game will be played Friday, June 12th at 7:30 PM at Marion High School. I have posted the rosters for both teams on Facebook & Instagram. Also recap of Pinckneyville baseball Elite Eight run, finishing 24-11. This was originally supposed to be a live show, but due to technical difficulties we moves to this to a recorded showPinckneyville baseball: Coach Kyle Smith, Kolton Smith, Michael Brand, Abel Clark, and Reed MarlowBenton Rangers Football: Kaleb Dawson, Kobe Cali, and Riley SpencerSPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Hunter Whitecotton joins the show to talk about the growth of Southern Focus, a brand that started as Whitecotton Photography and is starting to evolve into one of the top sports media names in Southern Illinois. He gives a lot of credit to the people have helped, and a few of those names are Ryan Zeigler, John Homan, Darren Kinnard, and many more. Hunter discusses his new affiliations with River Radio Sports Central, the Thrillbillies and The Southern Illinoisan, and more. He also talked about his passion for storytelling through photography, but also in the past year he has gotten into writing. He really enjoys covering the sports that don't get much coverage like racing out the Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Illinois. Hunter also says most important thing to him is what it means to spotlight local athletes in our communities, and even guys who don't live in the area.

We also had a few Massac County athletes Zach Maurer, Adan Mizell, and Max Elliott to talk Patriots athletics. The guys discuss balancing multiple sports, life growing up in deep Southern Illinois closer to Paducah than the rest of the region, favorite local restaurants and hangout spots, and their plans after high school and college. Then most importantly talking about this baseball team, and what makes the Massac County Patriots special. It was a fun episode packed with sports, stories, and just bunch of guys who love Southern Illinois.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:08:02 - Hunter Whitecotton

1:08:57 - Massac County Baseball

This week on the Ballin4God Talk Show, we feature three of the top players from the DuQuoin Indians baseball team: senior Layne Pyron and juniors Max Zimmerman and Cy Craft.All three players have been nominated for Ballin4God Player of the Week this season, with Zimmerman recently winning after a huge week at the plate.Each player plays a major role on the mound for DuQuoin. Pyron is committed to Frontier Community College to continue his baseball career as a pitcher only. Zimmerman and Craft have both posted ERAs under 2.00 this season.At the plate, all three are hitting above .320. Craft leads the team with a .409 batting average, while Zimmerman leads the Indians in home runs with four, all coming within the last week. Craft has added three home runs this season, while Pyron has hit two.We also talk about Du Quoin’s season, their chemistry as teammates, success on the mound, tradition and more in Episode 24 of the Ballin4God Talk Show.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:06 - Du Quoin Baseball

1:33:01 - Outro

This week’s episode features new Woodlawn Cardinals boys basketball head coach Brian Gamber. Gamber previously coached at Woodlawn from 2016-20, where he posted a 96-34 record and won three regional titles. He later spent time as the head men’s basketball coach at Rend Lake College and has served the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Mount Vernon Rams boys basketball team.Our second interview features Goreville senior Garrett Church, one of the top baseball players in Southern Illinois. Church recently committed to Rend Lake College, where he plans to continue both his academic and athletic career as a pitcher and position player.Church also made a major impact on the basketball court during his time at Goreville. He set the school’s single-season 3-point record with 74 as a junior and followed it up with 86 this past season. However, teammate Zech Green finished with 103 made 3-pointers. Together, the Blackcats knocked down 337 threes this season, which ranks 13th in IHSA history. Goreville also finished as the 1A state runner-up this past season.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:11:44 - Brian Gamber

1:02:33 - Garrett Church

1:57:05 - Outro

On this week’s episode of the Ballin4God podcast, we had two seniors from the Carterville Lions softball team, Caidence Phillips and Taryn Ford.Both are elite softball players, not just in our area, but across the country. Ford is committed to Wichita State and is a pitcher and utility player. Phillips is committed to Illinois as a pitcher-only player. They talked about the success of Carterville softball, the team chemistry and why the Lions have been so successful. Phillips also recently won our Player of the Week for April 27-May 2. Phillips pitched 14 innings, 33 K’s, 0 earned runs, allowed only 5 hits. She also hit two home runs and six RBI's.In our second interview, we had Jaylon Downey and Reed Robinson from the Waltonville/Sesser-Valier Spartans baseball team. Downey is a senior from Sesser-Valier, and he has put on a great show so far in his senior season. Downey won our Player of the Week for April 13-18 after batting 5/6 with two home runs, seven RBIs and an .810 on-base percentage.We also had sophomore Reed Robinson on the show. Robinson has been a big part of WSV the last two seasons. He played a lot of big innings on a WSV team that made the Elite Eight in Class 1A last year, and he is a big part of the team again this season.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:01:33 - Caidence & Taryn

0:55:33 - Jaylon & Reed

1:31:31 - Outro

What a fun show it was for our twenty-first episode of the Ballin4God Talk Show.We had three juniors from the Harrisburg Bulldogs baseball teams: Aidan Hankins, Ian Crabb, and Rylan Palmer. They talked about how their season is going so far, what the key to success is, and what it is like to be a part of the Bulldog family. Palmer also won our Ballin4God Player Of The Week a couple of weeks ago.Then our segment was with the newly named head coach of the Mt. Vernon Rams boys basketball team, Luke Cooper. Cooper is a 2019 graduate from Mt. Vernon, and he talked about how cool it is to be the head coach at such a young age. Cooper had coached the last six years at Woodlawn, and four of those years he was the head coach for the Cardinals. We also got to talk about some of his favorite gyms to coach and some of the toughest places to play on the road.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:03:32 - Harrisburg Baseball

1:12:40 - Luke Cooper

2:02:47 - Outro