Former Butler basketball player Chrishawn Hopkins has announced he plans to transfer to Wright State and will likely play for the school’s men’s basketball team.

Hopkins was dismissed from the Butler basketball team in early September following an undisclosed rule violation.

Hopkins has not officially signed as a player at Wright State. He said he plans to sign sometime in January.

He would be eligible to play one calendar year after signing and will have a year and a half of eligibility remaining.

Hopkins said he contacted Wright State about playing for the Raiders.

“When I first found out that I was getting dismissed from (Butler), I contacted (Wright State), and then a couple of schools contacted me,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins also made a formal visit to Lamar—whose team has a coach Hopkins previously played for—and was recruited by Illinois and Oregon as well.

“I had a great relationship with a couple of coaches down at Lamar, too, because they were a couple of my high school coaches,” Hopkins said.

Despite the relationship at Lamar, Hopkins chose Wright State because of connections he has there.

Raiders coach Billy Donlon is entering his third season at the position for Wright State. Hopkins said his relationship with Donlon had an impact on the decision to attend the school.

“I think it had a lot (of an effect)” Hopkins said. “(Donlon) recruited me out of high school, and I just had a great relationship with him. I always talked to him when we went to Wright State or when they came here and played at Butler.”

Additionally, Hopkins’ high school friend, Kenny Washington, attends Wright State and currently serves as the team’s student manager.

“(Kenny is) like my brother,” Hopkins said. “We’ve been friends for six years now, and we’re always talking no matter what. He’s my best friend.”

Hopkins said he knows another student from his high school who also goes to Wright State.

“I know a lot of people over there, and I have a cool relationship with everyone over there,” Hopkins said.

Donlon, Washington and Wright State administrators could not comment on the situation until Hopkins has officially signed a letter of intent.

Despite his dismissal, Hopkins said “words can’t explain” the time he had at Butler. Hopkins averaged 9.1 points per game last year, the third highest on the team.

“I had a great time at Butler while it lasted,” Hopkins said. “Meeting new people and just being around the student body of Butler is just amazing to me. I’m definitely going to miss it.”

While Saturday night might be all right for fighting, Saturday night was also all right for winning for the Butler women’s soccer team.

The Bulldogs (6-5-0, 1-1-0) took on Wright State in the first night game ever held at the Butler Bowl and walked away with a 1-0 win over the Raiders (5-4-2, 0-1-1).

“The atmosphere is just awesome when the lights are on,” junior forward Rachael Melendez said.

Photo by Reid Bruner

Butler had an early scoring attempt when Melendez drew a penalty shot. But the Bulldogs were unable to cash in, as Wright State sophomore goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy stopped the shot.

Butler’s next offensive push came in the 39th minute when freshman Elise Kotsakis blew by one defender before splitting two more near the 15-yard line.

Once there, she settled into a pocket and fired the ball into the net for the game’s first and only goal.

Butler proved to be up to the task of holding a 1-0 lead, as the defense stayed strong in the second half.

Senior goalkeeper Natalie Galovska made three critical saves in the match, including one that denied Wright State in a free kick situation from just outside the box.

“All I remember is seeing our defenders get organized,” Galovska said. “I was just able to get there, and I just reacted to the best of my capabilities.”

The Bulldogs outshot the Raiders 15-11, including a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal.

With the win, the Bulldogs gained valuable momentum heading into their next match with non-conference opponent Xavier.

The match against the Musketeers (6-4-0) will be played under the lights at the Butler Bowl Thursday at 7 p.m.

Still battling injuries and coming off a rough outing against conference opponent Green Bay, the Butler men’s tennis team pulled out a win over Youngstown State on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (5-13, 2-3 HL), led by the singles play of seniors Brandon Bayliss and Chris Herron, came out on top, defeating the Penguins (5-12, 1-5 HL), 6-1.

Butler was dominant against Youngstown State, sweeping doubles play and winning all but one singles match

“I had a lot of energy going into my singles match,” Herron said.  “We got off to a great start in our doubles match and that momentum carried over.”

Herron won his match at No. 2 singles in two sets against sophomore Felipe Rosa, 7-5, 6-4.  Bayliss also defeated his opponent, junior Tariq Ismail, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. With the win, Bayliss remained unbeaten in Horizon League singles play.

Junior Zach Ervin picked up a victory at No. 3 singles, taking the tiebreaker against freshman Max Schmerin for the win, 7-6, 6-7, 10-7.

Senior Lenz Theodor was a winner at No. 4 singles for the Bulldogs (1-6, 6-1, 6-2) and senior David Dolins took the win at No. 6 singles via forfeit.

Butler swept doubles play as well, posting an 8-5 victory at No. 1 doubles and winning, 8-4, at No. 2 doubles. The No. 3 doubles match was forfeited by the Penguins, who competed with five athletes.

“It was a great turnaround from last weekend,” freshman Brad DiCarlo said.  “It was a great confidence booster heading into the final stretch of the regular season.”

Sunday’s matchup against conference foe Cleveland State brought a different outcome, as the Bulldogs fell to the Vikings (12-7, 6-0 HL), 4-3.

Herron and Bayliss were both victorious in singles play once again, beating their opponents 6-3, 7-6 and 6-3, 6-2, respectively. This time, however, the two were the only Butler players to pick up victories in singles play.

The team went two for three in doubles play to open the day. The team of Herron and senior Bryce Warren won, 8-6, at No. 1 doubles, while the duo of Ervin and senior Ben Shafer won, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles.

“Cleveland State is a tough team,” Herron said.  “Being that close with two guys down shows a lot.”

The team hopes to have injured junior Stephen McLoughlin back in the lineup by its April 16 matchup against Valparaiso.

DiCarlo said that the experience he and others have gained as a result of injuries has been important.

“We just have to keep working hard and grinding it out,” DiCarlo said.

Yesterday, the Bulldogs lost another close match, falling to the Raiders (12-9, 3-2 HL), 4-3.

Butler faces conference power Wright State Wednesday at home before heading to Ball State Thursday.

It was there for the taking. And the crowd of 7,500 inside Hinkle Fieldhouse, the fans who did not migrate south to Houston, knew it.

Junior guard Shelvin Mack drained a 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and sent the Bulldogs into the locker room up, 22-19.

The Butler faithful cheered wildly, recognizing that their beloved Bulldogs were a mere 20 minutes from capturing college basketball’s most heralded and elusive title: national champion.

It was certain that Butler, a team known for having strong second halves, would improve upon its 22 percent first half shooting and pull away from the UConn Huskies, righting the wrongs left by last year’s heartbreaking loss to Duke.

And then it happened—31 of Butler’s 37 second half shot attempts fell off the mark. Consequently, the Bulldogs fell out of contention, leaving Butler fans across the country stunned.

Not many people foresaw Butler advancing to its second consecutive Final Four, especially after losing sensational sophomore Gordon Hayward to the NBA Draft. Out of the 15 million households that watched the game’s telecast, no one foresaw the Bulldogs shooting 19 percent on the biggest stage in college basketball.

Seniors Matt Howard, Zach Hahn and Shawn Vanzant, playing in their final collegiate game, shot a collective 3-of-25 en route to a 53-41 loss on Monday in the national title game.

The last time the Bulldogs scored fewer points in a game was during a 51-39 loss at Wright State Jan. 3, 2004. Prior to Monday night, Butler had been held under 50 points just four times in the past seven seasons.

It was Butler’s worst performance in recent memory and it happened to come in arguably Butler’s most important game in school history.

The faces of this year’s team, Howard, Mack and head coach Brad Stevens, all remarked that the team simply could not make shots. It was clearly a disappointing and uninspiring end to what was otherwise a remarkable run.

As Howard, who ranks third on Butler’s all-time scoring list, leaves the program, the contributions of him and his fellow seniors should not be forgotten.

The 117 wins by the outgoing senior class, consisting of Howard, Hahn, Vanzant, Grant Leiendecker and Alex Anglin, is the second most of any class in Butler men’s basketball history.

Over the past four seasons, these five have helped lead the Bulldogs to four Horizon league regular season championships, three Horizon League tournament championships and four NCAA tournament appearances.

More than that, they have helped put Butler University on the map as more than just a school that perennially fields a solid basketball team, but also as an upper-echelon academic institution.

Howard, a finance major with a 3.77 GPA was named this year’s NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year.

Butler athletics have embodied “The Butler Way” for decades. However, these past two basketball squads, both finishing as national runners-up, have raised awareness of Butler’s mission and have elevated Butler onto the national stage as a première academic and athletic institution.

A 12-point loss in the national title game is heartbreaking, yes—almost as heartbreaking as a 2-point loss that was decided by fractions of an inch.

It might be years before another Butler team advances to a national semifinal. On the other hand, it might only be another calendar year.

Yet, some things, such as Butler’s national perception, are now here to stay.

Butler is now tied with Milwaukee for first place in the Horizon League after blocking conference foe Wright State off the court last Friday in a 3-1 win.

As SuperCuts hairdressers helped willing fans donate to the Locks of Love foundation, the Bulldogs (8-6, 3-0 HL) trimmed down the Raiders (6-8, 1-2 HL) with defense.

Butler had 12.5 team blocks and dug most of the balls that got past the front line.

Junior middle Maureen Bamiro led the team with 3.5 blocks in the match.

Bamiro was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 20-26 after compiling 14 blocks in two matches last week.

“Blocking has always been one of our strengths,” senior middle Jalesa Lee said. “The entire week we had been focusing on defense, and you could tell during the match.”

Lee was one of four Bulldogs who had two blocks against the Raiders.

In the back row, the team saved 68 attacks in four sets, and five different players had double-digit digs with senior

Jessie Wolfe leading the team with 15.

Senior Jessie Wolfe and junior Maureen Bamiro stand at the net preparing to block a Wright State attack. Wolfe and Bamiro combined for 5.5 of the team's 12.5 blocks in the match. (Photo by Caroline Johnson)

“Everybody has been contributing to that team defense, and that’s why we’re doing so well in the Horizon League,” second assistant coach Nina Inic said.
Entering the match on a three-match win streak, the Bulldogs grabbed the momentum from the start of the first set with a 6-1 run.
From there, the

Bulldogs heavy hitting took over. Eighteen team kills led Butler to a 25-21 win.

“We wanted to focus on jumping on it right away,” Inic said. “It’s not really something that you work on. It’s more of a mindset of ‘get in there and get it done.’”
The Bulldogs used the same template for the second set, starting with an 8-2 run. Butler knocked in 16 kills on only three errors.

The Bulldogs finished the set with the same intensity that they started, winning 25-17 and taking a 2-0 lead into the break.

“One thing we’ve been trying to eliminate is our errors and play a smarter game,” Lee said. “We have to know when we have the right opportunities to go for it and when to take your time and play smart.”

The Bulldogs came out flat during the third set. Butler tied the set at 17 after being down 10-2. However, the Raiders took the final eight points to win the game 25-17.

After hitting only .026 on six errors in the third set, the Bulldogs got back on track in set four with another early run, capturing eight of the first 10 points.

Butler protected its lead with more team defense and won the match on one of Bamiro’s team-leading 13 kills, which finalized a .417 hitting percentage.

“Bamiro was unstoppable at the net,” Inic said. “And Gina [Vera] made some good decisions at crucial moments, and that is a big reason why we’re playing so well.”

Senior outside Jessie Wolfe and freshman opposite Maggie Harbison were in full support of Bamiro with 11 kills and 10 kills, respectively.

After being ranked fourth in the coaches’ preseason poll, Butler now finds themselves sitting atop the Horizon League standings.

“I felt like we all thought that we had something to prove and that we were underestimated [in the rankings],” Lee said. “We’ve been working really hard and are hungry to prove them wrong.”
Butler hosts the UIC Flames (7-7, 2-2 HL) this Saturday in Hinkle Fieldhouse and will look to extend their winning streak to five matches.