Mid-day Rumble: SJU baseball + softball success; conference realignment in the Atlantic Sun

Your mid-day Rumble is here! (Have you answered our poll about your favorite moment from the St. John's seniors? it will improve your mood and be a balm for your soul.)

What's going on?

In hoops: Northern Kentucky is moving from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Horizon League. If the quote from Swish Appeal is any indication, the Atlantic Sun members are ticked off at being left with only seven members - starting, it seems, next season. (Leaving in a month for a new conference is "bush league.")

Connecticut's Terrence Samuel, a 6'4" sophomore guard originally from Brooklyn, is transferring from the Huskies. His minutes would be squeezed by the likes of Rodney Purvis. Samuel played well at the end of 2013-2014, but struggled last season, turning the ball over, struggling to extend his range to the three-point line, and missing more shots inside the arc.

St. John's baseball has the postseason in sight, after clinching the Big East regular season title this weekend in wins over Xavier. The St. John's Red Storm finished conference play with a 14-3 Big East record, 32-14 overall, and are riding an eight-game winning streak. In the last month, the team has lost only three of their eighteen games.

St. John's has a game against St. Peter's and a three-game series against Southern Illinois, all at home, to finish the season.

Meanwhile, St. John's softball won the Big East Championship and will go on to their first ever NCAA Tournament - playing in Tuscon from May 15-17 in a three-day, double elimination Regional tournament (in other words, two losses bounces a team from the tournament).

There are 16 regionals, which feed into the Super Regionals (May 21-24), where teams play a best-of-three series - with the winner advancing to the College World Series.

The Red Storm women start off against Arizona, and have Minnesota and New Mexico State in their pod.

In basketball recruiting notes, recruiting targets Rawle Alkins and Ray Salnave earned NY Daily News all-Queens honors, while Shamorie Ponds picks up honors for Brooklyn.

Also: This week, I am taking my son to his first baseball game and I hope to be as badass catching a ball as this new father.