RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State gymnast Chloe Negrete has been named to the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America® Women’s At-Large Second Team, as announced by the organization on Tuesday.

 

Negrete is one of just 46 NCAA Division I student-athletes to earn Academic All-America At-Large honors and is among only 19 honorees to conclude the academic year with a perfect 4.00 GPA.

 

The 2025 Academic All-District® Women’s At-Large teams, selected by CSC, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom.

 

Negrete earns the honor following a standout final season with the Wolfpack, excelling both athletically and academically. A two-time ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, she capped her decorated career with another standout year in 2025, tallying 24 podium finishes, including 13 individual titles, and recorded 13 scores of 9.900 or better.

 

Negrete’s 2025 campaign was highlighted by a pair of career-high 9.975s on beam, as well as a 9.975 on floor in the Wolfpack’s meet against No. 23 Ohio State. She also earned a personal-best 9.900 on vault at the George Washington quad meet, a performance that secured her ACC Gymnast of the Week honors for Week 10.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan field hockey head coach Kristi Gannon Fisher announced Tuesday (July 8) the addition of Clare Brush and Erin Moore as U-M assistant coaches.

The duo joins fellow assistant coach Ryan Langford, who enters his 17th season with U-M field hockey, to complete Fisher’s first coaching staff since rising to the helm of the program.

“We are thrilled to have Clare back with the program after a few years away,” said Gannon Fisher. “As a two-time captain for our team, she brings a wealth of leadership and field hockey knowledge to our coaching staff. Clare is an Ann Arbor native and knows what it means to be a Wolverine on the field, in the classroom and in the community. I’m excited to work with Clare and to see her influence on the team from the staff side of things after her impactful career as a Michigan student-athlete.”

“I’m very excited to join the Michigan field hockey staff,” said Brush. “I know what it takes to win championships at Michigan as an athlete, and I am looking forward to contributing to the culture of excellence as part of the coaching staff.”

Brush spent five seasons as a Michigan student-athlete (2016-20), twice serving as a Wolverine team captain and the team’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (2019, ’20). She appeared in 64 games in maize and blue, starting 34 in the backfield over her final two seasons, and contributed to a defensive unit that allowed just 1.16 goals, 7.83 shots and 3.99 corners per game over a five-year span. During her tenure, Michigan captured three Big Ten regular-season titles and two tournament titles and twice advanced to the NCAA Final Four, earning national runner-up honors in the spring season of 2021.

A four-time NFHCA Collegiate National Academic Team and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Brush earned her bachelor’s degree in economics, with a minor in sustainability, in 2020 and added a Masters of Management from the Ross School of Business in 2021.

An Ann Arbor native and Pioneer High School graduate, Brush was the 2015 MLive Michigan Field Hockey Player of the Year and a two-time All-State selection and helped lead the Pioneers to three state championships. She started playing field hockey in middle school with Pinnacle Field Hockey Club under former Michigan head coach Nancy Cox and has herself helped coach field hockey with Pinnacle over the last eight years.

Brush is currently the chairperson of Great Lakes Regional Field Hockey, a non-profit organization first established in 2019 to serve and support the growth of field hockey at the local level throughout the Great Lakes Region of the Midwest. She has been a field hockey umpire since 2021 and was elevated to NCAA Division I and Division III games last fall. Off the field, she has spent the last four years working in sales and account management for American Axle and Manufacturing in Detroit.

“Erin brings a range of experience to our staff as a goalkeeper specialist,” said Gannon Fisher. “Her enthusiasm and passion for coaching is contagious, and I am thrilled to have her join our program. Erin’s on-field strengths as a technical coach and off-field strengths as a highly organized and motivated collaborator will be invaluable as we move into this new era of Michigan field hockey.”

“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Kristi and the University of Michigan for the incredible opportunity to be a part of the U-M field hockey program,” said Moore. “I also want to thank everyone who was a part of the journey to get here. Team 53 is going to be a memorable team, and I am thrilled to be joining the family. I eagerly anticipate the 2025 season alongside such a talented group of players and staff.”

Moore comes to Michigan with five years of collegiate coaching experience and an additional 11 years coaching and developing middle and high-school-aged athletes. She spent last season as an assistant at the University of Delaware, where she worked directly with goalkeeper Cecile van Eijck, who started all 22 games and posted five shutouts, a 1.37 goals-against average and a .758 save percentage. She helped the Blue Hens capture the 2024 CAA Tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

She participated in the “NFHCA to the Olympics Coach Tour” program last summer with stops in the Netherlands, Belgium and at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Prior to Delaware, Moore spent four seasons at Bentley University (2020-24), where she helped lead the Falcons program to three consecutive winning seasons. She was an integral part of the Falcons’ run to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the first for Bentley field hockey since 2012. In 2023, she coached goalkeeper Mia Trottie to NFHCA All-America and Northeast 10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

Moore holds her Level 2 Certification from USA Field Hockey and is FIH Level 1 Certified. A 2023 participant of the NCAA Women’s Coaching Academy, she has been involved as a goalkeepers coach with numerous camps and clinics across the East Coast, including Saint Michael College and the 3 Step Sports, Beyond Sticks, and Nike Field Hockey Camps organizations.

Moore was a four-year letterwinner as a goalkeeper for Regis College in Weston, Mass., where she helped the team to a 2016 New England Collegiate Conference championship. Originally from Rosedale, Md., Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in public health with a minor in biology in 2019. She added a Certificate in Foundations of Global Sport Management through NYU in 2023 and is currently pursuing an MBA with a concentration in leadership.

Leanne Wong of Florida has been recognized as a first-team selection on the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America At-Large team for the second consecutive year. She becomes only the third Gator gymnast to achieve this honor twice, adding to Florida’s total of four CSC Academic All-Americans for the 2024-25 season. Wong’s impressive gymnastics performance includes multiple All-America honors and notable achievements, such as leading her team in event wins and graduating magna cum laude in Health Education and Behavior.

By the Numbers

• Wong achieved 29 career All-America honors, ranking third all-time for Gators.
• She was one of four athletes nationwide to earn five WCGA regular-season All-America honors in 2025.
• Wong recorded 27 event wins in 2025, including six all-around titles.

State of Play

• Wong is a finalist for the AAI Award, recognizing her talent and contributions.
• She has been a consistent presence on the SEC Academic Honor Roll throughout her collegiate career.
• Founded the Leanne Wong Foundation in fall 2024, addressing food insecurity issues.

What’s Next

Looking forward, Wong’s continued success in gymnastics and academics may lead to further accolades and potential professional opportunities, both in athletics and community service. Her foundation’s impact could also grow as she raises awareness about food insecurity.

Bottom Line

Wong’s dual achievements in gymnastics and academics highlight her dedication and commitment, serving as an exemplary model for student-athletes. Her ongoing contributions to her sport and community underline the importance of balancing athletic excellence with social responsibility.

The Gavin McKenna decision to play for Penn State next season is further confirmation of how much NCAA rule changes and NIL money is changing the landscape for high profile NHL prospects.

McKenna projects to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft. Last season, he played for Medicine Hat  in the Western Hockey League. In the past, that would have rendered him ineligible for college hockey. However, new NCAA rules now allow CHL players to play in the college ranks.

That opens the door for McKenna to attend college at least for a school year and presumably collect NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) money that top athletes can receive.

Elite Prospect’s Cam Robinson, who broke the story, points out that OHL standout Luke Misa and 2025 first-round pick Jackson Smith (Columbus Blue Jackets) are also headed for Penn State.

In addition to the opportunity to earn NIL money, many of the college programs offer first-rate training facilities. College programs have always sold the idea that college programs offers elite players a chance to compete against older competition, instead of junior-age players.

But allowing CHL players to maintain their college eligibility is the real game changer because youngsters no longer have to decide their future at 16.  It used to be as soon as you played in the CHL you eliminated the college option.

NIL money also gives players a chance to earn money if they want to stay longer in college.  Detroit’s premium goaltending prospect Trey Augustine of Michigan State is playing a third season in college because he wants another crack at winning a national championship.

NIL  money makes it easier for some college athletes to make those decisions.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

Former NHL goalie Michael Leighton is hired as Detroit’s new goalie coach.

Pittsburgh writer Dan Kingerski believes Penguins forward Rickard Rakell is a perfect trade fit for the Detroit Red Wings. He scored 35 goals last season.

No Red Wings’ NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City this fall.

Red Wings Extra

Former Red Wings Joe Veleno is still looking for NHL work.  The Montreal Canadiens are not going to sign him.  But other teams reportedly interested. The Seattle Kraken bought out his contract after acquiring him from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Contrary to reports, I have been told that the @CanadiensMTL did NOT make a formal contract offer to Joe Veleno.

Last week, Joe Veleno’s representation, had talks with at least 3 teams: Colorado, Montreal & Nashville.

Told the Canadiens staff studied his game, discussed it &…

— Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) July 7, 2025

Hockey Now Network

Colorado: The Avalanche used Charlie Coyle to solve their Miles Wood issue. Colorado Avalanche. 

Philadephia: Flyers re-sign RFA defenseman Cam York to a five-year deal.  Philadelphia Flyers.

Pittsburgh: Penguins first round pick Bill Zonnon was one of the winners in the Penguins’ Development Camp. Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Vegas: Hannah Kirkell writes about the Jack Eichel contract situation in conjunction with what the Golden Knights have done this summer. Vegas Golden Knights. 

Virginia State University, one of the nation’s leading HBCU institutions, is preparing to unveil a major addition to its campus—the Alfred W. Harris Academic Commons. This modern, multipurpose facility will soon serve as the new home for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Education.

Replacing the demolished Harris Hall and former campus gymnasium, the new academic commons is more than just a classroom building. It will feature a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a fully equipped theatre, and an exhibition gallery, reflecting VSU’s commitment to holistic student development—both inside and outside the classroom.  The approximately 174,000 square feet building will be the largest on campus.

University President Dr. Makola Abdullah emphasized the role the new space will play in supporting student growth at the HBCU.

Pittsburgh’s newest women’s soccer team, the Riveters, just wrapped up their inaugural season with the USLW league after clinching the Great Forest Division.

The team is the latest to join a slate of women’s sports leagues, which many players say is seeing increased exposure thanks to additional coverage and streaming, expansion of leagues and legal wins over equal compensation.

Bella Vozar, a defender on the Riveters and rising junior at American University in Washington D.C., said growing up in the Pittsburgh area, she’d hear her coaches talk about wanting to have more adult women’s soccer teams, but didn’t see it becoming a reality.

“My teammates were like, ‘Okay, maybe, we don’t know [if] that would ever be a thing here,'” Vozar said. “And now seeing us taking the next steps to do that is so cool. I definitely noticed people really buying into women’s sports and caring about it.”

Katie Blackley

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90.5 WESA

That observed show of support is echoing throughout women’s sports leagues in Pittsburgh, especially in a city that’s known for male legacy teams like the Penguins, Pirates and Steelers.

Consider, for example, the hugely successful Pitt women’s volleyball set an attendance record in 2023 — their match was one of the top five attended in NCAA Final Four matches ever.

It’s a trend exciting many players as teams continue to grow and see more of a following.

It didn’t just begin, Pittsburgh’s always had women’s sports

Raymond F. Durkin

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Steel City Roller Derby

Pittsburgh has a long and storied history of women playing sports. Decades before the passage of Title IX — the 1972 federal law that prevented sex-based discrimination in activities that received federal funding, including schools with sports teams — women had been participating in athletic events from softball to ice hockey.

During WWII, 14 women from Western Pennsylvania played in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. In the 1940s and 50s, players were recruited to play in several teams (mostly based in the Midwest) to keep Americans entertained while many of the male players went off to fight in the war. It was a rare opportunity for these women to showcase their athletic abilities to large crowds. While the league didn’t last much more than a decade, it proved to many that there was an appetite for women’s sports.

In the 1960s, Mildred Martin Allen developed the Tri-Boro Softball League, a team for young African American women which included the Hill District Satellites, the Garfieldettes and the Homewood Orbits. Created during the Civil Rights movement of the 60s and the subsequent passage of Title IX, games were often played right in the Hill District, giving young attendees the chance to see Black women on the field at a time where visibility for those players was rare.

And while the Pittsburgh Penguins are a staple of sports culture in the city, women have long been participating in ice hockey. The Heinz History Center has found that there were leagues for women dating back to the early 20th century, but one of the first to maintain a competitive team were the Pittsburgh Pennies in the 1970s. There weren’t a lot of other women’s hockey teams to play against at the time, but the members of the Pennies have described the experience as being life-changing and formative.

Being the only girl

In the next few decades, women would continue to play sports, but few were broadcast on TV or, later, included in highlight recaps on the Internet. Katie Butler, the captain of the Pittsburgh Puffins hockey team, said growing up in West Virginia, she didn’t know about many female athletes.

“Vicky Bullett, a professional basketball player, was from Martinsburg, West Virginia, which was like the biggest town close to where I grew up,” Butler said. “She was like the only woman athlete I knew.”

Katie Blackley

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90.5 WESA

Bullett was a WNBA All-Star in 1999 and is currently head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Seeing Bullett’s success in sports inspired the young Butler, but she still couldn’t see a future for herself in athletics.

“I never thought to myself, ‘Oh, I could play sports my whole life.’ I always just thought it was, ‘Yeah, I’ll play sports and then I’ll get over it and sit in an office every day or something,’” Butler said. “But she was the first professional woman athlete that I knew. And I always really looked up to her.”

Butler said she played inline hockey growing up in West Virginia, but “took a big break” because there were no women’s teams, and the only nearby men’s ice hockey team was “not very open to women playing.”

During her final year of undergraduate school, a women’s ice hockey team formed in Maryland, which was near to where Butler was living at the time. She honed her skills and after moving to Pittsburgh, she found the Puffins.

“I was ecstatic,” Butler said. “I was blown away that there were enough people for a team and that it was within an hour’s drive of my home.”

The Puffins started in 1998 and Butler said they’ve seen increased interest in the team — which she attributes to exposure of women’s hockey in the Winter Olympics and the newly-formed Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which recently expanded to eight teams. (There are talks that it could expand to Pittsburgh in future years, but not confirmed.)

Katie Blackley

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90.5 WESA

The Olympics, television broadcasts of major women’s sporting events like the soccer World Cup and WNBA Finals have been formative for many athletes whom WESA spoke with for this story. Jordan Johnson, founder of On the Ball Training Pittsburgh, a private and small group soccer training program, said she was deeply influenced by the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

“I remember loving Mia Hamm and players like that. I played the same position as [Hamm], so she was my favorite whenever I was a kid,” Johnson said.

And as a kid, Johnson, 35, said there wasn’t a girls’ soccer team at her school, Kittanning High School (now Armstrong Central), so she played on the boys’ team. She did find some club leagues later, but for school games, she was often the only person in her locker room. She also used to work for Steel City FC, another pre-professional soccer club. These days, she trains young players, mostly girls, in speed, agility and other skills.

“There’s always been a huge amount of talent in the city,” Johnson said. “I think the more teams the better, the more opportunities for women the better, the more competition the better.”

Courtesy Pittsburgh Forge Rugby

Accepting all athletes

In recent years, viewership of women’s sports has increased. Some players have become household names — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Megan Rapinoe, Simone Biles, just to name a few. Some researchers are finding as many as 7 out of 10 viewers tune into women’s sports, while other projections estimate some women’s teams are seeing more than a billion dollars in revenue for the first time.

The National Women’s Soccer League, for example, is set to bring in $240 million over the next few years as part of the largest media deal in women’s sports history. And with changes to NCAA regulations, college athletes are able to promote products and merchandise through what’s called the “Name, Image and Likeness” rule. The policy varies by state, but essentially means athletes have control over how their identity is used for commercial purposes, and gives them the opportunity to monetize their individual brand.

Dani Guttridge is a sports enthusiast who’s started a group called Rosie’s Sports Bar, which isn’t a physical bar, but rather a pop-up of sorts where various bars throughout the city host screenings of women’s sports. She said now is a great time to bring people together to showcase just how many incredible female and non-binary athletes are performing.

“I feel like now, it’s so interesting because young people, boys and girls, have female role models and amazing athletes that they can look up to that I didn’t really have,” Guttridge said. “I love the fact that there are people of all ages, you know, young, old, older, in between. And I like that.”

Pittsburgh also opened its first physical women’s sports bar earlier this year, called Title 9. Wall-to-wall women’s sports games — from soccer to football to rugby — is a bar theme taking off across the country as these games are increasingly being broadcast.

In a time when trans- and non-binary athletes are seeing some of their successes and awards taken away due to pressure from the Trump administration, many local players said they’re grateful they can provide a space for people of all identities to feel accepted in a sport they love.

Katie Blackley

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90.5 WESA

“We say that rugby is a place for every body. So everyone can find a place to belong with the club,” said Karina Sarver, aka “Strokes” of Pittsburgh Forge Rugby. “We have an excellent community, and we are very competitive. We train very hard and take it very seriously. But truly, it’s a place for you to find 50 instant best friends.”

The Forge is a merger of multiple rugby teams that came together officially in 2018, though women’s rugby had been in the Pittsburgh area for decades before that. In 2024, they were in the final four of the USA Rugby Club National Championships!

Forge captain Lily Domico said her team makes an effort to ensure the league is a safe place for women, trans- and non-binary people to find community.

“It was the best experience ever,” Domico said. “The people I’ve met and everything that I’ve done with rugby and that rugby has exposed me to and opened doors to has been life-changing.”

What’s next?

Pittsburgh is home to dozens of women’s sports team. In addition to those mentioned in this story, there’s the Pittsburgh Passion football, Na Laochra Camogie (an Irish stick-and-ball team sport like hurling), HER Elite Flag Football, multiple boxing clubs, PGH Ultimate Frisbee, the Pittsburgh Banshees (Gaelic football), BikePGH’s women and non-binary programs and PGH SK8 Collaborative — just to name a few. Each year many of these teams gather together for Pittsburgh Girls and Women in Sports Day (usually in the late winter/early spring).

Domico reports there’s also talk of creating a shared calendar of women’s sports to further expose the city’s sports fans to matches and games throughout the region. And as she puts it, Pittsburgh’s sports history and black-and-gold pride have made being an athlete here especially great, considering many of the teams adopt the city’s colors in their uniform.

“We’re all Yinzers at heart. We love to win, and something that I like for us as well too, our colors are black and gold like the rest of the Pittsburgh City team. So we’re all, we’re here, we’re all unified under one color, one city.”