Key Takeaways

• Roc Nation Sports and Klutch Sports Group both landed on Forbes’ 2025 list of the most valuable sports agencies.
• Roc Nation Sports manages over $2.6 billion in contracts, representing stars like LaMelo Ball and Vini Jr.
• Klutch Sports Group, founded in 2012, ranks in the Top 5 with over $7 billion in athlete deals, including LeBron James and A’ja Wilson.

JAY-Z and Rich Paul’s strategic moves in sports are paying off. Their agencies, Roc Nation Sports and Klutch Sports Group, just landed on Forbes’ 2025 list of the most valuable sports agencies — cementing their status as power players in athlete representation.

The ranking was published Thursday (July 31). From MVP contracts in basketball, baseball, football, and soccer to rising stars with collegiate NIL deals, the moguls are making an impact across the industry.

Over at Roc Nation Sports, the roster includes WNBA star player Skylar Diggins, Charlotte Hornets shooting guard LaMelo Ball, and standout Brazilian soccer player Vini Jr., to name a few. The subdivision of Roc Nation was launched in 2013 in a partnership with Creative Arts Agency (CAA), the top agency across sports and media.

“Because of my love of sports, it was a natural progression to form a company where we can help top athletes in various sports the same way we have been helping artists in the music industry for years,” said the Blueprint rapper. According to Forbes, JAY-Z’s company has an estimated $2.14 billion in management contracts for athletes currently playing, and another $510 million in non-playing deals. It was ranked seventh on the list with an estimated $218 million in maximum commissions.

Klutch Sports Group secured a Top 5 on the Forbes list, managing over $7 billion in athlete contracts. The Black-owned and women-led agency was founded in 2012. Its estimated max commissions are $351 million. Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts, NBA legend LeBron James, and WNBA megastar A’ja Wilson all call the agency home.

Roc Nation and Klutch Sports are top-tier agencies

Both Roc Nation and Klutch have expanded their global soccer footprint, signing rising talent and inking major partnership deals. Paul has also tapped in with Gen Z and millennial fans on TikTok. In a video that has generated hundreds of thousands of views, the businessman shared his insights about the business of sports and traits that separate good athletes from world-class powerhouses.

As Roc Nation and Klutch continue to dominate the industry, JAY-Z and Rich Paul are proving that cultural capital and business savvy can rewrite the rules of athlete representation. Their success is ushering in a new era — one where culture is at the forefront.

Casey Clinger, the former BYU All-American via American Fork, placed sixth in the 10,000-meter run Thursday night at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Clinger finished with a time of 29:18.74 in a relatively slow, tactical race. Grant Fisher, the double bronze medalist in the Paris Olympics who lives in Park City, placed second in a close race with American record holder Nico Young. Young’s time was 29:02.12, Fishers’ 29:02.37.

The top three finishers qualify to represent the U.S. in the world championships later this year.

Joey Nokes, who just completed his senior year at BYU, placed 16th in the race with a time of 29:50.73.

Keira D’Amato, the former American record holder in the marathon who moved to Utah to train with BYU coach Ed Eyestone, was seventh in the women’s 10,000-meter race with a time of 32:19.40.

The 10,000 was the only final event held on the track on the first day of the four-day competition. The rest of the schedule was devoted to qualifying races. Most of the top athletes ran just hard enough to qualify for the next round while also conserving energy.

Meghan Hunter, who just completed her senior year at BYU, finished sixth in her heat of the 800-meter run and 21st overall with a time of 2:01.95, which was enough to qualify for Friday’s semifinals. Allie Wilson, a Paris Olympian who now trains under BYU women’s coach Diljeet Taylor, placed 10th in 2:01.24 to also advance.

As expected, all four BYU-connected steeplechasers advanced to Saturday’s final. Kenneth Rooks, the Olympic silver medalist and two-time defending national champion, had the fastest time in Thursday’s semifinals, clocking 8:21.35. Teammate James Corrigan, the 2025 NCAA champion, finished sixth overall to join Rooks in the final. Dan Michalski, who joined Eyestone’s training group this year, was second overall.

In the women’s race, Courtney Wayment and Lexy Lowry easily advanced to Saturday’s final. Wayment was fourth in her heat and fourth overall with a time of 9:30.70. Lowry won her heat with a time of 9:37.53, which was the eighth-fastest overall.

Riley Chamberlain, who just completed her junior year at BYU, advanced to Saturday’s finals of the 1,500-meter run. Riley placed third in her heat and seventh overall with a time of 4:06.65. Anna Bennett, Carlee Hansen and Sadie Sargent failed to qualify. Sargent produced a personal-best time of 4:07.44, the 10th-fastest time of the day. But because she finished only sixth in her heat, she failed to advance even though she had a faster time than several qualifiers, including American record holder Sinclaire Johnson.

Abe Alvarado, another former BYU middle-distance runner, advanced to the finals of the 800-meter run with a time of 1:46.50, the eighth fastest of the day.

We’re less than a month away from Friday night volleyball/Saturday afternoon football weekends being back.

From U of L:

The University of Louisville volleyball team was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll in a vote by coaches. Setter Nayelis Cabello, outside hitter Chloe Chicoine and middle blocker Cara Cresse were named to the All-Preseason team.

The Cards received 271 points and four first-place votes, while Pitt was projected to win the league with 279 points and 10 first place votes. Stanford came in third with 264 points, followed by SMU (243) and North Carolina (212). Georgia Tech earned 210 points and was picked sixth, while Miami (190), Florida State (180), Virginia (135) and NC State (134) rounded out the top 10. The Wolfpack was followed by Duke (127), Notre Dame (126), Boston College (96), California (90), Wake Forest (84), Clemson (62), Syracuse (31) and Virginia Tech (20).

The Cards return three starters from last season’s team. The 2024 season saw the Cardinals advance to their second national title game appearance in three years while finishing with a final record of 30-6 and an ACC record of 17-3. The Cards took down Pittsburgh, the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, to earn a spot in the national title game on their home floor at the KFC Yum! Center before falling in four sets to Penn State. Meske helped guide the Cardinals to wins over Chicago State, No. 8 Northern Iowa, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 2 Stanford to make it back to the Final Four for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, four Cards were recognized as AVCA All-Americans: Elena Scott (first team), Anna DeBeer (second team), Cara Cresse (honorable mention), and Charitie Luper (honorable mention). Scott was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year and Nayelis Cabello was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year. DeBeer, Scott, and Luper were also honored as First Team All-ACC, while Cresse was named Second Team All-ACC and Cabello was recognized on the Freshman All-ACC team. Cresse, DeBeer, Luper, and Scott were also named to the AVCA All-South Region team while Reese Robins was listed as an Honorable Mention

Louisville opens the season on Aug. 29 when it hosts the Cardinal Classic featuring Auburn, Morehead State and St. John’s.

2025 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team:

Larissa Mendes, Georgia Tech

Cara Cresse, Louisville

Chloe Chicoine, Louisville

Nayelis Cabello, Louisville

Flormarie Heredia Colon, Miami

Ariana Rodriguez, Miami

Safi Hampton, North Carolina

Morgan Gaerte, Notre Dame

Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh

Bre Kelley, Pittsburgh

Ryla Jones, Pittsburgh

Blaire Bayless, Pittsburgh

Malaya Jones, SMU

Averi Carlson, SMU

Favor Anyanwu, SMU

Elia Rubin, Stanford

Jordyn Harvey, Stanford

Ipar Kurt, Stanford

2025 Preseason ACC Volleyball Coaches Poll:

Pitt, 279 | 10 first-place votes

Louisville, 271 | 4 first-place votes

Stanford, 264 | 2 first-place votes

SMU, 243

North Carolina, 212

Georgia Tech, 210

Miami, 190

Florida State, 180

Virginia, 135

NC State, 134

Duke, 127

Notre Dame, 126

Boston College, 96

California, 90

Wake Forest, 84

Clemson, 62

Syracuse, 31

Virginia Tech, 20

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida Athletics recognizes its 25 summer graduates across 12 different programs on Friday afternoon.

A total of 20 student-athletes were awarded bachelor’s degrees, while the other five graduates earned their master’s degrees. The Ospreys put together an impressive 3.73 GPA during the summer semester.

Graduates & Degrees

Destiny Fratianni (Cheerleading) – Child Psychology

Cydne Woodley (Cheerleading) – Health Science

Camilla Holmes (Cheerleading) – Sociology

Lauren Bevis (Softball) – IDS Health

Ashley Connor (Softball) – Kinesiology

Savannah Channell (Softball) – MHA: Executive Health Admin

Aidan O’Gorman (Cross Country / Track & Field) – MS in Civil Engineering: Coastal and Port Engineering

Seth Martinez (Cross Country / Track & Field) – ITS

Kameron Wallizada (Cross Country / Track & Field) – Public Health

Hayden Wooldridge (Beach Volleyball) – Kinesiology

Mariana Feliciano Sanchez (Beach Volleyball) – Management/International Business

Taylor Pierce (Beach Volleyball) – IHS

Madison Espy (Beach Volleyball) – Kinesiology

Nestor Dyachok (Men’s Basketball) – Interdisciplinary Studies

Nate Lliteras (Men’s Basketball) – Master of Health Informatics and Executive Health Administration

Allie Larrimore (Swimming) – Biomedical

Gabby Reeves (Swimming) – Kinesiology/Spanish

Amelia Hildebrand (Swimming) – Kinesiology

Aydan Horrigan (Swimming) – Kinesiology

Jame Oman (Baseball) – Sport Management

Brett Schell (Men’s Golf) – MSM

Kaitlynn Washburn (Women’s Golf) – MS: Business Analytics

Joaquin Acuna (Men’s Soccer) – Transportation and Logistics

Spencer Dorosheff (Men’s Tennis) – Sport Management

Maddie Millar (Women’s Basketball) – Marketing

Fairfax, Va.- All-Academic Teams and Athletes for the 2025 NCAA Division I Track & Field seasons were announced today by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
Both George Mason men’s and women’s programs were named All-Academic Teams. The women have earned the award every season for the last 14 campaigns, while the men have collected the honor in 13 of the past 14 years, including ten straight years.
 
In order to be recognized as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, a team must have at least a 3.0 cumulative team GPA. The women’s team finished with a cumulative GPA of 3.29. The men finished the academic year with a 3.26 cumulative GPA.
 

In addition, three Patriots were named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team. On the women’s side; Kailynn Tyson, Kennedy Drish, and Alina Florou Dimitriadou earned the honor for the first time. Men’s track & field student-athletes Geni Roberts and Arsalan Yaqubi are second-time honorees. Wesley Bond and Davian Burke were also honorees to be named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track and Field Team.
 

To qualify for the USTFCCCA All-Academic Track & Field Team as an individual, student-athletes must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25. For the indoor season, student-athletes must have finished the season ranked in the top 96 in any championship individual event, or in the top 48 in any championship relay event.

CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College head volleyball coach Maddie Moss has announced the addition of Kim Meadows as an assistant coach for the Blue Hose.
 
Meadows comes to Clinton after a successful stint at Columbia International University, where she helped guide the Rams to a 35-4 record and both the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships in 2024.
 
“I am thrilled to add Coach Kim to the Blue Hose family,” said Coach Moss. “Her experience and dedication to student-athlete development and championship mentality aligns perfectly with my vision for the growth of the program. She will be an asset in every sense of the word, and we are excited to hit the ground running!”
 
At CIU, Meadows handled a wide range of responsibilities, including practice planning, skill development, travel logistics, recruiting strategy, nutrition education, and strength training oversight. She also played a key role in the team’s spiritual development, leading team devotionals and Bible studies.
 
In addition to her collegiate coaching experience, Meadows has been active in the club circuit, most recently serving as the head coach of the 15 National Team for Intense Volleyball Club in Columbia, S.C. She has also been on staff at summer camps hosted by Wofford and the College of Charleston.
 
Prior to her time at CIU, Meadows led the volleyball program at Richard Winn Academy, where she served as the varsity head coach, program director, and interim athletic director. She previously held coaching roles at Charlotte Country Day School, Carolina Juniors Volleyball, Carolina Union Volleyball Club, and Davies High School, among others.
 
A former collegiate setter, Meadows played at Bluefield University and has remained active in the volleyball community for nearly three decades. She holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in health and physical education from James Madison University, where she also earned a minor in coaching.
 
“I’m excited and honored to join Coach Maddie in leading, supporting, and developing this program,” said Coach Meadows. “It’s a privilege to be part of the Blue Hose family, and I’ve already felt the warmth and support of the community here.”