Sports

Fantasy Baseball rankings movers

Published

5 months ago

August 5, 2025

Most every week, Scott White will highlight some of the more notable changes to his rest-of-season rankings. You’ll find said rankings here and are urged to bookmark them if you haven’t already. There’s no better resource for gauging player value throughout the long season.

It won’t surprise you to learn that I spent most of this latest rankings update session working on relief pitcher. The position was turned upside down at the trade deadline, and if you’d like some insights into the biggest changes, you’ll find them in my latest Bullpen Report. This article addresses what that article doesn’t, which is where the incoming and outgoing closers rank relative to each other. It’s a rankings article, you see.

But of course, not all of the latest Fantasy Baseball developments are relief pitcher-related. There are also a number of noteworthy talents emerging at both corner infield spots, as in first and third base. We’ll begin this latest recap of my biggest rankings adjustments with those two positions.

First base

I recently predicted that Nick Kurtz would be the top first baseman drafted next year. He’s the heavy favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, with a -5000 line according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and leads all first basemen with 3.73 Head-to-Head points per game. I’m chickening out in my rest-of-season rankings, though, slotting him only fourth, behind Bryce Harper, Vladimir Guerrero, and a resurgent Pete Alonso. That’s ahead of Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman, though, which means he’s firmly among the stalwarts at the position. The 22-year-old entered Monday batting .344 with 22 homers and a 1.224 OPS in his past 50 games, and his strikeout rate has also improved during that stretch, clocking in at 25 percent.
For all the interest generated by recent call-ups like Warming Bernabel and Tyler Locklear, it’s a returning player who sees the biggest move up my rankings. Andrew Vaughn, who was optioned to the minors by the White Sox in May before being shipped to the Brewers a few weeks later, has made himself comfortable at home in Milwaukee, entering Monday batting .373 (25 for 67) with six homers and a 1.130 OPS for his new club. His stat line was lackluster in his four-plus seasons with the White Sox, but he has an elite pedigree as a former No. 3 overall pick who was rushed to the majors. Given the state of the White Sox’s player development operation back in those days, it wouldn’t surprise me if they simply dropped the ball with him. While this hot stretch is far from conclusive, it’s enough for me to bump Vaughn up to 17th at first base, behind the equally hot (but more likely sustainable) Christian Walker.
I’ve mentioned Bernabel and Locklear already, and they debut at 26th and 37th, respectively. Bernabel gets the edge because he’s been absurdly productive through nine games, but he wasn’t some hotly anticipated prospect. His average exit velocity at Triple-A was 84.1 mph, which would rank third-to-last among major league qualifiers, and he’s not exactly stinging the ball in the majors. I’m more concerned that I’m ranking Locklear too low, not that he was prospect royalty either. He actually does impact the ball well, though, and was slashing .316/.401/.542 with 19 homers and 18 steals at Triple-A. Meanwhile, Coby Mayo, who has a wide open path to playing time with Ryan O’Hearn being traded, has climbed to 30th in my first base rankings, and C.J. Kayfus, a pretty good minor league hitter who’s getting looks in the outfield with the Guardians, debuts just behind Locklear at 38th.
With so many risers at first base, somebody has to go the other way, and I’ve decided that Paul Goldschmidt has been getting far too much benefit of the doubt. He had a big game Monday, but the home run he hit then was his first since June 19. He’s not even an everyday player for the Yankees, sitting out every third or fourth game, so I’ve moved him down to 30th, behind Kyle Manzardo but ahead of Mayo.

Third base

While former White Sox prospect Andrew Vaughn is the big riser at first base, former White Sox prospect Colson Montgomery is at third base. He entered Monday with the most RBI of any player since the All-Star break (21), also hitting seven home runs during that stretch. While it normally wouldn’t be surprising for a prospect of his caliber (ranking in the top 50 three years in a row) to make a big splash right away, Montgomery’s stock appeared to have cratered just prior to his promotion. He was struggling to adapt to Triple-A for a second year in a row, striking out upward of 30 percent of the time there, and even required a stint at Rookie ball to straighten things out. I’ve slotted him 16th at third base, right in between Royce Lewis and Cam Smith, because it’s the infield position that needs the most help right now, but I’m worried that his swing-and-miss tendencies will catch up to him soon. Don’t get too comfortable is all I’m saying.
I mentioned that I’ve slotted Bernabel and Mayo 26th and 30th at first base. They’re also eligible at third base, where I’ve slotted them 21st and 28th. Kind of shows you the disparity between the two positions. Notably, Bernabel is ahead of both Mark Vientos and Matt Shaw, two big-name players who have performed far below expectations this year but are still running fairly high roster rates. I have my doubts about Bernabel, which should tell you I clearly have no faith in those two.
I do have faith in Max Muncy, however, who returned from a bone bruise in his knee Monday. He’s back up to 12th in my third base rankings (11th in Head-to-Head points), which is where he ranked when he got hurt. His overall numbers are impressive enough, but remember, he was completely transformed after he began wearing glasses April 30, batting .287 with 13 home runs and a .989 OPS in 53 games.

Second base

Not much happening here. Rookie Luke Keaschall is set to return Tuesday from a forearm fracture he suffered way back in April, and you may remember he was making a strong impression before then, swiping five bags in seven games with five walks to two strikeouts. It was a tiny sample, of course, but judging from his minor league numbers, it was the general shape that his production should take. I’ve slotted him 23rd at second base, ahead of Jorge Polanco and the recently traded Willi Castro.

Shortstop

I’ve made bold changes here, namely by moving Jeremy Pena, Zachary Neto and Bo Bichette into the top 10, ahead of Oneil Cruz and Mookie Betts. This isn’t some knee-jerk response to recent trends. Cruz is batting .196 with a .650 OPS since the end of April. Betts has homered just three times since the end of May and is now batting .231 for the season. Meanwhile, Bichette has been on such a heater — batting .355 (61 for 172) with seven homers and a .960 OPS in his past 40 games — that his Head-to-Head point per game average (3.16) is on par with Trea Turner. The underlying data had suggested for months that Bichette, who’s no stranger to elite production, was due for an offensive outburst like this.
Trevor Story is another former shortstop standout who’s enjoying a resurgence, batting .310 (58 for 187) with 11 homers, 10 steals and a .917 OPS in his past 49 games. Strikeouts have been just as big of a problem for the 32-year-old as injuries since he joined the Red Sox in 2022, but he’s gotten that rate down to 24.5 percent during this stretch. I don’t have as much faith in him as Bichette over the long haul, but I’ve moved him up eight spots, from 25th to 17th, which places him between Willy Adames and Dansby Swanson.

Catcher

Not much happening here either. Shea Langeliers has been hotter than you may have realized since returning from a strained oblique at the end of June, batting .313 (31 for 99) with nine homers and a 1.010 OPS in 26 games. Between that and Marcell Ozuna reclaiming some DH at-bats in recent weeks, Langeliers is back ahead of the Braves tandem of Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin, putting him in my top 10 at catcher.

Outfield

Cody Bellinger has begun to live up to the most optimistic projections for him at Yankee Stadium, batting .302 with 17 homers and an .893 OPS since the start of May. He now has a higher Head-to-Head point per game average than Fernando Tatis (3.40 vs. 3.34) for the year, so it’s time to rank him more aggressively, moving him (along with Christian Yelich) inside my top 15 at the position, ahead of Jarren Duran.
Some of the highest draft picks at this position have gotten a free ride for far too long. The clearest example is Jackson Merrill, who initially got a pass for his slow start because he missed most of April with a strained hamstring. But in his last 65 games now, he’s batting .218 with 4 homers, a .618 OPS, and not a single stolen base. His Statcast readings are still pretty strong, with his expected stats in particular painting a promising picture, but I can no longer rank him higher than 30th at the position. That’s a 12-spot drop.
Part of the reason I’m reluctant to move a projected standout like Merrill down too quickly is because of what we’re seeing lately from Luis Robert and Michael Harris. Both were also projected standouts, though maybe not quite as high-end as Merrill, but both were so miserable for so long that I came close to moving them outside of my top 50. All of a sudden, though, Robert is batting .368 (21 for 57) with three homers, seven steals and a .975 OPS over his past 16 games, and Michael Harris is batting .380 (27 for 71) with three homers, three triples, four doubles and a 1.053 OPS over his past 18 games. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re fixed, but would it surprise anyone if they were, given their talent level? Both are back inside my top 40, meaning ahead of Steven Kwan and Ian Happ (at least in Rotisserie).
Ramon Laureano and Mickey Moniak are two surprise standouts that have been buried for far too long. Now, they’re both inside of my top 60, putting them in the same vicinity as Alec Burleson and Nick Castellanos.

Starting pitcher

After trading off between the two for most of his career, Cristopher Sanchez seems to have landed on the ideal combination of bat missing and strike throwing, boasting a 1.71 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 8.5 K/9 over his past 11 starts, with eight of them lasting seven innings or more. That’s enough to vault him into the top 10 at the position, particularly as others (namely Logan Webb) have removed themselves from consideration.
Blake Snell returned from a four-month absence for a shoulder injury Sunday and looked to be in his best form aside from a couple cheapie home runs by Yandy Diaz. His performance has been known to shift radically over the course of a season, but usually once he gets locked in, it holds for the rest of the way. He looked just as dominant during his four rehab starts — putting together a 1.32 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 15.8 K/9 with an absurd 24 percent swinging-strike rate — so I’m willing to show some faith in a pitcher who could legitimately be the best in Fantasy the rest of the way, slotting him 21st fresh off the IL.
Three pitchers who I’ve been dead wrong about this year are Matthew Boyd, Brandon Woodruff, and Edward Cabrera, and all three get a nice bump in the rankings this week. My concerns for each came from a different place. Boyd has a long track record of mediocrity, and even this year, some of his main dominance indicators are pretty blah. Cabrera has been the source of about 1,000 fakeouts over his five-year career. Woodruff came back from shoulder surgery missing about 3 mph on his fastball. All three have been so good, though, that I’m inclined to take them more or less at face value. Boyd is up from 35th to 26th, Woodruff from 48th to 38th, and Cabrera from 75th to 45th.
Bailey Ober’s first start back from a month-long IL stint Sunday was nothing special on the surface. He allowed four runs in five innings, continuing what’s been a disappointing season overall. But the hip injury that landed him on the IL was one that dated all the way back to spring training and seemed to be impacting his mechanics, which is why his fastball has lagged all year. It was back to its usual velocity Sunday, giving me hope that he can still turn his season around. I’ve only moved him up to 60th because I know better than to expect miracles, but that puts him firmly back in the rosterable range.

Relief pitcher

To reiterate, this position has been totally overhauled, with the biggest risers being Randy Rodriguez and Cade Smith. Both are now in my top 10, and I’m being fairly cautious with that ranking. Each has the potential to be in the top five (where Aroldis Chapman and Jeff Hoffman now find themselves, by the way). I understand Rodriguez just blew a save chance in only his second opportunity since taking over for the departed Camilo Doval, but he still has a 1.54 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 12.3 K/9 for the year.
Other risers include Dennis Santana, who’s taking over for David Bednar in Pittsburgh, moving into the top 20, and JoJo Romero and Cole Sands, who are purportedly taking over in St. Louis and Minnesota, moving into the top 30.
Naturally, all the incoming closers means that certain relievers are dropping out of the role, the most notable among them being Mason Miller, who’s considered by some to be the most talented reliever in baseball. It’s why I’m not going to bury him in the rankings even though Padres manager Mike Shildt has so far demonstrated a clear preference for Robert Suarez. Suarez has had some massive meltdowns each of the past two years and will certainly have the shortest of leashes now, so I’ve only dropped Miller to 21st, which keeps him ahead of Romero and Sands.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Clase, who’s currently being investigated in a gambling probe and has had his locker cleaned out in Cleveland, is down to 24th, also ahead of Romero and Sands. He could theoretically return in September, and while that seems unlikely, I’d want to hold on in leagues where saves are scarce, which are the only ones where you’d be looking to add Romero and Sands anyway. Meanwhile, Bednar and Doval, who are both now setting up for Devin Williams with the Yankees, have fallen to 30th and 37th, respectively.

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Belmont Student-Athletes Have Another Impressive Semester in the Classroom

Published

9 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – Belmont University student-athletes recorded another remarkable semester in the classroom as 2025 fall semester grades were finalized last week.

For the 2025 fall semester, the departmental grade-point average (GPA) was 3.530, which marked the 56th consecutive semester that Belmont student-athletes have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher. In addition, it was the 12^th straight semester that the department GPA was over a 3.5.

“Our student-athletes continue to do an amazing job in the classroom,” said Scott Corley, Belmont’s Vice President/Director of Athletics. “That success is a credit to our student-athletes, coaches, and academic support staff who continue to maintain our department’s commitment to academic excellence.”

Highlights from the fall semester included:

64 percent of student-athletes achieved a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher

85 percent of student-athletes achieved a semester GPA of 3.0 of higher

15 percent of student-athletes earned a perfect 4.00 GPA

9 Bruin teams posted a team GPA of 3.5 or higher for the semester.

About Belmont University

Located two miles from downtown Nashville, Tennessee, Belmont University comprises nearly 9,000 students from every state and 33 countries. Nationally ranked and consistently recognized by U.S. News & World Report for innovation in higher education, the University offers more than 115 areas of undergraduate study, 41 master’s programs and eight doctoral degrees. With a focus on whole-person formation and data-informed social innovation, Belmont is committed to forming diverse leaders of character equipped to solve the world’s complex problems. For more information, visit www.belmont.edu.

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Great season for Italian women’s volleyball crowned with the world title – FIVB

Published

26 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

After winning the women’s Volleyball Nations League and the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship earlier in the year, Italy crowned a great season with the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship title. Turkiye reached a World Championship final for the first time in history and settled for silver, while Brazil completed the podium with bronze. The year’s top event was held in Thailand from August 22 to September 7.

The first World Championship under the new biennial cycle and with an expanded 32-team format marked a breakthrough moment for the sport, with unprecedented audiences across volleyball’s major markets. Volleyball World’s OTT platform, VBTV, added further momentum with more than 7 million views across the championship. The Italy v Brazil semifinal attracted 350 thousand viewers, while the final drew 250 thousand, underscoring the global appetite for premium volleyball coverage beyond traditional broadcast. Social media popularity of the competition was expressed in 7.8 thousand posts and 145 million impressions, as well as 48 million YouTube views.

The 32 participating teams were drawn into eight round-robin pools of four for the first phase of the competition. Reigning Paris 2024 Olympic champions Italy cruised through Pool B undefeated, dropping a set only in their match against Belgium. They went on to sweep their eighthfinal against Germany and their quarterfinal against Poland in straight sets. In a hard-fought semifinal against Brazil, the Italians came back from a set down twice before emerging with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-22, 15-13) victory. The gold medal showdown in Bangkok was also pushed to five sets. This time Turkiye came back from a set down twice to get closer than ever to the world title, but the trophy went to Italy after they prevailed in the tie-breaker, 3-2 (25-23, 13-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-8). It was the second world crown for Italy, after their 2002 triumph. They also won silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022.

“I still can’t believe it,” Italian super-star opposite Paola Egonu said after the gold medal match. “I’m really proud of the team and incredibly happy. This is a moment I’ll never forget. It’s probably the last time for some of our players, too, and my heart is full now.”

Turkiye also reached the final undefeated. They did not lose a single set in Pool E, shut out Slovenia in the eighthfinals and beat USA in four sets in the quarterfinals. Another four-set victory, a 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-18, 27-25) comeback in the semifinal against Japan, propelled Turkiye to their first ever World Championship final and secured them their first ever World Championship medal.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship silver medalists Turkiye

Brazil also won Pool C unbeaten, but only after coming back from two sets down to reverse-sweep their match against France. After a four-set eighthfinal victory over the Dominican Republic and a tight straight-set quarterfinal against France, they lost narrowly to Italy in the semis, but bounced back in the third-place playoff against Japan. A nail-biting 3-2 (25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 27-29, 18-16) win added the sixth medal to their World Championship collection. Brazil now have four silvers and two bronzes.

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship bronze medalists Brazil

Japan, USA, the Netherlands, Poland, France, China, Serbia, Belgium, Germany, Thailand, the Dominican Republic, Canada, Slovenia, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden, Kenya, Greece, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Czechia, Colombia, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Egypt, Slovakia, Vietnam and Cameroon, in that order, took the places from fourth to 32nd in the final standings.

Italy’s 27-year-old setter Alessia Orro was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship. She also headlined the Dream Team, which featured opposite Melissa Vargas (Turkiye), outside hitters Mayu Ishikawa (Japan) and Gabriela Guimaraes (Brazil), middle blockers Anna Danesi (Italy) and Eda Erdem (Turkiye), and libero Monica De Gennaro (Italy).

The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Dream Team

Click here for the official FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship website.

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Boys Track Small but Mighty at Recent Meet

Published

42 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jasper Samuelson and Emmett Schumann on their way to first and third-place finishes in the freshman-sophomore 600-meter run.

A small crew represented Bonac boys indoor track at a crossover meet at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood on Dec. 21, but the track and field athletes who did compete turned in impressive performances.

Coach Kevin Barry said only half of the team was able to participate because of winter recess and illnesses. At least seven runners were out with the flu.

The highlight came from Eduardo Calle, who became the first Bonac long jumper to break 20 feet in 15 years, with a leap of 20 feet 1 inch — good for third place.

“This is his second winter track season,” Barry said. “He jumped 19 feet 1 inch last year and has been improving every meet so far. Twenty feet was the goal for him going into the season. Now he has new goals to set.”

Jasper Samuelson and Emmett Schumann finished first and third over all in the freshman-sophomore 600-meter run, with times of 1:31.89 and 1:36.41. Samuelson also won the 300-meter dash immediately afterward in 40.38 seconds. Samuelson is now the fastest sophomore in Suffolk County, while Schumann is the second fastest freshman, both in the 600-meter distance.

Sean Perez, a senior, finished the 1,000-meter run in 2:50 — good for fifth place.

Coach Barry called his athletes “very dedicated and hard-working,” and said they’ll keep at it over winter recess. “As a team, we are hoping to get some good work done during the holiday break and survive the flu that is going around to set us up for the big meets coming in January.”

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Blue Bell/TSWA Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team

Published

43 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Blue Bell/TSWA Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team

Published 8:44 am Thursday, January 1, 2026

LONGVIEW – Division II state champion Iola earned the top two honors in voting for the Blue Bell/Texas Sports Writers Association Class 2A All-State Volleyball Team for the 2025 season.

Player of the Year honors went to Iola outside hitter Shaylee McKown, and Iola’s Jamie McDougald earned Coach of the Year honors.

Voting was conducted by TSWA members based on nominations from coaches and media members from around the state.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Jamie McDougald, Iola

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shaylee McKown, Iola

FIRST TEAM

Middle Blockers: Kellen Weaver, Beckville; Camryn Powers, Crawford; Kennedy Slay, Tioga

Outside Hitters: Shaylee McKown, Iola; Keegan Kleiber, Mumford; Rayna Sadler, Leon

Setter: Riley Goodney, Iola

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Averi Bolgiano, Crawford

SECOND TEAM

Middle Blockers: Jacie Boles, North Hopkins; Sy Parker, Nocona; Channing Horne, Leon

Outside Hitters: Macey Hoelscher, North Hopkins; Cami Hoyle, Iola; Ava Johnson, Nocona

Setter: Landry Zapalac, Schulenburg

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Jenna Guentert, Schulanburg

THIRD TEAM

Middle Blockers: Katherine Lindemann, Garrison; Tatum Miller, Crawford; Camdyn Owen, Italy

Outside Hitters: Aubrie Kabisch, Nocona; Katelin Sullivan, Flatonia; Haylee Vacek, Schulenburg

Setter: Ainsley Anderson, Crawford

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Ava Bessette, Iola

HONORABLE MENTION

Middle Blockers: Darriyah Thomas, Omaha Pewitt; Ary’anna Mealing, Forsan; Reagan Dusek, Schulenburg; Christian Geary, Sterling City; Cadence Money, North Hopkins; Saylor Smith, Como-Pickton; Maud Poortvliet, Como-Pickton; Harlee Sevcik, Shiner; Kamiah Birmingham, Linden-Kildare; Whitney Arledge, Hamilton

Outside Hitters: Preslee Kittrell, Midred; Ella Connell, Crawford; Lily Bailey, Hawley; Kati Calvillo, Como-Pickton; Kaitlyn Jenkins, Rosebud-Lott; Camdyn Benton, Riesel; Greenli VanZandt, Schulanburg; Charlee Wolf, Windthorst; Anna Claire Cooper, Hamilton

Setters: Claytie Free, Leon; Eden Lewis, North Hopkins; Vada Kendall, North Hopkins; Mhia Garcia, Como-Pickton; Carli Tuttle, Beckville

Libero/Defensive Specialist: Kylynn Ramirez, Shiner; Karissa Fillingim, Windthorst; Avery Futrell, Leon; Tatum Thompson, North Hopkins; Journey Brumley, Como-Pickton; Kaidance Goldbolt, North Hopkins; Aubree Kleinhans, Nocona; Emery Parrott, Hamilton

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LA Tech Athletics’ Highlight Reel, So Far

Published

58 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

If the early chapters of the 2025–26 Louisiana Tech Athletics calendar have proven anything, it’s this: tradition still matters and history is still being made.

July: A New League, Familiar Rivals

Summers are usually quite tame in college athletics. Not this time at Louisiana Tech. The 2025-26 athletic season officially kicked off with a banger when on July 16 the University officially accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference, marking one of the most significant moments in the department’s modern history. The move promises renewed rivalries, improved geographic access for alumni, enhanced recruiting, and a better overall student-athlete experience.

August: Soccer Comes Full Circle

LA Tech soccer literally kicks off the athletic season, every season. More than two decades after the program’s inaugural season began on the rugby field across from the Lambright Center, the Bulldogs returned to their roots – this time at the beautiful Robert Mack Caruthers Field.

Three straight home matches at “The Mack” set the stage, but the third made history. On Aug. 21, LA Tech’s 2-0 shutout of in-state rival UL-Lafayette not only felt good because it was the Ragin’ Cajuns – it marked the 100th home win in program history.

September: Fairways, Firsts, and the National Stage

Early September brought a familiar sight at Squire Creek Country Club, where LA Tech golf once again opened its season on its beautiful home course. Hosting a tournament there has become tradition – this year marking the 22nd home event since 2003 – and the Bulldogs made it count.

LA Tech fired a three-round total of 854 (-10) at the Argent Financial Classic, tying the program record for lowest 54-hole score at the event.

Just weeks later on the tennis courts of Cary, North Carolina, Zoie Epps became the first Bulldog singles player to qualify for the ITA All-American Championships, one of the premier events in collegiate tennis. The junior did not just show up – she belonged, rattling off three straight pre-qualifying wins, including upsets over two seeded opponents, to advance to the qualifying draw and put LA Tech tennis firmly on the national radar.

Halloween Weekend: Legends, Homecoming, and Giving Back

Halloween weekend delivered a whirlwind of celebration and connection. The Bradshaw-Brooks Golf Tournament, presented by Origin Bank, returned after a seven-year hiatus, bringing together two of Louisiana Tech’s most iconic alumni – Terry Bradshaw and Kix Brooks – at Squire Creek Country Club.

Held ahead of the university’s 100th Homecoming Game, the event raised more than $100,000 for Louisiana Tech Athletics. It was a reminder that while facilities and conferences change, the bond between Tech and its alumni remains timeless.

That night, LA Tech Football delivered a frightfully dominant performance, steamrolling Sam Houston 55-14 behind a relentless rushing attack at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium. Donning brand new black jerseys, the Bulldogs totaled 646 yards of offense, piling up 425 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground while scoring multiple touchdowns in every quarter.

The busy weekend continued the next day on Nov. 1, starting off with LA Tech volleyball delivering its best offensive performance of the season, sweeping New Mexico State inside historic Scotty Robertson Memorial Gymnasium. Playing there for the first time since 2013, the Bulldogs snapped a 23-match losing streak to the Aggies while posting a season-best .376 hitting percentage. Some buildings just know how to deliver magic.

Then that night, LA Tech celebrated excellence across generations, enshrining its 21st Athletics Hall of Fame class. Eight individuals – spanning football, basketball, track and field, and athletic training – were honored for their lasting impact on the university. The ceremony served as a powerful reminder that today’s achievements stand on the shoulders of those who came before.

November: Breakthroughs on Every Front

November arrived fast – and packed plenty of punch.

A week later, the nationally ranked bowling team put together one of the most impressive weekends in program history. Finishing 11-2 with eight ranked wins, including victories over No. 1, No. 2 (twice), and No. 3, the Bulldogs closed the Bulldog Classic with a top five finish and plenty of statement wins.

On Nov. 21, success showed up in the classroom as well. LA Tech student-athletes recorded a department-record 3.353 fall GPA, with 251 Bulldogs and Lady Techsters earning spots on the AD Honor Roll.

Then came Nov. 22.

LA Tech unveiled the Richardson Family Legacy Plaza, complete with statues honoring legendary coaches Joe Aillet and Maxie Lambright. Situated on the southwest corner of Joe Aillet Stadium, the plaza serves as a lasting tribute to two figures who shaped not just a football program, but an identity.

Later on that day came the football home finale. Down 28-7 midway through the third quarter, LA Tech football authored one of the most memorable comebacks in Joe Aillet Stadium history. Fueled by fourth-down conversions, three straight interceptions, and a defense that simply refused to blink, the Bulldogs forced overtime against Liberty. On the first snap of OT, Andrew Burnette took a handoff 25 yards to the house, capping a 27-point rally and clinching bowl eligibility in front of a home crowd that will remember that roar for a long time.

The very next day, women’s basketball delivered its own statement, defeating Stephen F. Austin 93-66 in a matchup featuring two of the winningest programs in the sport’s history. For the Lady Techsters, it was another reminder that tradition still carries weight – and momentum.

December: Rivals, Milestones, and a Bowl Trophy to Top It Off

The calendar flipped to December, and LA Tech men’s basketball also delivered a milestone for its fans.

On Dec. 13, the Bulldogs rolled past UL-Lafayette 65-44 inside the Thomas Assembly Center, securing the 94th all-time win in the rivalry – and win No. 1,500 in program history. Stifling defense, timely shooting, and a packed home crowd turned a Saturday afternoon into another chapter worth remembering.

And then, football decided to cap off the calendar year with a bang in Shreveport.

Down 14-3, LA Tech’s defense slammed the door out of the locker room, forcing turnovers, winning the line of scrimmage, and completely flipping the tone of the afternoon. The offense followed suit, finding rhythm, stacking drives, and clawing back, outscoring the Chanticleers 20-0 the rest of the way to win 23-14 and walk off the Independence Stadium turf as Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl champions, closing the year with one final exclamation point – and a nice piece of hardware.

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Evans Sisters Earn All-State Volleyball Honors For Hawks | KCII Radio

Published

59 minutes ago

January 1, 2026

Your Sports Nation

A phenomenal fall for Mid-Prairie volleyball has led to post-season awards for the Golden Hawk sister act on the court. Mid-Prairie’s Jovi and Jeorgia Evans were named Class 3A All-State by the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

Senior Jovi Evans was a First-Team All-State selection. Evans finished third in Class 3A with 432 kills. She was sixth in 3A with 58 aces, and ninth in the state with a .351 swing efficiency. Evans was seventh in the River Valley Conference with 402 assists and put up 424 digs and 34 blocks on defense. She is a multi-time All-State, All-District and All-River Valley Conference choice and former River Valley Conference Player of the Year.

Sophomore Jeorgia Evans was a Fourth-Team All-State pick in 3A. Evans had 579 digs this season, second most in Class 3A. Her 56 aces were eighth in the state. Evans finished with a .295 swing efficiency, fifth in conference and 213 kills ninth in the River Valley with 25 blocks. Evans was also an All-District and All-RVC honoree.

Mid-Prairie ended the year at 30-10, the first time in school history with 30 or more wins in three straight seasons and advanced to the State Tournament for the first time in consecutive years.

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