Sports

San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball Roundup, 8/19/25

Published

4 months ago

August 20, 2025

San Francisco Giants Minor League Baseball Roundup, 8/19/25

The San Francisco Giants had an awful day on Tuesday, but there was more enjoyable action for their Minor League Baseball affiliates. So let’s talk about those teams instead!

Link to the 2025 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the positions played in that particular game.

A few small pieces of news. Notably, the organization swapped a pair of catchers, with Drew Cavanaugh moving from High-A Eugene to AA Richmond, and Onil Perez (No. 37 CPL) flying the other way across the country. I’m not entirely sure what to make of that move. Cavanaugh has been having a brilliant season and Perez hasn’t been great since a recent promotion, but it still doesn’t feel like the move is merit-based. My guess is it’s more about trying to get consistent playing time behind the dish for Perez, who hadn’t been catching much in Richmond due to the presence of Adrián Sugastey (No. 38 CPL).

The Giants assigned a pair of recent draftees to Low-A San Jose: middle infielder Lorenzo Meola, their 4th-round pick, and outfielder Cameron Maldonado, their 7th-round pick. To make space for those two, utility player Ryan Reckley (No. 35 CPL) was assigned to the ACL (which is playing unofficial post-season games), while catcher Nomar Diaz, the organization’s 14th-round pick in 2022, was released.

AAA Sacramento (63-58)

Sacramento River Cats beat the El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres) 4-3 (10 innings)
Box score

The Giants and Padres faced off at both the Major League and AAA levels on Tuesday, and while we all would preferred that it was the MLB team winning, we’ll have to settle for their affiliate instead.

It was an exciting walk-off as well, with the River Cats tying the game in the bottom of the 9th inning, and walking it off in the 10th when, after they loaded the bases, shortstop Osleivis Basabe (who hit 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout) smacked a sacrifice fly to send the crowd home happy.

It wasn’t the only big swing of the bat for Sacramento, as right fielder Luis Matos had a lovely day, hitting 2-5 with a pair of doubles and a strikeout, with one of his doubles tying the game and sending it to extra innings.

Matos has been swinging the bat well lately, and you’ve got to think the Giants are considering bringing him back to the Majors at some point soon. The all-lefty “platoon” of Drew Gilbert and Grant McCray seems a little meaningless, and a waste of potential development time for McCray, who is rarely playing. Matos has been benefitting from playing every day in AAA, and now has a 4-game hit streak going, during which time he’s gone 7-18 with a home run, 3 doubles, and just 2 strikeouts. Maybe that’s given him the rhythm he needs.

Designated hitter Jesus Rodriguez and catcher Sam Huff both had nice games, with the former hitting 2-4 with a walk, and the latter 1-3 with a double and 2 walks. Rodriguez hasn’t been lighting the world on fire since coming over in the Camilo Doval trade, but has certainly shown flashes of his tremendous bat and zone control. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Rodriguez, who has operated solely as a DH since the trade deadline due to a minor injury, is scheduled to make his Sacramento catching debut on Saturday. Huff has been on a tear since returning from injury, hitting 10-36 with 6 extra-base hits, 8 walks, and 9 strikeouts since re-joining Sacramento. He would seem a logical choice should the Giants choose to run with 3 catchers when rosters expand next month, though he’ll need to be added back to the 40-man roster.

First baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) didn’t do too much, as he hit 1-4 with a walk and a strikeout, while also getting picked off. The walk he drew was intentional, to set up a force play late in the game.

And some bad news: left fielder Marco Luciano, who hit 0-1 but drew 2 walks, left the game with a limp. You hate to see that, especially since he seemed in play to get a look at some point soon.

It was a good game on the mound, with a decent start from RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 15 CPL). McDonald labored through the 1st inning, when he allowed all 3 runs that El Paso would score. But he settled in after that, pitching 5 shutout innings to end with a very respectable line: 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, 1 hit batter, 3 runs, and 7 strikeouts. McDonald only has a 5.25 ERA and a 5.43 FIP on the year, but he’s been much batter lately. In his last 4 starts, the 24-year old has thrown 23.2 innings and allowed 19 hits, 9 walks, and 7 earned runs, with 27 strikeouts. He’s on the 40, so don’t be shocked if he gets a look in September.

After McDonald came veteran RHP JT Brubaker, who made his organizational debut and tossed 2 shutout innings, giving up 2 walks while striking out a batter. And then it was the pitching star, RHP Miguel Díaz, who tossed 2 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts, which included stranding the Manfred Man in the 10th inning and setting up the walk-off win. The 30-year old has been utterly lights out lately: in his last 11 appearances, he’s thrown 14.2 innings and allowed a mere 10 hits, 6 walks, and 1 run, while striking out 13.

AA Richmond (44-68)

Richmond Flying Squirrels beat the Chesapeake Baysox (Orioles) 4-0
Box score

A shutout for the Flying Squirrels, so you know it was a good pitching day. It was certainly a group effort, though, with 4 pitchers combining to put up the donut, and getting a fair amount of help from their defense as well.

Kicking things off was RHP Shane Rademacher, who had his best start since getting promoted to AA. An undrafted free agent from 2023, Rademacher had a dominant season with High-A Eugene, but had gotten blown up in his 1st 3 starts with Richmond. His 4th went very differently, as he allowed 5 hits and 1 walk in 4.2 shutout innings, while striking out 3.

There are certainly concerns about how well Rademacher can maintain success at this level, and especially at the 2 higher ones. For as majestic as his walk rate (1.9 per 9 innings) has been this year, there aren’t many players who succeed at the highest levels with his strikeout rate (6.2 per 9 innings). And the ones who do succeed are normally groundball pitchers, which Rademacher most certainly is not.

That’s not to put an ugly spin on what has been a really fantastic season for the 24-year old. Just a reminder as to how much needs to go right for a prospect to make the show.

Rounding out the shutout was LHP Chris Wright and RHPs Cameron Pferrer and Tyler Vogel. Wright has been pitching really well lately, as he seeks to return to AAA after missing all of the 2024 season — and much of 2025 — due to injury. As for Vogel, the team’s 12th-round pick in 2022, he’s now up to 6 games in AA and still hasn’t allowed a run!

A handful of decent games in the batters box. Catcher Drew Cavanaugh made his AA debut and hit 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout.

And with that, he earns the remarkable distinction of playing for all 4 of the organization’s A-Ball affiliates in the same season without any of them being rehab assignments (though his time in AAA was as an emergency fill-in, but still). What an amazing and cool year it’s been for the 2023 17th-rounder, who has an .879 OPS and a 140 wRC+ across the 4 levels. It will be interesting to see how much catching he does in AA as the season winds down, as that will give us a little more intel into what went behind the move for he and Onil Perez to swap places.

Third baseman Dayson Croes is also fairly new to the level, and he hit 1-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. It was his 10th game with Richmond and he’s been absolutely fabulous, with a .970 OPS and a 178 wRC+. What an awesome debut season for the 25-year old.

Designated hitter Bo Davidson (No. 11 CPL) continues to both show why he’s emerged as one of the top prospects in the system and why the move from the Northwest League to the Eastern League is so hard, as he hit 1-4 with a triple but struck out 3 times. He’s showing a lot but also having a fair amount of struggles since a recent promotion, and I recommend reading Roger Munter’s latest mailbag for a little deeper dive into what that transition has been like for Davidson.

A really nice day for center fielder Turner Hill, who hit 3-4 and added an outfield assist. He has a .760 OPS and a 126 wRC+ this year, which constitutes a very successful season.

All in all, a game that was a reminder as to how much the Giants have excelled at finding diamonds in the rough lately. Look at all the players we just mentioned: Davidson, Hill, Rademacher, Croes, and Pferrer were all undrafted free agents, Cavanaugh was a 17th-round pick, and both Wright and Vogel were 12th-round picks. Impressive!

High-A Eugene (68-47)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Hillsboro Hops (D-Backs) 7-2
Box score

Not the most eventful game, despite the 7 runs, 6 of which came in the 7th inning. The most impressive swing of the bat came much earlier, though, when first baseman Charlie Szykowny (No. 43 CPL) launched a solo homer in the 1st inning to get the party started.

Szykowny, who finished the day 2-4 and knocked in 3 runs, has been on quite a power tear lately, which is to say over the whole summer. His big 2024 didn’t translate into a strong start to the 2025 season, as through April and May he hit just 37-167 with 4 homers. But since the start of June? The 25-year old lefty has hit 77-265 with 13 big flies, and has seen his OPS rocket up to .785 and his wRC+ to 111. Add in a sub-20% strikeout rate, and it seems all but certain that the 2023 9th-round pick will begin 2026 in AA.

Third baseman Parks Harber was the only other Emerald with a multi-hit game, as he went 2-4 with a strikeout. Since coming to the Giants in the Camilo Doval trade, Harber, a 2024 undrafted free agent who hits right-handed, has hit 8-27 with 3 extra-base hits, 7 walks, and 8 strikeouts.

A tough day for catcher Onil Perez (No. 37 CPL) in his return to High-A, as he went 0-4 with a strikeout and an error.

A solid day on the mound, which began with a nice start from LHP Charlie McDaniel, who continued Tuesday’s theme of quality games from undrafted players. The 24-year old Presbyterian product pitched 5 strong innings, allowing just 3 hits, 0 walks, 1 hit batter, 2 runs, and 1 earned run, while striking out 4. This is McDaniel’s debut season, and he was awesome to begin the year with Low-A San Jose, where he accumulated a 2.59 ERA and a 3.27 FIP. The transition up a level has proven quite difficult for him, understandably, as he allowed 16 earned runs in 11.2 innings in his 1st 3 games with Eugene. But Tuesday was his 4th game and it was a massive step in the right direction.

Speaking of steps in the right direction, RHP Liam Simon relieved McDaniel and tossed 2 shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 1. Simon, the team’s 5th-round pick in 2022, started the year late after yet another injury setback … and he began the year having thrown just 42.2 innings in the 1st 3 years of his career. It’s been a slow process to try to wash the rush away, but Tuesday was a big step forward, and also just the 2nd time that Simon has thrown 2 innings in a game since May 2023.

Low-A San Jose (75-40)

San Jose Giants lost to the Fresno Grizzlies (Rockies) 8-5 (11 innings)
Box score

A bit of a funny game for the Baby Giants. They lost in extra innings, but provided some silly excitement in the 9th inning, when they tied the game with not 1, but 2 bases-loaded walks.

The excitement in San Jose was that a pair of players made their professional debuts, and that’s always so exciting. Second baseman Lorenzo Meola, the team’s 4th-round pick in July, took the field for the 1st time, and has plenty of room to play now that 1st-round pick Gavin Kilen suffered an injury.

It was a successful debut for the right-handed hitter from Stetson, who was viewed by many as a very underrated pick by the front office. He hit 1-5 with a double (the team’s only extra-base hit) and also drew a walk, though he struck out twice. Really looking forward to seeing how he performs over the rest of the season.

Right fielder Cameron Maldonado also made his professional debut, though the recent 7th-round pick was held hitless, going 0-4 with a walk. Welcome to professional baseball to both of them!

A 3rd and 4th player from July’s additions also played, though it wasn’t a debut for either. Undrafted catcher Daniel Rogers played in his 8th game with San Jose and this was a pretty rough one for the young backstop, who hit 1-4, struck out once, and allowed 6 stolen bases, without catching a runner. But hey, if any of the youngsters need reminders that the transition to professional baseball isn’t easy, they need only look to the shortstop playing for their opponent, as young phenom Ethan Holliday hit 0-5 with 4 strikeouts and an error. It’s a hard game!

Things went much, much better for center fielder Trevor Cohen, the Giants’ 3rd-round pick in July’s draft. Cohen had arguably his best game as a pro, hitting 3-4 with a strikeout, drawing 2 walks, stealing a base, and making a highlight play on the grass. The lefty from Rutgers has looked so comfortable in A-Ball, where he now has a .319 batting average and a .450 on-base percentage, with just 5 strikeouts in 60 plate appearances.

Nice games in the batter’s box for a pair of young prospects who had breakout 2024s and are among the top prospects in the organization, as shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 6 CPL) hit 3-6 with a strikeout, while left fielder Lisbel Diaz (No. 17 CPL) went 2-5 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. Level, who opened eyes in the ACL this year, has a .701 OPS and a 104 wRC+ in 17 games since getting promoted, while Diaz has a .726 OPS and a 97 wRC+ in a full season at the level (and if those numbers seem uninspiring, a reminder that he just turned 20, is a quality defensive player, has stolen 20 bases, has just a 19.6% strikeout rate, and has been much better in the 2nd half of the season).

Not a great day on the mound, especially for the starter, RHP Hunter Dryden. It was an excellent strike-throwing performance for the 2024 17th-round pick, as he threw 51 of 71 pitches for strikes, and recorded 6 strikeouts with neither a walk nor a hit batter. But when batters hit the ball, Dryden was in trouble: he gave up 7 hits in 5 innings, which tagged him for 5 runs. And after those batters hit the ball, Dryden was still in trouble, as he was the pitcher responsible for 4 of the 6 stolen bases that Fresno recorded.

Dryden has really been struggling as the season goes on, which shouldn’t be surprising for a debuting player. He gave up just 6 earned runs in his 1st 10 starts, but has ceded 19 earned runs in 9 starts since. He has a 2.73 ERA and a 3.98 FIP on the year.

RHP Ubert Mejias has also been pitching worse as the season goes on, but you wouldn’t know it on Tuesday, when he threw 3 no-hit innings, allowing just 1 walk while striking out 3. What a great game in an otherwise difficult season for the 24-year old, who has a 5.80 ERA and a 4.58 FIP.

Dominican Summer League Black (33-23)

DSL Giants Black lost to the DSL Arizona Red 2-1 (7 innings)
Box score

The Giants Black team lost, but they did exactly what you want otherwise: had their best performances come from their best prospects. On offense, it was shortstop Josuar González (No. 5 CPL, 17 years, 2025 IFA), who is not just the DSL Giants Black’s best prospect, but the DSL’s best prospect and, I reckon, soon will be the organization’s best prospect.

He had yet another fantastic game, hitting 1-2, drawing a walk, and stealing 3 bases. The switch-hitter, who has seen his OPS rise to .859 and his wRC+ to 129, has been on absolute fire lately. Since July 31, the phenom has hit 19-47 with 2 home runs, 2 triples, 2 doubles, 9 walks, and 9 strikeouts. He’s also up to 33 stolen bases in just 52 games, which ranks 7th in the league. What a player!

And the star on the mound was LHP Carlos De La Rosa (17 years, 2025 IFA), who made his 3rd appearance with the organization since joining the Giants in the Camilo Doval trade. The 5’11 southpaw from the DR gave up just 1 hit and 2 walks in 3.2 shutout innings. Want to know why the Giants are so excited in seeing what he could develop into? He now has 51 strikeouts against 10 walks in just 32.1 innings.

Dominican Summer League Orange (35-19)

DSL Giants Orange lost to the DSL NYY Yankees 3-2 (7 innings)
Box score

Not much to highlight in this game. Shortstop Anthony Marquez (18 years, 2024 IFA) had a nice game, hitting 2-4 with a double, the team’s only extra-base hit. Marquez’s numbers, which include a .785 OPS and a 118 wRC+, are very similar to what they were in his debut last year. That may be a little disappointing, but when you add in the strong middle infield defense and the 14.0% strikeout rate, it seems quite likely he’ll be in Papago next year.

Right fielder Carlos Concepcion (19 years, 2023 IFA) reached base in both of his plate appearances, but it was painful, as he was hit by pitches both times, and the 2nd one took him out of the game. Hopefully he’s not too hurt, as he’s been ending the season on a tear: since July 25, the right-handed hitter has gone 15-45 with 4 home runs and 6 doubles. In all, it’s an .869 OPS and a 117 wRC+ for Concepcion in his 3rd professional season, though his strikeout rate (27.0%) is still cause for plenty of concern for a bat-first player.

Home run tracker

High-A Charlie Szykowny (17)

Wednesday schedule

Sacramento: 6:45 p.m. PT vs. El Paso (SP: Hayden Birdsong)
Richmond: 3:35 p.m. PT at Chesapeake (SP: John Michael Bertrand)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Hillsboro (SP: Cesar Perdomo)
San Jose: 1:00 p.m. PT vs. Fresno (SP: Niko Mazza)

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Allick Joins LOVB Madison – University of Nebraska

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LOVB Madison announced on Friday that Nebraska senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick will be joining their squad for the 2026 League One Volleyball season.

Allick will join former Husker Callie Schwarzenbach on LOVB Madison’s roster.

Allick concluded her Husker career with AVCA All-America Second Team honors, the first All-America honor of her career after being named All-Region three times. She also earned All-Big Ten First Team accolades for the first time after twice earning second-team honors.

Allick had the best season of her standout career with 2.56 kills per set on .450 hitting with a team-high 1.27 blocks per set. Her .450 hitting percentage ranked as the No. 4 single-season mark in school history, as well as the No. 4 mark in the country on the season.

She finished her Husker career at No. 5 in career blocks in the rally-scoring era with 543, and her career blocks per set average of 1.31 ranked fourth. Allick was on the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List at the midway point of the season. She was also named to the AVCA All-First Serve Team, and she was the AVCA National Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after two standout performances to begin the season against Pitt and Stanford.

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Women’s Volleyball Adds Two Transfers for 2026 Season

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

HONOLULU — University of Hawai’i women’s volleyball head coach Robyn Ah Mow announced the additions of two productive pin hitters who will join the Rainbow Wahine as transfers for the 2026 season.

Maëli Cormier, a 6-foot-2 opposite/outside hitter who spent her freshman year at Oregon State, and Panna Ratkai, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter who played at Dayton last season, have signed with the Rainbow Wahine and will enroll at UH for the spring semester. Cormier will have three seasons of eligibility remaining while Ratkai will spend her senior season at UH and both bring international experience with them to Mānoa.

“Both Maëli and Panna add a lot of maturity and competitiveness that will immediately upgrade our gym and culture the moment they step foot on campus,” Ah Mow said. “We are very excited to add them both to our ‘ohana and can’t wait to get to work when spring training begins.”

Cormier, originally from Les Îles de la Madeleine, Quebec, Canada, earned a spot on the West Coast Conference’s All-Freshman Team after averaging 2.63 kills per set for Oregon State in the 2025 season. She played in 28 matches with 12 starts and finished second on the team with 266 total kills. She posted double-figure kills in 13 matches with a season-high 20 in a five-set win over Saint Mary’s. She hit better than .300 in 10 matches and went over .400 five times. She was also the starting opposite with Canada’s U-21 team at the 2024 NORCECA Continental Championship in Toronto and led the team with 35 kills in the tournament. She also played with Canada’s U19 team in 2022 and was selected to the National Excellence Program in 2022 and ’23. She played club volleyball for Élans de Garneau and was a 2025 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association All-Canadian selection.

Ratkai, originally from Budapest, Hungary, was a two-time Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year at Purdue Fort Wayne before spending the 2025 season at Dayton. After redshirting in 2022, Ratkai put away 1,048 kills and averaged 4.62 per set over her two seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne. She finished the 2024 season ranked 15^th in the nation with 4.57 kills per set and 19^th with 5.17 points per set and was an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention selection. She also had 586 digs and recorded 30 double-doubles in her two seasons with the Mastodons. Ratkai competed with the Hungarian National Team last summer and played in 41 sets and posted 82 kills and 71 digs at Dayton this past season.

Cormier and Ratkai join incoming freshmen Cameron Holcomb and Rachel Purser in UH’s signing class for the 2026 season.

2026 University of Hawai’i Women’s Volleyball Signees

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown (High School/Last School)
Maëli Cormier	OH/OPP	6-2	So.	Les Îles de la Madeleine, Quebec, Canada (Cegep Garneau/Oregon State)
Cameron Holcomb	L/DS	5-8	Fr.	San Marcos, Calif. (San Marcos HS)
Panna Ratkai	OH	5-10	Sr.	Budapest, Hungary (Gödölloi Török Ignác Gimnázium/Dayton)
Rachel Purser	MB	6-3	Fr.	Henderson, Nev. (Coronado HS)

#HawaiiWVB

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Creighton volleyball adds second high-major transfer commitment in Ayden Ames

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Creighton volleyball is on a heater in the NCAA transfer portal, which opened Dec. 7 and closes Jan. 5.

Texas middle blocker transfer Ayden Ames committed to the Bluejays Friday.

A former Nebraska commit before flipping to Texas in 2023, Ames averaged 1.52 kills and 1.11 blocks per set with a .368 hitting percentage as a sophomore this season. She has two years of eligibility remaining.

Ames is the second transfer commitment this offseason, joining former Kansas setter Katie Dalton, who pledged to Creighton for her final season on Dec. 17.

Dalton helped lead the Jayhawks to a NCAA regional semifinal appearance, where they lost to Nebraska. She averaged 8.76 assists and 2.27 digs per set and earned All-Big 12 Second-Team honors.

Bluejays’ coach Brian Rosen has two AVCA Second-Team All-Americans to replace in outside hitter Ava Martin and middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt. They also lose Third-Team All-American setter Annalea Maeder.

Yet, the program still made an NCAA regional final this season despite losing seven seniors and two All-Americans from the 2024 roster.

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No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball advances to National Championship after beating No. 3 seed Wisconsin in 5-set thriller – Kentucky Kernel

Published

4 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

No. 1 seed Kentucky volleyball (30-2, 15-0 SEC) advances to the 2025 National Championship with a 3-2 win over No. 3 seed Wisconsin (28-5, 17-3 Big Ten) in the Final Four.

This will be Kentucky’s second National Championship appearance in program history, with the first coming in the 2020-21 season when Kentucky took home the title.

Kentucky Wildcats outside hitter Eva Hudson celebrates after scoring a point during the Final Four volleyball match against Wisconsin on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. Photo by Will Luckett | Photo Manager

Wisconsin dominated the first set from start to finish, taking a 1-0 match lead with a 25-12 win in set one. Kentucky used a 6-0 run late in set two to pull ahead and even the match with a 25-22 set two victory. The Badgers attack simply overpowered Kentucky again in set three, allowing Wisconsin to win the set 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead in the match. Kentucky fended off a late comeback attempt by Wisconsin in set four, taking the set 26-24 to even the match at 2-2 and force set five. Kentucky got out to a 8-2 lead early in set five before taking the set 15-13, winning the match.

AVCA All-American First Team member Mimi Colyer was the driving force behind a Badger attack that kept the pressure on all night. She led the match with 32 kills and had a .348% hitting percentage.

Behind Colyer, Wisconsin totaled 77 kills and hit .375% in the match.

The Wildcats powerful outside hitter duo of Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye were the engine of Kentucky’s attack. Hudson had a team leading 29 kills for a new season high and hit .455%. DeLeye added 15 kills of her own and led the team in blocks with five and digs with 14.

The Wildcats totaled 65 kills with a .254% hitting percentage.

Set One

Wisconsin began the match with a 3-0 run, with back-to-back kills from Colyer.

The Badgers extended this lead to 8-2 with a 3-0 run, this forced Kentucky to take its first timeout early in the first set.

Wisconsin had seven kills with a perfect 1.000% hitting percentage at this point, the Badgers were overwhelming the Cats defense early.

The Badgers perfect hitting continued through 10 attempts, pushing Wisconsin ahead 15-6. This forced Kentucky to take its second timeout of the set.

The Wildcats defense has been a strength this season, but Wisconsin’s attack tore it up in the first half of set one.

Wisconsin continued to extend its lead following UK’s timeout, pulling ahead 21-9 with a 5-1 run.

The Badgers dominated set one, taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-12 set win.

Wisconsin recorded 15 kills in the first set with a .682% hitting percentage, the Badgers made zero attack errors.

Kentucky recorded just nine kills with a .056% hitting percentage, thanks largely to seven attack errors.

Wisconsin’s Colyer and Carter Booth both recorded seven kills in set one.

The Wildcats seemed to lack any answers for Wisconsin’s attack in the set, and couldn’t get their own going.

Set Two

Kentucky pulled out to a 3-1 in the second set, thanks to a kill and block assist from DeLeye.

This lead was extended to 6-3 after a 3-1 run by Kentucky.

Wisconsin mounted 6-2 run to take a 10-9 lead.

Wisconsin took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout after the set was tied at 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14.

a 3-0 Wildcat run allowed Kentucky to pull ahead 21-20, forcing Wisconsin to take its second timeout of the set.

Kentucky continued its run through the timeout, with another 3-0 run to force set point at 24-20.

Wisconsin stayed alive with a 2-0 run that shortened Kentucky’s lead to two points. Kentucky called its first timeout of the set as a result.

Hudson recorded her sixth kill of the set after the timeout, allowing Kentucky to win set two 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.

The Badgers attack cooled off in the second set, while Kentucky’s began to find its rhythm.

Wisconsin had 14 kills in set two with a hitting percentage of .229%. The Badgers had six attack errors after having none in the first set. The Badgers also recorded six service errors.

Kentucky had 13 kills with a .258% hitting percentage.

Hudson not only led UK in kills in the set, she also recorded two blocks and four digs.

Booth had five kills in the set, bringing her total to 12 kills at a .786% hitting percentage through two sets.

Set Three

Colyer recorded four straight kills as Wisconsin got out to a 4-2 lead in set two.

Another 4-2 run by the Badgers gave them a 8-5 lead, with Colyer accounting for five of those points.

An injury forced Wisconsin to call its first timeout of the set with an early lead.

Wisconsin mounted a 4-1 run after its timeout to pull ahead 12-7, this forced Kentucky’s first timeout of the set.

The Wildcats mounted a 4-1 run that shortened the Badgers lead to 15-13.

A 3-0 run by Kentucky allowed the Wildcats to pull within one, Wisconsin called its second timeout of the set with a 21-20 lead.

Wisconsin forced set point at 24-21, leading to the Wildcats second timeout of the set.

The Badgers won the first rally out of the timeout to win set three 25-21, taking a 2-1 match lead.

Colyer had 12 kills in set three, leading the Badgers oppressive attack. Wisconsin had 21 kills total and hit .386% in the set.

The Wildcats had their best attacking set of the match with 16 kills and a .326% hitting percentage, but they were unable to keep up with Wisconsin.

DeLeye and Hudson each had five kills in the set.

Kassie O’Brien assisted on 15 of the Cats 16 kills in the set, nearly doubling her match total.

Set Four

Kentucky got out to a 3-1 lead in set four, Wisconsin responded with a 4-1 run that put the Badgers ahead 6-4.

The Wildcats mounted a 3-0 run, taking a 7-6 lead with a service ace from Molly Tuozzo.

Wisconsin responded with a 3-0 run of its own to pull ahead 9-7.

Kentucky went into the media timeout on a 5-1 run, allowing the Cats to hold a 15-13 lead. Hudson was responsible for 3 of these points, with two kills and a service ace.

A 3-1 Wildcat run allowed Kentucky to extend its lead to 19-16.

Wisconsin took a timeout after Kentucky pulled ahead 20-17.

The Badgers pulled within one point twice but called another timeout when UK pulled ahead 23-21.

The Wildcats forced set point at 24-21, but the Badgers pulled back to within one and forced a Kentucky timeout.

Wisconsin evened the set at 24-24, but Kentucky scored on two consecutive rallies to win the set 26-24. This evened the match at 2-2, forcing a shortened fifth set.

Set Five

A service ace by Trinity Ward gave UK a 2-1 lead in set five, a solo block by Lizzie Carr brought the lead to 3-1. Hudson’s kill turned this into a 4-0 run that forced a Wisconsin timeout.

The Wildcats continued through the timeout, an error by Wisconsin and kill from DeLeye put UK ahead 6-1.

O’Brien recorded a kill then assisted Hudson to put Kentucky ahead 8-2 at the side switch.

Wisconsin came out of the side switch with a 4-1 run to shrink UK’s lead to 9-6.

DeLeye’s third kill of the set put Kentucky ahead 11-7, forcing Wisconsin to call a timeout.

Wisconsin mounted a 2-0 run out of the timeout, coming within two points.

A kill by Hudson forced match point at 14-11, but Wisconsin responded with a 2-0 run to cut the Wildcats lead to 14-13. This forced a timeout from Kentucky.

Kentucky came out of the timeout and forced a block error to win the match with a 15-13 victory in set five.

The Wildcats will take on No. 3 seed Texas A&M in the 2025 National Championship at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 5 p.m. ET.

It will be the first time in NCAA history that two SEC teams will face off in the National Championship. The Wildcats are the only team to win the National Championship as a member of the SEC.

The Wildcats went on the road to defeat Texas A&M in four sets on Oct. 8, 2025, en route to Kentucky’s undefeated SEC run and ninth consecutive SEC regular season title.

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Sports

Jackson, Reilly Take Home AVCA Positional Awards – University of Nebraska

Published

7 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Nebraska volleyball’s Andi Jackson and Bergen Reilly received top positional awards at the AVCA Awards Banquet at the Kansas City Convention Center on Friday.

Jackson was named the Middle Blocker of the Year, while Reilly was named the Setter of the Year. The AVCA positional awards are new this season.

Pitt junior Olivia Babock was named the AVCA Player of the Year for the second straight season, as well as Opposite of the Year. Wisconsin’s Mimi Colyer took home Outside Hitter of the Year, and Iowa State libero Rachel Van Gorp was Libero of the Year.

Reilly set the Huskers to a school-record .351 hitting percentage, as the Big Red concluded their season with a 33-1 overall record and 20-0 mark in Big Ten play en route to a third straight conference title. Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces.

Reilly was named a first-team AVCA All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year, AVCA Region Player of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team. NU’s .351 hitting percentage ranks first nationally and is the best hitting percentage by a Big Ten team since 2009 Penn State.

A junior from Sioux Falls, S.D., Reilly set Nebraska to a .400 or better hitting percentage nine times this season, a school record in the rally-scoring era. Reilly had double-doubles in all six of the Husker matches that went longer than three sets, and she had four double-doubles in sweeps.

A three-time AVCA All-American and one of four finalists for AVCA Player of the Year, Reilly ranks No. 3 in school history in career assists in the rally-scoring era with 3,723. Her career assists per set average of 10.70 ranks No. 4 among active Division I players and No. 2 in school history in the rally-scoring era.

Jackson was chosen to the AVCA All-America First Team for the second straight year, as well as the All-Big Ten First Team. She was also an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist and AVCA All-Region Team for the third straight year.

The junior middle blocker from Brighton, Colo., averaged 2.74 kills per set on .467 hitting with 1.12 blocks per set and 16 aces. Her .467 hitting percentage led the nation and was the No. 3 hitting percentage in school history for a single season.

In conference-only matches, Jackson hit .559 to break the Big Ten record for hitting percentage in conference-only matches in a season, which was .541 by Arielle Wilson from Penn State in 2008. Jackson ended her junior season with a career hitting percentage of .437, which is the No. 1 mark in school history and the No. 1 mark among active Division I players.

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Sports

YSU Collegiate Invitational Presented by Southwoods Health Meet Information

Published

8 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Your Sports Nation

2026 Youngstown State University Indoor Track & Field 14th Annual Collegiate Invitational Meet Presented by Southwoods Health will start at 1 pm | Friday, Jan. 16

Entry Registration Opens up on Direct Athletics :

Friday, December 19 at 5pm

Time Schedule of Events

Running Events start at 1pm

All Field Events start at 1pm

Running Events — Rolling Schedule Women first, Men to Follow

1pm Women 5000M

Men’s 60M Hurdles Qualifying Round

Women’s 60M Hurdles Qualifying Round

Women’s 60M Dash Qualifying Round

Men’s 60M Dash Qualifying Round

Men’s 5000M

Men’s 60M Hurdles PRELIMS

Women’s 60M Hurdles PRELIMS

Women’s 60M Dash PRELIMS

Men’s 60M Dash PRELIMS

Women’s Mile Run

Men’s Mile Run

Women’s 400M

Men’s 400M

Women’s 60M Hurdles FINALS

Men’s 60M Hurdles FINALS

Women’s 60M Dash FINALS

Men’s 60M Dash FINALS

Women’s 500M Dash FINALS

Men’s 500M Dash FINALS

Women’s 800m

Men’s 800m

Women’s 200M Dash

Men’s 200M Dash

Women’s 3000M Run

Men’s 3000M Run

Women’s 1600M Relay

Men’s 1600M Relay

Field Events Start at 12noon

Seeded Women’s Pole Vault

Seeded Men’s Pole Vault

Unseeded Women’s Pole Vault

Unseeded Men’s Pole Vault

Women’s High Jump–Men’s High Jump to follow

Women’s Weight Throw–Men’s Weight Throw to follow

Men’s Shot Put–Women’s Shot Put to follow

Men (West Pit) and Women (East Pit)

Long Jump–Triple Jump follow 20 minutes upon completion of Long Jump

**Finals in field events will consist of the top Nine marks from the qualifying rounds.**

Meet : Open NCAA sanctioned Indoor Track & Field Competition.

Timing: Fully automatic FinishLynx system

Location: The Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS) on the YSU campus. The WATTS features a full-length Shaw Sportexe Power Blade HP+ synthetic turf system football field, a 300-meter state-of-the-art mondo track surface, two long-jump pits, a high-jump pit, four batting cages, protective netting, training room and locker rooms.

GPS address: 651 Elm St. | Youngstown, OH 44555

Entries: Entries are due by Tuesday, January 13 by 7pm on Direct Athletics, consisting of event entries with best marks from the previous year or realistic projected marks. All entries will be done on-line at www.directathletics.com.

Please visit the Direct Athletics website at your earliest convenience in order to familiarize yourself with how the entry process works.

Also, please limit FIVE athletes per event. If you have an event with more than five quality athletes, please text Brian Gorby at (330) 519-7591 and we’ll help to get more entry’s added, if needed.

We always try to help accommodate additional team /individual additional Entry’s.

**Note: Please check YSUsports.com after the entry deadline for changes or adjustments to the meet time schedule!

Internet Entry Lists: Final entry lists will be posted on our website, YSUsports.com on Thursday, January 15. Please check to make sure your athletes are entered correctly. If there are mistakes or scratches, please email bdgorby@ysu.edu & ysutrackmeets@gmail.com .

Entry Fees: $ 500 per each team, men & women genders are separate, consisting of 10 or more individuals in unlimited events are paid online, when you complete Entry’s on Direct Athletics or $ 25 per individual event entry & paid online at Direct Athletics.

ENTRY FEES

$ 25 per ENTRY (i.e. 2 events entered would be $ 50 ) Entry fees must be paid in advance online when you enter on DirectAthletics (all major credit and debit cards accepted).

Relay only Entry’s $ 7 per runner for a total of $ 28 per relay team.

REFUND POLICY

Outside of meet cancellation, there is a strict NO REFUND policy on entry fees.

Absolutely no refunds will be processed due to scratches, change of plans, inability to travel, illness, injuries, etc.

Spikes: ONLY 1/4 inch or shorter pyramid spikes will be allowed and all spikes will be checked prior to events. NO pin or needle spikes, spike elements, or any other type of spike will be allowed.

High Jump: All high jump competitions will be conducted on the Mondo surface.

Sections/Heats/Flights: Flights will be seeded by distance with best marks in the latest sections/flights.

Finals in field events will consist of the top nine marks from the qualifying rounds.

There will be prelims and finals in the 60 and 60h. All other races will be run as sections against time with the fastest heats being run first.

Implement Weigh-In: 30 minutes prior to event at the Throws area.

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