Jun. 6—JAMESTOWN — One Blue Jay was recognized as one of the best in the state of North Dakota.

Avery Graves, a junior for the Jamestown High School softball team, was named to the 2025 Class A Softball All-State Team on Friday.

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Graves, the starting first baseman, posted a batting average of .449 and a slugging percentage of .692 this season. The senior produced 48 hits — 32 singles, 11 doubles and five home runs. The junior recorded 48 RBIs.

2025 Class A Softball All-State Team

Avery Graves, Jamestown

Halle Baker, Minot

Madison Aadland, West Fargo Sheyenne

Jocelyn Berg, Grand Forks Red River

Riley Ingemansen, Legacy

Rylee Irgens, Williston

Mya Jones, Bismarck High

Katelyn Kackman, West Fargo

Olivia Kalbus, Fargo North

Aubrey King, Fargo North

Mackenna Medina, Dickinson

Jada Purdy, Fargo North

Sophia Rerick, Fargo Davies

Cadey Shipman, Minot North

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Gabi Sobolik, Dickinson

Brooklyn Soderberg, Grand Forks Red River

Presley Tveter, West Fargo Sheyenne

Kaebry Weekes, Mandan

Ali Wilcox, Williston

NDHSCA POWERade Outstanding Senior Athlete — Aubrey King, Fargo North

NDHSCA SUBWAY Coach of the Year — Jesse Stundal, Williston

College sports’ power conferences — Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 — have hired a high-profile investigator in professional sports to lead their new governing body that will oversee revenue sharing and NIL contracts.

MLB executive Bryan Seeley has been hired after a months-long search for a CEO to lead the new College Sports Commission, a spokesperson for the power conferences told CBS Sports on Friday. Seeley emerged as the leader in May as the four commissioners, alongside a group of athletic directors, began finalizing plans for implementation of the long-awaited House v. NCAA settlement, which was approved on Friday.

All four power conference commisioners released a joint statement commending Seeley’s hiring.

“Bryan brings unwavering integrity and a wealth of relevant experience to his new role leading the College Sports Commission and working to ensure a smooth implementation of this new system,” the statement read. “We’re grateful to have an individual with his credentials and expertise at the helm, and we look forward to his leadership as we transition into this new era of college sports.”

Seeley has spent the last decade working for MLB, where he is currently the executive vice president of legal and operations. He was hired in September 2014 to lead MLB’s investigation department after a career as a federal prosecutor and an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice’s public corruption section.

“Bryan is an exceptional choice to lead the College Sports Commission,” Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “During his time at MLB, Bryan demonstrated unparalleled integrity, a commitment to fairness, and the ability to navigate complex challenges with precision and care. I have no doubt he will bring the same level of excellence to the College Sports Commission. College sports will greatly benefit from Bryan’s expertise and vision.”

House v. NCAA settlement fundamentally alters college athletics, but don’t expect it to bring stability

Chris Hummer

He had an extensive career as an investigator for MLB, where he led baseball’s investigation into sign stealing, which led to penalties for the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. He recently penned a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission lobbying for more integrity for exchange-based platforms. 

Seeley will report directly to the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC’s commissioners in his new role. Seeley worked alongside Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti when Petitti led the MLB Network in the late 2010s. Petitti was crucial in the targeting of Seeley as the CSC’s new CEO, sources told CBS Sports.

On Friday, Judge Claudia Wilken finally approved the $2.8 billion settlement after weeks of waiting from plaintiffs and the defendants in the landmark antitrust case. The CSC will be overseen by the power conferences and mostly operate outside the NCAA’s rules-enforcement umbrella.

The CSC will police and enforce NIL and revenue-sharing rules tied to the terms of the House settlement. In essence, the CSC is set to become a smaller, more agile version of the NCAA’s enforcement arm. The CEO will have final say on settlement-related items and enforcement of fair market value NIL deals of greater than $600, according to sources. 

Scrutinized NIL deals would be subject to arbitration, and if the third party sides with the CSC’s findings, players and universities would face penalties — the severity of which is not yet entirely known. The new CEO is expected to have considerable latitude to penalize as they see fit, according to those familiar with the situation, and won’t be boxed into a strict penalty structure that must be followed. 

An athlete who accepts a deal flagged by a Deloitte-administered clearinghouse called “NIL Go” as “pay for play” and does not meet a fair market value range would be ruled ineligible. The clearinghouse will give a range — say $75,000-$85,0000 — on what a deal should be worth based on market data and will flag a deal that fits the criteria but is for more than that amount. While the NCAA’s investigations typically take months to years, the CSC is expected to conduct and close investigations in a considerably more timely manner. The hope is that the process will be more transparent, too, and give schools more opportunity to have a say in it. 

Meanwhile, the membership agreement for the CSC has prompted questions about its legality in a system that has been under attack in the court system for years, from the O’Bannon case to Alston to House, which was filed in 2020 and helped lead to the implementation of NIL regulations from the NCAA in 2021. Those regulations, however, have proven toothless in the face of legal challenges and legislation in more than 30 states. The question that arises now anytime new rules are introduced: Is this legally enforceable?

The thinking among college leaders is the CSC will have some legal protection because of the House settlement. Current players who opt into the settlement are bound to the terms, which include the formation of the CSC as an enforcement entity. That entity, as explained in the settlement terms, is required to install a binding arbitration process, which players are required to follow as members of the settlement. Essentially, the athletes cannot sue over a deal flagged as not meeting fair market value. 

“Unless the new state laws specifically create a new legal claim that gives them right to sue, which I don’t think they do, the players’ legal claims would still be wiped out by the settlement,” said Sam Ehrlich, a sports law professor at Boise State. “And even if the rules do allow players to sue, there’s a strong argument that the settlement also blocks similar claims under state law since it’s a similar field of law.”

The long-awaited House v. NCAA settlement is finally a reality, paving the way for universities to pay their athletes directly starting on July 1.

There is a lot to consider in what could be the most consequential day in college sports history. How are schools going to actually pay their athletes? Who will be policing this new revenue share world? Will much-needed stability actually come from a House settlement some have hyped as a magic bullet?

Within it all, there are some clear winners and losers who will have their realities dramatically changed in this new post-House world. 

Winner: Athletes in the ‘revenue’ sports

It won’t be exclusively football and men’s basketball athletes who will benefit from the House settlement, but they are certainly the biggest benefactors. Those two sports have propped up athletic departments for years, generating the bulk of the revenue and seeing none of the profits. Now schools will have to pay their top athletes considerable money on top of the NIL money they can make elsewhere that’s already been a major boon for many of them. 

It is stunning how far things have come in just the last decade, from fights over what are now relatively paltry cost-of-attendance stipends to a world in which football and basketball players can and do make millions. 

Loser: Renegade boosters

The early years of NIL featured unique characters like Miami booster John Ruiz who weren’t shy about being willing to spend big money to see their favorite teams win. The money has exploded in recent years from the reported $20 million Ohio State team that won the national championship last season to the $40 million roster era as Indiana’s Curt Cignetti told CBS Sports this spring. In theory, those days are over. 

Yes, there is considerable industry skepticism about how a clearinghouse called NIL Go will actually hold up to legal scrutiny and stop boosters from using NIL solely as “pay to play,” but if it does work, as the NCAA and Power Four conferences desperately hope it does, the days of spending $3 million on a defensive end for NIL will be over and eliminate an advantage schools with especially well-heeled boosters have exploited the last four years. 

One additional note here: Schools that can tap into local businesses willing to spend real NIL money will be at a big advantage if NIL is strictly policed for “fair market value” as the clearinghouse intends. If your school campus happens to be located in a lucrative metro area, even better. 

Winner: The future of collective bargaining

Now that the concept of paying athletes directly is a reality, look for attention to turn to collective bargaining/employment/unionization as the next big topic college sports has to grapple with. There are organizations including Athletes.org that have anticipated this moment and are ready to help push for collective bargaining to help solve many of the new issues that come with the House settlement’s approval. 

College athletes becoming employees is the nightmare for many college administrators but you’re seeing a warming to the idea of collective bargaining, including recently from University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman and AD Danny White. A looming case, Johnson v. NCAA, may well rule that athletes should be considered employees. In the meantime, look for more and more ADs and other college sports executives to come around to the idea collective bargaining might be the best hope to enforce rules and solve tricky issues such as the current twice-annual free agency (transfer portal) that has deeply frustrated coaches like Georgia’s Kirby Smart. 

Loser: Amateurism

The “student-athlete” moniker has long been a fraud and part of the NCAA’s original sin, but its death becomes official now that universities are able to pay their athletes directly beginning July 1. This has been a long, long time coming and the result of major lawsuits — O’Bannon, Alston and House, to name three — and state laws building to this big moment. Not all fans may like it, but the days of top athletes only receiving room and board are over. 

Winner: The Big Ten and SEC

The two richest conferences that will get more money from the College Football Playoff and their TV rights deals than their fellow Power Four brethren (ACC and Big 12) are set up well for this new revenue share world. That’s not exactly a new development — those conferences were doing pretty well in the old system, too — but it should cement their reign over college athletics. And if we see future realignment, or consolidation, more likely it will be because of a deep desire to be in one of these two conferences to help pay for the ballooning expenses that come with revenue sharing. 

Winner: Big East basketball

Much of the House settlement focus will be on football but the Big East has set itself up well to benefit in college basketball. We’ve already seen Big East schools work an advantage headed into the 2025-26 season, committing more revenue share money for men’s basketball than many of their peers because they don’t have to worry about spending tens of millions on football. 

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In theory, at least, Big East schools could spend the entire $20.5 million salary cap on just basketball. Or, more realistically, spend $8-10 million when schools in the Big Ten and SEC are largely in the $2.5-$4 million range. There has been talk about some conferences trying to instill sport-specific spending caps, but there is real skepticism that would fly sport-wide. Assuming it doesn’t, the Big East, along as its schools can come up with the cash without the big football-driven TV rights deals, could have a significant money advantage in revenue share spending. 

Loser: Group of Five schools

For years now there have been comments about the chasm between the haves and have-nots growing larger, but that is only amplified with this settlement. It will be increasingly difficult for Group of Five schools — and even some smaller Power Four schools — to keep up with the bigger schools if they can’t fully fund the $20.5 million cap, which will only go up in the years to come. You’ll see schools partially fund in certain areas, including football and basketball, but it might be in the $2-3 million range for football when SEC and Big Ten schools will annually spend $13-16 million. There may still be some David vs. Goliath upsets in football like we saw last year (say, NIU over Notre Dame), and if the College Football Playoff format remains the same one, Group of Five school will still make the playoff, but it’ll be more challenging than ever for those schools to compete at the highest levels. 

Loser: Non-revenue sports 

Similar to the Group of Five concerns, the Olympic sports at many universities face a tough path moving forward. When athletic departments now have to share the revenue, it gets harder to pay for sports that lose money, which is everything that’s not football or basketball outside of a few exceptions at different schools. What does this look like in practicality? The doomsday option is eliminating sports altogether which some schools are already doing with sports like tennis that neither bring in revenue nor television exposure. 

The less aggressive yet still impactful measures could include reducing scholarships, refusing to give coaches raises and even cutting back on the free meals available to every athlete. Athletic directors are looking for places to cut expenses everywhere and the non-revenue sports will be a popular place to look. 

Winner: Billable hours

As the saying goes, billable hours are undefeated. That’s certainly true with the House settlement. The class action counsel, led by Jeffrey Kessler and Steve Berman, are expected to receive a whopping $484 million for their work in bringing the class-action lawsuit to completion. Considerable money has been spent by the NCAA and House defendants on attorneys, too. And, of course, there will likely be more lawsuits to come — especially from a Title IX angle — once the schools begin officially paying athletes. There’s never been a better time to be a lawyer with an interest in college sports. 

Light the Tower! As soon as the Texas Longhorns softball team secured its first NCAA National Championship with a 10-4 win over Texas Tech in Game 3 of the Women’s College World Series, the celebrations started in Oklahoma City’s Devon Park, on the University of Texas Campus and all over social media.

From Matthew McConaughey to Longhorns softball legend Cat Osterman to former Texas football great Eric Metcalf all posted congratulations to the first Texas team to win the WCWS title in eight tries. Even Major League Baseball and the Houston Astros sent out congratulations.

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On the field, the players and staff celebrated with trophies and confetti. Texas ace pitcher Teagan Kavan was named the WCWS outstanding player. Kavan didn’t give up a single earned run in the tournament.

Even Texas Tech super fan Patrick Mahomes tipped his hat on Twitter.

Longhorns fans that didn’t make the trip to OKC will get to celebrate with the team Saturday evening at Red & Charline McCombs Field at 6 p.m. CT. The gates open at 5 p.m. CT and admission is free.

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @LonghornsWire.

This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas softball national title sets off celebration, social media frenzy

Talk about your Friday night news dump. Late Friday evening, the college sports world changed forever, and unfortunately, there were plenty of impacts on the Nebraksa football program and the Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic department in particular that had huge negative connotations.

Judge Claudia Wilken signed off on the House vs NCAA settlement, putting a swatch of new rules on major college sports. Most of those will have some positive effects. Still, it’s important to note that an awful lot of the ruling benefits the NCAA and administrators as they once again limit athletes, especially the methods and amounts they can be paid.

For Nebraska football, especially, the House vs NCAA settlement means that the walk-on program is over as we’ve known it for decades. While the Huskers will still have walk-ons, Matt Rhule and company won’t be able to take as many as they want. Let’s dive deep into every bit of what this massive change means, especially since it’s happening faster than most might have expected.

Roster limits will change how Nebraska football above others does business

There are now roster limits for every sport. The one that’s been reported the most is the 105-man roster for football, but men’s and women’s basketball now have a 15-person cap, baseball is capped at 34, men’s and women’s soccer allows for 28 players, softball is set to 25, and volleyball has 18 players.

The key here, for Nebraska football, for example, is that the athletic department can offer 105 scholarships. Or it can offer 85 scholarships and then have 20 walk-ons. It’s expected that’s how most programs will work. 

The same approach will likely apply to the other sports. Husker baseball can offer 34 scholarships over the current, much smaller limit. Still, it almost certainly won’t go that high, mainly because every university also has new costs, both in paying its share of the $2.7 billion House Settlement and with the arrival of the new revenue sharing era.

There is one important caveat here. Judge Wilken forced the NCAA to insert “grandfather clause language into the agreement. That language was meant to protect any player who joined the programs this year and then had to leave or was kicked off because of the roster limits.

Essentially, anyone who wants to stay at Nebraska or elsewhere will be able to do so and not affect the 105-man roster until the natural end of their college career. It will be interesting to see if any guys who left this spring decide to come back. It seems unlikely, but not impossible.

It also means that, for now, the Cornhuskers and others don’t need to get down to 105. Considering NU is currently sitting at an official roster of 129, that’s good news for the guys currently on the team. This massive change won’t take effect in totality for a couple more seasons, though that also complicates things, as coaches and newly minted general managers will need to keep track of where they’ll sit when a player leaves and how many guys they can take in each season.

How will revenue sharing work at Nebraska and other programs?

Revenue sharing will be carried out similarly to how salary caps work in professional leagues. Every year, revenue numbers from the power conferences will be plugged into a formula, and then a rev share cap will be spit out the other end.

For the 2025-2026 season, the cap is expected to be around $20.5 million per school. That’s the entirety of the pool for all sports. It will then be up to people like Troy Dannen to decide how to split that pie up among football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc.

It’s thought that most major programs, like Nebraska football, will receive between $13 and $16 million, and the other sports will share the rest.

How this gets split is incredibly important because while NIL will still exist, it’s about to undergo a major shift in how it works. The Wild West, at least for now, is gone.

NIL Go changes the pay-for-play landscape

Schools paying players through NIL money directly is officially over. A new clearinghouse called NIL Go will officially be born next week (they announced the man who will oversee it just an hour after the settlement became law in former MLB exec Bryan Seeley). It will have sole authority over what NIL deals can be made when it goes into effect.

Chief among the new rules is that pay-for-play is gone. When a new NIL deal is signed, it must be between the athletes and a third party (not anyone affiliated with the schools). 

The agreement must also involve deals that involve services rendered. And the payment must be a “reasonable amount” for an endorsement—no more $1 million paydays for an Instagram post.

NIL Go must approve any NIL deal that pays more than $600. There will be a process where the deal will either be approved, denied, or need more review. If the agreement is rejected, athletes can try to make a new one or appeal for arbitration.

This process is laid out to make it very hard for Nebraska athletes and others to get any deal they want and work around the rules. Expect lawsuits aplenty once players start getting their NIL deals denied.

Important dates for Nebraska fans to know

So, when does all this go into effect? We’re used to thinking we have at least a few months to get a feel for massive new changes to how college athletics work. That’s not the case here. This all begins next week.

• June 11: NIL Go opens its doors and becomes the law of the land.
• June 15: Schools not directly involved in the settlement (Group of 5 FBS schools) must officially opt in to the deal and essentially remain part of FBS.
• July 1: Revenue sharing payments from the school to the athletes begin.
• July 6: Schools using the grandfather clause to exceed the roster limits must officially designate which players qualify.
• Start of school year: All teams must be down to their roster limits (outside of grandfathered players) by “the start of competition.” This means August 28 for Nebraska football.
• December 1: Winter sports (basketball, volleyball) must also reach their roster limits by the start of competition or December 1, whichever comes first.

The House vs NCAA settlement is a significant shift for college sports. If you thought NIL and the transfer portal were a new era, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That Nebraska football, the rest of the Cornhuskers sports, and the rest of the sporting world have to adapt and change most of this stuff in a matter of weeks is only going to make it more complex.