JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – North Florida volleyball and head coach Kristen Wright unveiled the 2025 schedule on Thursday. 
 
“We can’t wait to see our fans back in UNF Arena,” Wright said. “We have some exciting home matches with an elevated and electric match day experience. Our crowd propels us to new heights every time we pack the arena. I’m certain that our fans are going to love all the new faces and will see what this dominant veteran-led program can accomplish this fall.”
 
The Ospreys will compete in 29 matches – 13 in non-conference and 16 in ASUN Conference action. North Florida will play 14 matches at home and 15 on the road this season. 
 

For the first time in program history, North Florida will compete against UIC, Harvard, Howard, Prairie View A&M, UTSA and UT Arlington. North Florida returns to the court after it continued its program-record streak to five-straight winning seasons in ASUN Conference action in 2024. 
 
North Florida will play four matches against teams that competed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament – FGCU, Florida, Florida State and UT Arlington. 
 
Fans can get their initial look at the team when North Florida hosts its Navy vs. Grey intersquad scrimmage and an exhibition against Olymp Praha Club on Aug. 23. Both matches will be held at UNF Arena and admission is free. 
 
North Florida opens its season when it hosts the North Florida Sunshine Tournament presented by Holiday Inn Express and Suites on Aug. 29-31. North Florida faces Georgia Southern on Aug. 29, Florida State on Aug. 30 and UIC on Aug. 31. 
 
North Florida remains in state and heads south to battle FAU on Sept. 2. North Florida returns home to host its second in-season tournament with the UNF Invitational presented by Sheraton Jacksonville 5-7. North Florida welcomes Presbyterian on Sept. 5, Harvard on Sept. 6 and Howard on Sept. 7. 
 

North Florida competes in the Furman Invite on Sept. 11-13, where it will play Winthrop on Sept. 11, host Furman on Sept. 12 and Alabama State on Sept. 13. North Florida travels to the Roadrunner Classic where it will face Prairie View A&M and host UTSA in a doubleheader on Sept. 19 before it battles UT Arlington on Sept. 20.
 
The Ospreys open conference action with three-straight away matches at West Georgia on Sept. 26, Queens on Sept. 28 and at crosstown rival Jacksonville for the first of two River City Rumble matches on Oct. 2 before its conference home opener against Central Arkansas on Oct. 4.
 
After its conference home opener, North Florida travels for consecutive away matches at Lipscomb on Oct. 10 and Austin Peay on Oct. 11.
 
North Florida alternates between a pair of home and road matches next when it hosts Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 17 and Bellarmine on Oct. 18 before it heads south to FGCU on Oct. 24 and Stetson on Oct. 26. 
 
The Ospreys close out conference action with five of their final six matches at home.
 
North Florida hosts Jacksonville on Oct. 30 before an away match at North Alabama on Nov. 2. North Florida concludes its regular season with four consecutive home matches over an eight-day stretch. North Florida hosts Queens on Nov. 7, West Georgia on Nov. 8, Stetson on Nov. 14 and FGCU on Nov. 15.
 
The 2025 ASUN Volleyball Championship will take place at FGCU’s Alico Arena on Nov. 20-23. North Florida travels to face Florida in a postseason prep match on Nov. 29. 
 
Season tickets are on sale now for $60 through the link above or through contacting the North Florida Athletics Ticket Office staff at 904-620-BIRD (2473) or ospreytickets@unf.edu. Fans can secure a fall-sports package that includes volleyball, men’s soccer and women’s season tickets for $100. Those who aim to secure a premium hospitality experience can reserve their spot through contacting the North Florida Athletics Development staff.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A total of 1,700 student-athletes were named to the 2025 Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll, announced Thursday by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. The Honor Roll includes the sports of baseball, beach volleyball, golf, softball, tennis, and track and field. It is based on grades from the 2024 Summer, Fall and 2025 Spring terms.

South Carolina had 108 student-athletes make the list, the department’s sixth year in a row with a total reaching triple figures.

Any student-athlete who participates in a Southeastern Conference championship sport or a student-athlete who participates in a sport listed on his/her institution’s NCAA Sports Sponsorship Form is eligible for nomination to the Academic Honor Roll. The following criteria will be followed: (1) An undergraduate student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution. A graduate student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) of graduate school enrollment or have a cumulative graduate school grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution. Undergraduate grade point average may not be included in the graduate point average calculation for a graduate student. (2) If a student-athlete attends summer school, his/her grade point average during the summer academic term must be included in the calculation used to determine eligibility for the Academic Honor Roll. (3) Student-athletes eligible for the Honor Roll include those receiving an athletics scholarship, recipients of an athletics award (i.e., letter winner), and non-scholarship student-athletes who have been on a varsity team for two seasons. (4) An undergraduate student-athlete must have successfully completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of non-remedial academic credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the nominating institution. A graduate student-athlete must have successfully completed 18 semester or 27 quarter hours of academic credit toward a graduate degree at the nominating institution. (5) The student-athlete must have been a member of a varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.

South Carolina’s honorees are as follows:

Baseball (14)

• Ryan Bakes – Retailing
• Mathew Becker – Public Health
• Jordan Carrion – Services Management
• Eddie Copper – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Dylan Eskew – Non-degree Seeking
• Blake Jackson – Master’s of Sport and Entertainment Management
• Elijah Jerzembeck – Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Kennedy Jones – Services Management
• Roman Kimball – Visual Communications
• Parker Marlatt – Retailing
• Ethan Petry – Sports Media
• Tyler Pitzer – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Evan Stone – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Will Tippett – Retailing

Beach Volleyball (9)

• Hanna Bissler – Advertising
• Morgan Downs – Advertising
• Abigail Lagemann – Exercise Science
• Sadie Nelson – Marketing
• Kristen Schenck – Finance
• VB Trost – Marketing
• Kennedy Westendorff – Biological Sciences
• Peyton Yamagata – Exercise Science
• Evie Ziffer – Retailing

Men’s Golf (5)

• Zach Adams – Service Management
• Bo Carpenter – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Ismael Encinas – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Nathan Franks – Finance
• Walker Jennings – Finance

Women’s Golf (7)

• Camila Burnet – Sports Media
• Sophia Burnet – Data and Communication
• Hannah Darling – Psychology
• Vairana Heck – Business Economics
• Maylis Lamoure – Psychology
• Mia Lussand – Finance
• Louise Rydqvist – Double Major: Finance & Marketing

Softball (6)

• Brooke Blankenship – Sociology
• Jori Heard – Sport & Entertainment Management
• Natalie Heath – Retailing
• Carlie Henderson – Sport & Entertainment Management
• Emma Sellers – Retailing
• Karley Shelton – Sport & Entertainment Management

Men’s Tennis (9)

• Gabriel Avram – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Lucas da Silva – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Sean Daryabeigi – Sociology
• Cole Henceroth – Risk Management and Insurance
• Casey Hoole – Psychology
• Atakan Karahan – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Jelani Sarr – Retailing
• Max Stenzer – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Connor Thomson – Master’s of Sport and Entertainment Management

Women’s Tennis (4)

• Sarah Hamner – Marketing
• Anna Kantor – Psychology
• Olympe Lancelot – Marketing
• Misa Malkin – Sport and Entertainment Management

Men’s Track and Field (24)

• Rogerio Amaral – Exercise Science
• Andrew Bond – Information Science
• James Clark – Retailing
• Blake Cook – Political Science
• Brandon Dennis – Mechanical Engineering
• Jasauna Dennis – Sports Media
• Aaron Eison – Criminal Justice
• Channing Ferguson – Public Health
• Grant Goldsmith – Exercise Science
• Aidan Haton – Finance
• Prescot Jefferson – Criminal Justice
• Jaouad Khchina – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Samuel Kolowith – Mechanical Engineering
• Joshua Kosgei – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Carlos Lanzagorta-Ruiz – Finance
• Christopher Licata – Master of Business Administration
• Bryson Miller – Cyber Policy and Ethics
• Theophilus Mudzengerere – Sports Media
• Josue Salazar-Richardson – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Parker Samuelson – Biomedical Engineering
• Sean Sanders – Biology
• Luke Schuller – Management
• Dylan Targgart – Master of Business Administration
• David Warmington – Information Science

Women’s Track and Field (30)

• Anya Arroyo – Neuroscience
• Anna Boyd – Management
• Sylvia Chelangat – Public Health
• Teresa Cherotich – Hospitality Management
• Madison Childress – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Sarah DiVasta – Finance
• Brooke Donoghue – Finance
• Macey Dowe – Physical Education
• Caitlyn Gemmill – Biology
• Cynteria James – Exercise Science
• Hattie Jennings – Visual Communications
• Sofia Kurzawa – Mass Communications
• Maria Lombardi – Public Health
• Ella Lucas – Sport and Entertainment Management
• Julia McBride – Mechanical Engineering
• Sarah Nalimo – Public Health
• Molly Parker – Public Health
• Aubrey Pierontoni – Public Health
• Lena Richardson – Biology
• Cheyla Scot – Sports media
• Hailey Sharkey – Marketing
• Cailyn Sharneck – Management
• Emma Stone – Finance
• Maleah Tidwell – Information Technology
• Hannah Togami – Visual Communications
• Emma Torbert – Biology
• Emily Valentine – Marketing
• Lilian Weeks – Elementary Education
• Allyson Wilson – Nursing
• Ella Zeigler – Management

The Digital Sports Summit 2025, sponsored by TATA Comms Media, took place in London on 25 June. The event’s focus was the strategies, tools, techniques and technology required to successfully create and distribute social, mobile and streamed sports content. You can view a picture gallery from the day below.

George Lopez, Tata Communications, Head of Global Operations, provides opening remarks

Lewis Wiltshire, SVP and Managing Director of Digital at IMG, discusses the demise of the notion of the ‘second screen.’

Kahlen Macaulay, Head of International Sports Partnerships at Snapchat reveals details about Snap Specs, the new augmented reality connected glasses

Snapchat is increasingly relevant for sports rights holders, producers, federations and more, according to Kahlen Macaulay, Head of International Sports Partnerships at Snapchat

Richard Craig-McFeely and the panel showcase what great short-form sports content looks like, and examine best practices for social media.

Speakers from the International Tennis Federation and Reuters Imagen share the story of how they digitised and centralised the federation’s vast content library.

From a conversation in the pub to acquiring UK rights to Pro D2 League rugby, Tim Cocker chats with SVG Europe’s George Bevir about all things Eggchasers Rugby

‘Watching the watchalongs: Creating new and different viewing experiences for fans’ features a lively debate between the speakers from Buzz16, After Party Studios, Dizplai and Badger & Combes.

Little Dot Sport Partnerships Director David Scriven provides expert insight into how to launch, manage and run a YouTube sports channel

The realities of the much-predicted but utopian ‘content hub’ are discussed in depth by the contributors from Sky Sports, LucidLink and Matrox.

Rachael Burford, head of women’s rugby at the Rugby Players Association, and HBS/Skroller general manager Jamie Aitchison talk athlete-generated content

Rachael Burford asks the broadcast industry to support the RPA’s initiative to help current and former female rugby players pursue new career paths beyond the game.

SVG Europe’s Heather McLean thanks the event sponsors and provides salient closing remarks

Delegates enjoy post-conference networking

Networking is always an important part of any SVG Europe event

Alabama freshman quarterback Keelon Russell landed on the cover of Men’s Health magazine before his first game at the collegiate level. Men’s Health shared the three cover athletes for its upcoming “The Future of Sports” issue on Thursday, June 26, and Russell was one.

AJ Dybantsa (basketball) and Ethan Holliday (baseball) were the other two.

“Keelon Russell’s strong arm, fast feet, and tactical mindset had every major college recruiting him to play for them,” Men’s Health said on Instagram. “He mixes the old-school drive with modern quarterback attributes, a blend of skills that strikes fear into opponents before the ball is even snapped. In the end he committed to Alabama, to play for head coach Kalen DeBoer, a renowned quarterback whisperer, and he could be college football’s next great signal-caller.

“First up, he’s on our cover and among 25 Gen Z athletes in our MH25, a group that’ll define sports as we know it over the next decade.”

Russell enrolled at Alabama in early January and continues to compete for the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback job, which was left vacant after Jalen Milroe entered the NFL draft.

Russell threw for over 3,000 yards and nearly 50 touchdowns as a senior at Duncanville High School after committing to play for DeBoer and Alabama. He rose to the No. 2 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, and his reputation followed him to Tuscaloosa, where he made several “wow” plays in spring practice.

Russell’s first-ever college game will be held on Saturday, August 30, at Florida State.

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GREENWOOD, Ind. – Jan Málek, Nkosi Jeju, and Madison Hannah of the UNC Asheville Track and Field team have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team. The announcement was made on Tuesday (June 24). 

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes had to obtain a top-50 regional track and field performance or top-25 regional cross country finish and maintain at least a 3.5 GPA in the classroom. 

Jan Málek – Malek represented Asheville on the Big South Outdoor Track & Field All-Academic Team and ran for gold at the Big South Conference Championships, as he won the men’s 3,000m steeplechase. At the Raleigh Relays, Malek finished the steeplechase in a school record time of 8:58.03. His time put him at No. 17 in the Southeast region. 

Nkosi Jeju – In his first year at Asheville, Jeju made an immediate impact by breaking the indoor school record in the long jump with a distance of 7.34m. In outdoor season, Jeju set the school record for the long jump at 7.35m. He earned silver for his long jump performance at the outdoor championships and helped the 4×100 relay team to silver as well. Jeju’s indoor long jump distance put him at No. 8 in the Southeast region and his outdoor long jump performance put him at No. 22 in the region. His 4×100 relay team is No. 10 in the southeast, and he is No. 49 in the triple jump. 

Madison Hannah – Hannah represented Asheville on the Big South Outdoor Track & Field All-Academic Team and set five PRs between indoor and outdoor seasons. Her best performance of the year was at the Catamount Classic, where she threw a PR of 44m in the discus to put her at No. 35 in the Southeast Region. Hannah is currently No. 3 in the program’s top performance list in the discus and No. 4 in the hammer (42.37m). 

Tournament Brings 665 Youth Volleyball Teams to Los Angeles Convention Center

The SoCal Cup, the leading series of national boys volleyball events, brought its massive ‘The Showcase’ tournament to the Los Angeles Convention Center this past Father’s Day weekend, resulting in the largest SoCal Cup event so far this year.

Owned and operated by AIM Sports Group, the three-day event drew 665 boys club volleyball teams across various age groups (12U through 18U) from all over the U.S. and beyond, driven to compete for what has become the ultimate bragging right in the sport. The SoCal Cup hosts three annual national events: this past week’s SoCal Cup Showcase, the SoCal Cup Winter Formal event in December and the SoCal Cup Open Championship in January. SoCal Cup also operates regional league tournaments throughout the year.

The Showcase event, which filled the Los Angeles Convention Center, drew a crowd of about 65,000 across the three-day event, made up of a multi-generational audience of athletes, families and spectators. With attendee well-being top of mind, AIM took extra security and safety precautions in collaboration with LAPD and the L.A. Convention Center to make sure the event was safe and seamless and that local and visiting clubs and their supporters were comfortable.

“Our SoCal Cup events continue to expand year over year, nurturing the exponential growth of boys volleyball as a sport,” said AIM Sports Group Founder John Gallegos. “We anticipate continued interest with the Olympic Games coming to L.A. in less than three years. Our mix of providing the highest-level competition, innovative technology and a genuinely entertaining experience for fans is a recipe designed to elevate youth sports for generations to come.”

Gallegos shared that AIM Sports Group is doubling down on supporting boys volleyball (and beyond) by investing in tech innovations focused on enhancing the day-to-day experience for athletes, athlete families, coaches and clubs.

“We launched a preview of our AIM+ tech platform at The Showcase to test engagement and gather real-time feedback, and the response exceeded our expectations,” said Gallegos. “This was a crucial step in validating our product-market fit. As AIM+ evolves, we see it becoming more than a product. It’s a tech-forward media and content platform designed to shape the future of youth sports.”

Gallegos noted that the AIM+ platform will be officially released and made available this fall.

“The level of competition displayed at this year’s Showcase was at an all-time high,” added AIM Sports Group Executive Director of Volleyball Ali’i Keohohou. “Having 665 club teams from across the country all playing under one roof, competing at the highest level, is a spectacle to behold. We continue to host the best teams in the country – competing in front of audiences that include many, if not all, Division 1 men’s college programs.”

Information sourced from AIM Sports. Learn more by contacting pwilliams@roxunited.com.