STARKVILLE – They don’t call her Big Game Blaine for nothing.
 
With two outs, two strikes and the series opener against in-state rival Ole Miss on the line, Mississippi State softball catcher Jessie Blaine stepped to the plate to produce late-game heroics at Nusz Park on Thursday night.
 
The senior communications major did not miss as she blasted a two-run home run deep into center field to secure the 3-1 walk-off victory over the Rebels under the bright lights in Starkville.
 
With the Maroon and White faithful screaming and her teammates crowding home plate awaiting her arrival from around the basepaths, Blaine sent everyone home with a story for the ages.
 
“I’m just really excited for her, really proud of her too,” head coach Samantha Ricketts said. “I thought she handled it well, but she was disappointed when she didn’t come through with the bases loaded earlier. She’s such a mature hitter that she really didn’t take that previous at-bat into her last at-bat, and she was really able to stay locked in with her plan. It was what she was looking for and you could tell she was right on it.”
 
Before the game, State’s graduates who will be unable to attend the commencement ceremonies on campus due to postseason softball were honored in front of a packed house. It was poetic that the two-time NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete came up to the plate for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Leading up to her storybook swing, her teammates awaited anxiously in the dugout. At the crack of the bat, every player in the dugout rose to their feet.
 
“I had my head down and I’m praying, and I just hear everyone screaming. I look up and everyone’s going nuts, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, she hit it over,'” senior pitcher Raelin Chaffin said. “I was super happy for her because I don’t know what inning it was but she struck out, and I was thinking in my head, ‘She’s not due now, but she will be due later.’ I was happy to see her in that moment.”
 
With her number 22 painted on the field between first base and second base, Blaine’s homer on Thursday night meant more than just securing a victory against MSU’s conference rival.
 
She was embracing one of her final regular season games in Nusz Park in front of her friends, family and the Bulldog fans.
 
“I was just being in the moment and trusted that I had the ability to hit whatever she was going to throw at me,” Blaine said.
 
Everyone in the dugout knew it was only a matter of time before she made an impact at the plate. That belief stems from her leadership and never-quit attitude that energizes the entire program.
 
Blaine’s walk-off homer stamped a statement on the scoresheet and cemented a new nickname fit for the Pike Road, Alabama, native who continues to shine in big moments.
 
“This is Jessie’s time right now, and she came through. We don’t call her ‘Big Game Blaine’ for nothing,” teammate Kiarra Sells said.
 

President Donald Trump has asked his aides to begin researching the creation of an executive order to better control the name, image and likeness landscape in college sports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

His directive came after a meeting on Thursday with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where Trump was the school’s commencement speaker.

Since 2021, and under pressure from states and the courts, the NCAA has allowed student-athletes to profit from their name, image or likeness. It is too early to know what a Trump executive order would entail.

Saban has been critical of the NIL funding in the past, largely because he was concerned about the effect on college football. The NIL era also has brought a rise to the transfer portal era, with thousands of students across all sports seeking to move schools — some of them for bigger paydays.

“Each year, it’s gotten a little worse,” Saban said last December on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN. “The first year we had name, image and likeness four, five years ago, we had a $3 million [roster], and everybody was happy. Then the next year it was $7 million, then the next year it’s $10 million. Then this year it’s $13 million. Now they’re looking at $20 million. I mean, where does it end?”

A Houston Chronicle report earlier this week projected the Texas Longhorns would have a budget of $35 million to $40 million for its 2025 football roster.

Per The Wall Streeet Journal report, published Friday, Saban told the president that he wasn’t trying to put an end to NIL funding for players, but instead wanted to see the creation of a more level playing field between the schools with deep pockets and those that didn’t have as much money available.

Trump also has discussed NIL funding with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), the former head football coach at Auburn.

Saban has previously said the current model is unsustainable for college sports, and Trump apparently agreed.

The NCAA declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal on a potential executive order.

–Field Level Media

Last week, Arkansas athletics director Hunter Yurachek went public with the school’s plans to enforce buyouts in NIL deals when players enter the transfer portal. His statement came after the Razorbacks lost 2025 quarterback recruit Madden Iamaleava to the portal, and he eventually followed his brother Nico to UCLA.

The idea of NIL buyouts has since become an even bigger discussion around college sports, especially ahead of the House v. NCAA settlement decision. Tennessee athletics director Danny White said the school is still evaluating the changes in college sports, but pointed out the role contracts could play down the road.

White stressed the need to adapt to changes as the NIL space shifts. In addition, he noted the importance of “implications on contracts” that could become more prominent down the road.

“We’re continuing to evaluate everything,” White said, speaking with reporters on the Big Orange Caravan. “Everything’s changing so fast. We want to have integrity with which we talk to young people – whether that’s incoming recruits, our current student-athletes. At the end of the day, we are mission-driven about educating men and women, first and foremost. NIL and revenue-share is an important piece of the equation now. I’m proud of that.

“I’m happy that the kids are getting a piece of the pie now. And we’ll continue to evaluate how we can organize it better and have more controls over it. Contracts and implications on contracts may become more [of] a piece of that nationally as we move forward.”

On3’s Andy Staples detailed how NIL buyouts could impact the transfer portal process down the road, especially in light of Madden Iamaleava’s situation. Players now routinely have liquidated damages clauses in their deals with collectives as well, and those clauses will also be in deals with the schools through revenue sharing if the House settlement receives final approval.

Sources told On3’s Pete Nakos Iamaleava signed a one-year contract with the Razorbacks-focused NIL collective, Arkansas EDGE, after signing with the program on National Signing Day. After his departure, Yurachek said he supports the collective and sent a clear message about how the school will handle buyouts.

Iamaleava’s brother, of course, left Tennessee amid a high-profile NIL dispute. Nico Iamaleava was in active contract negotiations ahead of the spring game, On3 reported, and later entered the portal before the spring window closed. Iamaleava’s camp was looking for a deal upward of $4 million before the two sides parted ways.

In light of the situation, Vols coach Josh Heupel said the decision was made in the best interest of the program. Danny White agreed with that thought process and backed his coach during a previous Big Orange Caravan stop.

“I think you continue to try to make the right decisions for the right reasons, and that’s what we’ve tried to do for over four years now,” White said. “And our coaches have tried to do. In this instance, Josh, I think, had to make a hard decision, but it usually ends up working out for the best, and our fans really get it.”

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Chattanooga softball team is looking to hold on to first place this weekend in the regular season-finale at ETSU. The Mocs and Bucs will face off Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and conclude with a double header Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn.
 
CHATTANOOGA vs. EAST TENNESSEE STATE
The Mocs and Buc have met 49 times and 41 times in conference play. Chattanooga holds a 37-12 advantage and on a five game win streak. On the road, the Mocs are 16-6 against ETSU.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
UTC swept ETSU in three straight run rule games at Frost Stadium.
 
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Mocs at ETSU
Game 1 | Saturday, May 3
5:00 p.m.

Games 2 & 3 | Sunday, May 4
1:00 p.m. (DH)
The link for live stats is available online at GoMocs.com for all three games on the softball schedule page. The games will not be streamed.
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs, ranked 22nd by D1Softball, are 37-12 on the year and 13-4 in Southern Conference action, leading the league. As a team, they are batting .300 led by Olivia Lipari with a .364 batting average. She leads the team with 15 doubles, 32 walks and 37 RBI and is second on the team with seven home runs and has a pair of triples. Camryn Cernuto leads the Mocs in steals going 17-for-17. She has a .361 batting average and is tied with Zoe Wright for the team lead with four triples. She has 14 sacrifice hits and has drawn 18 walks. Acelynn Sellers and Presley Williamson lead UTC with eight home runs each. Williamson had 36 runs batted in while Sellers has driven in 34.
 
In the circle, the Mocs have a 2.50 team ERA. Peja Goold, eighth in the NCAA, leads the Mocs with a 1.44 ERA. She is ninth with 210 strikeouts and third in the NCAA with eight shutouts. She is fourth for wins with 22, seventh at UTC for a single season. Taylor Long is second in the SoCon with 145 strikeouts and ranks 35^th in the NCAA. She is 12-2 on the year and has four shutouts.
 
ABOUT EAST TENNESSEE STATE
The Bucs are 16-33 on the year and 5-13 in league play. Cameron Young leads the team with a .400 batting average and is third in the Southern Conference standings. Riley Nayadley is hitting .320 and has seven doubles. In the circle, Sara Muir leads ETSU with a 3.32 ERA and is 4-4. Eden Muncy has a team-best 39 strikeouts and Marissa Barnes with three complete games has a shutout.
 
FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA SOFTBALL
For the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga Softball, please follow @GoMocsSB on Twitter & Instagram and ChattanoogaSB on Facebook.
 
 

I am going to try to keep this as apolitical as possible which is admittedly very hard. But this is an important topic that is worthy of discussion – try to keep from commentary on this particular President so this can stay up. This is something that is likely to happen and will immediately impact OSU and everyone else in some shape or fashion. 

Trump gave the commencement at the University of Alabama. Saban bent his ear for a while on the problems with NIL as currently structured. Then Tuberville, current senator and former Auburn coach, did the same. Trump then announced that he is asking his staff to work on an Executive Order on NIL. Article behind a paywall here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6330290/2025/05/02/donald-trump-executi…

My thoughts on this, again staying away from Trump commentary as much as possible:

– We all know NIL and the portal as structured do not work right now. OSU is doing fine in this universe but it’s perpetual free agency without a salary cap. 

– Saban probably has the “good of college football” at heart, but I do not trust him to direct this at all. Alabama paid recruits for years under the table, and now they are up in arms that they have to compete. And Tuberville is a light-weight. 

– NIL should be regulated. But whining from people who made $10 million+ a year to coach, and who could move around at will, is why we wound up here in the first place. And the courts agreed.

– This has to get regulated centrally which is why there are bills in Congress. Individual states are passing their own bills so it doesn’t work to just not regulate it. In that context, an Executive Order makes some sense to organize this. 

– At the same time, just like you can create an EO with the stroke of a pen, you can undo one the same way. This doesn’t create certainty the way legislation does. There is a very strong likelihood it gets challenged in court (EOs are getting litigated by the dozens right now) and it is completely subject to every new election. Passing a law through Congress is hard – but it’s more clearly legal and stickier.

– At the same same time, what we have now isn’t certain either. Courts rule every few months on the portal and paying players. 

My honest hope is that the threat of an EO creates pressure on the schools, the conferences and Congress to come up with a more permanent structure that has rules, a salary cap of some sort (likely involving players as employees) and some limits on the portal (likely with a players union at the table). We all know this is where it is going – couldn’t we get there in 2 years instead of 12 years? But my concern is that this will just wind up with a bunch of unintended consequences because it isn’t being crafted by the current coaches and conferences, and it will wind up changing the rules for one season, then going down in flames in court with more uncertainty, etc. 

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee softball took care of business against UTEP on Friday, May 2, earning a 5-0 win.

The Blue Raiders (24-27, 11-14 CUSA) and the Miners (22-26, 10-15 CUSA) were locked in a pitcher’s duel through the first three innings, with the score knotted at zero heading into the bottom of the fourth. That’s when the Blue Raider offense came to life.

Julia Garcia led off the inning with a single, and Ava Tepe reached base on the 40th hit-by-pitch of her career. Addy Edgmon followed with a double off the right-center field wall, driving in both runners. Macie Harter kept the momentum going with a double of her own to left-center, making it 3-0. Jana Want then singled to bring home Harter and cap a four-run frame.

Middle Tennessee added an insurance run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly from Harter, bringing the final tally to 5-0.

The night belonged to freshman Leila Ammon, who delivered the first complete-game shutout of her collegiate career. She struck out six and allowed just three hits in a dominant performance.

“It feels amazing to get a win like this, especially for our seniors in their last weekend at home,” Ammon said. “I’m just really proud of how we came together as a team tonight.”

By the Numbers

• 2: When allowing two runs or less, the Blue Raiders improve to a 13-1 record.
• 14: Tonight marked the 14th multi hit game for Jana Want this season.
• 40: Ava Tepe recorded the 40th hit by pitch of her career tonight to extend her program record she set last weekend.
• 6: Leila Ammon has recorded six or more strikeouts five times this season.

Up next
The Blue Raiders will be back out tomorrow vs. the Miners with first pitch set for 4:00 pm and the Senior Day ceremony following the conclusion of the game. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at Stat Broadcast.

FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS     

Follow Middle Tennessee Softball on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Softball), Twitter (MT_Softball) and Instagram (@mt_softball).