College Sports

'Shady stuff going on'

(Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a multi-part series by MTN Sports on the current state of college athletics.) MISSOULA — Spring football workouts historically allowed players to earn their positions on the depth chart. Coaches could move players up — or down — the two-deep based on their efforts during spring practices. […]

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3 weeks ago

April 16, 2025

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(Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a multi-part series by MTN Sports on the current state of college athletics.)

MISSOULA — Spring football workouts historically allowed players to earn their positions on the depth chart.

Coaches could move players up — or down — the two-deep based on their efforts during spring practices.

Now?

Coaches don’t even know which players from the spring practices will be on the roster come August. A second NCAA transfer portal window opens Wednesday.

“Some guys might leave, and some guys might get told to leave,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said during a wide-ranging interview with MTN Sports. “That thing cuts both ways, too, now. If I don’t think you’re producing or going to produce, you’ve got to go in this day and age.”

There’s always been a cutthroat element to college athletics where winning almost always matters above all else, especially in the revenue-generating sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball. But, until now, it’s always worked on a consistent, predictable calendar.

A college football roster used to look mostly the same in March and April as it did in August, September, October and November, except for the high school recruits that joined the program over the summer. That’s no longer the case, as players have been given more autonomy to seek different opportunities and freely transfer between programs.

The Grizzlies saw starters like quarterback Logan Fife, receiver Sawyer Racanelli, linebacker Riley Wilson and cornerback Ronald Jackson, among others, enter the transfer portal during the first window in December.

The Montana State Bobcats were hit even harder by defecting players after they lost to North Dakota State in the FCS championship game in early January. At least 14 players entered the transfer portal, including All-Big Sky Conference performers Scottre Humphrey, Conner Moore, Rohan Jones and Andrew Powdrell.

Both teams will likely see more players enter the portal during this next window, which is open April 16-25, for a multitude of reasons. Some will leave for an improved chance at playing time or a better schematic fit. Others might leave for family reasons. Fewer will transfer for academic purposes.

But the chief motivator for many transfers is often financial. In the Big Sky Conference and the rest of the FCS, the best players might garner Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) earnings in the tens of thousands of dollars. At Power 4 programs, those figures can reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

“The majority of the people, those wearing the helmets, it’s whoever’s paying the most. I’m talking nationally now, OK? If people are paying them more, they’re going there,” Hauck said. “The idea nationally that most of these guys don’t know where they’re going before they put their name in the transfer portal is head-in-the-sand stuff.

“There’s shady stuff going on. People are recruiting people off other people’s rosters. You’ll see schools that are promising kids they’ve got X amount of money for them next fall, and they show up to play in August and they don’t have the money for them. And they’ve left their old school where they had a good gig.”

All this is to say that programs like Montana and Montana State are in a constant state of flux. They’re no longer operating on three- or four-year team-building plans. At some positions, they could be hitting the reset button twice a year — once after their regular season concludes in December or January and again in April or May.

“I think you still have to do everything you can to build each team in its own right, I guess, but then be able to build upon it so you do have this relative continuation of the foundation that’s been laid,” Montana State coach Brent Vigen said. “I do think still having a program built and then the teams that come out of it is still how we can operate, and maybe that’s easier said than done in this day and age.”

Montana State coach Brent Vigen walks on the field prior to the FCS national championship game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.

With the portal opening this week — and Montana wrapping up its spring practices last week and Montana State continuing until April 26 — coaches will be tasked with hitting the recruiting trail again, this time combing through another batch of transfers while simultaneously hosting or visiting high school recruits and putting on camps.

Transfer recruiting will last well into the summer, with smart FCS-level programs waiting to pounce if a prospect doesn’t land his desired NIL deal from a major college football program.

To add to the strain, a formal ruling in the NCAA’s $2.8 billion settlement with collegiate athletes has not yet been made. According to the Associated Press, the terms of the settlement could go into effect as early as July 1, which would allow schools to directly pay athletes and establish a protocol for revenue sharing.

“There’s a lot of change that’s behind us. There’s a lot of change that’s continuing in front of us,” Vigen said. “If you don’t embrace the change, if you don’t adapt to the change, then you probably should be doing something else, so it’s just the nature of where we’re at.”

“The horse is out of the barn on this one, man, and there is no getting it back,” Hauck said. “But it can be reined in to some semblance of sanity at some point, but that’s not on the horizon just yet.”

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UCLA

LOS ANGELES – Designated player Alexis Ramirez went 3-for-4 with six runs batted in and logged her first career two-homer game to help the No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team defeat Northwestern, 15-8, in a slugfest at Easton Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Bruins (47-8, 17-4 Big Ten) recorded 15 hits in a game for the […]

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30 minutes ago

May 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LOS ANGELES – Designated player Alexis Ramirez went 3-for-4 with six runs batted in and logged her first career two-homer game to help the No. 6-ranked UCLA softball team defeat Northwestern, 15-8, in a slugfest at Easton Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Bruins (47-8, 17-4 Big Ten) recorded 15 hits in a game for the fourth time this season on a misty and cloudy day in Los Angeles. Junior third baseman Jordan Woolery joined Ramirez with a three-hit performance (3-for-4) and scored three runs. In total, UCLA’s top three batters – Jessica Clements, Savannah Pola and Woolery – went a combined 7-for-11 with eight runs scored and four RBIs.

Sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Terry was tasked with leading UCLA in the circle after its 8-0 shutout loss from the previous day. Terry opened her outing by allowing the first two batters she faced to reach on a walk and infield single deep in the 5-6 hole. A wild pitch in the middle of the next at-bat to Kelsey Nader complicated the matter, putting two in scoring position with no outs. Terry escaped the threat by striking out each of the next two Wildcats (28-17-1, 15-6 Big Ten) and inducing a groundout to first baseman Megan Grant.

The Bruins set the tone on offense early with three runs in the first inning. Clements worked a full-count walk and a double by Pola into the left-center gap put two aboard for the heart of the lineup. Northwestern starting pitcher Emma Blea, who had thrown just 19.1 innings entering the contest, walked Woolery and Grant to bring home UCLA’s first run of the game. Kaniya Bragg rolled into a 6-4-3 double play; the Wildcats took the two easy outs in exchange for the Bruins’ second run. The next batter, Ramirez, smacked the first pitch she saw up the middle to score Woolery with two outs and extend the lead to 3-0.

Terry retired the side in order for a shutdown second inning, putting the bat in her own hands to lead off the bottom half. Terry – UCLA’s No. 9 hitter – got the green light on a 3-0 count and barreled a long single to the center field wall. Despite Clements lining into a double play, the Bruins were able to generate five runs with two outs. Two straight singles by Pola and Woolery and an intentional walk to Grant brought Bragg to the plate. On a 3-1 count, Bragg squared up a ball that bounced off the Northwestern second baseman’s ankles for an error to score a pair. Ramirez made the Wildcats pay for the blunder with a three-run homer to left field, again on a first-pitch delivery. Ramirez’ blast pushed UCLA’s lead to a commanding 8-0.

Terry battled through eight runs (seven earned), four homers and nine total hits to earn her 16th win of the season (16-4) in a complete-game effort.

At the plate, Terry went 2-for-4 and showed off her athleticism by scoring from first base on a two-run double by Clements in the bottom of the third. On the next pitch, Woolery dropped another long single into the left center gap to score Clements from second and balloon UCLA’s lead to 11-0.

The left-hander Terry went to work in the top of the fourth with 11 runs of support. However, four straight hits by the Wildcats – single, single, double, homer – scored four runs to put the threat of a run-rule away temporarily. Designated player Avery Garden hit the three-run shot to left to cap the scoring in the fourth inning.

After being held scoreless by Northwestern reliever Renae Cunningham in the bottom half, the Wildcats continued to cut into UCLA’s lead with four more runs off a string of back-to-back-to-back jacks by Kansas Robinson, Izzy Cunnea and Lauren Sciborski. What was once an 11-run lead for Terry was trimmed to just three, 11-8.

UCLA’s offense did not let up, answering Northwestern’s four-run spot with one of its own in the bottom of the fifth. Clements led off the inning with her second double of the game to match her career high. She later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Pola after advancing to third on a wild pitch. Woolery singled to left center for her third hit of the game and advanced into scoring position on a passed ball. Bragg came through by fisting a 3-1 delivery to opposite field (right) to score Woolery. Ramirez delivered the final blow with a home run to the deepest part of the ballpark for her second longball of the day to bring the score to its final tally, 15-8.

The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez elected to leave Terry in the ballgame to finish out the sixth and seventh innings. Terry retired the final six batters in order with relative ease, needing just eight and 15 pitches in each inning, respectively.

NEXT UP
UCLA closes the regular season versus Northwestern tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. (PT) at Easton Stadium. The Bruins will be honoring the eight members of their senior class – Kate Blunt, Jayla Castro, Jada Cecil, Jessica Clements, Seneca Curo, Lauren Hatch, Savannah Pola and Taylor Stephens – prior to first pitch as part of a Senior Day Ceremony.

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College Sports

Miami hockey releases 2025-26 season schedule

Miami University hockey announced its schedule for the 2025-26 season on April 28. Miami’s season begins on Oct. 3 and 4, when it takes on the Ferris State University Bulldogs at home in the first of three non-conference series. Max Dukovac, who played his first three collegiate seasons with the RedHawks, will return to Goggin […]

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31 minutes ago

May 4, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Miami University hockey announced its schedule for the 2025-26 season on April 28.

Miami’s season begins on Oct. 3 and 4, when it takes on the Ferris State University Bulldogs at home in the first of three non-conference series. Max Dukovac, who played his first three collegiate seasons with the RedHawks, will return to Goggin Ice Center for the first time as a Bulldog.

The second and third series will be on the road against familiar opponents from 2024-25: the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers and the Lindenwood University Lions.

The RedHawks begin conference play against the Arizona State University Sun Devils on Halloween weekend. Former Miami forward and the RedHawks’ leading scorer last season, John Waldron, will be returning to Oxford after transferring to Tempe early in the portal window this offseason.

Following the Arizona State series, Miami’s schedule moves to a bye week before the second weekend of November. Miami will head up to Kalamazoo to take on the defending national champion Western Michigan University Broncos before returning home to face the St. Cloud State University Huskies.

Miami then embarks on a journey overseas to participate in the Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The RedHawks will take on the Sacred Heart University Pioneers, the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers and the Union College Garnet Chargers in games on Nov. 28 and 29 competing for the Belpot Trophy.

There’s no rest for the RedHawks following their international journey, though. As the second-half of the regular season begins, Miami travels to the Denver University Pioneers on Dec. 5-6 before returning home to take on the Colorado College Tigers, whom Miami did not play at home in 2024-25.

The RedHawks hit their second bye week before playing in another mid-season tournament, this one taking place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Great Lakes Invitational is another four-team tournament that will involve Miami along with Ferris State, Michigan State University and Michigan Tech University.

The 2025-26 season will be Miami’s first time playing in the tournament.

To begin 2026, the RedHawks will take on Arizona State for the first time as visitors at Mullett Arena. Then, the University of Omaha-Nebraska Mavericks head to Oxford for the first of two series between the squads in 2026.

A third bye week for the Red and White makes way for five-straight weekends that alternate between home and away. Miami will play St. Cloud on the road and Western Michigan at home, the second series against both teams during the season.

The team’s first and only series against the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks will take place at Ralph Engelstad Arena on Feb. 13 and 14 before first-year netminder Ethan Dahlmeir returns to Oxford with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs the following weekend.

Miami closes out the regular season against Omaha on Feb. 27 and 28 before beginning NCHC tournament play on March 6, with the top four seeds in the conference hosting the best-of-three series, the semi-final and the final.

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu

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College Sports

GOSHEN CITY FC

GOSHEN — The bitter wind blowing from the northeast wasn’t the only stinging feeling felt at the Goshen College Soccer Complex on Saturday night. Despite Joao Laranjo’s thrilling game-tying goal at the 86th minute, Goshen City couldn’t capitalize on late momentum after forcing two 15-minute overtime periods. After 120 minutes of action on the pitch, […]

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2 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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GOSHEN — The bitter wind blowing from the northeast wasn’t the only stinging feeling felt at the Goshen College Soccer Complex on Saturday night.

Despite Joao Laranjo’s thrilling game-tying goal at the 86th minute, Goshen City couldn’t capitalize on late momentum after forcing two 15-minute overtime periods. After 120 minutes of action on the pitch, they also failed to stop any of the Michigan Rangers’ five penalty shots, dropping the club’s U.S. Amateur Cup first round matchup at home 1-1 (5-4).

College Sports

Four San Luis Sidewinders sign with colleges

Four San Luis Sidewinders sign their letters of intent to play college soccer and baseball. SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A proud day for San Luis High School, as four standout Sidewinder athletes officially signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level. After leading the Sidewinders […]

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May 4, 2025

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Four San Luis Sidewinders sign with colleges

Four San Luis Sidewinders sign their letters of intent to play college soccer and baseball.

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – A proud day for San Luis High School, as four standout Sidewinder athletes officially signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level.

After leading the Sidewinders on the soccer pitch, captains Luis Garcia and Armando Favela both signed with community college programs.

Garcia, a dynamic midfielder, signed with Mohave Community College. He wrapped up his senior season with 13 goals and 6 assists, earning 1st Team All-State honors and being named Region Player of the Year.

“It’s just like a dream,” Garcia said. “Not what we wanted at the end of the season, but personally being named player of the region and signing with Mohave, it couldn’t be better.”

Favela, a holding midfielder, committed to Mesa Community College. He was recognized as the Desert Southwest Region Defensive Player of the Year after a standout senior campaign.

“Its a wonderful moment,” Favela said. “These past four years have been a great journey. It’s an honor representing San Luis.”

On the girls’ side, Alizey Hernandez will take her talents to Nelson University in Phoenix after earning All-Region honors this season.

“Since I was small, I’ve been wanting to do this,” Hernandez said. “[Phoenix] is definitely a lot bigger than here and I’m ready for that change.”

Cesar Chavira, one of the most decorated baseball players in school history, will continue his career at Cochise College. The four-year varsity catcher has earned First Team All-Region recognition every season since his freshman year.

“It feels great and I’m ready to go and compete,” Chavira said. “I chose Cochise because of the coaching, the practice program and the school’s strong baseball history. It’s a great team and a great fit for me.”

Garcia is looking to study architecture. Favela will study economics and business. Hernandez is looking to study psychology. Chavira is planning to study sports medicine.

College Sports

Panthers open 2nd round of Stanley Cup Playoffs vs. Toronto Maple Leafs

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are heading to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they’ll face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The National Hockey League announced that the series will open on Monday, May 5, in Toronto, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The Panthers advanced after defeating […]

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8 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers are heading to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they’ll face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The National Hockey League announced that the series will open on Monday, May 5, in Toronto, with puck drop scheduled for 8 p.m. EST. The Panthers advanced after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, winning the series 4-1.

Panthers

Panthers ready for ‘good challenge’ from Maple Leafs

The Carolina Hurricanes are set to open their second-round series against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, May 6, in Washington. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets are still battling for a spot in the next round. Their decisive Game 7 in the first round is scheduled for Sunday, May 4, at 7 p.m. ET. The winner will move on to face the top-seeded team in their conference.

As of now, the National Hockey League has not released the complete second-round schedule, with several matchups still to be finalized.

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College Sports

Colorado College Wins Second Straight Women’s Lacrosse Tournament Title

Story Links **Colorado College Sports Information contributed to this recap EAU CLAIRE, Wis. –Colorado College won its second straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Lacrosse Tournament (presented by Culver’s) with a 21-9 victory over UW-Eau Claire at the Sonnentag Fieldhouse. The Tigers (18-3 overall) tied the program record for wins […]

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9 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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**Colorado College Sports Information contributed to this recap

EAU CLAIRE, Wis.

–Colorado College won its second straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Lacrosse Tournament (presented by Culver’s) with a 21-9 victory over UW-Eau Claire at the Sonnentag Fieldhouse.

The Tigers (18-3 overall) tied the program record for wins in a season and extended their WIAC winning streak to 19 straight games. Colorado College won 18 games for the first time in program history in 2019, finishing 18-2 with a program winning percentage of 90 percent.

Against UW-Eau Claire (11-7), sophomore Sofia Mancino scored a career-high five goals on only five shots on goal. Charlotte Iler and Peyton Murphy each scored four goals. It’s Iler’s sixth and Muphy’s third four-goal game this season.

Grace Bean racked up her fourth hat trick of the season and finished with an assist, a ground ball, and five shots on goal.

Eight Tigers scored in total, including Oliv Janerico, who finished with two, and Ella Roe, Meilani Molina, and Tobin Lonergan, who scored once.

Iler scored first 37 seconds after the initial draw control to give Colorado College an early lead. However, UW-Eau Claire responded two minutes later to tie it up at 1-1.

The Tigers countered with a five-goal run, including four unassisted goals, to go up 6-1 with 3:47 remaining. The Blugolds ended the run to cut the lead down to 6-2, but Janerico and Bean found the back of the net a minute apart to close out the first, and CC led 8-2 by the start of the second quarter.

UW-Eau Claire scored first out of the half; consequently, Iler scored consecutive goals, bumping the lead back up to 10-3 with 7:58 remaining.

Colorado College scored twice more to take a 12-4 lead into the halftime break. The Tigers outshot the Blugolds 28-13 in the first half.

The third quarter consisted of back-and-forth scoring. Colorado College outscored UW-Eau Claire 5-4 and kept the lead at 10 after goals from Iler, Murphy, Bean, Janerico, and Mancino.

Murphy earned her hat trick in the fourth quarter, scoring two more goals, as Colorado College added four more to cruise to the eventual 21-9 victory.