Sports

Big parlays, fake injuries and Telegram tips

Published

8 months ago

April 16, 2025

Big parlays, fake injuries and Telegram tips

Four men went to a New Jersey casino in March 2024, at the start of the men’s NCAA Tournament. While most of the attention in the sports world was on a pair of games in Dayton, Ohio, that would decide which teams would get the final spots in the round of 64, the men were focused on a forgettable NBA game, the Toronto Raptors hosting the Sacramento Kings. They were ready to make what they believed were the surest bets of their lives.

At about 6:30 that Wednesday evening, according to legal filings, one of those men, Mahmud Mollah, took cash in a blue bag and transferred it into his account with a casino, then made more than $100,000 in wagers on prop bets for Jontay Porter, a little-known center with the Raptors. Mollah’s bets all wagered that Porter would not reach the points, rebounds and assist thresholds the casino set for him in that game.

Putting that much money on a player few NBA fans even knew might seem risky, but Mollah and the other men were confident in the outcome: They had been talking directly with Porter for months. He had given them an assurance before the game that he would take himself out early and claim he was ill. This sequence of events, and other details of the scheme, are based on legal filings made by the Department of Justice in three cases over the last year.

According to law enforcement officials, it was not the first time Porter had faked a medical issue to get himself removed from a game and depress his stats, and they said he had been keeping the four men aware of his intentions in a Telegram chat. When Porter told the four men that he would come out early from a Jan. 26, 2024 game with an eye injury, Timothy McCormack bet $7,000 on a parlay that Porter wouldn’t hit his totals for points, rebounds, assists and 3s. He won $40,250. A relative of one of the other men won $85,000.

Two months later at the DraftKings Sportsbook in Atlantic City, according to court records, the men again bet heavily on the under on Porter’s props; Porter played just two minutes and 43 seconds and finished with zero points, zero assists and two rebounds.

That would be their last attempt to profit off of Porter’s play. The wagers, which would have netted Mollah and others more than $1 million in winnings, raised suspicions with DraftKings. It suspended his account and reported the wagers, prompting the trail of communication that ultimately put the bettors in the sights of the FBI.

Since last year, the FBI has been investigating what federal prosecutors say is a scheme to fix the play of professional athletes in order to win wagers on their performances. The investigations have so far led to charges for six people, and four of them have already pleaded guilty, including Mollah, McCormack and Porter, who pleaded to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. The others are believed to be in plea negotiations, based on legal filings made by the federal government.

But the investigation has led to what may become one of the most far-reaching scandals to hit sports in decades. The Athletic spoke with more than a dozen people in different corners of the NBA, college sports and betting worlds, including people briefed on the investigation and people with expertise on the wide-ranging intersections between casinos and sports teams. Many of the people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation or because they feared retribution or professional consequences for speaking publicly. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.

The Porter case is also linked to investigations into match-fixing across college sports, sources said, and five schools are being investigated by the federal government for their possible ties to the scheme. Alarms were raised when unnatural betting action moved the line on a Temple-UAB conference tournament game in March 2024; federal law enforcement is looking at whether the same group of bettors can be tied to unusual line movement on other college basketball teams this season as well.

The federal investigation has cast a cloud over college sports and the legalized gambling industry as they await the next turn and wonder how much more expansive the FBI’s findings will be, and who could be implicated. It is the largest conspiracy case yet since sports gambling was legalized for most of the country seven years ago, and the most prominent since the Arizona State point-shaving scandal of the mid-1990s.

Porter has already been banned from the NBA for not only manipulating his own stats during Raptors games, but also betting on the NBA and Raptors games via another person’s gambling account. Though Porter never played in a Raptors game he bet on, an NBA investigation found he did bet on the team to lose in a parlay bet. The NBA, like other pro sports leagues, does not allow players to bet on their own sport.

Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating the league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors (Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images).

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier reportedly is also under federal investigation after a game in March 2023, when he was still on the Charlotte Hornets, was flagged by an integrity monitoring company for potentially abnormal betting behavior. The NBA investigated Rozier and cleared him of any wrongdoing, a league spokesman said. The federal government continues to investigate.

“The NBA cleared Terry Rozier after a serious, professional investigation that included the FBI,” said Jim Trusty, Rozier’s attorney. “Our hope is that the prosecutors finish running down their leads, recognize there is no criminal case to be made against Terry, and that they have the professionalism to clear his name both privately and publicly.”

Gambling industry veterans claim that match-fixing of some sort has always been a part of sports, but it never has been as potentially identifiable as it is now because of the legalization and pervasiveness of sports gambling. It is now available in 38 states. (The Athletic has a partnership with BetMGM.) Sportsbooks, leagues, regulators and betting integrity monitors all closely watch wagers for hints of impropriety.

That has led to bans for players in two professional sports — the NBA and MLB — as well as suspensions in the NFL for a violation of the league’s gambling policy. A MLB umpire was fired after he shared a gambling account with a professional poker player and refused to cooperate with the league’s investigation.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the ability to monitor legalized betting has made it easier to keep tabs on potential illicit behavior in and around the game, much like how insider trading is monitored.

“We now have the ability, as opposed to the old days before there was widespread legalized sports betting, to be heavily into the analytics of every game, looking at any blip, anything that’s unusual,” Silver said. He added, “In terms of my faith in the future, human beings are fallible; I don’t want to suggest that we have a perfect system and there aren’t going to be any players that violate the rules. I certainly have absolutely no basis sitting here today to say there are multiple NBA players involved in anything inappropriate.”

When Porter was banned last May, it was a shocking moment across the sports world, as the first high-level ramification of its embrace of legalized sports gambling over the last decade. Now, the question is how far that scheme ultimately spread.

Although the full scope of the investigation is unknown, it has come at a crucial time. Legalized sports gambling, still only seven years old in the United States outside of a few states, is trying to legitimize itself. The sports world has never been closer to gambling, and now has a high-profile scandal that could rip into its credibility if more names come out and more games are known to have been involved.

Each unusual line movement is scrutinized closely. It may be a sign of potential illegal activity, or it may be what one sportsbook director called “seeing ghosts.”

That’s what had to be discerned when a Jan. 30, 2025 game between UNC Wilmington and North Carolina A&T triggered an alert from U.S. Integrity, which monitors betting lines for irregular activity. The morning of the game, NC A&T suspended three players for reasons that Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Joe D’Antonio said were unrelated to the gambling allegations. The line on that game began with UNC-Wilmington as an 11-point favorite before it surged to a 17.5-point spread. (UNC won by 24.)

“I don’t think there was anything behind that line movement,” the sportsbook director said. “It wasn’t that suspicious; everyone is on high alert.”

NC A&T has been linked to the NCAA’s gambling investigation, but D’Antonio said neither he nor the conference have been contacted by the FBI. The conference has heard from the NCAA, and is allowing the NCAA to run its investigation rather than doing one of its own.

“We live in a world right now where there is so much legalized gambling that is part of our makeup as a country you would hope that we wouldn’t be in scandalous situations,” D’Antonio said. “But the fact that gambling is legal, we have opened the door to these kinds of situations.”

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Games for several other schools have also raised alarms for integrity monitoring services and gotten the attention of NCAA investigators. At least seven schools in all are believed to have drawn attention from the NCAA, according to multiple sources briefed on the case, not all of which have yet become public. The NCAA also has examined links between the Porter case and game-fixing in college. One person questioned by the NCAA was asked if they knew about Porter and the other men arrested along with him, said a source briefed on the investigation.

The alleged scheme seems to have eyed small- and mid-major schools. In late February, the University of New Orleans suspended four players from its basketball team. Vince Granito, the school’s interim athletic director, did not confirm or deny allegations centered on the basketball program, but said that UNO had conducted its own investigation and submitted its results to the NCAA after it received a letter of inquiry.

“Until we hear back from them on their conclusion, there’s really nothing for us to say,” Granito said. “The ball is in their court.”

Porter’s case has been the most substantive view into how the manipulation of player performance may have worked. The former NBA player, and brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., had fallen into “significant” gambling debt to some of the men, prosecutors said, and decided to work his way out of it by helping them win bets on his play.

Sources say that poker games, potentially rigged ones, are believed to have been one way some players could have been ensnared.

Porter told his alleged co-conspirators that he would take himself out early of a Raptors game on Jan. 26, 2024 because of an eye injury, and that he would leave the March 20 game because of illness. In one message obtained by the federal government, Porter says before the Jan. 26 game, “Hit unders for the big numbers. I told [Co-Conspirator 2] no blocks, no steals. I’m going to play the first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out, tell them my eye is killing me again.”

One of the men, believed to be Long Phi Pham, then texted another alleged co-conspirator, Shane Hennen, “911” and also forwarded him Porter’s text message. He also sent Hennen a screenshot of his own betting slips on Porter, including one parlay where he bet $29,382 and would win $103,387. Hennen used that information to wager, according to legal filings, using others to place bets on his behalf.

Porter played 4 minutes and 24 seconds on Jan. 26 against the LA Clippers; it was enough to raise suspicion, as U.S. Integrity sent out an alert to sportsbooks the next day about his betting props. He then played fewer than three minutes against the Kings on March 20. According to prosecutors, he also texted his co-conspirators during halftime of a Jan. 22 game and to let them know he would not be on the floor to begin the second half after starting the game, “but if it’s garbage time, I will shoot a million shots.”

Porter seemed to be aware of what he was doing. He texted other defendants last April and said that they “might just get hit w a rico.” He also asked, according to legal filings by the prosecutors, if they had deleted incriminating information off their phones.

If they had, law enforcement still found plenty to work off. Prosecutors have cited messages they obtained off of phones and through their investigation. But the government has been very deliberate in what it has revealed in complaints against the six men who have so far been charged.

Pham was arrested last June at a New York City airport after he bought a one-way ticket to Australia. His lawyer told a federal judge Pham was going there for a poker tournament; a Department of Justice attorney disputed that claim and said Pham was attempting to flee. Pham, 39, has since pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy.

Hennen, who his lawyer describes as a sports bettor and poker player, was arrested at a Las Vegas airport in January after he bought a one-way ticket to Colombia for what he claimed was dental work. In a legal filing, a DOJ lawyer said the government intended to charge him with money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy, though it has yet to do so. Hennen is now in plea negotiations, according to legal filings, and he and federal prosecutors told a federal judge that they expect to avoid trial.

But Hennen’s case was the clearest indicator from the government of how expansive its case may be.

“The FBI has been investigating, among other things, a fraudulent scheme to “fix” the performance of certain professional athletes in specific games in order to make profitable bets on the athlete’s performance in that game,” an FBI agent stated in a complaint filed against Hennen in January.

Lawyers for Porter and Pham declined to comment. Todd Leventhal, a lawyer for Hennen, denied that Hennen was a part of any match-fixing.

“There’s manipulating the game and then there’s betting on a game on what you would consider bad info, good information, inside information,” Leventhal said. “He lost a lot of money betting… He in no way manipulated or was in with these players at all.”

The NCAA doesn’t necessarily need to wait on potential involvement by law enforcement to proceed with its own investigations. NCAA investigations into potential violations of gambling rules have been on the rise since the broad legalization of sports betting, but most cases are related to athletes and coaches placing bets despite rules restricting them from doing so, as opposed to what transpired in the Porter case.

It is a black mark for the NBA, too. One player has already been banned not only for betting on his own team, but also for fixing his own statline. And if the league, and fans, believed that kind of behavior would be limited to players at the end of the roster, like Porter, the investigation of Rozier created louder questions about legalized sports gambling’s possible impact on the game and its integrity. Rozier is in the midst of a $96 million contract and is in line to make more than $150 million in career earnings.

Meanwhile, those in the gambling industry and following the FBI’s investigation are wondering how much the investigation will find, and who else gets caught up.

The Athletic‘s Ralph Russo contributed to this story.

(Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Ethan Miller / Getty Images, John Hefti-Imagn Images)

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Florida volleyball’s Alexis Stucky enters transfer portal

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2 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Florida setter Alexis Stucky has entered the transfer portal, sources told On3.

Stucky was named to the 2025 All-SEC Second Team and enters the portal as a grad transfer.

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such asynchronous contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

Track transfer portal activity

While the NCAA Transfer Portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement. If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Rankings allow for you to filter the On3 Industry Rankings to find the best of the best in the portal, starting with Overall Top Players.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

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The Mind-Boggling History Behind Stanford’s Almost 50-Year Run of NCAA Titles

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16 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

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Katie Ledecky led the Cardinal to back-to-back women’s swimming championship during a decorated career. / Donald Miralle/Sports Illustrated

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Clarksville All Area TSSAA volleyball team for 2025

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17 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 9, 2025, 5:03 a.m. CT

After years of knocking at the door, Keira Garinger and Clarksville volleyball broke it down in 2025.

The Wildcats lost in the sectional round and fell one game short of the TSSAA volleyball state tournament every year from 2017-2024. But on Oct. 16, Clarksville beat longtime nemesis Houston in four sets to make it to Murfreesboro for the first time in program history.

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Minot State’s Deuce Benjamin named NSIC Player of the Week

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32 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

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MINOT, N.D. – Minot State junior guard Deuce Benjamin led the way in a pair of Beaver wins last week, a pair of performances that earned him NSIC North Division Player of the Week honors.

A transfer from New Mexico Junior College, Benjamin led the way with game-highs on Thursday of 28 points in the Beavers’ 85-78 home win over Jamestown, and Saturday with 24 points in a 91-79 win at Northern State.

Along with averaging 26 points per game in the pair of Minot State victories, Benjamin led the Beavers with 6 assists in the two contests, grabbed 5 rebounds, made 2 steals, and added a blocked shot. He also shot a blistering 17-of-28 from the field (60.7 percent), and knocked down 6-of-11 3-pointers in the two victories.

The honor is the first for Benjamin, who leads Minot State in scoring, averaging 20.7 points per game, and in assists with 29 through 9 contests.

The honor is also the first for the Minot State men’s basketball team, which will be back in action this Thursday and Saturday at home as the Beavers host Minnesota State Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston at the MSU Dome.

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Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Seton Hill volleyball coaching legend Rick Hall retires

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33 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

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Rick Hall used to play on beer-sponsored pro beach volleyball tours.

He might have time to hit the sand again.

After 41 seasons, Hall is retiring as women’s volleyball coach at Seton Hill.

The Griffins’ hall of famer finished with a record of 822-453.

“After 41 years, countless practices, bus rides, whistles, timeouts, and ‘one more rep’ speeches, I’ve decided it’s finally time to retire,” Hall said in a news release. “From playing volleyball matches in Sullivan, having only three total sports … to 22 sports and some of the best facilities around. I’ve had the privilege of coaching incredible athletes, surviving more five-set thrillers than any cardiologist would approve of, and somehow keeping my clipboard mostly intact through all of it.”

Hall was coach of the Griffins long before they joined the NCAA in 2006.

Early on, he won two Northeast Regional Coach of the Year awards, four district championships, two regional titles and made four national tournament appearances.

Hall led the team to 13 conference tournament trips and a PSAC title in 2018, when the Griffins made the NCAA Atlantic Regional final. They reached the NCAA Tournament four other times on his watch.

A Latrobe and Saint Vincent alum, Hall also coached briefly at Hempfield, has been a longtime college and high school official and has worked with young players in the Catholic Youth Organization in Greensburg for grades 4 through 8.

Football

Transfer portal: Punter Daishaun Alexander (Greensburg Salem) and tight end Braden Laux (Belle Vernon) entered the NCAA transfer portal with one year of football eligibility remaining.

Alexander, a junior who played at Shepherd, was named to the D2CCA All-Super Region One First Team and ranked as one of the top Division II punters in the country.

He had a 44.57-yard average on 44 kicks, 16 of which he placed inside the 20-yard line.

Laux, a freshman who was a standout quarterback and defensive end and won two WPIAL and PIAA titles at Belle Vernon, saw limited action at Eastern Michigan. He has four years of eligibility remaining.

Delaware: Grad student offensive lineman Fintan Brose (Hempfield) was named to the All-Conference USA first team. The NFL Draft prospect has played 10 games at left guard and two at center, starting all 12 for the bowl-bound Blue Hens (6-6), who are playing in Conference USA for the first time.

Brose, who began his college career as a defensive lineman, has played in 55 games, tying him for third in program history with, uniquely, his brother, Braden Brose, and Kedrick Whitehead.

Lehigh: Sophomore defensive back Luke Denny (Norwin) had a pair of tackles, but Lehigh (12-1) saw its perfect season come to an end with a 14-7 loss to Villanova in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

IUP: Redshirt sophomore receiver Devin Whitlock (Belle Vernon) was named to the D2CCA Super Region One First Team after a breakout season for the Crimson Hawks.

Whitlock led the PSAC and was third in NCAA Division II with 84 receptions for 927 yards and six touchdowns.

He transferred from Pitt, where was a preferred walk-on.

Men’s basketball

La Roche: Sophomore guard Cooper Rankin (Franklin Regional) had 10 points, his fourth double-digit scoring game of the season, as the Redhawks fell to Penn State Behrend, 75-71.

He had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in a 74-60 loss to Alfred State.

Pitt-Greensburg: Off to their best start in at least 20 years, the Bobcats moved to 8-0 with an 89-88 win at Pitt-Bradford. Senior 6-foot-5 forward Trent Rozich continued to play with momentum, putting up 28 points and 15 rebounds, including 14 of 19 free throws, and senior Jackson Byer had 16 points and eight rebounds.

UPG posted a 93-66 win over Penn State Altoona in the AMCC opener as Rozich had his best all-around game since joining UPG with 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Senior Michael Bigley added 15 points, sophomore Jahmir Collins 12 and senior Joziah Wyatt-Taylor and Byer had 11 each.

Rozich was named the AMCC Player of the Week.

Pitt-Johnstown: Junior guard Adam Bilinsky (Norwin) had a season-high 16 points in 35 minutes and added four steals as UPJ (5-3, 0-1 PSAC) fell to West Chester, 81-72.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore guard Terek Crosby (Yough) had a career-high 21 points, tying a game high as well, but the Bearcats fell to John Carroll, 104-79. Crosby made 8 of 15 shots, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed four rebounds.

The Bearcats (4-3, 1-0) won their PAC opener 84-80 over Waynesburg as junior Maxwell Gordon had a career-high 24 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Senior Jaden Gales added 19 points and six rebounds, and senior Dev Ostrowski had 11 points.

The Bearcats are on a seven-game road trip that will include the Cruzin Classic at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla.

SVC coach D.P. Harris coached at St. Thomas from 2019-21 before be returned to Latrobe.

Seton Hill: Senior Gabe Gillespie had 15 points, and junior Kedrick Curtis and redshirt sophomore Edir Ortiz matched double-doubles with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Griffins edged Shippensburg, 88-83.

Junior Dimitrios Sklavenitis (14) and freshman Rashaad Williams (11) also scored in double figures.

The Griffins (7-1, 1-0 PSAC) handed East Stroudsburg its first loss of the season, scoring the first 10 points of overtime for a 93-85 win. Ortiz had 23, and Sklavenitis and Curtis had 10 apiece.

The Griffins swept this week’s PSAC West awards. Curtis was named the athlete of the week, Oritz the defensive player of the week.

Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore Cam Rowell (Franklin Regional) scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds in an 86-71 victory over Chatham in a rematch of last year’s PAC championship game.

Last year’s PAC Newcomer of the Year, Rowell is averaging 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds and shooting 48% from the field.

Women’s basketball

Allegheny: Sophomore Ava Kobus (Norwin) had a season-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and added five rebounds in an 82-74 win over Geneva.

Freshman Regan Kerr (Greensburg Salem) grabbed 10 rebounds for Geneva.

Gannon: Sophomore Olivia Pepple (Penn-Trafford) had nine points, made 6 of 6 free throws and grabbed five rebounds in a 68-51 win over Shepherd.

Grove City: Junior forward Brooke McCoy (Hempfield) has played in seven games, with one start, for the Wolverines. She had 14 points, including 4 of 5 3-pointers, in 15 minutes against Pitt-Greensburg — an 86-49 win.

Penn State Behrend: Junior Lilly Palladino (Penn-Trafford) has started all seven games this season and is averaging 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.

Pitt-Greensburg: Sophomore guard Autumn Matthews (Yough) had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore forward Kaylee Charles added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists to power the Bobcats (1-6, 1-1) to their first win of the season 62-47 over Pitt-Bradford.

Robert Morris: Senior forward Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) made a successful return to the court on which she used to play, scoring 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds as the Colonials defeated Mercyhurst, 73-71.

Kuhns transferred from Mercyhurst in the offseason. The All-NEC first teamer led the Lakers in scoring last season with a 19.9-point average.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore Brooke Evans made all nine shots she attempted for a career-high 18 points as the Bearcats rallied for a 75-73 win over Waynesburg in the PAC.

Senior Camdon Bashor had 13 points and eight rebounds, making 6 of 10 shots, in the win.

The Bearcats (6-3, 2-0) shot 51% from the field as a team.

Seton Hill: Senior Helene Cowan had 21 points to lead four Griffins (5-2, 1-0 PSAC) in double figures in a 78-70 win against East Stroudsburg.

Senior Hallie Cowan added 19 points, and two Griffins had double-doubles. Junior Hailee Ford had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and junior Mia Kalich 11 points and a season-high 19 rebounds.

Hallie Cowan was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week.

Shippensburg: Freshman forward Lauren Marton (Penn-Trafford) had a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, but the Raiders fell to Chestnut Hill, 89-76.

Wrestling

Army: Senior Ethan Berginc (Jeannette/Hempfield) upset No. 3-ranked Zan Fuggit of Wisconsin with a sudden-victory takedown at 133 pounds in the teams’ dual match.

Saint Vincent: Anthony Orlandini (149 pounds) and Chase Brandebura (174) won titles at the Messiah Petrofes Invitational in Grantham.

Orlandini went 5-0 with a pin, major decision and technical fall, and Brandebura was 4-0 and also had a pin and technical fall.

Brandebura was named the PAC Wrestler of the Week.

Women’s swimming

Grove City: Freshman Chaeli Keenan (Derry) won both board event as the Wolverines fell to Franciscan, 138-79.

She took the 1-meter dive with a score of 233.85 and won the 3-meter with a 251.60 total.

Men’s swimming

Westminster: Grad student Gino Piraino (Franklin Regional) won the 1-meter dive with a score of 359.10 points at the Wooster Invitational.

Men’s soccer

Grove City: Junior defender Colton Hudson (Franklin Regional) was named an NCAA Division III Third Team All-American and to the All-Region VII First Team.

The durable defender helped the Wolverines win the PAC and reach the NCAA Tournament. He anchored a defense that allowed just 12 goals in 20 games (10 shutouts), making 19 starts at center back.

Seton Hill: Junior forward James Aubrey and senior midfielder Julian Marker were named to the D2CCA All-Atlantic Region Second Team.

Aubrey led the Griffins with 11 goals, and Marker had four goals and five assists.

Women’s soccer

Pitt-Greensburg: Sophomore defender and midfielder Dionna “Tiger” Santia was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Fourth Team. She had a goal and 10 assists for the Bobcats, making 17 starts.

Saint Vincent: Junior Emma Koller was named to the NCAA Division III All-Region VII Second Team, whereas teammate and sophomore Rilyn Warner made the fourth team.

Koller, a forward, scored a team-high 13 goals and had four assists. Warner, the Bearcats’ goalkeeper, had an 87.2 save percentage and posted 11 shutouts, going 13-4-1.

Women’s volleyball

Seton Hill: Junior middle blocker Catie Flohr was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region First Team.

Flohr has earned all-region honors for three straight years. She led the Griffins with 314 kills and hit .290 while also posting 95 blocks and 85 digs.

Women’s track & field

Duquesne: Freshman Melani Schmidt (Norwin) posted a time of 7.79 in the 60-meter dash in her collegiate debut. The mark is fifth on the Dukes’ all-time list.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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Minky Couture Week 19 high school star athletes of the week – Deseret News

Published

39 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Boys Basketball

Luka Cecez, Cottonwood (Jr.)

One of the catalysts behind Cottonwood’s perfect 6-0 start to the season has been junior big man Luka Cecez.

Through six games this season, Cecez is leading the Colts in scoring (15.8) and blocked shots (5.2) and is second in rebounding (7.0).

Cecez helped lead Cottonwood to wins in Cache Valley last weekend over Logan, Sky View and Mountain Crest. He recorded a double-double in the Sky View win and then equaled a career high with 28 points in the win over Logan.

“Luka is a player that we can depend on every day to come ready to play. He is a skilled big man that can score inside and outside. As good as he is on offense, his defense is what has been a key to our success, as he leads the state in block shots,” said Cottonwood coach Marc Miller.

Cecez finished second on the team a year ago in scoring at 11.8 points per game and was voted a 4A all-state honorable mention.

Girls Basketball

Hayden Warren, Lehi (Jr.)

With a successful 3-0 weekend in Southern Utah, Lehi is the undefeated team in 6A and junior point guard Hayden Warren has been one of the catalysts to that hot start.

Even though Warren is only averaging 3.6 points per game, she’s averaging seven assists per game with just 11 combined turnovers in seven games. That outstanding assist-to-turnover ratio has been a big part of Lehi’s offensive success.

“This has made our team so much better as all our players have benefited greatly from her willingness and ability to distribute the basketball,” said Lehi coach Sean Seastrand.

“Beyond this, her defense has been exceptional as well. Her presence on both sides of the ball has helped our team settle into new roles and get out to a great start. I’m very proud of her unselfishness and team first mentality, and it’s trickled down to all our players’ approach to the game.”

Warren recorded a season-high nine assists in last Saturday’s 75-30 win over Crimson Cliffs.

Boys Wrestling

Tanner Telford, Corner Canyon (Jr.)

A year ago in the 120-pound final of the 6A state tournament, Layton’s Lander Bosh beat Corner Canyon’s Tanner Telford in a fantastic final, 7-6.

Fast forward to their much-anticipated rematch in last weekend’s 132-pound final of the Layton Invitational, and Telford got some revenge.

Telford beat Bosh 8-1 to win the 132-pound title and improve to 9-0 on the season.

“Tanner’s win in the finals on Saturday at the Layton Invitational should give him confidence to continue to trust his training,” said Corner Canyon coach Jeff Eure.

Telford finished last season with a 42-7 record.

Girls Wrestling

Avery Winterton, Salem Hills (Sr.)

Avery Winterton is off to a great start in her quest to repeat as state champion.

After winning the 5A individual state title at 145 pounds a year ago, Winterton has jumped out to an 8-0 start so far this season.

Last weekend Winterton went 3-0 at the Skyhawk invitational, winning all three matches with a first period fall. The championship match only last 26 seconds.

“Avery is an amazingly talented wrestler and she is always trying to improve and work on her match. She is a leader on and off the mat,” said Salem Hills coach TJ Brindley.

A year ago Winterton finished the season with a 45-4 record in a dominant junior season.

Boys Swimming

Thomas Chamberlain, Viewmont (Jr.)

Thomas Chamberlain is off to a great start as he looks to build off the momentum from a strong sophomore season.

A month into the season, Chamberlain owns top six times in the entire state in six different events.

His best performance so far came in the 200 individual medley before Thanksgiving as he posted a time of 1:55.04, the fastest time in Utah this year.

His time of 51.75 in the butterfly ranks second and his time of 1:46.91 in the 200 free ranks sixth.

“Thomas Chamberlain has emerged as one of our top performers this season, steadily dropping time in his individual events and leading the way on multiple relays,” said Viewmont coach Stephanie Breinholt.

“His consistency, strong work ethic, competitive spirit, leadership skills, academic achievement and drive are hard to match especially in someone who possesses such extraordinary humility.”

Girls Swimming

Ella Fuller, Snow Canyon (Fr.)

In her first month on Snow Canyon’s swim team, freshman Ella Fuller is making a huge impact in and out of the pool for the Warriors.

She set a new school record by six seconds in the 500 freestyle by posting a time 5:12.95 at the Greg Fernley Invite, which just happens to be the second-best 500 free time in the entire state early this season.

She also owns the best time in Utah in the 200 freestyle as she posted a 1:57.35 at the same Greg Fernley meet last month. The time is just two-tenths of a second off the school record.

“Ella is a freshman this year and has been a phenomenal addition to our team. Her hard work and contagious personality make her a key component to our girls team culture,” said Snow Canyon coach Max Barnett.

“She’s got a lot of great energy. Her strong start to the season is a testament to the work she has put in with her club coach, Mike Werner, whose training has played a key role before she joined SC Swim.”

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