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It was fitting Connor Koski clinched El Camino Real’s championship with a block on match point in Saturday night’s City Section Open Division boys volleyball final at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.

“I timed my jump and I thought it was going out but I guess it hit [an opposing player’s] foot on the way down,” said an exuberant Koski, who moved from middle blocker to opposite hitter before the playoffs. “I asked [coach Alyssa Lee] to switch me and it worked.”

El Camino Real’s triumph culminated in a 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21 victory over top-seeded Venice, but the title was four years in the making. Eleven of the Royals’ 12 players are seniors.

“We’re all friends, we all trust each other, and it’s a dream come true to win a championship in one of our last matches together,” said Tyler Lee, who paced the squad with 14 kills. “We’ve lost our share of five setters, so we wanted to end this thing in four.”

Connor Koski hammers a kill over Venice’s Sam Engelen in the City Section Open Division boys’ volleyball final at Birmingham High on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Koski, El Camino Real’s lone junior, had eight kills, including one to end the second set. Dev Vunnam and Christian Romero also each had eight kills, Jackson Riepe had seven and Nicolas Gerola served four aces, the first of which gave El Camino Real the first set.

The third-seeded Royals (27-13) got hot at the right time and avenged a pair of West Valley League losses to Chatsworth by ending the Chancellors’ bid for a third straight Open title with a shocking 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 semifinal upset Tuesday.

“I’ve known this group since their freshman year and I’ve push them hard in practice to prepare them for those situations,” said Lee, who understands the intensity of every match in the West Valley League, having played libero for Granada Hills before graduating in 2009. “The physical talent is there but the mental training is so important. You have to stay focused and can’t let up.”

Lee coached the boys to the Division I title in 2016 (the Open Division debuted in 2018) and guided the girls to the Open championship in 2023. She also has coached the girls to two beach volleyball crowns.

El Camino Real’s (left to right) Christian Romero, Connor Koski and Jackson Riepe celebrate a match point during the City Section Open Division championship match against Venice on May 17, 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“The first two times we played Chatsworth I just let the boys play but I game-planned a lot for the semifinals,” Lee said. “We needed a big guy on the right like Connor to block and get some kills.”

Trailing by four points early in the third set and in danger of being swept, the Gondoliers (36-6) used an 8-0 run to surge into the lead and finished it on Nathan Hoggatt’s emphatic kill. Noah Smith had 10 kills for Venice, last year’s Division I champion.

Something had to give as Venice entered on an 11-match winning streak dating back to April 21 (dropping only one set in the process) while El Camino Real had won five consecutive matches and 15 straight sets since April 9.

In Saturday’s Division II final, hitter Izac Garcia helped Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences take home its first City title after a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-15 triumph over Mendez, which was seeking its first crown since back-to-back Division III championships in 2021-22.

Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences players celebrate after defeating Mendez to win the City Section Division I boys’ volleyball championship Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Hamilton, last year’s Division V champion, moved up to Division IV and beat Port of LA for the championship. In Division V, Wilson downed Harbor Teacher for its first-ever title.

On the same floor Friday, top-seeded Taft captured its seventh section crown, sixth in Division I and first since 2015 with its 25-10, 25-20, 25-17 sweep of No. 2 Carson. Arman Mercado, who took over the girls’ program in 2000 and the boys two years later, coached the girls to their first Open Division title in the fall and has guided the Toreadors to 22 finals appearances.

East Valley swept Maywood CES for the Division III title — the Falcons’ first in boys volleyball.

Also on Friday, Mira Costa outlasted Huntington Beach in five sets in a South Bay showdown for the Southern Section Division 1 championship at Cerritos College. The top-seeded Mustangs prevailed, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11, behind 25 kills from Grayson Bradford — the last from the right side to end the match.

Mateo Fuerbringer added 17 kills for Mira Costa, which fell in three sets to Loyola in the finals last spring. Logan Hutnick led the charge for the second-seeded Oilers, who staved off four championship points in a wild fourth set. It was the Mustangs’ ninth section title and first since 2021.

Mater Dei rallied to beat Peninsula 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-19 in Division 2.

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 14 Ole Miss women’s golf team shot a 303 (+15) Saturday during the second round of the NCAA Championships and sits in 25th place after 36 holes at Omni La Costa’s North Course.
 
The Rebels are 28-over (604) through the first two rounds of play in Carlsbad, California.
 
Following Sunday’s third round, the field will be cut to the top 15 teams and the top nine individuals of non-advancing teams for Monday. Monday’s fourth round of stroke play will take place, at which point the 2025 individual national champion will be crowned. Following the fourth round, the field will be cut to the top eight teams who will move on to match play beginning Tuesday morning, which will be seeded in order of finish in stroke play.
 
Kajsalotta Svarvar once again led the way for the Rebels, shooting a second round 1-over (73) and is tied for 24th place at 1-over (145) through two rounds. The freshman from Halmstad, Sweden, made par on the first five holes before making birdie at the par-5, No. 6. After a bogey on No. 9, Svarvar rebounded with a birdie right after the turn at No. 10. Svarvar stumbled on halfway through the back nine with a bogey and double bogey, but finished her round with a birdie at No. 18. All three of Svarvar’s birdie during round two came on par-5s.
 
Sophie Linder and Nicole Gal both shot 5-over (77) on Saturday during second round of action for the Rebels. Linder is 6-over (150) for the tournament and is in 80th place. Linder was superb thru the first nine holes on Saturday, sitting at 2-under at the turn. Linder would go on to make bogey on seven of her final eight holes to finish the day with a 77. Gal is currently in 129th place at 11-over (155).
 
Caitlyn Macnab was another counting score for the Rebels with a second round 76 (+4). Macnab is tied for 137th 156 (+12) headed into Sunday’s third round.
 
Rounding out the Rebel lineup in California was Filippa Sundquist. Sundquist ended her day with an 83 (+11) to sit tied for 148th overall.
 
The Rebels’ third round from Carlsbad is set to tee off beginning at 3:07 p.m. CT Sunday morning on hole 10.
 
For all Ole Miss women’s golf latest news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf, on Instagram at OleMissWGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women’s Golf. General athletic news can also be found at @OleMissSports on Twitter, Ole Miss Sports on Facebook, and OleMissAthletics on Instagram.
 
THE REBELS
T24. Kajsalotta Svarvar: 72-73—145 (+1)
T80. Sophie Linder: 73-77—150 (+6)
T129. Nicole Gal: 78-77—155 (+11)
T137. Caitlyn Macnab: 80-76—156 (+12)
T148. Filippa Sundquist: 78-83—161 (+17)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. #1 Stanford: 293-278—571 (-5)
2. #11 Northwestern: 291-285—576 (E)
3. #5 Oregon: 288-289—577 (+1)
T4. #9 USC: 292-287—579 (+3)
T4. #4 Florida State: 295-284—579 (+3)
6. #18 Mississippi State: 294-286—580 (+4)
T7. #6 Texas: 288-293—581 (+5)
T7. #25 Oklahoma State: 284-297—581 (+5)
9. #8 Arizona State: 288-294—582 (+6)
10. #3 South Carolina: 297-286—583 (+7)
T11. #10 Virginia: 294-293—587 (+11)
T11. #2 Arkansas: 297-290—587 (+11)
T13. #24 Vanderbilt: 282-306—588 (+12)
T13. #31 Tennessee: 291-297—588 (+12)
T15. #22 Florida: 288-301—589 (+13)
T15. #28 UCLA: 295-294—589 (+13)
T17. #12 LSU: 293-297—590 (+14)
T17. #27 Kansas State: 289-301—590 (+14)
19. #13 Ohio State: 295-297—592 (+16)
20. #23 Michigan State: 294-303—597 (+21)
21. #33 Oklahoma: 302-297—599 (+23)
22. #29 Iowa State: 306-294—600 (+24)
23. #21 Kansas: 297-304—601 (+25)
24. #7 Wake Forest: 304-298—602 (+26)
25. #14 Ole Miss: 301-303—604 (+28)
T26. #37 Baylor: 296-311—607 (+31)
T26. #41 Purdue: 303-304—607 (+31)
28. #32 Georgia Southern: 295-313—608 (+32)
29. CSU Fullerton: 308-301—609 (+33)
30. #35 UNLV: 310-301—611 (+35)

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It’s the middle of the college football dead season right now, but that isn’t stopping people from figuring out ways to talk about the sport.

Whether it’s conference power rankings, depth chart projections, or recruiting lines, there’s still plenty of opinions to give and react to for college football fans and analysts.

On Friday, ESPN released its list of the Top 10 coaches across the college football landscape. These rankings were compiled from several ESPN reporters making individual lists, with the coaches receiving points for where they are ranked in each list. For example, the No. 1 coach would get 10 points while the No. 10 coach would receive one point.

Entering his fifth season on Rocky Top, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel did not make the list from voters. Georgia’s Kirby Smart led the way with 119 points, followed by Ohio State’s Ryan Day with 97 and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney with 87.

The points go way down as you go down the list. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell is ranked at No. 10 and only has 15 points.

Josh Heupel was one of the 13 coaches who received at least one point, though. Heupel received three points, which is the same as Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin, Colorado’s Deion Sanders, and SMU’s Rhett Lashlee. Only Kansas State’s Chris Klieman and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz have lower spots with one point each.

More From RTI: Projecting Tennessee Football’s Depth Chart Following Spring Portal Movement

Heupel does have wins over four of the coaches on the list while at Tennessee, including Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, LSU’s Brian Kelly, and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.

In four years in Knoxville, Heupel has achieved a 37-15 record in 52 games with wins in the Orange Bowl and Citrus Bowl, a loss in the Music City Bowl in his debut year, and a loss to Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs this past season. He enters his fifth season with a solid roster but major quarterback questions after the Vols’ dramatic divorce with Nico Iamaleava in the spring.

Heupel, a former National Championship-winning quarterback at Oklahoma, will oversee a quarterback battle between incoming transfer Joey Aguilar, rising redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, and true freshman George MacIntyre. Aguilar feels like the early favorite because of his prior experience, but we’ll have to wait and see how things unfold during training camp this spring.

Check out ESPN’s full list of the Top 10 college football coaches rankings here.

The winds of change are clearly blowing through the New York Mets organization, particularly when it comes to pitching development. Since the arrival of David Stearns, the Mets have seemingly unlocked a new level of pitching transformation at the major league level. This newfound prowess isn’t confined to Queens, however. Across the various minor league circuits and Mets affiliates, a palpable improvement in pitching staffs, especially their ability to generate swings and misses, has become increasingly evident this season.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets currently rank second in Major League Baseball in the sheer number of minor league pitchers boasting a strikeout rate of 30% or higher. This impressive statistic underscores that the Mets’ pitching infrastructure is evolving into a significant advantage not only at the MLB level but is also beginning to bear fruit within the farm system – a crucial area where the Mets have yearned for consistent success for quite some time.

Strikeout surge throughout Mets system

The Mets are now showcasing a wealth of promising pitching talent across all levels of their minor league affiliates. While the organization might not possess the same echelon of top-tier prospect pedigree it did in the previous decade, the potential within their bullpen ranks is undeniable. Many of the pitchers highlighted by Sammon in his recent post on X are demonstrating an exceptional ability to rack up strikeouts.

A compelling case in point is Raimon Gomez, whose electric velocity has garnered attention. He currently sports an impressive 36.4% strikeout rate while simultaneously inducing near-elite levels of weak contact, allowing a mere 12% hard-hit ball rate. Similarly, Jack Wenninger, a Double-A Mets pitcher, appears to be on a trajectory to contribute at the major league level sooner rather than later. His stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio highlights not only his ability to miss bats but also his commendable command.

Perhaps the most captivating pitching prospect within the Mets’ system since last season is Jonah Tong. This young left-hander, currently dominating hitters at the Double-A level, has put up staggering numbers.

According to Fangraphs, Tong boasts an absurd 44.7% strikeout rate, holding opposing hitters to a paltry .162 batting average, all while maintaining an ERA around 2.50 supported by an equally impressive Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). Tong is joined on this list of high-strikeout arms by Blade Tidwell, who has already experienced his MLB debut, albeit in a less-than-efficient outing. However, Tidwell has consistently demonstrated a strong ability to limit damage during his time in the minor leagues.

The data clearly indicates a system-wide boost in pitching prowess. Among all eligible pitchers within their organization, the Mets boast at least 43 hurlers who are striking out batters at a rate of at least one per inning. This figure surpasses even the Boston Red Sox, the team cited by Sammon as leading the league in the percentage of minor league pitchers with a 30% or higher strikeout rate.

The burgeoning strikeout numbers throughout the Mets’ minor league system offer a compelling glimpse into a brighter future for the organization’s pitching depth. This wave of arms, capable of consistently missing bats, signals a significant step forward in the Mets’ long-term strategy and provides a much-needed foundation of talent that could pay dividends in the years to come.