NIL
Warde Manuel in the NIL Era
“Ninety-five plus percent of our student athletes are not going to play professionally when they are done here,” Manuel says. “So, if that’s the case, I’m not going to design a system for only five percent. I want a system that will help one hundred percent of them.” 19

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College Baseball Rankings: Predicting D1Baseball Top 25 at end of regular season
College baseball has, for the most part, seen its regular season come to an end. Attention is now turning towards conference tournaments, but first, it’s time to predict how D1Baseball’s Top 25 rankings will look as we turn the page to the postseason. Teams were jockeying for postseason positioning throughout the last weekend, some for […]

College baseball has, for the most part, seen its regular season come to an end. Attention is now turning towards conference tournaments, but first, it’s time to predict how D1Baseball’s Top 25 rankings will look as we turn the page to the postseason.
Teams were jockeying for postseason positioning throughout the last weekend, some for a top 16 seed as a regional host and others for a spot in the NCAA Tournament to begin with. The weekend had just four top 25 matchups; No. 4 North Carolina at No. 2 Florida State, No. 17 Tennessee at No. 8 Arkansas, No. 18 Alabama at No. 23 Florida, and No. 19 Southern Miss at No. 22 Troy.
The weekend schedule was moved up a day, with most series being played from Thursday through Saturday to accomodate the start of conference tournaments early next week. Entering Saturday, there was still a lot at stake. While eight teams were 2-0 with a series win secured entering the finale, five were 0-2 with a series loss and 12 were 1-1 with a rubber game looming.
Through all of the action, D1Baseball’s top 25 rankings are likely to see some more notable moves this week. And that will perfectly encapsulate the exciting regular season that we just witnessed.
Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-13 (19-11 in SEC)
LSU entered the week as the new top team in D1Baseball’s top 25, looking to solidify their spot as a top eight national seed. The Tigers, though, fell to South Carolina 6-5 in Thursday’s series opener. That was a pretty stunning loss, but LSU responded on Friday with an 8-1 win to even the series. In Saturday’s rubber game, LSU won 7-3 to take the series.

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (+2)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 39-12 (18-11 in ACC)
North Carolina ended the regular season on a very high note. On the road at No. 2 Florida State, UNC won 8-3 on Thursday and 11-1 on Friday to clinch the series victory right away. The Tar Heels entered Saturday looking for the ACC regular season title and a sweep over the Seminoles, but lost in the finale 5-4 and fall just short of the regular season title.
Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-11 (22-8 in SEC)
Texas dropped out of the top spot in the rankings after last week, and wanted to move back in the right direction to end the regular season. The series at Oklahoma started with a 7-4 win for the Longhorns, but the Sooners answered back with an 8-6 win on Friday. In Saturday’s decisive rubber game, Texas won 9-1 after a brief weather delay in the late innings.
Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 41-13 (22-8 in Big Ten)
Oregon is absolutely surging right now. The Ducks were on the road at Iowa to end the regular season in a series that could ultimately determine who won the Big Ten regular season title. Oregon won 10-0 on Thursday and 9-6 on Friday, meaning the Ducks, Iowa and UCLA entered Saturday in a three-way tie for first place. In Sunday’s finale between Oregon and Iowa, the Ducks won 13-4 to clinch the top seed in the Big Ten.

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 41-12-1
After a 5-3 win against Portland on Tuesday, Oregon State ended its regular season with a home series vs. Long Beach State. The Beavers won 2-1 on Thursday and 12-8 on Friday to secure the series win, and reach 40 wins on the year. Going for the sweep in Saturday’s series finale, Oregon State got just that with a dominating 13-0 win.
Previous Ranking: No. 8 (+2)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 43-12 (20-10 in SEC)
There weren’t many series this weekend with bigger D1Baseball top 25 and postseason stakes than Arkansas against No. 17 Tennessee. Both teams were trending in the wrong direction and needed a win to secure their postseason status. For the Razorbacks, that’s as a top eight seed. The series started on the wrong foot, with Arkansas falling 10-7 on Thursday before they won 8-6 on Friday to tie things up. In Saturday’s rubber game, the Razorbacks won 8-4 to take the series.
Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 39-16 (19-11 in SEC)
This weekend’s series between Vanderbilt and Kentucky was a wild one. In both of the first two games, Kentucky led late before Vanderbilt stormed back to win. The Commodores won 8-7 on Thursday and 9-8 on Friday to win the series. There was still another important game on Saturday, where Vanderbilt came back from being down multiple runs for the third straight day, and won 5-3.

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-6)
Weekly Record: 1-2
Overall Record: 37-13 (17-10 in ACC)
After rising up to No. 2 in D1Baseball’s top 25 entering the week, Florida State stumbled. The Seminoles hosted No. 4 North Carolina in a big ACC series to end the regular season, and instantly lost the series with an 8-3 loss on Thursday and an 11-1 loss on Friday. FSU wanted to salvage a win and avoid the sweep on Saturday, and did so with a 5-4 victory.
Previous Ranking: No. 10 (+1)
Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 42-14 (18-12 in SEC)
Georgia ended the regular season at home hosting Texas A&M, and the Bulldogs started off strong with a 10-6 victory in Thursday’s series opener. Texas A&M won 6-0 in a shutout victory on Friday, evening the series and setting up a rubber game on Saturday. Georgia needed a win in the finale to likely secure its spot as a national seed, and did just that with a 7-5 victory.
Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+1)
Weekly Record: 3-0
Overall Record: 44-11 (26-4 in Sun Belt)
Coastal Carolina has been largely cruising through this season, and this week was no different. The Chanticleers were on the road at Old Dominion, and won 6-3 on Thursday and 16-7 on Friday to secure the series win, and likely a jump into the top ten of D1Baseball’s top 25. In Saturday’s finale, Coastal Carolina cruised again to a 12-1 win to sweep.
D1Baseball Top 25 Projections: 11-25

11. Auburn (-5)
12. Southern Miss (+7)
13. UCLA (+1)
14. Clemson (+1)
15. Georgia Tech (NR)
16. Florida (+7)
17. Dallas Baptist (+7)
18. Kansas (NR)
19. Northeastern (+6)
20. NC State (-7)
21. UC Irvine (-9)
22. Tennessee (-5)
23. Alabama (-5)
24. Ole Miss (NR)
25. UTSA (NR)
With four new teams (Georgia Tech, Kansas, Ole Miss, UTSA) joining the rankings in our D1Baseball Top 25 predictions, four must fall out. Those teams are West Virginia (previously No. 16), Duke (previously No. 20), Louisville (previously No. 21), and Troy (previously No. 22).
NIL
Report: Power Conference commissioners meet again to discuss College Football Playoff future
Power Conference commissioners met once again Saturday to discuss the future of the College Football Playoff, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. A “compromise” for the Big 12 and ACC regarding a 16-team model was part of the discussion. Saturday’s meeting is the second time the commissioners gathered to talk about potential CFP expansion in the […]

Power Conference commissioners met once again Saturday to discuss the future of the College Football Playoff, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. A “compromise” for the Big 12 and ACC regarding a 16-team model was part of the discussion.
Saturday’s meeting is the second time the commissioners gathered to talk about potential CFP expansion in the last 10 days. ESPN’s Pete Thamel noted Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti appeared virtually since he’s in California for the conference’s upcoming spring meetings.
The proposed 16-team bracket would include four automatic bids for each of the SEC and Big Ten, according to Dellenger. The ACC and Big 12 would get two spots each, while the Group of 6 would get one. There would also be three at-large spots.
In addition, as Dellenger previously reported, “inner-league play-in games” could also be in the cards at the end of the year. That would put the third-place team in a conference against the sixth-place team, as well as the fourth-place team against fifth-place.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel also reported the focus is on a 16-team College Football Playoff, which would begin in 2026. That’s when the current agreement with ESPN ends, although an extension will also kick in at the end of the deal.
“I would say that 16 is becoming more preferred,” a source told Thamel. “It seems like 16 may be the preferred number, but there’s no format decision.”
While no decisions have been made, Mississippi State athletics director Zac Selmon strongly supported the idea of play-in games for the CFP. He pointed out the addition of more meaningful games to the schedule as a reason he’d be in favor of the move.
“There’s been a lot of just intriguing conversations,” Selmon told Peter Burns. “We just had some meetings in Birmingham this week. It’s always great to be with our colleagues. Commissioner [Greg] Sankey’s just a visionary in the industry. I think exciting competition is exciting competition, and I’ve always been a fan for access, but also for the fan bases, more play-ins. You look at what the NBA has done and other leagues – having hope, having excitement late in the season – I love the concepts of just having more opportunities and also having some more things on the line. The level of competition in our league, and you think about the physical toll that games take on somebody’s body.
“Now, the mental toll that this league puts on your body … I think it helps for the student-athlete mindset, too, of having more things to play for late in the season. Coaches are great at motivating and keeping guys connected, but I think having more things like this is a really good concept for the student-athletes. Having more access, more meaningful games, more games with a lot of things on the line, I think it’s a great thing for college football.”
NIL
These teams are basically gifted a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2025
Not every College Football Playoff run is created equal. Some teams have to claw their way through brutal schedules, dodging top-10 matchups week after week just to get a shot. But then, there are a few lucky programs that… well, let’s just say the path is a little smoother. The teams we’re about to talk […]

Not every College Football Playoff run is created equal. Some teams have to claw their way through brutal schedules, dodging top-10 matchups week after week just to get a shot. But then, there are a few lucky programs that… well, let’s just say the path is a little smoother.
The teams we’re about to talk about? They’ve got it made.
That’s not to say they aren’t talented — they are. In fact, they’d all be Playoff contenders no matter what. But when you look at how their 2025 schedules stack up, it’s clear they’ve been dealt a very favorable hand. Short of a complete meltdown, it’s hard to see these teams not being in the thick of the CFP picture when the time comes. Basically, it’d take a disaster for them to miss it.
Let’s take a look at the teams with the easiest rides to the College Football Playoff this season.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State has scheduled three automatic wins to start the season with Nevada, FIU, and Villanova. They will then get a bye week — as if it’s needed after that stretch — before hosting Oregon. That essentially means they get an entire month to prepare for Oregon and work out the kinks on their team before their Big Ten run begins.
Though at UCLA and at Iowa aren’t easy games, but they’re certainly manageable, meaning that Penn State should be 7-0 or at worst 6-1 heading into November. They get a bye before going on the road against Ohio State and then they’ll close out the season win Indiana, at Michigan State, Nebraska, and at Rutgers. Could an upset happen along the way? Sure. But, this feels like a schedule that has Penn State set up to be 11-1 and, at worst 10-2.
If the Nittany Lions are 10-2 — regardless of if they win the Big Ten or not — they’re getting into the playoff. So, you might as well go ahead and count them in the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame gets a nice draw with its five ACC games, with the only one that will give them any trouble coming at the beginning when they travel to Miami, which will still be breaking in a new defensive scheme and Carson Beck at quarterback.
They get Texas A&M and Boise State at home, but there’s a decent chance that the Fighting Irish may not face a ranked team outside of the month of September, and they may not face more than two — Texas A&M and Miami to start the season — for the entire year.
Even presumably with a freshman in CJ Carr taking over at quarterback, Notre Dame has a very favorable path to the CFP, assuming they can simply split those first two, and if they win both, the Fighting Irish may be the country’s best chance at going a perfect 12-0, even with the experience they’re having to replace.
Oregon Ducks
Just like Notre Dame, there’s a solid chance that Oregon will not face more than 2-3 ranked opponents in 2025. As a matter of fact, there’s a chance that the Ducks will only play one ranked team the entire season.
Oregon will have the road game against Penn State, which will be a tough out. Even if the Ducks lose that one, though, they’re set up to run the table the rest of the way. They have a bye week after Penn State and then they’ll play Indiana, at Rutgers, Wisconsin, at Iowa, Minnesota, USC, and at Washington. Could Indiana, USC, Iowa, or Washington provide a little bit of a test for them? Absolutely. But, the Ducks will be heavily-favored in all those matchups, regardless.
At this point, we’d only point to Indiana as a ranked team heading into 2025 — and there’s a chance that Iowa or USC could sneak in — so to say that Oregon got a favorable draw would be an understatement.
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NIL
Quinn Ewers offers advice to next generation of college recruits
Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers offered advice to aspiring college football players during this week’s NFLPA Rookie Premiere, emphasizing the importance of consistency and presence amid the pressures of recruiting and the ever-evolving landscape of NIL deals. Ewers, a former Texas Longhorns standout and the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2021, […]

Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers offered advice to aspiring college football players during this week’s NFLPA Rookie Premiere, emphasizing the importance of consistency and presence amid the pressures of recruiting and the ever-evolving landscape of NIL deals.
Ewers, a former Texas Longhorns standout and the No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2021, spoke with On3 about his journey and the lessons he hopes to impart to the next generation of athletes.
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“Just be present, especially if you’re in high school and you’re not receiving as many offers or whatever it is-coaches aren’t recognizing you as much,” Ewers said. “Just remain present and continue to be consistent. As long as you stay consistent, you’re going to end up where you want to be, at the end of the day. That’s just how it goes.”
Ewers, who began his collegiate career at Ohio State before transferring to Texas, acknowledged his own privileged position as a highly recruited player. “I was lucky enough to be a highly recruited guy, but I just tried to stay as consistent as I could as long as I could, which, at the end of the day, helped me a ton,” he said. “That’s all it is about-remaining present and taking care of business and letting all the other stuff fall in line, because it will if you really put the work in.”
His message comes at a time when young athletes face unprecedented opportunities and distractions, from social media attention to lucrative NIL deals. Ewers’ advice to “take care of business” and trust the process is a reminder of the fundamentals that underpin long-term success.
After leading Texas to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances, Ewers chose to enter the 2025 NFL Draft, forgoing his final season of eligibility and a reported $8 million in potential NIL earnings. Despite sliding to the seventh round, he signed with the Dolphins and is expected to make his professional debut in the preseason. The four-year deal Ewers accepted will reportedly be worth $4.3 million. For Ewers, the next step is clear: stay present, work hard, and let the results speak for themselves.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Quinn Ewers shares best advice for next generation of college recruits
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UCLA Post Spring incoming transfers and recruits updates
Here is a quick look at incoming transfers and high school recruits to various UCLA athletic teams. She proved to be an invaluable asset for Utah this past season. In the 2024–2025 season, her performance as a redshirt junior was impressive, averaging 19.3 points per game. She gained recognition for coming close to achieving a […]


Here is a quick look at incoming transfers and high school recruits to various UCLA athletic teams.
She proved to be an invaluable asset for Utah this past season. In the 2024–2025 season, her performance as a redshirt junior was impressive, averaging 19.3 points per game. She gained recognition for coming close to achieving a remarkable 50-40-90 shooting percentage.
Kneepkens, who joins the Bruins as a graduate transfer, came to Westwood during the spring transfer portal window. In early May, she decided to transfer to UCLA for her final year of eligibility.
Clarkson has officially joined UCLA, utilizing the NCAA transfer this spring. Hailing originally from Bellflower, CA, he is making his way back home to the West Coast.
Clarkson’s time at Ole Miss was short-lived. He made a commitment to Ole Miss in January 2025 after departing from Louisville, but by April 2025, he decided to re-enter the transfer portal.
He played with the Louisville Cardinals for his first two years, in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Despite his limited appearances and minimal statistical contribution, he looks to contribute for UCLA in the future.
Will Karoll, a punter who has recently made the move to UCLA, is likely to be the Bruins’ starting punter for the 2025 season. At 6 feet 4 inches, he is originally from Sydney, Australia.
Prior to joining UCLA in May, Karoll showcased his football talents at Tulane University. During the initial two seasons with the Green Wave, he showcased remarkable and reliable punting skills, maintaining an impressive average of 43.4 yards per punt throughout his collegiate career. He also had 24 punts of 50 yards or more, along with 23 that landed within the 20-yard line. This feat showcases impressive leg strength and positioning and is likely to help improve UCLA’s special teams heading into the 2025 season.
Here are recent high school commitments to UCLA.
NIL
Cowgirl Softball falls to No. 4 national seed Arkansas in second round of Fayetteville Regional
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The No. 24 Oklahoma State softball team lost in eight innings to No. 4 national seed Arkansas, 6-5, at Bogle Park Saturday. The Cowgirls dropped to 34-19, while the Razorbacks improved to 42-12. With the loss, OSU faces an elimination game against either Indiana or Saint Louis later this evening, with […]

The Cowgirls dropped to 34-19, while the Razorbacks improved to 42-12. With the loss, OSU faces an elimination game against either Indiana or Saint Louis later this evening, with the winner advancing to tomorrow’s regional final against the Hogs.
The Cowgirls held a 3-1 lead after four innings and a 5-1 lead after five, but the Razorbacks scored one in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth to win.
OSU opened the scoring in the third inning when Amanda Hasler singled in Megan Delgadillo, but Arkansas tied the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI single.
Oklahoma State took a two-run lead in the fourth thanks to an RBI triple from Tia Warsop and a double from Rachael Hathoot which brought Warsop home.
The Cowgirls added two more in the fifth inning with an RBI double from Hasler and an RBI groundout from Karli Godwin to score pinch runner Macy Graf.
Arkansas’ Atalyia Rijo cut the deficit to three with a solo home run in the sixth, and the Razorbacks plated three more runs in the seventh to send the contest into extra innings.
Oklahoma State failed to get a base runner on in the eighth, setting the stage for Arkansas to win it on a bases-loaded single up the middle from Courtney Day.
Ruby Meylan took the loss for OSU to dip to 21-9 on the year. Arkansas’ Payton Burnham improved to 15-2 with the win.
Offensive standouts for OSU included Hasler (3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs), Delgadillo (three runs scored) and Hathoot (1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.)
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State Softball, visit okstate.com and follow @CowgirlSB on X and @osusoftball on Instagram. For tickets, visit okstate.com/tickets
or call 877-ALL-4-OSU.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Oklahoma State 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 5 7 1
Arkansas 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 1 6 11 0
WP: P. Burnham (15-2); LP: R. Meylan (21-9); SV: None
HR: OSU – None
HR: UA – Rijo (6)
Duration: 2:56; Attendance: 3,041
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