Mississippi State wanted an elite baseball coach, and they paid the money that it takes to land one. New skipper Brian O’Connor will make an average annual salary of $2.9 million in Starkville. That makes him the second-highest paid coach in college baseball behind only Tennessee’s Tony Vitello ($3 million).

It’s a massive pay raise from what O’Connor was making at Virginia. His 2024 contract extension in Charlottesville put him at $1.4 million per year. That’s being paid more than handsomely in college baseball, and yet it’s still $1.5 million below what he’ll be making at Mississippi State.

It’s also a significant increase in compensation from what Mississippi State had been paying for a head coach previously. Chris Lemonis earned $1.35 million annually, which again, was in range of many of the top coaches in the sport but is not the elite money they’ll now be putting forth.

On top of his $2.9 million a year base salary, Brian O’Connor has the opportunity to earn up to $500,000 extra from performance incentives in a given year. O’Connor will get an extra $50,000 for any of the following: winning the SEC regular season title, winning the SEC Tournament title, being named SEC Coach of the Year, being named National Coach of the Year.

Then there are his NCAA Tournament incentives. These do not stack atop one another, as he’ll earn the bonus based on where his Bulldogs end their season. For making an NCAA regional, O’Connor will earn $50,000. That jumps up to $100,000 for a super regional appearance, $150,000 for a trip to the College World Series, $200,000 for making the College World Series finals, and $300,000 for winning the national championship.

Mississippi State investing at an elite level in college baseball

Mississippi State put up the type of money that made it impossible for Brian O’Connor to say no to taking the job. But landing him wasn’t just about what he’ll be earning. The resources to attract talent matters too, and that’s an area the Bulldogs are expected to thrive going forward.

By all accounts, the expectation is that Mississippi State will have one of, if not the, top NIL budgets in college baseball. They’ve secured the funding to go out and do whatever is necessary to land the best players available on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal. Having an elite head coach is great, but if he doesn’t have the necessary resources to get talent, he’s not going to be successful.

This is high-end investment in all facets from MSU. They’re committed to winning at the highest level in baseball moving forward.

Purdue was one of the top-selling schools at the NIL Store in May. It was one of four Big Ten schools to crack the top 10 for the month, coming in at No. 8.

The NIL Store works with more than 110 schools across college athletics. Cracking the top 10 is a sign of great fan and team support. At this time, the NIL Store did not release specific players whose sales did the best in May.

Here’s the complete top 10 for the month of May:

1. UConn Huskies
2. UCLA Bruins
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. Arkansas Razorbacks
5. Florida Gators
6. Illinois Fighting Illini
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. Purdue Boilermakers
9. Maryland Terrapins
10. West Virginia Mountaineers

Throughout the college basketball season, Purdue is consistently in the top 10 for sales at the NIL Store. With so much hype surrounding the Boilermakers entering the 2025-26 campaign, it probably helped with sales in May.

Purdue fans are also gearing up for the 2025 volleyball and football seasons.

ERTEL MAKES ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY: 2026 Purdue commit Luke Ertel made history in the Indiana Junior-Senior All-Star Game on Wednesday night, scoring a junior record 36 points in a 117-114 win. CLICK HERE

STAHL COMMITS TO PURDUE WBB: Saige Stahl, a former Indiana State forward and native of Seymour, announced her commitment to Purdue via social media over the weekend. CLICK HERE

PURDUE FB LANDS COMMITMENT FROM GEORGIA SAFETY: Purdue continues to add to its 2026 recruiting class, picking up a commitment from three-star Georgia safety Dana Greenhow, who had received 24 offers. CLICK HERE

TALLAHASSEE – Former Florida State softball players Michaela Edenfield, Kalei Harding and Jessi Warren will begin the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) season on Saturday. Edenfield and Warren will play for the Volts while Harding will play for the Blaze. The Volts and the Blaze will open their seasons against each other at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night on the MLB Network.
 
 It is an exciting time for professional softball as the MLB announced last week that they will be investing in the AUSL and softball at all levels. Along with MLB’s investment, 16 games including the Championship Series on July 22-23 will be aired on ESPN2 or ESPNU. Five games will be aired exclusively on the MLB Network with over 30 games available to stream for free on MLB.com and MLB.TV.
 
Two of the top hitters in FSU history will pair up for the Volts who have softball legend Cat Osterman as its general manager. Warren is undoubtedly the greatest hitter to ever wear the Garnet and Gold. Warren was a three-time NFCA All-American in 2016-18 and helped the Seminoles to their first WCWS National Championship in 2018. Warren is the all-time leader in FSU history for career batting average (.391), career runs (229), career home runs (83), career RBI (273) and career slugging percentage (.820). Warren was also a Gold Glove recipient at third base. Warren is in her seventh season for Athletes Unlimited and is also a member of the US National Team. Warren was named the 2023 AU Pro Softball Defensive Player of the Year. 
 
Edenfield ended her career as one of the most recognizable figures to come through the Florida State program. “Area 51” became a figure of college softball for her power at the plate and her famous eye makeup. Edenfield finished her career as a four-time All-ACC performer and was a Third Team NFCA All-American in 2024. Edenfield finished her career second all-time in career slugging percentage (.649), third in career home runs (54), fifth in career RBI (202) and third in career walks (63).
 
Harding will play for the Blaze who are led by Dana Sorensen who was a three-time NFCA All-American at Stanford under Coach Alameda who was her pitching coach. Harding is in her second season with Athletes Unlimited and had a great first year. Between the AUX Season and the Championship Season, Harding hit .276 with five home runs and 24 RBI. Harding’s 17 RBI in the AUX Season was a new record and she also broke the record for most RBI in a single game with seven. At Florida State, Harding was a four-time All-ACC performer and ranks in the top 10 in FSU history for career doubles, carer home runs, career RBI and career slugging percentage. 
 
The AUSL will travel to 10 different cities this year before each team having a home city in 2026. The league will run from June 7 through July 24 with the Championship Series taking place on July 22-23 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. For the full schedule and more information, visit theausl.com. 
 

Unlike colleges such as the University of Alabama or Ohio State, Drexel is not typically top of mind when it comes to prestigious athletics programs. As a member of the Coastal Athletic Association, which is not part of the Power 5 conferences (which include the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference, the Big 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference), Drexel is classified as a mid-major. This label comes from the conference that a school’s men’s basketball team plays in. In today’s college athletic landscape, which is shaped by name, image and likeness opportunities, this characterization has limited the ability of Drexel’s student-athletes to fully benefit from NIL deals. 

Unfortunately for Drexel, the shortcomings of the men’s basketball program have undermined the success of other Drexel athletics programs. Just this season, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams made trips to the CAA championship, and the women’s team was consistently ranked as one of the top 25 programs in the nation. Both Drexel squash programs rank in the top 10, the rowing teams have dominated in recent competitions, and, in 2024, the women’s basketball team won the CAA championship and competed in March Madness. 

Despite these achievements, Drexel is still a relatively unknown school in college athletics. While this can be attributed to a number of factors, perhaps the main issue of name recognition stems from the lack of NIL funding towards athletes. 

Since the initial Supreme Court ruling back in 2021, NIL has transformed the landscape of college athletics. The court found that college athletes can profit off of their name, image and likeness on top of the scholarship given to them by their school. 

In the four short years since this ruling, how athletes prioritize and decide the schools for their collegiate career has completely changed. Now, on top of following their dreams of professional sports, athletes are also weighing the possibility of making as much revenue as they can. 

This dynamic is especially prevalent in men’s basketball, where it is not uncommon for players to enter the transfer portal two or three times. One example of this is PJ Haggerty, who has played on three different teams and recently announced he would be committing to Kansas State after negotiating to receive a $2.5 million NIL package. While athletes from mid-majors are not getting as large of deals as Haggerty, they still stand to benefit financially by transferring to schools with better NIL infrastructure. 

During this offseason, Drexel’s men’s basketball team lost four of its most impactful players to the transfer portal. Cole Hargrove and Kobe McGee, who both earned CAA awards this season, transferred to Providence and Florida State University, respectively. Jason Drake announced he would spend his final year at the University of Indiana, and Yame Butler transferred to Butler University after an outstanding season. In recent memory, other standout players such as Amari Williams and Justin Moore have made moves to larger universities. 

Despite head coach Zach Spiker’s claim of a culture with “a group that is connected [and] a locker room that loves being around each other” at Drexel, it seems not to be enough as the Dragons continue to lose top talent every offseason. What is the motive for these players entering their names into the NCAA transfer portal if not for potential NIL deals?

While NIL has given numerous opportunities to many different athletes, it has also created problems for universities struggling to keep up with the ever-changing rules. Currently, colleges believe that for NIL to be successful, rules and regulations are needed to stop the disproportionate allotment of money to players. At the time of publication, athletes are allowed to get paid in any amount and without any restrictions. In an attempt to make resources more equitable, the College Sports Commission was created by the Power 5 conferences to establish limitations.

For Drexel and other mid-major institutions, NIL equality is especially important, as they do not have the resources available to attract and keep star athletes. Earlier this year, an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer revealed that Drexel’s NIL resources rank in the bottom half out of all the schools in the CAA, raising concerns for Drexel and its sustainability in the coming years. 

In December 2023, Drexel announced that they were launching the Dragon Fire Collective, a NIL Collective intended to support Drexel athletes by creating NIL opportunities for them. However, this effort seems to be inactive at the moment, as the last post on their Instagram was a “day in the life” video featuring Yame Butler from June 2024. Without an active collective to assist students in earning NIL money, Drexel is positioning itself further behind other mid-major universities and running the risk of losing athletes to the transfer portal. 

The future of NIL remains uncertain to this day. Pending a judge’s decision on the House vs. NCAA lawsuit, which could allow schools to distribute up to $20.5 million to student-athletes, the CAA’s Board of Directors has voted to opt in to the settlement. If the judge rules in the athletes’ favor, CAA institutions, including Drexel, would be required to share their revenue. 

While this decision is expected to come in late June, Drexel has already announced that they will comply with the CAA’s decision and that they are prepared to share revenue with their athletes, as confirmed by the Inquirer. 

Other schools in the CAA, such as Stony Brook, have also stated plans to share their revenue with their athletes. On May 28th, they became the first school in the CAA to partner with a third-party platform to help manage revenue sharing. In addition to being an early adopter of the CAA’s mandate, Stony Brook, which has similar athletic success as Drexel, boasts one of the best NIL systems for a mid-major university. 

Despite Stony Brook’s collective being launched around the same time as Drexel’s, it has made much more progress. Since the launch of the 1957 Club, the organization has hosted galas, created merchandise and partnered with NIL websites that allow fans to subscribe and gain access to the Seawolves’ athletes. Although these efforts have not entirely prevented players from entering the transfer portal this year, the university is still setting itself up for a better future than Drexel, which does not have any of these opportunities in place.

Drexel will never become the next Notre Dame, but that should not be an excuse to not build up a NIL system that prioritizes keeping players at Drexel, winning games and creating better opportunities for their athletes. With the upcoming ruling regarding revenue sharing, Drexel has the chance to level the playing field with other mid-major programs. Taking action now will make the university more competitive and set up every current and future athlete to have a successful career as a Drexel Dragon.

For just the seventh time in the history of the Women’s College World Series, the very, very last possible day on the college softball calendar will be played.

From Devon Park in Oklahoma City, welcome to Game 3 of the WCWS championship series.

Texas Tech and NiJaree Canady avoided a second straight heartbreaking loss on June 5, staving off a late top-of-the-seventh comeback by Texas to defeat the Longhorns 4-3 in Game 2 of the best-of-three series.

In front of former Texas Tech and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech scored four runs across the fifth and sixth innings to jump out to a 4-1 lead going into the seventh inning. Canady, who has an NIL deal worth over $1 million, bounced back from adversity in the seventh inning to get Kayden Henry to strike out and end the game.

One intriguing storyline going into Game 3 between the Longhorns and Red Raiders will be who starts inside the circle for both teams. The likely candidate for Texas is sophomore Teagan Kavan, who came on in relief in the Game 2 loss. For Texas Tech, it is almost certain that it will be Canady, who has thrown every single pitch for the Red Raiders since the start of the super regional round of the NCAA softball tournament.

Here’s a look at the schedule for the WCWS on June 6, including start time, TV channel information and more:

Women’s College World Series game today

The winner of Game 3 of the WCWS championship series will make history, as neither Texas nor Texas Tech has ever won a national championship in college softball. It will be the first time since Florida State in 2018 that a first-time national champion will be crowned.

With the final game of the 2025 college softball season on deck, here’s a look at the WCWS schedule for June 6:

All times Eastern

• WCWS Championship Game 3: (6) Texas vs. (12) Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+)

REQUIRED READING: WCWS first-time champions: Texas, Texas Tech softball have chance at historic win

Who is in the Women’s College World Series?

The WCWS began on May 29 with eight teams fighting for a spot in the best-of-three championship series. That field was trimmed down to two teams with Texas and Texas Tech.

Here’s a look at the full WCWS field for 2025, including who remains:

• No. 2 Oklahoma (51-8)
• No. 3 Florida (48-16)
• No. 6 Texas (53-11)
• No. 7 Tennessee (45-16)
• No. 9 UCLA (55-12)
• No. 12 Texas Tech (52-12)
• No. 16 Oregon (53-9)
• Ole Miss (42-19)

REQUIRED READING: Patrick Mahomes lauds NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech softball in WCWS finals appearance

Women’s College World Series bracket

Click here to see the official bracket for the 2025 Women’s College World Series.

When is the Women’s College World Series?

The 2025 WCWS began on May 29 and will wrap up on June 6 after Texas Tech forced Game 3 of the championship series.

Watch the 2025 Women’s College World Series live with ESPN+

What channel is the WCWS championship series on?

• TV channel: ESPN
• Streaming options: ESPN app | ESPN+

ESPN will broadcast Game 3 of the WCWS championship series on June 6. Streaming options include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and ESPN+, ESPN’s subscription streaming service.

USC Transfer Fires Up NIL Market with Impressive Deal Ahead of Debut originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

When a running back racks up 1,614 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in a single season, brands take notice. When that same back lands at USC, one of college football’s marquee programs, you’ve got the perfect storm for a headline-making NIL deal.

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Waymond Jordan, the No. 1 junior college running back transfer and NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year, announced via social media that he’s signed a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreement with C4 Energy. It’s a power move both on and off the field for the explosive newcomer, who’s aiming to carve out a role in USC’s deep backfield this fall.

Jordan joins a star-studded NIL lineup under the C4 Energy banner, which includes former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch. The deal signals more than just endorsement value, it’s validation of Jordan’s rising profile in the college football landscape.

“Waymond’s really compact, really kind of moves effortlessly and obviously a ton of production at [Hutchinson Community College],” said USC head coach Lincoln Riley during spring practices. “He brings a real explosive aspect to the room.”

And he’s not just showing up, he’s standing out. After transferring to USC in January, Jordan turned heads in spring camp and is battling for touches with fellow transfer Eli Sanders and returning talent Bryan Jackson. With former lead rusher Woody Marks headed to the NFL, the opportunity is there, and Jordan is clearly seizing it.

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Represented by veteran NIL agent Darren Wilson, Jordan is strategically building both his brand and future. For C4 Energy, betting on Jordan is a calculated move: He’s not only a proven performer but a potential breakout star in the nation’s second-largest media market.

With USC kicking off its season on August 30 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against Missouri State, all eyes will be on the Trojans’ new-look offense—and Jordan’s legs might just be the motor behind it.

Related: Former Kentucky Great Has Words About NIL: “I’m Glad I Didn’t Play in That Era”

Related: USC Lands 5-Star TE in Record NIL Deal for 2026

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared.