Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field will be busy this summer, as the Hillsdale College baseball facility will be the home site for a summer wood bat league team in June and July.

The Michigan Monarchs of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League will call Hillsdale home, playing 22 games at Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field over the next two months, starting with a 4:35 PM contest against the Flag City Sluggers this Sunday, June 8.

The GLSCL is one of the oldest summer collegiate leagues in the United States, having been in operation annually since 1987 and operating with teams in Michigan and Ohio. Teams are made up of NCAA Division I and II college athletes who join the squads over the summer after the conclusion of their playing seasons. Top-end talent plays in the GLSCL, as 100 future MLB players have appeared in the league over its history, and the league averages 25 MLB draftees or signees among its alumni every year.

The Monarchs roster this summer will include Division I baseball players from Michigan State, Ohio State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Oakland, Toledo, Illinois-Chicago and Cal St. Northridge, as well as Hillsdale College pitcher Andrew George and several Division II, Division III and Junior College players. The team will be coached by Hillsdale College alumnus and current baseball assistant coach Cody Kanclerz.

You can find a full schedule for the Monarchs, including home dates in Hillsdale, at this link. 

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Head Coach Alex Hinsey and the Gardner-Webb University volleyball team have announced its 2025 fall schedule, featuring nine games inside Paul Porter Arena and 14 Big South Conference contests

After a home pre-season intra-squad scrimmage on August 16th and a road scrimmage at ETSU on August 22nd, the Runnin’ Bulldogs begin the main 2025 schedule at UNC Greensboro on August 29th and 30th in tournament action. GWU will face Sacred Heart and Queens in a Friday doubleheader on the 29th, before battling the hosts from UNC-Greensboro on Saturday, the 30th.

September begins with more road games, starting with a trip to Division II Lees McRae on September 2nd, followed by another tournament weekend at Campbell. GWU will face the hosts on Friday night, September 5th before a doubleheader against UNC Greensboro and Norfolk State on Saturday, September 6th to wrap up the stay in 

Buies Creek.

The next weekend rolls on with more tournament action, as the Runnin’ Bulldogs travel to Navy. While in Annapolis, Gardner-Webb will face LeMoyne and hosts Navy on Friday afternoon and evening, September 12th, before taking on former Big South Conference foes Hampton on Saturday afternoon, September 13th.

After spending much of September several hours from home, the ‘Dawgs are back a little closer to campus between September 18th and 20th, for more tournament action at Wofford. GWU will take on Wofford in a true road game on Thursday night September 18th, and Northern Arizona in a single-game on Friday,September 19th. Saturday, September 20th will be the busiest day of the weekend, as the Runnin’ Bulldogs face The Citadel and Marshall back-to-back.

Finally on September 23rd, the Runnin’ Bulldogs will take the court inside Paul Porter Arena for the first time in 2025, hosting Queens University of Charlotte. What follows are three more road games as Big South play begins, with Gardner-Webb visiting Winthrop on September 26th, Radford on October 3rd and High Point on October 4th.

From there, it’s back-to-back home games for the first time in 2025 as Gardner-Webb takes on UNC Asheville on October 10th and USC Upstate on October 11th.

Two more road games follow at Presbyterian on October 17th and Charleston Southern on October 18th, before the Runnin’ Bulldogs return to Boiling Springs for a much-welcomed home-stand. GWU will take on NC Central in a quick non-conference tilt on October 21st, then High Point and Radford back-to-back on October 24th and 25th as Big South play resumes.

October wraps up with the ‘Dawgs final non-conference road game, a second visit to Division II Lees-McRae. Gardner-Webb then faces Charleston Southern at home on October 31st, and Presbyterian at home on November 1st to begin the final month of the campaign.

Following in November are a visit to USC Upstate on November 7th, another to UNC Asheville on November 8th, then Winthrop at home inside Paul Porter Arena on November 14th.

After the conclusion of the regular season, the 2025 Big South Volleyball Tournament is set to begin on November 21st.

With Squash’s Olympic moment just three years away, the U.S. Squash Foundation and Access Youth Academy—in partnership with the PlayLA initiative—are laying the groundwork for a vibrant squash scene in Southern California leading up to and beyond the LA28 Olympic Games. 

As the CEO of Access Youth Academy (AYA), Renato Paiva prioritizes diversifying the future of squash and the development of the sport through exposure to youth, particularly in the Los Angeles and San Diego area.  

“San Diego is just twenty minutes from the border of Mexico. Bringing squash to the forefront sometimes felt like playing beach volleyball in Alaska. It was a far-fetched dream to help the community thrive,” Paiva said. Today, California squash is very much alive and thriving, with an active district led by Paul Buck.

When it comes to squash, for Paiva, it runs deep. He has been around squash since he was nine years old and seen “both the good and the bad” of the sport. As the Vice President of Pan American Squash, he is able to contribute on a global scale, which is critical during an Olympic cycle. Maintaining healthy, constant collaboration on a local, national and global level is all part of what Paiva refers to as squash’s mosaic. 

“I am a tile in the mosaic of squash. I have to take care of my tile properly, or the whole thing looks ugly. To trust that the big picture will be done properly, I have to trust someone leading it,” he said.

In 2022, US Squash partnered with PlayLA to include squash programming at two public parks as a part of its summer and fall seasons. The PlayLA initiative introduces kids to more than 40 different sports at an affordable cost to eliminate economic barriers to sports and serve as a legacy before, during and after the Olympics. After a successful introduction into PlayLA, AYA joined the efforts by providing additional volunteer training, coordination and on-the-ground support, ensuring a sustainable and scalable path forward. Since squash’s introduction, hundreds of kids have been exposed to the sport. AYA and US Squash are aiming to expand programming over the next three years.

The U.S. Squash Foundation has supported PlayLA in various ways, ranging from providing equipment for specific programming to advice and leadership support from US Squash executives to encouraging nomination for the Pan American board. Paiva cites the collaboration between World Squash Federation, US Squash and the Professional Squash Association as one of the keys to Olympic inclusion.

“I feel that they are just one phone call away. I don’t think there’s any other way that US Squash can support that they haven’t already, through not only talent but also treasure,” Paiva said.

PlayLA is making progress as the countdown to the Olympic Games draws nearer. The citywide, all-encompassing athletic initiative engages all sports involved in the Olympics to get involved with kids in the local community. Access Youth Academy executes on behalf of the national governing body here in the United States. 

“It started with one park in an afterschool program where we showcased squash for just one hour with only one wall. From there, we adapted to multiple parks and multiple walls. During the next cycle, we will have four parks to further expand the reach,” Paiva explained. “It is our goal to be able to bring this program to over a dozen parks, but that requires a lot of volunteers.”

Right now, Paiva estimates that he works with 35 volunteers on a rolling basis. Part of the PlayLA initiative, which has introduced over 200 kids to squash to date, involves training pros from other racquet sports and introducing them to squash coaching. When it comes to getting kids interested in squash, that part comes easier than expected. 

“Hitting something against something is a natural instinct. It’s the easiest way to expose kids to squash, regardless of how many walls are involved,” he said. 

What’s next for squash in LA? In the short term, AYA continues to become more involved with youth in the region, targeting “transformative” work with the Los Angeles School District–the largest in the country second only to New York–through school programming, hosting gym classes inside AYA’s walls.

Establishing the framework of accessible exposure to squash for today’s youth in LA sets up a successful future up to and beyond the upcoming Olympic Games. 

“The LA28 Olympics will come, will be amazing, and will go. The eyes of the world will turn to Brisbane, but long-term we hope that we can expand and do the work with the same love and enthusiasm after the closing ceremony and still move the needle forward,” Paiva said.

The U.S. Squash Foundation uplifts grassroots programs like the work of Access Youth Academy through their mission and outreach to grow the sport. Support the U.S. Squash Foundation today to spread squash through SoCal and beyond.

PELLA— A Central College feature on baseball slugger Colton DeRocher was cited as the College Division National Story of the Year by College Sports Communicators in its Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest.
           
The story was authored by athletics senior editor Larry Happel. It’s his second CSC National Story of the Year Award winner. His profile of Central wrestler Jaime Miranda, “From Homeless to Heavyweight,” was cited in 2017.
           

This year’s winner, “Central’s DeRocher: Just as Good, if Not Better,” featured the Dutch outfielder who was born with a congenital defect on his left hand, yet broke Central’s career home runs mark. Happel earlier received the 2024 Fall NCAA Division III and Division III Sports Information Directors of America (D3SIDA) Recognition Award for the DeRocher story.
           
The story was also the CSC contest winner in the Athlete Profile category. Nearly 500 entries were submitted in seven categories in the contest. Each category was first judged on the district level, with the winners then advancing to national consideration. All national category winners were considered for National Story of the Year.
           
Five of Happel’s entries received CSC College Division District 7 awards this year. The College Division includes NCAA Division II and III institutions as well as NAIA schools and two-year colleges. Jerry Price of Princeton University won the top University Division award with “Of Love, Sorrow and Cancer,” a feature about three Princeton women’s soccer players dealing with cancer.
           
The awards will be presented at the CSC Convention June 8-11 in Orlando, Florida, where Happel will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award                                             
           
Happel spent 45 years as Central’s athletics communications director and continues to serve in a a part-time role. He has received 24 CSC writing awards overall as well as two from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He’s also received more than 35 CSC publication awards and was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2010 after receiving the CSC Warren Berg Award in 2006. He’s a former CSC board member and past D3SIDA president.
 

Conway, Ark. (June 3, 2025) – Hendrix College has announced the resignation of Cesar Terlea as head coach of both the men’s and women’s cross country programs and the track and field programs.

Under Terlea’s guidance in his four years with the programs, several Hendrix student-athletes received major awards. Ethan Armour was named the Southern Athletic Association’s Men’s Field Athlete of the Year in 2023. Armour would go on to compete at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Anna Cantrell was named the SAA’s 2023 Women’s Cross Country Newcomer of the Year. B Adams being named the 2025 SAA Field Newcomer of the Year.

In total, Terlea coached eight All-Conference selections.