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Regular Season Closes For Softball With Providence Series

Story Links VILLANOVA, Pa. – The 2025 regular season will end this weekend for Villanova softball (24-24-1, 12-9 BIG EAST) as the Providence Friars come to town for a three-game series at the VU Softball Complex that’s pivotal for conference tournament berths. PREPARING FOR PROVIDENCE It’s a critical BIG EAST […]

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1 month ago

May 2, 2025

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VILLANOVA, Pa. – The 2025 regular season will end this weekend for Villanova softball (24-24-1, 12-9 BIG EAST) as the Providence Friars come to town for a three-game series at the VU Softball Complex that’s pivotal for conference tournament berths.

PREPARING FOR PROVIDENCE

It’s a critical BIG EAST weekend for both teams playing at the Villanova Softball Complex this weekend when the Providence Friars come to the Main Line for the regular season finale. Both teams are fighting for a berth at next week’s BIG EAST Tournament with just one game separating these two squads in the standings. The Wildcats and Friars have met on nearly 90 occasions all-time with Villanova owning 25 more wins than PC, including a 14-W edge at home and victories in the last 14 contests of the series. VU has swept the last four series matchups with Providence, including the 2024 bouts at Glay Field. The ‘Cats picked up a pair of run-rule victories to bookend that weekend with a 4-1 Friday win rounding out the set.

CELEBRATING THE SENIORS

The regular season comes to a close this weekend in college softball, so it’s time for the Wildcats to officially honor their seniors. Villanova will recognize their four-person senior class in a pregame ceremony on Saturday, slated to begin at 11:50 a.m. on the field at the VU Softball Complex. The ‘Cats will recognize seniors Ava Franz, Alexa Raphael, Elaina Wagner and Kelsey White, a class that has won over 125 games and a pair of league titles in addition to appearing in six NCAA Tournament games. This group has combined for over 380 hits, 270 runs and 250 RBI while White alone has racked up more than 300 innings and 180 strikeouts in the circle. Raphael has been critical as a pinch runner and depth outfielder, Franz is a two-time All-BIG EAST selection whose name is all over the record books, White has won a pair of BIG EAST All-Tournament Team nods as a two-way player and Wagner had a breakout all-conference junior year before serving as a team captain in 2025.

THE BOOK ON THE BIG EAST STANDINGS

It’ll be a dramatic weekend to close BIG EAST regular season play as three spots remain up for grabs in the conference tournament. St. John’s and Connecticut have locked up the top two seeds and first round byes as none of the others can catch those two, but the Red Storm and Huskies will compete at UConn this weekend for the league’s regular season title. Butler is the team on bye this week, stuck at 14-10 in league play which is good enough to lock in a bid but the seed line is still up in the air. Beyond that, it’s four teams competing for three spots, and all four play another team still in contention. Villanova is currently in fourth at 12-9 and two victories over PC would lock in a spot, but VU winning just one means it’s tiebreaker time. Creighton and Seton Hall are currently in fifth and sixth but the Bluejays and Pirates play each other and will need some wins to earn another week together.

FEELING OUT THE FRIARS

Providence owns a 22-26 overall record, but is right in the BIG EAST Tournament hunt with an 11-10 mark in conference. The Friars own series wins over Creighton, Seton Hall and Georgetown as well as DePaul (a sweep), but haven’t played a BIG EAST game since April 17 due to last week being PC’s bye.

Elisa Smith is Providence’s top hitter with 57 hits, 36 runs and a .388 batting average. Cameron Dunn adds an OPS over 1.000 with a team-best eight homers and 80 total bases, Gabriella Lee contributes 41 hits and 15 stolen bases and Emma Douma leads the team with 11 doubles on the campaign.

The PC pitching staff features a number of talented arms, led by Tori Grifone’s 18 starts and 105 innings with a .243 average against her. Jessica Walter contributes a 2.91 ERA, Alyssa Twomey has 54 strikeouts in 22 appearances and Alannah Hopkins has pitched 16 times for the Friars.

All three matchups will stream on FloCollege with statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, 12:15 p.m. on Saturday due to Senior Day festivities and 12:00 p.m. for Sunday’s regular season finale.

Keep up with the Villanova University softball program through social media by following on X formerly known as Twitter (@VUSoftball) and Instagram (@novasoftball) and ‘liking’ on Facebook (/VUSoftball).

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NIL

Texas Tech linebacker opens up about how NIL has impacted his life

There’s no question that NIL has had a major impact on today’s college athletes. While the headline-grabbing deals involving private jets and multi-million-dollar contracts often steal the spotlight, for most student-athletes, NIL provides support in much more practical and meaningful ways. When it comes to Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, he says he’s used NIL […]

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12 minutes ago

June 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

When it comes to Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, he says he’s used NIL support from The Matador Club to pay for his wedding and for travel expenses to see his wife, who currently serves in the Army.

“The Matador Club has been one of the greatest things that has happened in my life,” Rodriguez said. “It was a big funder for my wedding and for me to be able to have the life that I have right now. My wife is living in Alabama right now. Being able to see each other as much as we do, not many long-distance people get to do that. I love to play football, and she loves to be in the Army. That’s something that we kind of chose, and as hard as it is, we make it happen. So this is definitely something that has helped us, for sure.”

It’s no secret that The Matador Club has been a driving force behind Texas Tech emerging as an early favorite to win the Big 12 championship. While some reports claim the Red Raiders have invested over $40 million in this year’s roster, that’s simply the cost of competing at the highest level in today’s college football. And while fans can often be turned off by some of the most lucrative NIL deals that garner most of the attention from the media, the reality is that stories and experiences like the one from Rodriguez are far more common.

– Enjoy more Texas Tech coverage on Texas Tech On SI –

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Texas Tech offers No. 1 player in the nation

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ESPN announces broadcast teams for 2025 NCAA Baseball Super Regionals

ESPN has announced its broadcast teams for the NCAA Super Regionals. The next round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament — and the last step before Omaha — will begin on Friday. All eight best-of-three series will air across ESPN platforms, including on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. All games will also be available to stream live […]

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14 minutes ago

June 5, 2025

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ESPN has announced its broadcast teams for the NCAA Super Regionals. The next round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament — and the last step before Omaha — will begin on Friday.

All eight best-of-three series will air across ESPN platforms, including on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. All games will also be available to stream live on ESPN+. Numerous broadcast teams will be in play for the Super Regionals. Some include ESPN’s top on-air talent.

Below are the commentators calling the various Super Regionals. ESPN’s lead team of three will be in Fayetteville, while all other broadcast teams will have two members.

Super Regional Broadcast Teams

Louisville: Mike Ferrin, Gaby Sanchez
Corvallis: Roxy Bernstein, Devon Travis
Chapel Hill: Eric Frede, Jensen Lewis
Auburn: Roy Philpott, Lance Cormier
Los Angeles: Victor Rojas, Todd Walker
Durham: Clay Matvick, Gregg Olson
Baton Rouge: Dave Neal, Ben McDonald
Fayetteville: Tom Hart, Kyle Peterson, Chris Burke

ESPN provided some brief highlights of the Super Regional action in its press release announcing this weekend’s broadcast teams. Below are some of the most pertinent details.

Per ESPN Baseball Insider Kiley McDaniel, the Super Regional round will feature 14 of the top 40 MLB Draft prospects, including top overall prospect and Florida State ace Jamie Arnold. Other top prospects include left-handers Liam Doyle (Tennessee) and Kade Anderson (LSU), and power-hitting shortstop Aiva Arquette (Oregon State).
Tennessee and Arkansas match up in an intriguing Super Regional filled with a number of the country’s top players, including 2025 Golden Spike Award semifinalists Doyle and Wehiwa Aloy, the star Razorback shortstop.
Despite seven of the top 16 teams being eliminated, college baseball powerhouses remain in the field. Recent MCWS champions playing this weekend include Tennessee (2024), LSU (2023), Oregon State (2018), Coastal Carolina (2016), UCLA (2013) and Arizona (2012).

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North Carolina Basketball Reportedly Has Jaw Dropping New NIL Budget Figure

In today’s current era of Name, Image and Likeness in collegiate sports, programs which are historically successful with large alumni backings and a dedicated administration are able to turn things around quicker than places where that may not be the case. According to a new report, that may be the case right now with the […]

Published

31 minutes ago

June 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

According to a new report, that may be the case right now with the North Carolina Tar Heels, one of the most iconic brands in all of college basketball.

A report by Inside Carolina states that that UNC’s payroll for its roster this upcoming season has exceeded a mark of $14 million, a number which would be more than triple what was spent on last season’s roster.

The Tar Heels massively underachieved last season and though they were granted a spot in the NCAA Tournament, they were eliminated in the first round after a 23-win season.

Clearly committing to major changes, the program had already hired longtime NBA agent Jim Tanner to be the general manager back in February and better help head coach Hubert Davis to navigate the difficulties of this current era and the chaos it brings.

Spending this kind of money on the roster is part of the investment that bringing in Tanner — who is set to make $850,000 this season — came along with.

Not only did the Tar Heels bring in a top-15 recruiting class from the high school ranks, they also took in four transfers from the portal in order to try to regroup and get things right.

With guys like Jarin Stevenson of Alabama and Henri Veesaar of Arizona, there’s no question a huge chunk of those funds were spent in the portal.

Notably, the high school class is headlined by one of the top players in the nation in big man Caleb Wilson, who is already featured by On3 on their NIL 100 list as the No. 81 highest paid athlete in college athletics.

Davis is headed into his fifth season as the head coach for the Tar Heels and this is not a program that is used to losing.

A massive budget for the upcoming season is only going to bring more pressure upon Davis as he tries to figure out how to turn this ship around.

UNC is making a commitment to getting back to being one of the sport’s premiere programs, and they are putting up the cash to show it.

Kiyan Anthony Talks $1.1M NIL Valuation, Launching Clothing Brand at 16, and Building His …

At just 17 years old, Kiyan Anthony is turning heads—not only with his skills on the basketball court but also with his early ventures into the business world. The son of Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony and actress La La Anthony, Kiyan holds a Name, Image, and Likeness valuation of $1.1 million, marking him as […]

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1 hour ago

June 5, 2025

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He graduated Saturday from Long Island Lutheran High School and is set to follow in his father’s footsteps at Syracuse this fall. Notably, Kiyan launched his own clothing brand at 16, underscoring his sharp entrepreneurial instincts ahead of his collegiate debut.

Carmelo’s Son Kiyan Anthony Makes Waves With $1.1M NIL and Early Entrepreneurial Moves

Kiyan Anthony, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony and actress La La Anthony, is quickly emerging as one of the most marketable young athletes in the nation. With a Name, Image and Likeness valuation of $1.1 million, the 17-year-old guard is already outpacing many college stars in the NIL space—and doing it on his own terms.

Off the court, Kiyan is just as driven. At age 16, he co-founded a clothing brand, One Way Clothing, with his friend Jadyn. What began as an “anti-boredom project” has turned into a Harlem-based streetwear company specializing in hoodies, T-shirts and joggers.

The brand’s latest “1617” collection—named for the ages at which Kiyan and Jadyn launched their venture—has taken off, pushing the company into six-figure revenue territory.

Kiyan’s entrepreneurial mindset places him among a new generation of athletes shaping their brands long before reaching college. Speaking on NILOSOPHY, fellow prospect AJ Dybantsa praised the shift.

“I try to advocate for myself, just trying to create my own name and create my own lane,” Dybantsa said. “Instead of being somebody’s son, it’s automatically just me on the front of something just because I’m doing good.”

Kiyan stays locked in his venture stating,

“I’m really locked in on when I’m not on the court so just trying to continue to build it and trying to connect it to me on the court as much as possible like we have a brand deal coming like a collab with Syracuse we trying to do collabs with multiple other brands so just.”

With endorsement deals already in place from brands like PSD Underwear, Nerf, DoorDash and AT&T, Anthony has leveraged his growing influence into tangible results. He understands the importance of balancing his basketball responsibilities with his off-court interests.

“Basketball comes first and everything else comes second,” he said. “My people around me, my mentors, my agents—just doing a great job of putting everything in order and making sure I’m staying focused.”

As he prepares to begin his college career at Syracuse, Anthony will be joined by his cousin, who will help him manage the business side of his growing brand.

“He’s super locked in and invested into what I got going on,” Anthony said. “I’m looking forward to just living out there with him.”

KEEP READING: Is 2025 the Most Anticipated BYU Basketball Season Ever? AJ Dybantsa Hype Reaches New Heights

Kiyan Anthony’s story isn’t just about carrying a legacy—it’s about creating one. As the 36th-ranked prospect in the 2025 ESPN 100, Kiyan has committed to Syracuse University, the same school where his father became a national icon.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball!

NIL

FCS coach taking leave to deal with family medical issues

Joe Perri, who played collegiately at Pittsburgh and launched his coaching career with the Panthers, is temporarily stepping away from coaching college football. Defensive line coach at FCS program Elon University since February 2024 and on staff there since 2022, Perri is departing the Phoenix to “take care of a family member and be with […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 5, 2025

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Joe Perri, who played collegiately at Pittsburgh and launched his coaching career with the Panthers, is temporarily stepping away from coaching college football.

Defensive line coach at FCS program Elon University since February 2024 and on staff there since 2022, Perri is departing the Phoenix to “take care of a family member and be with his family,” FootballScoop has learned. Perri will step away from Elon for the entirety of the 2025 season.

With vast coaching experience including ACC work both at his alma mater as well as four seasons on staff at Virginia Tech, Perri has been regarded among his peers for his excellent work developing defensive linemen.

The Elon program had heralded Perri for his work with the defensive line, noting in his bio that Elon ranked 13th nationally in sacks per game in 2022 – same as Perri’s arrival on staff — with nearly 3.0 sacks per game. The Phoenix defense was top 20 again in 2023 and averaged two per game in 2024.

Additional stops for Perri have included Western Michigan and Saginaw Valley State, as well as junior college and other posts.

Elon, after an 6-6 season that included a four-game winning streak to close the year under Tony Trisciani, is scheduled to open its season against Duke for a second-straight year. The Phoenix visit the Blue Devils Aug. 28, a Thursday night game that kicks off college football’s first full weekend of games.

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Analyst Rips Cooper Flagg’s Reported $28,000,000 Duke Deal as the ‘Dumbest NIL Story Ever Seen’

One college basketball insider blasted a rumor of Duke’s NIL deals with future NBA prospect Cooper Flagg on his podcast. Cooper Flagg’s Alleged Deal Compared to Caitlin Clark’s Nike Deal By Aaron Torres College basketball star Cooper Flagg’s future appears to be in the NBA as the presumptive number one draft pick. But a recent […]

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1 hour ago

June 5, 2025

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One college basketball insider blasted a rumor of Duke’s NIL deals with future NBA prospect Cooper Flagg on his podcast.

Cooper Flagg’s Alleged Deal Compared to Caitlin Clark’s Nike Deal By Aaron Torres

College basketball star Cooper Flagg’s future appears to be in the NBA as the presumptive number one draft pick. But a recent report about his NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals while at Duke University has caught the attention of insider Aaron Torres, who ridiculed it on the latest episode of his podcast at the 47-minute mark.

Torres cited a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Legion Hoops which claimed that Flagg reportedly made over $28 million in NIL deals. “When I saw that, I was genuinely blown away by A),” he began, “how many people don’t understand context, or two, how many believed it as factually correct. Well I’m here to tell you, it is the dumbest NIL story I’ve ever seen…it’s not factually correct, it sort of is but it isn’t factually correct.”

Torres continued, “Okay, so let’s just pretend that there’s a scenario where this Cooper Flagg thing could be real. So I went and looked it up, to see “Okay, what are realistic NIL numbers for athletes?” He soon came across former Iowa Hawkeyes basketball star guard Caitlin Clark. “Caitlin Clark signed a $28 million, eight-year deal with Nike. This is after she left college. Caitlin Clark signed for $3.5 million a year. Great money…but it ain’t $28 million.

“Zion Williamson…this was after his season at Duke, signed a five-year, $75 million deal. That’s $15 million a year. Again, not $28 million,” Torres said, adding: “Again, this is what annoyed me because nobody understood the context. And the context was very, very, very simple. The context was this…the contracts signed while you’re at Duke, the totality of them don’t mean that you made all that money while you’re at Duke.”

He would go on to illustrate his point, referencing a quote from a conversation between writer Howard Bryant and iconic sports host Bob Costas where Bryant stated that Flagg had a $13 million deal with New Balance and a $15 million deal with Fanatics. Torres asked how no one accounted for Flagg being in an AT&T commercial that ran during the NCAA Men’s Tournament or what he might’ve received from the collective at Duke.

Torres concluded by conceding that Flagg might’ve made some substantial money during his freshman season with the Blue Devils, but not that reported amount. He also stated that we could see a top prospect declare for the NBA Draft and then return back to college for the NIL deal.

College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and baseball!

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