College Sports

Kansas State University

By: D. Scott Fritchen The man in purple sits behind an L-shaped polished wood desk flush against the cream wall in his office at Colbert Hills Golf Course. To his left on the other side of the office is a steady, seemingly endless row of golf clubs. On one wall hangs five academic degrees or […]

Published

2 months ago

May 3, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By: D. Scott Fritchen

The man in purple sits behind an L-shaped polished wood desk flush against the cream wall in his office at Colbert Hills Golf Course. To his left on the other side of the office is a steady, seemingly endless row of golf clubs. On one wall hangs five academic degrees or golf instruction certificates in pretty frames. But it’s the bright yellow commemorate golf flag encased in glass that first catches the eye. The flag is from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and bears a black, cursive, handwritten inscription: “Stew, thank you for making this week possible!! Carla Bernat Escuder.”

It’s been 26 days since the 21-year-old Kansas State senior captured the most prestigious women’s amateur title in the world on perhaps the world’s most famous golf course while becoming the first golfer to record three rounds in the 60s in ANWA history. Bernat carded a 4-under 68 during the final round at Augusta National Golf Club, becoming the first woman from Spain to win the event.

It’s been 14 days since another K-State senior, Sophie Bert, of Belgium, fired a final-round 5-under par 66, rising 13 spots up the leaderboard to capture the Wildcats’ first-ever individual conference championship title at the 2025 Big 12 Championship at Houston Oaks Golf Club in Hockley, Texas. Bert’s 54-hole score of 2-under par 211 made her the only player to finish under par and her final-round total of 66 was the best ever by a K-State player in a conference championship.

It’s been a dizzying past month for the 39-year-old man in purple, second-year K-State head coach Stew Burke, who occupies his office seven hours after arriving in Manhattan at 2:40 a.m., navigating the severe thunderstorms that shook the team van as it crept along the Flint Hills hours after several Wildcats competed in the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier at St. Clair Country Club in Bellville, Illinois.

“Torrential rain heading back to Manhattan,” Burke says. “Today, I’m going to eat lunch with my mom and dad. They flew in from Scotland and have been here the last month. After lunch, I’m going to pick up my 4-year-old so she can go to the airport with grandma and grandpa and wave them off.

“The last month? Pretty amazing. It’s the way it’s supposed to be. It’s what I want K-State to be. Currently, it is.”

At 5:50 a.m. Saturday, the K-State women’s golf team embarks upon a new journey.

K-State will fly from Manhattan Regional Airport to Lexington, Kentucky. Following one the best regular seasons in program history, K-State earned a postseason bid for the first time since 2017 as the Wildcats were selected as the No. 5 seed in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional. It’s the latest high-water mark for a fast-rising women’s golf program — one determined to bust through the door reserved for blue bloods and take a seat at the table.

“Jim Colbert told me the story about Bill Snyder when he was hired and how he told Coach Snyder that it couldn’t be done,” Burke says. “When Jim Colbert called me during the interview process, I said, ‘It can be done. I promise you, it can be done!'”

Burke, the 2022 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at Tulane and former K-State assistant coach, was named the Wildcats’ head coach on June 30, 2023, after four seasons leading the Green Wave. In addition to spending parts of three seasons as an assistant coach at K-State, he also served as associate head coach for parts of three seasons at USC.

Last season, Burke and assistant coach Rinko Mitsunaga guided K-State to a school-record 290.25 scoring average (it topped the previous team scoring average by over six shots per round), one tournament victory (its first tournament victory away from Manhattan since 2017) and three other top-five finishes, and a third-place finish at the 2024 Big 12 Championship (its highest finish in a conference championship in school history).

Last season, K-State was also the first team left out of the 2024 NCAA Regionals.

This season, K-State re-established itself with a school-record 287.66 scoring average (nearly three shots better than in 2024) and has a school record-tying two victories and six top-three finishes. This season has also featured five of the top seven team rounds in school history.

A dose of national respect arrived on the GOLF Channel shortly after K-State’s regional selection on April 23. Front and center during the afternoon selection show special, the man in purple planted a Powercat flag on TVs across America.

“At Kansas State, we’re a hard-working, blue-collar team, and we’re a team everybody can root for,” Burke said on the GOLF Channel. “Maybe we’re not one of the premier blue chippers in women’s college golf, but we’re going to do our best with grit and effort and compete right to the end.”

The NCAA Women’s Golf Regionals features six sites and 12 teams at each site. The top five teams from each regional site will advance to compete in the NCAA Championship on May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

The top six overall seeds are all entrenched in the cool club among women’s golf programs: Stanford, South Carolina, Florida State, Arkansas, Oregon and Texas. The other teams among the top 18 seeds include Virginia, Ole Miss, LSU, Ohio State, Arizona State, Auburn, USC, TCU, Wake Forest, Arizona, Northwestern and North Carolina.

The Lexington Regional looks this way: 1) Florida State, 2) USC, 3) TCU, 4) Vanderbilt and 5) K-State.

“You’ve got to be a disruptor,” Burke says. “I’m sure there are people who don’t want us there. They’re like, ‘Damn.’ Well, we’re pushing our way in. We have to take a little bit of swagger into it. They’re not going to be scared of anybody. The Augusta National Women’s Amateur — our player won it. The conference championship — our player won it.

“There’s no reason to be scared of anybody.”

Burke is passionate, thoughtful and well educated by virtue of the three college degrees framed upon his office wall. He played collegiately at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, and graduated with a degree in sports management in 2007. Then he earned a master’s degree in educational, school and counseling psychology with an emphasis in positive coaching from Missouri in 2019. Then he earned another master’s degree in sports studies at Tulane in 2021.

His competitive fire ignites without warning.

“I kind of had an idea in my head about our first season at K-State and it was very rankings based,” he says. “I like numbers. Personally, I wanted to break every single record here. I wanted to break all the records as quickly as possible. That was a huge motivator. I knew the scores. There was a process to making sure we did the little things right while we talked about big, lofty goals, and the girls bought in. They could see themselves there. That’s always a part of it.

“You have to help others to see themselves going where they want to go.”

It didn’t take long for Burke to decide where he wanted to go. He was born and raised in the tiny village Bridge of Weir in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. While the village’s traditional industries are cotton milling and leather tanning, Burke’s father was a precision engineer who manufactured springs for everything from fighter jets to cash registers, and his mother was a schoolteacher.

“Dad introduced me to golf when I was 4 as a way to tire me out,” Burke says. “He’d take me and hit balls in a field. It’s a very working-class sport in Scotland. Everybody plays — absolutely everybody. My junior golf course membership between age 10 and 15 was $50. Everybody I grew up with played golf. It’s like baseball in America. We’d go to the club for dinner, have a couple beers, and play a quick five or six holes.”

Burke tells of his high school physical education teacher who never turned professional but who made nine birdies in a row on a women’s European Tour event to set a Guiness World Record. The P.E. teacher’s brother-in-law went to college on a golf scholarship. That piqued the interest of Burke, who calls his decision to play college golf in the United States “a no-brainer.”

“Then you figure out in year two that you’re maybe not good enough to play at the next level,” he says. “That’s when the interest in teaching and coaching sparked for me.”

As for all his degrees?

“I kind of get a little bit bored,” he says, chuckling.

As for the toughest challenge breaking into coaching?

“The visa process and getting a coach to take a risk,” he says. “I got really lucky. I had helped some golfers who came to the states have a lot of success and started to make a name for myself. K-State head coach Kristi Knight asked me to be her assistant. I was going to a friend’s wedding in St. Louis. The timing was perfect. All the stars were aligned. I loved the opportunity to help something grow. We started that spring and got running.”

While at K-State as an assistant, Burke helped raise the Wildcats’ Golfstat ranking from No. 105 into the top 40 as they tallied three team victories and four individual crowns. K-State also posted its top two scoring average marks in school history at the time with Burke on staff in 2014-15 (297.30) and 2015-16 (297.31).

Burke left K-State in the spring of 2017 to serve as the assistant coach and later the associate head coach at USC, where he helped guide the Trojans to consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championship semifinals (2017 and 2018) and in the quarterfinals (2019). In 2018-19, USC was the No. 1-ranked team by both Golfstat and Golfweek and captured the 2019 Pac-12 Championship. He coached players that combined for 10 All-America accolades.

“Southern Cal is a tough place to be,” Burke says. “If you don’t win, it’s a failure. We won a conference championship and there were no rings. You only got a ring for nationals. That’s since changed. But that environment — everybody is all over the place. You didn’t get to meet very many other coaches every often. You were in a coaching suite and people went to their office and worked and left because they had an hour commute. But you got special things there, too. You were around world-class athletes and great coaches within the area, so you got to learn and pick their brain. You can really make out of it what you want. You can become a great coach, or you can be lazy.”

And Burke is not lazy.

When Knight retired, Burke immediately called K-State. He went through a formal interview process and waited.

“There was an awful 10-day wait because I was the first interview,” he said. “I knew I was the person for the job with how passionate I was about this place. It was my job. I loved the place. Everyone assumed I was getting the job. It was a great job. You’re mentally there, but you’re going to be devastated if you don’t get it.”

Burke was immediately impressed with K-State athletic director Gene Taylor.

“I knew I had to be well prepared, and he was going to ask the right questions,” Burke says. “I’d interviewed with other Power 4 schools, and those people didn’t know about golf, development, and goals for the program. Gene knew exactly what he was looking for in taking the program forward. It was great to talk with somebody who was speaking your language.”

Burke made meeting with the team his top priority. He was in Spain recruiting at the time and introduced himself to the Wildcats on Zoom. Then he flew to Dallas, Texas, to watch three Wildcats compete in a U.S. Open qualifier. He called the golfers and got to know them. He also phoned Mitsunaga, his assistant coach at Tulane. She was in. Eventually, Carla Bernat, who adores Rinko like a sister, entered the transfer portal and joined Burke and Mitsunaga in Manhattan.

“Carla sent me an e-mail: ‘Would you consider me for your roster?’ It was very professional,” Burke says. “I had to give her a hard time.”

Burke and Mitsunaga traveled to five different countries to assemble this 2024-25 K-State team. Bernat hails from Castellon, Spain, as does sophomore Julia Ballester Barrio; senior transfer Sophie Bert is from Deurle, Belgium; junior Noa van Beek is from Oene, Netherlands; sophomore Alenka Navarro is from Mexico City, Mexico; freshman Nanami Nakashima is from Kani, Japan; and freshman Natalia Fiel Ros is from Valencia, Spain.

“We had to reestablish the brand, which is what Kristi and I had done the first time around,” Burke says. “Kristi sent me to Europe my first year, and I stayed six weeks. I went to a tournament, flew back, and took a flight somewhere else. People would see me.

“They’d say, ‘Oh, it’s the man in purple.'”

It still happens to Burke, where he’ll be driving in a major city somewhere in the United States, wearing the Powercat, and he’ll pause and say to himself, “I get to do this! I don’t believe it!” Or he’ll be walking a golf course in a different country, his competitive juices on fire, much like they were when he got Nakashima over California, Clemson, Baylor and UCLA.

K-State women’s golf has its foot firmly in the door. The Wildcats are crashing the party. Burke offered a warning of sorts soon after appearing on the GOLF Channel.

“Blue-chip programs get so much coverage,” Burke says. “There are other programs that can beat these top schools. We want to make sure we’re getting our seat at the table.”

It’s been quite a journey from growing up hitting golf balls into a field in Scotland. And it’s been quite a year for the Wildcats.

The best still could be to come.

“I don’t want to say this is the best team we’ve ever had,” Burke says. “On paper, yeah… but if we don’t get to nationals, I’ll be disappointed.”

There will be a time at the NCAA Lexington Regional, where much like at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Burke pauses for a second and breathes in the moment. It could happen on day one. Or on day two. But the time will come when Burke fully digests the enormity of the quest. And the quests to come.

The man in purple is leading the way as the Wildcats navigate the greens and plant their proverbial flag at Keene Trace Golf Club in a NCAA Regional for the first time in eight years. And the man in purple appreciates the journey.

“I’ve learned you can achieve what you put your mind to,” Burke says. “You have to be relentless. I wanted to be here. Once I got here, I wanted to make it great.”

He pauses.

“Maybe we’re not great yet,” he says, “but we’re certainly on the pathway to it.”

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Former Bama QB Greg McElroy says someone ‘very much in the know’ thinks Saban ‘not done coaching’

On Monday, former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said he had heard that his former head coach, Nick Saban, could return to coaching. According to McElroy, co-host of WJOX’s “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” someone “very much in the know” thought Saban was not done coaching. The legendary coach retired from coaching in 2024, citing […]

Published

4 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

On Monday, former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy said he had heard that his former head coach, Nick Saban, could return to coaching.

According to McElroy, co-host of WJOX’s “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning,” someone “very much in the know” thought Saban was not done coaching.

The legendary coach retired from coaching in 2024, citing the landscape of college football with NIL, the transfer portal and other aspects for retiring.

“[T]his is a little bit out of left field, but the question was asked of me … a very much in the know person that I have a lot of respect for and have spent a lot of time around and just really, really admire,” McElroy said live at SEC Media Days. “They seem to think Nick Saban’s not done coaching. I had a similar reaction. He’s pretty adamant that he thinks Nick Saban will be coaching again.”

“Do you buy that?” he asked ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum replied, “No,” adding, “Greg, you know Nick Saban better than I do, but I ran into somebody the other day who spends time with Saban in Florida – you can imagine where – and said that he is literally having the time of his life. And why wouldn’t he? I’m much closer to Nick Saban’s age than you are and I can assure you, when you have everything you want and you start playing golf at the best golf clubs in America and you start making friends who belong to even better golf clubs and you make a lot of money for doing very little work on TV, the interest in doing what he walked away from is not very high.

He continued, “I mean, he had a better situation at Alabama the day he left than anywhere he goes, let’s say it’s next year. Now, I don’t know whether it’s college or pros – could he be talked into something in the NFL? I don’t know how, because I don’t know that itch burns anymore, either. But my opinion is Nick Saban is done in coaching.”

“Look, if it wasn’t someone notable, I’d never say a word,” McElroy clarified.

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].

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News: F1 TV, CFP Expansion, Allison Williams and more

Formula 1 is reportedly looking to keep F1 TV in the United States under its next rights deal; SEC commissioner Greg Sankey discusses expansion of the College Football Playoff; and Allison Williams is said to be joining NFL broadcasts on FOX Sports. Plus additional news surrounding the NHL, NBA, ESPYS and Players Era Festival. Formula […]

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5 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Formula 1 aiming to continue F1 TV in United States

With reports indicating that Formula 1 is leaning towards selecting Apple as its United States partner holding broadcasting rights starting next year, the motorsport league could remain accessible through a familiar domain. Formula One Management, the company owned by Liberty Media, is said to be aiming to continue F1 TV in the country within its next rights deal, according to a source cited by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal.

This service first launched in 2018, and it has granted users the ability to stream all race weekend sessions and various other features. The continuation of F1 TV in the United States would provide viewers with two OTT platforms to view races and other events surrounding the entity. The F1 TV platform has co-existed as ESPN has broadcast the races through linear and digital platforms under media rights deals dating back to 2018.

Dylan Byers of Puck News recently reported that new Liberty Media chief executive officer Derek Chang met with Apple executives Tim Cook and Eddy Cue at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference. On top of that, he conveyed that Apple offered $150 million per annum for the rights and explained that Liberty Media would be likely to accept the proposal.

Sankey expresses support for CFP expansion

As the format of the Colllege Football Playoff remains ambiguous after next season, Sankey expressed his support for its expansion beyond 12 teams, explaining that it “can be positive and should be pursued.” Yet he mentioned that the CFP could remain in its 12-team format containing the five conference champions if no agreement regarding a new format is ultimately reached.

At the moment, the 12 participating teams consist of the five conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked schools as determined by the CFP selection committee. There have been discussions about a model in which the aforementioned conference champions plus 11 at-large teams would qualify, and it was reported by Heather Dinich of ESPN as “gaining traction” after the conference held its spring meetings in late May. Brett Yormark, the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, explained last week that the 5+11 model would be “the right format” for the conference long term, which would grant two automatic bids per year to the entity.

ESPN and the College Football Playoff reached a new six-year agreement reportedly worth $7.8 billion starting in the 2026-27 season that grants the network rights to the entire tournament, along with placing the National Championship Game on ABC for the first time.

Williams joining FOX Sports NFL broadcasts

FOX Sports has promoted sideline reporter Allison Williams to its coverage of the National Football League, according to a report from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. Williams, who first joined the company in August 2022 following a stint at ESPN, has been contributing to college football broadcasts working alongside play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti and analyst Brock Huard for three seasons.

Under her new role, she will be assuming the position previously held by Laura Okmin, who had been with the company for 23 years. Okmin had previously worked with play-by-play announcer Kevin Kugler and analyst Daryl “Moose” Johnston, but it remains unknown if Williams will pair with the same broadcast team.

Plus: NHL tripleheader, NBA, ESPYS, Players Era Festival

The NHL will begin the 2025-26 regular season with a tripleheader of games airing on Tuesday, Oct. 7 televised exclusively by ESPN in the United States and Rogers Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. Matchups include Blackhawks-Panthers (5 p.m. EST), Penguins-Rangers (8 p.m. EST) and Avalanche-Kings (10:30 p.m. EST), and the full regular-season schedule will be revealed this Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
A potential national streaming RSN for the NBA may not launch until the 2027-28 season, according to a report by Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. While sources cited indicate that the league could have created the platform amid finalizing its national media rights deals, it was said to have considered local television as “a prohibitive revenue source.”
ESPN has revealed that this Wednesday’s presentation of the 2025 “ESPYS” from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif. will honor Diana Taurasi and Alex Morgan with the Icon Award recognizing their careers and impact in professional sports. The network is also going to air an edition of “SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days” from the red carpet featuring anchors Kevin Neghandi and Elle Duncan.
TNT Sports will exclusively present the 31-game Players Era college basketball tournament for the second consecutive year during Thanksgiving Week. Various prominent men’s and women’s basketball teams are featured as part of the schedule, such as Tennessee, St. John’s, Creighton and Rutgers.

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2025 U.S. Classic: Field, schedule, how to watch

© Matthew Smith/Gymnastics Now The 2025 U.S. Classic is set for July 18-19 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera and Olympic alternates Joscelyn Roberson, Leanne Wong, and Tiana Sumanasekera headlining the field. The U.S. Classic is the final qualifier for the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will […]

Published

38 minutes ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

From left to right: Nola Matthews, Leanne Wong, Hezly Rivera, Joscelyn Roberson, and Lexi Zeiss are all entered to compete at the 2025 U.S. Classic

The 2025 U.S. Classic is set for July 18-19 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera and Olympic alternates Joscelyn Roberson, Leanne Wong, and Tiana Sumanasekera headlining the field.

The U.S. Classic is the final qualifier for the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which will take place in New Orleans from August 7-10. This year’s meet features only women’s divisions after having men’s divisions in 2022 and 2023. It is also held in conjunction with the 2025 Hopes Championships, which features up-and-coming talent competing in 11-12 and 13-14 year-old divisions.

Simone Biles has won every U.S. Classic title since 2018 except for 2022, when Biles was on her post-Olympic hiatus and Wong was victorious. While Biles is once again on a post-Olympic break (to be determined if she’s retired or not), Wong is in the field again this year, as well as other NCAA and elite standout Roberson. The Florida and Arkansas stars have been on the Classic podium before, but this will be their first elite meet since Olympic Trials over a year ago.

Another exciting comeback to watch will be that of 2023 Winter Cup champion and 2022 world team alternate Lexi Zeiss. Zeiss just finished her freshman season at LSU and will compete in her first elite meet since the 2024 U.S. Championships.

Other names to watch include Jayla Hang – who has had an outstanding season internationally, winning nine individual medals at world cups and the Pan American Championships – 2025 Varna World Challenge Cup bars and floor champion Nola Matthews, 2025 Antalya World Cup beam champion Claire Pease, 2025 Jesolo Trophy bars champion Simone Rose, and 2025 Winter Cup champion Ashlee Sullivan.

Keep reading for how to watch the 2025 U.S. Classic and the full field.

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2025 U.S. Classic schedule and how to watch

Streaming Schedule

Date	Event	Platform	Time (CT)
Friday, July 18	Hopes Championships	FlipNow.tv	2:00–4:30 p.m.
Friday, July 18	Junior Women	USAG YouTube	7:10–10:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 19	Senior Women – Session 1	USAG YouTube	2:00–4:00 p.m.

TV Broadcast Info

Date	Event	Platform	Time (ET)
Saturday, July 19	Senior Women – Session 2	LIVE on CNBC & Peacock	8:00–10:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 20	Highlights (Tape Delay)	NBC	4:00–6:00 p.m.

Who is competing at the 2025 U.S. Classic?

Senior Women Athletes (as of June 30, 2025)

Sage Bradford — WOGA
Harlow Buddendeck — RGA
Dulcy Caylor — World Champions Centre
Ally Damelio — San Mateo Gymnastics
Jordis Eichman — World Champions Centre
Reese Esponda — World Champions Centre
Kieryn Finnell — RGA
Catherine Guy — Pacific Reign
Jayla Hang — Pacific Reign
Gabrielle Hardie — Twin City Twisters
Myli Lew — San Mateo Gymnastics
Nola Matthews — Airborne Gymnastics Training Center
Annalisa Milton — GAGE
Malea Milton — GAGE
Avery Moll — Buckeye Gymnastics
Claire Pease — WOGA
Jazlene Pickens — Buckeye Gymnastics
Brooke Pierson — World Champions Centre
Hezly Rivera — WOGA
Joscelyn Roberson — University of Arkansas
Alessia Rosa — Hill’s Gymnastics
Simone Rose — Pacific Reign
Izzy Stassi — Gym X‑Treme
Ashlee Sullivan — Metroplex Gymnastics
Tiana Sumanasekera — World Champions Centre
Maliha Tressel — Twin City Twisters
Audree Valdenarro — Gymnastics Olympica USA
Sabrina Visconti — Nohas Gymnastics Academy
Camie Westerman — Hill’s Gymnastics
Halle Shea Wittenberg — Cypress Academy
Leanne Wong — University of Florida
Kelise Woolford — Buckeye Gymnastics
Lexi Zeiss — LSU
Alicia Zhou — Love Gymnastics

Junior Women Athletes (as of June 30, 2025)

Ashley Andrews — World Class Gymnastics
Isabella Anzola — WOGA
Sophia Buechler — Midwest Gymnastics Center
Charleigh Bullock — Capital Gymnastics
Espy Chang — Pacific Reign
Lavi Crain — GAGE
Vivi Crain — GAGE
Emmy Cunningham — Metroplex
Aulya Daniels — GAGE
Eva Doherty — World Class Gymnastics
Mavie Fitzgerald — San Mateo Gymnastics
Carla Fronc — Palmer’s Gymnastics Inc.
Addy Fulcher — Georgia Elite Gymnastics
Blake Green — Pearland Elite
Leah Higgins — North Stars Gymnastics Academy
Maya Kosarikova — Cypress Academy
Greta Krob — IGN
Isla Lazzari — CITY Club Gymnastics Academy
Anslee McCauley — Georgia All‑Star Gymnastics
Amariah Moore — First State Gymnastics
Caroline Moreau — Texas Dreams Gymnastics
Amia Pugh‑Banks — World Class Gymnastics
Lila Richardson — Hopes and Dreams Gymnastics
Paisley Ritger — Pacific Reign
Mary Salazar — Gymnastics Olympica USA
Kaylee Sath — GAGE
Elaina Sliney — Cincinnati Gymnastics
Kylie Smith — Cincinnati Gymnastics
Ansley Stevens — Cincinnati Gymnastics
Sage Stiggers — WOGA
Sydney Strong — Legacy Gymnastics
Emlyn Thomson — Hill’s Gymnastics
Addalye VanGrinsven — Pacific Reign
Grace Wickham — Georgia Elite Gymnastics
Sydney Williams — Metroplex
Trinity Wood — Capital Gymnastics
Mattie Mae Young — Georgia Elite

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Inside Gymnastics Magazine | Jayla Hang is set for the U.S. Elite season.

As a Junior Elite, Jayla Hang excited the gymnastics world with exceptional gymnastics and high level of difficulty. She quickly became an athlete many pinned as the future of USA Gymnastics. In 2024, U.S. National Team member Jayla Hang narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Trials. This motivated Hang heading into the 2025 season. “I […]

Published

1 hour ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

As a Junior Elite, Jayla Hang excited the gymnastics world with exceptional gymnastics and high level of difficulty. She quickly became an athlete many pinned as the future of USA Gymnastics. In 2024, U.S. National Team member Jayla Hang narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympic Trials. This motivated Hang heading into the 2025 season.

“I think I learned that after last year where I didn’t make trials, I wanted to take every opportunity I could get and just use it to my advantage, and not slow down in any bit, just because you never know what could happen at the end of the year. Make every opportunity count,” Hang said

Hang has certainly made each opportunity in 2025 worth her while. She began the year by taking second in the All-Around at Winter Cup, where she was selected to compete at both the Antalya and Osijek World Cup. In Antalya, she qualified to all four event finals and won gold on vault, and once again made each event final and won gold on floor, silver on beam, and bronze on vault in Osijek. With her confidence building, in early June Hang made a trip to Panama for the Pan American Championships where she performed an astonishing three consecutive days in the All-Around and left as a six-time Pan American Championships medalist. She won gold with the Team and in the All-Around, silver on bars, beam, and floor, and bronze on vault. Despite the exhausting meet format, it ultimately gave Hang needed experience.

“I’ve never had a competition where it’s competition after competition after competition. Having to keep my endurance up so I could make it to the end definitely was hard,” Hang said. “Going into that meet on the last day, I was so tired, you could ask anyone, I was falling asleep half the time,” she said with a laugh. “Vault warm ups where I couldn’t even run, my legs felt like jello.”

From the outside, you’d have a hard time telling that Hang was tired. She recorded a 55.666 All-Around score in the Team Final, the highest All-Around score from a U.S. gymnast so far in 2025. She also hit every routine she competed at Pan Ams, a perfect 12/12. Each competition of 2025 has helped strengthen Hang’s confidence on the competition floor.

“I think I’ve gained a little more experience just getting back on the competition floor,” she said. “Every opportunity I get to just raise my hand and do my routines puts one more thing in the bucket to gain my confidence.”

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Did Michigan Hockey miss on Gavin McKenna or did Brandon Naurato pivot?

Welcome to Michigan Musings! Every Monday – at least until the start of football season – this will serve as your prime source for all things Michigan Wolverines; a weekly digest featuring thoughts and commentary on (mostly) the top stories from the week that was. Similar to a newsletter (Brewsletter?), this will feature an assortment […]

Published

2 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Welcome to Michigan Musings! Every Monday – at least until the start of football season – this will serve as your prime source for all things Michigan Wolverines; a weekly digest featuring thoughts and commentary on (mostly) the top stories from the week that was. Similar to a newsletter (Brewsletter?), this will feature an assortment of stories and opinions from football to basketball to hockey to pop culture and everything in between.

Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and let’s dive in.

Gavin McKenna to Penn State: Michigan’s Miss or Brandon Naurato’s Pivot?

Gavin McKenna is going to Penn State. You read that correctly. The generational hockey talent is not going to Boston College, B-U, North Dakota, Michigan State, any Minnesota school, and unfortunately, not Michigan…but Penn State.

Far from a traditional power, the Nittany Lions won as many NCAA Tournament games last season as they had in their previous 12. Now, Penn State is swinging for the fences with several high-profile signings and none bigger than McKenna, who is the highest-rated prospect to ever play at the collegiate level.

*Slides chips to the middle of the table*

Apparently, McKenna’s decision came down to two options: Penn State and Michigan State. One, praise be to whomever that this kid did not end up in East Lansing (Quick aside: On the same day, just a few hours later, Michigan State All-Planet forward and last season’s Hobey Baker winner, Isaac Howard, signed a professional contract and has left the team. Now, there are bad days and then there are BAD days). Two, what happened to Michigan?

The Wolverines had been considered frontrunners for McKenna’s services since the rule passed allowing CHL players to play in the NCAA last November. But as the months wore on, Michigan slowly fell out of contention. McKenna didn’t even take a visit to Ann Arbor.

Perhaps it was money-driven. Penn State reportedly offered $700,000, more than doubling Michigan State’s offer of $300,000, and likely trumping anything Michigan could have offered. The Nittany Lions are clearly in the business of pockets over pedigree as they try to buy a national title — or at least the last two wins required — with the backing of the Pegula family. Somewhere, Buffalo Sabres fans are pissed.

This is a recruiting loss that hurts more than most. Especially after it appeared Michigan was all-in on McKenna a few months ago. It felt like approaching the hottest girl in school to ask her to prom, and on approach, she is making out with the rich new kid at her locker. But after listening to Mayday Parade for a few days, it’s time to move on.

Where do head coach Brandon Naurato and the Wolverines stand without McKenna? Honestly, it’s not as bleak as some might assume. While the McKenna circus was parading between Happy Valley and East Lansing, Naurato quietly added some role pieces to help solidify the 2025 roster.

Staying among the CHL ranks, Naurato signed skilled defensemen Henry Mews and Matthew Mania, a pair of physical forwards in Malcom Spence and Justin Larose, and one of the best goalie prospects in the country in Jack Ivankovic.

These moves are in addition to the incoming transfers of North Dakota forward Jayden Perron, Cornell defenseman Ben Robertson and Northern Michigan goalie Julian Molinaro. Adding these players to the known commodities in Michigan’s freshman class, the vision for this team is starting to come together.

Projected first line: Garrett Schifsky-T.J. Hughes-Josh Eernisse

Last year’s leading scorer and best playmaker, Hughes, is likely to wear the ‘C’ this year and will command one of the most experienced top lines in the country. Flanking the captain will likely be Schifsky, a highlight reel scorer, and Big Ern, who plays like a pickup truck with finesse. This trio has the highest two-way star potential, with all three willing to commit as much energy to the defensive zone as the offensive zone.

Projected second line: Will Horcoff-Michael Hage-Jayden Perron

Unsurprisingly, this will be Michigan’s highest-scoring line. Horcoff and Hage are both first-round draft picks, and Perron, a former third-rounder, is a gifted offensive player in his own right. Chemistry may take some time to develop, and defense could be an issue, but this line has the talent to produce with any line in the Big Ten.

Projected third line: Malcolm Spence-Kienan Draper-Nick Moldenhauer

Despite playing third line last season, I considered moving Draper down just to add some experience, but the balance of talents makes more sense this way. Draper is one of Naurato’s shining examples of player development and will bring some size and goal-scoring to this group. Spence is a playmaker who thrives in transition, and Moldenhauer quietly (finally) hit his goal-scoring stride in the Big Ten Tournament last season.

Projected fourth line: Justin Larose-Cole McKinney-Aidan Park

The grind line is back! Larose, simply put, is an M-F’er on the ice and will bring an edge this team desperately needs. Joining Larose are a pair of freshmen, Cole McKinney and Aidan Park. Park is a natural center, but he should be able to handle the wing. Despite his youth, Park plays with a refined defensive game and a crazy high motor. McKinney will center this line and has been described as a “pain to play against” and one of the most consistent defensive forwards in the 2025 NHL Draft class. Together, these three personify the ideal Michigan fourth line.

Projected first D pairing: Tyler Duke-Luca Fantilli

This duo played extensively last season, and whether they are the top pair or further down the rotation, expect them to play together. A former staple of the second unit, Duke and Fantilli are both great examples of Michigan player development. Especially Fantilli, who has gone from “Adam’s token older brother” to one of the team’s most reliable players.

Projected second D pairing: Ben Robertson-Henry Mews

Robertson and Mews could easily end up as one of the top-pair defensemen on this team. Scratch that. Robertson and Mews WILL be the top pair by the end of the season. Robertson played first-line minutes last season for Cornell — the team that knocked out the Spartans in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament — and Mews is one of the most skilled offensive defenseman joining college hockey this season. Robertson and Mews could be one-two on the team for ice time this season.

Projected third D pairing: Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen-Matthew Mania

Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen played left and right last season, but ended the year on the left. DRM is a defenseman’s defenseman, and Mania is a physical, puck-moving player who will “cave your face in if needed.” As a bottom pair, Naurato simply needs stability from these two.

Projected starting goalie: Jack Ivankovic

Ivankovic is the best goalie prospect Michigan has had in years. Despite being undersized, Ivankovic is incredibly athletic, technically sound, and has consistently been described as a winner. Julian Molinaro and Stephen Peck will battle for the right to rotate with Ivankovic, but unlike last year, it is definitively one player’s net.

Freshman defenseman Drew Shock and sophomore D-man Hunter Hady will compete for the extra skater spot, while freshman Asher Barnett will likely take a redshirt. Josh Orricco is still on the roster, but his production suggests he’s mostly there for vibes. Committed since 2022, forward Teddy Spitznagel could also be joining the team, but deciphering college hockey roster building only goes so far without access to Yost.

Naurato went into this offseason and took a hard look in the mirror. A few months ago, I wrote about how Naurato was burning the program down to rebuild with McKenna. But maybe my thinking was too obvious, too Monday morning GM.

Weighing the options, is one McKenna worth the combination of Mews, Spence and Ivankovic? Most would say yes, (I did a few months ago) but if that’s the case, why have Western Michigan, Denver and Quinnipiac won the last four national championships instead of the teams with exceedingly better top end talent — Michigan, Boston College, Minnesota, and B-U? Furthermore, Union and Yale have more recent national championships than those big four. Were those teams too concentrated on building a higher ceiling more than fortifying the foundation with depth?

It is clear Naurato wanted to take a different approach this offseason by spreading the wealth beyond his top lines and increase his team’s two-way ability and physicality. The names don’t look as sexy as “McKenna” on the marquee, but last season’s national champions, Western Michigan, only had eight players with NHL deals and only one was selected in the top-100.

Although Naurato is taking a new approach, it doesn’t mean he is just adding role players either. This team already features a handful of top-50 picks and a few more could still be on the way.

Depending on how you count the non-dressers, Michigan has one or two potential roster spots remaining. And as NHL Development Camps have come to an end, several big name former CHLers have decisions to make with their teams and agents. Namely, Porter Martone.

The most recent sixth overall pick has been linked to Michigan as long as McKenna was. Martone is a 6-foot-3 power forward who was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, and who would fit Naurato’s new vision of two-way physicality to a tee. However, as we found out, this connection to the program does not guarantee anything, and unfortunately, with the departure of Howard, expect Michigan State to also make a strong push for Martone.

Michigan has pivoted to a new approach to build a winner. An approach that was desperately needed as the previous has not led to a national championship since the late ‘90s. Despite the feeling of loss in the moment, Naurato and the Wolverines didn’t fold after Penn State went all in. The Nittany Lions added a King, but Michigan reshuffled with a Full House.

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College Sports

2025 SEC Media Days

“Let me be clear — college athletics is not broken, but it is strained,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said during his opening address to kick off the conference’s media days in Atlanta Monday morning. As the college sports landscape undergoes rapid changes, Sankey explained his main goal has not changed as he tries to put […]

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2 hours ago

July 14, 2025

Your Sports Nation

As the college sports landscape undergoes rapid changes, Sankey explained his main goal has not changed as he tries to put his conference in the best position to succeed amid the arrival of revenue sharing and expected changes to the College Football Playoff format.

“The settlement went into effect July 1 and it’s July 14 while working through historic and transformed change,” Sankey said Monday from Atlanta. “In the middle of anything significant, it will get messy. That doesn’t mean you leave or in a marathon, it doesn’t mean you step off the course. The burden of making a new system work is certainly on commissioners and conference offices, but the responsibility is shared with our campuses and campus leaders.”

Sankey said conversations with university presidents this spring included the potential of the Power Four forming a committee to explore its role in the future of college athletics. The committee, Sankey cited, would include multiple presidents from each league and the commissioners for each league.

2025 SEC Media Days schedule, where to watch: When coaches, teams will speak during four-day event in Atlanta

Will Backus

On College Football Playoff expansion

Sankey was complimentary of the playoff’s straight-seeding model adopted ahead of the 2025 season. Under the new seeding process, the top four teams in the selection committee’s final rankings get a first-round pass to the quarterfinals.

Last season, the four highest-ranked conference champions earned that distinction regardless of where those teams were slotted by the selection committee. He also advocated for expansion of the field in the future.

“We think growth beyond 12 can be positive and should be pursued,” Sankey said.

Sankey said the SEC “has the best hand to play” in the expansion debate and that his league will continue hold steady with its opinion on how future brackets should look relating to automatic bids and other details.

On future SEC scheduling

Sankey did not reveal if his conference is moving to nine games in 2026, which has been a hot-button topic for several years.

“It’s absolutely, fully and 100% correct that we play eight conference games, while others play nine conference games,” Sankey said. “It’s also correct that last season, all 16 (of our) members played at least nine games against, what you would label, power opponents. I don’t believe there’s anyone looking to swap their conference schedule and their opponents with our conference schedule.

“I handed out a bunch of stats that created a stir in Destin (at SEC spring meetings) that showed there’s a rigor here that is unique.”

Sankey said his team is continuing to evaluate weather increasing the number of SEC games annually. He’s not providing a date to reveal the 2026 football schedule and said decisions are coming soon.

“We have to make decisions (soon), if we’re going to nine games,” Sankey said. “If we stay at eight, it’ll probably be a little bit easier logistically.”