SEATTLE – Washington head men’s basketball coach Danny Sprinkle has landed another major addition through the transfer portal, announcing the signing of All-Big Ten Honorable Mention guard Desmond Claude from USC.
 
Claude is Washington’s seventh addition from the transfer portal, joining Lathan Summerville, Quimari Peterson, Jacob Ognacevic, former USC teammate Wesley Yates III, Bryson Tucker and Christian Nitu. Claude is the third incoming Husky that led his team in scoring a year ago.
 
The addition bolsters an already impressive transfer haul, with the Husky class ranking as the third best in the nation per On3, coming in at No. 6 per ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and No. 8 via HoopsHQ.
 
“Desmond was one of the best guards we played all season last year,” Sprinkle said. “He completely dominated and controlled both of our games against USC. He is a veteran, experienced player and has been extremely effective and productive at the Big East and Big Ten levels. We are expecting him to continue that production and have a great senior season for the Dawgs!”
 
On3 ranks Claude as the nation’s No. 29 overall transfer prospect, with the 6-6 guard ranking at No. 31 per 247Sports.
 
Claude, who was voted All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the media and received NABC All-Pacific District plaudits, paced the Trojans at 15.8 points per game, the 12^th-highest average in the Big Ten, on 48.2 percent shooting. Claude also led USC at over 4.2 assists per game.
 
Claude eclipsed the 30-point mark twice for the Trojans a season ago, hanging 30 on the road at Rutgers and dropping 31 in USC’s road upset at No. 13 Illinois. In Washington’s visit to Los Angeles, the Connecticut native posted a double double with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Prior to USC, Claude spent two seasons at top Big East program Xavier, earning the conference’s Most Improved Player award in 2023-24 after averaging 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Claude came up clutch for the Musketeers down the stretch, leading the Big East in scoring during the month of March at 22.8 PPG.
 
Claude earned Big East All-Freshman laurels as a rookie, playing in 35 games for Xavier primarily off the bench. The Putnam Science Academy product posted averages of 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists.
 
A consensus four star, top-100 recruit out of high school, Claude was rated as the No. 83 overall prospect, No. 11 point guard and No. 2 player in Connecticut by On3.

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Arizona Diamondbacks No. 2-prospect Slade Caldwell in action. Caldwell will be making his Hops debut tonight after being called up from Low-A Visalia. (Courtesy Photo/Hillsboro Hops)

If you’re a fan of the Hops, things just got a little more interesting.

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today, June 10, that 2024 first round pick Slade Caldwell has been promoted to High-A Hillsboro.

The 18-year-old is the Diamondbacks’ No. 2-prospect according to MLB.com, and will join former first round picks Ryan Waldschmidt and Druw Jones in the Hops’ outfield.

Caldwell, the 29th overall pick in last year’s MLB draft, was hitting .294 with three home runs and 13 stolen bases with Low-A Visalia, and was leading the California League with a .460 on-base percentage.

Caldwell was both the 2023 and 2024 Gatorade High School player of the year for the state of Arkansas, and will be the youngest position player in the Northwest League when he makes his Hillsboro debut on Tuesday night at Hillsboro Ballpark.

The leftfielder will be batting second in the order and wearing #5 as the Hops kickoff a six-game series with Eugene.

The Diamondbacks also promoted righthanded pitcher Victor Morales from Visalia on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old had a 4.05 ERA with 33 strikeouts and just eight walks in 19 appearances this season.

Additionally, outfielder Junior Franco was activated from the 7-day injured list.

Tonight’s Hops game with Eugene is set for 6:35 p.m. at Hillsboro Ballpark.

The stunning sight of a kangaroo hopping down a busy St. Cloud road made headlines last month and, for the animal sanctuary that took in the wayward marsupial, provided another reminder that ordinary people owning exotic animals is not always easy or wise.

“I blame the internet for people getting a lot of things they probably shouldn’t,” said Kylie Reynolds, deputy director of Amazing Animals, a nonprofit exotic animal sanctuary in Osceola County that helped capture and care for the kangaroo found along Old Hickory Tree Road.

Amazing Animals was founded 15 years ago as a reptile rescue due to the “big need” in Florida to take in the slithering ex-pets, she said. Now the nonprofit has more than 100 animals and takes in all kinds of exotic wildlife — most of them former pets.

On May 5, the sanctuary got a call about a kangaroo hopping down the road in St. Cloud and helped corner him in some bushes. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission was able to chemically immobilize the animal and then the male kangaroo — which the rescue named Hickory after the road where he was found — was transported to Amazing Animals, where he spent the next 10 days.

The kangaroo’s owner Bryan Steven Castro Rendon, 27, told FWC officials his friend forgot to close the door of the animal’s enclosure after feeding him on May 5, the day he escaped, records show. Rendon told the agency he acquired the kangaroo in New York about a month earlier.

FWC charged Rendon with second-degree misdemeanors related to the kangaroo’s escape and his failure to have proper state permits. He also was issued a warning for having an enclosure that was too small with fencing that was too low.

Rendon was allowed to take custody of the kangaroo again on May 15 only after getting a bigger enclosure with a double-door entry system and surrounded by an 8-foot tall wire fence, which the FWC inspected, records show.

Reached by phone, Rendon hung up without commenting.

Burmese pythons, an invasive species creating trouble in South Florida, may be the state’s most problematic exotic pet. The snakes were first introduced via that trade in the 1970s and then released into the wild by owners who no longer wanted them.

Amazing Animals, which started with snakes, still handles a lot of reptiles.

“We get a lot of calls for pythons and bearded dragons, and they’re just a little bit more work than people think,” Reynolds said. “A lot of times they’ll get bigger and live a long time and have lots of specialized care that people either can’t keep up with or don’t want to because they’re busy … and then realize it’s a lot more work than what they anticipated.”

The sanctuary also has two bobcats, six sloths, lemurs, capybaras, a caracal, a Geoffroy’s cat, birds of prey — and three kangaroos. Rufus, Amazing Animals’ resident male Red Kangaroo, was taken in after another animal sanctuary closed, and then the center brought in two baby kangaroos from another facility to keep him company.

The FWC regulates exotic pets and would-be owners must get permits, which can cost as much as $140 annually and require a log documenting hours of experience with the animal.

Across the state there are 918 active exotic pet licenses, data from FWC shows, and 91 of them are in Central Florida. The types of animals vary, but monkeys, skunks, racoons and crocodiles are the most common, the data shows.

When the kangaroo was found in St. Cloud, Reynolds’ group knew to try to keep the animal calm.

“They are very sensitive animals so they can, if you’re chasing them, they can drop from a heart attack, overheat or stress out,” Reynolds said.

Workers at Amazing Animals also moved other animals around their facility to give the new kangaroo a well-secured enclosure so he wouldn’t escape again, she added.

Would-be owners of exotic animals should ensure they understand state requirements, diet and veterinary needs before purchasing, Reynolds said.

“Doing your research is super important … for the well being of the animal and for you to be able to know what you’re actually getting into.”

Amazing Animals, located in St. Cloud on Rambler Avenue, is a private facility but does conduct tours that can be booked online. The hour-and-a-half tours cost $300 or more depending on group size.

The postseason for high school baseball hits the elite eight as the Illinois Wesleyan Supersectional features two teams back in this game for the first time in over 20 years. Ten-seeded Waubonsie Valley makes its first appearance since 2005 while looking to continue its Cinderella run to the state series for only the third time in program history. The Warriors shut out Downers Grove North to win the sectional title. The Normal Community Ironmen are the opponent for Waubonsie, a team that is back in this baseball game for the first time since 2004, when they fell in the State quarterfinals to eventual State Champions Niles Notre Dame. The Ironmen knocked off O’Fallon to win the sectional title. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

The Warriors throw Seth Gilliland on the mound for the first time this postseason, but he gets a brutal welcome from Gavin Micheals. The Cincinnati commit rips this hit out to center which takes a huge boucne off the wall, resulting in a triple for Micheals. He scores on an rbi groundout from Lucas Beaty to give the Ironmen a 1-0 lead after the first.

Seth Gilliland and Luke Klunke throw the heat

Gilliland cools off the Ironmen bats with a punchout on Brady Burkhart to keep it a one-run game through two innings.

Warriors with a runner on after a Connor Beren walk, but Max Heineman chucks his throwdown to Micheals at second to tag out the base runner.

That fuels pitcher Luke Klunke, who catches Ryan Lucas looking for strike number three to end the top of the fourth.

Gilliland continues doing his thing as he tallies another punchout to keep the pitcher’s duel going.

However, in the fifth inning, the other Gavin, Gavin Swartz, gets a huge bounce on a base hit, resulting in a single.

Gavin Swartz gets some much-needed insurance for the Ironmen

After a sac bunt and a wild pitch, up steps Brady Burkhart. Despite grounding out, Swartz comes home, and the Ironmen lead 2-0 heading to the sixth.

Josh Hung is hoping to help the Warriors, and it looks promising as he lines a one-out single up the middle of the diamond.

Waubonsie loads them up with a walk from Danny McGuigan and a single from Shane Torres with Lucas up again. But Klunke, Heineman, and Swartz connect on the big time 1-2-3 double play to end the inning and stop the threat.

Two outs in the seventh, but the Warriors are not giving up because Connor Beren pokes a liner into shallow left-center to bring the tying run to the plate.

Normal Community moves to the IHSA baseball state series

An Owen Roberts hit by pitch and a base hit from Hiroshy Wong loads the bases up again. The Ironmen call up Lucas Beaty to relief.

Beaty throws to Josh Hung and gets a favorable strike three call on the corner, and that’s the ball game. Normal Community baseball takes down Waubonsie Valley 2-0 and moves to the state series, where the Ironmen face Libertyville in the semifinals. Waubonsie Valley ends its historic postseason run with a final record of 23-12. The Warriors pitching staff gave up only four runs in five postseason games.

For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!