LOS ANGELES – Associate head coach Shannon LeBeauf and her husband, Sean LeBeauf, will be joining the Rutgers University Women’s Basketball coaching staff ahead of the 2025-26 season, the program announced Friday.
 
“I am struggling to put into words how much Shannon has meant to me personally and to this program,” said The Michael Price Family UCLA Women’s Head Basketball Coach Cori Close. “She has served out her calling in the most professional, selfless, and impactful way. Tears well up in my eyes as I think about this transition, but I am in complete support of this next step for her and Sean. She is making the very courageous decision to go coach with her husband.  I completely respect this priority decision and she will always be a welcomed member of the Bruins family. We will miss her very much and we will honor her service here by continuing to build on the foundation of excellence she has been instrumental in building. Love you Shannon!”
 
LeBeauf served on Close’s staff since the Bruin head coach took the helm in 2011. She was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 campaign, also serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator. LeBeauf helped bring in UCLA’s first-ever No. 1-ranked recruiting class in 2014-15. The class included Recee’ Caldwell, Jordin Canada, Monique Billings, Lajahna Drummer and Kelli Hayes.
 
“I’m feeling a wave of emotions right now,” said LeBeauf. “UCLA has been home for 14 years, and I’m so proud of what we’ve built together. I’ve grown here—not just as a coach, but as a person. I’m deeply grateful to Coach Cori, who’s been an incredible leader and a true friend. I’ve worked with amazing people and coached remarkable young women who have left a lasting mark on my heart.
 
While it’s hard to say goodbye, I’m genuinely excited about what’s ahead. Coach Co has invited me into something meaningful at Rutgers—a chance to mentor, lead, and help re-establish a championship mindset and culture. I’m honored by the opportunity and ready to get to work.”
 
In 2021-22, she was able to secure another No. 1 ranking for UCLA; the Bruins’ recruiting class of Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Londynn Jones, Christeen Iwuala and Lina Sontag ranked first nationally. In conjunction with the UCLA coaching staff, she helped establish the “Leaders In Training” mentorship program for women’s basketball student-athletes. Before returning to Los Angeles, she coached at Duke for five seasons (2004-09). LeBeauf was also an assistant at USC from 2000-04 and Iowa from 1999-2000.
 
LeBeauf graduated in 1998 from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and communication studies, where she graduated with honors. She was a four-year letterwinner at Iowa from 1995-98 and was regarded as the team’s leading defensive player throughout that time. She led the Hawkeyes to the 1997 Big Ten Tournament title, as well as regular season titles in 1996 and 1998. Her teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament her final three seasons and made a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1996. Additionally, she was a three-time All-Big Ten Academic selection and received the 1998 Robin Roberts/WBCA Sports Communication Scholarship award and the 1998 NCAA Women’s Enhancement Post-Graduate Scholarship award.
 
A Southern California native, LeBeauf played basketball and volleyball at Cerritos High School.
 

Dylan Lopez can kick it with the pros.

Long Island’s newest soccer team, the Fighting Tomcats, has signed the 16-year-old, a soon-to-be Connetquot High School senior varsity star, as the start-up squad’s youngest player.

“They’re obviously much older than me,” Lopez told The Post minutes after inking his deal with the National Premier Soccer League squad that calls Hofstra University home.

“I think just playing with them in this environment is really going to push me and just get used to a higher level,” added the midfielder, who dreams of taking his talents to Spain one day.

The Ronkonkoma native’s deep desire is exactly what the club’s owner — Massapequa soccer legend Jim Kilmeade, the brother of Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, who is also an investor — is shooting for with the new team of 30 that’s almost entirely local.

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“We believe that we can identify and launch players into European careers,” Jim said, adding that the Tomcats are also developing a free youth academy on Long Island.

Lopez gets the best of both worlds with his deal that has no compensation.

Playing with the Tomcats, formally called the American Soccer Club, won’t prohibit him from playing with his competitive Atlantic United travel team, or Connetquot next fall.

Long Island’s newest soccer team, the Fighting Tomcats, has signed 16-year-old Dylan Lopez. Photo courtesy of Dylan Lopez

“When you live on Long Island, you don’t really get opportunities like these,” Lopez said. “It’s usually those people in Europe that get these chances.”

Now, the teen being recruited by Sacred Heart University has the chance to show what he’s made of on a grander stage.

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The moment is a dream come true for his mom and twin brother, Brandon, with whom Lopez has played his entire life.

“He’s always been there,” Lopez said of his sibling, who is one minute younger. “Every time we’re on the field, it’s always a competition between us. And we just keep pushing each other — going back and forth. It’s really helped me … and he’s super excited for me.”

Bragging rights among family — and friends — are full-time for the food runner at Stella Trattoria in Blue Point, who had to call out of work when he got the good news.

“They’re all going to be shocked,” Lopez said. “It’s going to be a good senior year.”

Put your best foot forward as the sun is finally expected to shine this weekend, with two 5K runs that go for great causes.

The “Hope Is Here” run, which raises money for parental mental health awareness, kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday at First Responders Memorial Park and Ball Field in Islandia, with a registration fee of $45.

The Sayville Fire Department is also hosting its annual 5K at the same time, with a registration fee of $40, starting at the town’s firehouse.

College basketball coaches around the country have been attending events around the country the last six weeks, scouting recruits mainly in the 2026 and 2027 classes.

2026 recruits are starting to lock in official visits over the coming months as they are set to begin their senior years. Many of these visits will take place later this summer and into fall before the high school basketball season starts.

One visit BYU has locked in is talented 2026 Guard Austin Goosby. Sources close to Austin tell me that he has scheduled an official visit to BYU September 26-28. September is still a few months away, so we’ll see if that date gets adjusted as we move closer.

Austin is arguably the best LDS prospect in the country and is rated as the #30 overall recruit in the 2026 class according to 247 Sports. Austin lives in the Dallas area but has family on his mom’s side that lives in Utah. He has one cousin that is attending BYU and other on a mission after starting at BYU.

Austin took an unofficial visit to BYU the weekend of March 8 and attended the BYU-Utah game in the Marriott Center. I spoke with his dad after that visit.

“Kevin Young is a basketball genius; it’s a whole other level of intelligence.” Austin’s dad told me after the visit. “We were blown away by Coach Young and BYU.”

Austin has offers from all over. Duke offered him this past week, and he also has offers from Texas, Kansas, Baylor, Texas A&M, UCLA, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Miami, Florida State, Kansas State, and others.

Texas should be right at or near the top of Austin’s list during his recruitment. Austin’s brother, Trevor, is an offensive lineman on the football team and the family is a UT family.

Austin is one of the top priorities for BYU this class. Kevin Young has been in consistent communication with Austin, and BYU established themselves as a real player in Austin’s recruitment after Austin’s visit back in May.

You can watch highlights of Austin below. Austin is a talented scoring wing that can really get to the basket and knockdown outside shots. He projects as a NBA player and would likely be in school for multiple seasons.

Former champ meets former title challenger. That’s the main event of UFC Baku this Saturday, where Jamahal Hill, the promotion’s former light heavyweight champ, meets Khalil Rountree Jr., a recent title challenger.

Hill and Rountree have been booked twice before, at UFC 303 last year, then again this past April. It seems the third time’s the charm, and Hill has certainly had time to think about what he’ll see in the octagon this Saturday.

“I’m expecting a hard fight. I’m expecting him to come with everything. He wants to get back in there, fight for another championship,” said Hill (12-3, 1NC) during this week’s media day, noting that Rountree “fell just short” in his title fight against Alex Pereira last year. “I can only imagine the type of fuel that gives you. So I’m expecting him to come with everything.”

Asked where a win over Rountree would put him in a division currently headed up by Magomed Ankalaev, Hill dismissed the question. “I’m not really concerned with that right now. My only concern right now is just making sure I get the win.”

Truth be told, Jamahill Hill is fighting down the rankings on Saturday, if only because of a lack of options. He enters the UFC‘s debut in Azerbaijan off a loss to ex-champ Jiri Prochazka, the #2-ranked light heavyweight, and has already been turned back by fellow ex-champ Alex Pereira, who sits ranked #1. With Hill at #4, the only name ahead of him outside of the champ is Carlos Ulberg, who would almost certainly have the next title shot were a rematch between Ankalaev and Pereira not still a possibility.

Hill later addressed comments by Khalil Rountree Jr. saying he wasn’t expecting to be bloodied in the fight. “If he’s not expecting to have any blood, then he’s not really ready for war. He don’t really understand what’s in front of him. He can expect that but when I open his face up and he starts to see it, we’re gonna see what he does and how he reacts then.”

“This guy gets hit more than he hits anybody. That’s literally a stat of his whole career. That’s a wild statement, that’s wild. But he’s said a lot of delusional things.” Hill believes Rountree is “hanging his hat” on lasting longer against Alex Pereira than Jamahal Hill himself. “We have other common opponents. One that I knocked out, one that knocked him out. So it’s like, it is what it is. Whatever he has to do to sleep at night, whatever he has to do to get himself up to fight and get in there, I’m good with it. It is what it is. He’s already made up a fake beef with himself. F*cking weirdo.”

Watch the full UFC Baku media day appearance by Jamahal Hill above.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — At the start of the academic year, Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier encouraged students to remember they are part of a community “doing remarkable things.” With a common purpose and relying on long-held values, he reminded them, today’s students have the opportunity to set new standards of individual and collaborative excellence.  

Vanderbilt student-athletes spent the ensuing months showing the campus, conference and country just how remarkable Commodores can be.    

Compete against the best? Lead the way? Live up to a legacy?  

No matter the circumstances, each victory and accolade spoke to the same theme, the statement growing louder as team after team and athlete after athlete met the moment.  

This is who we are. This is what we do. This is Vanderbilt.  

“This memorable year is further proof of what is possible for Vanderbilt Athletics,” said Candice Storey Lee, vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director. “Across each of our sports, Vanderbilt student-athletes, coaches and staff competed with a tireless commitment to reaching the full heights of their potential. Commodores challenged each other to grow, and what they achieved, together, challenges all of us to be relentless in pursuit of even better days.”    

From every corner of the Frist Athletics Village to the fairways of Vanderbilt Legends Club and beyond, from the Birmingham Bowl to an SEC title in Hoover to NCAA Tournaments aplenty, Vanderbilt student-athletes and teams transformed 2024–25 into a year that will live long in the memory and a blueprint for even bolder ambitions ahead.  

“I commend our student-athletes, coaches and staff on their hard work and remarkable achievements,” Diermeier said. “Working together to make each other better as a paradigm of radical collaboration, Vanderbilt student-athletes set new standards of excellence and brought us together as sports uniquely can. They remind us of what it means to dare to grow. As we embrace new models that support excellence in education, research and athletics alike, underscored by our recent launch of Vanderbilt Enterprises, we remain proud but not satisfied.”   

Championship Collaboration 

Nearly 75 percent of Vanderbilt programs either competed in NCAA Championships or bowl games or saw student-athletes advance to NCAA Championships.  

In some cases, success meant going where no Vanderbilt team had gone before. When E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Football Clark Lea’s team memorably defeated No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 5, the 40-35 victory marked the first time in program history that the Commodores took down the nation’s top-ranked team.  

Soon thereafter, head coach Darren Ambrose’s women’s soccer team secured the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance by eliminating No. 1 seed Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.   

And for the first time ever, Vanderbilt’s football and men’s and women’s basketball teams were all ranked nationally during the same academic year.  

Success also required reclaiming ground. Proving itself far more than a one-week wonder, football reached its first bowl game since 2018 and claimed its first bowl title since 2013 by outlasting both Georgia Tech and inclement weather in the Birmingham Bowl.  

In head coach Mark Byington’s first season, men’s basketball defeated four top-15 opponents for the first time since the 1980s. And when head coach Shea Ralph’s women’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row, it meant that men’s and women’s basketball shared March Madness for the first time since 2012.  

Success also requires maintaining established excellence, something that is harder than ever as competition grows more fierce. Head coach Tim Corbin’s VandyBoys won the SEC Tournament for the fifth time overall, the fourth time under Coach Corbin and the third time in the past six tournaments—en route to a national-best 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament.  

Remarkably, the VandyBoys don’t even have sole possession of the longest postseason streak on campus: Head coach John Williamson led women’s bowling to the NCAA Tournament for the 19th consecutive season.   

Thomas F. Roush, M.D., and Family Men’s Golf head coach Scott Limbaugh led his team to the NCAA Championships for the 11th consecutive year, while the women’s golf team turned a stirring regional comeback into a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.  

Individual Inspiration   

What was the most Vanderbilt moment of the year? The celebration that spilled into the Cumberland River? Back-to-back basketball wins against Tennessee in the span of scarcely 24 hours? There are many worthy candidates. But it’s hard to do better than Mikayla Blakes setting an NCAA Division I women’s basketball record for most points in a game by a true freshman—and then breaking it two weeks later with 55 points against Auburn, to set the women’s record for all freshmen and any SEC player.  

Maybe it was women’s tennis’ Célia-Belle Mohr becoming the first student-athlete in that championship-winning program’s history to be honored as a five-time All-American. The Frenchwoman swept to singles and doubles honors alongside freshman Sophia Webster.  

Proud but not satisfied, indeed.  

As the conference and the country took notice, Vanderbilt earned respect. Blakes earned the Tamika Catchings Award as the nation’s best freshman. Lea’s peers honored him as SEC Coach of the Year, and mesmerizing quarterback Diego Pavia was named SEC Newcomer of the Year.  

Mark H. Carter and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mark Byington was named 2025 Skip Prosser Man of the Year in recognition of his success on the court and his exemplary moral integrity. 

Even the architect got in on the action: Lee was a recipient of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics AD of the Year Award and one of five finalists for the Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year.  

Mark H. Carter and Family Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mark Byington was named 2025 Skip Prosser Man of the Year in recognition of his success on the court and his exemplary moral integrity. 

Even the architect got in on the action: Lee was a recipient of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics AD of the Year Award and one of five finalists for the Sports Business Journal Athletic Director of the Year.  

Community Building  

Commodore Nation was front and center throughout the year. Fans filled FirstBank Stadium to capacity for five of football’s seven home games. Memorial Magic took on new life—and new decibels—throughout basketball season. Around Nashville and across the country, text message chains blew up and old friends reconnected as the Dores thrived.  

That’s the power of sport, its ability to bring people together. But as the past year proved, that’s a two-way street. The power of a community brought Vanderbilt to new heights.  

Vanderbilt dedicated the state-of-the-art Huber Center for men’s and women’s basketball, made possible by George and Cathy Huber and legions of Commodore fans who continue to support Vandy United, part of the Dare to Grow campaign.  

Alumnus Mark H. Carter, who spent some of his favorite undergraduate hours in Memorial’s student section, endowed the men’s basketball head coaching position.  

Former Vanderbilt All-American and NFL standout Casey Hayward committed the largest- ever philanthropic gift by a football alumnus who played professionally.  

Vanderbilt supporters didn’t just come along for the ride in 2024–25. They fueled the rocket.  

Now, a new year awaits. And with it, following final approval of the House settlement, a new era of collegiate athletics. Even as Commodores reached new competitive heights this past year, preparations continued to lead the way and create the conditions for success in the new model. In May, Vanderbilt appointed global hospitality leader Markus Schreyer as CEO of the new Vanderbilt Enterprises, which has an initial focus on enhancing Vanderbilt Athletics resources, support for student-athletes and the fan experience. 

From the opening serve of volleyball’s first home game on Wyatt Lawn, 2025–26 is again sure to be a year unlike any other.  

Because more than anything, 2024–25 proved that we’re just getting started.