NIL

UCF Knights Softball Historic Season Leads To A Bright Future

Published

7 months ago

May 21, 2025

The UCF Knights Softball team’s historic season ended Sunday with a 9-0 loss to No. 6 national seed Texas.

The Longhorns (49-10) advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the sixth straight season, their first as a member of the SEC after leaving the Big 12. They will host No. 11 Clemson in a best-of-three series next weekend for a spot in the Women’s College World Series.

As for UCF (35-24-1), it extends its record run of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to five while reaching a regional final for the seventh time in program history in 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and first regional final since 2022.

It also marks the 15th time in 24 seasons the Knights have won at least 35 games in a season.

The Knights also notched seven wins over top 25-ranked opponents this season, the most ever. This counts their final win of the season over the Wolverines, who were ranked No. 25 in the most recent ESPN/USA Softball poll. Impressive accomplishment considering the youth on the roster.

Once again, UCF Softball showed it is arguably the most successful UCF program, especially since the arrival of Cindy Ball-Malone, who may have done her best job this year, taking basically a new team after graduating the greatest senior class in program history.

Saturday Offense Explosion

The Knights knocked off the Eastern Illinois Panthers and the No. 25 Michigan Wolverines, 10-2 and 10-8, respectively, to punch their ticket to the Regional Final out of the loser’s bracket after losing to the Wolverines 4-3 on Friday.

Head coach Cindy Ball-Malone earned the 250th win of her UCF career in the team’s rout of the Panthers, and with the win over the Wolverines, recorded the 350th win of her NCAA head coaching career.

The Knights pulled off their run on the strength of a prolific offense between the two elimination games, highlighted by three home runs, 20 combined runs, 21 combined hits and 34 combined total bases.

Pitchers Isabella Vega and Kaitlyn Felton combined to keep Eastern Illinois at bay throughout the matchup, allowing just two runs on four hits in the Knights’ five-inning 10-2 win.

Stormy Kotzelnick led the way in the Michigan win, tying a career-high she set against Houston on April 27. She also became the third Knight in program history to record four hits in an NCAA Tournament game, joining Tiffany Lane (2008) and Chloe Evans (2024).

Looking Forward To 2026

Looking into the future is risky in the age of the transfer portal, as we learned with other UCF sports, but the Knights could field a top 25 team that can contend for the Big 12 title in 2026, even if it loses a couple of players.

Sunday’s lineup featured two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen, plus a redshirt freshman pitching ace in Vega — UCF’s All-Big 12 First-Team selection. The entire infield, SS Aubrey Evans, 3B Sierra Humphreys, 2B Coco Jaimes and 1B Ashleigh Griffin, is projected to return, along with DP/RF Izzy Mertes, catcher Beth Damon and LF Samantha Rey.

Jaimes hit a team-best .667 (8-for-12) during the weekend in the Austin Regional, and in UCF’s last 14 games of the season represented her team’s leading hitter, going 16-for-34 (.471) with seven runs scored, two doubles, one home run, eight RBI and 21 total bases in that span.

Aubrey Evans paced the Knights with 10 home runs, 33 RBI, 99 total bases and 20 walks with a 576 slugging percentage and .320 batting average. She earned All-Big 12 and All-Region honors.

Humphreys set single-season career-bests in average (.355), on-base percentage (.440), slugging percentage (.506), runs scored (43), hits (61), doubles (10), total bases (87), home runs (4), walks (26) and stolen bases (15) as she made All-Big 12 honors.

Mertes was UCF’s third leading hitter by average (.315) and leads UCF in doubles (16) and walks (30). Her 16 doubles not only rank second-most in the Big 12 Conference, but also second all-time at UCF behind Evans’ 2023 program single-season record of 18 as she made All-Region and All-Big 12.

Damon, like Mertes, joined the Knights as a four-star recruit out of high school, made an immediate impact, hitting .277 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs, and made All-Big 12.

Vega’s historic freshman season concluded with a 14-7 record with a 1.70 ERA and getting named a Freshman All-American by Softball America. She also received a Wilson/NFCA National Pitcher of the Week award, two D1Softball National Freshman of the Week awards, and two Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week awards while getting All-Big 12 First Team.

Ball-Malone is also adding another freshman class headlined by left-handed pitcher/outfielder Hildie Dempsey and infielder Kendall Trimm, the latter of whom is the No. 59 overall player in the nation and a four-star recruit per On3 Sports. Dempsey ranked 33rd.

The 2025 Knights have given fans hope not just for the future of softball, but for all UCF Athletic teams that they can succeed at this level of the P4/NIL era. The culture is there as long as Ball-Malone is here. She earned the most benefit of the doubt of any UCF head coach.

Now it is up to UCF to be aggressive and provide some more financial support to back Ball-Malone, such as upgrades for the currently outdated softball facilities and NIL backing. The program has earned it on the field and proven it can make revenue for the school, so now is the time for it to be provided support before other schools call and try to lure Ball-Malone with said support. That assist could lead the program to future trips to OKC in June for the World Series.

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NIL

Who’s leaving Duke football as transfer portal opens Jan. 2

Published

19 minutes ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Duke’s Peyton Jones runs the ball during the second half of the Blue Devils’ 45-17 win over Elon on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Kaitlin McKeown

The News & Observer

With roster management and player retention a big part of coaches’ jobs, Duke’s Manny Diaz had some good news to share at Christmastime: Quarterback Darian Mensah and wide receiver Cooper Barkate are both returning for the 2026 football season.

Mensah, a redshirt sophomore this season and the ACC’s leading passer, had talked with Diaz and others about his NFL possibilities. But the former Tulane transfer decided to come back for a second year with the Blue Devils, where he again is expected to receive one of the top NIL packages in college football.

Barkate, who transferred to Duke from Harvard before last season, had 68 catches for 1,069 yards for the 2025 ACC champions, averaging 15.7 yards a grab, and scored six touchdowns.

The Blue Devils, who face Arizona State in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, had just three players miss bowl practices, according to Diaz. One was offensive tackle Brian Parker II, who announced he would leave Duke early to enter the NFL Draft. Cornerback Chandler Rivers and defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr., also are preparing for the 2026 draft.

Duke also has another departure: running backs coach Chris Foster, who has joined the Florida staff after one year on the Diaz staff.

“The situation is always fluid, but I expect our retention rate to be very good, again,” Diaz said. Here’s a look at who the Devils will have leaving when the NCAA transfer portal opens Jan. 2:

Entering the portal

RB Peyton Jones: Became something of a forgotten man in the offense in 2025 with the emergence of Nate Sheppard and power running of transfer Anderson Castle. Played in four games after being Star Thomas’ backup in 2024 and rushing for 317 yards.

TE Vance Bolyard: The redshirt sophomore from Greensboro was used primarily on special teams in 2025. Played in 10 games in 2024.

OL Jack Small: A redshirt freshman this year, the 6-6, 300-pounder was used in just two games.

S Kenzy Paul: Redshirt junior saw little action in the secondary this season, playing in one game, the win over Clemson.

S Maliki Wright: Did not play as a freshman this past season.

CB Kyren Condoll: The California native played in one game in 2024 and again saw little action this season.

CB Vontae Floyd: Limited to three games because of injury in 2025, the sophomore played in 11 games in 2024 and was one of four true freshmen to letter for Devils.

DT Terry Simmons Jr.: The redshirt sophomore, a 6-2, 305-pounder, played nine games in 2025 as a backup defensive tackle and was at Duke for three seasons.

Chip Alexander

The News & Observer

In more than 40 years at The N&O, Chip Alexander has covered the N.C. State, UNC, Duke and East Carolina beats, and now is in his 15th season on the Carolina Hurricanes beat. Alexander, who has won numerous writing awards at the state and national level, covered the Hurricanes’ move to North Carolina in 1997 and was a part of The N&O’s coverage of the Canes’ 2006 Stanley Cup run.

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NIL

OU lineman Danny Okoye face of NIL deal to tout life-saving Narcan

Published

1 hour ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 26, 2025, 5:40 a.m. CT

NORMAN – For University of Oklahoma defensive lineman Danny Okoye, his current spot – as the face of a social media campaign seeking to spread awareness of a life-saving drug for those who have overdosed on opioids – was a case of fortuitous timing.

Okoye is the first of a series of OU student-athletes who will participate in an NIL (name, image and likeness) deal with the nonprofit HarborPath of Charlotte, North Carolina, to promote Narcan, the brand name under which the generic drug naloxone is distributed.

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NIL

Taylor column: Wyoming’s Wicks not using NIL as an excuse | University of Wyoming

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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NIL

How to make college football worse

Published

3 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Dec. 26, 2025, 5:03 a.m. ET

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn has proposed the HUSTLE Act to create tax-deferred savings accounts for college athletes’ NIL income.
The need for congressional intervention is questionable, given that other wealthy groups, like NFL players, do not receive similar legislative protection.

If the hollowness of the bowl season or the irrationality of the playoff system has you saddened by the state of college football, it could always be worse. Congress could get involved.

It’s already bad enough that NCAA apologists want Congress to grant college athletics an antitrust exemption. Now Tennessee Senator (and gubernatorial candidate) Marsha Blackburn, in a timely act of pandering, wants to give college athletes special tax-advantaged savings accounts – “for their own protection.”

Blackburn’s comically named “Helping Undergraduate Students Thrive with Long Term Earnings (HUSTLE Act) would allow certain college athletes to create tax-deferred accounts for their Name Image and Likeness (NIL) income.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big fan of saving and investing, especially in a tax-deferred vehicle. But the aim of this act ‒ somehow protecting young people from squandering their NIL riches ‒ raises an obvious question: Where exactly is the constitutional mandate (or even suggestion) for Congress to pass laws discouraging 19-year-old millionaires from buying expensive cars and jewelry?

If Blackburn is genuinely concerned about young, wealthy athletes squandering their money, why didn’t she start with the NFL? A widely cited 2009 Sports Illustrated article claimed that 78% of NFL players “face financial stress or bankruptcy” within two years of retirement. This figure was likely exaggerated, but a statistically sound study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 15.7% of NFL players file for bankruptcy within 12 years of retiring. Yet this hasn’t prompted any urgent Congressional push to save professional athletes from themselves.

If age is really the determining factor in financial responsibility, why is the fastest growing demographic of bankruptcy filers over 65? Why is the median age of someone filing for bankruptcy 49 and not 29?

Blackburn could, of course, propose legislation allowing college athletes to participate in the existing tax-deferred retirement accounts at their respective universities, but that would concede that the players are employees ‒ something universities want to avoid at practically all costs.

Not to be outdone by the Senate, the House of Representatives proposed the SCORE Act, which would grant NCAA institutions exemptions from antitrust laws – essentially codifying the illegal wage collusion the schools practiced for decades ‒ while also legally declaring that players are not employees of the universities that pay for their athletic services. Too many old timers simply can’t accept the end of decades of illegal (and in my opinion, immoral) athletic department business practices, so they are begging Congress to protect them.

Even if you concede the premise that 20-year-olds are incapable of making wise financial decisions and require assistance, why would Congress be the entity to turn to for financial wisdom?

David Moon, president of Moon Capital Management, may be reached atdavid@mooncap.com.

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Chiefs Stadium Deal Is Insane

Published

5 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

stl.pony said:

Feel like it’s largely being paid for by sales tax the new stadium development will generate.

Not in finance, so someone should absolutely check my math/analysis on this.

State of Kansas has an 8.25% sales tax. For the sales tax to generate 3 billion, the total sales would need to be about 36 billion. According to this article the Royals stadium and Arrowhead stadium collectively generate 55 million a year in tax revenue. (Don’t know what the analysis is to produce that; admit it could be wrong.) If you round it up to 60 million a year, the break even point is 600+ years.

If you take the numbers the Chiefs put out, 1 billion in economic impact for the region and 29 million in tax revenue per year. The break even point from tax revenue would be 1800 years?

I don’t know what is considered the region for the economic impact evaluation and how that changes based on if the stadium is on the Missouri side or the Kansas side of Kansas City. I also remember reading a report about the state fair of Texas that claimed that events like the state fair and sporting events don’t necessarily generate additional economic activity in a region, it just concentrates it into the event rather the wider community. (Admittedly, that could mean more tax revenue for one city in the region over another.) In my layperson’s opinion, a sports stadium deal like this doesn’t seem to be as smart of a decision as offering economic incentives to a Toyota or other non-entertainment business to move to your city.

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Michigan urged to hire SEC coordinator over head coaches to replace Sherrone Moore

Published

6 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

As Michigan’s coaching search drags on, some overlooked possibilities could be floating back to the forefront. After apparently striking out on established head coaches like Kenny Dillingham and Kalen DeBoer, one SEC coordinator is exactly such a possibility for the Wolverines.

In a recent episode of Andy and Ari On3, Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman pointed out that the current coaching carousel has been virtually obsessed with established head coaches. Kentucky hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as its next coach, but otherwise, schools have passed on coordinators in favor of coaches with head coaching experience.

Both Staples and Wasserman singled out Georgia defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann as a strong coaching possibility who Michigan should consider. “Why hasn’t he been in the conversation,” asked Wasserman. “He’s been intereviewed by schools, they just haven’t hired him,” noted Staples. “Normally, multiple coordinators would have either gotten these jobs or been finalists for these jobs.”

“If I were Michigan, I would hire Schumann over all the others,” said Wasserman. “I feel like if you’re Michigan, you want to get the guy that reshapes how you do things. It’s not that Jedd Fisch wouldn’t or Jeff Brohm wouldn’t….Don’t you want to go get the younger coordinator from Georgia who recruits his ass off and has been around big builds and has he defense playing like this at the right time and try to build you program around that?”

Schumann is only 35 years old, but has spent the last 17 seasons with either the Alabama or Georgia programs. He went to Alabama to be a student assistant coach under Nick Saban, then moved up to graduate assistant and then to Director of Football Operations.

When Kirby Smart left Alabama to take the Georgia head coaching job, Schumann went with him. First, he was the inside linebacker coach. In 2019, he added co-defensive coordinator to his responsibilities and ahead of 2024, he became the sole defensive coordinator

Georgia has historically been a very aggressive big-play-oriented defense, but Schumann has helped remake them on the fly. In 2025, the Bulldogs have held opponents to 15.9 points per game, second in the SEC, despite being near the bottom of the conference standings in sacks (tied for last), tackles for loss (next to last), and turnovers forced (13th).

Schumann was considered in 2023 for the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator role, but hasn’t been significantly linked with another collegiate job. Despite his relative youth, his experience inside two of the foremost college football dynasties of recent vintage makes him an intriguing possibility, should Michigan decide to take a chance.

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