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Rays Sign Kyle Gibson To Minor League Deal

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Rays Sign Kyle Gibson To Minor League Deal

4:25pm: The Rays announced that they have signed Gibson to a minor league contract.

3:20pm: Right-hander Kyle Gibson is signing with the Rays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s unclear if it’s a major or minor league deal. If it’s a big league deal, the Rays have an open 40-man spot after designating catcher Ben Rortvedt for assignment earlier today, so they would only need to make a corresponding active roster move.

Gibson, 37, is a veteran with a solid track record but he is having a rough season so far. He lingered in free agency for a long time, eventually signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Orioles less than a week before Opening Day. Since he missed spring training, he agreed to be optioned to the minors to get built up. He was called up at the end of April but got pounded, allowing 23 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings over four starts. The O’s then designated him for assignment and released him.

That leaves Baltimore on the hook for the remainder of that salary, meaning any club can sign Gibson and only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the O’s pay.

It seems the Rays are willing to overlook Gibson’s 16.78 ERA in 2025 to focus more on his career track record. He has 1,878 big league innings under his belt with a 4.60 ERA on the whole. As recently as last year, he was a solid innings eater at the back-end of a rotation. He made 30 starts for the Cardinals in 2024, logging 169 2/3 frames with a 4.24 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate.

The Tampa rotation has been without Shane McClanahan all year but has otherwise been remarkably healthy. Apart from one Joe Boyle spot start, every other game has been started by the quintet of Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell and Shane Baz. No one in that group has an ERA higher than 4.94 this year. The Rays also have guys like Boyle, Joe Rock and Ian Seymour on the 40-man roster and pitching in Triple-A.

Regardless, there’s no real harm to adding Gibson since the O’s are responsible for most of his salary. The Rays could be adding a bit of non-roster rotation depth or perhaps they want Gibson to jump into their big league bullpen and serve as a long reliever. It’s also possible that one of their big league starters has some sort of ailment that has not yet been publicly reported. Time will tell what the Rays have in mind for Gibson’s usage but he’s a respected veteran with a solid track record and essentially no cost.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

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Nebraska volleyball is playing like a champion but know nothing is guaranteed

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Pitt women’s volleyball outlasts Purdue for 5th straight trip to Final Four

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December 14, 2025

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The Pitt women’s volleyball team (30-4, 18-2 ACC), behind Olivia Babcock’s 23 kills, defeated No. 3 Purdue, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17), sending the Panthers to their fifth straight Final Four.

Up 23-17 in Set 4, Brooke Mosher buried two straight powerful service aces to send Pitt past Purdue. Mosher tallied three aces for the match.

“That was insane,” Mosher said. “I mean, ending on an ace is something I wouldn’t have expected, but being able to see that ball drop and go to the final four is just insane.”

The Panthers won their 52nd straight match at home and their 15th straight at Peterson Events Center.

Their victory over Purdue was full-circle as their first Final Four appearance in 2021 came after a win over Purdue.

Pitt is the fourth team in NCAA history to make it to the Final Four five straight seasons.

Babcock, the reigning ACC and AVCA East region player of the year, took home the regional MVP by racking up 79 kills in the tournament so far. Babcock posted a .375 hitting percentage in the deciding game.

“I just think the fact that we’re able to just keep doing this just shows how strong of a team we are consistently,” Babcock said. “I just feel like we put in so much work this season, so I feel like this season it means a lot more.”

Pitt’s Marina Pezelj tallied 14 kills and 12 digs to give the Panthers momentum in the second set.

“She was doing a lot well,” coach Dan Fisher said. “I think she came up with some big blocks. Her passing was stable. Offensively, she just she made really good choices. I think she had about five shove kills when she saw those openings, which is kind of Purdue’s game. I think she was really in the moment making good decisions.”

Mosher led the Panthers with four blocks,and Bre Kelley tallied three.

Pezelj and Mosher were nominated for the Pittsburgh All-Regional team along with Babcock.

“It’s just a testament to how much work we put in and how hard we fought these past two games,” Babcock said. “It’s hard to move on, let alone be in the group of people who get honored for this, because it’s so hard to get here. I feel like there’s just so many good players, and the fact that we had players on our team who were able to step up for this occasion and help our team get these two wins just means a lot.”

Purdue found itself down 2-0. The Boilermakers, in their 11th straight tournament, battled back. With a 25-22 win in Set 3, Purdue, which notched three reverse sweeps on the season, looked to do it again.

Purdue was led by Akasha Anderson, who delivered 20 kills, and Kenna Wollard, who tallied 15. Dior Charles delivered nine blocks, and Taylor Anderson notched 51 assists.

Despite Purdue having the personnel, the Panthers were too strong to allow a comeback.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Wollard said. “I think we played a pretty clean game. Olivia Babcock is just an amazing player, and we did everything we had to try and stop her. And then they have some players that help her out and can get kills themselves too. You have to be perfect stopping them and you just get to the point where you can’t get enough, but I’m really proud of this team.”

Purdue’s Wollard, Akasha Anderson and Ryan McAleer were nominated for the all-regional team. SMU’s Malaya Jones rounded out the squad.

Anderson kept pounding away at the Panthers down 12-10 in the final set. Three straight Panther blocks and a vicious Babcock spike put them up 13-10, which gave Pitt momentum.

The Boilermakers led the first set early with a kill from Wollard that had them up 10-8. Back-to-back kills from Blaire Bayless and Kelley tied it 10-10.

Babcock notched a kill that put the Panthers up 11-10. They led the rest of the first set.

A Babcock kill and a Mallorie Meyer ace extended Pitt’s lead to 22-19 as it pulled away with the first set. Babcock racked up nine kills, including the last one of the set.

The Panthers went up 12-8 in the second set. Purdue, however, went on a 6-1 run led by Anderson to take a 14-13 lead. Babcock continued to step up. A Babcock block and an error on Purdue gave Pitt a 16-15 lead.

The Panthers didn’t look back and at 24-21, Mosher and Kelley blocked Anderson to earn the set.

Babcock tallied five kills, and Marina Pezelj notched three kills in Set 2.

The Boilermakers came out firing in the third set and didn’t trail once.

Down 17-14, Pezelj notched a kill, and a Mosher block cut it to 17-16. The Panthers inched back and tied it 24-24, but the Boilermakers had momentum as they finished with the 25-22 set win.

This led to Pitt owning the final set.

Purdue coach Dave Shondell congratulated Pitt.

“Dan Fisher has just done one of the most amazing jobs of of coaching in the history of the sport, by taking a team at Pittsburgh, that for so many years was just good … they couldn’t get over the hump — the same hump that we haven’t been able to get over at Purdue — and now five years in a row is in the Final Four. That doesn’t happen without somebody in charge that really knows how to build a program.”

As for Pitt, it faces undefeated Nebraska in the Final Four.

“It’s just surreal,” Mosher said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was little, and to be able to do it with this team is just incredible.”





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Pitt volleyball advances to fifth consecutive Final Four, beating Purdue

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Pitt tops Purdue for fifth straight trip to NCAA volleyball Final Four

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December 14, 2025

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Updated Dec. 13, 2025, 10:16 p.m. ET



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Nebraska-Texas A&M Regional Final Will Be Pressure-Packed, Full of Fireworks

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December 14, 2025

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When Kansas coach Matt Ulmer was reviewing the film and preparing to play Nebraska, he struggled to find an area where the Jayhawks could make the top-seeded Huskers uncomfortable. 

KU struggled to put much pressure on Nebraska, which was reflected on the scoreboard, as the Jayhawks managed just 35 points in a sweep. 

Texas A&M, the Huskers’ opponent in the regional final, however, specializes in stressing other teams. The Aggies and Nebraska will meet Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Center with a berth in the national semifinal on the line. 

A&M coach Jamie Morrison said he’s not scared of the talented Huskers. 

“They’re a really good volleyball team, but we’ve talked the entire season and made it our identity of making people uncomfortable, of leaning in and imparting our will on the people that we’re playing,” he said. “It’s going to be the battle of wills in that match. It’s going to be ebbs and flows. It’s going to be back and forth. And again, we’re going to battle until one team wins, and hopefully that’ll be us.”

NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly knows what it’s like to be uncomfortable and deal with pressure in a regional final. Last year, Busboom Kelly was guiding Louisville and trying to make the Final Four in their home city. The Cardinals dropped the first set against Stanford, but then won the next three to play the national semifinals in front of their hometown crowd. 

Being the No. 1 seed this year is a different kind of pressure, Busboom Kelly said. However, it’s also exciting because they’ve earned the honor. 

“The fact of our book of work this season makes the pressure even more, but I do think this team has a lot of experience with it,” Busboom Kelly said. “The staff has had a lot of experience with it, so it’s nothing new, which helps to alleviate some of that. When we’re talking in our day-to-day and communicating on the court, it doesn’t feel like anything different or like there’s more pressure right now.”

The regional final will also be the final match of the year in the Devaney Center. Home has been kind to the Huskers. They have won their last 29 NCAA Tournament matches at the Devaney Center. NU is also on a 63-match winning streak since the last week of the regular season in 2022,  the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history.

Rebekah Allick (5) gets a kill on an overpass early in set two.

Rebekah Allick gets a kill on an overpass early in second set against Kansas. Allick and NU’s three other seniors will play their final match at the Devaney Center on Sunday. | Amarillo Mullen

Rebekah Allick is filled with gratitude for all the experiences she’s had during her career. While senior night was special, she’s looking forward to enjoying her final match at John Cook Arena and the journey she’s been on over the past four years. 

However, Allick is not just treating the match like a celebration. There is still work to do. 

“This isn’t a team that you can overlook. I believe 100% from the players to coaching staff, we’re all right where our feet are, and we’re just looking forward to crushing our scouting report today and then handling business on Sunday,” She said. “At no point are we going to overlook this team. I think that alone will alleviate a lot of pressure, just enjoying the game.”

Nebraska will have its hands full with all of Texas A&M’s weapons. The Aggies feature several high-profile attackers led by opposite Logan Lednicky and middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. They were joined on the all-SEC first-team by outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and setter Maddie Waak. 

Texas A&M outside hitter Kyndal Stowers attacks against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals in Lincoln.

Texas A&M outside hitter Kyndal Stowers attacks against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinals in Lincoln. Stowers in one of four Aggies who were all-conference honorees. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

While the A&M brings a lot of firepower, the Huskers are sticking with what got them to this point of the season. Allick said she’s looking forward to battling with Cos-Okpalla. She has a lot of respect for other elite middles and will rely on her training against the Aggies. 

“We’re going middle versus middle at practice, and it’s like the gladiators going at it, because we are constantly pushing each other, especially offensively,” Allick said. “I’m excited to, you know, not go against my own teammates.”

Taylor Landfair will match up against Lednicky at one pin. She echoed Allick’s comments about showing respect, but enjoying the challenge. The Huskers have relied on Allie Sczech and Ryan Hunter to provide them with a good look of what Lenicky can do as a left-handed opposite. 

Allick said she relishes the opportunity to go up against another elite team. She said she likes to compare the work ethic to the Marines and pushing each other every day. 

“We’re going through fundamental drills, and we get pissed off when it’s not a perfect rep, and we want nothing more than to play someone who can punch us back,” she said. “Pressure-wise, it’s just going to come down to us letting go of perfection, playing free and just enjoying a really good team.”

Nebraska players celebrate a Harper Murray kill against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska players celebrate a Harper Murray kill against Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Meanwhile, the Aggies are trying to reach their first national semifinal in program history. Texas A&M has twice reached the regional final in 1999 and 2001. On Saturday afternoon, Lednicky and Stowers were still basking in their five-set win over Louisville, but Morrison wasn’t satisfied with the achievement. 

He told the team in the locker room on Friday night and again at practice on Saturday that their journey isn’t over yet and they have a chance to take the program further than it’s ever been. While it’s not the most important match in Texas A&M history, it will provide a great opportunity.

“It’s a match against a really good team. I think it’s the two most balanced teams in the country,” Morrison said. “I think you’re going to see some fireworks. You’re going to see some exciting volleyball.”

Busboom Kelly agreed with Morrison as she gave a blunt assessment of the match with the Aggies. 

“I know we’re going to be ready, but this is a very, very tough match-up for us,” she said. “I think it will be a hell of a regional final match.”

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.



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Pitt Volleyball Advances To Fifth Straight National Semifinal

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December 14, 2025

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PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 seeded Pitt volleyball team (30-4, 18-2 ACC) defeated No. 3 seed Purdue (27-7, 15-5 Big Ten) in four sets Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, to advance to its fifth straight National Semifinal. Olivia Babcock was named the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player after leading the Panthers with 23 kills, four digs and two blocks.

With the win, Pitt became the first program to reach five consecutive National Semifinals since Texas accomplished the feat from 2012–16.

Both teams traded points throughout the opening set before Pitt called a timeout trailing 19-18. A pair of Panther kills and a service ace from Mallorie Meyer swung the momentum and forced a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers used their final timeout following another Babcock kill at 23-20, but a termination from Marina Pezelj and Babcock’s ninth kill of the set sealed the 25-22 win.

Pitt jumped out to an early 13-9 advantage in the second set before Purdue answered with a 5-0 run, prompting a Panther timeout. Purdue later used two timeouts as Pitt maintained a 19-15 lead. The Boilermakers closed within three at 23-20, but a kill from freshman Abbey Emch and a Purdue hitting error secured the 25-21 set win for Pitt.

Purdue gained early momentum in the third set and forced Pitt to take a timeout trailing 10-8. The Panthers stayed within striking distance, causing Purdue to call a timeout at 17-16, but the Boilermakers closed out the set, 25-22, to extend the match.

Pitt responded emphatically in the fourth set, building an early 9-5 lead behind tough serving from Brooke Mosher and Pezelj, which led to a Purdue timeout. Bre Kelley and Babcock combined for four kills to force the Boilermakers to use their final timeout at 16-11. The Panthers pulled away down the stretch to claim the 25-17 set and the match, 3-1.

Pitt will face the winner of No. 1 seed Nebraska and No. 3 seed Texas A&M in the National Semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 18, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The first semifinal match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, with Pitt’s match time to be determined following Sunday’s Regional Final contests.

NOTES

  • Olivia Babcock was named the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player for the third straight year.

  • Marina Pezelj recorded a career-high 14 kills and led the team with 12 digs.

  • Brooke Mosher tied her season high with four blocks and finished one kill shy of her season best with four.

  • Mallorie Meyer matched her career high with three service aces.

Pittsburgh Regional All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player: Olivia Babcock (Pitt)

Brooke Mosher (Pitt)

Marina Pezelj (Pitt)

Kenna Wollard (Purdue)

Akasha Anderson (Purdue)

Ryan McAleer (Purdue)

Malaya Jones (SMU)



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