There’s no way to describe Arizona gymnastics’ 2025 season except highly successful. The team produced the Big 12 co-Specialist of the Year, the WCGA Regional Assistant Coaches of the Year, and the Big 12 Coach of the Year. Over two months after concluding his season, that coach of the year has signed an extension to continue leading the GymCats.

Arizona Athletics announced that John Court has been extended through the 2028 season on Thursday afternoon. His current contract was signed in 2023 and was due to expire in 2026.

Court has been at Arizona for 26 years. He served as an assistant under both Bill Ryden and Tabitha Yim. He finally took over the program after Yim left just before the 2017-18 school year. After serving as the interim head coach for most of the season, he was given the permanent title in March 2018.

Court’s teams improved each year and had a breakout season this year. The GymCats finished second in their first season in the Big 12. Their only conference losses came to Utah in both the regular season and at the conference championships.

The team then accomplished another first. They advanced to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since the postseason format changed in 2019, pulling off an upset over Georgia to take second in their session. They also defeated Arizona State for the third time this season. It made them one of the last 16 teams standing.

Court’s extension follows the announcement of assistant Kylie Kratchwell’s promotion to associate head coach on June 18. She shares that title with Court’s longtime assistant Taylor Spears. The pair joined first-year assistant Shelby Martinez in earning the WCGA’s regional staff honors for the South Central Region.

Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

Michigan’s hockey program has landed two more commitments from Canadian Hockey League players.

Winger Jacob Larose of the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and center Jimmy Lombardi of the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League announced their verbal pledges to the Wolverines on Thursday. Larose, 20, will join the Michigan for the 2025-26 season, while Lombardi, 18, will play one more year with the Firebirds before beginning his college career.

The Wolverines continue to tap into a new pool of prospective student-athletes, with players in the three CHL leagues eligible to play at the NCAA level for the first time.

Previously, they were banned from competing in the NCAA because the governing body of college athletics considered them professionals since they received stipends from their major junior teams.

Michigan has been busy recruiting in Canada, receiving six verbal pledges from CHL players this offseason. Larose should add some offense to head coach Brandon Naurato’s lineup next season. The 5-foot-9 Quebec native totaled 26 goals and 61 points in 63 games last season split between Drummondville and Victoriaville. His best season in the QMJHL came in 2023-24, when he registered 38 goals and 80 points in 67 games.

Lombardi is the second Firebird to commit to Michigan in as many days, following defenseman Matthew Mania’s announcement Wednesday. The 6-foot Lombardi (no relation to former Firebirds forward and Red Wings draft pick Amadeus Lombardi) had 13 goals and 45 assists in 63 games for Flint last season and is a projected mid-to-late-round pick in this week’s NHL draft.

The Wolverines, who missed the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2019, will have a new-look roster in 2025-26. They are bringing in at least 10 freshmen and have added three transfers.

Women’s Lacrosse | 6/26/2025 9:30:00 AM

ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Athletics announced the hiring of Geri Seif (Battle Creek, Mich.) as its next Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach.

“I could not be more grateful to the Russell Sage search committee, athletic department, and the women’s lacrosse team for giving me this opportunity to lead this program,” said Seif. “I want to thank my family, my mentors, and past players that helped me get to this point, I couldn’t have done it without them! I’m so pumped to start recruiting future Gators and I look forward to building a strong successful culture for years to come.”

“Russell Sage is thrilled to bring Geri Seif to the Swamp as our head women’s lacrosse coach ,” said RSC Director of Athletics Jim Lyons. “With a coaching philosophy that emphasizes positivity and a growth mindset, Geri will become a strong role model for each of the athletes in her program.  I am certain that with the consistency and leadership she can provide our team, that Russell Sage women’s lacrosse can become a fixture in the Empire 8 Conference playoffs for years to come.”   

Seif comes to Albany from nearby Union College, where she served as an assistant coach since 2022. The Garnet Chargers, under the direction of former RSC Head Coach Alyssa Treanor, have reached the Liberty League Championship Tournament semifinals in each of the past four springs, including a trip to the finals in 2025.

Before Union, Seif was the head girls’ lacrosse coach at East Grand Rapids High School for one season and as an assistant coach at Aquinas College (NAIA) for four years. She led East Grand Rapids to a 23-2 record and a MHSAA Division II State Championship during her one year at the helm, while helping the Saints to a WHAC Tournament semifinal appearance during her final season. 

 

Seif played collegiately at Olivet College, serving as a four-year captain for the Comets. She led the team to the best season in program history as a senior, scoring a school-record 50 goals with 10 assists for a record 60 points in 2015. A two-time All-MIAA second-team honoree, she is the school’s all-time leader in goals (155), assists (19), points (174), shots (374) and ground balls (126), while also holding school single-game records for goals, assists and points.

 

She graduated from Olivet in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a marketing concentration.

ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE

The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com.

 

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LSU baseball’s Kade Anderson was named the 2025 College Pitcher of the Year by Baseball America on Thursday.

Anderson is a sophomore pitcher from Mandeville, La., who has started in both of his seasons for the Tigers. As a freshman, Anderson made appearances as the midweek starter and as a reliever on the weekends.

Then, in his sophomore season, Anderson was called to the Friday night starter role, which he embraced and had a breakout season.

In the 2025 season, Anderson recorded a 3.18 ERA and a nation-leading 180 strikeouts across 119 innings. In 11 out of his 19 games, he recorded double-digit strikeouts.

When the stage got bigger, Anderson rose to the occasion as he allowed just one run and struck out 17 batters in the 16 innings he pitched during the College World Series.

He was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after securing LSU a win over Coastal Carolina with a complete-game shutout, just the third ever in the CWS finals history.

“His next pitch should be for some place in the Washington Nationals organization,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said after the game. “There’s nobody closer to the major leagues than that right now.”

The Nationals hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, and Johnson thinks Anderson should be the first off the board. MLB Insider and former MLB scout Kiley McDaniel agrees.

In McDaniel’s most recent MLB mock draft, he named Anderson the first overall pick. According to MLB.com, Anderson is the No. 2-ranked prospect in the draft this year.

DULUTH — The Minnesota Duluth men’s and women’s hockey programs are planning to increase the amount of scholarships offered over the next three seasons, going from the equivalent of 18 full athletic scholarships in 2024-25 to 22 by 2027-28.

UMD athletic director Forrest Karr said both teams will have the opportunity to offer up to 20 full scholarships starting in 2025-26, 21 in 2026-27 and 22 in 2027-28.

The move comes after the

approval of the NCAA v. House settlement,

which removed scholarship limits in NCAA Division I sports, but imposed roster limits. Hockey rosters are capped at 26 players.

“There is still work to be done. This thing can change, as we’ve seen, very quickly,” said Bulldogs men’s coach

Scott Sandelin.

“We have a good plan in place and we’re going to continue to work toward that. It benefits both our programs to try and stay competitive in the world we’re in.”

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group

In addition to increasing the amount of scholarships offered, the Bulldogs will begin paying out academic achievement awards to returning student-athletes and incoming transfers. Also known in college sports as

“Alston money,”

it follows a 2021 Supreme Court decision (NCAA v. Alston) that allowed schools to provide additional education-related benefits, including academic awards of up to $5,980 per year.

UMD is offering $3,000 per student-athlete in 2025-26. Karr said UMD hopes to increase the amount offered in the future. UMD’s academic achievement awards — which Karr said are treated like scholarships — will come from donations to the hockey programs via the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group

Many of the Bulldogs’ conference rivals are already offering Alston money, including

North Dakota in the NCHC

and the Big 10 schools in the WCHA.

“This investment is a vital step in attracting and retaining top-tier prospective student-athletes — individuals who excel not only in sport, but also in the classroom and in their communities,” UMD women’s coach Laura Schuler said. “By raising scholarship dollars and enhancing academic recognition, we are not only leveling the playing field, we are reaffirming our commitment to student success, well-being and the values that define our institution.”

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group

The House settlement stems from a 2020 lawsuit in U.S. District Court. The NCAA and its five biggest conferences at that time — the Big 10, Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, Big 12 and Pac-12 — were sued over back pay for name, image and likeness licensing and revenue sharing from broadcast agreements.

A $2.75 billion settlement was formally approved by a federal judge on June 6. The settlement includes a revenue-sharing agreement and name, image and likeness back pay for former student-athletes who began competing in 2016. Terms of the settlement — including the lifting of scholarship limits and implementation of roster caps — go into effect on July 1.

Schools have until June 30 to either opt in or opt out of the settlement. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio State in the WCHA and Arizona State in the NCHC are required to opt in as defendants. UMD had the option to opt in for its Division I sports,

and announced its intention to do so back in March.

Denver also announced it will opt in. North Dakota

was going to opt out

for 2025-26,

but is reconsidering.

Terms of the House settlement only apply to the Bulldogs’ Division I programs — men’s and women’s hockey. The other Division II sports are not impacted.

“We have been planning for the House settlement to be approved for over a year, and we are now able to move forward,” Karr said. “Any additional adjustments that we make in the future will be informed by changes being made at other WCHA and NCHC programs.”