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EUGENE, Ore. — South Florida ran a brilliant 1,600-meter relay to close the NCAA men’s outdoor track and field championships Friday night, leaving USC and Texas A&M tied for the team title.

The Trojans, who won the indoor title earlier this year but hadn’t won an outdoor title in 49 years, and the Aggies, both finished with 41 points, one ahead of Arkansas.

That came after a late surge by the USF anchor to edge Texas A&M in the final race, winning in 3 minutes, 42 seconds. Arkansas was third with the Trojans a disappointing eighth to earn just one team point. The Aggies earned eight points in the relay — a win would have been worth 10 points — and the Razorbacks got six.

Arkansas protested after the race that a USF runner hindered a Razorback but the protest was denied. If successful, Texas A&M would have won the title and Arkansas and USC would have tied for second.

USC’s top performances included Max Thomas (third in the 100 with a time of 10.10 seconds), William Jones (second in the 400 with a 45.53) and Garrett Kaalund (third in the 200 with a 19.96). The 4×100 relay team took second overall with a time of 38.46.

The women’s title will be decided Saturday at Hayward Field on the Oregon campus.

Sam Whitmarsh of Texas A&M, runner-up a year ago, beat indoor champion Matthew Erickson of Oregon to capture the 800 in 1:45.86, the second-fastest in school history.

Jordan Anthony of Arkansas, the NCAA champion in the indoor 60, added an outdoor title, winning the 100 in 10.07 from Lane 9.

Ja’Kobe Tharp, who won the 60 hurdles at the indoor championships for Auburn, added the 110 hurdle title to his resume with a personal-best time of 13.05. Tharp ran the fifth-fastest time in NCAA history, only 0.07 off of Grant Holloway’s record.

Auburn also won the 400 relay in a time of 38.33.

Samujel Ogazi of Alabama raced to a dominant win in the 400 with a time of 44.84, more than six-tenths faster than the runner-up. The sophomore, who made the Olympic finals in Paris, became the first Nigerian athlete to win the 400 NCAA title in 26 years.

James Corrigan of Brigham Young, a 2024 Olympian, won the 3,000 steeplechase in 8:16.41, grabbing the lead at the last water jump. His time is the fourth fastest in college history.

Nathan Green of Washington, the 2023 champion, won the 1,500 meters in 3:47.26 with the top 11 finishing within 0.68 of Green.

Brian Masau on Oklahoma State added the outdoor title in the 5,000 to the indoor title he won earlier this year, finishing in 13:20.59.

Ezekiel Nathaniel of Baylor lowered his Nigerian record to 47.49 in the 400 hurdles, the second-fastest time in the world this year.

Carli Makarawu of Kentucky took the 400 in 19.84 seconds, a Zimbabwe national record, edging countryman Makanakaishe Charamba of Auburn, who ran 19.92.

Oklahoma’s Ralford Mullings, who returned to the championship for the second time in his career, took the discus title by launching a meet-record and personal-best 227 feet, 4 inches.

Brandon Green Jr. and Floyd Whitaker gave Oklahoma a 1-2 finish in the triple jump with Green soaring 55-2 to win by more than a foot. Green led from the first jump and had it wrapped up after five rounds and then had his best leap to end it.

Arvesta Troupe of Mississippi cleared 7-5¼ to win the high jump.

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Major league call-ups and minor league promotions have made for major storylines in 2025 for the rebuilding Chicago White Sox organization.

The latest name to join that list is pitcher Noah Schultz, who has been promoted from Double-A Birmingham to Triple-A Charlotte. The news was first reported by Elijah Evans of Future Sox.

Schultz is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound left-hander who the White Sox selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Oswego East High School in Oswego, Ill. He’s the No. 1 prospect in the White Sox organization, No. 13 in the MLB Pipeline rankings and No. 1 among all left-handed pitching prospects.

Across 12 starts and 56.2 innings in Double-A this season, Schultz posted a 3.34 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP while striking out 58 batters and walking 36. He displays unique mechanics from a three-quarter arm slot, where he delivers a mid-to-upper 90 mph fastball and a 70-grade slider, per MLB.com’s scouting reports.

Schultz had one of his best stretches of the season lately, allowing just three earned runs across his last four starts spanning 20.2 innings. He also tied his season-high with seven strikeouts in his last outing, tossing 5.2 shutout innings with one hit and five walks. Schultz’s walk rate is something to monitor as he makes the jump to Triple-A, as he’s walked three or more batters in seven of his 12 starts this season without pitching more than six innings in any single start.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz talked about Schultz back on May 23 in Chicago.

“You’ve got teams that have seen him more often than they had in the past. His last outing, he faced a club twice in one week,” Getz said. “He had a great outing against them, and then they were a little more disciplined on certain pitches with him in that second outing. That’s great for him to experience that. We certainly are big believers in Noah Schultz. You look at what he’s done throughout his career and this year. All signs point toward a frontline starter in the big leagues. It’s healthy for these guys to face some adversity as they continue their development path. In his case, he has had some outings that perhaps he needs to reflect back on: ‘What can I do differently?’ And that’s really valuable for these guys as they go through the minor leagues, before they get to the big leagues.”

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 36-33
St. Paul Saints: 31-34
Wichita Wind Surge: 32-29
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 36-25
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 27-33
FCL Twins: 18-11
DSL Twins: 2-7

TRANSACTIONS
Aaron Sabato was promoted to St. Paul. This is the first time the Twins first-rounder from 2020 has reached Triple-A. Sabato has played 224 career Double-A games and has a .305/.399/.574 batting line (.973 OPS) with Wichita this season.

Michael Tonkin, who had been on a rehab assignment, cleared outright waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. This means he’ll remain with St. Paul, but he’s no longer occupying a 40-man roster spot and the Twins can elect not to add him to the active roster at the end of his rehab assignment. 

Maddux Houghton was assigned to Cedar Rapids from St. Paul. Houghton has played eight games for the Saints over the past two seasons, but this will be his first time as a Kernel. 

RHP Alex Speas was released. In his last eight outings for the Saints, Speas had surrendered 19 earned runs with 14 walks in 7 2/3 innings pitched.

Cedar Rapids placed Rayne Doncon (quad strain) and Jay Thomason (big toe sprain) on the 7-day IL.

SAINTS SENTINEL 
Indianapolis 7, St. Paul 6 (11 innings)
Box Score
Trent Baker, who the Twins acquired from the Cardinals in the minor league portion of the  Rule 5 Draft, made his Triple-A debut tonight. It went … uh, well, he’ll look to bounce back in his next outing. The 26-year-old right-hander couldn’t get out of the first inning. Baker gave up three runs, walked a pair of batters and threw 40 pitches while recording two outs.

The Saints fought back from that slow start and traded leads with Indianapolis in the middle innings before the game was tied up in the bottom of the sixth. The score remained tied entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Kody Funderburk, working his second inning, walked the leadoff man on four pitches. He would eventually steal second and advance to third on a single. 

With the game-winning run on third base and one out, Funderburk picked up a massive strikeout. He got the hitter looking on a 95 mph sinker, thanks to an assist from catcher Noah Cardenas, who challenged the call after it was originally called a ball. Funderburk completed the impressive escape by also striking out the next batter to send the game into extra innings.

The Saints couldn’t manage to score in the top of the 10th despite getting a runner to third base with no outs, but St. Paul reliever Anthony Misiewicz blew Indianapolis away in the bottom half of the inning, striking out the side to keep the score knotted at 6-6. Unfortunately, the Saints once again couldn’t plate the bonus runner in the top of the 11th. Misiewicz’s magic ran out, and Indianapolis finally managed to scratch across a run on a single that got by shortstop Tanner Schobel, who was playing in with a runner on third.

The Saints lineup went 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times. Oof. Aaron Sabato was 1-for-5 with a run and a strikeout in his Triple-A debut.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 9, Corpus Christi 3
Box Score
Ricky Castro made a statement tonight. Wichita’s starting pitcher, Castro entered tonight with a 6.31 ERA over his first 35 2/3 innings in Double A. He turned in an outstanding performance, delivering six shutout innings while striking out eight batters. This was the first time Castro has recorded outs in the sixth inning and he’d previously topped out at five strikeouts.

The Twins signed Castro out of the independent Frontier League early last season. He looked like an intriguing pickup, pitching to a 3.90 ERA and 1.16 WHIP while striking out 70 batters in 62 1/3 innings after signing with the Twins. The jump up to Double A has proved to be challenging, but perhaps tonight is a turning point.

Castro put an exclamation point on his night by striking out the side in order in his final frame. He needed only 73 pitches to complete six innings, throwing 53 of them for strikes (72.6%).

Kala’i Rosario provided Castro with a generous amount of run support, as he hit a grand slam in the third inning. Rosario also stole two bases tonight, giving him 14 on the season. This is a new skill he’s showing in 2025, as Rosario had only swiped 16 bases in 348 career games coming into this season.

Gabriel Gonzalez was 3-for-3 and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.  Nate Baez, in his second game with Wichita, was 3-for-4 with a homer that was gifted to him. How’s that possible? He launched a ball into left the outfielder lost sight of and then didn’t even immediately locate after it had landed. To his credit, Baez was busting it around the bases and scored before the ball even made it to the relay man. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Kernels 6, Peoria 2
Box Score
The Kernels lineup was consistently producing tonight. Kaelen Culpepper hit an RBI single in the third inning, Jaime Ferrer added a sac fly in the fourth and another run scratched across in the sixth thanks to a Poncho Ruiz single. Danny De Andrade supplied the knockout blow, hitting a three-run homer in the seventh inning to put Cedar Rapids up 6-0.

Alejandro Hidalgo, who missed all last season due to injury, looks like he’s hitting his stride. He pitched four shutout innings tonight and stuck out four batters. In three starts this month, Hidalgo has a 2.08 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 18 strikeouts and three walks in 13 innings pitched. 

With the first half winding down, Cedar Rapids remains tied for first place in the Midwest League West division with Quad Cities, who also won tonight. Those two teams are also tied for the second-best records in the league at 36-25.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Game 1: Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 2
Box Score
This was the continuation of a suspended game from yesterday that didn’t even get out of the first inning. As a result, Adrian Bohorquez took over for Jason Doktorzyk on the mound when the game picked back up today. He allowed both the runners he inherited to score and struggled with command, walking three batters in 2 1/3 innings. That was all the offense the Blue Jays needed.

Yohander Martinez hit his second homer of the year. The recently-promoted Bryan Acuña was 0-for-3 but drove in the other Mussels run on an RBI groundout. Byron Chourio and Walker Jenkins, who are both rehabbing with Fort Myers, each picked up a single. Matt Gabbert pitched two perfect innings of relief while striking out three batters. 

Game 2: Dunedin 1, Fort Myers 0
Box Score
Tough day for the lineup. The Mussels could only muster two hits in the night cap, singles from Miguel Briceno and Blaze O’Saben. 

On a positive note, Fort Myers starter Michael Ross had an excellent start. The Twins 18th-round pick in last year’s draft, Ross limited the Blue Jays to one run over five innings, lowering his ERA on the season to 3.41. He struck out five batters and did not issue a walk. Ross topped out at 94.3 mph with his sinker and got five of his 10 swinging strikes on his changeup. 

Neither Chourio nor Jenkins played in this one.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Twins 2, FCL Red Sox 1
Box Score
The FCL Twins pitching staff had little room for error today. Luckily, they were up to the task. Teague Conrad limited the Red Sox to jone run on four hits and a pair of walks. He only struck out one batter, but when you only give up one run it’s tough to find an issue with that. The bullpen trio of Xavier Kolhosser, Eider Machuca and Brent Francisco combined to yield just a pair of hits over the final four frames. Machuca covered two innings while the other two pitched an inning each.

Despite that excellent pitching performance, the Twins entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 1-0. The bats got a little something going, but they mostly took advantage of mistakes. Daiber De Los Santos hit a one-out double and advanced to third on a Luis Fragoza single that deflected off the pitcher and forced him to leave the game due to injury. His replacement was a disaster.

The new Red Sox pitcher hit the first batter he faced, Ricardo Paez. Then a wild pitch allowed De Los Santos to score the game-tying run. Fragoza scampered home on another wild pitch, giving the Twins a walk-off victory.

Yasser Mercedes, who is with the FCL Twins on a rehab assignment, was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

DSL Twins 13, DSL Phillies White 3
Box Score
It’s been a slow start for the DSL Twins, who are 2-7 on the season, but they busted out in this one. Carlos Taveras and Darwin Almanzar provided the lineup with some pop. Taveras hit his first two professional home runs, drove in four runs and scored three. Almanzar also homered and hit a double. Haritzon Castill chipped in a three-hit game, and was a home run shy of the cycle.

On the mound, Santiago Castellanos covered innings two through four and was excellent. He held the Phillies scoreless while striking out five of the 12 batters he faced. Castellanos surrendered three hits and did not walk a batter. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY 
Pitcher of the Day: Ricky Castro, Wichita (6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K)
Hitter of the Day: Carlos Taveras, DSL Twins (2-for-3, 2 HR, BB, 3 R, 4 RBI)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for more. 

1. Walker Jenkins (on rehab assignment with Fort Myers): 1-for-2, HBP, K
6. Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-5, R, RBI
9. Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-3, BB, R, SB (14), 2 K
11. Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, R, K
14. Gabriel Gonzalez (Wichita): 3-for-3, 2B, R, RBI
16. Eduardo Beltre (FCL): 0-for-4
17. Tanner Schobel (St. Paul): 0-for-3, BB, HBP, 2 R, K
18. Yasser Mercedes (on rehab assignment with the FCL Twins): 0-for-3, BB, K
19. Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 1-for-5, K

TOMORROW’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul at Indianapolis, 6:05 pm CT: Darren McCaughan
Wichita vs. Corpus Christi, 6:05 pm CT: TBD
Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria, 6:35 pm CT: Tanner Hall
Fort Myers at Dunedin, 5:30 pm CT: Dasan Hill
FCL Twins at FCL Red Sox, 9 am CT: TBD
DSL Twins vs. DSL Miami, 9 am CT: TBD

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!

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