The Bishop Diego duo of Tua Rojas and Sophie Otte opened their senior seasons with a bang, earning the first Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Athlete of the Week honors for the 2025-26 school year.

The pairing was honored at the first SBART Press Luncheon of the year on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.

Rojas, the Cardinals’ starting quarterback, had a big night last Friday to lead his team to a thrilling 42-40 season-opening win over Lancaster.

The senior completed 15-of-21 passes for 258 yards, threw for three touchdowns and rushed one in himself to pull out the victory in the high-scoring affair.

Meanwhile, Otte began last week with a pair of strong performances in non-league matches. She tallied 11 kills and five aces in a four-set win over Santa Paula, and followed that up with 16 kills, three blocks and three digs in a 3-1 victory over Santa Barbara High.

Over the weekend, Otte filled up the stat sheet at the annual Cardinal Classic to help power her team to a second-place finish in the Silver Division.

The boys honorable mentions were Oscar Mauia (Bishop Football), Cole Dominguez (SM Football), Aaron Baizan (SB Football), Lucas Neushul (DP Water Polo) and Oliver Kelly (SB Water Polo).

The girls honorable mentions were Laila Hernandez (SB Flag Football), Elina Stump (SB Flag Football), Victoria Aldana (SM Flag Football), Kacey Hurley (DP Flag Football) and Brooklyn Hedricks (DP Flag Football).

The Athlete of the Week award winners are selected by the local sports media. Coaches are encouraged to nominate deserving athletes. Nominations should be sent to sports@noozhawk.com by Saturday afternoon, if possible.

MORAGA, Calif. – As we enter the 2025-26 athletic season at Saint Mary’s College, over the past year and into this summer, the athletic department has been busy adjusting to new NCAA guidelines, creating new revenue streams and preparing Gael Athletics for success now and into the future. 

I would first like to recap our exciting previous year, filled with accomplishments, postseason tournaments and tremendous growth across our department. 

The Gaels capped off the 2024-25 season with an exciting WCC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth from baseball, earning their second tournament appearance in school history. Both of those appearances have been under head coach Eric Valenzuela, who continues to push the program to new heights. Softball, under head coach Sonja Garnett, also pulled off a first in school-history, winning their second straight WCC title to close out the school year for Saint Mary’s.

For the fourth consecutive year, a first in school-history, the men’s basketball team earned a single-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Round of 32 for the third time in the past four years. The men’s basketball team also won a program-first third straight West Coast Conference title and finished ranked in the national polls for the fourth straight year.

On the trails and track, women’s cross country competed in the NCAA West Regionals with two runners finishing inside the top-100 of the field. In the spring, track & field sent two individuals to the NCAA Regionals for the second consecutive year to cap off a successful 2025 campaign. 

For the sixth straight year, Saint Mary’s had more than 150 student-athletes earn a spot on the WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, announced over the summer by the conference.

Off the playing surface last year, the Saint Mary’s Athletics Department once again set single-season records in philanthropic donations, ticket sales and attendance numbers across all 18 sports.

To enhance the student-athlete experience, the athletics department completed several major projects, including new women’s basketball and women’s volleyball locker rooms, lounges and office spaces. The women’s soccer team received a remodeled locker room, staff office spaces were built and remodeled, a new academic center and student-athlete support area was created and several branding projects were completed.

As we turn our attention to the start of 2025-26, there are several major changes across the NCAA that will require being able to adjust with the times. That includes the new House settlement approved revenue-sharing model, roster limits and governance structure.

With this critical changing landscape, it’s more important than ever to drive new revenue streams for the department, through several avenues. That will be a major focus of the athletic department for the years to come.

The success and visibility of the athletic department has never been higher, and we plan on continuing to grow upon where we stand today. With that goal in mind, we ask the Saint Mary’s community to support the athletic department in any way you can, from philanthropic donations, to attending games, to spreading the word to your friends and family. 

The new governance structure has also allowed us to eliminate the use of a third-party collective and now directly accept contributions to the athletic department for a variety of gifts.

The Saint Mary’s Athletic Department has always been strongly supported by the Gael community and we want to keep it that way as we take the next steps forward with your help.

Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do, and we look forward to seeing you on campus this year.

Mike Matoso

Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics

#GaelsRise

NEW ORLEANS — Coastal Carolina softball pitching ace Nicolette Picone was named to the All-Sun Belt Community Service Team, the league office announced on Monday.
 
The program honors student-athletes who show outstanding commitment to serving their communities.
 
Created in partnership with the Sun Belt Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the recognition underscores the conference’s mission to promote community engagement while celebrating the meaningful impact being made across all 14 Sun Belt campuses.
 
The All-Sun Belt Community Service Team highlights one student-athlete from each member institution who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to community service. Each school may nominate a student-athlete who exemplifies leadership and excellence in both the planning and execution of service initiatives.
 
The main source of Picone’s inspiration comes from her twin sister whose journey with Down syndrome motivates her to strive for her best on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. Wanting to better understand her sister’s experiences and deepen their bond, she began volunteering at Camp Anchor, a place that has held special meaning for her sister since the age of five, where individuals with special needs can fully be themselves. Over the years, Picone’s passion for serving others has continued to grow and while at Coastal, she found fulfillment through volunteering with Special Olympics, reading to kindergarteners, mentoring elementary school students, and spending time with residents in senior care facilities.
 
All-Sun Belt Community Service Team 

• Tucker Sangster, Men’s Cross Country, App State
• Corey Rucker, Football, Arkansas State
• Nicolette Picone, Softball, Coastal Carolina
• Pichon Wimbley, Football, Georgia Southern
• Mikyla Tolivert, Women’s Basketball, Georgia State
• Sierra Puleo, Women’s Track & Field, James Madison
• Natalie Mayes, Women’s Soccer, Louisiana
• Asjha Leake, Women’s Basketball, ULM
• Alicia Rivera, Women’s Track & Field, Marshall
• Imo Essien, Men’s Basketball, Old Dominion
• Judah Brown, Men’s Basketball, South Alabama
• Madeline Moody, Softball, Southern Miss
• Lauryn Small, Women’s Track & Field, Texas State
• Abby Grosinske, Women’s Track & Field, Troy 

For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (X), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at GoCCUSports.com.
 

RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros volleyball team had a good year in 2024, recording its fourth winning season in a row with a 16-12 record and its fourth postseason berth. 
 
This year, the Vaqueros are emphasizing development of a young squad and disciplined play to aim for their No. 1 goal: making it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. There are nine newcomers and five freshmen on the roster compared to just two seniors. It’s going to take time and true trust in the process for UTRGV to put it all together when the time is right and make a run in the Southland Conference (SLC) Tournament. 
 
“We’ve won the regular season a few times, and it’s nice, but the ultimate goal is winning the conference tournament and being in the NCAA tournament,” head coach Todd Lowery said. “Our goal with this team is to get better every single day and to really focus on that and not get ahead of ourselves. That’s hard to do, but it’s a big part of what we have to do. We have to manage the roster and we have to grow people.” 
 
With so many new faces trying to get on the same page, Lowery adjusted the preseason routine to really hone-in on the basics and the style of play UTRGV wants to deploy. The coaching staff slowed things down with the intent of the team performing their best in November. With that approach in mind, the first three to four weeks of the season will see the Vaqueros mix up lineups and offenses. Lowery wants to find which pieces work best together and give plenty of reps to the freshmen on the squad. 
 
“We want to go out and compete, but we’ll take our time and play some different lineups and give people opportunities. I’m sure there’s going to be some ups and downs over the first three or four weeks here, but we have to start settling in and getting ready for conference play,” Lowery said. “A big part of it is just finding out what works best for us and until we get on the court and we’re all on the same side and we’re going head-to-head with someone, there’s a bunch of unknowns for us right now.” 
 
What is known for UTRGV is the core group of returners the squad will be depending on, including a trio of 2024 All-Conference honorees in juniors Isabella Costantini, Celianiz Cabranes and Nadine Zech. 
 
Costantini is the reigning SLC Setter and Newcomer of the Year and has taken a big step forward in leading the team as she prepares for Year 2 with the Vaqueros. Cabranes, the 2024 SLC Libero of the Year, has come back sharp and will be an important part of UTRGV’s passing game, which will impact the offensive tempo. Zech is a two-time all-conference honoree who has shown consistent improvement while at UTRGV. Her powerful arm looks poised to be a reliable piece of the attack. 
 
Lowery said freshman outside hitter Dimitra Nanou and junior setter/defensive specialist Sujeili Mermella have been a couple of standouts among the newcomers. They looked solid when the Vaqueros competed in a preseason exhibition match at St. Mary’s and Lowery expects them to contribute throughout the season. 
 
Injuries slowed UTRGV down in the middle last season, but this year the Vaqueros are confident their big trio of juniors Julianna Bryant, Aaliyah Snead and Shylah Totten will help bring variety to the offense and improve the block. UTRGV is incredibly deep at the pin positions, so with sharp passing and a strong presence at middle blocker, the Vaqueros expect to play fast and be multiple on the attack. 
 

UTRGV has a competitive slate of opponents coming up in the next few weeks. Arguably no weekend will be a better indicator of where the Vaqueros need to be by the end of the season than the home tournament, the Southwest Showdown, featuring a trio of 2024 NCAA Tournament squads in Texas State, UTEP and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Lowery is eager to see how the Vaqueros stack up to the tougher teams on the schedule. 
 
“We have a bunch of teams on our schedule that have been in the tournament a lot recently, and having those teams come here or playing them on the road gives you an exact idea of where you need to be. That’ll be good for us, lining up against those kind of opponents,” Lowery said. 
 
As the Vaqueros prepare to begin another season, they aren’t expecting everything to come together right away. They’ll focus first on being disciplined, then on finding the right combinations, and then on hitting their stride when it matters most. 

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BOCA RATON, Fla. — In an effort to make the Owls the hometown team for Boca Raton, student-athletes have totaled nearly 20,000 hours of community service during Vice President Brian White‘s tenure. In part of this effort, we will showcase our hometown student-athletes from the Florida Keys through West Palm Beach. Meet Florida Atlantic’s women’s soccer graduate forward, Sloane Young, as the first Hometown student-athlete of the “Hometown Team” series.

MEET SLOANE YOUNG

FOLLOW THE OWLS

To stay up to date on all things Florida Atlantic women’s soccer, follow the team on social media @FAUWSoccer.