University of Florida transfer guard Xaivian Lee is reportedly set to pocket some significant name, image and likeness earnings during the 2025-26 college basketball season.

According to On3.com’s Pete Nakos, Lee is expected to make north of $6 million between his NIL earnings at Florida and his deal with international shoe company Serious Player Only.

Lee entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida last month after starring for three seasons at Princeton.

Per Nakos, Lee’s multiyear contract with Serious Player Only is more lucrative than his NIL deal with Florida, and it could lead to him securing his own signature shoe if and when he makes it to the NBA.

Nakos also noted that Lee is the first NCAA NIL athlete to have a shoe deal with an international company.

Lee, 21, was born and raised in Toronto before moving to the United States to attend high school in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.

After arriving at Princeton, Lee played a limited role during his freshman season, averaging 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, but he broke out during his sophomore campaign in 2023-24.

Starting all 29 games he appeared in, Lee averaged 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.8 three-pointers and one steal per contest while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Lee was named to the All-Ivy League first team as a result, and he repeated the feat last season when he averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 three-pointers and 1.2 steals.

Although Princeton missed the NCAA tournament each of the past two seasons, all signs point toward Lee playing meaningful games in March next season.

The Gators are fresh off a magical 2024-25 season that saw them go 36-4 and win their third national championship in program history.

Florida lost several key players, including Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard, but Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu are returning, plus Lee is joining the program along with fellow transfer Boogie Fland and highly touted recruit CJ Ingram.

Because of that, the Gators are legitimate threats to win back-to-back national titles, and Lee will almost certainly be a huge part of the equation if that happens.

**Release courtesy of UW-Eau Claire Sports Information

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Head Women’s Hockey Coach Erik Strand announced Thursday he will be stepping down from his position to accept a role at the University of Vermont.

Strand will be an assistant coach for the Catamounts’ women’s hockey team, an NCAA Division I program.

Strand coached the Blugold women for 10 seasons, compiling a 183-68-17 record. Previously, he had been an assistant coach for the UW-Eau Claire men’s hockey team for eight years.

“After 18 unforgettable years coaching hockey at UW–Eau Claire — eight as the men’s assistant coach, 10 as head coach of the women’s program — it’s time for a new chapter,” Strand said. “Coaching here has been one of the greatest honors of my life. The wins are special — but it’s the people, the memories, and this incredible community that truly made it priceless. My family and I are forever grateful for the journey, the relationships, and the chance to have been a part of the Blugold family.”

Over the last 10 years, the Blugold women won a WIAC regular season championship in 2020 along with O’Brien Cup championships in 2018 and 2019. They played in four NCAA Tournaments in that stretch and had six players earn All-America honors along with three WIAC Player of the Year honors. Multiple alumni have gone on to play hockey professionally.

The Blugolds will begin a national search to find their next head coach immediately. The next leader of the team will be the third head coach in program history.

“We wish Erik well and appreciate his contributions to UWEC Athletics,” UW-Eau Claire Director of Athletics Jason Verdugo said. “I’m excited to welcome the next leader of our hockey program — someone deeply committed to student-athlete development, ready to build upon our strong foundation and driven to elevate our program.”

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Illinois men’s track and field team finished their first day of the NCAA West Preliminaries on Wednesday (May 28) from E.B. Cushing Stadium at Texas A&M. Pole vaulter Cody Johnston punched his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a clearance of 5.42m (17-9 1/4) on his third and final attempt.

5.42m wasn’t the only bar that Johnston needed his final attempt to clear, after passing on 5.02m (16-5 1/2) he cleared all his remaining bars on his final attempt: 5.17m (16-11 1/2), 5.32m (17-5 1/2) and finally 5.42m (17-9 1/4).

With those six fouls he absolutely needed to clear 5.42m to place inside the qualifying top 12 or else he would’ve placed 13th and missed based on the tie breaker of least fouls. This is the second-consecutive season he’s punched his ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He’s already a two-time All-American when he took fifth last year outdoors and earlier this season he placed eighth indoors.

NATIONAL QUALIFIERS

UP NEXT

The women’s track and field team begin their first day of competition tomorrow (May 29) with field events starting at 10 a.m. and track events 6 p.m. CT.

NOTES

PIERRE — With the nine-month slog of the United States Hockey League season finally behind him, Carter Sanderson has certainly earned this brief period of downtime.

Over the weekend, the South Dakota native returned to his hometown of Pierre, but the rarified air of calling himself a Clark Cup champion gives Sanderson a comfortable laurel upon which he can rest.

In his first year of junior hockey, the 17-year-old center helped guide the Muskegon Lumberjacks to the organization’s first Clark Cup championship last week when they defeated Waterloo 4-3 in overtime in a winner-take-all Game 5.

In total, Sanderson amassed 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and a plus-six rating on the ice during the 2024-25 campaign. He appeared in 61 contests, finishing with a .11 shooting percentage.

The Lumberjacks finished the season with a 49-18-9 record, and from the moment it all began back in late August, Sanderson felt something special brewing within the group.

“Obviously there were a couple trades during the year, so that kind of threw a wrench in some things,” Sanderson said. “But from the get-go, everybody got along really well, and it obviously worked out in the end.”

Contributed / Muskegon Lumberjacks

Muskegon entered the Clark Cup Playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and won two of three in the opening round to knock off fifth-seeded Cedar Rapids. Then, in the conference semis and finals, the Lumberjacks swept No. 1 seed Youngstown and second-seeded Dubuque, respectively, in back-to-back series, setting up a Clark Cup Finals showdown with Waterloo.

Each of the final three games between the Lumberjacks and Black Hawks were decided in overtime, including a 2-1 decision in double overtime in Game 3 that fell in favor of Muskegon. After Waterloo claimed a 3-2 triumph in OT in Game 4, the two teams found themselves in overtime yet again in Game 5, with Jack Christ capping off a hat trick to lift the Lumberjacks to victory and commence the celebration on road ice.

“It was a hard-fought battle all series long,” Sanderson said. “When we won in overtime there in Waterloo, that was amazing. Hoisting the Clark Cup for the first time was awesome. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.

“It felt great, and then seeing all my other teammates get to do it as well was great.”

In late August, Sanderson arrived in western Michigan after being selected by Muskegon more than three months prior in the fourth round of the USHL Phase II Draft.

Sanderson says there were about 32 participants at the Lumberjacks’ preseason training camp, but there was no guarantee he was going to make the opening-day roster.

“Going out there, I knew I had to really put my best foot forward and show the coaches why I deserved to be on that team,” Sanderson said. “There were kind of two groups. There were kids that were returning and kids who made the team, and then there were probably 10 to 15 of us who still knew we had to make the team.

“Really showing up to the rink every day to do your job was important. When I showed up, I knew I had to do that, but it was still great being at the rink every day even if I didn’t know I was going to make it.”

Just a few weeks before reporting to Muskegon, Sanderson made his college decision official on Aug. 2 when he

took to Instagram to announce his commitment

to the University of North Dakota.

Sanderson says the two schools he was mulling the most were UND and Augustana, but in the end, the opportunity to play for a blue blood program was irresistible.

“When I got that offer on August 1, I knew I had to take it,” said Sanderson, who is expected to join the Fighting Hawks for the 2026-27 season. “No disrespect to Augie or any of the other programs. It’s just top notch all the way around [at UND], so having the opportunity to be able to go there in the near future is a cool feeling.”

In 2021-22, Sanderson was a star forward at the high school level with the Oahe Capitals, who play their games on the western bank of the Missouri River at Oahe Expo Center in Fort Pierre. He tallied 42 points (27 goals, 15 assists) in 23 games that season, and in 2022-23, Sanderson left home and made his way to Alexandria, Minnesota, to play for Northstar Christian Academy, where he racked up 35 points in 55 contests at the 16U AAA level.

However, in the summer of 2023, a civil complaint was filed that alleged misconduct and mismanagement by coaches and board members at NCA. Around that time, Sanderson received a phone call from Sioux Falls Power co-founder Noëlle Needham, who encouraged the young skater to try out for Power’s 16U team.

“Noëlle has changed my hockey career,” Sanderson said. “She’s put a huge stepping stone in front of me. She’s given me so many opportunities. … I put a lot of trust in her, and in return, I got a lot of great feedback.

“She’s talked to schools, NHL teams — you name it — and not just on my behalf but for other people who play for Power.”

Submitted photo

For now, Sanderson is taking some time away from the ice to decompress, but in a couple weeks, he’ll begin his summer training ahead of his second year of juniors.

Sanderson plans to stay on his family’s farm about 30 minutes north of Sioux Falls near Flandreau, where he’ll commute to the Scheels IcePlex during the week to work out with Needham and other local skaters. Then, on the weekends, he’ll head back to Pierre to spend time with friends and family.

“I have a pretty set routine, and it works for me. So I like it,” Sanderson said. “Everybody loves working on shooting and whatever, but I really think I could work on skating. One-legged edge work is definitely a big piece.

“It’s hard to do it in the summer to train, but in game, I tend to have more time than I think with the puck. Really getting that in my head that I have more time to make more plays is big.”

Taylor Senecal helped lead Essex High to the Vermont Division 1 girls state title. (Paul Lamontagne)

Kelly McManus Souza still remembers the first time she saw Taylor Senecal play.

McManus Souza, Berwick’s head coach of and director and 19U coach at Assabet Valley, was at an event in Toronto with her oldest daughter.

“She was probably 10 or 11 years old,” McManus Souza said. “I remember approaching her and her family and telling them, ‘When you’re ready to play girls hockey, make sure your first call is to Assabet.’ … I don’t think I’ve ever done that with another player or family, approaching them in that capacity. “I couldn’t let that opportunity go, given how good she was at that age.”

Soon enough, the Essex Junction, Vt., native was donning an Assabet sweater. Eventually, she made the same first impression as a freshman at Essex High.

“She was something special,” Jerry Gernander said. “Even as a freshman there, she just skated so well, and she thought the game at a different level. It was pretty clear that she was pretty special.”

Gernander’s daughter played with Senecal in the 2021-22 season. Fast forward to late 2024 and Gernander was about to embark on his first season as head coach of Essex High. When he got a look at his roster, Senecal’s name immediately jumped out.

“When I signed up to coach, I didn’t know she was going to be back,” Gernander said. “So it was a pleasant surprise for me … coming in off the street to coach, and being able to coach somebody like that was pretty nice.”

To understand Gernander’s surprise is to understand Senecal’s winding journey.