College Sports
Building and growing
1 / 3 BYU’s MacKenzee Vance (44) celebrates scoring a goal against Iowa State in a Big 12 women’s soccer match at South Field on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Courtesy BYU Photo 2 / 3 BYU’s Allie Fryer (left in blue) heads a shot into the goal during a women’s college soccer match against Utah […]

The BYU women’s soccer team had the unique experience of seeing its two captains, Ellie Walbruch and Tara Warner, go down with injuries during last spring’s competition.
Walbruch, a junior, missed the entire 2024 season after knee surgery. Warner, one of just two seniors, was able to compete in the preseason but just before Big 12 play tore her ACL and was lost for the rest of the season.
“They both made a huge impact off the field,” BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood said. “I was really proud of Ellie. It was hard for her to sit and watch but she grew in a lot of ways in how she saw the game and her teammates in a different light. After graduating 11 seniors, we were a really young team last year. We had some adversity and some random injuries so the younger players had to fill big roles. Now they can take that experience into this season.”
Now Rockwood and her coaching staff are forming the 2025 squad. The team has already taken a character-building foreign trip (to New Zealand) and are currently in the middle of camp season.
It’s not as easy as it sounds.
Sure, the players get paid to be coaches and counselors to hundreds of young boys and girls, so it’s a good summer job. But Walbruch and her teammates also go through tough workouts in the morning before spending most of the day learning to be patient with nine or ten-year olds.
“It’s a grind,” Walbruch admitted. “We’re up at 6 a.m. for workouts. But camps are a great time to build chemistry with new teammates, to get used to them and their personalities. Camps are so fun. I started going to BYU camps when I was about 12 years old. I really looked up to the older girls as role models.”
Walbruch transferred from UCLA in 2023 and made an immediate impact, tallying 11 goals and four assists for a team that made the NCAA semifinals.
“I tried to look at the year I was in recovery in a positive way,” Walbruch said. “It was all part of the plan God gave me. I grew a lot as a player and as person finding joy outside of soccer. I haven’t taken a break from soccer for a long time. It was a little bit eye-opening, what I would do without soccer. So I’m enjoying every little moment with my family and and my teammates.”
The Cougars will be loaded with returning starters in 2025, including junior goalkeeper Lynette Hernaez (69 saves), senior forward Allie Fryer (11 goals), sophomore midfielder Lucy Kesler, senior forward Mackenzee Vance (seven goals), sophomore midfielder Mika Krommenhoek (3 goals, 4 assists) and junior defender Avery Frischknecht, who will join Walbruch as a team captain.
“We made huge strides last fall with our young team,” Rockwood said. “One thing in particular we’re working on this summer is our fitness. It’s something our program is known for because of our style of play. We’ve been a high-energy scoring team but last year we only scored about half the goals we scored the previous few years, so we have to improve on our attack. We have to get better playing out of the back and controlling the ball. And I think we’ll be back to having a lot of depth throughout the lineup.”
The Cougars will add nine freshmen, seven of whom (midfielder Kate Denney, forward Cassidy Drago, forward Mia Giettsche, goalkeeper Sara Mathis, midfielder Afton Perry and forward Sophie Sivulich) joined the program in January. In addition, returned missionaries Izzi Stratton and Cameron Jorgensen — key defensive contributors in 2023 — have returned from church missions and will increase the amount of depth on the roster.
Speaking of the roster, new NCAA rules limit college teams to 28 players, which has led to some cuts and adjustments on the Cougar roster.
Rockwood said she is comfortable with her program’s place as it relates to the House settlement and profit sharing in college athletic programs.
“We’ve always had great support from our administration and our university,” she said. “We’ve always had what we’ve needed to compete. I feel really good about where we are. I’ve been working with Brian (new BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago) for a long time. He’s been our sport administrator. We’re still trying to figure out how all of this works but I think we’re pretty set for this fall.”
Even with the youth and the injuries, last year’s BYU team finished 9-7-5 overall, 6-2-3 in Big 12 play and earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s goals are much higher.
“Our expectations are to win the Big 12, both the regular season and the conference tournament,” Walbruch said. “That’s on the minds of everyone on the team when were lifting, when we’re in free play. Everyone is bought in and we’re excited to step onto South Field this fall.”
Experience matters
The BYU women’s soccer team has 198 total starts among its returners in 2025, 223 if you count defender Izzi Stratton’s 25 starts in 2023 before serving a church mission. The Cougars return players who scored 29 of the 35 goals (82%) from 2024.
College Sports
MEN’S ICE HOCKEY: A fourth former Statesmen goes pro this summer | Around The Web
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College Sports
Celeste Brown – Penn State
Celeste Brown enters her fourth year as an assistant coach with Penn State women’s hockey in 2020-21 not far removed from her reputable career on the ice. Primarily responsible for coaching the team’s forwards, Brown has had a direct impact on the Nittany Lion offense which scored 73 goals in 2018-19, the second-highest total in […]

Celeste Brown enters her fourth year as an assistant coach with Penn State women’s hockey in 2020-21 not far removed from her reputable career on the ice. Primarily responsible for coaching the team’s forwards, Brown has had a direct impact on the Nittany Lion offense which scored 73 goals in 2018-19, the second-highest total in program history.
An alumna of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Brown returned for her second stint in College Hockey America (CHA) after serving as an assistant coach at Connecticut College for the 2016-17 season.
Before beginning her coaching career, Brown played for the New York Riveters during the inaugural season of the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) in 2015-16. While coaching at Connecticut College, Brown played for the NWHL’s Connecticut Whale in 2016-17.
Brown closed out her collegiate career as RIT’s Division I career leader with 30 goals between 2012-15 and her nine-career game-winning goals rank in the top 10 at RIT.
Her class tallied a 15-2 record in postseason play, which included an NCAA Division III National Championship in 2012. After the Tigers elevated to Division I in the 2012-13 season, she helped the Tigers to back-to-back CHA titles in 2014 and 2015. She was a two-time captain and netted 70 points on 42 goals and 28 assists in 139 career games played, the fifth most games in program history.
The 2012 NCAA Division III National Championship game featured Brown recording the go-ahead goal 1:23 into the third period to help lead the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over Norwich.
In the classroom, Brown posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.73, was named a three-time CHA All-Academic Team honoree and received the 2014 CHA Academic All-Star honor for posting a 4.0 GPA.
From Great Falls, Montana, Brown graduated from RIT in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology.
College Sports
Maryland coach Mike Locksley: I lost the locker room over NIL payments last year
In another sign of how name, image and likeness payments have fundamentally changed college football, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley admitted this week that player payments became such a contentious issue on his team that it caused strife in the locker room. “A year ago, Coach Locks lost his locker room,” Locksley said. “We had […]

In another sign of how name, image and likeness payments have fundamentally changed college football, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley admitted this week that player payments became such a contentious issue on his team that it caused strife in the locker room.
“A year ago, Coach Locks lost his locker room,” Locksley said. “We had haves and have-nots for the first time. The landscape of college football taught me a valuable lesson. And that valuable lesson is it’s important for me, even in the midst of this change, to continue to educate our players on the importance of what playing for something bigger than yourself is all about. And I can tell you, if I have to put my desk in the locker room, I will.”
Locksley said he was torn between paying younger players to attract new recruits, and paying older players to reward those who had been valuable contributors to the program for years. Maryland fell to 4-8 last year after winning bowl games each of the three previous seasons.
“Losing the locker room a year ago, for me, was really personal, because it’s bigger than football,” Locksley said. “Last year was tough on me as a coach because for the first time, those really strong relationships were questioned. Because I had to decide whether to pay a freshman coming in or take care of a veteran player who helped me go to three bowl games.”
Locksley said he now has a sign at the locker room entrance telling players to leave their finances out of the locker room. A sign of a major change in college football.
College Sports
Frank Seravalli joins the high school coaching ranks
Frank Seravalli’s standout ice hockey playing days at Holy Ghost Prep continue to pay dividends during his adult career in the sport. Seravalli, a Bucks County native now living in Churchville, was recently named varsity head hockey coach at regional powerhouse Germantown Academy in Fort Washington. GA’s hockey alumni list includes former Stanley Cup-winning goaltender […]

Frank Seravalli’s standout ice hockey playing days at Holy Ghost Prep continue to pay dividends during his adult career in the sport.
Seravalli, a Bucks County native now living in Churchville, was recently named varsity head hockey coach at regional powerhouse Germantown Academy in Fort Washington.
GA’s hockey alumni list includes former Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Mike Richter of New York Rangers fame, along with Yardley native Brian O’Neill, whose resume includes a stint with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Seravalli’s appointment was announced by Germantown Academy director of athletics Tim Ginter.
“We are thrilled to welcome Frank to Germantown Academy,” Ginter said in a press release. “Frank is a respected figure in the hockey world whose passion for the game is unmatched. His deep knowledge of the sport, vision for building a program and lifelong connection to GA make him the perfect leader to guide our program forward.”
Seravalli’s ties to Germantown Academy run deep.
He’s been a devoted fan of the Patriots’ ice hockey program for a number of years, dating back to his youth. Seravalli would often attend GA games at Face Off Circle rink in Warminster. He was particularly interested in the coaching style of long-time bench boss John Ioia, who was inducted into Germantown Academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.
“That’s where my love for hockey began and those memories remain a powerful source of inspiration,” said Seravalli, a former Flyers beat writer/columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News.
“Germantown Academy hockey has been one of the crown jewels of the Philadelphia region and is still the only school to send three players (Richter, O’Neill and David Sloane) to the NHL. There is a proud history and a passionate alumni base here. I’m incredibly thankful for the trust demonstrated by GA leadership and the athletic department. I can’t wait to dig in and put in the work.”
Seravalli brings a wealth of experience to the Germantown Academy program.
He currently serves as head coach of the 11U Philadelphia Blazers, and professionally as an insider and broadcaster.
As president of Daily Faceoff, he led a national network of digital hockey coverage and served as the site’s lead NHL insider.
A three-time selection to The Hockey News list of “100 People of Power and Influence in the NHL,” Seravalli has spent nearly two decades breaking league-wide news and offering expert analysis across international platforms such as TSN, Sportsnet and Amazon Prime.
Off the ice, Seravalli served as president of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association for six years and previously sat on the Holy Ghost Prep Alumni Association board. He holds a B.A. from Penn State and attended Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
The Patriots return 10 varsity letterwinners from their 2024-25 Independence Hockey League championship season, including five All-IHL selections.
www.flyingfishhockey.com
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College Sports
USPHL Commitment Profile: Red Bank’s Singleton Commits To New England College • USPHL
By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com Red Bank Generals goaltender Braxton Singleton is extremely excited that he has made his commitment this summer to the NCAA’s New England College. “I started speaking with NEC over the summer. They told me they really like my compete level and game sense, which I take a lot of pride […]

By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com
Red Bank Generals goaltender Braxton Singleton is extremely excited that he has made his commitment this summer to the NCAA’s New England College.
“I started speaking with NEC over the summer. They told me they really like my compete level and game sense, which I take a lot of pride in,” said Singleton, a 2004-born goaltender from Edmonton, Alb.
He just completed his first and only season with the Generals, a new team in 2024-25. He had previously played with the Hampton Roads Whalers in the USPHL Premier and Elite conferences.
He is excited to be joining the Pilgrims, who will play their first season as members of the new Little East Conference.
“NEC is a top-notch program. They treat their players like pros, and the facilities are second to none,” Singleton said. “Away from the rink, it’s also a great school with an academic program that fits my needs perfectly.”
Singleton played in a career-high 30 games this past season, going 18-8-2-1 with a .923 save percentage. In the playoffs, he registered a .921 save percentage, staying consistent.
“Playing for the Red Bank Generals was a dream come true. The coaching staff truly cares about every single guy and does whatever it takes to help you succeed and prepare for the next level,” added Singleton. “The facilities are among the best in the country, and choosing to play in Red Bank was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Being a three-year USPHL veteran, Singleton was thankful to the league as a whole for providing the platform for teams to succeed and players to advance to higher levels.
“Playing in the USPHL was huge for my development and exposure. The showcases were awesome for getting in front of coaches and showing them what you could do,” he added. “It gave me the chance to play against the best of the best in the country, which helped my game grow a lot.”
With a midsummer commitment, he’s going to be ramping up his training even more to be ready to be the best player he can be for the Pilgrims from the time of his arrival at the Henniker, N.H., campus of New England College.
“This off-season, I’m really focused on gaining more explosive power in my movements around the crease and holding my edges,” said Singleton. “I’m also working on controlling my depth. I believe these are the things that will help me thrive and make an impact right away at the NCAA level.”
The USPHL congratulates Braxton Singleton, his family, the Red Bank Generals and New England College for his commitment.
College Sports
Italian gymnast Bonicelli in ‘stable condition’ after coming out of medically induced coma | College Sports
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