Kentucky freshman shortstop Tyler Bell‘s incredible first season of college baseball continues, as he has been invited to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp. He is the first ‘Cat to be invited since left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson in 2018.

Bell, who will be among the youngest players to participate, is now the ninth Kentucky player to ever be selected by USA Baseball. The entire list is below.

2025: SS Tyler Bell
2018: LHP Zack Thompson 
2016: 1B Evan White
2013: OF Austin Cousino
2012: OF Austin Cousino
1999: C John Wilson
1996: OF Chad Green
1989: SS Billy White
1986: RHP Tom Deller
1986: 2B Terry Shumpert

Bell, who was selected with the No. 66 pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2024 MLB Draft but did not sign, had one of the greatest freshman campaigns in Kentucky Baseball history this season. The Frankfort, IL native reached base in 49 of Kentucky’s 50 games and became the first freshman to hit double-digit home runs since 1993.

“He’s an amazing competitor first off,” Nick Mingione said about Bell following Kentucky’s 11-5 win over South Carolina earlier this season. “Just a gifted baseball player and he has awareness and feel. Man, has he played well. He’s come up with big hit after big hit and has played great defensively. But he works, he works. If you watch him pregame, it’s of the highest level. Because of that, he has confidence and he should.”

On March 31, Bell became just the second player of the Nick Mingione Era (2017-present) at Kentucky to be named SEC Freshman of the Week (previously just Travis Smith in 2023). Along with the Freshman All-SEC selection (first since Sean Hjelle in 2016), he also looks like a lock to be just Kentucky’s third Freshman All-American selection since 2017. There was one point where the program didn’t even know if he would make it to campus or not, and now he has blossomed into one of the most exciting players in all of College Baseball.

“It’s all about the preparation and taking on a bigger role,” Bell said earlier this season. “If I’m hitting the team’s hitting and just coming through in big spots for the team has been a lot of fun and we’re playing good.”

Heading into Regional play, Bell leads the team in doubles (17), RBI (46) and total bases (117). He is second on the team with a .306 batting average and 10 home runs and totaled four hits in a game TWICE this season. The future is extremely bright for the freshman, who will be back in action in NCAA Tournament Regional play.

The field of the Women’s College World Series is beginning to assemble, with the first tickets officially punched on Saturday and more to come on Sunday as teams play out the NCAA softball super regionals.

Three teams have completed sweeps to finish the job, including the defending champs and an underdog, while others got things done with Game 3 victories on Sunday. Here is every team that has qualified so far and how they got there.

Texas Tech

Texas Tech, a 12-seed, took down No. 5 Florida State on Friday.

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NiJaree Canady, who transferred to Texas Tech from Stanford for the largest-ever softball NIL deal, led the way for the Red Raiders, pitching seven innings each in Games 1 and 2, allowing just one total run. Canady added a hit, RBI and a walk in Game 1.

It will be Texas Tech’s first appearance in the WCWS.

Oklahoma

No. 2 Oklahoma, the seven-time NCAA champs, joined Texas Tech on Saturday with a mercy-rule sweep over Alabama.

After a 3-0 win over the Crimson Tide on Friday, the Sooners punched their ticket with a 13-2 win on Saturday, with the matchup ending after five innings due to the mercy rule. Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia hit two two-run homers, including one that began a nine-run third inning for Oklahoma.

Criticism surrounds controversial coach’s inability to get the Rebels to the College Football Playoff.

PublishedMay 25, 2025 3:15 PM EDT•UpdatedMay 25, 2025 3:15 PM EDT

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We’ve reached the point of the college football offseason where anonymous polls are being published, and it appears Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels have rubbed some folks the wrong way.

Kiffin has done a remarkable job at Ole Miss since taking over in 2020, having won 10 or more games in three of the last four seasons with an overall record of 44-18. Consistent winning has been big for the program, but Kiffin has also been an incredibly important piece in building a legitimate culture in Oxford and has made the Rebels more relevant than they ever have been.

Lane Kiffin Opens Up About His Sobriety, Credits His Children For Making Him ‘Best Version’ Of Himself

The controversial Kiffin, who turned 50 earlier this month, was among the first Power Four coaches to go all in with the transfer portal, adapting to the modern game and candidly speaking about NIL. However, he has yet to make the College Football Playoff.

Lane Kiffin isn’t beloved by all. (Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images)

With the Rebels re-tooling their depth chart yet again this offseason and filling the void left by first-round NFL Draft pick Jaxson Dart, a couple of coaches around the league have taken the situation as a moment to throw shade Ole Miss’ way, via Athlon Sports’ anonymous poll.

“The first program in the league that went all-in on portal players to take them to a playoff bid went bust,” a coach said. “Now what? [Austin] Simmons is talented but unpolished, and it’s going to take some time to develop him.”

Ole Miss lost one too many games a season ago to miss out on the CFP. The Rebels’ early home loss to Kentucky was the biggest resume destroyer, but another coach circled the defeat at Florida late in the season as the biggest red flag.

“They’re one of the best programs in the country at evaluating the portal, and they’ve done a very good job integrating that talent and winning right away, but this is still an inconsistent program,” another SEC coach said. “The loss at Florida last year is an example of why Kiffin isn’t considered an elite coach.”

The term “inconsistent” seems a bit harsh given that Ole Miss has had back-to-back seasons with double-digit win totals, including a program-record 11 in 2023. But until Kiffin can get the Rebels to play for an SEC title in Atlanta or a ticket to the CFP, the critiques will continue to flow.

College sports are in a weird place these days.

It’s hard to keep up with all the media reports and chatter about the NCAA, ongoing conference realignment, NIL, potential revenue-sharing, a future CEO and so on and so forth.

Much remains in flux. One thing that is clear is that collegiate athletics, as I knew them when I was a student at Syracuse University from 1996 to 2000, is toast. Assuming a federal judge approves the House settlement, and that hadn’t transpired as of this past Friday heading into the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Syracuse Orange and its peers nationwide will be able to start directly paying their athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.

If revenue-sharing does occur beginning with the 2025-26 sports season, there are some things to monitor as it pertains to SU Athletics and other athletics departments across the country.

Keep tabs on these potential themes related to Syracuse Orange Athletics.

One thing to monitor. Could SU Athletics end up cutting staff in the future due to upcoming revenue-sharing? In recent days, a report came out that Oklahoma’s athletics department would lay off 15 people “due to the looming realities of starting to share revenue with athletes.”

That’s unfortunate. But this is where we are. If athletics departments elect to set aside millions of dollars every year to pay their players, that could force these departments to cut overhead, resulting in layoffs. I hope this doesn’t transpire at SU Athletics, but I’ll be keeping a watchful eye.

To be fair, SU Athletics earlier this year made a new hire, bringing on board veteran sports executive Kevin Morgan as the department’s first general manager and chief revenue officer.

A few weeks ago, Kentucky’s board of trustees approved the school’s athletics department converting to a limited-liability company called Champions Blue LLC.

On May 22, Vanderbilt announced that it had hired long-time hospitality industry executive Markus Schreyer as CEO of that school’s newly created Vanderbilt Enterprises, which will focus on, among other things, “enhancing Vanderbilt Athletics resources, support for student-athletes and the fan experience.”