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Early MLB takeaways

Open Extended Reactions One month into the Major League Baseball season, the favorites are playing as expected (for the most part), the stars are off to great starts (more or less) and the game looks as it should (except for the two minor league parks). April offers a window into the next five months, though […]

Published

2 months ago

April 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

One month into the Major League Baseball season, the favorites are playing as expected (for the most part), the stars are off to great starts (more or less) and the game looks as it should (except for the two minor league parks). April offers a window into the next five months, though it’s still slightly opaque — a tease for what’s ahead.

Will there be another historic Aaron Judge season? A team breaking the record for futility just one year after a single-season record for losses was established? A new standard for on-field larceny? All of that and so much more are possible, according to a wide swath of players, coaches, executives, evaluators and analysts ESPN surveyed to understand what in April was real and what was more early-season mirage.

We’ll begin with one thing that is clear enough to say definitively. And while it might not mean anything come October, for May, June, July, August and September, it’s bound to prove true.

The National League is vastly superior to the American League

This disparity was anticipated, yes, but the degree to which the Senior Circuit dwarfs the Junior Circuit in almost every way — from record to run differential to preeminence of the best teams — only reinforces the chasm between the leagues.

Currently, the NL is 224-218 with a plus-69 run differential. And that’s despite the 4-25 Colorado Rockies and their -78 run differential. The combined OPS of NL hitters is 25 points higher than that of AL hitters. They walk more and strike out less, score way more and steal copious bases comparatively and hit more home runs. In interleague games, NL pitchers have an ERA that is more than a third of a run lower than that of their AL counterparts.

There is an argument to be made that seven NL teams are better than the AL’s best team (either the New York Yankees or Detroit Tigers, who have separated themselves by the end of April), and that doesn’t even include the Cincinnati Reds, who have a five-game winning streak and the fourth-best run differential in MLB (aided by a 24-2 win against Baltimore). The NL’s magnificent seven include:

Los Angeles Dodgers: The overwhelming World Series favorites have been just all right since an 8-0 start, with injuries hammering their starting rotation and offensive struggles by third baseman Max Muncy, outfielder Michael Conforto, utility man Kiké Hernández and even shortstop Mookie Betts. And yet the Dodgers still terrify opponents because of games like Sunday, when starter Tyler Glasnow exited because of a shoulder injury and was replaced by Ben Casparius, whose fastball sat at 97 mph, topped out at 99 and complemented a slider and curveball averaging 3,000-plus RPMs of spin. The Dodgers are great because of their stars, but they’re even more dangerous because their replacements also have elite ceilings.

San Diego Padres: For a team that entered 2025 with rotation questions, the Padres have managed to post seven shutouts, the most ever for a team through the end of April. Much of it is owed to their bullpen, which owns an MLB-best 1.66 ERA and has stranded 87.8% of runners, blowing away the league average of 71%. Powered by their nasty bullpen, starters Michael King and Nick Pivetta, and Fernando Tatis Jr. going full superstar mode, the Padres have managed most of April without star center fielder Jackson Merrill and second baseman Jake Cronenworth with aplomb. Once the Padres get healthy, look out.

New York Mets: They sport the best record in MLB — and have gotten to the top of the standings despite slow starts from Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo, with Juan Soto still seeking his power stroke. New York’s pitching has been nothing short of brilliant, with a rotation leading MLB in ERA by nearly three-quarters of a run at 2.27. And that’s without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, two free agent signings who have spent the first month on the injured list. It doesn’t hurt that Pete Alonso was the best hitter in the league in April, and Francisco Lindor is doing Francisco Lindor things, too. There might not be a more electric place to watch a ballgame these days than Citi Field, where the Mets are 13-1 this season.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have been baseball’s best offense by a significant margin so far and achieved the exceedingly rare 40/40 month: 42 home runs and 44 stolen bases in April. Chicago’s balance isn’t just power-speed, either; it’s up and down the lineup, from Kyle Tucker starting his walk year with a flurry to Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s breakout looking real to Carson Kelly hitting better than anyone in the sport in limited playing time. The Cubs’ pitching is problematic, though, and losing Justin Steele to reconstructive elbow surgery did them no favors. But with an offense on a 977-run pace and the easiest schedule in MLB for the remainder of the season, summer and fall in Wrigley could be a lot of fun.

San Francisco Giants: The season’s biggest surprise so far, the Giants look like the Padres Lite with excellent bullpen performances elevating steadiness across all other facets of the game. Randy Rodriguez has been a revelation in a relief corps that has also seen a bounce-back from Camilo Doval, consistent excellence from Tyler Rogers and the high-octane stuff of Hayden Birdsong playing up out of the pen. The offense has been more of a mixed bag. Willy Adames has struggled at the plate, but Jung Hoo Lee is looking like a potential star and Mike Yastrzemski ihad his best start in years. San Francisco’s hitters have thrived in big spots, highlighted by Wilmer Flores ranking third in the majors in RBIs thanks to a .387/.457/.677 line with runners in scoring position.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Let’s start with the good. On paper, Philadelphia remains one of the toughest teams in the NL. Zack Wheeler is the most consistent ace in baseball, Jesus Luzardo is pitching like the best version of himself, and coupled with Cristopher Sanchez‘s continued ascent, the starting pitchers all combine to make the Phillies a dangerous squad come October. Can they get there, though? The bullpen is a real issue, with the second-worst ERA in baseball (5.25) and only Jose Alvarado exceeding expectations. The bottom third of the Phillies’ lineup also needs to produce more, and the lack of home runs (24, which ranks 23rd in MLB) will catch up to their offense if it persists.

Arizona Diamondbacks: At some point, the Diamondbacks’ pitching is bound to right itself. A rotation of Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt should not have the 24th-ranked starter ERA in MLB. Thankfully for the Snakes, the offense has been elite. Corbin Carroll has turned in an MVP-caliber April, Pavin Smith might be the best platoon player in MLB, Josh Naylor is bordering elite with his swing decisions, and Eugenio Suarez leads the big leagues in home runs. With Ketel Marte back soon and Jordan Lawlar destroying Triple-A, the Diamondbacks’ offensive excellence could get even better. And as long as the pitching stabilizes, Arizona will be a team nobody wants to face now or in October.

The stolen base is back and better than ever, but offense is still meh

When MLB introduced new rules in 2023, the implementation of larger bases and limiting of pickoffs weren’t talked about as much as adding the pitch clock and banning the shift. But both have had a demonstrable effect on the game. Perhaps not quite as much as the pitch clock — nine-inning games are averaging 2 hours, 37 minutes, almost dead even with last year’s 2:36 — but the changes that have brought back the stolen base have been far more significant than those the league hoped would help juice batting average.

Last year, MLB players stole 3,617 bases, the highest number in more than a century. This April’s stolen-base total already exceeds last year’s at this time (714 to 672), and runners aren’t going to stop stealing until catchers show they can more consistently throw them out.

With a success rate of 79.5% on steals of second — and 74.8% on attempts to swipe third — runners are emboldened. Anything in excess of 75% encourages teams to keep running, and with seven teams already pilfering more than 30 bases, they are gladly obliging, turning singles and walks into “doubles” regularly.

And it’s not only the fastest players in baseball who are thriving. Everyone is running. Bryce Harper, nobody’s idea of a stolen-base machine, has six in 29 games after swiping seven last season in 145 games. Manny Machado hasn’t stolen more than a dozen bases since 2018; he’s already halfway there.

On the other hand, an offensive regression last year alarmed executives who were hopeful the runs-per-game jump in 2023 meant offense would continue to blossom under baseball’s new rules. It has not. The numbers from the past four seasons through the end of April:

YearBAOBPSLG2022.231.307.3692023.247.321.4052024.240.314.3852025.242.316.392Walks are up three-tenths of a percentage point and strikeouts are down by the same amount. Runs per game are flat (4.38 last year, 4.34 this year). The ball is being put in play at the highest April rate since 2017 … but defenses are turning more of them into outs than the previous two years of new-rule ball.The torpedo bat was more moment than game changerMLB torpedo bats: What you need to knowTorpedo-shaped bats have become MLB’s next big thing. Here’s what you need to know about the sport’s hottest trend.Passan: Inside the rise of torpedo bats &#187
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Before the torpedo bat: History of experiments &#187

Oh, the halcyon days of opening weekend, when Yankees hitters unleashed the torpedo bat and looked as if they were about to revolutionize baseball.

With this novel-looking piece of equipment that forsook the standard shape of a bat and aimed to place more wood in the part of the bat that strikes balls most frequently, the hitters who embraced the torpedo looked like world beaters. The numbers from that opening series against Milwaukee were undeniably good.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.: .417/.500/1.167, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs in 14 PA
Austin Wells: .200/.333/.800, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs in 12 PA
Anthony Volpe: .167/.286/.667, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs in 14 PA
Cody Bellinger: .400/.357/.700, 1 HR, 6 RBIs in 14 PA

Since then, those players’ numbers have been:

Chisholm: .151/.279/.312, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs in 111 PA
Wells: .212/.258/.425, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs in 89 PA
Volpe: .242/.327/.434, 3 HRs, 15 RBIs in 113 PA
Bellinger: .184/.273/.322, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs in 99 PA

The torpedo bat, it turns out, doesn’t erase weaknesses of hitters. It’s also not fool’s gold. Cal Raleigh is using it with his left-handed swing, but not his right — and seven of his 10 homers have come from the left side, where he has an OPS nearly 300 points better than the right. Steven Kwan, who might as well be the anti-Raleigh, is also swinging a torpedo and is batting .333, seventh best in the big leagues.

Because of that opening-weekend blitz, though, the torpedoes will continue to be associated with the Yankees. And it’s worth noting that Judge has continued to swing a traditional bat and not only looks like the best hitter on the planet but by a significant margin. Judge leads MLB in each of the triple-slash categories (.412/.507/.728), ranks second in RBIs (29), second in runs (28) and third in home runs (nine). He is striking out in a career-low 20.6% of his plate appearances and continues to hit the ball harder and more consistently than anyone.

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The Rockies are a real threat to the 2024 White Sox as the worst team ever

Where to begin? The Rockies are 4-25. They’re in the midst of their third six-plus-game losing streak. They have not won back-to-back games. They are dreadful on the road (1-14). They are abysmal at night (1-13). They cannot touch left-handed starters (0-9). They are striking out in 28.1% of their plate appearances, which would be a big league record. Their starters’ ERA is 6.73, which would be the worst mark in MLB history. They are 15½ games behind the Dodgers after one month.

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The Rockies are not bad — they are tragic. And what’s worst of all is it’s not for lack of trying by their owner, Dick Monfort, who has typically carried a middle-of-the-pack payroll. They are simply a baseball team that can neither score nor prevent runs, with an offense tied for last and a pitching staff that ranks 29th out of 30 teams.

The record of 120 losses held for more than 60 years before the White Sox went 41-121 last year. Their minus-78 run differential through 29 games was exactly the same as Colorado’s, but even the White Sox were 6-23.

Considering the Rockies still have to play 46 games against the Dodgers, Giants, Padres and Diamondbacks, Colorado’s road is far more treacherous than the White Sox’s through the AL Central. So watch out, White Sox. Your reign of futility might be only as a one-year placeholder for the burgeoning champions of misery.

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The pitching woes of the Orioles and Braves have dug mighty holes

All winter, Orioles fans waited in vain for the move to replace former ace Burnes in Baltimore’s rotation. And after projected Opening Day starter Grayson Rodriguez went down because of a shoulder injury and Zach Eflin hit the injured list because of a lat strain, it has become clearer than ever that the O’s lack the sort of starting pitching to stay competitive in the AL East. Kyle Gibson, their latest effort at replacing Rodriguez and Eflin, gave up four home runs to the Yankees in the first inning of his first start Tuesday. Now 11-18, the Orioles have given up the most runs in the AL and haven’t hit their way out of the pitching deficits they continue to face.

The money Baltimore did spend this winter also has not worked out well. Tyler O’Neill (three years, $49.5 million) has been a league-average player. Gary Sanchez (one year, $8.5 million) has been awful and is hurt. Charlie Morton (one year, $15 million) has the highest ERA in the AL. Andrew Kittredge (one year, $10 million) still hasn’t thrown a pitch. Only Tomoyuki Sugano (one year, $13 million) has been passable, and his lack of strikeouts does not portend good things, though he managed to find success despite it in Japan.

Like the Orioles, Atlanta is suffering from a paucity of pitching depth. The Braves have cycled through an MLB-high 22 pitchers this season, and the loss of Reynaldo Lopez to Tommy John surgery, Spencer Strider to a hamstring injury and Joe Jimenez to knee surgery have taken a weakness and made it worse. Things would be better if the Braves were hitting, but outside of Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Matt Olson — who’s slugging under .400 — the juggernaut lineup of two years ago remains AWOL.

There is hope for Atlanta in the form of Ronald Acuna Jr.’s upcoming return from an ACL tear and Strider’s hamstring healing. And they’re starting to win. Since an 0-7 start, the Braves are 14-8; they’re currently 6½ games behind the Mets and only two shy of the Phillies. It’s still early, but the Braves could soon look more like the team that won the World Series three years ago.

Five pitchers who are 2025’s breakout aces

We’ve focused on the themes and teams that have shaped the first month so far. Now, we’ll turn our attention to the players who have caught our eye, for better … or worse.

Hunter Brown, RHP, Houston Astros: The quietest ace in baseball began his run of dominance early last season but is only now beginning to receive the recognition he warrants. With a fastball up to 99 mph, a vicious sinker, a swing-and-miss changeup and three more pitches, he has the arsenal to complement his moxie. He is the next great Astros pitcher.

Max Meyer, RHP, Miami Marlins: Meyer’s six-inning, 14-strikeout gem against Cincinnati illustrated what the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft can be. His slider is one of the best in MLB and he throws it 50% of the time. Combine it with a fastball that sits at 95 mph and plays at the top of the zone and he’s primed to anchor the Marlins’ rotation with Eury Perez for years to come.

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Shane Baz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: Baz sat out nearly two years after Tommy John surgery in 2022, and though he looked excellent in his return last year, there was even more in the tank. Between his 97 mph fastball and hard curveball, he has one of the best two-pitch combinations in baseball. With Shane McClanahan out, the Rays needed one of their young arms to step up, and Baz has done just that.

Matthew Liberatore, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals: Continuing the theme of post-hype prospects is the 25-year-old Liberatore, who came into camp as an underdog to win a rotation spot after spending most of last year in the bullpen. He has rewarded the Cardinals with the lowest walk rate in baseball (two in 31 innings) and complemented it with only one home run allowed. With a six-pitch mix, Liberatore has cemented himself as a fixture for a Cardinals team in need of a reimagination.

Nick Pivetta, RHP, San Diego Padres: The 32-year-old Pivetta has spent upward of a decade tantalizing evaluators with his stuff and always found himself done in by the home run ball. In 35⅓ innings this season, he has given up two homers, and three of his six outings ended after seven shutout innings. The best part of Pivetta’s game: He’s getting tremendous amounts of in-zone swing-and-miss, a testament to the quality of his stuff.

Five hitters who are 2025’s breakout bats

Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks: The 24-year-old Carroll excels at almost everything he tries, which made last year’s first-half swoon so uncharacteristic. His aggressiveness this season — Carroll’s out-of-zone and swing-and-miss percentages have rocketed up — belies an intelligent approach that’s happy to trade whiff for production. Thanks to his speed, Carroll always will be useful. But the Diamondbacks want more than that. And if he maintains anything close to his early-season line (.298/.365/.645), they’ll have a top-10 player in the game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Chicago Cubs: The question with Crow-Armstrong was always about ceiling vs. floor. Because his glove is so good, he could carve out a plenty fine big league career as a defense-first center fielder. But Crow-Armstrong wanted to be a great player, not simply a top-flight defender. His improvements at the plate are clear not only because of the numbers but how he’s getting them. Namely, he’s making good contact on good pitches, going from an in-zone whiff percentage of 24.6% last year to this year’s 13.5%.

James Wood, OF, Washington Nationals: If Wood ever figures out how to consistently elevate the ball, he will be one of the best hitters in baseball. As is, even with an average launch angle of 3.2 degrees — the 11th lowest of 219 qualified hitters — he has managed to whack nine home runs. Five have gone to the opposite field. At 6-foot-7, Wood packs uncommon power, particularly when he goes the other way. He’s starting to get to it, an alarming prospect for pitchers who know that pounding the outside corner is simply an invitation for Wood to do what he does better than just about anyone.

Oneil Cruz, CF, Pittsburgh Pirates: It’s finally looking like the year that one of the most physically talented players in baseball evolves into one of the best. Since he debuted in 2021, the 6-foot-7 Cruz has hit the ball as hard as anyone not named Judge. This season, he is striking out less, walking significantly more, lashing home runs and stealing bases. And while his center-field defense leaves plenty to be desired, it’s a reasonable price to pay for such exceptional offensive production.

Jung Hoo Lee, CF, San Francisco Giants: Lee doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard, limiting his ultimate ceiling, so he’ll have to settle for simply being a damn good baseball player. He rarely strikes out. He plays a solid center field. He’s a natural on the basepaths. And at 26, in his first full season after a shoulder injury sustained crashing into an outfield wall last May ended his season, Lee can fulfill his destiny as the best South Korea-born player in MLB since Shin-Soo Choo.

Five players whose slow starts warrant panic

Tanner Bibee, RHP, Cleveland Guardians: His strikeouts are down, his walks way up and his home runs allowed alarming. Bibee, signed to a five-year, $48 million contract extension in spring training, added a new cutter this winter — and it’s not working. Neither, at this point, is his fastball, a slower slider and his changeup. In five starts, Bibee has generated only 39 swings and misses. For someone expected to spearhead Cleveland’s rotation, he has a lot of work to do.

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Raisel Iglesias, closer, Atlanta Braves: In 11 innings, Iglesias has given up more home runs (five) than he did in 69⅓ innings last year (four). He weathered a precipitous dip in strikeout rate last season, but his slider — always a strength — is catching too much of the strike zone and being ambushed.

Marcus Semien, 2B, Texas Rangers: Semien is a notoriously slow starter, but the lack of power and bat speed is disconcerting even for him. On top of that, he has yet to steal a base in 29 games, and though nobody would ever mistake him for Rickey Henderson, it was always the little things that made Semien such a beloved player. At 34, climbing out of an early-season hole will be that much trickier.

Anthony Santander, OF, Toronto Blue Jays: Spending the first month as a $92.5 million free agent below the Mendoza Line is tough. Doing so with a barrel rate that has cratered and only three home runs this year after hitting 44 is doubly so. Santander is not elevating the ball nearly as well as he did in 2024 — a problem Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had last year before his second-half resurgence. If the Blue Jays have any hope of contending in the AL East, they’ll need Santander to do the same.

Luis Robert Jr., CF, Chicago White Sox: The White Sox held onto Robert this winter figuring his value had reached its nadir and that they could rebuild it and move him at the trade deadline. Not only has he been a demonstrably worse hitter, his center-field defense also has plateaued. This is the ultimate change-of-scenery candidate, though with a club option for $20 million in 2026 and 2027, teams could treat Robert as more of a rental than long-term solution. With a turnaround, he could well earn it.

Sports

PANORAMA: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State share athlete pay plans; Hill runs 10.15 in first 100 in 12 years!

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★ ★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★ ≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡ ● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese inserted himself into the endless discussion […]

Published

5 minutes ago

June 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★

≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese inserted himself into the endless discussion about venue selection for the Brisbane 2032 Games, saying on the “Two Good Sports” podcast on Friday that rowing could be moved to Sydney and tennis to Melbourne:

“I’ve been meeting with [Brisbane 2032 chief] Andrew Liveris as well as with the Queensland Premier [David] Crisafulli about where it goes.

“For example, are we really going to do rowing in Rockhampton on the Fitzroy River when there are some pretty good facilities at Penrith [in Sydney]?

“There’s a debate over tennis and what’s needed there in Brisbane as well.”

The Queensland government is having none of it; a spokesman said Friday, “we are working with all levels of government to implement the 2032 Games Delivery Plan, which will see Rowing in Rockhampton and Tennis played at the upgraded Queensland Tennis Centre.”

● NCAA ● Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said last week that the $20.5 million distribution to its athletes will send $18 million to players in four sports only: football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball (despite a record of 14-16; average attendance: 3,518 this past season).

The remaining $2.5 million will be used to fund 91 new scholarships across all sports; Ohio State sponsors 36 teams in total.

Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said last Thursday that revenue-sharing will be distributed to football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and women’s gymnastics, all of which had significant on-field success this season.

Observed: Note that both Ohio State and Oklahoma announced distributions to an equal number of men’s and women’s sports, a direct nod to Title IX in view of actions already filed, which are primarily about the unequal amounts of money to be paid … which were not announced.

Oklahoma State took what appears to be an interesting alternate path, with the “seven ticketed varsity sports” – football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball, women’s soccer and men’s wrestling – to receive funding. A post from athletic director Chad Weiberg noted “Others will get additional scholarships.”

● Anti-Doping ● A Bolivian physician who asked to have the banned diuretic furosemide to be added to a custom supplement to given to Bolivian swimmer Maria Jose Ribera – who then tested positive – has been banned for six years for “administration and complicity.”

The International Testing Agency reported the suspension period from from 12 June 2025 until 11 June 2031.

● Athletics ● With Betsy Saina now pregnant, USA Track & Field named Jessica McClain to replace her on the American World Championships team for Tokyo in September.

McClain will be a first-time U.S. national team member, and was fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2024. She ran seventh at the 2025 Boston Marathon in 2:22:43.

● Shooting ● Interesting agreement by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) to share resources, best practices and cross-promotion ideas, with a special focus on medical issues, safeguarding and integrity.

Their first together was to “co-finance the attendance of legal delegates to the IOC Medical Conference and Prevention of Competition Manipulation Workshop in 2025.”

It would not appear that these federations would have much in common, so it will be fascinating to see what comes out of the agreement.

● Skiing ● U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced the third class of Stifel Award winners, given to athletes and staff on six teams, in multiple categories.

“Athlete of the Year” honors went to Lauren Macuga (alpine skiing), Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher (cross country), Alex Hall and Rell Harwood (freeski), Chris Lillis (freestyle aerials), Jaelin Kauf (freestyle moguls) and Saylor O’Brien (para alpine).

≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡

● Judo ● Japan struck early and hard at the IJF World Championships in Budapest (HUN), which will continue through 20 June, winning three of the first four weights and winning a medal in all four.

Paris 2024 bronze medalist Ryuju Nagayama won his first men’s 60 kg title – after two bronzes – over Romain Valadier-Picard (FRA) and new star Takeshi Takeoka won the 66 kg class against Nurali Emomali (TJK). Two-time Olympic champ Hifumi Abe was defeated in the quarters, but came back to win a bronze medal.

Younger sister Uta Abe, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ at 52 kg, won her fifth Worlds gold, defeating Tokyo 2020 48 kg winner Distria Krasniqi (KOS) in the final. Italy’s Assunta Scutto finally moved up to gold in the women’s 48 kg division, taking Worlds bronzes in 2022 and 2023, then silver in 2024 and now gold in 2025, over Abiba Abuzhakynova (KAZ). Japan’s Wakana Koga won her third career Worlds medal with a bronze.

On Sunday, France’s 2024 Olympic silver star Joan-Benjamin Gaba won his first Worlds gold, in the 73 kg class, defeating 2022 Worlds bronzer Daniel Cargnin (BRA) in the final. Georgia’s Eteri Liparteliani won the women’s 57 kg class, her first individual Worlds medal; she defeated two-time Worlds medal winner Momo Tamaoki.

● Sailing ● Spain’s Jordi Xammar returned to the podium at the 470 World Championships, this time in the mixed-crew event introduced at the 2024 Olympic Games, teaming with Marta Cardona to win off Gdynia (POL) with 48 net points, the same as Germany’s Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort.

The tie was broken by the Spanish finishing fourth in the final, medal race, ahead of the Germans in fifth. In all, the Germans won four races to Spain’s two. Barely behind with 49 net points was Martin Wrigley and Bettine Harris, who finished third in the medal race and would have won if they had been second!

It’s the second straight Worlds win for Xammar, who had Nora Brugman on board in 2024.

≡ HIGHLIGHTS ≡

● Artistic Swimming ● At the World Aquatics World Cup Super Final in Xian (CHN), China’s Haiyan Xu won the women’s Solo Technical, and then teamed with Yanjun Lin to win the women’s Duet Technical and the Duet Free.

Belarus’ Vasilina Khandoshka, the 2024 Worlds Solo Free bronzer, competing as a “neutral,” won the women’s solo Free, with Xu third.

Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez and Mirela Hernandez won the Mixed Duet Technical and the Mixed Duet Free. Mexico’s Diego Villalobos won the men’s Solo Technical, followed by Muye Guo (CHN) and Guo came back to take the Solo Free. China also won the Team Acrobatic, Team Technical and the Team Free.

● Athletics ● Great run from Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill at the Last Chance Sprint Series meet at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California on Friday, winning heat five of the men’s 100 m in 10.15 with a +1.2 wind reading.

That brings him into a tie at 114th in the world for 2025, and is a lifetime best. Now 31, his last recorded 100 was way back in 2013, running a very-wind-aided 9.98 (+5.0) for second in the National Junior College Championships. His prior legal best was 10.19 from 2012!

So Hill feels more confident than ever to try and race World Champion Noah Lyles, who hasn’t run a 100 m this season. However, Lyles hasn’t run as slow as 10.15 in a 100 since 2022, in a season opener in Florida. In fact, Lyles hasn’t run that slow after 1 May since he was in high school in 2016.

So, when’s the race and what are the stakes?

Former Oklahoma State All-American Alex Maier is having a big year, winning the U.S. Half Marathon title in March, runner-up at the USATF 10-Mile Champs in early April, the Dusseldorf Marathon in late April (2:08:33 lifetime best) and now the USATF National 4-Mile Championships in Peoria, Illinois!

He ran away from Casey Clinger and Biya Simbassa, 18:03 to 18:06 to 18:07 in the final half-mile, for his third career USATF title.

Taylor Roe, the 2022 NCAA Indoor 3,000 m winner for Oklahoma State, took the women’s title for her third 2025 USATF gold, winning both the Half Marathon and 10-Mile. In Peoria, she crushed the field in 19:40, with Amanda Vestri a distant second in 20:02. Molly Born was third in 20:11.

● Canoe-Kayak ● Familiar faces on the podium at the ICF Slalom World Cup in Pau (FRA), with superstar Jessica Fox (AUS) taking the women’s C-1 final in 107.62 (2 penalties) over Gabriela Satkova (CZE: 110.89/0). Evy Leibfarth of the U.S. was sixth (114.97/2).

German Ricarda Funk, the Tokyo 2020 women’s K-1 winner, won her 12th career World Cup title in 102.0 (0), trailed by Eva Pietracha (FRA: 103.22/2), with Paris 2024 bronze winner Leibfarth in fourth (104.19/0).

Britain’s Ryan Westley got his first career World Cup win in the men’s C-1 in 97.74 (0) over Yohann Senechault (FRA: 98.13/0). German Noah Hegge, the Paris Kayak Cross bronze medalist, won the men’s K-1 in 91.48 (0), beating Anatole Delassus (FRA: 92.70/0).

Spain’s Pau Echaniz took the men’s Kayak Cross final, and teammate Miren Lazkano won the women’s Cross title.

● Cycling ● Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar, winner of four of the prestigious spring one-day races, prepped to defend his Tour de France title at the eight-stage Criterium du Dauphine in France, winning the first stage, then falling as low as ninth by the end of stage three.

But when the mountains came, so did Pogacar, winning stage six by 1:01 and re-taking the lead, then taking stage seven by 14 seconds over two-time Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) and maintaining a 1:01 lead into Sunday.

The 133.3 km finale had a challenging uphill finish, won by France’s Lenny Martinez, with Pogacar keeping close to Vingegaard, both 34 seconds behind, with Vingegaard second. That gave the race win to Pogacar by 59 seconds in 29:19:46, with Vingegaard second (+0:59) and Florian Lipowitz (GER: +2:38) in third. Matteo Jorgenson was the top U.S. placer, in sixth (+7:28).

Swiss Marlen Reusser won the first stage of the Women’s World Tour’s Tour de Suisse and nursed just a three-second lead into Sunday’s fourth stage over Dutch star Demi Vollering.

The hilly final day was a showcase for Reusser, who attacked with 9 km left and rode away to a 3:19:36 victory on the 129.4 km route in and around Kussnacht. She won by 28 seconds over Kasia Niewiadoma (POL) and Vollering and took the overall race title in 13:03:00, 36 seconds ahead of Vollering and 1:56 up on Niewiadoma in third.

The three-venue, six-race UCI BMX World Cup opened in Sarrians (FRA), with home favorite Arthur Pilard (FRA) winning by daylight over 2024 World Cup champ Izaac Kennedy (AUS), 31.105 to 31.564, with France’s Olympic silver winner Sylvan Andre third (31.65) and American Cameron Wood fourth (32.304).

Andre returned the favor on Sunday, winning stage 2 in 31.668 over Pilard (31.822) and Kennedy (32.405).

The Saturday women’s race was for Swiss two-time Worlds runner-up Zoe Claessens, winning easily in 34.156 over Olympic champ Saya Sakakibara (AUS: 35.084); American Payton Ridenour was eighth (37.387).

Canadian Molly Simpson, the 2023 Pan Am Games runner-up, won Sunday’s race in 34.555, ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Bethany Shriever (GBR: 35.146) and 2024 Worlds bronze winner Delany Vaughn of the U.S. (35.765).

● Diving ● At the American Cup in Morgantown, West Virginia, 13-year-old U.S. national women’s 10 m champion ElliReese Niday scored a silver medal behind Japanese veteran Rin Kaneto, 354.45 to 326.40.

The men’s 3m went to American Max Weinrich at 437.80, ahead of teammate Carson Tyler (432.00) and Joshua Hedberg of the U.S. won the 10 m at 434.95.

Japan’s Haruki Suyama and Senri Ikuma won the men’s Synchro 3 m at 352.28, and Tyler combined with Hedberg to win the Synchro 10 m, scoring 430.29.

Canada’s Mia Vallee was a clear winner in the women’s 3 m with 315.50 points, and American pairs won both Synchro events. Anna Kwong and Sophie Verzyl won the 3 m at 277.56, and Bayleigh Crawford and Daryn Wright scored 268.65 as the only entrants in the 10 m.

● Football ● The 18th CONCACAF Gold Cup opened on Saturday in group matches with Mexico edging the Dominican Republic, 3-2 before 54,309 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California and will continue through 24 June. Playoff matches begin on 28 June.

The U.S. dominated its opener in Group D against Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday in San Jose, California.

The Americans, losers of four straight, were on offense from the start, and finally got a goal in the 16th, as forward Malik Tillman scored off a left-footed cross by forward Jack McGlynn, which he brought down at the far post and then smashed into the near edge of the Trinidad & Tobago goal for a 1-0 lead.

After three more saves by Trinidad & Tobago keeper Marvin Phillip, a slow backwards pass by defender Alvin Jones was intercepted by U.S. forward Diego Luna, who sprinted toward the T&T goal and sent a perfect cross to an onrushing Tillman in front of the net, and he slammed it into the net with his right foot for the 2-0 lead in the 41st.

Minutes later, Luna again found himself with the ball, running again down the left side in the 44th and all alone. He then dribbled toward the middle and smashed a hard shot toward goal that deflected off the foot of striker Patrick Agyemang and into the net for the 3-0 halftime lead.

The U.S. had 77% of possession and a 13-0 shots lead in a game which could have been 5-0 but for sharp work by Phillip.

The second half was not as consistent or sharp for the U.S., but sub forward Brenden Aaronsen got a fourth goal, with a seeing-eye shot under Phillip from the left side of the box in the 81st. Then, in the 84th, sub striker Haji Wright got a one-on-one situation against a defender in the box, dribbled to the middle of the box and sent a right-footed laser into the net for the 5-0 final.

The U.S. finished with 71% possession and a 21-3 edge on shots. The next U.S. game is Thursday in Austin, Texas vs. Gold Cup guest team Saudi Arabia.

The FIFA Club World Cup, controversially expanded to 32 teams, opened on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida, with a 0-0 tie between Inter Miami (MLS) and Al Ahly (Egypt) in front of 60,927. Group play will continue to 26 June, with playoffs starting on 28 June.

● Gymnastics ● At the Pan American Championships in Panama City (PAN), American women scored a 1-3 in the All-Around, with Jayla Hang winning at 55.300 and Hezly Rivera third (52.667), behind Canada’s Lia Fontaine (53.966). Dulcy Caylor of the U.S. was fourth (52.600).

The American women won the team title by 164.765 to 151.633 over Canada, with Brazil third at 151.466.

In the individual finals reported Sunday, Panama’s Karla Navas won on Vault (14.334) with Hang third at 13.850. Gabrielle Hardie of the U.S. won on the Uneven Bars at 13.600, with Hang second at 13.533.

Canada’s Felix Dolci won the men’s All-Around at 80.150, ahead of Joshua Karnes of the U.S. (79.900), with Troy Christopulos fifth at 78.250. The U.S. men won the team title, scoring 238.800 to 233.500 for the Canadians.

The individual finals reported on Sunday had American Junnosuke Iwai taking the Floor Ex at 14.033, and Brandon Dang and Karnes going 1-2 on Pommel Horse at 13.500 and 13.267. Argentina’s Daniel Villafane won on Rings at 13.700, with Christopulos sixth at 13.033.

● Rowing ● Great Britain scored three wins in the Olympic classes at the World Rowing World Cup I in Varese (ITA), taking the men’s and women’s Eights, plus a gold for Lauren Henry in the women’s Single Sculls (7:13.54).

Italy took wins in the men’s Quadruple Sculls and by Laura Meriano and Alice Codato in the women’s Pairs (6:54.18).

Simon van Dorp edged Jacob Plihal of the U.S. in the men’s Single Sculls, 6:43.01 to 6:45.05, and Switzerland won the Double Sculls (6:11.81). New Zealand’s Oliver Welch and Benjamin Taylor were clear winners in the men’s Pairs (6:17.87), while Australia won the men’s Fours, with the U.S. in fifth place (5:53.51).

China’s Yunxia Chen and Ling Zhang won the women’s Double Sculls (6:43.24), with Katheryn Flynn and Grace Joyce of the U.S. fourth (6:51.42). The Dutch won the women’s Quadruple Sculls (6:20.27), but the American quartet of Camille Vandermeer, Azja Czajkowski, Teal Cohen and Kaitlin Knifton won the Fours in 6:21.50.

The U.S. women’s Eight, which included all of the crew from the winning Four, was second to Britain, 6:01.56 to 6:03.50.

● Shooting ● China dominated the ISSF World Cup for Pistol and Rifle in Munich (GER), winning four events and taking seven total medals.

Kai Hu won the men’s 10 m Air Pistol title, giving him a third straight World Cup gold, after taking the events in Buenos Aires (ARG) and Lima (PER). France’s Jean Quiquampoix, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ, won the 25 m Rapid-Fire Pistol.

Russian “neutral” Ilia Marsov and Norway’s Jon-Hermann Hegg traded places in the rifle events, with Marsov winning the 10 m Air Rifle over Hegg and Hegg taking the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions.

The women’s pistol winners included Inder Singh Suruchi (IND) in the 10 m Air Pistol event, beating Olympic silver winner Camille Jedrzejewsji (FRA), and China’s Yujie Sun on the 25 m Pistol final, ahead Paris Olympic champ Ye-jin Oh (KOR).

The 10 m Air Rifle went to China’s 2024 World Junior Champion Zifei Wang, and Norwegian star Jeanette Hegg Duestad won the 50 m Rifle/3 Positions gold, with American Sagen Maddalena in fourth.

Hu and Qianxun Yao teamed to win China’s fourth gold, in the Mixed Team 10 m Air Pistol, while India’s Arya Borse and Arjun Babuta took the Mixed Team 10 m Air Rifle final.

● Skateboard ● At the World Skate Tour: Street in Rome (ITA), Japan’s 2023 World Champion, Sora Shirai was the winner in a tight men’s final battle with countrymen Toa Sasaki – the 2024 World Champion – and Ginwoo Onodera, 188.07 to 187.93 to 187.16.

The women’s final went to Australia’s 2022 Worlds silver medalist, Chloe Covell, at 181.38 in a rout. Second was Funa Nakayama (JPN: 16.00) and Ibuki Matsumoto (JPN: 159.00) finished third.

● Sport Climbing ● Britain’s Erin McNeice, 21, scored a dominating win at the IFSC World Cup in Bouldering in Bern (SUI), winning the final with 99.5 points, easily ahead of American Annie Sanders (84.4) and Japan’s Tokyo 2020 Combined silver medalist Miho Nonaka (84.3). It’s McNeice’s third win of the season and her first in Boulder.

China’s Yufei Pan won his first career World Cup gold, in the men’s Boulder final, scoring 84.2 to edge France’s Mejdi Schalck (84.1), the 2023 Worlds runner-up. Japan’s Sorato Anraku was third (83.7), his fifth straight Boulder World Cup with a medal this season. American Colin Duffy was seventh.

● Swimming ● The Australian Team Trials in Adelaide concluded on Saturday, with the meet producing three world-leading performances:

● Men/50 m Free: 21.30, Cameron McEvoy
● Women/200 m Free: 1:54.43, Mollie O’Callaghan
● Women/200 m Back: 2:04.47, Kaylee McKeown

There were also four more swims now ranked no. 2 in the world for 2025, including Sam Short in the men’s 400 m Free (3:41.03), Lani Pallister in the 200 m Free (1:54.89) and Pallister in the 1,500 m Free (15:39.14, no. 3 performer all-time), plus Alex Perkins in the 50 Fly (25.36).

The on-fire Pallister also won the 800 m Free in a fabulous 8:10.84, moving her to no. 3 all-time, but also no. 3 on the world list for 2025 behind historic swims from Katie Ledecky of the U.S. and Canada’s Summer McIntosh.

France scored a 1-2 in the men’s World Aquatics Open Water World Cup III in Setubal (POR), with Rio 2016 Olympic bronzer Marc-Antoine Olivier near the front throughout and then sprint to the touch in 1:53:28.1 to 1:53:29.8 for Sacha Velly. Germany’s Oliver Klemet won the bronze in 1:53:33.6. Dylan Gravely was the top American, in 12th (1:53:40.2).

Australia’s Moesha Johnson, the Paris Olympic silver medalist, took the women’s 10 km race in 1:53:39.6, clearly ahead of Paris bronze winner Ginevra Taddeucci (ITA: 1:53:41.4) and France’s Carolina Laure Jouisse (1:53:43.1). Brinkleigh Hansen of the U.S. was 20th (1:57:57.4).

In the 3 km Sprint racing (1,500 m-1,000 m-500 m), Hungary’s David Betlehem won the men’s final in 6:12.0 over Logan Fontaine (FRA: 6:12.9), and Japan’s Ichika Kajimoto won the women’s final in 6:41.6, over Jouisse (6:43.5).

● Water Polo ● After a 13-12 win over Australia in the opener of a three-game series, the U.S. men’s National Team lost, 13-12, to the Aussies on Wednesday (11th) in San Juan Capistrano, California.

Australia had a 7-6 lead at the half and 12-11 at the end of three, with Luke Pavillard scoring with 4:41 to go for the 13-11 lead, which proved to be the winning goal. Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic each scored four for the U.S.

On Friday at Chapman University in Orange, California, Australia won 14-11, despite four goals each from Daube and Nicolas Saveljic. The U.S. had a 7-5 halftime lead and the game was tied at 9-9 entering the fourth, but the Aussies put up five goals to one for the U.S. to take the victory.

● Wrestling ● The U.S. Freestyle teams for the 2025 UWW World Championships were mostly set at the Final X matches in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday, with some familiar names and a shocker among the results.

Paris Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee won the men’s 57 kg final over Penn State frosh Luke Lilledahl, 7-2 and 6-0, while Zahid Valencia, the 2023 Worlds bronzer at 86 kg, defeated four-time World Champion Kyle Dake, 4-1 and 5-3.

Rio 2016 Olympic 97 kg champ Kyle Snyder swept his matches against Hayden Zillmer, 8-0 and 8-2. In the 125 kg class, NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson – who defeated Tokyo Olympic champ Gable Steveson in the NCAA finals this year – defeated Trent Hillger by 10-0 and then 20-14 in a wild second match.

The shocker came at 70 kg, where 2022 Worlds silver winner Yianni Diakomihalis was defeated by Minisink Valley (State Hill, New York) High School senior P.J. Duke, on hi way to Penn State in the fall. Diakomihalis won the first bout by 10-0, but Duke fought back for a 17-10 win in the second. Duke then won by pin in 4:07 in the third match to earn a Worlds team berth.

Four more first-time U.S. Worlds team members won places, with Real Woods (65 kg), David Carr (74 kg), Levi Haines (79 kg) and Trent Hidlay (92 kg) all winning. The 61 kg class final has been postponed to July due to injury.

The women’s team similarly has five veterans and five newcomers. Rio 2016 Olympic champ Helen Maroulis made her 15th U.S. team, this time at 57 kg with two pins of Amanda Martinez. Jacarra Winchester, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, advanced at 59 kg over Abigail Nette, losing the first match, but then winning by 9-7 and 10-0. Paris Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades won at 68 kg with 10-4 and 5-2 wins over Brooklyn Hays. Two-time Worlds medal winner Macey Kilty swept her matches at 65 kg and 2024 Worlds bronzer Kylie Welker defeated Dymond Guilford by 2-1 and 9-1.

Newcomers to the U.S. Worlds team will be Adaugo Nwachukwu at 62 kg, defeating two-time Worlds silver winner Kayla Miracle, 14-8, 3-4, 8-4; Audrey Jimenez (50 kg), Felicity Taylor (53 kg), Cristelle Rodriguez (55 kg) and Alexandria Glaude (72 kg). Glaude won by walkover, as Olympic 68 kg champ Amit Elor withdrew.

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Baseball Faces Oregon State In Second MCWS Contest Sunday

OMAHA — Coastal Carolina Baseball continues it’s MCWS run on Sunday with a winner’s bracket game against Oregon State at 7 p.m. ET inside Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. The No. 13 national seed Chanticleers (54-11) and Beavers (48-14-1) have only met once — in a game that resulted in a 4-4 tie […]

Published

23 minutes ago

June 16, 2025

Your Sports Nation

OMAHA — Coastal Carolina Baseball continues it’s MCWS run on Sunday with a winner’s bracket game against Oregon State at 7 p.m. ET inside Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. The No. 13 national seed Chanticleers (54-11) and Beavers (48-14-1) have only met once — in a game that resulted in a 4-4 tie in Seattle in 2019.

The game will be televised by ESPN2, air on the Chanticleer Sports Network and will be available on the Chanticleer Mobile App. Entering the game, the Chants have the most wins in the country (54) and the nation’s longest active winning streak (24 games). Coastal beat Arizona in its opening game while OSU knocked off Louisville.

Date	Time (ET)	Location	Game Notes	Live Stats	Watch	Program
Sunday, June 15	7 p.m. ET	Charles Schwab Field Omaha	PDF	Live Stats	ESPN2	View

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

• Overall: 54-11

• Conference: 26-4

• HC: Kevin Schnall

• REC (YR): 54-11 (1st)

Oregon State Beavers

• Overall: 48-14-1

• Conference: n/a

• HC: Chip Hale

• REC (YR): 224-101-1 (6th)

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS

Coastal Carolina is back in the MCWS after nine years.

Coastal Carolina ranks among the national leaders in both pitching and hitting with a team ERA of 3.23 and a slash line of .292 /.410 /.451 and has outscored opponents 482-227.

HC Kevin Schnall was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year and Perfect Game Coach of the Year.

Jacob Morrison is 11-0, a First-Team All-American, the NCBWA District 4 Player of the Year and was a finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award.

C Caden Bodine (.330, .464 OBP) — finalist for the Buster Posey Award and a PG Second-Team All-American, 1B Colby Thorndyke (.306, 40 RBI) and LF Sebastian Alexander (.318, 10 HR, 27 SB) lead a lineup that has slugged 66 home runs and tallied 440 RBIs.

Starters Morrison, Riley Eikhoff and Cameron Flukey have combined to go 25-3 with 261 strikeouts and two complete games.

Coastal’s bullpen has plenty of arms — no pitcher that has thrown at least 20 innings has an ERA higher than 3.51, led by Ryan Lynch (8 SV, 0.59 ERA, 34 Ks) and Domenick Carbone (6 SV, 2.54 ERA, 49 Ks).

HOW THE MEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES WORKS …

The MCWS runs from June 13-22/23 in Omaha … eight teams play a double-elimination first round in two four-team brackets … the winners of the two brackets will play a best-of-three MCWS Finals, with the first game set for Saturday, June 21 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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Recruiting Has Begun for the High School Class of 2027

It’s Opening Day for recruiting for the high school class of 2027! (I don’t want to make you feel old but we’re talking about the college class of 2031.) June 15, 2025, otherwise known as the first day of allowable athletic recruiting for rising high school juniors by NCAA Division I and Division II coaches, […]

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40 minutes ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

It’s Opening Day for recruiting for the high school class of 2027! (I don’t want to make you feel old but we’re talking about the college class of 2031.)

June 15, 2025, otherwise known as the first day of allowable athletic recruiting for rising high school juniors by NCAA Division I and Division II coaches, is finally here. Today, student-athletes in the class of 2027 can both initiate and receive communications –including email, text messages, social media messages, phone calls, and video calls– with college coaches. They can also make verbal commitments for the 2027-28 school year. (NCAA Division III coaches are not constrained by this rule; they can make contact and recruit year-round.)

Contact between coaches and prospective student-athletes, whether off-campus or on-campus (on-campus visits include both official and unofficial visits) may not begin until August 1st.

In the past, the NCAA has published separate recruiting calendars of allowable events for Division I baseball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, football, men’s golf, women’s lacrosse, men’s lacrosse, softball, women’s volleyball, beach volleyball, and cross country/track and field. Recruiting timelines for all other Division I sports, including swimming and diving, are spelled out in a separate recruiting calendar.

As of today, the NCAA has only published the recruiting 2025-26 calendars for women’s and men’s basketball.

Each of the calendars lists the allowable and non-allowable contact periods for their respective sports. Over the last several years, the NCAA has sought to make the lives of prospective student-athletes and college coaches less stressful by curbing early recruiting (gone are the days when coaches were getting verbal commitments from 8th-graders) and giving coaches a break from year-round recruiting.

Contact Periods Defined

Recruiting Period: Authorized athletics department staff may make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.
Quiet Period: A quiet period is that period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made during the quiet period.
Dead Period: A dead period is that period of time when it is not permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts or evaluations on or off the member institution’s campus or to permit official or unofficial visits by prospective student-athletes to the institution’s campus.
Recruiting Shutdown: A recruiting shutdown is a period of time when no form of recruiting (e.g., contacts, evaluations, official or unofficial visits, correspondence or making or receiving telephone calls) is permissible.

Following the House vs NCAA settlement, the swimming and diving recruiting landscape will change in significant ways. To begin with, those schools that have opted into the agreement will have roster limits for 2025-26 and beyond. In most cases, this will mean fewer recruiting spots for the 2027-28 school year. On the other hand, the NCAA’s scholarship limits (14.1 per women’s team and 9.9 per men’s team) are no longer in effect and these schools will now be allowed –but not required– to offer full scholarships to every member of the team.

Class of 2027

The phones were likely ringing off the hook this morning for some of the biggest names in the high school class of 2027. Those include Luke Mijatovic, who has been named to Team USA for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships, and prospective members of the World Junior Championships squad: Audrey Derivaux, Brayden Capen, Collin Holgerson, Daisy Collins, Luke Vatev, Rylee Erisman, Shareef Elaydi, Thomas McMillan. In addition, the youngest members of the 2024-25 National Junior team will be on many coaches’ lists: Anthony Dornoff, Colin Jacobs, and Mia Su.

Other top recruits from the cohort include Davis Jackson, Ellis Crisci, Griffin Oehler, Hayden Vicknair, Joey Campagnola, Juan Vallmitjana, and Trent Allen; as well as Abby Chan, Adalynn Biegler, Alyssa Ton, Bianca Nwaizu, Blakely Hammel, Carly Afanasewicz, Chloe Teger, Emily Wolf, Nikki Nixon, Sadie Buckley, Sarah Paisley Owen, and Vivienne Zangaro.

Top 2027 boys, alphabetically:

Athlete	Hometown
Anthony Dornoff	Cerritos, CA
Brayden Capen	Lisle, IL
Colin Jacobs	Bradenton, FL
Collin Holgerson	Chattanooga, TN
Davis Jackson	Raleigh, NC
Ellis Crisci	Lawrence, KS
Griffin Oehler	Rockville, MD
Hayden Vicknair	Signal Mountain, TN
Joey Campagnola	Seminole, FL
Juan Vallmitjana	Fort Lauderdale, FL
Luka Mijatovic	Pleasanton, CA
Luke Vatev	Clarendon Hills, IL
Shareef Elaydi	Santa Clara, CA
Thomas McMillan	Saint Charles, IL
Trent Allen	Carmel, IN

Top 2027 girls, alphabetically:

Athlete	Hometown
Abby Chan	Madison, AL
Adalynn Biegler	Big Lake, MN
Alyssa Ton	Fountain Valley, CA
Audrey Derivaux	Haddonfield, NJ
Bianca Nwaizu	Irvine, CA
Blakely Hammel	Jacksonville, FL
Carly Afanasewicz	Pearl River, NY
Chloe Teger	Villa Park, CA
Daisy Collins	Chapel Hill, NC
Emily Wolf	Fishers, IN
Mia Su	Sunnyvale, CA
Nikki Nixon	Raleigh, NC
Rylee Erisman	Windermere, FL
Sadie Buckley	Fairfax, VA
Sarah Paisley Owen	Atlanta, GA
Vivienne Zangaro	Long Beach, NY

In past years, there was a recruiting dead period during “signing week,” which began on the second Wednesday in November. But with the dissolution of the National Letter of Intent program following the House settlement, it is unclear if there will still be a dead period in November. We can assume the following shutdown periods will remain in place:

Swimming and Diving Recruiting Shutdown Periods

One week in August
The final 14 days of December
The first week of January
The third and fourth weeks in February during the most popular period for conference championships

(NOTE: If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected]. Do not leave it in the comments.

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News – Water Polo Australia

Tickets are now on sale for the Tri Nations Test Match Series, with the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers set to take on the USA and Italy in Perth. Ahead of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers will host both nations for a training camp, before playing the two test matches at […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Tickets are now on sale for the Tri Nations Test Match Series, with the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers set to take on the USA and Italy in Perth.

Ahead of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, the Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers will host both nations for a training camp, before playing the two test matches at Perth HPC on July 5 (v USA) and July 6 (v Italy).

Ord Minnett Aussie Stingers Head Coach Bec Rippon said she’s looking forward to the series, and said it will be a great opportunity to play against two powerhouse nations ahead of the World Championships.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity to trial some new things that we’ve been working on, and to try things without being under the same pressure of being at a World Championships,” Rippon said.

“We are really happy to have both of those teams in Australia – we always have great battles with the US and such a strong history with them so it will be great to see how we’re matching up.

“And we will play the Italians at the World Championships, so it will be a really good chance to check in and measure up against each other before Singapore,” she said.

Tickets are on sale now, for $15 per person. CLICK HERE to secure your seat.

Can’t be in Perth? Both matches will be livestreamed on the Water Polo Australia Youtube channel from 7:30pm AWST – click here

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Angel City FC players wear 'Immigrant City Football Club' shirts amid ongoing ICE raids

Angel City FC responded to immigration raids and the resulting protests in Los Angeles during Saturday night’s home match against North Carolina. The NWSL club printed 10,000 T-shirts, which read “Immigrant City Football Club” on the front, and “Los Angeles is for everyone / Los Ángeles es para todos” on the back. Advertisement The shirts […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Angel City FC players wear 'Immigrant City Football Club' shirts amid ongoing ICE raids

The shirts were distributed to supporters and fans entering BMO Stadium. Some ACFC players wore the shirts during player arrivals, and new head coach Alexander Straus also sported the shirt along with the rest of the club’s technical staff and players on the bench.

“We made a point to wear our shirts for walkout, and we really wanted to stand with the community, and of course, everyone is affected emotionally, and like I said before, it’s another weight to hold,” Angel City defender Sarah Gorden said after the 2-1 loss. “But I wish we could have given a little bit of love and joy to everyone tonight with a different result.”

Angel City distributed cards with a new statement following their initial statement released on June 7. The cards read in part, “The fabric of this city is made of immigrants. Football does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist without immigrants.” Recording artist and founding investor Becky G read that message from the field before player walkouts.

T-shirts that read “Immigrant City Football Club” were worn by players before Saturday’s match and handed out to fans. (Photo courtesy of Angel City Football Club)

Angel City worked with supporters groups in the lead up to Saturday’s match on the messaging and larger action.

Earlier this week, the NWSL Players Association released a statement in conjunction with the WNBA Players Association regarding the ongoing immigration raids.

“We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go,” the statement read. “Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate.”

The league itself has not issued a statement addressing the immigration raids or in support of immigrants. Some individual clubs, including Angel City and Chicago Stars FC, have released brief statements pointing to relevant resources.

Statement from Chicago Stars FC.

Resources:
• IMMR: tinyurl.com/7cczmwv4
• The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

[image or embed]

— Chicago Stars FC (@chicagostars.com) June 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Angel City’s coordinated action on Saturday night is an elevated response following the events of the past week. Last weekend at BMO Stadium, Los Angeles FC supporters remained silent through the MLS club’s 3-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City. They also took up six rows of seats in the supporters’ end of the stadium for a large banner reading: “Abolish ICE.”

That banner, and others, technically violated both the MLS Code of Conduct and stadium policies, but it appears no action was taken. Angel City, as a tenant of BMO Stadium, may not have the same ability to prevent stadium staff from removing banners or other signage that may violate stadium policies or NWSL’s Code of Conduct.

BMO Stadium rules reference MLS’s guidelines, rather than the NWSL’s. The list of prohibited items per stadium policies include “flags, banners or signs which in any way reference current conflicts or countries involved therein (under MLS Guidelines)” as well as “flags, banners, signs, clothing or other accessories or adornments that reference any political party, candidate (current or former), or measure in any Federal, State, or Local election.”

Angel City’s regular-season match is happening on the same night as a Concacaf Gold Cup match between Mexico and the Dominican Republic at SoFi Stadium, as well as the opening match of FIFA’s men’s Club World Cup in Miami. Earlier this week, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol removed a social media post referencing its presence at the Club World Cup games after FIFA expressed concern.

BMO Stadium is located outside of the area of Los Angeles under a nighttime curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

(Top photo: courtesy of Angel City Football Club)

Sports

Father's Day at the ballpark special for Cedar Rapids Kernels manager

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. CEDAR RAPIDS – It’s about a half-hour after the game, and Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Brian Meyer heads out of the home clubhouse at Veterans Memorial Stadium to The Annex, the building adjacent to the stadium that houses the club’s video […]

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2 hours ago

June 15, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Father's Day at the ballpark special for Cedar Rapids Kernels manager

The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

CEDAR RAPIDS – It’s about a half-hour after the game, and Cedar Rapids Kernels Manager Brian Meyer heads out of the home clubhouse at Veterans Memorial Stadium to The Annex, the building adjacent to the stadium that houses the club’s video room, weight room and family room.

There are multiple hitting cages in there as well, and that’s the purpose of Meyer’s postgame visit. He’s going to throw some batting practice to his six-year-old son Walker.

It is their ritual.

“We don’t ever force anything on him, wanting him to practice or anything,” Meyer said. “He’s always dragging me out there. In Fort Myers, when it’s 1,000 degrees out, and we had our Monday off days, he’s asking if we can go to the ballpark close to our house. This is when he’s two years old. He’s asking if we can go to the field and mess around for a couple of hours.”

Sunday was Father’s Day, of course, and that his boy was with him on this day meant the world to Meyer. Because it doesn’t always work that way in professional baseball.

Especially in the minor leagues, families get separated. Guys spend a month and a half in spring training in Florida or Arizona, then head to whatever city they have been assigned.

Wives and children many times remain home, the children in school and the wife working. Meyer’s wife, Ashley, and Walker just recently came to town for the rest of the summer.

The Meyers are living with a local billet family.

Kernels’ manager Brian Meyer (16) watches the game from the Kernels’ dugout during the baseball game against the Peoria Chiefs at Veterans Memorial Stadium in southwest Cedar Rapids on Sunday, June 15, 2025. (Elizabeth Wood/The Gazette)

“It’s very much a blessing,” said Brian Meyer, whose team lost to Peoria, 4-3. “I was reading an article in The Athletic yesterday about how families navigate kids, between spring training, being away for the season. Like school work and all that. It was about how families kind of try and navigate that.”

It was easy for Meyer the past four years because his family lives year around in the Fort Myers, Fla., area, and he was manager of the low-Class A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. This season provided more of a challenge personally.

Ashley Meyer can work remotely, which is good. Walker’s first-grade year is over, so everyone is back together.

Oh, and has it been mentioned exactly how much Walker Meyer loves baseball?

He comes to Kernels games in full uniform, sunglasses generally perched on top of his cap just like the players. He scurries to the field after wins and gets in the postgame high-five line with everyone.

Brian has all kinds of baseball-related photos of him attached to the walls in the manager’s office, including one where he is sitting on the bench with the rest of the team during a spring training game in Florida.

“He doesn’t know it right now how good he has it. He doesn’t,” Brian Meyer said. “But hopefully one day he’ll come to appreciate it. Just the way that he gets treated by players and front office, whether it’s here or whether it was the Mussels. He’s been extended family.”

Meyer said he told his son Friday that outfielder Maddux Houghton was joining the Kernels from Triple-A Saint Paul. Houghton played in Fort Myers, and Walker loves him.

“You should have seen his eyes light up. Maddux is his favorite guy,” Meyer said with a laugh. “He was like ‘Oh, let’s go!’ He was so excited.”

Make no mistake, this is a baseball family through and through. Meyer’s father in law was a longtime clubhouse manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For the Meyers, ball really is life, including young Walker.

“I don’t know if I can put a value or words to it,” Brian Meyer said, when asked what it means to have his son around the ballpark with him. “I mean, he absorbs everything. Whether it’s the game itself, the equipment, the players, the look, he absorbs everything. It’s something we never really forced on him, but he’s just always been around it from the day he was born. I was a coach, my father in law worked in baseball. He just loves it.”

The Kernels won five of seven games in the series against Peoria but fell a game behind Quad Cities for first place in the Midwest League’s Western Division with three first-half games remaining. Quad Cities beat Beloit five of six games in their series, the last five in a row, actually.

Cedar Rapids finishes the first half with three games at Beloit. It’s part of a six-game series, with the final three games beginning second-half play.

Quad Cities hosts Lansing.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com