Friday evening was quite eventful in college sports. Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House settlement deal that will shape the future of how USC navigates the terrain of college athletics. Around the same time, Texas defeated Texas Tech during the NCAA College Softball World Series.

As shared by Arrogant Nation on X, this makes the path toward a potential Learfield Directors’ Cup victory for the Trojans narrower. It does, however, make it a two-school race now, exclusively between USC and Texas. Before the Longhorns’ victory, there was still an outside shot of Stanford being able to win the overall collegiate title. For those noticing, Learfield is also the recently announced marketing company that has now partnered with USC.

Everything will now come down to the track and field events at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon, that will take place starting on Wednesday, June 11th.

It goes without saying that the Trojan athletes who have qualified for their respective events on the national stage will need to perform well and have a number of first-place finishes in Eugene in order for USC to take the lead from Texas.

If the Longhorns underperform, however, there will be a Trojan victory for the Directors’ Cup. Considering how well-rounded and how much depth this Director Quincy Watts roster has for both teams, it should not be dismissed already.

First or second will now fall on USC T&F team’s shoulders

Track and field, like any of the other sports, is something that can have athletes have an off-day or perform even above the high expectations that someone had entering into the event. Between all of the athletes who have qualified for the NCAA championships and the season of success that these two squads have already had and displayed, a Trojan T&F victory could very easily mean this additional overarching victory as well, even with this latest Texas win in softball.   

 

     

Talented young Marlburians were acknowledged and supported on Friday when the next recipients of Inspire Foundation grants were announced.

The May 2025 Grantees’ Award Ceremony saw six new grantees and seven re-grants. The gathered guests also heard from guest speaker, renowned golf caddy Steve Williams, and raised invaluable funds from the Fundraising auction run by two-time Australasian auction champion Phil McGoldrick.

New grantees announced on the night were Amber Bendell for hip hop, Ella Sowman for tennis, Neve Mckenzie for triathlon, Olivia Cooke for community work with scouts, Scott Keay for water polo and Sophia Nicholas for touch. Re-grants were awarded to Finn Mckenzie for road cycling, Kyla Thorstensen for softball, Luka van Rensburg for cornet, Alex Craig for mountain biking, Erin Green for track cycling, Gus Marfell for triathlon and Isabella Baldwin for jazz.

“We continue to be amazed at the young talented individuals that apply each year,” says Inspire Foundation Marlborough Chairman Mark Davis.

“Our Inspire family is growing and the grants sometimes mean the difference between being able to attend events or not, so it is important that we are able to support our young superstars in the pursuit of their dreams,” he says.

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“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower; he’s brushed his teeth twice,” said Marcelo Gomes da Silva’s immigration attorney.

• The isolation that da Silva subsequently endured made him so “desperately lonely” that he took to banging on the walls of his cell to get someone to come talk to him, his lawyer told USA TODAY.

MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS − Sleeping on a cement floor in a windowless room. Only brushing your teeth twice in five days and never getting to shower. Being mocked by a guard.

These are among the “horrendous conditions” that Massachusetts high school junior Marcelo Gomes da Silva endured while being held by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to his lawyer Robin Nice.

Gomes Da Silva, 18, was arrested by ICE agents on May 31 when he was stopped on his way to volleyball practice with friends in his hometown of Milford. Federal officials said they targeted da Silva’s father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, who they say is an undocumented immigrant from Brazil, but they detained Gomes da Silva − who came to the United States at the age of 7 with his parents − when they realized he had overstayed his visa.

According to Nice, Gomes Da Silva was subsequently detained for five nights in cells that are intended to hold detainees for hours before being transferred. The cells lack access to basic amenities like beds and showers.

“The Burlington (Massachusetts) facility is not a detention center, it’s a holding cell,” Nice told USA TODAY after a June 5 hearing in Gomes da Silva’s case, which has drawn nationwide attention and fervent local opposition to his detention and possible deportation.

“It’s deplorable,” she added.

Nice first raised the issue in a federal immigration court hearing on whether he would be granted bail.

“He’s being held in just awful conditions no one should be subjected to: sleeping on a cement floor for just a few hours per night,” Nice began, before she was cut off by Immigration Judge Jenny Beverly, who noted the hearing was not the proper venue to raise the issue.

Shackles, teasing, and solitary confinement

Nice provided more details on her client’s confinement in a press conference after the hearing, in which the judge set a $2,000 bond for Gomes da Silva’s release, and in a subsequent interview with USA TODAY.

“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower, he’s brushed his teeth twice. He’s sharing a room with men twice his age,” Nice said at the press conference outside the Chelmsford, Massachusetts federal immigration court.

At one point, Gomes da Silva was taken to a hospital emergency room because he was suffering severe headaches and vision loss stemming from a high school volleyball injury days earlier. When he was transferred to and from the hospital, he was handcuffed and kept in leg shackles and then moved to a different room, Nice said.

“He got back to the holding facility at 4 am and then was put in what I would refer to as solitary confinement: it was a room without anyone else, and all of these rooms that people are held in, there is no window,” Nice said. “There is no yard time, because it’s not set up for that.”

“If you are detained in the Burlington ICE facility, you do not see the light of day,” she said. “You don’t know what time it is.”

The isolation that da Silva subsequently endured made him so “desperately lonely” that he took to banging on the walls of his cell to get someone to come talk to him, Nice told USA TODAY. The guards, who he said mostly ignored him, nicknamed him “the knocker” in response.

When Gomes da Silva was held in the room with a larger group, one of the guards played a cruel practical joke on the detainees, Nice said:

“He said when ICE opens the door it means either someone’s coming in or someone’s getting released, so everyone perks up when they open the door. So he sees in a little slit in the door window, one ICE officer motion to another and says ‘watch this,’ and so one ICE officer opens the door to the cell and just stands their for a minute and then says, ‘psych!’ And closes the door. And everyone had just perked up,” Nice recounted.

The isolation in the ICE holding facility extended beyond its walls, Nice said. There was no way for her to call her client there, and he could only make one call for two minutes per day − and not even every day.

Nice wasn’t able to get in to see Gomes da Silva until the fifth day of his confinement. He was so shut off from the outside world that he didn’t know his varsity volleyball team had lost in the semi-finals of the state tournament, even though the match drew media coverage.

ICE did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Nice’s allegations.

In a statement on June 2, Patricia Hyde, acting field director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations’ in Boston defended Gomes da Silva’s detention and said the agency intends to pursue deportation proceedings.

“When we go into the community and find others who are unlawfully here, we’re going to arrest them,” Hyde said. “He’s 18 years old and he’s illegally in this country. We had to go to Milford looking for someone else and if we come across someone else who is here illegally, we’re going to arrest them.”

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‘Nobody deserves to be down there’

Later on June 5, Gomes da Silva himself addressed reporters after posting the $2,000 bond and being released.

“Nobody deserves to be down there,” da Silva told reporters. “You sleep on concrete floors. The bathroom — I have to use the bathroom in the open with like 35-year-old men. It’s humiliating.”

Gomes da Silva also said they were given only crackers for lunch and dinner. Nice told USA TODAY he was also fed what he described as an undefined “mush” that was “like oatmeal, but not oatmeal.”

A twice-weekly churchgoer, Gomes da Silva asked the guards for a bible but was not provided with one.

Beside him were U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss, both Democrats from Massachusetts, who said they returned from Washington, D.C., on Thursday to speak with da Silva and to inspect the detention center.

Consequences of an immigration crackdown

The Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants, including those like da Silva who were brought here as children and have no criminal record. ICE reported holding 46,269 people in custody in mid-March, well above the agency’s detention capacity of 41,500 beds.

USA TODAY has previously reported on allegations of conditions in ICE detention similar to what Gomes da Silva and Nice described.

In March, four women held at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami said they were chained for hours on a prison bus without access to food, water or a toilet. They also alleged they were told by guards to urinate on the floor, slept on a concrete floor, and only got one three-minute shower over the course of three or four days in custody.

The allegations come after two men at Krome died in custody on Jan. 23 and Feb. 20.

Contributing: Caitlin Kelleher, USA TODAY NETWORK, Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY.

CONWAY, S.C. — Coastal Carolina University catcher Caden Bodine was named one of three finalists for the 2025 Buster Posey Award, the Wichita Sports Commission announced.

Joining Bodine as finalists are Rylan Galvan from Texas and Carson Tinney from Notre Dame.

One of the premier catchers in college baseball, Bodine turned in an elite all-around campaign in 2025. The First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection started 60 games for the Chanticleers — 59 behind the dish, one at DH — guiding a pitching staff that ranks No. 2 nationally in both ERA and WHIP. Offensively, he hit .329 with a team-best .468 on-base percentage, drawing 45 walks and being hit by 15 pitches. He added 18 extra-base hits, drove in 38 runs and slugged .463, serving as a consistent presence atop lineup.

Behind the plate, Bodine was a defensive anchor. He threw out 16 would-be base stealers on 44 attempts and finished the regular season with a .998 fielding percentage. His leadership helped elevate Coastal to the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player and also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team. He followed that up with All-Tournament honors in the NCAA Conway Regional as the Chants advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2016.

The three finalists will be invited to Wichita to take part in the Buster Posey Award Ceremony that is part of the Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on Thursday, June 26. The Greater Wichita Sports Banquet will be held at Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. Tickets went on sale to the public on May 16. For updates on the events and tickets, visit wichitasports.com.

UP NEXT: No. 13 Coastal Carolina opens up the Auburn Super Regional Friday night at 9 p.m. ET against the No. 4 Tigers. The best-of-three series will air on ESPN2, the Chanticleer Sports Network and the Chanticleer Mobile App.

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball program added another member to its 2026 signing class with the signing of Thatcher Fahlbusch of Manhattan Beach, Calif.
 
Fahlbusch is the fourth signee in the Class of 2026 along with Australian outside hitter Mitchell Croft, Norwegian setter Magnus Hettervik, and middle blocker Roman Payne of Carlsbad, Calif.
 
Fahlbusch helped Mira Costa High School capture the inaugural CIF Division I state championship with a straight-set win over Archbishop Mitty. He tallied nine kills in the title match. Fahlbusch also helped the Mustangs capture the CIF-Southern Section championship for the ninth time in school history and their third Southern California Regional title.
 

The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native began his high school career at Loyola High before moving to Mira Costa. He is a member of the USA Volleyball National Development Program and played club volleyball for Rockstar & Mizuno Long Beach.
 
2026 Signees

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown (High School/Club)
Mitchell Croft	OH	6-9	So.	Melbourne, Australia (MacEwan University)
Thatcher Fahlbusch	OH	6-6	Fr.	Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa HS)
Magnus Hettervik	S	6-6	Fr	Stavenger, Norway (ToppVolley Norge)
Roman Payne	MB	7-0	Fr	Carlsbad, Calif. (Carlsbad HS)

 
 

#HawaiiMVB

 
 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Brown University’s Samuel M. Mencoff ’78 Vice President for Athletics and Recreation M. Grace Calhoun ’92, Ph.D., announced the appointment of Jackie Puccino as the new head coach of the women’s water polo program. 
 
“Jackie’s passion for student-athlete development and tremendous vision for the continued success of our program was impressive,” Calhoun said. “We look forward to the team’s bright future under her leadership.”
 
“I’m deeply grateful to Grace Calhoun, Ray Grant, and Jake Silverman for the incredible opportunity to lead the women’s water polo program,” said Puccino. “I’m honored and energized to begin this journey with such a talented roster. A special thank you to Felix Mercado for his tireless dedication and unwavering belief in this program. I’m excited to work together to continue and build upon that legacy.”
 
Puccino brings over a decade of coaching experience and is recognized for her leadership and commitment to student-athlete development. Most recently, Puccino served as an assistant coach for USC Women’s Water Polo in 2025, as the Trojans went 29-5 overall en route to an NCAA Championship appearance.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome Jackie Puccino to the Brown Bears family,” Director of Water Polo Felix Mercado said. “Her extensive coaching background and dedication to student-athlete success make her an excellent fit to lead our women’s water polo program.”
 
Before USC, Puccino spent six seasons at Harvard, serving as a coach of both the Crimson women’s and men’s programs. Puccino joined the Crimson staff as an assistant in 2018 and was elevated to associate head coach in 2023. During her time in Cambridge, Harvard teams posted a combined eight 20-win seasons, including the Crimson women’s first-ever conference championship game appearance in 2022 and a 2019 NCAA appearance for the Harvard men.
 
Puccino began her coaching career with the Palomar College women’s program, earning PCAC Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2016. She spent a year as the women’s head coach at San Diego Mesa College, winning the 2017 PCAC title and her third PCAC Coach of the Year nod. 
 
As a player, Puccino earned All-America First Team honors at Palomar College before going on to Marist, where she earned a degree in psychology in 2012. Puccino also holds a master’s degree in physical education from Azusa Pacific.
 
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT JACKIE
“Jackie is truly one of a kind, hardworking, honest, and selfless! She’s a culture builder with tremendous coaching knowledge and experience. Jackie is a winner and has won at every coaching stop in her career, and Brown is getting a gem of a coach! I wish her all the success and will be cheering for her and her team from afar.”
 – Casey Moon, USC Women’s Water Polo Head Coach
 
“Jackie will do an amazing job leading the Brown Women’s Water Polo program. I know it has been her dream to be an Ivy League head coach, and she has worked hard for this moment. Jackie represents everything that the Ivy League stands for. I’m confident she will be incredibly successful at Brown… hopefully just not against us!”
 – Ted Minnis, The Friends of Harvard Water Polo Head Coach
 
“Jackie Puccino is a remarkable leader and a rising star in our sport. She is everything you look for in a head coach—innovative, grounded, competitive, and ambitious. Jackie does it the right way, prioritizing the holistic well-being of the program. She’s a tireless advocate for excellence and equity and ready to make a lasting impact at Brown.” 
 – Cassie Curnside, Michigan Women’s Water Polo Head Coach
 
BROWN UNIVERSITY SPORTS FOUNDATION

The Brown University Sports Foundation (BUSF) is the backbone of our athletics program, playing a crucial role in enhancing the student-athlete experience. This is possible through philanthropic support from our alumni, parents, fans, and friends. Your gift through the Sports Foundation can immediately impact today’s Brown Bears, helping them excel in the classroom, in competition, and, most importantly, in the community. Please click here to learn more about how you can support the Bears.

 

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