College Sports
Former St. John's coach and longtime KU assistant Norm Roberts retires from college basketball
By DAVE SKRETTA LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Longtime college basketball coach Norm Roberts, who spent six seasons leading St. John’s but is perhaps better known for his long tenure as an assistant at Kansas, announced his retirement Monday after nearly four decades in coaching. During his time on Bill Self’s bench, the Jayhawks won seven […]
By DAVE SKRETTA
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Longtime college basketball coach Norm Roberts, who spent six seasons leading St. John’s but is perhaps better known for his long tenure as an assistant at Kansas, announced his retirement Monday after nearly four decades in coaching.
During his time on Bill Self’s bench, the Jayhawks won seven regular-season Big 12 Conference titles and three Big 12 Tournament titles, reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament four times and won the 2022 national championship.
“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never worked a day in my life. Being able to coach at Kansas and be part of this program has been unbelievable,” Roberts said in a statement issued by the school. “After 37 years as a coach, it is time for me to move on, enjoy my family, spend more time with my wife and sons.”
Roberts was born in New York and played there for Queens College, a Division II school, before spending four seasons as its coach. He was hired by Self as an assistant at Oral Roberts in 1995 and followed him through stops at Tulsa and Illinois before arriving at Kansas, where Roberts came on the radar of St. John’s.
He wound up going 81–101 with the Red Storm, twice making the postseason but never the NCAA Tournament.
Roberts spent a quick stint at Florida before returning to Kansas in 2012, serving as one of Self’s closest confidants. He was the Jayhawks’ acting coach in recent years when Self dealt with some health issues and served a four-game suspension.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me because Norm and I have been together since 1995,” Self said. “Norm has played a key role to our success at all of the stops we’ve had together, especially here at Kansas. From recruiting to developing players to scouting and his knowledge of the game, both on and off the court, Norm has been instrumental in what we have achieved.
“We’ve had some unbelievable memories that will last our lifetimes.”
The 59-year-old Roberts was responsible for helping to recruit and coach seven NBA lottery picks, including Josh Jackson, Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins. In all, he has helped 35 players from Kansas alone go on to have professional basketball careers.
Roberts also coached his son, Niko, during his four-year career at Kansas. His other son, Justin, played at Toledo and Niagara.
“The thing I’m going to remember most are the players,” Roberts said, “and watching them grow, watching them succeed, and watching them fight through adversity and come back from that.”
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
College Sports
Czech-born Michal Sindelka takes unique path to Scrappers | News, Sports, Jobs
At 19 years old, Michal Sindelka is the third-youngest player on the Mahoning Valley Scrappers roster. He’s also further from home (4,370 miles) than any of his teammates. Such a combination of youth and distance from family would typically cause a bit of anxiety for most teenagers. Yet Sindelka feels right at home while at […]
At 19 years old, Michal Sindelka is the third-youngest player on the Mahoning Valley Scrappers roster. He’s also further from home (4,370 miles) than any of his teammates.
Such a combination of youth and distance from family would typically cause a bit of anxiety for most teenagers.
Yet Sindelka feels right at home while at Eastwood Field.
“I’m just thrilled to be playing baseball, that’s what I love to do,” Sindelka said. “It’s tough at times, I always miss my family. But my goal has always been to play professional baseball. That’s why I’m here. That’s what keeps me focused while so far from home.”
Sindelka hails from the Czech Republic. For the past three years, he attended the PDG Academy in Fredericksburg (VA) while taking online courses to complete his high school education.
Born in a country where baseball is almost an afterthought, Sindelka became interested in the sport while watching his father play softball. Sindelka began playing baseball at the age of six, and it immediately evolved into an obsession.
“I wanted to learn everything there was to know about the sport,” Sindelka said. “While other kids my age were playing ice hockey, I was doing everything I could to get a baseball game together.”
Sindelka arrived in America three years ago unable to speak the English language. He says he “just picked it up along the way,” and now speaks fluent English.
“I spent a lot of time with some really great host families,” Sindelka said. “The fact that my classes were online made the transition a bit easier.”
Sindelka says there is “no comparison” between the brand of baseball played in the Czech Republic and the United States. He noted that sports are not offered in high school or college. Instead, athletes play club sports outside of school.
“Here, sports are treated more like a professional level even at the high school and college level compared to back home,” Sindelka said. “As far as baseball, in particular, the hitting back home is not that bad, but the pitching is not that good. Because we don’t have a lot of pitchers, the velocity is not there.
“Back home, we sort of baby the pitchers so they don’t get injured, just because there aren’t many pitchers to go around.”
Sindelka, who also plays for the Czech Republic National Team, had the opportunity to play back home in front of his family for 10 days last month. In the fall, he’ll enroll at Chipola Community College in Florida.
In the meantime, he’s grateful for the opportunity to showcase his talents in the MLB Draft League for several reasons.
“First of all, I’m excited that my family will get to watch my games online, it’s something they haven’t been able to do to this point,” Sindelka said. “And I’m very excited to have the opportunity to showcase my talents to Major League teams.
“My goal has always been to play professionally in America. I know I still have a long way to go, but I’ve already made huge strides and I hope to continue toward my goal.”
College Sports
Men’s Golf, Coldstream Country Club Renew Contract
David Cohen Director / Strategic Brand Engagement Story Links CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s golf program and its friendly Coldstream Country Club home have extended their relationship. “I am beyond thrilled to reach an extension with Coldstream Country Club,” head coach Doug Martin said. “It is a top-class, championship venue that tests […]
David Cohen
Director / Strategic Brand Engagement
CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s golf program and its friendly Coldstream Country Club home have extended their relationship.
“I am beyond thrilled to reach an extension with Coldstream Country Club,” head coach Doug Martin said. “It is a top-class, championship venue that tests our players to be their very best day in and day out. Their facilities, membership, and staff are some of the best I have ever been around in golf. The Bearcat Invitational, also hosted at Coldstream every year, is an event that has become known as one of the best in college golf. We are proud to call Coldstream Country Club our home.”
Built in 1959, Coldstream is a Dick Wilson design often regarded as one of his finest works. Keith Foster completed a critically-acclaimed renovation of the golf course in 2021.
“On behalf of the Coldstream Board of Trustees, we look forward to continuing this partnership and hosting one of the premier caliber collegiate events throughout the country,” Shawn Costello, Coldstream General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, said.
Coldstream has hosted many championships over the years, including Ohio Golf Association and Greater Cincinnati Golf Association championships, as well as being the host of the Bearcat Invitational at Coldstream since 2019.
“Coldstream is very excited to extend its relationship with The University of Cincinnati Men’s Golf Program” said Bill Williamson, the club’s former Board member and Secretary. “Coldstream is the premier golf course in the region and being able to showcase the facility with Coach Martin and the program at UC is consistent with the membership’s commitment to championship golf and competition.”
Cincinnati has hosted its annual fall Bearcat Invitational at Coldstream each year since 2016, with the only exception being in 2020 due to COVID and 2021 for the renovation.
The program has experienced some outstanding success over that stretch as well. Individually, Austin Squires qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 2017 and 2019, as did Sam Jean in 2022, Ty Gingerich in 2024 (Big 12 champion that year) and Ryan Ford in 2025. The team earned its first NCAA bid in 2023.
College Sports
Women’s Soccer Announces Seven-Member Class of 2029
Story Links CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University women’s soccer will welcome seven first-years to the program for the start of the 2025 season as part of the Class of 2029, Chris Hamblin, The Branca Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Soccer, announced on Friday. “We are very excited to welcome our […]
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University women’s soccer will welcome seven first-years to the program for the start of the 2025 season as part of the Class of 2029, Chris Hamblin, The Branca Family Head Coach for Harvard Women’s Soccer, announced on Friday.
“We are very excited to welcome our incoming class to Harvard this fall,” Hamblin said. “This talented group of student-athletes brings high level soccer experience to our program and are a great fit for our locker room and the Harvard community. I would like to thank Mike Calise and Mark McDevitt for going above and beyond to identify and recruit the Class of 2029. We are all looking forward to seeing this group play with the team this fall and make an impact on and off the field.”
The group includes one student-athlete each from the U.S. states of California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington alongside international student-athletes from Canada, England, and Spain. The class features three midfielders, two forwards, and two defenders who have competed at top clubs in their respective regions.
Harvard’s Class of 2029 includes forward Kennedy Belfon (Whitby, Ontario), defender Phoebe Chadwick (Stoke-on-Trent, England), midfielder Hannah Eftekhari (San Diego, Calif.), defender Danicka Miller (Arlington, Va.), forward Kendra Santiago (New Bedford, Mass.), midfielder Elsa Santos López (Valdemoro, Spain), and midfielder Caroline Studebaker (Fall City, Wash.).
Kennedy Belfon
Forward | 5-foot-4 | Whitby, Ontario | All Saints Catholic Secondary School
- Member of the Canadian National Development Training Center
- Competed for Team Ontario in the U16 and U17 Provincial Selection Games
- Played for the Florida Premier Football Club ECNL and Markham SC
- Won a provincial championship with Markham SC
- Set a provincial record in the 4x100m relay
Phoebe Chadwick
Defender | 5-foot-7 | Stoke-on-Trent, England | Blythe Bridge School
- Captain of the England U16 National Team
- Earned her first cap against Wales
- Manchester United U21
- Won a National League Title in 2024
- Participated in Manchester United’s first team training camp and debuted in a friendly against PSV Eindhoven
- Debuted for Stoke City’s U16 team at the age of 13
Hannah Eftekhari
Midfielder | 5-foot-7 | San Diego, Calif. | La Jolla Country Day School
- Member of the San Diego Surf ECNL
- Member of the U.S. Youth National Futsal Team
- Earned ECNL First Team All-Conference Honors
- Pacific League Player of the Year
- Team Captain
- First Team All-Coastal League
Danicka Miller
Defender | 5-foot-7 | Arlington, Va. | Washington-Liberty High School
- Member of the Arlingston Soccer Club ECNL
- Rated the No. 45 defender in the country by Top Drawer Soccer
- Ranked in the IMG Academy Top 200 recruits
- Selected to the 2024 ECNL Conference Cup and Selection Game
- Earned ECNL First Team All-Conference in 2022-23 and ECNL Second Team All Conference in 2023-24
- 2024 First Team Washington Post All-Met Team
Kendra Santiago
Forward | 5-foot-6 | New Bedford, Mass. | Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
- Member of the Scorpions Soccer Club ECNL
- 2024 Southcoast Girls Soccer Player of the Year
- Southcoast All-Star and Super Team Honors
- Team Captain
- Massachusets All-State
- Graduated as GNB Voc-Tech’s Valedictorian
Elsa Santos López
Midfielder | 5-foot-7 | Valdemoro, Spain | Valle del Miro
- Member of the U15-U19 Spanish National Team
- Made debut with Real Madrid’s First Team in 2024 at the age of 17 against Sevilla
- 2025 Champions League Quarterfinalist; ousted by eventual Champion Arsenal
- Won a Copa de la Reina Youth Title in 2024
- Won two league titles and posted an undeafeated season with the Real Madrid U19s
- Debuted with Real Madrid’s Second Team at the age of 15
Caroline Studebaker
Midfielder | 5-foot-10 | Fall City, Wash. | The Bear Creek School
- Member of the Crossfire Soccer Club ECNL
- Selected to the ECNL Selection Game
- Earned ECNL First Team All-Conference Honors
- Invited to the U.S. Youth National Team Talent Identification Centers
- Won the 2024 USL W League Northwest Championship
- Reached the USL W League Western Conference Finals in 2024
College Sports
USMNT Woes Won't Slow U.S. Soccer's Ambitious College Plans
On the same day the U.S. men’s national team laid a 4-0 egg against Switzerland in a friendly, getting booed off the field at halftime of a fourth straight loss Wednesday, U.S. Soccer laid a big bet: that the organization can transform the sport at the college level and create a world-class minor league. The […]
On the same day the U.S. men’s national team laid a 4-0 egg against Switzerland in a friendly, getting booed off the field at halftime of a fourth straight loss Wednesday, U.S. Soccer laid a big bet: that the organization can transform the sport at the college level and create a world-class minor league. The juxtaposition was stark.
Off the field, U.S. Soccer is aggressively pushing boundaries. By this fall, the national governing body said, the newly formed NextGen College Soccer Committee will issue a “white paper” on a path forward for college soccer, which in the past 15 years has become an afterthought in terms of elite player development. U.S. Soccer’s plan is for at least some college programs to compete under a revamped format as early as next year, perhaps with a new year-round playing calendar, expanded commercial objectives and far tighter links to the national governing body.
On the field, the men’s national team is in a defensive crouch. Fans and pundits are on the verge of panic after a string of dismal performances just a year out from the 2026 World Cup on home soil. The USMNT opens play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago; the tournament will be the squad’s last competitive matches before the World Cup.
While the men’s team is struggling, U.S. Soccer is on a roll organizationally, raising millions of dollars from well-heeled corporations and billionaire donors, building a new national training center and headquarters in Atlanta, and pushing proposals to expand the game’s reach in the country. The governing body can also point to the women’s national team, which has regained its perch atop the global game since the hire of head coach Emma Hayes last year.
In an interview with Sportico, U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson expounded on his organization’s ambitious goals for the college game.
“The best 18- to 22-year-old soccer players in America are opting to play professionally now, and that shows the growth of the American soccer market,” Batson said. “It also shows the opportunity around evolving around college soccer—that it can become the best U-23 league in the world.”
The college reform efforts, part of a U.S. Soccer “service to soccer” initiative, will involve both men’s and women’s soccer. Batson says the committee has yet to work out the details, but the death of college-sports amateurism in the wake of NIL reforms and the House antitrust settlement will drive their discussions.
The potential for players to make money from NIL and revenue-sharing “is part of the reason why the folks from the pro leagues and some of the folks who own pro clubs think college can be a positive pathway for elite players,” Batson said. “But it’s going to require some changes, and that’s the heart of the work that everyone’s focused on.”
Existing college infrastructure, the chance for an education and the opportunity to make some money might be attractive to players who aren’t signed to million-dollar contracts with top clubs as teenagers. There may even be the possibility of MLS, NWSL or USL franchises using college squads as farm teams—which have become an area of interest for investors.
While player development is a focal point, commercial interests are also driving the moves.
“Most of the commercial energy and effort in college sports has been focused on football and men’s basketball,” Batson said. “There’s nobody waking up thinking about how to drive revenue at any sense of scale for college soccer. And we think there are opportunities, if you look at this as a nationwide platform, to be able to drive new commercial value in a way the prior model didn’t allow for.”
Such opportunities exist with media rights, for example, which Batson says are often “fragmented and highly localized” in college sports.
With more than 200 men’s and 300 women’s teams already in Division I, the sport could offer untapped national and regional sponsorship possibilities, especially with a year-long season and more talented players on rosters.
Speaking of players, any new format would likely include a geographical reorganization of competing teams. Recent conference realignments have led to “players living on planes,” Batson said. “From a student-athlete welfare standpoint, you have a lot of college leaders who believe we have to end up with more regional models than we have today.”
A huge hurdle will be the NCAA rulebook, which right now restricts pay-for-play, practice time and the length of the season. Changing that rulebook through the NCAA’s legislative process has historically been a glacial process.
Batson says the tumult in college sports gives soccer a chance to present a test case for a new era. “We’ve been in direct conversations with college presidents, with conference leaders, who are all very excited about soccer being able to help lead to a future model for a broad set of college sports. Everyone recognizes that status quo has its challenges,” and there’s been “an evolution of how college sports is thinking about its own governance and its own rules.”
When word leaked about U.S. Soccer’s nascent reform proposals presented to college coaches over the winter, the pitch was seen as a national governing body-sponsored “breakaway” of the college game from the NCAA.
As Sportico reported, early discussions included the Big Ten and ACC, who might form the basis of an experimental test conference. That prompted others in the sport to wonder whether successful mid-major programs such as national champion Vermont, along with fellow Final Four teams Denver and Marshall, might be shunted aside.
Batson emphasized that U.S. Soccer is “very agnostic as we start this process as what the future of governance model should be, and who is the quote-unquote organizer of the competitions. There’s so much change going on in college sports, we’re happy with any positive outcome that leads to more opportunities for players and coaches to develop. We don’t start with a preconceived notion of what that should look like.”
Though Batson didn’t say this, others in the sport have postulated that the new model could range from continued NCAA governance to an entity that eventually splits off completely from the association.
“We’ve been doing a whole body of work around this at U.S. Soccer with all of our stakeholders for quite some time now, and one of the things that bubbled to the top of the priority list was, ‘What does the next generation of college sports look like, and college soccer in particular?’” Batson said. “Conceivably, the right thing for year one may be different than a future state of things.”
College Sports
Bochen Joins Vimmerby HC in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan
Story Links WALTHAM, Mass. – Two-time All-Atlantic Hockey defenseman Nick Bochen has signed with Vimmerby HC in Sweden’s second division, HockeyAllsvenskan. Bochen was a first team All-Atlantic Hockey selection for Bentley this past season and was a finalist for the AHA’s Best Defenseman award. He had six points in Bentley’s postseason […]
WALTHAM, Mass. – Two-time All-Atlantic Hockey defenseman Nick Bochen has signed with Vimmerby HC in Sweden’s second division, HockeyAllsvenskan.
Bochen was a first team All-Atlantic Hockey selection for Bentley this past season and was a finalist for the AHA’s Best Defenseman award.
He had six points in Bentley’s postseason run, including one goal and one assist in the championship game win over Holy Cross. He was named to the All-Tournament team.
On the season, Bochen had nine goals, 21 assists and was second on the team with 30 points.
In three seasons in Waltham, he tallied 20 goals and 54 assists in 109 games.
Vimmerby is in the southeast of Sweden, about 190 miles south of the capital Stockholm.
Bochen earned his master’s degree from Bentley in business analytics.
College Sports
NEHC All-Academic Team honors for all 21 eligible Thoroughbreds
Story Links 2024-25 NEHC ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM MARSHFIELD, Mass. – The New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) announced the All-Academic Team recipients for the 2024-25 academic year. All 21 eligible Skidmore student-athletes earned the award. To be eligible for All-Academic recognition a student must carry […]
MARSHFIELD, Mass. – The New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) announced the All-Academic Team recipients for the 2024-25 academic year. All 21 eligible Skidmore student-athletes earned the award.
To be eligible for All-Academic recognition a student must carry a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA for over the academic year and have completed one full year at their current institution by the beginning of the hockey season. Student-athletes that were freshmen or first-years transfer during the 2024-25 season were not eligible.
All 11 NEHC institutions were represented in the final installment of the list, with 207 student-athletes in total earning the honors. New England College, Norwich University, Salve Regina University led the way with 22 honorees each. Skidmore was close behind with 21 and 100% of its eligible student-athletes honored.
| Alex Bonrouhi | Marina Del Ray, CA | Sophomore | Management and Business/Economics | Skidmore College |
| Will Dow-Kenny | Abbotsford, BC | Senior | Neuroscience | Skidmore College |
| Mitchell Floccare | Buffalo, NY | Sophomore | Management and Business/Economics | Skidmore College |
| Matthew Franzoi | Oakville, ON | Junior | Management and Business/Economics | Skidmore College |
| Zach Frisk | Long Beach Township, NJ | Senior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Ethan Heidepriem | Findlay, OH | Senior | Computer Science/Mathematics | Skidmore College |
| Freddie Ilias | Oakville, ON | Senior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Zach Lindewirth | Gillette, NJ | Senior | Computer Science/Mathematics | Skidmore College |
| Danny Magnuson | Sunfish Lake, MN | Senior | Economics | Skidmore College |
| Blaine Moore | Albany, NY | Senior | Political Science | Skidmore College |
| Kaeden Patrick | Vancouver, BC | Senior | Health and Human Physiological Sciences | Skidmore College |
| Stephen Perez | Bloomfield, NJ | Senior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Cooper Rice | Rutland, VT | Sophomore | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Bryson Russell | Palmyra, PA | Sophomore | Economics | Skidmore College |
| Sam Saccone | Clarence Center, NY | Junior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Jack Strauss | Phoenix, AZ | Senior | Management and Business/Economics | Skidmore College |
| Kevin Urquhart | Burlington, MA | Senior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
| Ryan Waltman | South Bend, IN | Junior | Economics | Skidmore College |
| Oscar Worob | Little Falls, NJ | Junior | Management and Business/Economics | Skidmore College |
| Jaden York | Beaumont, AB | Senior | Neuroscience | Skidmore College |
| Jacob Zwirecki | East Amherst, NY | Senior | Management and Business | Skidmore College |
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