NIL
Hilltoppers land four commitments for Class of 2026
Hilltoppers land four commitments for Class of 2026 Published 11:48 am Sunday, June 8, 2025 Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton works with his team during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt) Western Kentucky’s football program picked up four commitments […]

Hilltoppers land four commitments for Class of 2026
Published 11:48 am Sunday, June 8, 2025
- Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton works with his team during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Western Kentucky’s football program picked up four commitments for the Class of 2026 over the weekend.
Running back Le’Kamren Meadows, a 6-foot, 210-pound rising senior at Moody High School in Moody, Alabama, announced his commitment to WKU on social media Saturday. Meadows had offers from nine schools including fellow Conference USA programs Middle Tennessee and Kennesaw State as well as UAB and South Alabama, according to the recruiting website 247Sports.com.
Meadows’ teammate at Moody, defensive lineman/linebacker Henry Smith, also announced his commitment to WKU on social media. Moody, a 6-4, 245-pounder, held offers from fellow CUSA programs Liberty, Kennesaw State and MTSU among his 12 offers, according to 247Sports.com.
Asa Holbert, a 6-7, 315-pound offensive tackle from Cherokee County High School in Centre, Alabama, announced his commitment to WKU on social media. Holbert held offers from six schools, including MTSU and outgoing CUSA member UTEP according to 247Sports.com.
Bryce Fulda, a 6-4, 243-pound defensive end from Cardinal Mooney High School in Bradenton, Florida, announced his commitment to the Tops on social media. Fulda held 11 offers according to 247Sports.com, including fellow CUSA member MTSU along with Navy, Toledo and Central Michigan.
Baseball
Former Western Kentucky standout pitcher Jack Bennett, who entered the NCAA transfer portal following the Tops’ NCAA Regional appearance, announced on social media Friday that he has committed to Kentucky.
Bennett, a 6-2, 210-pound right-handed starting pitcher from Paducah, spent three seasons at WKU and was twice named CUSA Pitcher of the Week. This past season, Bennett helped the Hilltoppers win the CUSA Baseball Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.
Bennett went 7-1 in 14 appearances (all starts) and compiled a 3.13 ERA with 49 strikeouts over 63 1/3 innings. Bennett, who just completed his junior season, was a All-CUSA second-team selection.
Fellow WKU starting pitcher Drew Whalen has committed to Auburn, On3.com’s Justin Hokanson reported Saturday.
Whalen, who entered the NCAA transfer portal after WKU’s exit from the NCAA tournament, was named the CUSA Pitcher of the Year in 2025. The 6-1, 206-pound native of Franklin, Tennessee, spent two years pitching for the Hilltoppers. After earning CUSA All-Freshman honors in 2024, Whalen was even better as a sophomore this past season. In a team-leading 81 2/3 innings over 16 starts, Whalen posted a 9-3 record and tallied 90 strikeouts as the Tops’ No. 1 starter through much of the season.
Women’s soccer
Utah Valley announced the addition of WKU transfer Mia Roberts on Friday.
Roberts, who spent two seasons as a goalkeeper with the Hilltoppers, did not see game action in either 2023 or 2024.
A native of South Jordan, Utah, the 5-9 Roberts completed her redshirt freshman season at WKU in 2024.
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Texas Tech adds Lagi Quiroga to softball roster
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech softball announced the signing of catcher Lagi Quiroga to the roster on Saturday. Quiroga was named an All-ACC First Team member and an NFCA All-West Region Second Teamer following a breakout sophomore campaign. Last season, the rising junior slashed .346/.631/.443 with 12 home runs, 13 doubles and 44 RBI. She […]

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech softball announced the signing of catcher Lagi Quiroga to the roster on Saturday. Quiroga was named an All-ACC First Team member and an NFCA All-West Region Second Teamer following a breakout sophomore campaign.
Last season, the rising junior slashed .346/.631/.443 with 12 home runs, 13 doubles and 44 RBI. She started all 58 games for the Golden Bears and collected 62 hits.
A Los Angeles native, she has amassed 109 hits, 20 doubles, 28 home runs and 75 RBI over her two-year career. Her freshman season she was named to the All-PAC 12 Freshmen Team, NFCA All-Pacific Region First Team and the Softball America Freshmen All-American team.
She was the 25th ranked player in the portal according to Softball America and is the seventh player added by Gerry Glasco and his staff from the portal. All of the additions are four-stars and ranked in the top 30 of Softball America’s recruiting rankings.
NIL
Wisconsin sues Miami, alleging tampering in football player's NIL deal
MADISON (WKOW) — UW-Madison is taking legal action after a football player with star potential left the Badgers to play at the University of Miami over the winter. The case could have major implications for how the NCAA handles NIL deals and player transfers. UW-Madison and VC Connect LLC have filed a lawsuit against the University […]


MADISON (WKOW) — UW-Madison is taking legal action after a football player with star potential left the Badgers to play at the University of Miami over the winter. The case could have major implications for how the NCAA handles NIL deals and player transfers.
UW-Madison and VC Connect LLC have filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami, alleging the Hurricanes wrongfully interfered with Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) contracts. The complaint, filed on Friday, claims Miami induced Xavier Lucas to break his agreements and transfer.
Lucas had signed lucrative NIL contracts with UW-Madison and VC Connect for the 2025 season. However, Miami allegedly tampered with these agreements, causing him to leave Madison and enroll at Miami, violating NCAA anti-tampering rules.
The up and coming cornerback entered the transfer portal in December 2024. He was coming off a freshman season where he played 11 games, recording 18 tackles and grabbing an interception.
Lucas was a four-star prospect coming out of high school. He was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, about an hour north of Miami.
The complaint outlines how Miami’s actions resulted in significant financial and reputational harm to the plaintiffs. It also highlights the broader implications for college athletics, emphasizing the need to protect contractual commitments amid the evolving NIL landscape.
Miami’s conduct reportedly included contacting Lucas and offering more lucrative financial terms, despite the player’s existing commitments. UW-Madison and VC Connect seek damages and a declaration that Miami’s actions constituted tampering.
The University of Miami has not yet responded to the allegations.
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Report: Wisconsin files tampering lawsuit against Miami over Xavier Lucas recruitment
The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective have filed a tampering lawsuit against the University of Miami, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported. It has to do with the Hurricanes allegedly poaching defensive back Xavier Lucas from the Badgers. Dellenger called it a “landmark moment” for the sport: “The University of Wisconsin and its […]

The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective have filed a tampering lawsuit against the University of Miami, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported. It has to do with the Hurricanes allegedly poaching defensive back Xavier Lucas from the Badgers.
Dellenger called it a “landmark moment” for the sport: “The University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective filed a complaint in state circuit court on Friday against the University of Miami over tortious interference, according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports,” he reported.
“In a first-of-its-kind and, perhaps, a precedent-setting move, Wisconsin is seeking unspecified damages, transparency and accountability from Miami for interfering with a binding revenue-share contract between Wisconsin and Xavier Lucas, a former defensive back who left the program in January to compete at Miami. It was a groundbreaking decision in which Lucas transferred without entering the portal (it had already closed) and after signing the contract with the Badgers.”
Back in January, Wisconsin released a statement on the matter, where they accused Miami of tampering, citing “credible information” and threatened to pursue legal action as a result of the situation. As you can see, they’ve taken that step.
“The lawsuit details what transpired in the winter among the three parties: Wisconsin, Miami and Lucas,” Dellenger added. “UW claims that Miami communicated with Lucas despite knowing he had entered a contract with the school, something it terms as ‘intentional’ interference that ‘was not justified or privileged’ and caused Lucas to ‘breach’ his contract.”
Additionally, the suit alleged that “Miami interfered with UW-Madison’s relationship with Student-Athlete A (Lucas) by making impermissible contact with him and engaging in tampering,” per Dellenger.
It’s been reported that Wisconsin and Lucas agreed to a two-year revenue-share agreement that was set to begin July 1, Dellenger noted. That’s why Wisconsin refused to enter Lucas’ name into the portal when he requested a transfer, but he found a way around it, withdrawing from classes and enrolling academically at Miami in January
Whatever comes next is bound to set a precedent for college sports moving forward. Tampering has become a hot-button word since the advent of the transfer portal and NIL, but this is certainly a first-of-its-kind lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten Conference has been supportive of Wisconsin from the beginning, and their behind the Badgers and their suit against Miami: “We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field,” their statement read, via Dellenger
“In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”
Alas, Lucas played high school football at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 331 overall player from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
Xavier Lucas totaled 18 tackles as a freshman at Wisconsin this past season. The defensive back also added two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. We’ll see what he has in store for the future, but he’s certainly become an interesting case at the moment in the sport of college football as a whole.
— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.
NIL
Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy named 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner
Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy has been named the 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner. Tennessee left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle and Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise were runner-ups for the award. “Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the nation with the Golden Spikes Award,” says the Golden Spikes Award website. “The […]

Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy has been named the 2025 Golden Spikes Award winner. Tennessee left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle and Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise were runner-ups for the award.
“Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the nation with the Golden Spikes Award,” says the Golden Spikes Award website. “The award is given each year to the player who best exhibits exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship.”
Aloy becomes the third Razorback to win the award in the past 10 years, joining right-handed pitcher Kevin Kopps (2021) and outfielder Andrew Benintendi (2015). He is the fifth consecutive player to win the award from the SEC.
“I’m just truly blessed to be able to have this award,” Aloy said. “Just to be able to play at Arkansas and for the people back at home too.”
The Wailuku, HI native was phenomenal in his second season at Arkansas, as he was named First Team All-SEC, SEC Player of the Year and an All-American along with the Golden Spikes Award honor. In 65 games played this season, Aloy posted a .350 batting average with 19 doubles, 21 home runs, 68 RBI, a .434 OBP% and a .673 SLG%.
Aloy and Arkansas’ season ended in Omaha
Arkansas‘ season came to an extremely disappointing end in Omaha following its 6-5 loss to LSU last Wednesday. The Razorbacks jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the top of the ninth courtesy of a Justin Thomas Jr. two-run single, but LSU responded to put runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
LSU’s Steven Milam seemingly grounded into game-ending double play, but Aloy decided to get the force-out at third instead. Luis Hernandez then made the Golden Spikes Award winner pay for his mistake, as he belted a two-run double to left field to tie the game. Jared Jones then snuck a game-winning RBI-single over the head of Arkansas’ Cam Kozeal into center field, propelling the Tigers to the Men’s College World Series Final against Coastal Carolina.
Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn defended Aloy postgame.
“The way it all turned out, I guess I would have [liked to seen Aloy try for the double play],” Van Horn said. “I haven’t talked to him about it. I think he felt he moved too far to his right for Cam to turn it. I don’t know. He’s an average runner. He’s not a flyer, but he’s not slow either. So I don’t know.”
Aloy is projected as the No. 17 overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft in MLB.com’s latest mock draft.
NIL
Ryder Lyons Captivates College Football with Dramatic Recruitment Decision
Ryder Lyons’ Recruitment Journey Ryder Lyons, a five-star quarterback with immense potential, finds himself at the center of a gripping recruitment saga that has captivated college football fans and analysts alike. His journey has transcended mere visits; it has evolved into a deep exploration of values, aspirations, and the future of his athletic career. A […]

Ryder Lyons’ Recruitment Journey
Ryder Lyons, a five-star quarterback with immense potential, finds himself at the center of a gripping recruitment saga that has captivated college football fans and analysts alike. His journey has transcended mere visits; it has evolved into a deep exploration of values, aspirations, and the future of his athletic career.
A Thorough Exploration of Options
In recent months, Lyons has meticulously evaluated six elite programs: Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, USC, Oregon, and BYU. Each visit was not just a cursory glance at facilities or coaching staff; Lyons engaged deeply with the culture, the coaching philosophies, and the overall fit for his ambitions. This thoroughness reflects not only his commitment to finding the right program but also his understanding of the pivotal role that college choice plays in shaping his future both on and off the field.
The Final Contenders
As the dust settles, it has become clear that the competition has narrowed to two frontrunners: Oregon and Ohio State. Both programs boast rich histories and promising futures, making the decision even more consequential. For Lyons, this choice is not merely about football; it intertwines with his personal values, including his faith and the burgeoning influence of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.
Faith and NIL: Guiding Principles
Lyons’ faith plays a significant role in his decision-making process. It shapes not only his character but also his vision for how he wants to impact the world around him. This spiritual aspect adds a profound layer to his recruitment, as he seeks a program that aligns with his beliefs and allows him to thrive both as an athlete and as an individual.
Simultaneously, the NIL landscape has transformed the recruiting environment, presenting athletes like Lyons with unprecedented opportunities to monetize their talents. The allure of NIL deals can significantly influence a player’s decision, making it essential for Lyons to consider how each program supports and facilitates these opportunities.
Looking Ahead
As Lyons approaches this pivotal decision, the stakes are high. The choice between Oregon and Ohio State will not only define his college football career but could also set the stage for his future in professional sports. With every visit, conversation, and reflection, he inches closer to a decision that will resonate well beyond the gridiron.
In an era where recruitment is as much about personal growth as it is about athletic prowess, Ryder Lyons stands at a crossroads. His journey illustrates the complexities of modern college football recruitment, where faith, values, and financial considerations converge, ultimately shaping the next generation of athletes. As his story unfolds, one can only anticipate the impact of his choice on his career and the programs vying for his commitment.
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