Softball

May 18, 2025

Full finish from Liberty’s historic softball regional upset of Texas A&M

May 18, 2025

For the first time in NCAA softball regionals history, the No. 1 national seed has been eliminated. Watch the full bottom of the seventh inning as Liberty held off Texas A&M 6-5 to advance to super regionals for the first time in program history.

Lee was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, to help his body and mind recuperate. There, he connected with Operation Comfort, a nonprofit group that provided rehabilitative and therapeutic programs for wounded veterans at the medical center.

“I tried playing wheelchair basketball, volleyball, other adaptive sports,” Lee said. “When I heard about sled hockey, I was a little surprised because I didn’t even know you could play hockey as a disabled person. I immediately signed up for it and as soon as I went in for my first practice with other service members I definitely fell in love. It’s really the fastest sport there is compared to other therapy or adaptive sports.”

Lee began playing with the San Antonio Rampage sled hockey team in 2009 and worked his way onto the U.S. national program by 2010. He’s 41-1-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) with a 0.65 goals-against average, .907 save percentage and 25 shutouts for the national team. In addition to three Paralympics gold medals, he has three world championship gold medals (2023, 2021, 2019 and 2012) and two silver medals (2024, 2013).

All the hardware and championships are meaningful, Lee said, but the Beijing Paralympic gold brought him to tears because he earned it as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

“It was the first time that I was able to help contribute or be able to be part of all that, to get on the ice,” he said. “I thought about my family, too. I came to the United States as an immigrant from Taiwan and, knowing their sacrifices and struggles from growing up, it wasn’t easy. And my dream of being an elite athlete, being G.I. Joe, a soldier.

“Just being able to accomplish all that, though the path was different, it was still a huge accomplishment,” he said. “I was just happy, and that’s the emotion that came out.”

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in the first NCAA Championship in program history, the Kansas State women’s golf team was unable to produce another low round to survive the 54-hole cut on Sunday, but sophomore Alenka Navarro and senior Carla Bernat advanced as individuals to Monday’s final round at the par-72, 6,330-yard Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
 
Following a round of 12-over par 890 on Sunday, the Wildcats finished in a tie for 19th place at 26-over par 890, eight shots below the 54-hole cutline of 15 teams. The Wildcats and Demon Decans finished five shots ahead of 21st-place Kansas. Navarro and Bernat were able to advance to Monday’s final round by virtue of being two of the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams.
 
“I think the last two days showed some of the stuff we need to clean up and the things we need to get better at, especially at the highest level,” head coach Stew Burke said. “You’re not going to get away with those mistakes. But, what a great season. I am really, really proud. It was looking as though we had a shot with a few holes to go. The most important thing is just keeping our fans happy.”
 
The Wildcats closed out the 2024-25 campaign by ranking first in program history in team scoring average (288.13) in addition to rounds (38) and tournaments (13) played. Additionally, 10 of the lowest 17 team rounds in school history and seven of the lowest 11 team 54-hole scores have come this season. On the individual front, seven of the top 17 rounds and six of the top 10 individual 54-hole scores were obtained this season.
 
Bernat led the Wildcats on Sunday by posting a score of 1-over par 73. After starting with a bogey and double bogey on the first two holes, the Castellon, Spain, native parred the rest of the front 9 before going bogey-free and 2-under par on the back 9. She enters Monday’s final round tied for 37th place at 3-over par 219.
 
Navarro finished Sunday’s round one shot back of Bernat, going 1-over par on each side. Overall, the Mexico City native is one shot ahead of Bernat as she is tied for 28th place at 2-over par 218.
 
“Both of those ladies did great to get to the fourth round,” Burke said. “Obviously we wanted to get there as a team, but two out of five isn’t bad. To be honest, it really is a changing of the guard. Carla has done so much for us the last two years. She had taken Alenka under her wing and shown her what it takes to be a high-class player. Tomorrow, they will go head to head in Carla’s final round. So that’s kind of cool for me to see. The future is bright.”
 
Senior Sophie Bert, junior Noa van Beek and freshman Nanami Nakashima each saw their seasons come to an end as they tied for 124th place at 15-over par 231. A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek had her best round of the weekend at 2-over par 74 with four birdies on the day. Bert played her final 18 collegiate holes at 7-over par 79, while Nakashima finished the day at 9-over par 81.
 
Bert, a former East Tennessee State transfer who became the first individual conference champion in program history, finished her lone season at K-State with a 73.39 scoring average to rank fourth in school history. Nakashima finished at 73.95 during her initial collegiate campaign to rank 10th in school history. van Beek will enter her senior campaign ranked fourth in school history with a career 74.47 scoring average.
 
The top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, held on to its 36-hole lead and is 15 shots clear of the next best team, Northwestern, as the Cardinal enters Monday’s final round at 23-under par 841. Stanford is in position to be the No. 1 seed once match play begins on Tuesday as the top eight teams after Monday’s final round of stroke play will advance to the match-play portion of the championship.
 
Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin posted a score of 7-under par 65 on Sunday to improve 11 spots on the individual leaderboard. She enters the final round of stroke play at 9-under par 207, one shot ahead of Stanford’s Paula Martin Sampedro.
 
Navarro and Bernat will begin Monday’s final round off the 10th tee at 12:51 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. (PT), respectively.  Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.

 

It was a busy weekend for football in Happy Valley as Penn State hosted its first batch of 2026 official visitors while State College Area High School held the Elite 11 and All 22 camp at Memorial Field.

From a top two-way in-state target, to a tandem of future Penn State quarterbacks, there was tons of action.

Here’s everything that went down this weekend.

Official visits

The headliner on the official visit front was 4-star ATH Joey O’Brien. O’Brien is arguably the top player on Penn State’s board, being recruited to play both wide receiver and safety for James Franklin.

He’s the No. 65 player nationally and No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, playing for La Salle College High School, where former Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter played. O’Brien has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Notre Dame, Clemson, Michigan and Tennessee.

Right behind O’Brien is one of the top players on cornerbacks coach Terry Smith’s board in 4-star cornerback Khary Adams. He’s the No. 76 player nationally, No. 10 cornerback and No. 4 player in Maryland.

Another top-100 prospect who made his way to campus was 4-star EDGE/linebacker Cincere Johnson. He’s the No. 73 player nationally and No. 2 player in Ohio, and has finalists of Penn State, Ohio State and Alabama.

4-star cornerback Dorian Barney made the trip from Georgia, though he has ties to Pennsylvania, being originally from Erie. He has finalists of Penn State, Michigan, Colorado, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Georgia Tech, and is the No. 150 player nationally, No. 20 player in Georgia and No. 15 cornerback. He was previously committed to Alabama.

Another cornerback target made the trek in 4-star Camren Hamiel, who has finalists of Penn State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Nebraska, and is ranked as the No. 225 player nationally, No. 22 cornerback and No. 1 overall player in Arizona. He goes to Desert Edge High School, but started at Fort Wayne Northrop in Indiana, where former 2026 Penn State wideout pledge Jerquaden Guilford plays.

Penn State has a trio of wideouts committed in 2026, but a near top-100 prospect nationally at the position went for an official visit in 4-star Messiah Hampton. He’s the No. 101 player nationally, No. 11 wide receiver and No. 1 player in New York.

Another target in the secondary that was up for an official visit was 4-star safety Jordan Deck. He’s the No. 387 player nationally, No. 52 in Texas and No. 36 safety.

A riser who was offered by Penn State just over a month ago in 3-star wide receiver Brian Williams Jr. rounds out the group. He’s the No. 746 player nationally, No. 117 wide receiver and No. 101 player in Florida.

Camp action

The Elite 11 and All 22 camp continued its national tour, stopping at State College for high school recruits to showcase their skills.

Tons of talented quarterbacks were in attendance like the No. 3 quarterback in the 2027 class in 4-star Nebraska pledge Trae Taylor and 4-star Washington commit Derek Zammit. Zammit went to the Elite 11 finals, but Penn State had a pair of its future gunslingers tossing the pigskin.

Both 4-star 2026 quarterback Penn State commits Peyton Falzone and Troy Huhn made the trip, marking the first time the duo has interacted with each other in person. Falzone made the drive from in-state Nazareth, while Huhn made the cross-country trek from California.

Falzone is the No. 247 player nationally, No. 17 quarterback and No. 6 player in Pennsylvania. He was formerly committed to Virginia Tech and plays for Nazareth High School, where former Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson played.

Huhn’s the No. 268 player nationally, No. 28 in California and No. 20 quarterback. Penn State hadn’t had a commitment from the Golden State since linebacker Koa Farmer in 2014 prior to Huhn’s pledge. Freshman linebacker LaVar Arrington II became the next shortly after.

In addition to the gunslingers, a pair of commits from Delaware made the trip, in 4-star 2027 offensive tackle Layton Von Brandt and 3-star defensive lineman Isaac Chukwurah. Both spent some time competing against each other in drills.

Von Brandt is the No. 74 player nationally, No. 7 offensive tackle and No. 1 player in Delaware. Chukwurah is ranked as the No. 711 player nationally, No. 79 defensive lineman and No. 2 player in Delaware.

Chukwurah brought home the defensive line MVP for the All 22 camp.

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As Hartford Wolf Pack coach John Paddock scouts key members of the Providence Bruins during their Calder Cup semifinal playoff series, he’d be smart to write down the name Tom Mulligan.

A 25-year-old New Bedford native who played defense on his high school hockey team, Mulligan set a record this year for assists, but not with his hockey stick. He carries bandages, tape and surgical scissors on his belt.

Mulligan, you see, is the P-Bruins athletic trainer.

“We were thinking about giving him the team MVP,” assistant coach Bill Armstrong said after a recent practice.

“We couldn’t do it, but if anybody deserved an MVP it would be him,” agreed head coach Peter Laviolette. “Tommy’s done a great job, phenomenal.”

When a player misses a game with an injury, the statistician marks it down as one man-game lost for the team.

During last year’s dream season that ended with an AHL championship, Providence lost 76 man-games. This season the P-Bruins exceeded that total by the end of November.

An AHL record 70 players have skated for the P-Bruins this season, and the total of man-games lost climbed throughout the winter like the price on the gas pump.

The P-Bruins current total of man-games lost due to injury alone is around 400. Combine that with suspensions and all the recalls by the similarly-battered Boston Bruins and the total for man-games lost exceeds 830.

“You learn by doing,”‘ Mulligan said.

“If you learn by doing,” Laviolette said, “he should be a genius in the field of medicine by now.”

Mulligan didn’t feel too smart on the final weekend of the regular season when newcomer Mike Sylvia was knocked unconscious during a game at Springfield, Mass. Along with the standard how-many-fingers question, Mulligan asked Sylvia “What’s my name?”

“Then it dawned on me – wait a second,” Mulligan told himself. “He probably doesn’t know my name. I just met him yesterday.”

During the season Mulligan spends seven days a week in the bowels of the Providence Civic Center. On game days he arrives at 8 a.m. and doesn’t go home until 11 p.m. Even on non-practice days, players stroll in for injury rehabilitation and to get their aching muscles massaged.

With hockey players’ ever-growing fear of concussions, the trainer has to be a good listener. Gone are the days when a player gets knocked cold and argues his way back onto the ice in 10 minutes.

“Some guys make a big deal out of the littler things, and some guys don’t pay attention to some things that they should,” Mulligan said. “That’s half the battle, the psychological issue.”

“Tommy’s good with people, that’s one of his strengths outside of being knowledgeable in what he does,” Laviolette said. “He’s a good person and he’s a good communicator. People like Tommy, they respect him. He’s a young kid taking care of guys who are 31, 32 years old.”

“We have a great atmosphere here in the locker room and Tommy’s a big part of it.”

Mulligan’s work load intensified even more this season when the man-games lost spread off the ice.

“We even lost our equipment manager (Vinny Ferraiuolo),” he said. Ferraiuolo had to assist in Boston after its equipment manager, Peter Henderson, was sidelined with an illness.

That left Mulligan with a college intern and half the work of the equipment manager, including sewing holes in hockey socks and new name tags onto jerseys for players being recalled from Greenville, S.C. (ECHL) or signed to tryout contracts.

“They stay here as late or later than we do,” Laviolette said of Mulligan and Ferraiuolo.

After graduating Quinnipiac College in 1997 with a degree in physical therapy, Mulligan interned with the Boston Bruins under fellow Quinnipiac alumnus Tim Trahant and there he fulfilled a life-long dream of meeting Ray Bourque.

“I grew up living and dying by the Bruins,” he said. “When I started in Boston, I had never really met a professional athlete.”

Mulligan was at the Bruins practice facility in Wilmington when Rob DiMaio and other players came into the trainer’s room and introduced themselves.

“He was talking to me like a regular person. It didn’t really faze me, then all of a sudden Ray walks in and I just stood there and froze,” Mulligan said. “He walked out. About five minutes later he comes back in. He walks over to me, taps me on the shoulder, goes ‘Hey, you the new kid?’ I went ‘hum-a-da-hum-a-da…’

“Since I was 5-years-old, he was my idol. For me now, if I see him and say ‘Hey Ray, how ya doing?’ He’d say ‘Tom, how are ya?’ That’s amazing to me.”

Mulligan is glad he joined the P-Bruins when there was ample opportunity to learn the many administrative duties the trainer must perform, including detailed documentation of all treatment for legal purposes.

He realized very early how different this season was going to be.

“In training camp,” he said. “Keith McCambridge had one of his hamstring tendons skated over.” And rookie winger Jeff Zehr came to camp with a recurring knee injury that still threatens his career.

Providence’s season was barely a month old when tough-guy winger Aaron Downey was accidentally stabbed in the groin by teammate Johnathan Aitken’s stick.

Unless they repeat as Calder Cup champions, the gore on the ice that night will be the signature moment of the P-Bruins’ season.

“We were going to sandwich (the defenseman), we were going to knock him off the puck,” said Downey, who crashed together with Aitken and sustained a horrific injury. He thought he had a painful charley horse until blood began squirting out of his leg onto the ice.

“I was going towards Aitken and he wasn’t moving,” Mulligan recalled. “As I maybe got to the faceoff circle I saw this streak of blood… I tried to go underneath (Downey’s hockey pants), I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. I went to his main artery in the groin area and our doctor (Jack Bevivino) came out there. He used his belt as a tourniquet.”

“‘m fortunate that the great doctor in the stands, Jack Bevivino, did what he did,” Downey said. “I’m just fortunate there’s great help here, that’s for sure.”

“Seventy-plus players in and out of the line-up, plus Tommy’s had his hands full all year. We broke the transactions record this year.”

An athletic trainer in the AHL earns anywhere between $25,000 and $40,000 and from $40,000 and $110,000 in the NHL, depending on experience and on which end of the organization is signing the paychecks. Mulligan is signed with Providence.

He hopes in the future for a healthier squad and the lighter schedule that comes with it.

In the meantime, his fianc?e Kellie Charbonneau has been patient. She wasn’t a hockey fan when they met.

“She is now,” Mulligan said. “She’s unbelievably supportive, she knows I love this.”