High School Sports
Louisville basketball signee, Pat Kelsey target take McDonald's All
Louisville basketball fans should tune into the McDonald’s All-American Game at 9 p.m. Tuesday for a couple of reasons.The first: a chance to watch point guard signee Mikel Brown Jr., who is the 29th Cardinals player to earn the honor.The second: five-star forward Nate Ament plans to play, and U of L is among the […]
Louisville basketball fans should tune into the McDonald’s All-American Game at 9 p.m. Tuesday for a couple of reasons.The first: a chance to watch point guard signee Mikel Brown Jr., who is the 29th Cardinals player to earn the honor.The second: five-star forward Nate Ament plans to play, and U of L is among the finalists for his commitment.It’s been a while since the McDonald’s All-American Game has been appointment viewing for Louisville basketball fans.
Was the top uncommitted player in the 2025 class sending a message that the Cards and Blue Devils are the top contenders in his high-profile recruitment?All that to say: Fanstake is not the end-all, be-all for Ament, who is a brand ambassador for the website. In January, he told 247Sports’ Dushawn London: “The money isn’t a huge factor. I really just want to improve in all aspects of the game; so I’ll go where I can improve and get better.”
With the Cards taking center stage in Brooklyn, here’s a rundown on Brown and Ament — and everything you need to know to watch the McDonald’s All-American Game:
For the first time since 2019, the Cardinals have a player competing in the annual high school showcase; which tips off at 9 p.m. Tuesday inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. We’re talking, of course, about Mikel Brown Jr., a five-star point guard who announced his signing during U of L’s win over North Carolina on New Year’s Day.Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
“I’ve coached some great, great, great (point guards); and I think Mikel is special,” Kelsey said after Brown’s signing announcement in January. “He’s a championship point guard.”This much is for sure, at least: U of L has amassed more money than any other suitor on Fanstake.com for him to pocket if he signs with Kelsey. Here’s a look at where the leaderboard stood as of March 24, eight days before the McDonald’s All-American Game:Brown told Louisville Sports Live that his senior season was cut short by an injury. He did not offer details on what was ailing him but said he was “100% ready to go” for the All-American game.
A 6-3 product of DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, Brown is Louisville’s 29th McDonald’s All-American and the first since Samuell Williamson in 2019. In February, ESPN tabbed him as a lottery pick in its first 2026 NBA Draft projections.
Can he live up to the hype when he arrives on campus May 27? How he fares Tuesday on a loaded West roster, featuring the No. 1 overall player in the 2025 cycle, AJ Dybantsa (BYU), and top combo guard, Darryn Peterson (Kansas), will be a good barometer.
- Louisville ($86,747)
- Kentucky ($48,810)
- Duke ($25,840)
- Tennessee ($6,050)
Per InsideNoVa.com, Ament averaged 18.9 points, 10 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks as a senior, while helping lead Highland School to its first VISAA Division I state championship. He was named the Gatorade Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year.Ament’s fifth finalist, Arkansas, came in eighth with ,485.
File this among the stack of things coach Pat Kelsey changed during Year 1 on the job.Representing the East, Ament will oppose Brown in the McDonald’s All-American Game. The latter told Louisville Sports Live they’ve discussed playing together in college, though.”Me and him have just dialogue on, ‘How can we make this thing work?’ and, ‘Does it make the best sense?'” Brown said. “But, obviously, as a recruit and as a commit, I’m trying to get it; I’m trying to get the job done. I’m trying my best.”Me and him have had a lot of conversations about it. (We) kept it very low-key; we’re both focused on the task at hand right now — and that’s us getting better.”
“I sit all my accolades to the side; I want to win,” Brown said last week, during an appearance on Louisville Sports Live. “I think (winning) the national championship is the biggest expectation right now.”
High School Sports
High School Scoreboard, results from Tuesday, May 13
Castle Rock Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB. SOFTBALL […]
Castle Rock
Pitching — Jerry Neighbors 6.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 6 BB; Owen Erickson 0.2 IP, 0 R, 1 K, 2 BB; Highlights — Jacob Lafever 1-3, R, 2B, SB; Jack Kerker 1-2, R, RBI; Noxx Worrell 1-3, R; Stuart Teter 1-3; Tristan Honey 1-1, R, RBI, SB.
SOFTBALL
3A GREATER ST. HELENS LEAGUE
Third-place tiebreaker
Heritage 9, Mountain View 3
HERITAGE 9, MOUNTAIN VIEW 3
Heritage 103 301 1—9 13 1
Mt. View 002 010 0—3 6 4
Heritage
Pitching — Jaila Ellis 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 0 BB, win. Highlights — Skyler Jones 2-4, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Jaila Ellis 1-4, 2 runs, 2B, 2 RBI, BB; Kylie Thomas 3-3, 2 runs, RBI, BB; Lillie Stroup 2-3, run, 2B, RBI, BB; Gracie Peterson 2-4, run, 2 RBI; Emma Messing 2-4, 2 RBI; Veronica Ayala 1-4.
Mountain View
Pitching — Peyton Lalande 7 IP, , 4 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, loss. Highlights — Izzi West 2-4, 2 runs, 2B; Peytonb Lalande 3-3, run, 2 RBI; Amaya Paschal 1-3.
2A DISTRICT PLAY-IN GAMES
Tuesday’s Games
Black Hills 14, R.A. Long 0
W.F. West 21, Hockinson 0
W.F. WEST 21, HOCKINSON 0
Hockinson 000 00 —-0 2 6
WF West 700 (14)x —21 7 0
Hockinson
Highlights — Samantha McDonald 1-2; Cassidy Barrows 1-2.
BLACK HILLS 14, R.A. LONG 2
Black Hills 126 05 —14 8 2
RA Long 000 20 —2 2 7
R.A. Long
Highlights — Stevie Jones 1-2, run, 3B, RBI; Kace Prindle 1-2.
BOYS SOCCER
4A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Sumner HS
Union 5, Puyallup 4, OT
Tahoma 6, Olympia 0
Loser-out
Sumner 2, Auburn Riverside 1
Camas 3, Mount Rainier 0
Kentridge 2, Emerald Ridge 0
Curtis 1, Stadium 0
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Union vs. Tahoma, 7:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches
At Art Crate Field, Spanaway
Camas vs. Sumner, 5:30 p.m.
Kentridge vs. Curtis, 7:30 p.m.
3A BI-DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Central Kitsap 1, Bellarmine Prep 0
Heritage 1, Silas 0
Loser-out
Kent Meridian 2, Federal Way 1
Auburn Mountainview 5, Decatur 1
Gig Harbor 5, Enumclaw 1
Mountain View 3, White River 1
Thursday’s matches
Championship
Heritage vs. Central Kitsap, 5:30 p.m. at Federal Way Memorial Stadium
Winner-to-state matches at Auburn HS
Kent Meridian vs. Auburn Mountain View, 5:30 p.m.
Gig Harbor vs. Mountain View, 7:30 p.m.
2A DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s matches
Semifinals
W.F. West 2, Tumwater 1
Columbia River 3, R.A. Long 1
Loser-out matches
Hockinson 6, Hudson’s Bay 1
Ridgefield 4, Aberdeen 3, OT-PKs
Thursday’s matches
Championship
W.F. West at Columbia River, 6 p.m.
Winner-to-state games
R.A. Long at Hockinson, 6 p.m.
Ridgefield at Tumwater, 5:30 p.m.
COLUMBIA RIVER 3, R.A. LONG 1
Columbia River
Goals (assists) — Beckham Young (JP Guzman), Tyler Brown (Johnny Avalos), Brown (Mason Renner). Goalkeeper saves: Eli Smith, 3
High School Sports
HIGHLIGHTS
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece. Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the […]
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Western Hockey League Championship series returned to Spokane for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday, as the Chiefs hosted the Medicine Hat Tigers for Game 3 with the series tied at one apiece.
Chiefs head coach Brad Lauer said his team would be ready to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this series, but Spokane looked anything but prepared.
The Tigers came out aggressive, even without WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna, who took warmups but left the ice early and was scratched from the lineup.
With about eight minutes left in the first, Medicine Hat killed off a Chiefs power play and immediately capitalized, beating Dawson Cowan with a laser from the dot.
Riding that momentum, the Tigers tacked on another goal with less than two minutes remaining in the period as Hunter St. Martin found the back of the net.
After one, the Chiefs were outshot 15-5 in a frame where they struggled to establish anything in the offensive zone.
The second period brought more of the same. Just 93 seconds in, Kadon McCann buried a wraparound to make it 3-0. Spokane didn’t register a shot on goal until 11:45 remained in the period, as Medicine Hat’s defense clamped down and their offense kept pushing.
Liam Ruck extended the lead to 4-0 before the intermission. By the end of the second, the Chiefs had managed just eight shots to the Tigers’ 17, with the total reaching 32-13 in favor of the visitors.
Cowan was replaced by backup Carter Esler to start the third, but the change did little to stem the tide. Esler surrendered the second shot he faced, giving the Tigers a 5-0 advantage just 30 seconds into the period.
Medicine Hat defender Bryce Pickford added another midway through the third — his sixth goal in as many games — sealing a 6-0 shutout. It was Spokane’s first scoreless outing since Oct. 28, 2024, and first at home since Nov. 29, 2023.
“To be pretty honest, we weren’t very good as a group,” Lauer said. “It’s one of those things. I thought Medicine Hat had probably their best game so far in the series. I thought they came and had a lot of jump and were skating. You know, for us, we were on our heels.”
Spokane showed a bit more urgency in the final frame, firing 15 shots, but still couldn’t solve Tigers goalie Ethan McCallum. The Chiefs finished with 28 shots to Medicine Hat’s 45.
“We haven’t given up that many shots or had that less of shot all year, I don’t think,” Lauer said. “It’s 11 shots after two periods. We weren’t playing as a group. It was all individual hockey. A lot of stuff that was uncharacteristic of us as a group tonight. For some reason, I don’t know why. We’ll dissect it here tonight and tomorrow morning to figure things out and make sure we’re ready tomorrow.”
The WHL doesn’t keep track of time of possession in the offensive zone, but if it did, it wouldn’t have looked good for the Chiefs, who struggled mightily to get anything going on offense with several turnovers in the o-zone and sloppy play most of the night.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t know what, as a coach, you don’t know what to put your finger on, what it was, or what it is, but you gotta have a short memory,” Lauer said.
“I think we know that we weren’t very good as a group, especially coming back to home ice. You thought you have an opportunity to take advantage of the team, but you know, it’s one of those things. That’s why you’ve got to play the game. It doesn’t happen automatically and we’ve got to learn from tonight.”
There’s little time for the Chiefs to dwell on the loss, with Game 4 set for Wednesday at Spokane Arena. The Tigers will look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, while Spokane aims to even the series.
“We get to come back tomorrow, so that’s the beauty of playoff hockey, and that’s what we’re looking at it,” Chiefs captain Berkly Catton said. “Learning from tonight, but also flushing it and coming out ready to play tomorrow.”
“Brad and Berks kind of said it, I think a big thing for us is just have a short memory,” a Chiefs left winger added. “That’s all we can really do. Learn from our mistakes tonight and just be eager to have a better start tomorrow.”
Puck drop for Game 4 of the WHL Final is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Spokane Arena.
As for McKenna’s status, Medicine Hat head coach Willie Desjardins wasn’t optimistic following the game.
“I’m not gonna talk about what the injury was. He was out,” Desjardins said. “I thought he might be able to go but just wasn’t tonight and the nice thing for us is he’s been such a big part of our team all year, it was really nice to rally behind and get one for him because he’s gotten quite a few for us. The boys are playing for him.”
You learned about it on SWX.
You learned about it on SWX.
| April 27, 2025
(via @noseyone4/X)
