Not the one he takes to the mound to remove a pitcher. And certainly not the walk known by scorekeepers as a “base-on-balls.”
But he does his best thinking while on the move, and he’s had a lot to think about this summer.
“I’m walking the outfield,” Checketts announced upon answering my call to his cell phone last week. “I usually walk to the beach, but my son is here, hitting in the cage.
“Otherwise, I’d be walking from campus to Campus Point right now.”
That’s a good thing, considering his roster for next season keeps shifting on the two tectonic plates of college baseball: the NCAA transfer portal and next Sunday’s start of the Major League Baseball draft.
Andrew Checketts has guided UCSB to the NCAA Baseball Regionals seven times during his 14 seasons as head coach. Credit: UCSB Athletics photo
Hudson Barrett, his Freshman All-America pitcher from 2023, has submitted his name for both after participating in last month’s MLB draft combine.
Gaucho commit C.J. Hughes, a shortstop who batted .466 last spring for Gardena’s Junipero Serra High School, also showcased his skills to the big-league scouts in the Phoenix event. Baseball America ranks him at No. 214 in the list of draft prospects.
Checketts’ best pitcher, junior Tyler Bremner, has all but departed to the pros after MLB.com projected him as one of the draft’s first 15 picks.
Checketts must also prepare for the possibility of losing his starting catcher.
“There’s a chance somebody could sign Nate Vargas,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s even going to happen, but we have to hedge our bets a little bit and get a third catcher.
“We’re on the hunt for that right now.
“We have a high school guy coming in (Braden Watson of Peoria, Arizona’s Liberty High), but he had shoulder surgery last year. He can hit, we’re just not sure where he’s at, arm-wise.”
Although the transfer portal creates just as much uncertainty, it’s already given a boost to the Gauchos’ offense.
They’ve received commitments from a pair all-league veterans: outfielder Mitch Namie, who led New Mexico State with a .340 batting average and 46 RBI last spring, and infielder Nick Hosovsky, who hit .336 with 10 home runs and a team-best 59 RBI for Ball State.
Video Game
Checketts is also approaching an ever-changing landscape that includes both UCSB’s infrastructure and the regulatory structure of college baseball itself.
The former laid before him as he walked from one foul pole to another during the Noozhawk interview.
A crew was busy dismantling the old-school scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. It will soon be replaced by a state-of-the-art, 60-by-35 foot video board beyond right-centerfield.
“It will be a significant addition,” Checketts said. “I think Oregon has the biggest one on the West Coast, and this one is the same size, or its height might even be a little more.
“Hopefully, it will cover some of that electrical building in right-center. It’s a pretty view except that part of it.
“A tree beyond the fence fell over during the storms, so it’s wide open and you’re now left staring at that building.”
A temporary video board was installed beyond the right-centerfield fence when UCSB hosted the NCAA Baseball Regionals in 2024. A larger, state-of-the-art video board will be erected in the same area this summer. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
The summer makeover will include new padding around the outfield fence.
It adds to the $2.8 million turf and drainage system installed in 2024 and the $1.6 million project that added lights to the stadium in 2020.
“That one was a little more athletics-based and casual in terms of the long-range master plan, and used more for talking points and fund raising,” Checketts said. “The $15 million won’t do everything that we want for baseball and softball, obviously, but we want to know exactly where that’s starting.
“I know where I want it to be, but we have to have everybody on board for that.”
He expects the project will include additional seating as well as permanent restrooms and a concession area that will serve both Uyesaka Stadium and the adjacent softball facility.
She guided the Gauchos to their first NCAA Regional final this spring and now ranks seventh all-time in NCAA Division I coaching victories with a record of 1,382-790-2.
“We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to tie softball into this project, and what we’re doing from a perimeter standpoint for the ballpark,” Checketts said.
“We’d like to include the auxiliary seating beyond the outfield (right field).”
Major Renovation
UCSB recently took the first step in this long walk by contracting with HOK, an architectural firm that has designed several other university projects.
Earlier this week, Kevin Cannon, Uyesaka Stadium’s director of facilities, sent Checketts some photos of the field that were taken more than a dozen years ago.
“He told me, ‘These just popped up on my memory feed,’ and I was like, ‘OK, we have made progress,’” Checketts said. “It was bad until about 2015, 2016.
“The field looks great right now, so I feel pretty good about that, and we’ve still got the outfield pad project and video board coming in.
“We’re chipping away … And, hopefully, in 12 months, we’ll have something bigger going.”
UCSB baseball coach Andrew Checketts had son William by his side as the Gauchos warmed up at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for their 2024 NCAA Regional opener against Fresno State. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
Last month’s House vs. NCAA anti-trust settlement, which allows colleges to directly pay their athletes, has also necessitated some revised planning at UCSB.
“College baseball went from 12 to 34 scholarships when that House settlement passed, and there are teams that are going to 34 … or at least going there incrementally,” Checketts said.
“We’re in a position where we’re fundraising to fill that gap so we don’t fall behind.”
Coastal Carolina, a midmajor sports program like UCSB, upset its way to the 2016 College World Series title during its first trip to the Omaha championship. The Gauchos made their CWS debut that same season.
“I think they’re a good model for us,” Checketts said. “They’re at 34 scholarships now plus revenue sharing (with its players).
“They built a $16 million stadium the year before they went to the World Series that first time.
“They’ve invested in baseball, and we’ve got to bridge that gap. We need to cut down some of that distance, and we’re doing that.”
Adding scholarships, he said, would help “level the playing field.”
He just wishes the pace of progress could match his own brisk gait. It’s taken time for his Gauchos to reach this point.
That hit home when Checketts heard the crack of ball meeting bat as he arrived at Uyesaka Stadium’s right-field corner.
Son William, fresh off his summer season with the Dos Pueblos Little League’s 14U All-Stars, was taking his cuts in the batting facility named after Dad’s predecessor, Bob Brontsema.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech was back in the national spotlight Tuesday ahead of its first appearance in the Capital One Orange Bowl, meeting with media who have arrived in Miami Gardens from across the country.
The 45-minute media session was an opportunity for many of the Red Raiders to see Hard Rock Stadium for the first time ahead of Thursday’s 11 a.m. CT kick in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Oregon. The Ducks followed later in the day to close out the Media Day portion of the Orange Bowl festivities.
The Red Raiders previously held a nearly hour-long walkthrough practice earlier in the morning on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. It was one of two practices the Red Raiders will have in Florida ahead of the Orange Bowl as Texas Tech will go through its typical “Fast Friday” workout Wednesday morning similar to its schedule during the regular season.
Below is coverage of the Red Raiders from Media Days as well as behind-the-scenes footage from our TexasTech+ cameras.
RED RAIDERS IN THE NEWS
Dec. 30, 2025 – “We found our guy:” Texas Tech’s gamble on HS legend pays off (ESPN.com)
Dec. 30, 2025 – ‘It’s like euphoria’: How Jacob Rodriguez mastered the art of the punch-out fumble (CBSSports.com)
Dec. 30, 2025 – How Skyler Gill-Howard remains one of Texas Tech’s best leaders while injured (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Dec. 30, 2025 – Behren Morton and the journey that shaped him (Dave Campbell’s Texas Football)
Dec. 30, 2025 – Caleb Douglas back in Florida, excelling with Texas Tech (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Dec. 30, 2025 – Why former Texas star is backing Texas Tech in CFP (Houston Chronicle)
Dec. 30, 2025 – How Bryce Ramirez turned a walk-on opportunity into a Texas Tech legacy (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Dec. 30, 2025 – Which Texas Tech team is better – 2008 or 2025? (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Dec. 29, 2025 – Behren Morton carries name for two families (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Dec. 29, 2025 – Big time boosters transformed Texas Tech, but that’s not all it took to reach CFP (The Athletic)
Dec. 29, 2025 – Ben Roberts and the making of a Red Raider Dynasty (Dave Campbell’s Texas Football)
Dec. 29, 2025 – Can Texas Tech’s Cody Campbell fix college sports? (ESPN.com)
Iowa State finished the 2025 campaign with a winning record (8–4 overall, 5–4 in the Big 12), highlighted by a five-game win streak to start the season, but an uneven finish set the stage for major staff turnover.
On December 8, head coach Matt Campbell was officially named Penn State’s head coach, departing Ames after 10 seasons as the program’s winningest coach (72–55 overall).
Iowa State moved quickly, naming Jimmy Rogers as head coach on December 6.
Rogers comes from Washington State, where he led the team to a 6–6 record in the 2025 season, and previously held assistant and defensive coordinator roles at South Dakota State and Florida Atlantic.
Since the coaching change, multiple Cyclones have entered the transfer portal, most recently wide receiver Chase Sowell on Monday.
He becomes the 41st player from Iowa State to enter the portal and the 16th starter, according to analyst Josh Pate.
NEW: Iowa State WR Chase Sowell plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Sowell totaled 500 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns this season.https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/pvDDRTrDHy
Sowell was Iowa State’s second-leading receiver in 2025, tallying 32 catches for 500 yards and two touchdowns, after spending two seasons at East Carolina (2023–2024) and one at Colorado (2022).
Since Campbell’s departure, several other high-impact players have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal, including starters QB Rocco Becht, RB Carson Hansen, TE Ben Brahmer, and WR Brett Eskildsen, as well as multiple defensive backs and linemen.
As Pate noted on his podcast, top cornerbacks Jontez Williams and Jeremiah Cooper have also announced their intention to enter the transfer portal and are currently ranked sixth and seventh among available players.
Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht (3) passes during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys | William Purnell-Imagn Images
The departures remove several established starters and depth, including the starting QB, lead rusher, lead receiver, and multiple starters on both sides of the ball, creating an urgent rebuild task for Rogers and his new staff.
Practically, that means accelerated recruiting/portal work, accelerated opportunity for younger players, and a likely short-term performance reset.
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has been trying for years now to get more regulations around name, image and likeness (NIL) deals in college sports, saying back in 2023 that the landscape was “in peril.”
Now, in 2025, Cruz sees college football specifically as a “disaster.”
Cruz responded to a post on X, which called the “current college football landscape…unsustainable.”
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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives to a hearing in the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The Federal Aviation Administration hearing with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation focused on evaluating progress, ensuring accountability and results.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
The post pointed out that the Iowa State Cyclones, who just lost longtime head coach Matt Campbell to the vacant Penn State Nittany Lions job, only has 17 players remaining on their roster for next season. Among those players, only one was a starter.
Essentially, the Cyclones will have to field an entirely new roster and team and hope they can jell heading into 2026.
SCORE ACT RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM OVER 20 CONSERVATIVE GROUPS AS NIL REFORM FIGHT REVS UP
Cruz slammed the fact the NCAA allows this.
“An absolute crisis,” he wrote on X. “Congress NEEDS to act. For months, I’ve been working night & day to try to bring Republicans and Democrats together to save college sports.
“If we fail to do so, it will be an utter tragedy. And it’s happening right before our eyes.”
Cruz introduced a bill in 2023, two years after NIL was born, in hopes that tighter regulations would help college sports nationwide. Instead, we’ve seen programs paying for top players through NIL deals, while the transfer portal has allowed players to move from school to school each year.
Cruz is one of the top lawmakers in support of the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, which would give the NCAA a limited antitrust exemption in hopes of protecting the organization from potential lawsuits over eligibility rules and would prohibit athletes from becoming employees of their schools.”
FILE – Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)
“The SCORE Act is the free market, individual liberty, limited government fix to the ‘name, image, and likeness (NIL)’ issue in college athletics,’” a letter addressed to House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., read earlier this month.
The groups in favor of the SCORE Act said the bill is the “common-sense way” to establish rules and preempt confusing state laws in the NIL era.
“H.R. 4312 prohibits trial lawyers from suing under federal or state antitrust law. It also provides that athletes receiving NIL compensation need not be employees of these universities, protecting them from compulsory unionization. This means student-athletes can be treated as small business owners, not unionized workers,” the letter added.
The conservative groups framed the SCORE Act as being a better plan than the “Student Athlete Fairness and Enforcement (SAFE) Act,” which has mostly been backed by Democrats. The SCORE Act has at least scored some bipartisanship support in the House.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) holds a press conference with families who lost loved ones in the January 29, 2025, DCA plane crash on Dec. 15, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The bipartisan press conference addressed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) language, which changes military airspace policy.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
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The SCORE Act also calls on schools to share revenue, per terms of the House settlement to the tune of 22% “if such rules provide that such pool limit is AT LEAST 22 percent of the average annual college sports revenue of the 70 highest-earning schools.”
Finally, the SCORE Act prohibits schools from using student fees to fund NIL payments.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
Texas football HC Steve Sarkisian details crazy state of NIL, transfer portal appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Even big programs like Texas struggle to keep up with the current state of NIL and the college football transfer portal. After five years with the Longhorns, head coach Steve Sarkisian admits he sometimes struggles to stay up to date.
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Sarkisian, who is now in his third decade as a head coach, leads one of the most-funded organizations in college football at Texas. He still recognizes that there is often a “bottom dollar” that he cannot reach, which can often complicate his offseasons.
“We got to have our list of needs, our list of wants, and our list of luxuries, and then what’s the dollar sign next to all that?” Sarkisian told reporters ahead of the 2025 Citrus Bowl. “And then what’s the bottom dollar from an organizational standpoint. The idea that I can sit up here in 2025 and talk about money and players, it’s pretty crazy. I’m probably going to be on the phone with an agent today that’s gonna throw a number at me that I’m going to be like, ‘Good luck. I hope you get it. If you don’t, call us back, but I can’t do that number.’”
NCAA programs are hit hardest in the offseason, when every player essentially becomes a free agent. The college transfer portal is particularly active in football, with schools rostering more athletes on the gridiron than any other sport.
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That process has already hit Sarkisian and Texas hard in the 2025-2026 offseason. The Longhorns have already lost several key players to the portal, namely leading rusher Quintrevion Wisner.
Texas is also currently responsible for the highest-paid NIL athlete in college sports, with quarterback Arch Manning making an estimated $5.3 million in 2025-2026. Manning is reportedly taking a pay cut to remain in Austin for his redshirt junior season, but he is still set to make a pretty penny in 2026-2027.
Related: Ole Miss football rumors: Officials allege tampering with Lane Kiffin, 6 assistants going to LSU
Related: Penn State RB Kaytron Allen declares for NFL Draft
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas athletic department’s evolving investment in the name, image and likeness realm is expanding on the cusp of the new year.
The Razorbacks announced Tuesday a new partnership with TheLinkU, which the department hopes will facilitate and streamline operations in the NIL space beyond the school’s revenue-sharing commitment with its roster of athletes.
The announcement came about 2 1/2 months after Arkansas ended its relationship with Blueprint Sports. That move was an outgrowth from the House v. NCAA settlement that allowed participating schools to dole out about $21.5 million per year to athletes through revenue sharing. Arkansas assumed all NIL agreements July 1 following the settlement.
According to a UA release on the partnership with TheLinkU, the agreement “will power the NIL efforts of the Arkansas Front Office to generate legitimate above-the-cap revenue for Arkansas athletes.”
The UA also announced in a release that TheLinkU platform will provide “immediate opportunities for local businesses, brands and donors to engage Arkansas Athletics to partner with athletes” in multiple ways.
“Our partnership with TheLinkU makes us better in a number of ways very quickly,” UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “This helps our student-athletes with legitimate NIL opportunities — both locally and nationally — while also giving our fans and donors the opportunity to easily support our teams or specific athletes.”
TheLinkU was started in 2022 by a group including former University of Houston quarterback Austin Elrod, who is the company’s chief executive officer.
According to the UA release, TheLinkU provides a portfolio of more than 30 national brands and businesses in the realm of technology, finance, apparel and consumer goods.
The outfit also is expected to “simplify the process of working with athletes to promote their businesses,” according to the release.
“We are incredibly excited to partner with Arkansas Athletics to build upon the momentum surrounding Razorback student-athletes,” Elrod said in a statement. “Arkansas possesses all the necessary elements to be elite in the NIL era: a passionate fan base, a powerful statewide brand and a connection to some of the world’s most successful businesses.
“Our NIL Ecosystem, led by our national partnership network, brings significant revenue opportunities that benefit student-athletes while providing alumni, fans and business leaders with meaningful ways to participate in the success of the program. Throughout this partnership, we will bring a relentless work ethic that focuses on adding real value to the Razorback network and community.”
Texas Longhorns head football coach Steve Sarkisian still has one more game to play in his 2025 season, but like every other program in the country, he has to recruit for 2026 and beyond at the same time.
That process has obviously changed now across all college athletics after the introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, which has turned recruiting into a financial game.
But one of the many holes in the system, at least in the eyes of Sarkisian, is the lack of regulation surrounding the agents these athletes hire to negotiate those NIL deals before heading off to school.
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Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns holds Horns Up as he walks into the stadium before the SEC football game between Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 28, 2025, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX.(David Buono/Icon Sportswire)
Before the Longhorns take on the Michigan Wolverines in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, Sarkisian discussed that aspect of recruitment, suggesting some of the agents are not even qualified to be negotiating deals that could be millions.
“Which agent are you dealing with? There’s some agents who are rational and then there’s some where it’s their first time ever being an agent,” Sarkisian told reporters, per OnTexasFootball. “I don’t even know if they’re licensed to be agents, and all of a sudden, they get to be agents because we have no certification process in college football, where the NFL you have to be certified. In college football, it might be their college roommate their freshman year who’s their agent right now.”
Sarkisian was asked about what Texas is looking to do this offseason to replace some key players, including running back Quintrevion Wisner, who entered the transfer portal. Wisner made the announcement of the move this past Friday, joining CJ Baxter and Rickey Stewart Jr. as Texas running back transfers.
While Sarkisian explained how the team needs other be strategic, identifying what they need versus what they want, as well as looking at the “luxuries” they have on the roster, he also made sure to mention the high school recruiting class for 2026 that needs to be looked at.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns speaks during SEC Football Media Days at Omni Dallas Hotel on July 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Either way, Texas continues to peruse the transfer portal, and Sarkisian knows he’s going to have to continue having phone conversations with “agents” moving forward.
“Again, I think there’s nothing wrong with that,” Sarkisian said after reflecting on how financials have come into play when it comes to building a college roster. “We’ve just got to tighten it up. Hopefully, we can get there sooner rather than later, because again, I’m probably going to be on the phone with an agent today who’s going to throw a number at me that I’m going to be like, ‘Good luck, I hope you get it. If you don’t, call us back. But I can’t do that number.’”
Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns on the field prior to a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 22, 2025 in Austin, Texas.(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
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Unlike other lower-level programs, the University of Texas has some tremendous NIL funds to work with. In fact, the highest-paid NIL athlete in college football is their quarterback, Arch Manning, who will remain with the squad heading into 2026. He’s hoping to finish strong in his first bowl game start on New Year’s Eve.
Texas led the way with a massive NIL budget for the 2025 season, ranking higher than any team in college football at $22.2 million, according to 247 Sports.
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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
