It’s T-minus three days until the 2024-25 Massachusetts high school sports season ramps up — with apologies to the golfers who have been teeing off a week already — so before we get too consumed with games, let’s look back on the biggest news of the last two weeks.
Pro tip: Over the long weekend catch up on our previews before Tuesday, when games begin in earnest:
Cross-Country: Feature | Top 20 | Runners to Watch
Girls’ volleyball: Feature | Top 20 | Players to Watch
Girls’ soccer: Feature | Top 20 | Players to Watch
Boys’ soccer: Feature | Top 20 | Players to Watch
Field hockey: Feature | Top 20 | Players to Watch
Football: Storylines | Top 20 | Postcards from practice
And if you read one more thing this week, make it Matt Porter’s deep, deep dive into the history of White Stadium.
1. In the pros
Former Catholic Central star Cam Devanney has been recalled by the Pirates and joined the team ahead of Saturday’s game against the Red Sox in Boston.
Devanney, a 28-year-old shortstop, had been called up by the Royals earlier this season, but never got in a game. He was traded to Pittsburgh in July for veteran Adam Frazier.
Cam Devanney, the infielder acquired in the Adam Frazier trade, will join the Pirates in Boston today, per source.
Devanney hit .266 with an .846 OPS and 20 home runs in 103 games between Class AAA Omaha and Indianapolis. https://t.co/uVD2cz5J3c
— José Negron (@JNegronPGH) August 30, 2025
Devanney was a Globe All-Scholastics selection at Central Catholic, where he was named a Merrimack Valley Conference MVP in 2013 and 2015.
He went on to play at Elon and was drafted in the 15th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Brewers. This season he’s hit .266/.353/.493 in 103 games at Triple A with 20 home runs, 66 RBIS, and 52 runs scored.
▪ Milton Academy graduate and Boston native Kalel Mullings, a former Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, made the Titans’ 53-man roster. The 6-foot-2-inch, 226-pound rookie running back out of Michigan was selected in the sixth round of the NFL Draft after running for 948 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final season in Ann Arbor.
Congrats to @kalelmullings for making the @Titans!! Our football program and Milton Academy community could not be prouder! Good luck on Sundays! pic.twitter.com/cVf0XehXFo
— Scott Prince (@ScottyPrince10) August 28, 2025
▪ Lexington graduate and former Boston College star Sal Frelick was honored with the Brewers’ MLB Players Association Heart and Hustle award. The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .293 with 10 home runs and 18 steals in 119 games.
The epitome of heart and hustle
Congrats to @SalFrelick, our 2025 MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award winner! pic.twitter.com/RQg5ImScFf
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 27, 2025
▪ Roxbury native and former Melrose star Shey Peddy, who previously played for the WNBA’s Sparks, Mercury, and Mystics, signed a seven-day hardship contract to play for the Indiana Fever.
we have signed Shey Peddy to a second 7-day hardship contract. pic.twitter.com/6xpVn07zG0
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) August 26, 2025
2. Commitment central
Duxbury senior first baseman/outfielder Gavin Wallace announced he will play baseball at UMass Boston . . . Marshfield senior infielder Cole Summers is commited to play baseball at Assumption . . . Rivers junior Devin Constantino, an infielder from Needham, plans to continue his baseball career at Yale . . . Winchendon senior Charlie Puglisi committed to play men’s hockey at Cornell . . . Pembroke senior Mikey Shanley announced he will play men’s lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire. . . . Notre Dame (Hingham) senior Elle Orlando, a Westwood resident, will play women’s basketball at Bentley, where she will join her older sister, Ava, a current freshman . . . Dexter Southfield graduate Izzy Adams, who previously played at Walpole, signed her letter of commitment to play women’s basketball at Bryant . . . St. John’s Prep senior Joe Irzyk, a 6-foot-1-inch, 250-pound offensive lineman, plans to play football at Bates . . . Medfield senior Kendall Larkin, the reigning Tri-Valley League girls’ volleyball MVP, will play at Assumption . . . Xaverian golfer Thomas Constantine commited to play at Bryant . . . Triton graduate Laura Zahornasky made the University of New England women’s volleyball team as a walk-on . . . Basketball player Derian Osuna, a 6-foot guard, will transfer from Notre Dame Cristo Rey to Lowell Catholic for his junior year.
3. College corner
Central Catholic graduate Nick Mazzie made his first field goal for Eastern Carolina, drilling it from 34 yards out in a 24-17 season-opening loss to NC State. The graduate student previously spent three seasons at New Hampshire, making 76.8 percent (43 of 56) of his field goals . . . Danvers graduate Georgia Prouty was named Patriot League midfielder of the week after scoring her first collegiate goal in her first game for Boston University . . . BB&N graduate Maeve Theoboald, a first-year Dartmouth forward from Milton, was named Ivy League co-offensive player of the week after scoring three goals in her first two games for the Big Green . . . Lesley sophomore Korrine Hall-Johnson, from Milton, was named to the North Atlantic Conference women’s volleyball preseason players to watch list.
4. Coaching carousel
▪ Marblehead hired former Merrimack College hockey captain Brendan Locke as its new boys’ hockey coach. Locke served as an assistant with the Headers from 2014-18 and has coached at the middle school and youth levels. He was selected in the 1991 NHL supplemental draft by the Flyers . . . Jay Monfreda has been tabbed as the new boys’ hockey coach at Auburn.
▪ Peabody girls’ hockey coach Michelle Roach is leaving to take over the program at Arlington Catholic. Roach led Peabody to a 139-53-13 record and five Northeastern Conference titles, including back-to-back in 2024-25. A former standout at St. Mary’s, she went on to play at St. Michael’s.
▪ Former Catholic Memorial and Oliver Ames coach Ben Devlin takes over the Stonehill men’s lacrosse program and announces Brian Donovan, who played at BC High, will stay on as offensive coordinator, and Steve Keohane, who previously coached at OA, will stay on as goalie coach. Stonehill competes in the Continental Lacrosse Conference as part of the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association”
▪ Former Boston Collegiate Charter School softball coach Antonia Peretti has been hired to helm the Vermont State program. Peretti was named 2025 Massachusetts Charter School Athletic Organization Coach of the Year after leading her team to the title last spring. She also served as JV coach at Franklin.
5. Field hockey futures
Charlotte De Schepper of Acton, Regan Driscoll of Watertown, Elise Lakin-Schultz of Belmont, and Kendall Gilmore and Julia Brynn Okengquist of Uxbridge have been invited to the U-18 Women’s National Field Hockey Team selection camp, which takes place Dec. 5-7 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Mary Adams of Andover, Maren Boyle of Scituate, Lindsey Brown of Boylston, Addison Jay of Burlington, Kathyrn Gauvin of Fall River, Madison Funk of Duxbury, Ava Porter of Somerset, and Ellie and Lucy Parker of Andover will take part in the U-21 selection camp, while Ava Rosborough of Uxbridge has been invited to the U-16 selection camp.
6. Hall of Famers
The Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association will be holding two events this fall, a coaches clinic on Oct. 19 and its Hall of Fame Banquet on Nov. 23.
The coaches clinic, held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Franklin High, will feature Bentley women’s coach C White, Assumption men’s coach Scott Faucher, Northeastern men’s coach Bill Coen, and Boston University men’s coach Joe Jones.
The 2025 induction class will be presented Nov. 23 at the Hogan Center on the Holy Cross campus. Hopkinton’s Dick Bliss, Newton North’s Paul Connolly, and Watertown’s Steve Harrington will be inducted.
In addition the 2025 Coaches of the Year will be honored. They are: Connolly, Central Catholic’s Mark Dunham, Attleboro’s Mark Houle, Natick’s Oryx Cohen, Westford’s Russell Coward, Wachusett’s Jim Oxford, North Quincy’s Kevin Barrett, Tewksbury’s Steve Boudreau, Oliver Ames’s Eric MacKinnon, Westwood’s Katherine Clifford, North Quincy’s Liana Cunningham, Minnechoag’s Ryan Minns, Salem’s Tom Doyle, Wilmington’s Anthony Faradie, Norwell’s John Wilis, Foxborough’s Lisa Downs, Fontbonne’s Clare Murphy, Old Rochester’s Rick Regan, Ayer-Shirley’s Rick Kilpatrick, Clinton’s Steve Manguso, Cohasset’s Bo Ruggiero, Blue Hills’s Nicole Flynn, Uxbridge’s John Gniadek, Millbury’s Steve Reno, Westport’s Scot Boudria, Hopedale’s Tony Cordani, Hoosac Valley’s Jon Frederick, Maynard’s Kristyn Howes, and Douglas’s Ralph Quinn.
Hopedale’s Roland Arcand, Hoosac Valley’s Kailynne Frederick, and Wachusett’s Katherine McDonald were named assistant coaches of the year.
7. Free baseball clinics
The other MBCA, the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association, will be holding four free clinics for high school players to learn from some of the state’s top coaches.
Clinics will be held Sept. 6 at BC High (3-5 p.m.), Sept. 20 at McLaughlin Field in Leominster (10 a.m. to noon), Oct. 4 at Franklin High (10 a.m. to noon), and Oct. 18 at Tewksbury High (10 a.m. to noon).
MBCA launches Fall Fundamentals – an incredible opportunity for players to learn from some of the best coaches in MA!
Four clinics.
Four different locations.
Clinic sessions are FREE!Coaches are welcome to attend!!
To register: https://t.co/SuQIbI0c3u
— MBCA (@MassBCA) August 30, 2025
8. Here and there
▪ The Bay State Games awarded $1,000 grants to the athletic programs at Pope Francis, Somerset Berkley, and Agawam for demonstrating support and participation in the Games.
▪ Natick’s Longfellow Tennis Club paid a visit to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on Monday and got to play on a US Open court in front of a crowd.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
