NIL
MCWS 2025: LSU has earned title as college baseball’s premier program
Ryan McGeeJun 22, 2025, 08:12 PM ET Close Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com 2-time Sports Emmy winner 2010, 2014 NMPA Writer of the Year OMAHA, Neb. — On a hair dryer of a Sunday afternoon in the town that every June becomes de facto Baton Rouge North, the LSU Tigers didn’t merely […]

OMAHA, Neb. — On a hair dryer of a Sunday afternoon in the town that every June becomes de facto Baton Rouge North, the LSU Tigers didn’t merely win a Men’s College World Series national championship. Nor was it merely their eighth overall.
The title they really won was that of Greatest Ever College Baseball Program.
“I don’t think there’s anyone here that’s going to argue with you on that,” said designated hitter Ethan Frey, from Rosepine, Louisiana, pointing to the 24,734 decidedly Cajun fans as they sang along to Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge.” “What I know is that when we go to work every day, we do it trying to make the Tigers that came before us proud. Hopefully we have. They built it. We build on that.”
The building where they do that work, Alex Box Stadium, is draped in trophies and artifacts that are all evidence for their best-ever argument. All over the building where they did their work on Sunday, Charles Schwab Field, it is easier to find LSU photos and logos commemorating so many Tigers moments in Omaha than it is to find a hot dog.
“This city feels like home to us,” said former LSU coach Skip Bertman, sitting in a wheelchair on the field, confetti scattered over his shoulders as he shook hands with the players as they came off the stage where they had just received their trophies. He is the man who pulled LSU baseball out of the swamp of irrelevance in the 1980s. “When we come here, we bring a lot of folks from home, but there are also so many people who live here that wear our colors because they grew up watching us play during so many summers. That’s special.”
LSU does not own the record for most national championship rings. That belongs to USC. But none of the Trojans’ dozen championships have come during this century. Their last win was in 1998, and that was their first in 20 years. No one will ever replicate what head coach Rod Dedeaux’s teams did, winning seven of their titles during an 11-year span from 1968 to 1978. But Bertman’s teams won five in 10 years, between 1991 and 2000. Now current head coach Jay Johnson, who has said the best part of the job is his friendship with Bertman, has won two in three seasons.
LSU hasn’t won the most MCWS games. That mark is owned by Texas, with 88 to LSU’s 47, which ranks fifth all time. But the Horns hooked the last of their six national titles a full two decades ago, and their last finals appearance was in 2009. Today’s Texas program is very good. LSU’s is great.
The Tigers own none of the Omaha longevity records, such as that all-time win total or number of appearances made (20, ranked fifth). As the innings wound down on Sunday, the purple and gold crowd that crammed into the shade of the Charles Schwab Field concourse stood beneath a series of massive wall plaques commemorating the teams that have participated in and won every MCWS played in Omaha, beginning in 1950, that line the entire cavernous hallway. The listings, five years at a time, begin down the first-base line and continue all the way around to third. Not until past the halfway point do you see the first LSU logo. And that’s what makes the Tigers’ unparalleled run of college baseball success so, well, unparalleled.
USC made its first appearance in 1948, and Texas made its debut one year later, participants in the last two Series played before the event was moved to Omaha. They have compiled their prodigious numbers over the span of 75-plus summers. LSU didn’t crash the party until 1986. It won its first title five years later.
So, all that the Tigers have accomplished has taken place over a lengthy yet comparatively compressed period of time. And that makes their résumé all the more impressive.
Those 20 Omaha visits, those eight national titles, that 8-1 record in MCWS finals, those 47 MCWS wins, have all happened over the span of 40 years, which have also happened to be the most tumultuous, shift-changing, impossible-to-predict decades when it comes to doing business in any collegiate sport, but especially college baseball.
And we haven’t yet mentioned the conference regular-season and tournament titles — 12 of each — won in the baseball battle royale that is the SEC, a Frankenstein created in a laboratory that LSU helped construct. Oh, and did we tell you that the Tigers have been led to Omaha by four different coaches, three of whom won national titles.
“I think that adaptability is underrated as a key to long-term success, and frankly, when you have had success, it is so much harder to convince yourself to make changes as you go,” said Ben McDonald, the program’s first truly transcendent superstar. The righty led the Tigers to two of their earliest Omaha appearances, and in the midst of the second visit was drafted first overall by the Baltimore Orioles. The next superstar was 2023 MCWS hero hurler Paul Skenes. “You’re thinking, ‘Why would we change what we are doing? What we’ve been doing is working!’ But Jay is the perfect example of a guy who understands how the game works now. How the transfer portal works. How to coach kids of this generation. Just like Skip did.”
There have been challenges. When Bertman retired and became full-time athletic director in 2001, he chose longtime assistant Smoke Laval as his successor. Laval got the team back to Omaha twice but never won a title and failed to make the NCAA tourney field in his last season. Bertman still says that dismissing his friend was the most difficult time of his career. Paul Mainieri made the program an Omaha regular again and won the 2009 national championship, but his era ended with a polite but difficult departure. Johnson, who has been a Division I college head coach since 2014, has deftly navigated the spaghetti pile of roster construction that is the transfer portal/NIL age.
After winning the 2023 MCWS, LSU lost 13 players to pro baseball, an SEC record. Last year there were eight LSU pitchers drafted. The team started this season with a largely new roster, and it took a while to jell, going 19-11 in conference play. It’s largely forgotten now, but the Tigers spent the first round of this NCAA tournament in a wrestling match with regional 4-seed Little Rock.
But when it clicked, it clicked. And LSU won the national title by going 2-0 against a Coastal Carolina team that had won 26 in a row. The same team that suddenly cut LSU’s longtime four-run lead to only two in the closing frames of Sunday’s contest, even after the Chanticleers had lost their head coach to a first-inning ejection.
“They had to make us sweat a little bit, didn’t they?” Bertman, 87, said with a laugh. “But in the end, they added to the legacy. And it sure feels like Jay has them in a position to keep adding to it for a while to come.”
Everything they do now is just more icing on the King Cake. College baseball’s kings. A crown that now feels indisputable.
NIL
Illini Soccer Unveils 2025 Non-Conference Schedule
Story Links CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois soccer head coach Katie Hultin announced the team’s non-conference schedule on Wednesday (July 9) featuring nine matches with three of them at Demirjian Park in her first year at the helm. The Fighting Illini prepare for the regular season with a pair of exhibition matches, […]

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois soccer head coach Katie Hultin announced the team’s non-conference schedule on Wednesday (July 9) featuring nine matches with three of them at Demirjian Park in her first year at the helm.
The Fighting Illini prepare for the regular season with a pair of exhibition matches, the first against Marquette at home on Aug. 7 and the next on the road at IU Indianapolis on Aug. 10.
The Orange and Blue begin the regular season with two road trips. First, a trip up north to Chicago to take on UIC in the season opener on Aug. 14 before they head east to face the Bowling Green Falcons on Aug. 17.
Illinois’ home opener will be on Aug. 25 against Boston College before their three-match road trip beginning with DePaul on Aug. 28, Kentucky on Aug. 31 and ending with Missouri on Sept. 4.
The Illini close out non-conference play with a home match against Valparaiso on Sept. 7.
2025 FIGHTING ILLINI SOCCER NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
All Times Central
Thursday, Aug. 7 – vs. Marquette (Exh.) – 6 PM
Sunday, Aug. 10 – at IU Indy (Exh.) – 1 PM
Thursday, Aug. 14 – at UIC – 6 PM
Sunday, Aug. 17 – at Bowling Green – 1 PM
Monday, Aug. 25 – vs. Boston College – 6 PM
Thursday, Aug. 28 – at DePaul – 4 PM
Sunday, Aug. 31 – at Kentucky – 1 PM
Thursday, Sept. 4 – at Missouri – 7 PM
Sunday, Sept. 7 – at Valparaiso – 1 PM
NIL
These two college football recruiting moves come with massive price tags
The top high school football recruits are demanding lofty Name, Image and Likeness packages as college athletics shifts to the revenue share model following the House settlement. Five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo made headlines on July 4 after committing to Texas Tech, which signed the highly-coveted prospect to a 3-year, $5.1 million deal, believed to […]

The top high school football recruits are demanding lofty Name, Image and Likeness packages as college athletics shifts to the revenue share model following the House settlement.
Five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo made headlines on July 4 after committing to Texas Tech, which signed the highly-coveted prospect to a 3-year, $5.1 million deal, believed to be the largest revenue share deal in history.
That agreement seems to be only the first of its kind, though, as more top recruits have reportedly inked similar deals to Ojo’s.
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, elite wide receivers Boobie Feaster and Calvin Russell Jr. have agreed to multi-million dollar NIL deals after announcing their commitments last week.
Feaster committed to the USC Trojans on July 4 over Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver out of DeSoto, Texas, ranks as the No. 5 wideout in the 2026 class.
Syracuse beat out Michigan, Florida State and Oregon to land Russell (6-foot-6, 190 pounds). A five-star recruit and the No. 4 receiver in the 2026 class, Russell is the third highest-rated commit in Syracuse history.
“The top-50 recruits are rumored to have agreed to multi-year deals valued in the multi-million-dollar range,” Nakos wrote on Wednesday.
NIL collective around the country were looking to reset the high school market to a more sustainable reality. However, that effort has “not held up,” per the report.
“It is 1,000% more difficult to win a recruitment than it was two years ago,” an SEC NIL collective operator said via On3. “Everyone is aware that it’s critical. So many people two years ago thought some elements of this were fake and not as important as it is.”
NIL
The House Settlement: College Athletics Panacea or Pandora’s Box?
On June 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California approved a settlement allowing NCAA schools to pay student-athletes in an agreement now simply known as the House Settlement. The House Settlement directly resolved outstanding antitrust lawsuits arising out the NCAA’s compensation system for the use of a student athlete’s […]

On June 6, 2025, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California approved a settlement allowing NCAA schools to pay student-athletes in an agreement now simply known as the House Settlement. The House Settlement directly resolved outstanding antitrust lawsuits arising out the NCAA’s compensation system for the use of a student athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL) by universities and colleges, namely House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA.
NIL
Culpepper Named to 2025 MLB All-Star Futures Game Roster
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former K-State All-American and Minnesota Twins’ No. 4 prospect Kaelen Culpepper has been selected to play on the American League team in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game. Culpepper, who was taken 21st overall by the Twins in the 2024 MLB Draft, was the organization’s only prospect selected for the event. The 2025 […]

The 2025 All-Star Futures Game will take place on Saturday, July 12 at 3 p.m. CT at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, showcasing some of baseball’s top prospects. The game will air live on MLB Network and will be simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and via the MLB app. Melanie Newman, Yonder Alonso, Jonathan Mayo and Sande Charles will be on the call.
Following a strong start to the season with High-A Cedar Rapids, the 6-foot shortstop was quickly promoted to Double-A Wichita Surge. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Culpepper is slashing .333/.412/.433 with an .845 OPS for Wichita. He went 2-for-4 in his Double-A debut and homered in both his third and fourth games.
In his final season at K-State, Culpepper earned Second Team All-American honors by D1Baseball, capping a standout campaign as one of the Big 12’s top offensive performers. He ranked fifth in RBI (59), sixth in hits (80), and led the league in triples (6). He also recorded 15 doubles and a career-best 11 home runs, while leading the team with a .328 batting average and .574 slugging percentage.
In 2023, Culpepper became the third Wildcat in school history to be selected to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. His .471 average led Team USA, while he totaled two triples, three home runs and seven RBI. He achieved a team-leading .853 slugging percentage with a .526 on-base percentage.
The three-time All-Big 12 selection finished his Wildcat career slashing .314/.402/.531 with 32 doubles, six triples, 26 home runs and 122 RBI. His 26 career home runs ranks 10th all-time in school history.
NIL
Colorado football's Deion Sanders blasts NCAAF's current NIL situation
The post Colorado football’s Deion Sanders blasts NCAAF’s current NIL situation appeared first on ClutchPoints. With Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team working the recruiting trail, a wide-ranging topic in the grander scope of college football has been around name, image, and likeness (NIL). Though there have been some major wins on the recruiting […]

The post Colorado football’s Deion Sanders blasts NCAAF’s current NIL situation appeared first on ClutchPoints.
With Deion Sanders and the Colorado football team working the recruiting trail, a wide-ranging topic in the grander scope of college football has been around name, image, and likeness (NIL). Though there have been some major wins on the recruiting trail for Sanders and the Colorado football team, he would speak on Wednesday about the issue with NIL and the transfer portal.
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Sanders would be present at Big 12 media days with other head coaches in the conference and would be asked about his thoughts on NIL and how it should be regulated. The former NFL great would say there should be a “cap” with NIL and the amount of money given to players, mostly from the vantage point of some teams not being able to match the bigger programs.
“I wish it was a cap, you know, like the top-of-the-line player makes this, and if you’re not that type of guy, you know, you’re not gonna make that,” Sanders said. “That’s what the NFL does. So the problem is, you got a guy that’s not that darn good, but he could go to another school, and it gave them a half a million dollars. You can’t compete with that. It don’t make sense. And you’re talking about equality, and all you have to do is look at the playoffs and see what those teams spent.”
Colorado football’s Deion Sanders on NIL
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Even with the criticisms around the topic, the Colorado football team and Sanders have utilized the transfer portal and NIL, but only because they have to to get the players they desire. It still doesn’t take away from the fact that Sanders has many issues with the system, saying that it is “hard to compete” with teams that can shell out an immense amount of money for top players.
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“And you understand why they made the playoffs, it’s kind of hard to compete with somebody who’s given 25, 30 million dollars to a darn freshman class. It’s crazy,” Sanders said. “We’re not complaining, because all these coaches up here could coach their butts off and given the right opportunity with the right players and play here and there, you’ll be there, but it’s what’s going on right now, don’t make sense. And we want to say stuff, but we’re trying to be professional, but you’re going to see the same teams during the end, and with somebody who sneaks up in there, but if the team that pays them more, that pays the most, will be in.”
The Buffaloes open next season against Georgia Tech on August 29.
Related: Volunteers land 2026 DB recruit over SEC foes Georgia, South Carolina
Related: Why coaching is ‘easier’ for Deion Sanders without Shedeur, Shilo
NIL
Longshore and McKnight: Auburn freshman linebacker arrested during traffic stop, Phil Steele joining live on Friday to discuss college football magazine, rising NIL pressures, and more…
On today’s episode of Longshore and McKnight, John and Barry opened the midweek show reflecting on the end of summer and gearing up for SEC Media Days in Atlanta! The conversation pivoted to DJ Barber, a freshman Auburn linebacker arrested in Dadeville, Alabama, on marijuana trafficking and drug paraphernalia charges after police discovered 2.5 pounds […]

On today’s episode of Longshore and McKnight, John and Barry opened the midweek show reflecting on the end of summer and gearing up for SEC Media Days in Atlanta!
The conversation pivoted to DJ Barber, a freshman Auburn linebacker arrested in Dadeville, Alabama, on marijuana trafficking and drug paraphernalia charges after police discovered 2.5 pounds of marijuana, vapes, packaging materials, and a handgun during a traffic stop. Auburn has since dismissed Barber from the team. On the other hand, Auburn received a commitment from four-star linebacker Adam Balogun Ali, bumping their recruiting class ranking up eight spots.
Catch live episodes of Longshore and McKnight daily on YouTube, Spotify, and on Yellowhammer News
The hosts also previewed Friday’s upcoming guest Phil Steele, whose college football preview magazine just hit shelves. They discussed Big 12 Media Days, NIL regulation oversight now governed by Deloitte, and the frustration among coaches over uncertain enforcement standards. The episode also criticized a staged toilet-papering event at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner for Eli Manning’s TV show, calling it a publicity stunt. The show wrapped up with a debate about whether Auburn should officially claim retroactive national championships, including the undefeated 2004 season. While some fans support it, Longshore and McKnight questioned its value compared to focusing on future success.
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