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College World Series Players to Watch The College World Series (CWS) should be regarded as one of the premium events on the baseball calendar, and it is certainly the best single opportunity to see a lot of prospects in action. Until the last few years, the draft happened before the CWS, so it might have […]

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Minor League Roundup

College World Series Players to Watch

The College World Series (CWS) should be regarded as one of the premium events on the baseball calendar, and it is certainly the best single opportunity to see a lot of prospects in action. Until the last few years, the draft happened before the CWS, so it might have been the first opportunity people got to see a player their team had just drafted. The current draft calendar is better, particularly since great performances in the CWS can give players some helium, while poor performances could cause a player to drop, and of course teams do not have to worry about a player they just drafted getting injured (or throwing 120 pitches on three days of rest.)

As of this writing, the field is not completely set; Murray State and Duke will play later today to determine the final spot. But here is the field, along with top-500 prospects (per Baseball America) and a closer look at those who might be targets for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona: Brendan Summerhill (OF), Mason White (SS), Aaron Walton (OF), Adonys Guzman (C), Collin McKinney (RHP), Casey Hintz (RHP).

Brendan Summerhill runs to first base during a game in March

Brendan Summerhill looks to lead the Wildcats to their first title since 2012.
Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images

Summerhill is the top-rated prospect for the Wildcats, and will almost certainly be available for either of the Diamondbacks’ first two selections. He doesn’t have any outstanding tools, but is one of the more well-rounded players in the class. He projects to stick in center field, makes good and consistent contact, runs well, and has an average arm and power. White looks to be a late-bloomer; he’s gone from being listed at 5’9” to being listed at 5’11”, and has shown consistent power. There’s a bit more swing-and-miss than would be ideal, which is why he would be in the conversation for the third round or so. He’s slashing .332/.414/.692 this year, and has 19 home runs, the same number he hit last year. Walton is a big outfielder who has taken a big step forward this year; he’ll be in a corner going forward, but is showing some power and has the frame (6’3”, 219) to grow into more. Guzman might have the best arm in the draft; some give it an 80-grade, and while he’s been a defense-first catcher, the bat has come around this year, but his arm gives him a decent floor. McKinney has been starting and Hintz relieving, but Hintz has thrown almost as many innings and with more success. Hintz has been a two-way player, and was a shortstop in high school, and throws from an almost-sidearm slot more reminiscent of a shortstop than a pitcher.

White might be the most likely pick out of the bunch; he’s from Tucson, so the Diamondbacks might have the inside track to signing him at more of a discount. Also of interest: former Diamondbacks’ manager Chip Hale is the head coach of the Wildcats.

Arkansas: Wehiwa Aloy (SS), Zach Root (LHP), Charles Davalan (OF), Landon Beidelschies (LHP), Gage Wood (RHP), Brent Iredale (3B), Christian Foutch (RHP).

Aloy is in the conversation with former Diamondback draftee Aiva Arquette for being the best college shortstop in the class, and if he is available at 18, he won’t be at 29, and I don’t see the Diamondbacks taking him. It’s the pitching at Arkansas that is intriguing. Root transferred from East Carolina into the SEC, and increased his strikeout rate; whoever drafts him is looking for a starter, but his floor (given health) would be a solid reliever. Davalan is an undersized (5’9”, 190) outfielder who has also played second base; he’s a solid hitter who runs well, but doesn’t have a strong arm. Beidelschies transferred in from Ohio State and has been solid. Gage Wood missed two months due to injury (shoulder impingement) but has been excellent when healthy and has big helium. He has three pitches at least average, with his fastball well above-average. Iredale came over from Australia and tore up the JC circuit, and has done well in the SEC, slashing .289/455/.557 but his defense needs work. Foutch is a reliever who has struck out 12.5 per 9 this season.

Coastal Carolina: Caden Bodine (C), Jacob Morrison (RHP).

While Coastal doesn’t have the volume of top draft talent of Arizona or Arkansas, they do have one of the top catching prospects, and possibly the most well-rounded of the bunch. He’s a switch hitter who doesn’t swing and miss and makes good contact, albeit with little power. What power he has is mostly of the gap variety. But he’s above-average defensively both behind the dish and with his arm. Morrison is a giant (6’8”, 245) who has a 2.15 RA/9 and sub-1 WHIP this year, but did miss all of 2024 with Tommy John. Some teams will see it as a plus that he’s already had the surgery and come back better. He’ll likely get the start in the opener against Arizona, and will be looking to improve his record to 12-0. Bodine should be available at 18 but could very well be gone by 29; Morrison should be available for the first three or four picks.

Duke: David Boisvert (RHP), James Tallon (LHP), Owen Proksch (LHP), Tyler Albright (OF), Andrew Healy (LHP).

Boisvert has been injury plagued and hasn’t pitched since April; he’s probably out for the year. Tallon is a high-strikeout lefty reliever, Proksch is another high-strikeout lefty but he has moved into a starting role; his pitching is a large reason why the Blue Devils are at this point, as he’s pitched great against both Oklahoma State and Murray State thus far, and will likely start the first game for Duke if they reach the World Series. Albright is an outfielder who bats right handed but throws left, and has struggled with strikeouts but has also drawn a lot of walks this season. He has good speed, and has stolen 15 bases without being caught, but not a ton of power, although he does have 10 home runs this year. Healy is a big left-handed pitcher who has trended the wrong way throughout his career.

All of the Duke prospects are pretty low down the prospect lists, and probably Proksch is the only one who is pretty much a sure thing to be drafted.

Louisville: Patrick Forbes (RHP), Matt Klein (C), Tucker Biven (RHP).

Forbes is the biggest prospect of this group by far, a right-handed pitcher (formerly a two-way player) who possesses two plus pitches (fastball and slider) and has struck out 12.9 per 9 across his college career. He’s another pitcher with the floor of a good reliever if he stays healthy, and there is top-tier closer potential. Making it as a starter will likely depend on developing a good third pitch; his changeup is well below-average at this point. The Diamondbacks do have success drafting right handed pitchers from the state of Kentucky, but Forbes would seem to be a long-shot. Matt Klein showed out in the Cape last summer, and has carried that offensive performance over to this year, slashing .327/.456/.551 but he missed two months with injury. Biven is a reliever/mid-week starter who has taken a big step back this year, but put together good strikeout numbers without many walks as a sophomore. He also turned in a great performance against Vanderbilt to help the Cardinals to this point.

LSU: Kade Anderson (LHP), Anthony Eyanson (RHP), Daniel Dickinson (2B), Chase Shores (RHP), Jared Jones (1B), Jacob Mayers (RHP), Conner Ware (LHP), Zac Cowan (RHP).

Anthony Eyanson delivers a pitch for the LSU Tigers against Little Rock in the Baton Rouge Regional.

While Kade Anderson gets the headlines, Anthony Eyanson is another top-tier arm for the Tigers
Photo by Stephen Bayog/LSU/University Images via Getty Images

When the season started, there was a decent chance that Anderson would be available at 18. Now, he’s got a shot to be the first overall pick, and he’s definitely not going to be available. Eyanson also has a shot to be a first-round pick, as he throws strikes and has struck out 13 per 9 while moving from the Big West to the SEC. Dickinson transferred from Utah Valley and kept getting on base, although his average and slugging percentage dropped off some; he’s a solid hitter who is limited to second base due to the arm, but has the potential to be very good there. Chase Shores is wild but throws triple digits and is 6’8”, 250, meaning he’d be an imposing presence on the mound and has real closer potential if he can learn some control. Jones is limited to first base, which is likely why he went undrafted last year, but might have the best power of anyone in the class. Mayers is another high-strikeout reliever who transferred into LSU and struck out 15.1 per 9, but also walked 12.6 per 9. Ware has struggled and hasn’t pitched for a while; he may be injured. Cowan is another high-strikeout bullpen arm.

Murray State: No top-500 prospects.

Conner Cunningham, a freshman, celebrates a seventh inning home run that capped a nine-run inning

Murray State may lack the top-500 talent, but that hasn’t stopped them from scoring runs in bunches, including 19 against Duke yesterday
Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Oregon State: Aiva Arquette (SS), Gavin Turley (OF), Trent Caraway (3B), Nelson Keljo (LHP), Jacob Krieg (1B).

Arquette has a chance to be the first overall pick, although he’ll probably be taken somewhere in the 2-6 range. If by some miracle he makes it to 18, he’ll be the pick, but that’s not going to happen. Turley is an above-average outfielder with power, but he does struggle with chasing out of the zone. Caraway is a draft-eligible sophomore who has had a disappointing season; it would not be at all surprising if he elected to return to school. Keljo is a lefty who had a disappointing season while attempting to move from the bullpen to the rotation; he was still fine, but lacked the strikeout numbers and doubled his walk rate. He’ll still receive a lot of interest as a reliever. Krieg is a power-first first baseman with a ton of swing-and-miss. Essentially, he has been in college what Ivan Melendez has been in the pros, and while the power is substantial enough to be worth picking him, he shouldn’t be regarded as a major prospect.

UCLA: No top-500 prospects.

Just because neither Murray State nor UCLA has top-500 draft eligible prospects this year doesn’t mean they are devoid of talent. UCLA has the #9 rated prospect for the 2026 class, shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Murray State is a senior-heavy team that should have a few players selected on day three, with a couple possibly going on day two.

Pick to win: Arkansas

NCAA BASEBALL: JUN 10 Div 1 Championship Super Regionals - Ole Miss at Arkansas

Arkansas (seen here after beating Ole Miss in 2019) dogpiled yesterday as they beat Tennessee, and will be looking to do so in Omaha for the first time ever.
Photo by Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

LSU holds the record with 68,888 jello shots and one would expect them to challenge it, but with the Walmart fortune on the side of the Razorbacks, I think they can spring the upset.

Wait, on the field? Ok, Arkansas there, too.

The biggest part of winning the College World Series is having enough pitching. LSU might be seen to have the edge over Arkansas in that regard, but Arkansas’ pitchers have been performing better right now, and right now is the only time that matters. Coastal Carolina is a well-rounded team that has won 23 consecutive games and they can’t be overlooked. Arizona has a great core of position players. Oregon State is a wild-card; they have star power in Turley and Arquette, but because of their strange schedule it’s hard to gauge them. UCLA, Louisville, and especially whoever wins between Duke and Murray State would be extreme long shots, but the College World Series is the one championship where literally anything can happen.

As Arkansas knows, anything can happen even when you’re about to win it all, as in 2018 they found themselves an out away from a title before a pop-up fell in between three players and they lost that game and again the next day. This will be their third trip to Omaha since that day, and they’ve won just one game in their previous two trips, as well as being upset at home as the number one seed in 2021. This is their shot to exorcise those demons.

The Week That Was

The best performance of the week on a team level easily belonged to the Visalia Rawhide, who picked up a sweep over Inland Empire. It was the first six-game sweep in franchise history (and that’s a really long history, even though the six-game series hasn’t been around as long.) Amarillo won their series in Tulsa, 4-2 over the Dodgers’ affiliate. Hillsboro split in Spokane, holding serve in the race for the top spot in the Northwest League during the first half, but blew a late lead on Sunday to end the week on a sour note. Reno also split in Oklahoma City. But while none of the full season affiliates lost their series, there were plenty of missed opportunities. It remains to be seen whether or not the Hops will rue theirs.

Things were not as successful in the rookie leagues. The two teams in the Dominican Summer League both finished the week with losing records (2-3) and with the top prospects not performing as hoped, at least from a statistical perspective. The Pygmy Rattlers of Salt River (although these days, they’re more a full-time rehab squad) also went 2-3 on the week.

Hitters of the Week

This may have been one of the most difficult weeks to select any single player as the hitter of the week, so I’ve definitely fudged and selected multiple hitters.

Rookie League Hitters of the Week

Jorge Lara, DSL Arizona Black (16 PA, .455/.625/.727, 13 TTB)

Juan Alvarez, DSL Arizona Red (19 PA, .438/.444/.813, 14 TTB)

Just last week, I declared that Lara’s third year in the organization would be his final without showing progress. Early results are encouraging, as he’s been one of the best bats in the entire organization over the past week. His five hits include a double and a triple, and he’s walked four times without striking out. His 1.352 OPS was the highest of anyone with at least 15 plate appearances.

Alvarez has three doubles and a home run to his name, for an .813 slugging percentage which is the highest of anyone with at least 15 plate appearances. He’s also repeating the level; in 105 plate appearances last year he collected three extra base hits in total, so he’s already exceeded that number this year. The 19-year-old Cuban is limited to a corner, so he needs to show power to progress.

Full Season Hitters of the Week

Ryan Waldschmidt scores a run for Kentucky against Florida in last year’s College World Series

Ryan Waldschmidt shows how quickly college stars can progress. Here he scores against Florida in Omaha last year; he could very well spend chunks of the second half this year in AA.
Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Ryan Waldschmidt, Hillsboro (29 PA, .360/.448/.760, 23 TTB)

Jackson Feltner, Hillsboro (23 PA, .333/.478/.722, 18 TTB)

Tristin English, Reno (22 PA, .474/.500/.737, 16 TTB)

Two members of this trio have been among the top offensive performers at their respective levels throughout the season. Their presence among the top performers isn’t surprising in any way. But Feltner? Going into last week he was slashing .138/.281/.300 with ten walks against 36 strikeouts. And while he still struck out seven times, he walked four times, doubled, and homered twice. But it was the fact that he also managed three singles to go 6-for-18 on the week that really propelled him here.

Waldschmidt had been slumping (by his standards) through most of May. He hadn’t hit a home run since May 1, and in that period he’d slashed .211/.368/.289; quite respectable but not up to his standards. He hit three home runs in Spokane, giving him eight on the year, and he was back to mashing the ball. (His .250 BABIP from May 2-June 1 indicated that he was probably not hitting the ball as hard as he had been.)

It’s probably not reasonable to describe what Tristin English is doing as a breakout season; he’s 28 and he’s had good seasons before, such as 2023. But after a disappointing season last year, he’s torn the cover off the ball this year, including a .400/.424/.636 line since returning from injury. He collected nine hits, three of which were of the extra base variety, and tied for the week lead in RBI with eight. The only bad part of his week was allowing his first run as a pitcher and taking the loss in Saturday’s game, as the Aces were dreadfully short on pitching and he was called upon in a tied game in the ninth inning.

Starting Pitcher of the Week

Junior Sanchez, Visalia (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K)

There were outings with more strikeouts (Daniel Eagen and Casey Anderson both fanned seven in their respective starts) but in a week without many quality starts, Sanchez turned in one for the Rawhide. The right-handed pitcher, who will not turn 20 until September, has moved through the ranks steadily thus far, spending a season each in the Dominican and the complex. He’s gained control and while the strikeouts are down a little bit this year, the walks have been cut almost in half and he’s also allowing fewer hits. He’s not appeared on prospect lists, but he might be someone to keep an eye on moving forward.

Relief Pitchers of the Week

Gregori Ramirez, DSL Arizona Red (4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K)

This is the third season Ramirez has spent in the DSL, and with an injury interruption that caused him to miss all of last season, he’s old for the level, as he will be 21 in September. But in his first action since 2023, he struck out half of the batters he faced. Ramirez is a right-handed pitcher with what appears to be a pretty standard delivery, a fastball that sits low 91-92 and hit 95, and what looks like an excellent curve that induces some swing and miss and which he was able (in his first outing, the only one of which there is video) to throw for a strike in addition to getting hitters to miss. He also has what is probably a slider (hard to judge break from the camera angle) which is mid-80s and did not threaten the strike zone in the limited number of times I saw it. Three pitches sounds like a starter’s arsenal, but if Ramirez has a path forward, it is probably going to be from maximizing his fastball/curveball combo and working from the bullpen, where with a velo increase he could be sitting 95 and hitting 98.

Landon Sims, Amarillo (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K)

Amarillo Sod Poodles photo day

Sims has taken some time to get comfortable, but has been great for Amarillo for a bit.
Photo by John E. Moore III/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images

Sims had his season get off to a dismal start, allowing multiple runs in three of his first four appearances. Since then, though, he’s allowed four runs (three earned) in 16.2 innings. His 1.68 WHIP has still been high as he’s still walked too many and has carried a BABIP against of .390 during that time. But with bullpens shorthanded this week, Sims was lights-out, including a two inning save on Saturday where he struck out five. Part of that is not being at Hodgetown; batters have an .841 OPS against him at home versus .613 on the road, and he has not allowed an extra-base hit on the road while facing 60 batters (he’s allowed three at home while facing 46 batters.) The hope when Sims was drafted was that he could transition to being a starter; that ship has sailed, but he can still be a valuable bullpen piece. In fact, between Sims, Hayden Durke, and Jhosmer Alvarez, the Soddies might have three key pieces of the 2026 Diamondbacks’ bullpen.

Hellos and Goodbyes

Austin Pope (who had been out due to injury) and Andrew Saalfrank (out due to poor decisions) made their respective season debuts. Those two (along with René Pinto) are currently in the complex. Connor Kaiser is back from a stint on the IL. Augie Mojica, a 20-year-old from Florida, was signed and assigned to the complex; he was a high strikeout reliever for San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, and was most recently pitching for the Boise Hawks in the Pioneer League. His first outing on Saturday did not go well, but this is the sort of low-risk signing that teams make. Once in a while, it works out well.

Goodbye (for now) to Aramis Garcia, who has been one of the best hitters on the year at Reno, but due to roster constraints found himself designated for assignment. Even if he clears waivers, he can elect free agency rather than report back to Reno, and with Pinto and Adrian Del Castillo in process of returning, that might be the right decision for him. But for now, we can hold out hope that he will be back with the Aces.

Postseason Races

With the split-season format in the minor leagues, it’s getting close to the time where clubs have their first opportunity to clinch a postseason berth. While it’s a long-shot for most of the affiliates, here is what they need to do over the next couple of weeks.

Hillsboro has the best chance, as they hold onto first place in the Northwest League. The six-team league is the only one south of AAA that does not use a division format. It’s also currently jammed close between all six teams. Last place Tri-City is just 3.5 games back, and the top five teams are all within two games of one another. Prior to last week, the teams closest to the Hops were Spokane and Eugene; they held serve in Spokane and now return home to face Eugene, who is now in fifth place. The final series of the first half will see the Hops return to Pasco, WA, to take on Tri-City, who has been in last place most of the year. There’s no one out of it, and the Hops are missing Jansel Luis as well as getting pitchers called up to Amarillo.

Heading into the month, Visalia would have been regarded as well out of the race in the California League South Division. But first place Rancho Cucamonga has had a dismal start to the month. In fact, they have yet to win this month, and the Rawhide have taken advantage to move into second place and give themselves a chance. It’s not a very good chance, as the Quakes will get to play the Inland Empire 66ers, far and away the worst team in the league, but it is a chance. They sit four games behind entering the week, and will travel to Lake Elsinore before finishing the first half by hosting Fresno. They’ll have to keep winning; Rancho is at Inland Empire and then hosts Lake Elsinore, so it would be hard to see them doing worse than 6-6 over the final two series.

Reno and Amarillo are both essentially out of it. Reno is 8.5 games back and would have to overtake five teams, three of whom have a better run differential. Amarillo sits eight games back of Midland and would need to overtake three teams. They only play one of them, and the other two play each other this week, so it’s extremely unlikely. But Amarillo’s best shot at the postseason has always seemed to rely on getting reinforcements from Hillsboro and winning the second half.

Next Up

As noted, Visalia goes to Lake Elsinore and Hillsboro hosts Eugene. In addition, Amarillo hosts San Antonio and Reno hosts Sugar Land. Avery Short is in line to start twice this week for the Soddies, and Casey Kelly for the Aces, although given the state of the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Kelly to get called up.

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RTL Group to acquire Sky Deutschland

RTL Group has acquired Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), for €150m, creating a media business with some 11.5m subscribers. The deal –  which is subject to regulatory approvals – combines Sky’s premium sports rights, including Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Premier League and Formula 1, with RTL’s entertainment and news brands across RTL+, free-to-air and pay TV. It […]

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RTL Group has acquired Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), for €150m, creating a media business with some 11.5m subscribers.

The deal –  which is subject to regulatory approvals – combines Sky’s premium sports rights, including Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Premier League and Formula 1, with RTL’s entertainment and news brands across RTL+, free-to-air and pay TV. It also unites the streaming platforms RTL+ and WOW.

RTL Group chief executive Thomas Rabe described the deal as “transformational for RTL Group”.

He said: “It will bring together two of the most powerful entertainment and sports brands in Europe and create a unique video proposition across free TV, pay TV and streaming.

“It will boost our streaming business, with a total of around 11.5 million paying subscribers, further diversify our revenue streams and make us even more attractive for creative talent, rights holders and business partners.”

Rabe said the synergies are estimated to be around €250 million per annum within three years after closing, creating “significant shareholder value”.

He added: “Together, RTL and Sky will be in an even stronger position to invest in people, content and technology in Germany and in Europe to compete with the global tech and streaming players. I want to recognise the outstanding work of the Sky Deutschland team, whose strong performance over recent years has laid the foundation for this next phase.”


Rights deals and strategic content partnerships

At the end of 2023, RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland struck a two-year partnership for seven Formula 1 races to be broadcast live on RTL in Germany, alongside one game from the English Premier League per match week on RTL+, and three conference broadcasts of the 2nd Bundesliga on RTL.

As part of the commercial agreement, Sky Deutschland received rights to two Europa League or Europa Conference League games per match week, providing subscribers access to premium live sport every Thursday.

At the time, RTL said “sharing live sport and content is the start of a broader partnership between RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland, with the ambition of finding further ways to share content in the future”.

And, at the end of last year, RTL Deutschland secured for the 2025/6 Bundesliga season onwards the exclusive free-to-air TV rights to broadcast the Saturday evening games of the 2. Bundesliga, as well as a highlights rights package for Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga on RTL+.

At the time, RTL Deutschland said its portfolio now includes matches of the German national team, the Uefa Europa League and Uefa Conference League and – in cooperation with Sky Deutschland – three live conference broadcasts of the 2. Bundesliga per season, and a top match from the English Premier League per match week.


According to the agreement, RTL Group will fully acquire Sky’s businesses in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, including customer relationships in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The purchase price consists of €150 million in cash and a variable consideration linked to RTL Group’s share price performance of up to €377m.

Barny Mills, Sky Deutschland CEO, will continue to lead the Sky Deutschland business until the transaction is completed. Stephan Schmitter will stay in his current role as CEO of RTL Deutschland until closing of the transaction and then lead the combined company. RTL Deutschland will remain headquartered in Cologne and Sky Deutschland in Munich.

Dana Strong, Group CEO at Sky, added: “Sky Deutschland has made significant progress over the past three years, delivering strong operational performance and reaching a record number of customers.

“The business is on track to achieve EBITDA break-even, reflecting the success of our turnaround plan. Combining the strength of our brand with RTL builds on that momentum and opens up even greater opportunities. This deal provides a strong platform for long-term success, and ensures Sky continues to share in the growth of the combined business.”





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Four Lion Tracksters named to CSC Academic All-District teams

Story Links CSC Academic All-District Team COMMERCE – The East Texas A&M University track and field team had four scholar-athletes named to the Academic All-District team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators.   On the men’s side, Jonas Gran (Riehen, Switzerland) was selected, […]

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COMMERCE – The East Texas A&M University track and field team had four scholar-athletes named to the Academic All-District team, as selected by the College Sports Communicators.
 
On the men’s side, Jonas Gran (Riehen, Switzerland) was selected, while Romi Griese (Salzkotten, Germany), Veronika Kramarenko (Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine), and Cassandra Rendon (San Antonio – Madison) were honored on the women’s side.
 

All four East Texas A&M honorees advance to the national ballot. The CSC Academic All-America teams will be released on July 15.
 
Gran is a biological sciences major and named to the Southland Conference All-Academic team, SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, President’s List and earned the silver medal in the decathlon at the outdoor conference championships this year as well.
 
Griese was named the Southland Women’s Outdoor Student-Athlete of the Year as she also won the discus conference championship this season, while earning SLC All-Academic, SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and President’s List honors. She is also a biological sciences major.
 

Kramarenko won the outdoor high jump crown this spring, the second SLC title of her career, reaching the podium in both the outdoor and indoor high jump this year. She is a health kinesiology & sport studies major, being named to SLC All-Academic team, SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and the President’s List as well.
 
Rendon is a wildlife conservation science major and finished third at the conference championships in the discus this year. She has medaled in the event in each of the past two seasons. Rendon is the current discus school record holder and is also a SLC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and President’s List honoree.
 
The full CSC Academic All-District team can be found HERE.

 

-ETAMU-



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UND athletics will opt in to House settlement – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — The UND athletic department officially announced Friday afternoon the university would opt in to the NCAA vs. House settlement, a landmark legal case paving the way for direct payments from schools to athletes. UND athletic director Bill Chaves said UND communicated its intent to opt in with the NCAA on Friday, June […]

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GRAND FORKS — The UND athletic department officially announced Friday afternoon the university would opt in to the NCAA vs. House settlement, a landmark legal case paving the way for direct payments from schools to athletes.

UND athletic director Bill Chaves said UND communicated its intent to opt in with the NCAA on Friday, June 27.

“As an NCAA Division I member, in a non-defendant conference, our thought process has always been to do what is best for our student-athletes and the University of North Dakota,” Chaves said. “With the information that we have today and the requirement to make a decision by Monday, June 30, we felt that this was the most prudent course of action. There was always a chance that when the final settlement occurred that it could be different than what was initially provided by both the plaintiffs’ and defendants’ attorneys and sure enough that was the case.”

The country’s largest schools, those competing in the power conferences such as the Big Ten, must opt in to the House settlement. UND, however, is among those smaller NCAA departments around the country mulling the decision on whether to join the settlement.

Prior to UND’s decision, South Dakota and South Dakota State announced intentions to opt in to House vs. NCAA. North Dakota State has yet to announce a decision with a June 30 deadline.

Chaves told the Herald on June 11 the university was leaning toward opting in after concerns about roster sizes were eased with the ruling’s last-minute language on grandfathering-in athletes impacted by the ruling.

“Given that roster grandfathering can only occur should institutions opt in at this moment of time, we believe that opting in is best for UND,” Chaves said. “Additionally, I believe the opportunity to expand our partnership with our teammates at the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, 1883 Collective and Ralph Engelstad Arena will provide us the best situation possible to our student-athletes this year and beyond. Further, the ability to potentially provide additional support through internal NIL will be intriguing for UND as we traverse this new era of college athletics.”

Roster sizes were an issue because the House settlement calls for a change from scholarship maximums to roster maximums. The terms of the settlement set a roster cap on each sport.

On Feb. 20, 2025, the Herald reported UND would opt out of the settlement in Year 1, with the possibility of opting in later. That stance changed in large part due to the grandfathering-in of impacted athletes.

UND is over the House-capped roster sizes in women’s track and field, softball, soccer and women’s golf. If the settlement had continued as originally depicted, UND would have likely had to cut athletes out of those sports immediately, potentially causing participation numbers to be non-Title IX compliant.

UND is at or under the roster limit in its men’s sports except for hockey, where the midseason addition of emergency goalie Aleksi Huson put UND at 27 players. The House settlement limits men’s hockey teams to 26.

Prior to the case being finalized, Yahoo Sports estimated more than 15,000 athletes across all Division I members could be cut, depending on how many schools opt in to the settlement.

The schools are instructed to use “good-faith efforts” to identify athletes who “were removed or would have been removed from the roster for 2025-26 due to the implementation of the roster limits.”

Those individuals won’t count toward roster limits for the rest of their eligibility. The guideline applies to current athletes, as well as incoming recruits. Schools have until July 6 to identify these athletes.

Tom Miller

Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 (NSMA, NDAPSSA), 2022 (NSMA, NDAPSSA) and 2024 (NDAPSSA).

His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps.

He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, tmiller@gfherald.com or on Twitter at @tommillergf.





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Volleyball U-13 team showcases talent at nationals

By Anthony Richards A group of young volleyball players represented the area against teams from across the state as an under-13 team from St. Johns Volleyball Club won its division at the 52nd Annual AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando on June 13-16. The team experienced adversity early on the first day of […]

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By Anthony Richards

A group of young volleyball players represented the area against teams from across the state as an under-13 team from St. Johns Volleyball Club won its division at the 52nd Annual AAU Girls Junior National Volleyball Championships in Orlando on June 13-16.

The team experienced adversity early on the first day of the event but bounced back in a big way and put the challenging start behind them to win all nine of their games over the final three days.

Held annually at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, AAU Nationals is recognized as the world’s largest volleyball tournament, drawing more than 6,800 teams and 70,000 youth athletes from across the United States and abroad.

For many clubs, including St. Johns Volleyball Club, it serves as the culminating event of the season.

What makes the team’s performance particularly noteworthy is that many of the players on the team only began playing volleyball within the past year and often compete against teams whose players have been training for two years or longer.

According to club owner and head coach Andor Gyulai, their rapid development reflects the club’s unique coaching model and training environment.

“Our system is designed to accelerate player growth,” Gyulai said. “With our grass court training model, we can set up more courts and create more repetitions and game-like touches for each player. Combined with our best-in-class Superior Coaching Systems, this leads to faster skill development and better long-term results.”

Founded in 2022, St. Johns Volleyball Club continues its rapid growth serving 4th through 8th grades in the Nocatee area and St. Johns County.

Earlier this year, the club expanded into high school beach volleyball with newly opened beach courts in Nocatee, and it also recently broke ground on a state-of-the-art indoor volleyball facility for both middle and high school players, scheduled to open in May 2026.

Tryouts for the 2025-2026 indoor club season will be held in July. More information about the club, programs, and tryout registration can be found at www.SJVClub.com.





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CSUN’s Jay Louison-Roe Earns Academic All-District Honors

Story Links NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—CSUN Track & Field’s junior Jay Louison-Roe received Academic All-District Team honors by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) on June 24.  The CSC academic awards programs recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The academic qualifications for the distinction are […]

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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—CSUN Track & Field’s junior Jay Louison-Roe received Academic All-District Team honors by the College Sports Communicators (CSC) on June 24. 

The CSC academic awards programs recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The academic qualifications for the distinction are a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average. Nominated student-athletes must be ranked in the top-50 in the region in a single event (indoor or outdoor). Select Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees in four divisions – NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA – will be announced in July. 

Originally from Heathcote, NSW, Australia, Louison-Roe had an outstanding first season with CSUN in 2025 after transferring from the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Louison-Roe would claim the triple jump title at the 2025 Big West Outdoor Championships, earning his first career conference crown of his career. His championship winning leap went for 15.67m (51-5), which set a personal record and ranked as the 10th-best in school history. Louison-Roe qualified for the NCAA West First Round for the first time in his collegiate career where he finished 31st overall with a leap of 15.37m (50-5.25). 

During the indoor season, Louison-Roe was fourth at the MPSF Indoor Championships in February with a leap of 14.72m (48-3.5). He would have a season-best leap in the triple of 15.32m (50-3.25), which ranked seventh-best in program history. 

An Economics major at CSUN, Louison-Roe claimed his first career CSC Academic All-District award this season. 

College Sports Communicators began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 38,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors.

#GoMatadors

 



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Volleyball Releases 2025 Schedule – Belmont University

Story Links NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – Belmont University volleyball head coach Fritz Rosenberg released the program’s fall schedule Friday.  The Bruins will face five Top 100 opponents from a year ago and have 14 regular season home matches at the Curb Event Center.  “We’re thrilled to announce our fall schedule,” […]

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – Belmont University volleyball head coach Fritz Rosenberg released the program’s fall schedule Friday. 

The Bruins will face five Top 100 opponents from a year ago and have 14 regular season home matches at the Curb Event Center. 

“We’re thrilled to announce our fall schedule,” Rosenberg said. “There has been a great deal of anticipation surrounding the upcoming season and we cannot wait to embrace the challenge in front of us. Playing in Nashville three of the first four weeks of the season provides the opportunity to build momentum and confidence. Our non-conference schedule is designed to prepare us for the rigors of Missouri Valley Conference play – and peak come November. I’ve enjoyed building relationships with our players over the past few months and look forward to what lies ahead.” 

After an exhibition match at Chattanooga Aug. 23, Belmont will be part of college volleyball history Aug. 29 at Vanderbilt. It will mark the first volleyball match for Vanderbilt in 45 years. 

The match will be played outdoors on Wyatt Lawn at the Vanderbilt University campus. 

The Bruins then host five consecutive home matches – including Big East Conference member Seton Hall and former Ohio Valley Conference rivals UT Martin and Tennessee State. 

Belmont heads to the capital district of New York Sept. 12-13 for matches against Columbia, Stonehill, and host Siena. 

The Battle of the Boulevard series is renewed Sept. 19 as Belmont plays at Lipscomb. 

Belmont concludes non-conference play Sept. 20 vs. UC Irvine. 

The 16-match Missouri Valley Conference schedule commences Sept. 25 vs. Murray State. 

Other notable dates include a three-match homestand vs. Southern Illinois, Illinois State, and Indiana State Oct. 4-10 and the regular season finale Nov. 15 vs. defending conference champion and NCAA Round of 32 participant Northern Iowa. 

The 2025 MVC Tournament will take place Nov. 19-25. 

Belmont Volleyball season tickets, single-match tickets and group experiences are on sale now at 615-460-2255 and BelmontBruins.com. 

 

Buy Volleyball Tickets Here 

 

Follow Belmont volleyball on social media – @BelmontVB on Twitter and @belmontvball on Instagram – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont’s athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play. 

  

 #ItsBruinTime 





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