Sports

Minor League Roundup

Published

3 months ago

September 1, 2025

The season is winding down. Two affiliates concluded their home seasons last week. The Sod Poodles are in good position, 6.5 games ahead with 12 to play. The Aces, on the other hand, are in dead last: while they have 18 games remaining, they are 20 games behind Tacoma. But despite the poor results in this second half, Reno has brought some of the better performances of the past week.

The Week That Was

Reno lost their home series against Sacramento, allowing 58 runs in the four losses and just two runs in the two wins. (They scored 20 in the four losses and 20 in the two wins.) While the Sod Poodles are in first place, they may be trending the wrong direction, as they just lost their first series since mid-June. The Hops wrapped up the tenure of (old) Hillsboro Ballpark with a series loss to Vancouver. The lone victorious side was Visalia, as the Rawhide won in walk-off fashion on both Saturday and Sunday to take the series 4-2.

Overall, that’s a 10-14 week.

I’ll note that the Hillsboro Hops are getting a new stadium, while Visalia’s park was opened in 1946, making it older than all but two major league parks, and Reno’s was opened in 2009. But the former Hillsboro park was built for a short-season A-ball team, and given their location as the only affiliated team in a large metro area, there’s plenty of justification to expand.

Batter of the Week

Kristian Robinson has cut his strikeout rate even with moving up to Reno (Photo by Elisa Chavez/Minor League Baseball)

Kristian Robinson, Reno (.429/.579/.929, 4 XBH, 5 BB, 7 RBI, .477 RC/PA)

This was a tough decision, but not because Robbie didn’t have a great week. He only had 19 plate appearances, however. He went 6-for-14, including finishing a double short of the cycle on Friday. He did have two doubles for the week. But it’s the five walks against only three strikeouts that really sealed this choice. The knock on Robinson throughout his career (but particularly since he returned from suspension) has been that he strikes out far too much. Over the past three weeks, he’s walked as often as he has struck out, and he’s been making better swing decisions for a while. In fact, since being promoted to AAA, he’s swung at pitches outside the zone less often than Alek Thomas or Jake McCarthy (or Corbin Carroll, for that matter, but he’s not going to be pushing for Corbin’s job.) He’s still crushing fastballs but not getting the same exit velocities against breaking pitches, but even though it seems like he’s been in the minors forever, he only has about 300 more plate appearances than Jordan Lawlar has, or that Paul Goldschmidt had before he was called up. There’s a very real possibility that Kristian Robinson is a starting outfielder on opening day in 2027 (if there is an opening day in 2027) and it wouldn’t be a total shock if he makes his debut this month. I said at the start of the year that this was his final chance; after a slowish start, he’s seized it with both hands.

Starting Pitcher of the Week

Mitch Bratt pitched at Chase Field in the World Baseball Classic. If he has many more outings like this one, he’ll be pitching there again before long. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Mitch Bratt, Amarillo (W, 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K)

Two of the top four starting performances this week came from pitchers acquired in the Merrill Kelly trade, as David Hagaman had an excellent outing in Hillsboro. Kohl Drake, unfortunately, went on the injured list. Bratt set down nine of the first ten, allowed an unearned run in the fourth, and then allowed just one batter to reach base thereafter, but that was on a solo home run. While the Soddies scored 11 runs, they didn’t score any until the bottom of the fourth and scored five of those 11 after Bratt was out of the game, so he wasn’t pitching with the confidence of tons of run support.

Relief Pitcher of the Week

Kyle Ayers, Visalia (2 G, 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K)

This was a tough decision, as it was tempting to go with Darlin Pinales’s dominant performance, but that was his lone appearance of the week. Ayers had two appearances, and they were a lot like one another. He entered both games in the sixth inning with the Rawhide being shut out; in one case, they were losing 1-0 and in the other, 2-0. He struck out three in two innings in both outings. He walked one in both outings. The only real difference in the outings was that the second time, the Rawhide took advantage of his pitching to stage an eventual comeback.

Ayers was a 13^th round pick out of TCU last year, and is one of a large crop of potential bullpen arms the Diamondbacks have chosen in later rounds the last few years. Whether or not he will be able to separate himself from the pack remains to be seen, but this was a good start.

Starting Pitching Prospects

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – JULY 20: Arizona Diamondbacks fourth-round pick Dean Livingston poses with Diamondbacks amateur scouting director Ian Rebhan after signing his contract at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on July 20, 2025 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Images)

Getty Images

When I started this look at the prospects, I was viewing things too simplistically. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m better at evaluating position players than I am pitchers, but even structurally, my system for evaluation works much more smoothly with position players. I have a tendency to get too caught up in the splendor of one brilliant pitch (Ricardo Yan is an example) and focus too much on high-side potential.

With that said, I’m going to try to give a rating of pitchers, but I’d rate my rating pretty poorly.

Also, given how the organization bounces pitchers from starting to relief, I can’t use the same playing time methods to assign positions like I did elsewhere. And for pitchers in the complex and the DSL, I’m only going to evaluate those I’ve been able to watch, which isn’t very many of them.

For pitchers, the tiers might be a little more intuitive.

Tier I: Potential aces
Tier II: Potential reliable mid-rotation starter, possible All Star
Tier III: Potential consistent back-of-the-rotation starter
Tier IV: Spot starter or AAAA arm

Tier I: Daniel Eagen, Dean Livingston

After the 2024 draft, I had Connor Foley with the higher ceiling of the college starters taking in the first five rounds, but Eagen as a decent bet to reach the back of a big league rotation. 2025 saw their careers trend in opposite directions. Eagen went to Hillsboro and established himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in the league, earning a call-up to Amarillo in the process. Foley went to Visalia, struggled mightily with control in five outings, and then landed on the IL. Eagen sometimes struggles with control as well, as exemplified by his April 24^th outing when he starting with an immaculate inning and walked four in the next four innings. That kicked off a stretch where he walked 15 in three starts (and also missed a start due to passport-related issues.) But apart from that three start stretch, he’s struck out 124 against 32 walks. Eagen has three above-average pitches (his fastball is truly a plus-pitch, with his curve and slider above-average) and if he can improve his changeup to be an average offering, his ceiling is sky-high. He beat cancer (brain tumor) at four years old. Twenty years later, he might well be standing on a big league mound.

Dean Livingston is almost certain to throw a pitch at 100 MPH, if he hasn’t already. He was throwing 98 at the draft combine, and showed a good slider. As a multi-sport athlete, there probably isn’t the same level of wear-and-tear on his arm as if he had been focused on pitching for several years. The floor for Livingston—if he stays healthy—is a Justin Martinez-type reliever. If that is what he eventually becomes, it’s still a good fourth-round pick, but there is so much potential here. He’s going to fill out and could very well look and pitch like a prototypical ace in a few years.

Tier II: Mitch Bratt, Jose Cabrera, Yordin Chalas, Brian Curley, Luke Dotson, Kohl Drake, Connor Foley, Patrick Forbes, David Hagaman, Chung-Hsiang Huang, Ashton Izzi, Yu-Min Lin, Cristian Mena, Collin Rothermel

That’s too many pitchers to say something about each of them, so here are some highlights.

Curley is a hard-throwing college pitcher who can hit 100 and might well be in the bullpen in the future, but he’ll be given every opportunity to be a starter, and has the arsenal to be a really good one if it works out.

Dotson was a draft-eligible sophomore who pitched at Mississippi State and was in the process of transferring to Texas, but opted to sign for $500,000. That was probably the right decision, as he would have needed a guaranteed rotation spot to have a shot at earning much more than $500,000 in next year’s draft, but he’s a really good left-handed arm. He struck out 13.1 per nine last year, but that figure rose to 13.5 per nine against top-level opposition. He projected as a weekend starter for Mississippi State in 2026, but elected to transfer and eventually sign with the Diamondbacks. He’s got the size, the velocity, decent command for a pitcher who just turned 21, and good feel for a curveball.

Chung-Hsiang Huang was a somewhat under-the-radar signing out of Taiwan last year. He has a fastball that can hit the upper 90s, but is generally in the 92-94 range, but (as with many pitchers from Asia) has a plethora of secondary options. For a 19-year-old, he commands and uses them well. He has thrown three quality starts so far this year, which is an illustration of the command, as the number of pitchers in Rookie or Low-A ball that can be efficient enough to get through six innings is a pretty low. It took him just 62 pitches to go through six innings on August 23^rd, and that’s not because of a lack of strikeouts, as he still struck out a batter per inning. There’s no reason to think that he would be overmatched by Hillsboro next year, and if he does well in Hillsboro at 20, he’ll jump up prospect rankings.

Collin Rothermel was the 16^th round pick this year, and he has a huge arm but is prone to fits of wildness. He has an above-average fastball and changeup, as well as a slider and cutter. He’s most likely eventually ticketed to the bullpen, but he could also follow the Daniel Eagen route to success.

Tier III: Roman Angelo, Junior Ciprian, Joe Elbis, Mervin Fell, Spencer Giesting, Caden Grice, Jaitoine Kelly, Jack Martinez, Hayden Murphy, Dylan Ray, Erick Reynoso, Naimer Rosario, Jacob Steinmetz, Blake Walston, John West

There are a lot of familiar names here. There are a decent number of potential innings-eaters, led by Angelo, who just made his AAA debut. Some pitchers (such as Grice) have a great pitch, but need to develop more offerings to stick in the rotation. Inconsistency plagues much of this group.

Jaitoine Kelly and John West are the two biggest players in the organization. Spencer Giesting has been mostly successful in converting from a reliever in college to a starting role. Kelly and Rosario are the two players on this list still in rookie ball; both show above-average command of multiple pitches for their age and level, but their stuff limits their upside.

In all, I’d be surprised if more than two names off of this list reach 20 starts at the big league level. Walston and Giesting would be the two favorites to do so.

Tier IV: Billy Corcoran, Lorenzo Encarnacion, Daniel Nunez, Wilkin Paredes, Adonys Perez, Junior Sanchez, Avery Short, Josdanner Suarez

This is a group of starting pitchers that I don’t see enough stuff to project them as future bullpen arms, but they generally have gotten good results. It’s highly unlikely that more than two or three from this list ever throw a pitch in the big leagues, and none would ever be expected to hold down a rotation spot.

Corcoran had bad luck this year, missing what might have been his best chance at making the major leagues. Unfortunately, he got injured at the same time as pretty much everyone else. He started the year in the rotation in Reno and while he struggled, so did everyone else. Three of his fellow rotation-mates (Yilber Diaz, Tommy Henry, and Cristian Mena) saw the big leagues this year. Brandon Bielak was the one who didn’t, and that was likewise due to injury. Casey Kelly, J.P. Feyereisen, and Jeff Brigham are three other members of the Reno staff at the start of the year who made it while Corcoran was injured, and of course Anthony DeSclafani and Nabil Crismatt have started games for the Diamondbacks this year.

Short made one start in AAA, and then missed time due to injury. He’s continued being what he’s always been since coming back in Amarillo: an unspectacular lefty who gets results. But he doesn’t miss enough bats to project to be more than an emergency option in the major leagues.

That holds true for many of the others as well. They just don’t miss enough bats. But some of them are young enough to develop further, while others might move to the bullpen and find another gear.

The season concludes for Visalia and Hillsboro. Amarillo goes to Little Rock to face the Travelers with a chance at clinching a postseason berth this week. Reno goes to Tacoma.

0 Comments

Sports

PBC Indoor Track & Field Season Preview

Published

1 minute ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Reigning PBC Champions Embry Riddle have been tabbed as unanimous favorites to take home both the PBC Men’s & Women’s Indoor Track & Field titles by the league’s coaches. Embry Riddle received five first place votes on both the men’s and women’s side. Flagler received one first place vote in each. Augusta, Clayton State, Lander and USC Beaufort completed the tables in order.

Embry Riddle have been dominant since the inception of the PBC Indoor Track & Field Championship in 2023-24. The Eagles have been crowned men’s and women’s champions in each of the previous two seasons. In 2025, the two Eagles were selected for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships with both returning as All-Americans, the first in PBC Indoor Track & Field history. Brooklynn Gould finished 7^th in the Pentathlon and Mikaela Miles finished 3^rd in the Triple Jump. Embry Riddle sees Miles returns for her senior year in 2025-26, as the Eagles look to secure a third consecutive PBC Championship.

Flagler have been tabbed to finish second in both the men’s & women’s championship. On the women’s side, the Saints improved from a third-place finish in 2024 to a second-place finish in 2025 at the PBC Indoor Track & Field Championship. The Saints had five first place finishers at the championship in 2025. Graduate Taylor Stone was also selected for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championship for the second consecutive season. On the men’s side, the Saints have placed second in each of the two previous seasons. Flagler had six first place finishers at the PBC Championship in 2025, and improvement from three in 2024.

Augusta have been tabbed third place finishers for both the men’s and women’s championship. The Jaguars will make their PBC Indoor Track & Field Championship debut this season.

2025-26 Women’s Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank	Team	Points
1.	Embry Riddle (5)	25
2.	Flagler (1)	20
3.	Augusta	16
4.	Clayton State	12
4.	Lander	12
6.	USC Beaufort	5

2025-26 Men’s Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank	Team	Points
1.	Embry Riddle (5)	25
2.	Flagler (1)	20
3.	Augusta	17
4.	Clayton State	12
5.	Lander	11
6.	USC Beaufort	5

Link

Sports

Track & Field Open Indoor Season At Bison Opener

Published

17 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Women’s Track & Field | 12/5/2025 11:00:00 AM

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

>> Saint Francis Track & Field will once again open the 2025-26 indoor season at the Bison Opener at Bucknell University’s Gerhard Fieldhouse on Saturday.
>> The first track event will be the men’s 60m hurdle trials at 8:30 a.m. and the first field event will be men’s pole vault at 9:10 a.m.
>> Forty-two athletes, 28 men and 14 women, will be competing at the meet for the Red Flash.

2025-26 INDOOR SEASON PREVIEW
Head Coach Douglas Hoover is returning for his 14th season at the helm of the Saint Francis University Track & Field program.

The Red Flash are coming off a 2024-25 indoor season where the women finished third and the men took six at the NEC Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Red Flash had eight podium finishes and one event victories. Clark Gulycz, who is competing this weekend, became the NEC Men’s Indoor Shot Put Champion with a mark of 16.75m.

NEC PRESEASON POLL

Saint Francis women’s track & field was picked fifth in the NEC Preseason Poll. Wagner earned five first-place votes and earned the distinction of being the preseason favorite. Stonehill and CCSU both gained two first-place nods to finish in second and third place. Chicago State gained the last vote for first-place, finishing in fourth. After the Red Flash in fifth place, FDU, LIU, New Haven, Mercyhurst, and Le Moyne round out the ten-team poll.

Saint Francis men’s track & field was picked seventh in the NEC Preseason Poll. CCSU earned eight first-place votes and earned the distinction of being the preseason favorite. Wagner gained one first-place vote to finish in second. Stonehill and Chicago State were picked to finish in third and fourth. FDU and LIU were both tied in fifth place, however, LIU earned the last vote for first-place. After the Red Flash in seventh place, New Haven, Le Moyne, and Mercyhurst round out the ten-team poll.

RED FLASH AT BISON OPENER HISTORY

It will be the 15th time since the 2008-09 season that Saint Francis will be opening the season at the Bison Opener. At last year’s event, there were 14 top-5 finishes, including two first place finishes. Olivia Renk took first in the women’s 200m (25.60) and Julian Saunders took the men’s 200m (22.12).

NEXT UP FOR RED FLASH

The Red Flash will travel to the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. to compete in the Wagner College Seahawk Shootout hosted by Wagner College on Dec. 12.

Link

Sports

Track Season Begins Saturday – Syracuse University Athletics

Published

33 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Syracuse track and field team kicks off its 2025-26 season on Saturday at the Cornell Greg Page Relays.

MEET INFO:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 6

Location: Barton Hall | Ithaca, N.Y.

Live Results: Here

ORANGE ENTRIES:

‘Cuse will start the day in the 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m. Tawakal Omar and Jamir Brown will make their Orange debuts for the men. Twenty minutes later, Billie Frazier, Emeline Clark, Ivana Richards, Peyton Rollins and Marissa Saunders will race for the women.

The 60-meter dash will kickoff at 11:35 a.m., with Syracuse’s participants coming from a host of Orange men entered. At 11:50 a.m., Bianca Williams, Indie Wallace-Persaud, Jada Williams and Esther Granda will all race in the women’s event.

Samantha Bloch, Kayla Harding, Lizzie Bigelow, Blake Parker and Hailey Schuemann will take on the mile at 12:10 p.m., before the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash events begin starting at 12:40 p.m.

Grace Finnegan and Luise Hiltzbleck will run in the 3,000-meter run at 1:55 p.m.

Elijah Mallard will represent the men in the 300-meters, followed b Nylah Robinson, Leah Bellow, Mia Hernandez and Andrea Pomales at 3:20 p.m. to close the meet for ‘Cuse.

Link

Sports

No. 4 Gophers Host Fairfield to Open NCAA Tournament

Published

37 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers are getting set to host the NCAA Tournament as they take on the Fairfield Stags (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion. The first match of the day between No. 5 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) and St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) will begin at 4:30 p.m. CT and ESPN+ will televise. Minnesota’s match will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match. The winners of each of Friday’s matches will compete on Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside Maturi Pavilion for the right to go to the Sweet 16.

This season marks Minnesota’s 30th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, including their 11th straight. The ‘U’ is 28-1 all-time in first round matchups.

GAME 1 INFORMATION

No. 5 Iowa State vs. St. Thomas

Friday, Dec. 5

4:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION

No. 4 Minnesota vs. Fairfield

Friday, Dec. 5

Approximately 6:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 3 INFORMATION

Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Saturday, Dec. 6

7 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Andrew Cornelius (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

TICKETS

Fans can buy tickets for the first and second round matches here.

HEADING INTO THE MATCH

Minnesota leads Fairfield, 1-0, ISU, 25-7, and UST, 3-0

First Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 1975 (ISU), 2021 (UST)

Last Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 2021 (IST), 2025 (UST)

NOTES TO KNOW

997 — Career kills for Julia Hanson.

258 — Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He’s at 258 for his career.

40 — Minnesota is 40-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion. The last loss was in 2018 vs. Oregon (Sweet 16).

34 — Minnesota ranks 34th nationally (2nd B1G) with 274 blocks.

30 — This year is Minnesota’s 30th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. That is the 11th most of any program in the country.

24 — Julia Hanson has 24 matches with 10+ kills this year in 30 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).

23 — The ‘U’ ranks 23rd nationally and third in the Big Ten with 2.61 blocks per set.

19 — Minnesota ranks 19th nationally (5th B1G) in hitting % (.278).

14 — Sweeps in 29 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won seven matches in four sets (1-2 in five).

13 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’re 10-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).

12 — Minnesota is 12-4 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

11 — 2025 is Minnesota’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament. They’ve made 26 of the last 27 (missed 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.

7 — Jordan Taylor ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.21 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.

7 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23 aces. Gilk and Swenson rank ninth with 22.

7 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 7-26 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Purdue, No. 23 Indiana and No. 24 Penn St.).

5 — Minnesota ranks 5th in attendance at 4,558 per match (avg.).

5 — Minnesota ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 183 service aces.

5 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.

5 — Julia Hanson is fifth in the B1G with 4.69 points per set.

4 — Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.02 kills per set.

4 — Minnesota lost four starters to season-ending injuries in OH Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, MB Calissa Minatee and L Zeynep Palabiyik.

3 — Gophers earned All-B1G honors in 2025. Julia Hanson (1st), Stella Swenson (2nd, Freshmen) and Carly Gilk (All-Freshmen).

3 — Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She’s the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy (’21). She’s hit 10+ in 11 of the last 13 matches.

2 — The Gophers rank second in the B1G in total blocks with 287.

2 — During league play, the Gophers ranked second with 1.77 aces per set. They hold 129 aces (2nd in B1G).

LAST TIME OUT

• The then No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team split its final home weekend, defeating No. 11 Purdue in four sets and falling to No. 10 Wisconsin in three sets. Julia Hanson had 19 kills while Stella Swenson went for 40 assists in the win over Purdue, the Gophers lone top-15 win this season. No Gopher reached 10 kills on Friday vs. Wisconsin as the team was held to just .132 hitting.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The 2025 season marked the 30th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 11th straight season and 26th in the last 27 seasons.

• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 28-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 21-7.

• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 62-29. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), national title game once (2004).

• The program has had 31 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ‘U’ entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll (finished 18th in 2024).

• At the end of regular season, the ‘U’ moved up to No. 17 on Monday, going up one spot from last week.

COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Keegan Cook is 19-10 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Both years at Minnesota, the ‘U’ has gone to the Round of 32.

HOSTING NCAA’S AT THE PAV

• All-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion, Minnesota is 40-4. Two of the losses came to Iowa State, in the 2008 (second round) and 2011 (Sweet 16) NCAA Tournaments. The other losses were in 2018 to Oregon (Sweet 16) and 1993 to Notre Dame (Sweet 16). Minnesota has won six straight NCAA matches at Maturi Pavilion.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD

• Fairfield (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) is led by third-year head coach Nancy Somera. In her three seasons at Fairfield, the team has posted a 69-24 record, including a 50-4 mark in league play. They’ve won three straight league titles.

• Fairfield is 0-1 against Power 4 Conference opponents this year, losing 3-2 to West Virginia early on in the season. They have not lost a match since Oct. 24 at Quinnipiac. Offensively, they’re led by Marnie Krubally (2.93 kps) and Allie Elliott (2.69 kps). All-time, they’re 0-14 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, they became the first MAAC team to win a set in the NCAA Tournament (3-1 loss at #15 Pepperdine).

SCOUTING IOWA ST.

• No. 23 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) is led by 21st-year head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. ISU has made the NCAA Tournament in 17 of her 21 years at the helm. This year, ISU holds key wins over No. 18 Baylor, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 16 TCU. ISU will be making it’s 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

• Alea Goolsby (3.26 kps) and Morgan Brandt (9.52 aps) pace the offense while libero Rachel Van Gorp (4.83 dps) leads the defense. Van Gorp was the unanimous selection for Big 12 Libero of the Year while Brandt became the second Cyclone ever to win Big 12 Setter of the Year. Five total Cyclones made the all-league teams.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) is led by 23rd-year head coach Thanh Pham. After finishing third in the Summit League in 2024, the Tommies took second this year before they took down top-seeded South Dakota State to win the Summit League tournament title and make their first Division I NCAA Tournament.

• The Tommies set Division I program records with 21 overall wins and 11 Summit League wins, and rank among the top 25 nationally in aces per set (9th), kills per set (12th), assists per set (14th), and attacks per set (22nd).

• Morgan Kealy won her second straight Summitt League Setter of the Year award while Tezra Rudzitis and Megan Wetter joined her on the first team. Anya Schmidt was named the league’s Freshman of the Year.

MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. FAIRFIELD, IOWA ST. AND ST. THOMAS

• Minnesota is 1-0 all-time vs. Fairfield. They last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 sweep for the Gophers.

• The ‘U’ is 25-7 all-time against Iowa State. The two teams last met in the 2021 season, a swep at the Diet Coke Classic for Minnesota. In the NCAA Tournament, they have met two times, with the Cyclones holding a 2-0 advantage. ISU defeated Minnesota in 2011, 3-1, at Maturi Pavilion. The match was a Sweet 16 game. In 2008, ISU beat Minnesota in four sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pav.

• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time vs. UST since the Tommies became a Division I team in 2021. The first two matchups were sweeps in 2021 and 2024. The third was a four-set win for Minnesota this fall (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18). Julia Hanson had 18 kills and 10 digs to lead the ‘U’ in the match.

STRONG SCHEDULE PREPS ‘U’ FOR POSTSEASON

• The Gophers went 3-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2025. Minnesota was one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2025 NCAA tournament. Of the Gophers 11 non-conference opponents, seven made the NCAA Tournament.

• The ‘U’ enters the postseason with a top-15 RPI and earned the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• In all, the Gophers faced 15 teams that make up the field of 64. Against teams that made the postseason, Minnesota posted a 9-8 record this season.

THREE GOPHERS EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

• Freshman opposite Carly Gilk, senior outside Julia Hanson and redshirt freshman Stella Swenson all earned all-league honors. Hanson was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection while Swenson made the second team and the all-freshman team. Gilk joined Swenson as a Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree. Lauren Crowl garnered Minnesota’s Sportsmanship Award.

• Hanson earned her second straight First Team All-Big Ten honor while Swenson and Gilk earned their first honors from the Big Ten.

UP NEXT

If they are victorious, Minnesota take on the winner of No. 5 Iowa State and St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT. ESPN+ will televise again.

Link

Sports

Creighton volleyball defeats Northern Colorado

Published

52 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season. The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament. Check out this fire block from the Jays.Creighton dominated in the first set 25-12.Things were pretty close in set 2, but a 3-0 Bluejay run gave them the 15-12 lead over the Bears.With a slam, the Jays were up 18-15.Northern Colorado got to 25 first, winning set 2, 25-23.The Bears were off to an early lead in set 3.A 5-0 run for CU tied things at 14 apiece.The Bears won set 2, 25-23.The Jays were putting it all out on the court after dropping two sets.A 4-0 run pushed the Jays up 12-4.Creighton won set 4, 25-17.Creighton took the lead in set 5.The Jays defeated the Bears 15-8 in the fifth set to win the match 3-2.Creighton will play Northern Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the CHI Health Center.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season.

The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.

This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament.

Check out this fire block from the Jays.