Sports
MLB to use Automated Ball
The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system that MLB rolled out during spring training and has been used in the minor leagues will be getting primetime treatment, as the ABS system will be used at the MLB All-Star Game for the first time, Major League Baseball confirmed. The All-Star Game is next Tuesday in Atlanta.
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As was the case in spring training, teams will be given two challenges, with retention if their challenge is upheld. Pitchers, catchers and hitters can challenge ball-strike calls. Challenges must be made immediately after a ball or strike call is made.
MLB hasn’t announced a timeframe for when the ABS system might be used in regular-season games, but this could be another step towards making that a reality. The system has been used at the Triple-A level since the 2022 season, and major leaguers got the opportunity to test it out this spring, where walks were up slightly and strikeouts were down slightly. Not surprisingly, run scoring was up slightly, as well.
The Athletic’s Jayson Stark spoke with players about their experience with the ABS system this spring and got a variety of responses. Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto told Stark he had mixed feelings about the system.
“I like it as a hitter,” Realmuto said. “I don’t really like it as a catcher as much, just because I think it takes part of the game away, part of the catcher position. Framing is still going to matter, but it’s not going to be as big of a deal. So that part I don’t like. But as a hitter, I do like having the consistent strike zone.”
Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers told Stark he felt the strike zone was smaller.
So, what is the ABS strike zone exactly? As it turns out, it plays a little differently than the traditional human strike zone.
The All-Star Game hasn’t traditionally been filled with much controversy, especially when it comes to balls and strikes, so it remains to be seen how much players will call on the ABS system to challenge calls during the game itself. But it could give fans a preview of what everyday MLB games will be like in the near future.
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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Elizabeth Merrill
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As she has been known to do lately during this unbelievable run by the Texas A&M volleyball team, All-America hitter Logan Lednicky lifted 5-foot-7 teammate Ava Underwood Thursday night and hoisted her in the air.
“We’re going to the national championship!” she told Underwood.
“I know,” Underwood replied.
The Aggies survived another marathon postseason set and knocked off No. 1 seed Pittsburgh 29-27, 25-21, 25-20 in the NCAA volleyball tournament’s final four at T-Mobile Center. The win set up an SEC showdown against Kentucky in Sunday’s championship match.
A week ago, Texas A&M was teetering on the brink of elimination and pulled off a reverse sweep of second-seeded Louisville in the Sweet 16. The Aggies followed that up by ending Nebraska’s undefeated season in a five-set nailbiter on Sunday in Lincoln that included a 37-35 fourth-set setback. Lednicky called the Aggies the “grittiest team in volleyball” after that one. The label was tough to dispute Thursday, when they calmly withstood an 8-0 run in the second game against Pitt.
The Aggies have become fan favorites during the NCAA tournament, a sort of Cinderella story, a seemingly overachieving team that got hot at the perfect time and is riding a wave of momentum. But coach Jamie Morrison bristles at the idea that his team has arrived at the title game because of something as fleeting and flukey as momentum.
He says it’s by design.
“I think volleyball is a game of momentum if — this isn’t a sound bite — you have a weak mind,” Morrison said Thursday night. “The thing I talk a lot about in our program is I care less about mistakes and I care more about responses.
“We talk a lot about mental strength and mental fortitude, and the skills that go into that … We started this season talking about who you are as a human being, then in the middle of the season we talked about who you are as a competitor. When you get in these big moments, you get sways of four points, then it’s a game of momentum because you start losing track of who you are.”
The most relevant theme for the Aggies’ success is where they’ve been.
Four seniors — Lednicky, Underwood, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Lexi Guinn — went 5-13 in SEC play as freshmen in 2022. Lednicky and Underwood were A&M legacies who dreamed of wearing the maroon and gold, and turning A&M into a volleyball powerhouse. It wasn’t until 2023 when that dream came into focus. When Morrison arrived.
“When he took the job,” Underwood said, “it was not a question in my mind that I was going to stay. I knew that he was the guy that could make this place a great place for volleyball and just for people to go to, and that was something that I wanted to be a part of. It didn’t take much convincing for me.”
“He’s got a lot of buzzwords, but I think the biggest thing is just be yourself. He’s not going to make a bunch of copies of the same type of competitor. He really embraces all of us for the differences that we have, and I think that’s what makes our team so special.”
By 2024, Morrison had the Aggies in the Sweet 16. They ran into second-seeded Wisconsin and lost in five sets, coming within two points of victory. Morrison, who on Thursday was named the 2025 Division I AVCA coach of the year, said this year’s team is reaping the benefits of that experience. Underwood takes it a step further.
“To be honest, I think last year, losing in the tournament, that was the pivotal turning moment for us,” Underwood said.
A few weeks later, the Aggies added Kyndal Stowers to their roster. The sophomore had been medically retired at Baylor after suffering four concussions in a span of eight months. Stowers has been one of the Aggies’ most dominant players, and led the team with 16 kills and hit .433 on Thursday.
She has been a perfect fit. When Stowers smashed a kill to give the Aggies a 13-11 lead in the third game Thursday, she squinted and flashed a knowing smile to her teammates. Texas A&M had taken control.
“I think we just came together as a team,” Stowers said of their rally in the second game that set the tone for the match. “A very similar thing happened when we were playing Nebraska. We were up by quite a bit, and they went on a run. The fourth set, that went forever. We’re like, ‘Hey, we’re not doing that again.
“‘They’re going on a run right now, we’re going to recognize that, props to them for what they’re doing, but we’re going to respond and we’re not going to let that keep happening.'”
It was an uncharacteristically short postseason night for the Aggies. Cos-Okpalla smashed a ball that zipped through the Panthers’ defense in the third game, sealing the victory. After the ball landed and the crowd erupted, Cos-Okpalla casually sauntered back to the center of the court, joining her teammates, who were bouncing around in a circle.
The pro-A&M crowd held up big head cutouts of their favorite players, and Lednicky high-fived children and hoisted a few more teammates in the air.
Neither she, nor the rest of the Aggies, were surprised. They’d been building toward this.
“Honestly, I think [the postseason mentality] has been the same,” Lednicky said. “I know it’s probably like beating a dead horse, but y’all keep hearing, ‘Why not us?’ Literally why not us?
“We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just ’cause we haven’t been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces.
“So why not us?”
Emmaus track & field standouts Claudia Walls and Madelyn McCartney are continuing their career next year at the Division I level.
Walls committed to Lehigh. McCartney is headed to the University of Kentucky.
“I chose Lehigh University because it has a great reputation athletically and academically,” Walls said. “The Patriot League is a very good fit for me. I plan on pursuing a degree in engineering. Coach Brooke Astor at Lehigh and I have formed a nice relationship, and I believe she will be instrumental in getting me to new heights.”
Walls is a three-time EPC high jump champion, 2025 District 11 Class 3A high jump champion, a two-time PIAA qualifier in the high jump and a one-time qualifier in the triple jump. She owns the school records in those two jumping events.
“I want to compete at a very high level, including participating in the New Balance Nationals again and Penn Relays,” Walls added, “and medaling at states and breaking the Emmaus long jump record.”
Walls was District 11 and EPC champion last spring in the high jump and finished 18th at the PIAA Championships. She was fourth in the long jump at districts and 22nd at states, plus EPC second, District 11 fourth and PIAA 22nd in the triple jump.
Darin Walls
Emmaus track & field standout Claudia Walls is continuing her career at Lehigh. (Photo courtesy of Darin Walls)
McCartney is a 2025 PIAA Class 3A cross country champion as well as a three-time EPC and District 11 gold medalist. She owns four individual school records between indoor and outdoor track and is part of three school relay records.
“I chose the University of Kentucky because I developed a good rapport with the coaching staff and liked what the school had to offer both athletically and academically,” she said. “I am going to pursue a career in the medical field at Kentucky because of the strong reputation it has in the medical field. I am planning on studying exercise and health sciences.
“My goals for the upcoming season are to have strong indoor and outdoor seasons. In addition, I am looking forward to competing again at New Balance indoor nationals again in March and possibly New Balance outdoor nationals again later in the spring.”
McCartney set EPC meet records last spring in the 1,600 and 3,200. She won EPC titles in those two races as well as the 800. She also was District 11 and PIAA 3A runner-up in the 3,200 plus District 11 champion and PIAA 11th in the 1,600.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
HICKORY, N.C. – Thanks to her contributions both on and off the court, Emmaleigh Allen has been named the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Scholar Athlete of the Year.
The honor recognizes a student-athlete’s combined excellence in academics, athletics, service, and leadership. Allen is the first Bear to win this award.
Allen was an All-SAC Second Team honoree this season, helping the Bears reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in program history. The senior finished the year with 304 digs, 246 kills, 36 service aces, and started all 31 matches, playing in all but two sets. She was named the SAC Offensive Player of the Week on September 29th for her performances against Catawba and Mars Hill.
The former SAC Freshman of the Year and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American had to persevere these past two years as she missed the entirety of the 2024 season due to injury. Allen didn’t miss a beat this season and was named a team captain by head coach Nicole Barringer.
“Emmaleigh has been a leader for us since she got here. She’s been a leader on the court, in the weight room, and in the classroom. She’s a high achieving individual and is very deserving of this award. We are proud of her and grateful she is a Bear!”
Off the court Allen is just as impressive, holding a 3.95 cumulative GPA in accounting, finance, and management. She was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team in both 2023 and 2025, the only years she was eligible. In 2024 the Wooster, Ohio, native was honored as the Broyhill Family Foundation Scholarship recipient from the Charles M. Snipes College of Business and Economics. She is also involved on campus a tutor and is the vice president of The Hidden Opponent, a club dedicated to mental health advocacy.
Her commitment to excellence and character has earned high praise from university leadership and her coaching staff, who cite her discipline, leadership, and ability to elevate those around her as hallmarks of her collegiate career.
Lincoln – A total of 18 current and former Husker student-athletes across all sports will receive their degrees during University of Nebraska-Lincoln Winter Commencement ceremonies at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 9 a.m.
Seven members of the Nebraska football team headline the graduating class, led by honorable-mention All-Big Ten defensive backs DeShon Singleton, Ceyair Wright and Malcolm Hartzog Jr. The trio of Blackshirts are joined by Janiran Bonner, Aidan Flege, Tyler Knaak and Dylan Parrott. The seven football players who came to Nebraska from seven different states helped the Big Red to back-to-back bowl games in 2024 and 2025.
AVCA All-Region and All-Big Ten volleyball middle blocker Rebekah Allick will earn her degree as a management major. The Lincoln native helped the Huskers to an unbeaten regular season, a Big Ten championship and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2025. During her career, she was part of three straight teams that won Big Ten titles and advanced to a pair of NCAA Final Fours, including the 2023 NCAA Championship match.
Baseball’s Riley Silva added a pair of Big Ten titles to the graduating class. The outfielder from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada helped the Huskers to back-to-back Big Ten Tournament championships in 2024 and 2025.
Husker soccer players Lauryn Anglim and Sadie Waite also graduated from Nebraska with Big Ten championships in their careers. Anglim (Omaha, Neb.) and Waite (St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada) were starters on NU’s conference title-winning team that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Elite Eight.
The Nebraska track and field/cross country programs contribute six members to the graduating class, including the most decorated individual in the class – 2025 NCAA indoor high jump champion Tyus Wilson. The senior from Sterling, Kan., is a four-time Big Ten high jump champ and a two-time first-team College Sports Communicators Academic All-American.
Teammate Adria Navajon added a Big Ten individual championship for the Husker men’s track and field in the heptathlon in 2025. Liem Chot, Jacquelyn Abanses, Hannah Godwin and Rebecca Pecora round out the list of track and field graduates.
Current men’s basketball guard Sam Hoiberg will add a degree as a sports media and communication major. Hoiberg, who helped the Huskers capture the College Basketball Crown postseason tournament title a year ago, has started every game during Nebraska’s nation-leading 15-game winning streak. The 11-0 Huskers are ranked No. 13 nationally heading into Sunday night’s home game with North Dakota at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Overall, the 18 Husker graduates in December came to Nebraska from nine states and three foreign countries.
Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, while leading the nation with 19 NCAA Impact Awards (formerly known as Today’s Top 10) across all sports. Nebraska also leads the Big Ten and ranks second in NCAA Division I with 373 College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans across all sports. More than 100 Nebraska student-athletes all time have earned prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.
December 2025 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (18)
Jacquelyn Abanses (Track & Field/Cross Country) – Lutz, Florida (Business Administration)
Rebekah Allick (Volleyball) – Lincoln, Nebraska (Management)
Lauryn Anglim (Soccer) – Omaha, Nebraska (Nutrition & Health Sciences)
Janiran Bonner (Football) – Ellenwood, Georgia (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Liem Chot (Track & Field/Cross Country) – Lincoln, Nebraska (English)
Aidan Flege (Football) – Lincoln, Nebraska (Management)
Hannah Godwin (Track & Field/Cross Country) – Kearney, Nebraska (Biological Sciences)
Malcolm Hartzog Jr. (Football) – Silver Creek, Mississippi (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Sam Hoiberg (Basketball) – Lincoln, Nebraska (Sports Media & Communication)
Tyler Knaak (Football) – Cottonwood Heights, Utah (Environmental Studies)
Adria Navajon (Track & Field) – Rubi, Barcelona, Spain (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Dylan Parrott (Football) – Eldridge, Iowa (Management)
Rebecca Pecora (Track & Field) – Pioltello, Milan, Italy (Biochemistry/Biological Sciences)
Riley Silva (Baseball) – Cambridge, Ontario, Canada (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
DeShon Singleton (Football) – Amite, Louisiana (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Sadie Waite (Soccer) – St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada (Marketing)
Tyus Wilson (Track & Field) – Sterling, Kansas (Elementary Education)
Ceyair Wright (Football) – Los Angeles, California (Child, Youth & Family Studies)
Baylor Bear Insider
GRAPEVINE, Texas – Benjamin Dalton knows that he may never get another chance to coach an athlete as elite as Nathaniel Ezekiel.
“I think a lot of coaches would understand this,” the Baylor assistant coach said of Ezekiel, the 2025 NCAA 400-meter hurdles national champion and Bowerman finalist. “There are some athletes that are once in a lifetime. And not only the talent level, but who is as a young man. He’s a phenomenal human being and an amazing athlete. So, very fortunate, very thankful.”
The fan favorite to win The Bowerman, college track and field’s equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy, Ezekiel lost out to Arkansas sprinter Jordan Anthony at Thursday’s presentation ceremony at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center.
“It’s pretty amazing to come out here and see them recognize you for all the hard work and effort you put into the whole year,” said Ezekiel, a nine-time All-American who was also the silver medalist in the 400 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. “Every one of us was expecting to be called. Him getting it is cool, and if I got it, it was cool, too. But you have to be happy for other people’s success as well.”
The other men’s finalist was sprint hurdler Ja’Kobe Tharp from Auburn, while Alabama’s Doris Lemngole won the female Bowerman award over Michigan hurdler Savannah Sutherland and New Mexico distance runner Pamela Kosgei.
Ezekiel was Baylor’s first-ever Bowerman finalist, an award that was started in 2009 to honor the nation’s top male and female collegiate track and field athlete.
“Even this morning, I was thinking about many greats we’ve had in the past that probably would have won it,” Baylor head coach Michael Ford said, referencing Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner, in particular. “For Nate to be our first (finalist), it’s always going to be historic. I’m proud of Nate, he had a great season. To me, this doesn’t diminish what he did in his four years at Baylor.”
In an interview with Bowerman host and ESPN analyst Larra Overton, Nate talked about writing down the same goal each year and praying about winning a national championship. He finished fourth in the 400 hurdles as a freshman, then won bronze medals each of the next two seasons before a breakthrough senior season with a PR time of 47.49 that ranks as the third-fastest in collegiate history.
“My junior year, when I wrote it down again and it didn’t happen, I thought, ‘Man, God doesn’t like me,”’ he said.
Saving his best for last, though, Ezekiel also set the Baylor program record in the indoor 400 with a time of 44.74. He is also the only man in NCAA history to hold multiple top-10 marks in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles with the third, seventh, eighth and ninth-fastest times.
“When I was looking at Baylor and I kind of looked into their track record, I saw what Clyde Hart had actually done with the program, with the likes of Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner,” Ezekiel said. “And then also, with Coach Ford with Trayvon Bromell. I just said, ‘Okay, I have to step in, and I have to leave my name on the mark and do some great things.”’
And that he did, winning six Big 12 championships in addition to his success on the national stage. Turning pro this summer, Ezekiel finished fourth in the 400 hurdles at the World Championships in Tokyo, running a Nigerian national-record time of 47.11.
“I want to be an inspiration to little kids in Africa and around the world,” he said. “And when they look at me, they see a symbol of hope, a symbol of excellence. And whatever you wish in your mind, you have the power to chase your goals and actually make it happen.”
Reflecting on his four years as a student-athlete at Baylor, Nate said, “It’s actually a great community, great people and great coaches.”
“They made me feel like it’s home for me and made things easier for me. Honestly, it was a splendid experience, which I loved.”
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