© Marc Weiszer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the SEC spring meetings on the Florida panhandle this week, a lot of pertinent topics in college football and recruiting were broached, NIL being one of them, of course.

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Georgia coach Kirby Smart made some waves in Miramar Beach when he told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger something striking about the NIL landscape.

MORE SEC: Peach State commitment predictions | SEC programs primed for a big June in recruiting

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According to Smart, some collectives (none in the SEC, of course) are compensating high school players upward of $20,000 per month to remain committed and then eventually sign with their school.

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“Teams that are usually good at recruiting right now are doing it,” Smart said. “Kids are getting money but if you decommit you owe that money back. These are high school kids getting money from an entity not affiliated with the university but is a collective of the university.”

How one wants to define affiliated is up to them but it’s pretty well-known that coaches often talk to collectives to determine which players to target with their money and what will be needed to land their commitment.

Smart has taken a different approach than many other coaches who clearly have a pay-for-play model when it comes to recruiting. He made his comments just about two weeks after five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell chose Miami over the Bulldogs.

Cantwell talked highly about his relationship with Miami coach Mario Cristobal and position coach Alex Mirabal and how that was the deciding factor. But in the background was super agent Drew Rosenhaus working a reported $2 million-per-year NIL deal for the Nixa, Mo., standout.

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Georgia had to fight tooth and dollar until the end to get the recommitment of five-star quarterback Jared Curtis from Nashville (Tenn.) Christian. UGA beat out Oregon, which has all the Nike money to land players and hasn’t been shy about it in the past.

Whether right or wrong, Smart’s approach has not been to blow the Georgia money stack on one superstar player but to spread his bets around to multiple players. There has also been a hesitancy to promise massive money upfront but not shy away from paying more once production has been shown in the early years in Athens.

After reading Smart’s comments, lawyer Darren Heitner, who deals with NIL issues, took to social media and said: “The only reason Kirby Smart is complaining about high school players receiving compensation is that Georgia is losing out on players. You don’t hear criticism from the schools winning the recruiting wars and the athletes who are benefiting in the process.”

That has not been necessarily true in Georgia’s case although there have been some recruiting battles that even people inside the building were uncertain of how they’d go down the stretch because opponents have come in with big bags late. Cantwell was one. Georgia wasn’t certain on Curtis until right before decision time.

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Like Smart said on a different topic this week, there’s no complaining from the yacht. The Bulldogs are hardly struggling.

Georgia has the No. 10 recruiting class right now in the 2026 class. In the last four recruiting cycles, the Dawgs have finishes of No. 1, two No. 2s and a No. 3 class. In 2021 and 2022, Georgia won back-to-back national championships for the first time in a decade since Alabama did it in 2011-12.

When then-Alabama coach Nick Saban called out then-Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher for buying players in the Aggies’ 2022 class that finished atop the Rivals team rankings one spot ahead of the Crimson Tide, it set off a firestorm of back-and-forth bashing and ridicule. Fisher went off on Saban, who finally dialed it back but the message was sent.

In only those few short years, the NIL landscape has transformed college football recruiting in many ways. What was once illegal is now perfectly fine.

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Change is most likely coming with the House settlement and revenue sharing in many ways. One reason Saban left the game was because of NIL, no doubt, as players came into his office asking what he was going to give them. Enough was enough.

Smart might not be at the end of his rope just yet but there are certainly frustrations. Right or wrong, he’s going to do things his way and whether he lands the next Cantwell or not, we’ll see if the NIL tide causes waves too big to handle.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH GEORGIA FANS AT UGASPORTS.COM

Image credit:
Brian O’Connor (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mississippi State has zeroed in on longtime Virginia skipper Brian O’Connor to become the ninth head coach in program history, multiple sources familiar with the situation told Baseball America. O’Connor quickly became a primary target for Mississippi State athletic director Zac Selmon following the school’s dismissal of former coach Chris Lemonis in April.

O’Connor, 54, is one of the nation’s most accomplished active head coaches, having guided Virginia to seven College World Series appearances, including in 2015 when it won the national title. Three of O’Connor’s last five Virginia teams reached Omaha, and he was recognized as the ACC coach of the year on five different occasions from 2004-14.

One of the longest-tenured active head coaches in the nation, O’Connor has been at the helm with the Cavaliers since 2004. After missing the NCAA Tournament this year, he was promised increased resources for baseball but ultimately chose to pursue an SEC opportunity.

A deal is not yet completed for O’Connor’s hiring, but one is expected in the coming days. O’Connor’s buyout with UVA is $800,000.

“We will be in a much-improved scholarship situation moving forward,” O’Connor told reporters on Monday regarding his expectations for resources at Virginia. “That exact number I don’t have, but that’s being continued to be worked on. The NIL situation is totally up in the air for all of college athletics.”

Mississippi State’s decision to hire O’Connor comes with championship expectations and nothing less, a reality that was made clear throughout the hiring process, according to multiple sources.

Those expectations come on the heals of the Bulldogs’ late-April decision to fire Lemonis, who won the national championship in 2021.

Lemonis’ tenure at Mississippi State began with great promise as he led the Bulldogs to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2019 and 2021, culminating in the program’s first national title. However, the years that followed saw a significant downturn, with Mississippi State struggling to maintain its place among the SEC’s elite. After a last-place SEC finish in 2022 and a missed postseason again in 2023, the Bulldogs’ continued inconsistency in 2025 proved too much to overcome.

Mississippi State said it will conduct a national search for its next head coach, emphasizing the program’s stature within the sport.

“Mississippi State is the premier job in college baseball,” Selmon said in April. “The tradition, the facilities, the NIL offerings and the fan base are all second to none. Dudy Noble Field is the best environment in the sport, period.”

While O’Connor has emerged as the favorite to take over the program, Mississippi State’s season is still alive under interim coach Justin Parker.

The Bulldogs were tabbed the No. 3-seed in the Tallahassee Regional, where they’ll face Florida State, Northeastern and Bethune-Cookman.

She’s rewriting what’s possible for women in sports!

When NiJaree Canady stepped away from Stanford University last summer, she didn’t just transfer schools, she changed the game. The reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, known for leading Stanford to back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances, made headlines when she announced her move to Texas Tech, ESPN reports. But what truly shook the foundation of college athletics was the historic NIL deal that followed for Canady, one set to the tune of $1,050,024. That number wasn’t just a contract, it was a declaration.

The deal, offered by Texas Tech’s Matador Club, made Canady the first million-dollar athlete in college softball history. It included a symbolic nod to her jersey, $1 million for her name, $50,000 for living expenses, and $24 to represent the number she wears on her back. In a sport where women have long been overlooked, Canady became a lightning rod for change.

Still, her decision wasn’t made lightly. “I feel like people thought I heard the number and just came to Texas Tech, which wasn’t the case at all,” Canady said. “If I didn’t feel like Coach Glasco was an amazing coach and could lead this program to be where we thought it could be, I wouldn’t have come.”

Coach Gerry Glasco knew what was at stake. Just days after taking the job at Tech, he made Canady his top priority. He poured over charts, handwritten lineups, and made promises not just about the mound, but about the plate. Because while the world saw Canady as the nation’s top pitcher, Glasco saw something more: a full-fledged athlete who missed hitting, who could carry a team on her arm and her bat.

The pitch worked. It didn’t hurt that Patrick Mahomes — yes, that Patrick Mahomes — called Canady personally to convince her to join the Red Raiders. “Patrick Mahomes, I have his number, I can reach out to him. So I think that’s cool,” she said. That kind of hometown star power, paired with Glasco’s passion and a family of supporters ready to invest in women’s sports, created the perfect storm.

And Canady has delivered. This season, she led the nation with a jaw-dropping 0.81 ERA and was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. She went 26-5, helping Texas Tech secure their first-ever Big 12 regular-season and conference titles. The Red Raiders are now hosting their first NCAA regional, with Canady at the center of it all.

“She definitely put Texas Tech softball on the map,” said Tracy Sellers, one of the program’s longtime supporters who helped fund the deal. After meeting Canady, she knew this was bigger than just softball. “She is a wonderful human being… I left that meeting and thought, this is who I would love to put a lot of effort into because of who she is.”

For Canady, who grew up in Topeka, Kansas, dominating in everything from basketball to tackle football, Lubbock felt like home. “Lubbock reminds me more of home,” she said. “I think that was the biggest shock to me, just about how much sports matter here in Texas.”

Even off the field, she’s embracing the culture, learning the science behind tossing tortillas at Tech football games and making time to sign autographs for the next generation of athletes. Her dreams don’t stop at championships. She wants to open her own facility and teach girls to pitch, to hit, and to dream without limits.

“I hope someone tomorrow comes in and builds it even more,” Canady said. “There are a lot of male athletes who get that and it’s not a headline anymore. I hope that happens for women’s sports, too.”

With her million-dollar deal, her powerhouse performance, and her heart for the game, NiJaree Canady isn’t just making headlines, she’s opening doors. For girls who pitch, who swing for the fences, and who dare to believe that their talent is worth just as much as anyone else’s.

Thanks to NiJaree Canady, the future of women’s sports just got a whole lot brighter.

Cover photo: NiJaree Canady Makes History as First Million-Dollar College Softball Player/Photo credit: USA Softball

There was plenty of drama during the final few days before the deadline for players to withdraw from the 2025 NBA Draft and return to play another season of college basketball. While Washington State’s Cedric Coward made his intentions of staying in the draft known well before Wednesday’s deadline, others kept fans, coaches and NBA teams in suspense during the final hours.

Kentucky star Otega Oweh kept everyone guessing leading up to the Wednesday deadline. The potential second-round pick elected to return to Kentucky where he projects as a possible SEC Player of the Year candidate. 

Another contender for that award also turned down the NBA. Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford turned down a potential late first-round draft spot for NIL deal with the Tigers north of $2 million, a source told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

2025 NBA Draft: Top late decisions of underclassmen deciding if they should withdraw or turn pro

Cameron Salerno

One of the biggest winners of the deadline was Michigan. Former UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 1 ranked player in the CBS Sports transfer rankings, decided to withdraw from the draft and return to college basketball as an All-American candidate. Lendeborg led the nation in double-doubles last season and was projected as a late-first-round pick after a strong showing at the NBA Draft Combine.

Here are selected winners and losers for the deadline for players to make their NBA Draft decisions.

Winner: Alabama’s Labaron Philon pulls off shocker 

With 29 minutes remaining until the deadline passed to withdraw from the draft, Alabama’s NIL collective “Yea Alabama” announced that Philon would return to school. A return to Alabama wasn’t even in the cards. Philon wasn’t even a player mentioned as one to watch leading up to the deadline as someone who could return to school because he was firm about staying in the draft.

“I’m all-in on the draft,” Philon told reporters at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month. “They weren’t surprised. They knew it already.”

With Philon back, it immediately adds firepower to Alabama’s offense. Philon was one of the best freshmen in college basketball last season, and as a projected first-round pick, it’s shocking that he decided to run it back. Alabama is one of the biggest winners for that reason alone.

Winner: Michigan’s patience rewarded 

Lendeborg choosing to play another season of college basketball was one of the biggest surprises of the withdrawal deadline. It seemed like he had improved his stock enough to get selected at the end of the first round, but there is no such thing as a guarantee. Players who are projected as fringe first-round picks often rely on promises from NBA teams and their decision-makers to make a final call. 

Lendeborg received a NIL package believed to be in the neighborhood of $3 million to return to school, sources told CBS Sports. Michigan loved to play with its double-big lineup last season, and Lendeborg fills a clear need as a double-double machine. With another year for Lendeborg to improve his draft stock, all parties involved could be massive winners in a year from now.

Why Yaxel Lendeborg withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft to play for Dusty May at Michigan is right decision

Cameron Salerno

Loser: RJ Luis Jr. makes shocking draft decision

One of the biggest surprises of the withdrawal deadline was Luis staying in the draft. The Big East Player of the Year had a breakout season for St. John’s, but returning to school and raising his stock further would’ve been the best option. After all, when Luis entered the transfer portal, he was sought out by many top-tier programs. Add on how some of those schools may have become desperate late in the recruiting cycle, and Luis could’ve gotten paid and gone to a favorable situation in college. 

Nonetheless, it’s hard to knock someone’s dream of wanting to play in the NBA as soon as possible. The best-case scenario is he winds up as a mid-to-late second-round pick. Getting drafted in that range means you face an uphill climb to make an NBA roster and likely play most of the season in the G League. It was trending that Luis would never play another minute of college basketball for quite some time, but it’s still surprising.

Winner: NIL agents get paid

While players earning life-changing NIL money are the biggest winners, their respective agents are also cashing out. Several high-profile NIL deals have been reported this offseason. UCLA star Donovan Dent received around $3 million. Lendeborg cashed in on a deal around the same number. All-American PJ Haggerty bypassed the NBA Draft and transferred to Kansas State for a big payday. As my colleague Isaac Trotter wrote last month, the influx of spending comes on the heels of the House vs. NCAA settlement, which would create a full-fledged revenue-sharing model and potential de facto salary cap. In the meantime, everyone is getting paid.

Expected House v. NCAA court ruling and NIL impact on future teams being felt at 2025 Final Four (ask Auburn)

Isaac Trotter

Loser: Cedric Coward’s gain leads to Duke’s pain 

Duke probably wishes Coward never attended the NBA Draft Combine. That’s an exaggeration, but his performance at the event solidified his standing as a potential first-round pick. Coward transferred to Duke after entering the transfer portal but will never suit up for the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils moved quickly to replace Coward’s production with four-star forward Sebastian Wilkins and five-star International sensation Dame Sarr out of Italy. They’ll have the returning firepower needed to compete for a national title, but not getting Coward has to sting.

Winner: Florida is primed to make another title run

The reigning national champion saw its starting frontcourt of Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu withdraw from the draft to return to school. Their return solidifies Florida’s frontcourt depth as the best in the country. That group gave opposing teams nightmares during the NCAA Tournament. Add in transfers Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, and you have a team capable of making another title run next year.

Alex Condon returns to Florida: Gators may have top frontcourt after big man withdraws from 2025 NBA Draft

Austin Nivison

Loser: Arkansas’ Adou Thiero moves on 

The good news for Arkansas coach John Calipari is his streak of players drafted in the first round is likely to continue. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, that means  Thiero is not returning. Calipari’s streak started in 2008 when the Chicago Bulls selected Derrick Rose from Memphis with the No. 1 overall pick. During his 15-year stint at Kentucky, Calipari produced 37 first-rounders, 25 of which were lottery selections. 

Thiero is a fringe first-round pick. He has tools that will translate to the NBA, so it wouldn’t shock anyone if a team picking in the late 20s took a chance on him. All and all, Thiero is a big loss for Arkansas. He followed Calipari from Kentucky to Fayetteville and had the best season of his college career.

Winner: SEC stars run it back

Kentucky’s Oweh and Auburn’s Pettiford are both contenders for SEC Player of the Year. Pettiford primarily came off the bench during his freshman season at Auburn but was one of Bruce Pearl’s most impactful players. Pettiford’s role will increase significantly in his second season. Oweh was one of Mark Pope’s key commitments out of the transfer portal during Year 1 at Kentucky and he finished as the team’s leading scorer last season. The Wildcats made some splashes in the transfer portal, but getting a proven two-way talent like Oweh back is a major win for Pope and his staff. 

Tahaad Pettiford withdraws from NBA Draft: Sophomore guard returns to Auburn after Final Four season

Matt Norlander

Loser: NBA teams picking in the second round

The NBA Draft talent pool is shrinking with more players are returning to school. And why wouldn’t they? Players drafted in the second round face an uphill climb to make an NBA roster. Most of their time is spent in the G League. Players like Oweh, Karter Knox and Milos Uzan decided to run it back instead of taking the risk of falling out of the first round. It’s a smart decision on their part, but it makes life even harder on NBA teams in search of second-round gems. Expect an increased focus on international prospects in the second round going forward. 

The biggest deadline in the 2025 NBA draft process and the final noteworthy date of the college basketball offseason came and went Wednesday, as the NCAA deadline for players to decide whether to keep their names in the draft or return to school passed at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Some prospects made their stay-or-go decisions at the draft combine earlier this month with Carter Bryant (Arizona), Drake Powell (North Carolina) and Thomas Sorber (Georgetown) all solidifying their intentions to remain in the draft, while others such as Boogie Fland (Florida) and Darrion Williams (NC State) announced their withdrawals.

That left suspense around the impending decisions of about 15 notable players. With prospects weighing feedback from the combine, agency pro days and their final workouts with NBA teams, the last of them took it down to the wire on Wednesday night.

Once midnight passed, though, both the draft (June 25-26) and the 2025-26 college basketball landscapes gained clarity. Which schools benefited the most from players returning to college? Which prospects should make jumps on NBA draft boards in 2026? Can Florida go back-to-back?

ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello and NBA draft insiders Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo weigh in on the biggest storylines.

More NBA draft coverage:
Mock draft: Flagg to the Mavs and more
Combine: Risers, fallers | Lottery team questions
Draft assets | Top 100 rankings | Pelton’s top 30

How are NIL deals impacting the NBA draft landscape?

Givony: Not only did we see the lowest number of early-entrant candidates (106) in a decade, but another dozen or so draftable prospects withdrew at the deadline, making this one of the shallowest second rounds we’ve seen in a few years.

NBA teams have expressed surprise and concerns about this development, wondering how effectively they will be able to assemble summer league and G League rosters relative to years past, but most believe this is a temporary bottleneck (one caused by the abnormal amount of money) that will clear in the next year or two as the players who elected to return to school this year exhaust their NCAA eligibility.

This should ultimately lead to an older, more pro-ready crop of rookies in the future, too — arguably with additional cachet among casual fans who have more time to learn about the biggest college basketball stars.

NBA teams also understand they will need to adjust how they evaluate older prospects. In the past, it was easy to knock upperclassmen coming off dominant seasons when compared to younger players. But the level of competition in college has never been higher, with programs now able to recruit the very best players from across the globe, and experienced players staying longer — typically with the top teams in power conferences.

Players staying in school perhaps can’t be frowned upon for 22- and 23-year-olds as it was in the past, and analytics-oriented NBA executives are trying to determine whether — and to what extent — they should be tweaking their draft models to account for this new reality, which is very different than what they built their formulas on using data from the past decade or two. Yaxel Lendeborg, who withdrew and committed to Michigan, will be a prime example of this as 22-year-old projected first-round picks in his mold typically haven’t returned to college.

While the projected top-five picks of the 2026 draft are collectively considered historically good, the depth of this year’s high school senior class — i.e., 2025-26 freshmen — looks fairly poor, which might lead to one of the oldest first rounds we’ve seen in some time this time next year.

Borzello: The entire equation has changed for NBA hopefuls in college (and overseas). The possibility of being selected in the second round was once enough for prospects to keep their name in the draft, but with the ability to make millions through NIL, there’s a trend developing of players returning to college.

Even some projected first-rounders are making the decision to return to school for as much as $3 million in NIL deals while hoping to get firm guarantees from NBA teams a year from now.

A prospect’s decision no longer hinges on hoping his draft stock is good enough to make real money in the NBA vs. playing for free while developing at the collegiate level. With salaries for the final handful of picks in this year’s first round clocking in at below $3 million per season for the next two seasons, per the rookie scale, players projected in that range can now make just as much money by opting to stay in college while theoretically improving their draft stock.

As Givony mentioned, players staying in college for three or four years until they’re 22 is no longer a deal breaker for NBA teams — and that’s a result of both NIL and the transfer portal. Danny Wolf blossomed into a likely first-round pick after transferring from Yale to Michigan. Nique Clifford wasn’t on the NBA draft radar until he transferred from Colorado to Colorado State while Walter Clayton Jr.’s profile rose after transferring from Iona to Florida — both withdrew their names from the draft last year and now have first-round projections.

Which college basketball team is the biggest winner after the withdrawal deadline?

Borzello: Florida was one. There were other winners, certainly — including Houston (Milos Uzan), Michigan (Lendeborg), Auburn (Tahaad Pettiford) and Kentucky (Otega Oweh) — but the Gators went from a borderline top-20 team to a legitimate contender to open the season as the No. 1 team with a real chance to win back-to-back titles.

Florida was the beneficiary of Fland’s withdrawal, as the Arkansas transfer ultimately committed to the Gators a week after making his decision. Then Alex Condon, a fringe first-round pick, also withdrew to return to Gainesville. With both officially in the fold, coach Todd Golden has as good a starting five as there is in college basketball.

Alabama was also a surprise winner, with Labaron Philon announcing shortly before the deadline that he was going back to Tuscaloosa. Philon said at the combine that he had closed the door on a return to Bama, but his second-round projection and opportunity for a bigger role as a sophomore makes this the sensible decision.

It’s a huge boost for coach Nate Oats’ team, which had been searching for a dynamic playmaker on the perimeter.

With the addition of Fland and Condon returning, how well are the Gators set up to defend their title?

Borzello: As I mentioned above, Florida ascends into the preseason No. 1 conversation as a result of their decisions. The Gators have a different roster construction from a year ago, when there were more clearly defined roles and arguably better balance and depth throughout the roster. But now Golden has two shot creators and shotmakers in Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee in the backcourt, and one of the best — certainly the biggest — frontcourt in the country with 6-11 Condon, 6-9 Thomas Haugh, 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu and 7-1 Micah Handlogten handling the lion’s share of minutes.

They’ll have to figure out how everything fits, but there should be more optimism in Gainesville about a repeat than there was earlier this offseason.

Givony: Defend they will, as they are set up very well, with likely the best frontcourt in college basketball. There is plenty of shooting in the backcourt, with Fland, Lee, Ohio transfer AJ Brown and Urban Klavzar, who should be ready to step into a bigger role in his second season in Gainesville. Figuring out the shot-creation hierarchy between Lee and Fland will be important, and there are question marks to answer on the wing, but the bones are in place for a Final Four-contending team.

I would still rank Purdue No. 1 on my preseason ballot because of the certainty of returning two preseason All-Americans in Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, but reasonable minds can differ here.

Woo: The biggest driver in March is always guard play, which places a ton of weight on what type of season Fland has as the presumptive lead ball handler. If he can improve on what he showed in his one season at Arkansas, both Florida and Fland should be quite happy with this marriage.

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The best of Boogie Fland’s season with Arkansas

Check out Boogie Fland’s top highlights for Arkansas with news of his transfer to Florida.

Which college basketball team was most hurt by prospects who stayed in the draft?

Borzello: Penn State. While things had been trending in this direction for Yanic Konan Niederhauser since the combine, it still hurts coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions to see him keep his name in the draft.

After a relatively anonymous career at Northern Illinois in which he averaged 5.1 points over two seasons, Penn State added Niederhauser from the transfer portal last spring. The Nittany Lions were able to keep him out of the transfer portal earlier this spring and made a competitive offer to keep him, but the Switzerland native’s stock will never be higher than it is now as a borderline first-round pick.

It’s also worth noting that a handful of programs will be hurt by RJ Luis Jr. and Jamir Watkins — the best two available transfers in the portal — opting to stay in the draft. With those two out of the mix, there are very few options left for deep-pocketed schools in need of impact players.

Luis was being pursued by the likes of North Carolina, Kansas, Ole Miss, Villanova and Georgetown, while Washington was among the schools in the mix for Watkins. Where will those schools turn now? USC transfer Desmond Claude is the only uncommitted top-100 transfer, leaving European prospects and 2026 recruits who wish to reclassify as the best options.

The transfer portal most helped this draft prospect because …

Givony: Two years ago, Yanic Konan Niederhauser was coming off a freshman season in which he averaged 2.2 points in eight minutes per game for Northern Illinois. Now he is knocking on the door of the first round after a strong junior season at Penn State and outstanding performances at the G League Elite Camp and combine, where he measured and tested as one of the best athletes in the draft with an array of highlight-reel plays on both ends of the floor that stirred the imagination of NBA scouts.

The 7-footer is clearly on a different trajectory, as evidenced by the stark improvement he’s made in each of the past three seasons and his explosion in Chicago. That ascent likely would not have been possible without going from the obscurity of the MAC and to the pressure cooker of the Big Ten, where he was forced to find another gear with his intensity and put his outstanding physical tools to much greater use.

Woo: Entering the season, Danny Wolf was more of a curiosity for NBA scouts than a bona fide prospect coming off a strong year at Yale. That changed in a hurry, as he proved his skill set translated against high-level competition and settled in at Michigan, playing for a creative coach in Dusty May who was committed to utilizing Wolf’s versatility and playmaking skills.

The fact that Wolf operated as a de facto point guard at times — a role he may not have been granted at another school — added a level of intrigue.

Wolf is still a divisive evaluation among scouts, some of whom question the ultimate translation of his role into a high-value NBA context. But his rise from the Ivy League to likely first-round pick points to the benefits of picking the right school and coach, which even in the face of huge dollar values being thrown around in the portal, should be prioritized as players make their decisions.

Which prospect who returned to school has the best chance to rise in the 2026 NBA draft?

Givony: Several NBA teams were very interested in getting a closer look at Joseph Tugler during the predraft process, but he ultimately decided to not declare, announcing his return to Houston nine days after his season ended with a national championship game loss to Florida.

The 20-year-old is the second youngest player after Anthony Davis (Kentucky in 2012), to win the Lefty Driesell Award, given to college basketball’s best defensive player. He was also the youngest player since its advent in 2006 to win Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. With his 7-6 wingspan, incredible motor, rim-protection instincts and ability to cover ground on the perimeter, Tugler could become a game changer defensively at the NBA level, too.

If he can find a way to cut down on fouls (he led all draft prospects in this category per-minute last season) and slightly improve offensively (54% free throw percentage), he can make a strong case as a first-round pick next season.

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Joseph Tugler’s dunk brings Houston within 1

Houston comes up with a big steal and Joseph Tugler throws it down to bring the Cougars within a point of Duke.

Woo: I’m interested to see what Tahaad Pettiford will do with a bigger role at Auburn after his positive showing at the combine. Although his size (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) will work against him from a projection standpoint, I was intrigued by the mix of athleticism and skill he flashed in scrimmages, and am curious to see how he develops over the next 12 months. His explosive athleticism and microwave scoring ability will help his case as a potential outlier prospect with his physical dimensions.

Beyond the likely leap in offensive usage headed his way, the biggest thing Pettiford can do next season is demonstrate that he can add value in games where his shot isn’t falling. Part of that process will be expanding his game as a passer and playmaker for teammates, and becoming a more consistently impactful defender. Pettiford will likely always be a score-first player, but if he can be increasingly efficient while making the most of his ability in other areas, he’ll sharpen his case as a first-rounder, where he’ll project to begin next season. Going back to school to work on those things should prove to be a beneficial decision.

Who’s an under-the-radar prospect you like who went back to school and could be a first-round pick in 2026?

Givony: Bennett Stirtz, a 6-foot-4 point guard who played for Drake last season, was one of the breakout stars of the NCAA tournament, posting 42 points and 12 assists in two strong performances against Missouri and Texas, showing his game more than translates against elite-level competition after a dominant season in the Horizon League. Stirtz was ranked No. 35 in the ESPN Top 100 when he announced he would enter the transfer portal and follow his coach, Ben McCollum, from Drake to Iowa, not even bothering to test the NBA draft waters along the way.

NBA scouts won’t complain about having a full season to evaluate Stirtz in the Big Ten, where they’ll get a better feel for how his impressive ballhandling, ability to change speeds, touch and creativity finishing around the basket translate for a full season. Stirtz is a dynamic perimeter shooter who is one of the best passers and decision-makers in college basketball but getting a better gauge for his defense and how he handles coaches planning against him on a nightly basis will surely shed light on how high he should be selected next June.

Woo: Zuby Ejiofor didn’t grab many national headlines this season, but the big man took a major leap at St. John’s, making the All-Big East first team and also named the conference’s most improved player. Although his team’s season ended in the NCAA tournament’s second round, Ejiofor’s 23 points and 12 rebounds against Arkansas left a positive impression, showcasing his physicality and motor in the paint. Though undersized for a center, Ejiofor’s overall impact on the game makes him an interesting role player candidate at the next level.

Ejiofor’s rugged, all-out style raises his team’s floor on a nightly basis, and the fact he recently turned 21 will work in his favor going into his senior season. Continuing to work on his frame, improve his mobility and hone his offensive decision-making could broaden his NBA appeal. It seems likely coach Rick Pitino will lean on him again, leaving room for a step forward in production that could bump his prospect status in a meaningful way.

The top eight teams in college softball are heading to Oklahoma City this week to compete for a national championship in the Women’s College World Series (WCWS). There are multiple storylines to follow, from Oklahoma seeking its fifth consecutive national championship to Texas Tech playing in the WCWS for the first time.

Here are several Black softball standouts to follow during the Women’s College World Series, which begins Thursday. All game times are in Eastern (ET).

Texas Tech: NiJaree Canady, pitcher 

Junior NiJaree Canady has led Texas Tech to its first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history. 

Canady, who helped her former school, Stanford, advance to the WCWS twice (2023 and 2024), made history last summer after accepting a $1 million offer to play for Texas Tech, the highest-paid NIL deal in college softball. She currently ranks first in the country with a 0.89 ERA and sixth in strikeouts (279). 

Though Canady, a finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year award, is known for her pitching, she also has embraced a hitting role for Texas Tech. She has a .312 batting average, 34 RBIs and a team-high 11 home runs. Texas Tech defeated Florida State in two games at the Tallahassee Super Regional last week to advance to the WCWS, and in Game 1, Canady threw a two-hit shutout and had a home run in Texas Tech’s first ever Super Regional win.

Texas Tech will face Mississippi at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.

Oklahoma: Ella Parker, designated hitter, and Cydney Sanders, first base 

Sophomore Ella Parker, who was named to the 2025 All-SEC tournament team, is hitting .416 with a team-high 19 doubles this season.

After defeating Alabama 3-0 in Game 1 of the Tuscaloosa Super Regional last weekend, the Sooners recorded a run-rule win against the Crimson Tide in five innings (13-2) in Game 2, earning Oklahoma’s ninth consecutive WCWS appearance. Parker went 3-for-4 in the game with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs.

Oklahoma has won four consecutive national championships, and senior Cydney Sanders was a part of the last two. The first baseman also was selected for the 2025 All-SEC tournament team, tallying three RBIs in the tournament before Oklahoma and Texas A&M were named co-champions after the championship game was canceled because of rain.

Oklahoma will play Tennessee at 2:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN. 

UCLA: Jordan Woolery, third base

Jordan Woolery, the 2023 PAC-12 Freshman of the Year, has continued to excel throughout her career as a Bruin. The junior ranks second on the team this season in batting average (.415) and home runs (23), and she leads the Bruins in RBIs (86) and total bases (173). Woolery, who was named to this year’s All-Big Ten first team, was a top 10 finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year award this season.

Woolery produced four RBIs over the weekend during UCLA’s three-game series against South Carolina in the Columbia Super Regional. In Game 2, she hit a walk-off, two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure UCLA’s 5-4 comeback victory and force a Game 3, which the Bruins won 5-0.

UCLA will play Oregon at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. 

Texas: Mia Scott, third base

Mia Scott continues to propel the Longhorns’ offense. The senior leads her team in batting average, hitting .438. She has a team-high 18 doubles this season and plays strong defense to match. Scott, who has a .960 fielding percentage, has made only five errors this season.

The All-SEC first-team selection was a member of the Texas team that lost to Oklahoma in last year’s WCWS championship. Scott, who was named to the 2024 WCWS All-Tournament Team, is looking to win a national championship in her final season.

Texas defeated Clemson in a three-game series during last weekend’s Austin Super Regional to advance to the WCWS, with Scott going 5-for-13 at the plate. 

Texas will face Florida at noon Thursday on ESPN.

Ole Miss: Aliyah Binford, pitcher, and Jaden Pone, outfield

Seniors Aliyah Binford and Jaden Pone played key roles in helping Ole Miss clinch its first WCWS appearance.

Binford is hitting .328 with a team-leading 55 RBIs. With 80 strikeouts this season, she also has been important in the relief role; last weekend, Binford pitched during the second inning of Game 3 of the Arkansas Super Regional, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out four to secure Ole Miss’ spot in the WCWS with a 7-4 win over Arkansas.

Pone leads the team in hitting with a .363 batting average, and she has a team-high 17 stolen bases, making her extremely effective in the leadoff spot in Ole Miss’ lineup. She earned All-SEC first-team honors, becoming only the second player in program history to do so.

Ole Miss will face Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.

Oregon: Dezianna Patmon, outfield

Senior Dezianna Patmon, who started her career in 2022 at North Carolina A&T and later transferred to New Mexico State for the 2024 season, will finish her career with Oregon in Oklahoma City. 

Five days after Patmon hit a walk-off home run against Stanford to advance Oregon to the Eugene Super Regional, she was clutch again. Oregon opened the Super Regional series against Liberty last week with another walk-off win off Patmon’s bat, and Oregon’s 13-1 victory in Game 2 sent the Ducks to the WCWS for the first time since 2018.

Oregon will face UCLA at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2.

Cayla Sweazie is a women’s and college sports reporter. She is a former HBCU athlete (Go Bears) with a passion for giving student-athletes a platform to share their stories.