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Only One Focus for Ben Cherington in First Round of Draft

PITTSBURGH — Ben Cherington’s draft strategy as general manager is clear. Take the best player available. Sure, there are other factors that are weighed, but when the Pittsburgh Pirates are on the clock with the sixth pick in the first round on July 13, there will be only one focus. “We need to get better, […]

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Only One Focus for Ben Cherington in First Round of Draft

PITTSBURGH — Ben Cherington’s draft strategy as general manager is clear. Take the best player available.

Sure, there are other factors that are weighed, but when the Pittsburgh Pirates are on the clock with the sixth pick in the first round on July 13, there will be only one focus.

“We need to get better, so the best talent available,” he said on the Pirates’ strategy.

Baseball is not like other sports. Whereas teams in the NFL and NBA, for example, draft for need, teams in Major League Baseball generally hunt upside since draftees have to ascend through the minor leagues before making any impact on the big-league club.

The process for how long a prospect takes to develop a case by case basis. Some players need more time to  polish their games in the minor leagues. It’s not too common to see someone like Paul Skenes, who was selected by the Pirates with the top pick of the 2023 draft, make his Major League debut within a year of getting drafted.

By that logic, the Pirates will be open to both hitters and pitchers depending on how the top five picks of the draft unfold.

“I really just want to look for the best player,” Cherington reiterated. “We’re confident in our ability to draft and develop pitching, certainly. So, if that’s the way it falls and it’s a pitcher, we’ll be excited about that. But we have to create more offense, too. We know that as an organization. It’s going to come down to the best player.”

The Pirates’ track record of developing pitching under Cherington’s guide is much stronger than the development of position players.

The aforementioned Skenes is already one of the best pitchers in baseball despite only being with the Pirates for a little over a year. Jared Jones showed promise last season before needing elbow surgery this year. Bubba Chandler is the top pitching prospect in baseball, and other pitchers such as Carmen Mlodzinski and Braxton Ashcraft, though the latter wasn’t drafted by this regime, have found early success in the majors.

On the position player side of things, Nick Gonzales is really the only one to make an impact with Pittsburgh. Last year’s first-rounder Konnor Griffin looks as promising as any minor-leaguer, though.

Cherington admitted that the Pirates are understandably feeling pressure to improve the offense, but one draft pick isn’t going to be enough to be the sole solution.

“One decision, one free agent, one trade, one draft pick, it’s never going to be about that. It’s going to be about 100 things,” he explained. “We need to create more offense. So what I want to avoid in the draft is making our decision any harder because of that. Let’s just find the best player, and with that, we need to create more offense over time.”

If the best player on the Pirates’ board when they are on the clock is a pitcher, the Pirates could theoretically trade the player they take — pitcher or position player — for an established lineup addition down the road.

Of course, the Pirates could also entertain the idea of taking a player who could be quick to reach the big leagues. It’s become more and more of a common practice in recent years.

Four position players taken in the first round of last year’s draft have already made it to the majors, and three of them have had reasonable levels of success.

Cam Smith, who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs but traded to the Houston Astros in the offseason, has a 2.1 bWAR through his first 68 games and is batting .277 with a .773 OPS. Nick Kurtz, who was selected with the fourth pick by the A’s, has slugged 11 home runs through his first 44 games. Christian Moore was recently called up by the Angels and has three home runs and a .723 OPS through 14 games.

Obviously, players taken out of college are more developed and are on a faster track once drafted. There are two players in particular who could fit that criteria for the Pirates to consider in the first round — Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette and Auburn catcher/outfielder Ike Irish.

The Pirates could be wise to consider this idea, and it might work out that way in the end, but Cherington again circled back to his main point.

“I don’t feel like now we’re really having to think about the decision maybe between upside and risk of being further away, versus closer and safer,”  he said. “I think it’s all part of the process, and the process itself is, I believe, doing a good job of capturing all of that. Capturing both the upside and the risk of every player. It’s getting them in an order and we’re gonna be disciplined and honor that order when we’re done with it on July 6 and just take the best player available.”

Cherington’s draft philosophy is simple enough. Take the best player available.

The hard part will be developing that player into a big-league contributor, whenever the time comes.

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Tate Aggies Name 2025 Volleyball Teams : NorthEscambia.com

Following tryouts Monday and Tuesday, Tate High School Volleyball named their teams for the upcoming 2025 season. Varsity Grace Best Torrie Garrett McKenna Lister Bailie Merritt Ella Merritt Apple Moodie Brelynn Morris Niaviya Qualls Gianna Smart Jacey Stuart Jayla Templeman Laila Whitley Junior Varsity Kiley Adams Jada Archer Brayley Cayton Ansleigh Crutchfield Grace Gaulden Lexi […]

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Following tryouts Monday and Tuesday, Tate High School Volleyball named their teams for the upcoming 2025 season.

Varsity

  • Grace Best
  • Torrie Garrett
  • McKenna Lister
  • Bailie Merritt
  • Ella Merritt
  • Apple Moodie
  • Brelynn Morris
  • Niaviya Qualls
  • Gianna Smart
  • Jacey Stuart
  • Jayla Templeman
  • Laila Whitley

Junior Varsity

  • Kiley Adams
  • Jada Archer
  • Brayley Cayton
  • Ansleigh Crutchfield
  • Grace Gaulden
  • Lexi Hardy
  • Carly Kimbro
  • Harper Leopard
  • Laila McNair
  • Sarah Mitchell
  • Bentley Wartman
  • Kassidy Weiss

Freshmen

  • Laura Ave
  • Ayslie Bouie
  • Laina Daughtery
  • Emma Dubuc
  • Callie Fechter
  • Ryleigh Goolsby
  • McKenna Jones
  • Makylie Lewis
  • Kelly McCabe
  • Reese Ray
  • Clara Stinnett
  • Jordan Suarez



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Aztec football to host Fan Fest on Aug. 14 at Snapdragon Stadium | News

The San Diego State football team will host its annual Fan Fest on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Snapdragon Stadium. This will be the first chance for the public to watch the Aztecs prior to their season opener against Stony Brook on Aug. 28. Admission to the Aug. 14 Fan Fest is free, but all fans […]

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The San Diego State football team will host its annual Fan Fest on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Snapdragon Stadium. This will be the first chance for the public to watch the Aztecs prior to their season opener against Stony Brook on Aug. 28.

Admission to the Aug. 14 Fan Fest is free, but all fans will need to claim their ticket in advance at https://am.ticketmaster.com/sdsu/buy/AztecFanFest. Fans may claim up to four tickets. If you need additional tickets, please call the Aztec Ticket Office at (619) 283-SDSU (7378).

Parking is $10 and can also be purchased at the same link.

The parking lot opens at 5 p.m. PT with the gates opening at 6 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. PT.

The team store and select concessions will also be open.

SDSU kicks off its season on Thursday, Aug. 28 at Snapdragon Stadium against Stony Brook at a time still to be determined. San Diego State also has home games vs. California (Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. PT), Colorado State (Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. PT), Wyoming (Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. PT), Boise State (Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. PT) and San Jose State (Nov. 22, time TBA).





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World Athletics mandates gene tests for female category eligibility | Athletics

Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world-ranking competitions such as the world championships only if they clear a one-time gene test. The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. […]

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Athletes will be eligible to compete in the female category for world-ranking competitions such as the world championships only if they clear a one-time gene test.

The test for the SRY gene, which needs to be taken only once and helps in determining biological sex, can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test. World Athletics’ testing protocol will be overseen by member federations and the new regulations come into effect on 1 September, in time for that month’s world championships in Tokyo.

“It is really important in a sport that is permanently trying to attract more women that they enter a sport believing there is no biological glass ceiling,” the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, said. “The test to confirm biological sex is a very important step in ensuring this is the case. We are saying, at elite level, for you to compete in the female category, you have to be biologically female.

“It was always very clear to me and the World Athletics Council that gender cannot trump biology. We particularly want to thank our member federations for their support and commitment in the implementation of these new regulations.”

Athletics has spent years debating eligibility criteria to compete in women’s events, amid questions over biological advantages for transgender athletes and those with differences of sex development (DSD). World Athletics currently bans transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in women’s events, while it requires female DSD athletes whose bodies produce high testosterone levels to lower them in order to be eligible.

This year, a working group found that those rules were not tight enough, with a pre-clearance test for the SRY gene being one of several recommendations the group made for revised rules. The SRY gene reveals the presence of the Y chromosome, which is an indicator of biological sex. The test was also approved by World Boxing in May when they introduced mandatory sex testing for all boxers.

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This month, the European Court upheld a 2023 ruling that double 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya’s appeal to a Swiss Federal Tribunal against regulations that barred her from competing had not been properly heard. Semenya was appealing against World Athletics regulations that female athletes with DSDs medically reduce their testosterone levels.



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Rice has 332 Athletes Named American Conference All-Academic

Rice has 332 Athletes Named American Conference All-Academic 7/30/2025 10:00:00 AM | Baseball, Football, General, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Golf, Men’s Tennis, Men’s Track & Field, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Track & Field, Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Golf Link 0

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Rice has 332 Athletes Named American Conference All-Academic

7/30/2025 10:00:00 AM | Baseball, Football, General, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Golf, Men’s Tennis, Men’s Track & Field, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Track & Field, Women’s Volleyball, Women’s Golf



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Cardinal Gibbons, D.H. Conley lead NC preseason rankings

The teams that faced off in last year’s 4A East volleyball regional final are on top of HighSchoolOT’s 2025 preseason statewide Top 25 rankings. Defending 4A champion Cardinal Gibbons is slotted at No. 1 overall and D.H. Conley, the team the Crusaders beat to get to the championship game, is No. 2. With the N.C. […]

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The teams that faced off in last year’s 4A East volleyball regional final are on top of HighSchoolOT’s 2025 preseason statewide Top 25 rankings.

Defending 4A champion Cardinal Gibbons is slotted at No. 1 overall and D.H. Conley, the team the Crusaders beat to get to the championship game, is No. 2. With the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s realignment into eight classes, the Crusaders and Vikings are positioned to dominate the 7A class.

Any school that is a member of a statewide association is eligible for HighSchoolOT rankings.

HSOT has two sets of rankings: a statewide Top 25 and top 15s for each of North Carolina’s six area codes. Subscribe to HighSchoolOT’s email alerts to hear about rankings updates.

  • Historical HSOT Rankings & All-State Teams
  • All Current Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 252 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 336 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 704 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 828 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 910 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)
  • Current 919 Area Code Rankings (coming soon)

A contender in the new 8A classirfication, Green Level, is the third-ranked team in the state.

3A state runner-up J.H. Rose is ranked as the No. 4 team in the state. Rose is now in the 6A classification.

The top five is rounded out by Seaforth, a favorite in the 5A classification.

All five of the top-ranked teams in North Carolina are set to compete in the 2025 HighSchoolOT Garner Volleyball Showcase, which was announced on Tuesday.

HighSchoolOT Volleyball Statewide Top 25

Preseason Rankings (Last year’s record in parentheses)

  1. Cardinal Gibbons (22-0)
  2. D.H. Conley (27-2)
  3. Green Level (23-3)
  4. J.H. Rose (23-5)
  5. Seaforth (25-5)
  6. Green Hope (20-4)
  7. Ayden-Grifton (29-2)
  8. Kings Mountain (27-3)
  9. Wesleyan Christian (20-3)
  10. McMichael (30-2)
  11. Marvin Ridge (34-3)
  12. Grimsley (25-6)
  13. Cleveland (26-5)
  14. Chapel Hill (27-2)
  15. Gray’s Creek (21-5)
  16. Weddington (17-10)
  17. Brevard (18-5)
  18. Northern Guilford (21-6)
  19. North Iredell (28-3)
  20. Reagan (33-6)
  21. Cherokee (25-2)
  22. Cox Mill (21-4)
  23. Cornerstone Charter (26-3)
  24. Hickory (21-4)
  25. Orange (18-9)

Previous Weeks’ Rankings

Other Fall Sports Rankings

Copyright 2025 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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Six women’s track and field athletes earn 2025 all-academic honors

Story Links 2025 Women’s Track & Field All-Academic Athletes 2025 Women’s Track & Field All-Academic Teams Six Hamilton College student-athletes earned 2025 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Athletes recognition for the […]

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Six Hamilton College student-athletes earned 2025 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Athletes recognition for the NCAA Division III women’s track and field seasons on Monday, July 21 when the organization released its list.
 
All honorees must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better through the 2025 spring semester and meet certain athletic criteria during either the indoor or outdoor seasons. Hamilton’s list can be found below.
 
Sylvie Najarian ’25 (Woodcliff Lake, N.J./Pascack Hills HS)
Emily Pogozelski ’26 (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City HS)
Keira Rogan ’28 (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Schuylerville Central School)
Dana Schwartz ’26 (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth HS)
Kate Scibelli ’26 (Canandaigua, N.Y./Canandaigua Academy)
Claire Tratnyek ’26 (Short Hills, N.J./Kent Place School)
 

Najarian finished in the top 50 of the 3,000-meter steeplechase on the NCAA outdoor championship qualifying list with a time of 11:03.76 at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) championships on May 14.
 
Schwartz had the 27th-best distance in Division III for the javelin throw with a mark of 40.73 meters (133 feet, 7 inches) at the AARTFC championships on May 14.
 
Rogan had the third-fastest time in the nation for the steeplechase (10:27.88, Hamilton Outdoor Invitational on April 4), was 29th in the outdoor 5,000-meter run (16:48.61, NESCAC championships on April 26), was eighth in the indoor 5,000 meters (16:47.68, Cornell’s Kane Invite on Feb. 15), was ninth in the indoor 3,000 meters (9:42.20, Utica’s Blue & Orange Invite on Feb. 7) and was 17th in the mile (4:56.62, AARTFC indoor championships on March 7).
 
The distance medley relay of Pogozelski, Tratnyek, Scibelli and Rogan finished No. 22 in Division III with a time of 12:03.73 at the AARTFC indoor meet on March 7.
 
The Continentals were also honored as a 2025 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for having a cumulative team grade point average of 3.10 or better through the spring semester. Hamilton boasted a team GPA of 3.60 and collected the award for the 14th consecutive track and field season under Head Coach Ellen Hull.
 



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