NIL

Softball Advances To Big South Championship Game

Story Links Next Game: vs. USC Upstate 5/10/2025 | 10:00 a.m. May. 10 (Sat) / 10:00 a.m. vs. USC Upstate History Clinton, S.C. – After dropping its first game of the day, 5-4 to USC Upstate the Winthrop softball bounced back to earn […]

Published

2 weeks ago

May 10, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Clinton, S.C. – After dropping its first game of the day, 5-4 to USC Upstate the Winthrop softball bounced back to earn a 1-0 victory over top-seeded Radford to advance to the championship game of the 2025 Big South Conference Tournament. Saturday’s championship game has been moved to a 10 a.m. start in anticipation of inclement weather in the forecast.

GAME INFORMATION

RECORD: (4) Winthrop (30-22, 10-8 Big South) | (3) USC Upstate (38-14, 10-8 Big South) | Radford (30-26, 14-4)

WINTHROP LEADERS: Lonna Addison (CG, W, SHO, 2H, BB, 4K / 3-3, R, 2B, HR, RBI) | Annelisa Winebarger (2-6, R, HR, 3RBI)

WHAT HAPPENED

vs. (3) USC Upstate (L, 5-4)

Winthrop struck first as Emma Jackson led off the game drawing a walk

With one out, Jackson stole second and then scored two batters later on a single to left center by Peyton Bryden

Upstate matched the Eagles in the bottom of the first as Denver Lauer led off with a walk followed by a single through the left side by Alanna Deal

Lauer and Deal pulled off a double steal with one out and then Deal scored on a groundout to second base by Carson Shaw

In the second inning, Emily Stern drew a one out walk and then stole second base

On the play, Annelisa Winebarger tried to catch Stern stealing but her throw deflected off the helmet of Abigail Johnson and toward shortstop as the ball rolled into the outfield allowing Stern to race home for a 2-1 lead

Eagles regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning as Bryden walked with one out to get things going

Tia Beckham followed with a shot past the shortstop to put two runners on base

Winebarger stepped in and took the first pitch over the fence in center field for a 4-2 advantage

Spartans regained the game in the bottom of the fifth as Liza Simmerson walked with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch

With two outs Deal lined a shot to center that Jackson nearly chased down as it was off the edge of the glove as Simmerson scored

Then Sophia Kardatzke grounded toward short that was off the outside of the glove of Grayson Buckner trying to make a play as Deal scored to tie the game

Later in the inning with runners at first and second, Abigail Pippen squeezed a grounder just past Buckner as Kardatzke raced home to score ahead of the throw from Beckham to the plate

vs. (1) Radford (W, 1-0)

Eagles had the first runner in scoring position Winebarger moved to second on a ground out after reaching on a single to right

The threat ended on a fly out to center field

Lonna Addison doubled to center to lead off the third inning to get another runner in scoring position

Megan Powell hit a drive to deep left center, but it was tracked down by the center fielder at thew warning track and Addison was eventually left stranded

Radford got its first hit of the game as Kelley Feigen singled with one out in the fifth

Isabel Harrison followed with a single to left center but Addison was able to work out of the jam

The game remained scoreless into the seventh as Addison came through at the plate with a solo home run to center with two outs

Addison worked around a two out walk and struck out the final batter to end the game

EXTRA BASES

Eagles advance to the Big South Title Game for the second straight season and 15^th all-time

It will be a rematch of the 2024 Big South Championship Title Game

Addison allowed just two hits with a walk and four strikeouts to post Winthrop’s second shutout of the tournament

The home run by Winebarger was the first of her collegiate career

The home run by Addison was the 49^th of the season by the Eagles, which is tied for the 4^th most in a single season

Eagles have 30 wins in a season for the first time since 2019

ON DECK
Eagles will take on third-seeded USC Upstate for the conference championship on Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. If the Eagles can win the first game they’ll force a second game with the winner capturing the title.

STAY SOCIAL WITH THE EAGLES
For everything Winthrop softball visit www.winthropeagles.com or follow us on social media @Winthropsoftbal, winthropsoftball (Instagram) or www.facebook.com/Winthrop-Softball

BACK IN THE TITLE GAME#ROCKtheHILL | #BigSouthSB pic.twitter.com/5quASlWd6u

— Winthrop Softball (@Winthropsoftbal) May 9, 2025

THE MAGICAL RUN CONTINUES

For the third time in six tournaments, #4 @Winthropsoftbal will play for a Big South Championship! pic.twitter.com/h3X87oujpn

— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) May 10, 2025

FLYING TO THE FINAL

Lonna Addison’s solo blast in the 7th sends #4 @WinthropSoftbal back to the Big South Championship Final for the second straight season! pic.twitter.com/WKB90HucLT

— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) May 9, 2025

T7 | EAGLES GRAB THE LEAD AS ADDISON GOES YARD!!!

WIN 1

RAD 0#ROCKtheHILL | #BigSouthSB pic.twitter.com/huLxAo0Tbg

— Winthrop Softball (@Winthropsoftbal) May 9, 2025

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NIL

Five Named to CSC Academic All-District Team

Story Links CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Five Chattanooga Mocs softball players were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday. Peja Goold, Olivia Lipari, Taylor Long, Acelynn Sellers and Kailey Snell each earned a spot on the All-District Team and Goold is eligible for Academic All-America consideration. […]

Published

8 minutes ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Five Chattanooga Mocs softball players were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.

Peja Goold, Olivia Lipari, Taylor Long, Acelynn Sellers and Kailey Snell each earned a spot on the All-District Team and Goold is eligible for Academic All-America consideration.

Goold was named the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year and NFCA All-Region. The junior is a marketing major with a 3.64 GPA. She had a SoCon-best 244 strikeouts in 2025, tied for fourth in a single season at UTC and is seventh on the Mocs all-time list with 465. She was ranked fourth in the NCAA for shutouts with eight, sixth in wins with 25 and seventh in the NCAA for strikeouts.

Olivia Lipari was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year. The senior infielder graduated in May with a degree in Biology with Latin Honors. She is the sixth Chattanooga player to earn the postseason honor and the first since 2012. She led the Mocs at the plate this season and was fifth in the league. Her 17 doubles ranked second in the SoCon and in the Top 30 in the NCAA.

Taylor Long, a junior Health and Physical Education K-12 major carries a 3.65 GPA. She was named All-Southern Conference Second Team and was second in the SoCon with 160 strikeouts. The Calhoun, Ga., native led the league in strikeouts per seven innings with 8.7 and was second in opponent batting average at .206.

Acelynn Sellers carries 3.67 GPA in Chemical Engineering. She started every single game she played in her fourth seasons with the vast majority at first base. She closed out her career with 27 home runs, including a team-best 12 this season. Twice she hit a UTC record three home runs in a single game, including the Mocs SoCon Tournament game against Mercer.

Kailey Snell graduated last May with a degree in Child and Family Studies and is currently working on her Masters in Secondary Education: Licensure with a 4.0 GPA. The Shelbyville, Tenn., native is a three-time CSC Academic All-District Honoree. She made 219 starts, primarily at short stop and gained an extra year after suffering a season-ending injury in her junior year. Snell was the Mocs lead off batter most of the season and was third on the team with a .328 batting average. She had 11 sac bunts, eight doubles, two triples and a .396 on-base percentage.

Goold is up for consideration for CSC Academic All-America as well as with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. She was named to the 643 Charts All-American Second Team. She was determined to be one of the most impactful pitchers in the country based on the WAR (Wins Above Replacement) metric.

FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA SOFTBALL
For the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga Softball, please follow @GoMocsSB on Twitter & Instagram and ChattanoogaSB on Facebook.

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College football burns as SEC coaches complain from yacht

Kirby Smart on college football’s future Kirby Smart urges leaders to prioritize the game’s future over personal or conference agendas in playoff talks. MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Let’s not look past the obvious and wade into the ridiculous. They’re football coaches, OK? Their job is to win games, and everything should be seen through that […]

Published

49 minutes ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Let’s not look past the obvious and wade into the ridiculous.

They’re football coaches, OK? Their job is to win games, and everything should be seen through that lens.

Even paradigm change in the sport.

So while just about everyone else associated with college football trudges through the weeds of drastic change, SEC football coaches are talking roster management at the league’s annual spring meetings. That’s right, bubba.

It’s roster size and roster management, right down to the third-team long snapper.

“If I lose two long snappers, where do I get my third one?” said Texas A&M coach Mike Elko.

And if you can’t believe a coach in the biggest, baddest conference in all of college football would say such a tone-deaf thing when the world is crashing down on 70 percent of the sport, that’s just the beginning.

“The biggest problem from our perspective is we don’t have access to a revolving roster (like the NFL) during the season,” Elko said. “The fear we have is if you get a rash of injuries, there’s no avenue to fix it.”

On a 105-man roster.

It is here where we pause, ever so briefly, to soak in the absurdity of that statement — and underscore just how detached coaches are. Again, it’s not their fault; they’re paid to win games.

They’re not paid to fix the College Football Playoff format, or negotiate terms on a pooled media rights revenue concept, or figure out billions in back pay to former players, or have any impact on the SEC playing eight or nine conference games.

They’re given football parameters, and told to win football games within those parameters — or you’re out. It’s about as simple and cutthroat as it gets.

So while college football careens closer and closer to an NFL model, coaches are left wondering why the sport’s leaders refuse to embrace the benefits of a professional structure. Why there are not one, but two free player movement transfer portals.

One access to free movement and an uncapped salary pool (because that’s what it will be with private NIL deals) is bad enough. Two bites at the apple for players, coaches say, is devastating for development.

On a 105-man roster.

“It’s really hard to be playing in a championship setting and have to deal with that,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

Ladies and gentlemen, the biggest, baddest coach in all of college football really said that.

“But when I brought that up as a complaint or a problem,” Smart continued, “It was told to me there’s no crying from the yacht.”

And he was dead serious.

Smart has everything he could possibly want at his alma mater, and every possible advantage to winning. It also helps that he’s the best coach in the business, and Georgia will do anything to keep him happy.

Smart once flew in a helicopter to a high school football game of a recruit, and landed right next to the field before the game began. He and his staff recruit better than anyone in the sport, and he annually has the most talented roster in the nation.

On the other side of the grind, where reality resides, SMU chose to forgo millions in media rights payments from the ACC just to get in the door of power conference football — after paying a what was essentially a $200 million initiation fee by forgoing media rights payments for nine years.

The same SMU that somehow, some way, trudged through the hardships of building a team and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff.

In its first season of big boy football.

I mean, imagine if SMU had lost two long snappers along the way. The horror.

To be fair to these multimillion dollar SEC coaches, they’re creatures of habit. When a plan works, they stick with it.

Who among us could’ve not only seen change, but a completely sidetracked system evolving into an unthinkable abyss?

“We saw where this was going when NIL began,” Elko said, because of course they did. “I don’t think any of it is a surprise to us, once that can got opened.”

So now they’re asking for a single transfer portal window, one that doesn’t affect roster building. Which is sort of like asking for peace in the Middle East.

There are pitfalls for both the winter and spring portals. Place the portal window in the winter, after the regular season, and everyone is dealing roster management during the postseason.

Place the portal window in the spring, and everyone is dealing with a changed roster after three months of preparation and practice for the upcoming season. Teams would then spend a majority of the summer reorganizing a roster, and in some cases, completely changing the face of a team.

Then there’s another teeny weeny problem: If you think player tampering is out of control now, imagine what it looks like in a spring-only portal.

“If there were a (portal) sometime between the end of the last game of the season, and the start of spring ball, that would be ideal,” said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian. “But I don’t think there are a lot of presidents lining up to shift the start of the spring semester for the College Football Playoff.”

You never know. It is the SEC, after all.

Where long snappers mean everything.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.

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NIL

NIL Has Killed College Football as we Knew it

Published

53 minutes ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

College football is one of the most popular sports in America. Every Saturday families gather in front of their television screen to cheer on their favorite team. However, since the NCAA passed the rule allowing college athletes to make money off their name, image, and likeness (NIL) while in school, things have noticeably changed. The shift instantly impacted the college world, allowing athletes to rake in big revenue. How bad can making money in college actually be? Not as good as one might think.

In April, former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava held out of spring practice due to an NIL dispute. According to Mark Giannotto of USA Today, Iamaleava was trying to renegotiate his NIL contract since the NCAA is expected to approve revenue sharing with schools. The quarterback’s deal was set up for him to make over $2 million per year.

During all the NIL drama with Iamaleava, Vols head coach Josh Huepel was forced to move on from his starting five-star quarterback. “We’re moving forward as a program without him,” he said, “there’s no one that’s bigger than the power T.” Iamaleava entered the transfer portal shortly after the dispute with Tennessee.

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NIL

EA Sports Releases Covers for ‘College Football 26’ Video Game

EA Sports is set to release their newest video game this summer, highlighting the most talented college football players in the business. The upcoming release has generated excitement for players and programs, opening up plenty of opportunity for name, image and likeness business. EA Sports brought back their beloved game last year after things were […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

EA Sports is set to release their newest video game this summer, highlighting the most talented college football players in the business.

The upcoming release has generated excitement for players and programs, opening up plenty of opportunity for name, image and likeness business.

EA Sports brought back their beloved game last year after things were put on hold amidst some legal issues involving NCAA Football 14.

But now, progressive NIL rules and regulations have brought life back to EA Sports’ virtual football game, and fans have been excited about it ever since.

Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) will be starting their sophomore seasons in 2025. Both receivers had impressive freshman years, which helped earn their spots on the cover of EA Sports College Football 26.

Smith had an especially successful college football debut, leading the entire freshmen receiving class with 76 catches for 1,315 yards on his way to winning a national championship with the Buckeyes.

The evolution of NIL rules and regulations pioneered this new movement for EA Sports, giving each player that is featured in the game an estimated $600 and a copy of the video game.

The game is set to be released on July 10, 2025, carrying EA Sports’ new-found legacy after the success of “College Football 25.”

EA Sports will continue their promotion of their new game this week.

The trailer will be released on Thursday and is sure to generate even more excitement before the pre-order date approaches.

The special deluxe edition of the game will feature the coaching staff of teams on the cover, with reports that some coaches will be available during gameplay.

EA Sports is set up nicely and ready to build off the success of the video game from last year, and that should only create more interest in the sport and create a larger NIL platform for the players.

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An In-Season Tournament, The MLB Cup, is just what Baseball Needs

The days when the Boys of Summer dominated sports headlines are no more. Major League Baseball has transformed into a regional sport. In recent years the league has innovated, with much success, to draw in more casual fans. The MLB can take a page from the NBA and European soccer to build on that momentum. […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The MLB Cup is exactly what professional baseball needs to re-establish itself as the sport of the summer.

The Genesis of the Idea

From the mind of Steven Peake, this proposal sounds too good to be true. He’s a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, the 17th-best team in the English Premier League that just threw a parade for winning the Europa League, an in-season tournament. Even though they were nearly relegated, Tottenham went on a run that captivated the rabid fanbase.

Tournaments like the Europa League and the FA Cup have years of built-up capital to over-emphasize their significance. Creating the passion cannot happen overnight, but there is value in creating in-season tournaments.

The NBA Cup’s ratings were the best of the year outside of postseason play, even better than the traditional Christmas Day tentpole event. Adding an MLB Cup in July and into August creates a tentpole event that draws not only regional fans, but also national attention during the most uneventful part of the sports calendar.

The MLB Cup Format

This is a work in progress, but it’s rather simple. The National League and American League compete in the All-Star Game for homefield advantage in the MLB Cup. After the All-Star break, each Monday is an open date, dedicated to the single-elimination tournament. Win or go home.

There are 30 MLB teams, so I’ll let the powers that be determine the proper bracket, but the event should take one month, culminating with the final four at the Field of Dreams. The day after the doubleheader, two teams battle it out for the MLB Cup, finishing in fireworks over the cornfields in Iowa.

What makes this event magical is that single-elimination baseball can create chaos in a sport that needs it. The Dodgers and Yankees are a great World Series matchup, but so many small-market teams feel completely left by the wayside, all thanks to the absence of a salary cap. We all know the Reds’ postseason hopes will be cooked by July, but who’s to say they couldn’t get hot in the MLB Cup? If they go on a run, every casual in the area will be locked in, hoping for a miracle that ends near a corn-maze.

It’s an imperfect proposition we cooked up on Kentucky Roll Call, but it could be the start of something that creates a can’t-miss baseball event in the middle of the summer.

More Kentucky News and Views on the KSR YouTube Channel

Kentucky Sports Radio has expanded its coverage of the Wildcats in the most ridiculous manner possible on our YouTube Channel. Here you will be able to find interviews with coaches and players, as well as commentary from the KSR crew. From Rapid Reactions following big events to our lengthy lineup of live shows, subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel to stay up to date on everything happening around the Big Blue Nation.

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Texas A&M Coach Frustrated With Lack of Clarity in Upcoming NCAA Settlement

The impending House vs. NCAA settlement approval is expected to shake up NIL and college football in some significant ways. Everything from NIL salary caps to roster limits will be implemented in some fashion or another starting on July 1. While many view this new framework in a largely positive light, some have voiced concerns […]

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2025

Your Sports Nation

While many view this new framework in a largely positive light, some have voiced concerns over the expedited nature of the implementation and how the rules are, in essence, being switched around on programs in the middle of the offseason.

One prominent figure who falls into this category is Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko, who recently discussed his frustrations with the uncertainty surrounding the settlement implementation at the annual SEC spring meetings.

According to Outkick’s Trey Wallace, Elko’s frustrations primarily centered on the proposed $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap.

He compared it to the NFL model, noting that they would never suddenly decide to change their cap rules in the middle of the offseason.

“I couldn’t imagine an NFL team getting halfway through the offseason and deciding to change their salary cap rules,” Elko said. “That’s what I guess we’re doing.”

Elko’s frustrations aren’t entirely without merit, as nobody truly knows just how much these new regulations will change the college football landscape until they are actually put into place.

The salary cap is just one of many groundbreaking changes that could be implemented.

The new rule is set to allow athletic departments to pay their student-athletes directly, with a cap of $20.5 million to be split among each sport. Athletes will still be allowed to receive outside NIL endorsements, but these will now require approval from an independent clearing house.

Roster limits are also expected to be added to the sport, with each school allowed to have up to 105 athletes on their football roster each season, which is 20 more than the 85 scholarship limit the NCAA had been allowing up to this point.

It’s clear that this new era of NIL is going to cause far more confusion than answers at the outset, but it’s something Elko and every other coach will have to deal with.

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