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It turns out that sometimes what you read on Facebook is true. A rumor that started in a Facebook fan group has been confirmed by another source. Two-time All-American outfielder Dakota Kennedy has put her name into the transfer portal. Kennedy has not made a public statement about transferring, but the previously unverified reports circulated […]

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Your Sports Nation

It turns out that sometimes what you read on Facebook is true. A rumor that started in a Facebook fan group has been confirmed by another source. Two-time All-American outfielder Dakota Kennedy has put her name into the transfer portal.

Kennedy has not made a public statement about transferring, but the previously unverified reports circulated all weekend.

Kennedy becomes the ninth Wildcat to go into the portal after the season. While the other eight were understandable from a playing time perspective and were unlikely to be huge blows from a production standpoint, nothing could be further from the truth about Kennedy.

Kennedy has appeared in 151 games and made 147 starts. She has improved in almost all old-fashioned offensive stats. Her batting average has gone up each year. Her strikeouts have gone down. Her home runs went down this year, but her slugging percentage went up because she used her speed to get four triples.

Her craftiness in the box cannot be overstated. Her ability to use the short game and her speed are intensified by the double-digit home runs she hit in each of her first two seasons. The knowledge of when to do what seems innate, although it undoubtedly takes hard work.

While she didn’t have NCAA qualifying stats this season due to an injury, she picked up just where she left off when she returned. The only difference was wearing a sliding glove on her hand and perhaps fewer dives in the outfield on defense.

Kennedy has been an NFCA All-American the past two years. She was a Rawlings Gold Glove outfielder in 2024. She has been all-conference in both the Pac-12 and Big 12 for her entire career. She was a CSC Academic All-American last year and is in the running again this year.

Arizona has not had a star transfer out of the program since Sharlize Palacios after the 2022 season. Kennedy is an even bigger blow, though. Her production has been consistent. She has been the leadoff hitter for two years. When her offense and defense are combined, few in the game are bigger threats.

There are bigger issues, as well. Palacios left a year after a head coaching change. That’s not uncommon. A player may give a new coach a year then decide to leave. That’s not the case this time, though. Kennedy was a member of Caitlin Lowe’s first recruiting class.

Her decision to leave also brings up other questions. Most of those revolve around the why and the repercussions.

There seemed to be few reasons for Kennedy to go. In school, she carries a 4.0 GPA and is headed into her senior year. Her playing time is not in question. Her personal achievements are not, either. Over her three-year career, she probably has more personal accolades than anyone else on the team.

From a family perspective, hers was never one that caused public drama. They’ve been supportive and positive. Her younger sister, a 2027 pitching recruit, was tagging Arizona pitching coach Christian Conrad with her stats as late as Wednesday, May 28. In short, there did not seem to be family reasons to move on.

The team’s achievements might carry more weight, though. The Wildcats have a lot of wins, but they have had not gotten over the hump when it comes to putting up new banners. The team has not won a conference title since 2017.

As a senior, Kennedy’s chances of getting a national title or even a conference title with her team are dwindling. Arizona would have to make huge additions in the transfer portal to be a team that can get to the Women’s College World Series next year, let alone win it. That was true even before the previous eight went into the portal. Even winning the Big 12 will be difficult without some high-profile players coming in, especially in the circle.

There are also dwindling chances for Kennedy to make good money in the NIL or revenue sharing markets. While the opportunities in professional softball are increasing with the addition of a new league, the ability to support oneself let alone make a good income is still far easier at the college level.

Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire

NIL

Michigan bill introduced to limit NCAA’s regulation of NIL deals

A local politician is pushing back against the NCAA’s latest rules regarding college athletes’ name, image and likeness rights. State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, introduced House Bill 4643 to prevent colleges and athletic departments from blocking student-athletes from profiting off NIL. “House Bill 4643 really specifies that no entity has the right to be able […]

Published

20 minutes ago

June 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

A local politician is pushing back against the NCAA’s latest rules regarding college athletes’ name, image and likeness rights.

State Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, introduced House Bill 4643 to prevent colleges and athletic departments from blocking student-athletes from profiting off NIL.

“House Bill 4643 really specifies that no entity has the right to be able to prohibit a student-athlete from executing a contract involving their name, image and likeness,” Tate said.

The bill prohibits universities from upholding any limitations on an athlete’s NIL rights; from complying with investigations into agency agreements, NIL agreements, NIL compensation, or NIL activities; and from reporting any NIL information to an athletic association such as the NCAA.

House Bill 4643 also prohibits the NCAA and other athletic associations from punishing an athlete or university for issues related to NIL rights, or from requiring either party to report NIL information.

The bill comes in the wake of the June 6 approval of the House v. NCAA settlement by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. The settlement allows college athletic programs to directly compensate athletes with revenue sharing beginning July 1. A sum of nearly $2.8 billion in damages will also be distributed to athletes who competed over the past decade. But a key change in the aftermath of the settlement is the creation of an NIL clearinghouse — NIL Go, run by Deloitte.

NIL Go requires athletes to report all deals worth more than $600. It was created by the College Sports Commission, a new group tasked with enforcing NCAA regulations.

The goal of establishing NIL Go is to limit the participation of NIL collectives in pay-to-play, which has become a growing problem in college athletics according to coaches and administrators. However, as Tate points out, limiting these NIL opportunities is an issue of state law.

“We’ve seen already up to this point with the settlement outcomes,” said Tate, himself a former Michigan State offensive lineman from 2000-03, “that there are conflicts with the Michigan statute that we do have on the books allowing student-athletes to take advantage of their name, image and likeness while they are at the university that they participate in as a student.”

That previous statute, Public Act 366 of 2020, paved the way for student-athletes to profit off NIL in the state of Michigan, as a number of other states also approved at a similar time when the NCAA’s rules on NIL rights changed. House Bill 4643 would reaffirm the state’s position while addressing ways in which athletes’ NIL rights might be limited.

Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association, noted that the House settlement itself directly stated that the settlement’s outcomes do not overrule state law.

“That’s why it remains important for states to adopt NIL laws that grant college athletes and recruits robust freedoms and protections,” Huma said. “However, I’ve seen media reports about conferences attempting to pressure universities to agree to violate their own state NIL law if they conflict with NCAA and conference NIL restrictions. It’s my sincere hope that this is not true, as it would threaten college athletes’ rights and ultimately lead to new lawsuits.”

Limiting NIL deals is unfair to student-athletes in the eyes of some detractors, including Dr. Tom Dieters, a former MSU baseball player who is now president of NIL deal-cutter Charitable Gift America.

“If a school is to allow Deloitte to determine a student’s fair market value, it completely goes against capitalism,” Dieters said. “School administrators and coaches are very quick to negotiate their own seven-figure contracts without a third party determining their value, and students should have those exact same rights.”

The path forward may see friction between individual states and the NCAA as new NIL regulations go into effect. This bill may be the first step of many in Michigan’s pushback against NIL limitations.

“Speaking as a state legislator around legislation that was passed, that’s the law of the land, the law of our state,” Tate said. “I think that is something that we would continue to address too, if we see those explicit conflicts with the NCAA in particular, trying to essentially punish student-athletes for something that is their right here in the state of Michigan.”

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

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In new NIL era, West Virginia launches Blue & Gold Enterprises

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — West Virginia’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has introduced its own entry into the world of NIL with the creation of what it calls “Gold & Blue Enterprises”, something it describes as “an initiative designed to revolutionize the student-athlete experience and enhance the Mountaineers’ competitive edge in the evolving landscape of […]

Published

46 minutes ago

June 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In new NIL era, West Virginia launches Blue & Gold Enterprises

The court forced a move toward pay-for-play in college sports comes in two parts, revenue sharing paid by the schools to its athletes and NIL, which allows athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

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Iowa State Athletes Can Promote Casino Resorts Through New NIL Deal

Share Tweet Share Share Email In a bold move that merges athletics, community, and NIL innovation, Iowa State University’s athletics department and the We Will Collective have announced a landmark partnership with Elite Casino Resorts. The deal includes a significant contribution to We Will and opens NIL opportunities for select Cyclone student-athletes to appear at […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation