Ole Miss Rebels running back Kewan Lacy is in the midst of a historic 2025 season after joining the program in Oxford last offseason.

The Missouri Tigers transfer has taken on a significant workload for the Rebels where his meteoric rise catapulted his status to a Doak Award finalist – annually given to America’s top running back.

Lacy was named a first team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America last week after a historic 2025 campaign.

It became the sixth All-America honor for Lacy, who was also the first Doak Walker Award finalist in Ole Miss history.

Lacy has been a second-team honoree on other All-America teams released by the Associated Press, AFCA, The Sporting News, Walter Camp and Sports Info Solutions. Lacy has also been a first-team All-SEC running back for both the AP and the league coaches.

The Ole Miss star running back has been one of the best rushers in the nation all season long for the 12-1 Rebels, currently holding a season line of 258 attempts for 1,279 yards and 21 touchdowns.

But there remains buzz surrounding Lacy’s future in Oxford amid Lane Kiffin’s move from Ole Miss to LSU this fall.

Once Kiffin accepted the LSU Tigers head coaching job, the rumor mill started swirling surrounding where he would play during the 2026 season: Could Ole Miss retain him or would he enter the portal?

Fast forward to Monday and Ole Miss running backs coach Kevin Smith was formally introduced as the next running backs coach/associate head coach of the LSU Tigers – joining offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and others in Baton Rouge.

Now, with Lacy’s former head coach, offensive coordinator, and position coach on staff with the LSU program, there is concern surrounding his future in Oxford.

But the Ole Miss Rebels aren’t going down without a fight, according to multiple reports, with the program offering a significant NIL package in hopes of having him back for the 2026 season.

According to LouisianaSports.net, the Ole Miss Rebels are offering a $1.8 million deal to get him back next fall:

“Lacy has not declared his intention to enter the portal, however, a video surfaced of a phone conversation where Kiffin suggested Smith and Lacy would be joining him at LSU.

“LouisianaSports.net previously reported Ole Miss has offered Lacy $1.8 million to return to the Rebels in 2026.”

Now, as Lacy’s future with Ole Miss remains in questions, it’s no secret that Rebels officials are rolling out the red carpet in hopes of having him back with the program for next season with a strong offer presented.

More Ole Miss News:

Lane Kiffin Reacts to New Offensive Coordinator Being Hired By Ole Miss Football

Ole Miss Football QB Trinidad Chambliss Wins Major Award Amid Breakout Season

ESPN Predicts Outcome of Ole Miss Football vs. Tulane Green Wave in CFP Showdown

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.

The Moorhead Spuds won when they faced the Sartell Sabres at Moorhead Sports Center on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.

The final score was 10-3.

The Spuds took the lead in the first period, with a goal from John Gramer. Max Cullen and Evan Wanner assisted.

The Spuds’ Will Cullen made it 2-0 in the middle of the first period, assisted by George Arnold and Brandon Mickelson.

The Spuds’ Zac Zimmerman increased the lead to 3-0 halfway through the first, assisted by Brandon Mickelson.

The Spuds made it 4-0 with a goal from George Arnold late in the first, assisted by Drew Kortan and Will Cullen.

The second period ended with a 7-2 lead for the Spuds.

Brandon Mickelson increased the lead to 8-2 with a goal in the third period, assisted by Max Cullen.

Seamus Campbell also made it 9-2 with a goal two minutes later, assisted by Will Cullen.

Preston Deragisch narrowed the gap to 9-3 with a goal less than a minute later.

Drew Kortan then increased the lead to 3-10 with a goal four minutes later, assisted by Gage Kallhoff and Noah Petersen.

Next games:

The Spuds will face against the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders on Thursday, Jan. 01, 2026, at Dakotah! Ice Center, with the Sabres set to challenge Blake on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, at St. Louis Park Rec Center.

Read more prep coverage

Scoring:

Minnesota, Moorhead Sports Center

2nd December 2025

Sartell Sabres at Moorhead Spuds

10-3

1st period:

Moorhead Spuds, 0–1 (8:26) John Gramer

Moorhead Spuds, 0–2 (10:56) Will Cullen

Moorhead Spuds, 0–3 (11:29) Zac Zimmerman

Moorhead Spuds, 0–4 (13:50) George Arnold

2nd period:

0–5 (24:15) John Gramer, 0–6 (24:54) Brandon Mickelson, 1–6 (27:15) Lane Larson, 2–6 (29:43) Preston Deragisch, 2–7 (33:39) Will Cullen

3rd period:

2–8 (48:25) Brandon Mickelson, 2–9 (50:04) Seamus Campbell, 3–9 (50:59) Preston Deragisch, 3–10 (54:26) Drew Kortan

Belt, Lillian Fenburg, Baker finished in top three for Durango teams

Durango High School girls wrestling’s Aleia Fenburg stands on the top of the podium after winning the 125-pound bracket at the Western Slope Showdown in Montrose on Dec. 13. Fenburg also finished first at the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction on Saturday. (Courtesy Ryan McGrath)

Durango High School boys wrestling star Ryan Dugan left a big void in the Durango wrestling program when he graduated in the spring, and it looks like Durango girls wrestling junior Aleia Fenburg could be the next star Durango wrestler.

After winning at the Western Slope Showdown on Dec. 13, Aleia continued her winning ways at the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction on Saturday by winning the 125-pound bracket. She led a successful Durango girls wrestling team that had four wrestlers place.

“It’s midseason, so what we’re looking for on the competition side right now is, where are we,” Durango girls wrestling head coach Ryan McGrath said. “We’re far enough along that our conditioning, technique and match strategy should be lining up if the goal is to place at state. The Warrior is an excellent place to mix it up with like competition … what you see are your weaknesses and holes.”

Aleia was ranked third in the 125-pound bracket and had a 3-0 win in her first match before a tough 7-5 victory against Lyniah Richardson from Douglas County in the quarterfinals. She then won 8-4 in the semifinals against Chrissa Hawkes from Bear River. It was a Western Slope Showdown rematch in the final, with Aleia facing Ignacio’s Lainee Bradley. Aleia got the job done again, beating Bradley 7-0.

McGrath complimented Aleia on her skills and technique, being on point along, with adjusting during and after matches. McGrath said she’s been very coachable.

“An opponent you’ve beaten is always dangerous,” McGrath said. “They’ve already wrestled with you; they know where you’re strong and where you’re not. That match was close because Lainee is so good. It was an opportunity for Aleia to be a lot more strategic and patient.”

Aleia’s twin sister, Lillian, also had a good tournament and finished third at 140 pounds. She won her first match, 3-0 and then beat Ignacio’s Krysten Neil 8-3 in the quarterfinals. Lillian’s run ended in the semifinals with a 9-0 loss to Grand Junction Central’s Rya Burke. Lillian rebounded to beat Eagle Valley’s Julia Borejszo in the third-place match.

Durango girls wrestling’s Marie Baker also finished third. The five-seed in the 120-pound bracket, Baker won her first two matches by a combined score of 23-2 before losing to the top-seeded wrestler, Harleigh Prater from Grand Junction Central, 3-1 in the semifinals. Baker then won against Falcon’s Zoe Greer in the third-place match.

McGrath knows neither Lillian nor Baker likes to lose, but there can be something gained from the loss at the first practice after the tournaments. They just need to look back at certain situations and learn from them. McGrath thinks Lillian might drop down a weight class.

“It’s a lot more about tuning the skillsets,” McGrath said about Lillian and Baker. “Every year there are a couple of people who rise to the top; we’ve seen that in Lillian and Marie’s (Baker) weight classes. There are girls there who are just really pushing everybody … I’m really pleased with where we’re at.”

Sydney McAllister had one of her best tournaments as a Demon and finished sixth at 105 pounds. McAllister had a tough freshman season last year, and McGrath is proud of her resolve and how much she’s improved this season.

There were plenty of other successful wrestlers from Bayfield High School, Durango High School and Ignacio High School at the Warrior Classic.

The Durango boys had one wrestler place, with Jacob Belt finishing third at 175 pounds.

“We’re in a transition year with a bunch of new kids and a bunch of new kids on varsity,” Durango boys varsity head coach Jason Silva said. “All I keep telling them is focus on scoring points, having fun and being in a good position … and they did it.”

Belt was behind in a lot of his matches, and Silva was proud to see his no-quit attitude paid off. He won his first match 11-3. Belt was down 7-3 when he pinned Andy Weipert from Green River. Belt dominated Mason Fresquez from Grand Junction 18-1 in the quarterfinals before losing to Canon City’s Elias Koonce 18-3.

After losing, Belt didn’t give up and made it to the third-place match, coming from behind once again to beat Palisade’s Eric Snodgrass via pin when Belt was down 9-4.

“The bigger guys do have a different style,” Silva said. “There are a lot more of those power-type throws and moves to where they don’t typically get underneath the guy because they’re bigger … the type of offense we create for Jake (Belt) is a lot different from what we’re doing for Ryder (Martyn) and Cash (Silva).”

Martyn had an off day for the Demons and didn’t place. Silva knew it was important to remind him that success is not a vertical line; it ebbs and flows. Martyn needs to be ready to come back to the drawing board and get better.

Ignacio’s girls wrestling program had three second-place finishers with Bradley, Larissa Espinosa and Madison Egger in their respective weight classes.

Before Bradley lost to Aleia in the finals, she won her opening round matchup, 13-3 and beat Edi Linascum from Grand Junction Central in the quarterfinals in a close matchup. Bradley then beat Green River’s Raygen Bauers 17-1 in the semifinals.

Espinosa won 19-4 in her quarterfinal matchup before winning 3-0 against Dawn Tahy-Sloan from Farmington. Caylee Miller from Bloomfield beat Espinosa in the 235-pound final, 5-0.

Egger finished second in the 100-pound bracket beating her first two opponents by a combined score of 23-3, before pinning Addi Whaley from Soroco. Egger lost 19-3 in the final to Fort Lupton’s Yaida Rodriguez.

On the boys side, for Ignacio, top local wrestlers Aven Bourriague and Lincoln deKay both placed, with Bourriague finishing fifth at 120 pounds and deKay sixth at 165 pounds.

Bourriague lost in the semifinals, but bounced back to win his fifth-place match. deKay was the top seed at 165 pounds and made it to the semifinals before losing a close 5-4 match to Aztec’s Cory Douglas. deKay then lost his fifth-place match.

Bayfield High School girls wrestling’s Violet Christner finished fifth at 100 pounds.

bkelly@durangoherald.com

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WHEELING — Officials with Youth Services System Inc. say changes in how the agency receives subsidies for the before and afterschool care the program provides to young students has significantly reduced available funding, and that continuing the programs under the new subsidy system is “unsustainable.”

“We’re no longer under a financial strain,” said Chris Sengewalt, CFO of YSS. “We have a financial crisis.”

Sengewalt and Sarah Gamble, supervisor of community based services for YSS, spoke before Ohio County Board of Education members Monday night and asked for their support and assistance in continuing the program.

They explained YSS is no longer being reimbursed based on the number of students enrolled in their programs, but instead on each student’s actual attendance. Children enrolled don’t always attend the program on a daily basis or may only attend part of the day.

Gamble noted that they had been before the board in September 2024, telling them a financial strain was coming down the pike.

“There were discussions statewide then suggesting that some of the funding sources currently being utilized were going to be depleted in the coming months,” she said.

Fortunately, the YSS programs were sustained through both 2024 and 2025, she continued.

But last fall, the West Virginia Department of Health informed YSS that beginning Sept. 1 they could no longer bill for subsidies based on overall enrollment. They would instead need to base the billing on actual attendance.

YSS serves students attending Bethlehem, Elm Grove and Middle Creek elementary schools. In these schools, 52% of the students attending the before- and after-school programs are eligible for the subsidies, according to Gamble.

“We have to keep a spot for them full-time if we are full capacity,” she explained.

There are 49 students actively enrolled in the before and afterschool programs at YSS and another 16 on the waitlist.

There are 22 billing days in the month and a student may only attend two days, Gamble explained.

“Previously, we could bill for the 22 days. Now we can only bill for the two days they actually attended,” she said.

YSS receives an average daily subsidy of $14.50 per student who attends the program. Billing is also now being broken down into two-hour increments for billing purposes, Gamble said.

“We’re presenting this information to you in hopes that as a board you might actually support this program,” she said. “At the end of the day, the last thing we want to see is preschools closed. Parents depend on these programs to make it to work every day.”

Board president David Croft asked her if the funding for the current school year already had dried up, and she told him it had.

“Wow. That’s a shame. It really is,” board member Andy Garber said.

Gamble explained that for the month of September the amount of supplement would have been $7,377 under prior billing practices, but YSS was only able to bill for $1,091.

“So it is fair to say the current configuration is not sustainable?” Croft asked.

Gamble answered yes and Croft inquired what options they might propose to the board.

Gamble said Marshall County Schools provides YSS with “scholarship funding” and the school district is invoiced every month which helps to cover some of YSS’s cost.

“That allows us to keep the billing at a minimum for our families,’ she said. “The last thing we want to have to do is raise the rate for our families — which we already did last year.”

Croft asked if the board needed to make a choice and if it would help more to fund before- or after-school care.

“If we can’t sustain the program the way it is, my recommendation would be to offer before care,” she said. “Then we can support two-hour delay days.”

Sengewalt said YSS is seeking funding to help them finish out the current fiscal year while they seek a collaborative solution in the future.

Superintendent Kim Miller suggested the school district put together a task force consisting of Gamble and Raquel McLeod, student services director for Ohio County Schools, and others to review what other counties are doing and what is working elsewhere.

The matter will be reviewed by board members and placed on the agenda for their next meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 12 at the board office, 2203 National Road, Wheeling.

The NCAA transfer portal will open for all college football players looking for a new school to play for in the 2026 season.

The transfer portal can be an exciting prospect for successful programs looking to reload their talent pool ahead of the following season. For struggling programs, the idea of roster retention can feel like an uphill battle against potential suitors in the transfer portal.

One program that is fighting the aforementioned uphill battle with roster retention is West Virginia. A multitude of players on the 2025 roster for the Mountaineers have already decided to look for greener grass in the transfer portal.

Among the more notable departures for the Mountaineers in the 2026 offseason will be quarterback Khalil Wilkins and running backs Jahiem White and Diore Hubbard.

Wilkins was given snaps as a backup in games against Robert Morris, Kansas, Utah, BYU, UCF and Texas Tech. He tallied 185 passing yards, a touchdown pass and two interceptions while rushing for another 243 yards and two interceptions.

While his 2025 season was far less productive due to injury, White had been given a lot of run with the Mountaineers in his prior two seasons in the program. He accumulated 1,820 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground while catching 27 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons.

Hubbard finished 2025 as West Virginia’s most productive running back. He ran for 335 yards and four touchdowns and caught 16 passes for 156 yards.

So far, 247Sports has reported 19 other players will transfer out of West Virginia.

Offensively, running backs Tyler Jacklich, Kannon Katzer and Clay Ash, wide receivers Tyshawn Dues and Oran Singleton Jr, and offensive linemen Robby Martin, Cooper Young, Jude Edwards and Ethan Chill are heading for the portal.

On defense, linemen Adam Tomczyk and Jackson Biser, linebacker Mike Hastie, and defensive backs Zae Jennings, William Davis, Dawayne Galloway Jr., Devonte Golden-Nelson, Kaleb Gray, and Matthias Squire are all exiting. Punter Aidan Stire is also entering the transfer portal.

The Mountaineers rehired Rich Rodriguez to be their head coach after parting with Neal Brown at the conclusion of the 2024 season. Rodriguez coached at West Virginia from 2001-2007 and had held head coaching jobs at Michigan, Arizona and Jacksonville State after leaving.

West Virginia finished 14th in the Big 12 standings with its 4-8 overall record. The Mountaineers’ 2025 wins were against Robert Morris (45-3), Pittsburgh (31-24), Houston (45-35) and Colorado (29-22).