Colorado freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis is an 18-year-old five-star freshman quarterback with all the on-field tools to become a successful college player and future NFL player. Lewis’s maturity doesn’t stop with the football field.

Associated Press

Attorneys for two-time Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year Zakai Zeigler accuse the NCAA of trying to dodge facts and law by asking a federal judge to deny the Tennessee point guard’s preliminary injunction seeking to play a fifth season in as many years.

Zeigler’s attorneys compared the NCAA’s motion filed Monday to misdirection and said it used “cherry-picked” or “fundamentally flawed” data ahead of Friday’s hearing on the preliminary injunction request before U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer in Knoxville.

“Rather than recognize the evolution of antitrust law’s application to its business model, the NCAA relies on outdated legal arguments. And rather than address the law as it is, the NCAA mischaracterizes it to defend its illegal actions,” Zeigler’s attorneys wrote in a response filed Tuesday.

Zeigler sued the NCAA on May 20 over its rules limiting him to four seasons in a five-year window as an unlawful restraint of trade under both federal and Tennessee laws. His lawsuit argues he could earn between $2 million and as much as $4 million with another season.

The NCAA argued Monday that Zeigler’s injunction request should be denied because he is asking the court to make him the first athlete in history to play a fifth season in Division I “as a matter of right.” The NCAA also said using the case of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia doesn’t help because that case was “decided in error.”

Pavia, who started his career at a junior college, was granted another year to play a fifth season, a ruling the NCAA is appealing. Zeigler played four seasons at Tennessee and already has graduated. The NCAA’s motion said the life of a collegiate athlete is enabled by the Four-Seasons Rule, which creates a stream of opportunities for rising high school athletes.

The NCAA argued the Four-Seasons Rule is necessary for DI athletics to exist separately from “purely professional athletics.”

Zeigler is asking the court to eliminate lines between the NCAA’s compensation rules subject to the Sherman Act and eligibility rules that don’t involve compensation. The NCAA said nothing would stop Zeigler from asking for a sixth or seventh season while pursuing a doctorate degree if he wins.

“College athletics is a means to a better end for student-athletes — not the end itself,” the NCAA motion said.

Zeigler also has known since stepping on the Tennessee campus that he had five years to complete four seasons of basketball and could have challenged the Four-Seasons Rule at any time, the NCAA said.

“Whatever emergency underlies Plaintiff’s request for relief is of his own making,” the motion said.

It noted Zeigler can keep playing basketball with foreign leagues or the NBA’s G League since “if he had a viable path to the NBA, given his resume, he would already be a viable prospect.”

The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a brief Tuesday encouraging the judge to apply Alston’s “flexible” rule of reason approach to Zeigler’s injunction request and “consider how the rule may benefit competition in the relevant labor market” and potentially enhance the athlete experience.

Alston was the 9-0 Supreme Court case ruling in June 2021 that opened the door for compensation. The high court agreed with a lower court’s determination that NCAA limits on education-related benefits that colleges offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football violate antitrust laws.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll

Florida State baseball is one of 16 teams remaining in college baseball. The Seminoles’ offense has been led by junior shortstop Alex Lodise. On Wednesday, FSU’s captain was named one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which honors the nation’s top player:

Golden Spikes Award Finalist

Congratulations to Alex Lodise, named one of three finalists for the national player of the year honor!

pic.twitter.com/RviCtSagoe

— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) June 4, 2025

The other finalists are Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa Aloy and Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle. 

He was also named a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which honors the nations top shortstop. He’s joined by Aloy, Oregon State’s Aiva Arquette, UCLA Roch Cholowsky, and Arizona State’s Matt King. 

Alex Lodise is a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award!

Congrats, Lodi! ? pic.twitter.com/eeAC6FSpf3

— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) June 4, 2025

Lodise leads the Seminoles with a .404 AVG, .738 SLG%, and .467 OBP. He also has team-highs with 91 hits, 18 doubles, 67 RBI, 166 total bases. He’s also produced 17 homers and three triples. 

The shortstop has been stellar defensively, only making five errors in 202 total chances. He owns a .975 FLD%. 

Lodise was named the ACC Player and Defender of the Year at the end of the regular season. 

“To go play that position every day, that position’s hard,” Jarrett said before the ACC Tournament, “He’s good at it, and the quality of the at-bat, and the extra-base hitting, and the consistency, it’s really tough to do at that position. As good as I’ve seen it.” 

FSU begins Super Regionals on Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET against Oregon State at Goss Stadium. 

Speaking on Big 12 Radio ahead of the Women’s College World Series matchup against Oklahoma, Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco revealed NiJaree Canady suffered an injury earlier in the year. The two-time reigning National Pitcher of the Year was apparently playing on a torn hamstring.

Glasco confirmed Canady has been dealing with a “really, really serious soft tissue injury” while speaking with reporters Tuesday ahead of the WCWS final against Texas. Doctors said her pitching motion didn’t impact the severity since she’s right-handed, and the staff would have had to shut her down if she threw left-handed.

Glasco said he spoke directly with the doctors about the ailment. He added it was a “major” issue throughout the year.

“I just know it was a really serious injury that was going to take eight or nine weeks to get over completely,” Glasco said. “I was actually told soft tissue injury, and I think I assumed it was the leg or the hamstring, but I really didn’t know other than the doctors said that … the pitching motion, because it was on her left leg, not her right leg, that it wouldn’t do further damage to go ahead and pitch. But if it had been on the right leg, he would have had to shut her down.

“So it was that close. … Yeah, it was a major, a really, really serious soft tissue injury, the way I understood it.”

Gerry Glasco: ‘We were walking on pins and needles for about a month’

Despite the injury, Canady led Texas Tech not only to its first-ever WCWS trip, but the first championship series in program history. She repeated as National Pitcher of the Year and enters Wednesday’s first game with a 33-5 record and a 0.90 ERA. She also has a .297 batting average, 11 home runs and 34 RBI at the plate as a hitter.

NiJaree Canady said the injury looked “worse than it was” on paper and downplayed the issue. But Glasco also said it impacted her production at the plate this year. She also hasn’t thrown a bullpen session in some time and took more than a month off batting practice.

“We were walking on pins and needles for about a month,” Glasco said. “There was about a month there where even like the South Carolina Friday night game, we thought she was going to start, and it didn’t feel right, and we had to not start on Friday. Then we eliminated all bullpens during the middle of the week and eliminated hitting, like actual batting practice. She was taking almost none for a little over a month period. We didn’t talk a lot about it, but it was a significant setback, I think, in her offensive part of her game.

“But then her pitching part, when you realize as a coach how effective she was every weekend and not going through the normal bullpen procedures or the really hard bullpens where you work on your spin, you work on your location that you normally would do, and to still have the results that she did just shows what a tremendous competitor and what a tremendous talent she was.”

Former Kentucky Great Has Words About NIL: “I’m Glad I Didn’t Play in That Era” originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

When John Wall talks, Big Blue Nation listens.

On a recent appearance on Sunday Mornings with Matt & Myron, former Kentucky Wildcat and NBA All-Star John Wall dropped an unexpected take on the hottest topic in college sports: NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). In a world where top recruits like Cooper Flagg are rumored to earn upward of $28 million, Wall, arguably the face of the Kentucky basketball resurgence in 2009 says he’s thankful he missed the NIL boom.

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“For me, I’m glad I didn’t come up in that era, you know what I mean?” Wall said.

That’s not something you hear often, especially from a player who would’ve been one of college basketball’s highest earners in the NIL era. At Kentucky, Wall was the star. His signature dances and high-flying dunks helped catapult UK back into national relevance and led to being a No. 1 NBA Draft pick in 2010.

While acknowledging the positives, Wall made it clear that NIL has its challenges too.

“I think it’s great… but they gotta do like some boundaries with some of it… not like everybody jumping in the portal every year trying to just search for money.”

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The former Wildcat’s perspective brings a fresh voice to the NIL conversation. Wall is someone who respects the evolution of the game but is also wary of how it affects the spirit of college basketball. He even admitted that while he wouldn’t trade his time at UK, cashing in would’ve been “crazy.”

“That would be dope… how much I would have gotten from NIL for sure.”

Wall’s influence remains strong in Lexington. He revealed he’s been invited by new head coach Mark Pope to work out with the current squad this summer and promises a return to Rupp Arena is coming soon.

“Kentucky’s always home for me… I’m definitely coming back.”

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As the NIL era continues to reshape the college sports landscape, John Wall’s honest reflection is a reminder: some legends were built without a price tag and that may be what makes them truly priceless.

Related: DJ Lagway Lands Lamborghini NIL Deal in Power Move

Related: NCAA Sends Clear Message About Athlete Pay and Roster Limits

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.

Nationwide — NiJaree Canady, a 22-year-old African American woman, has become the first college softball athlete to sign a million-dollar NIL deal. She moved from Stanford to Texas Tech and landed a record $1,050,024 contract.

Canady’s transfer to Texas Tech brought in the biggest Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal ever in college softball. Matador Club, tied to the university, gave her a one-year contract worth over $1 million, $1 million in direct payment, $50,000 for living expenses, and $24 to match her jersey number, according to USA Today.

Canady, the current USA Softball National Player of the Year, entered the transfer portal just days before Coach Gerry Glasco was hired. He moved quickly to recruit her, with help from NFL quarterback and Texas Tech alum Patrick Mahomes. Glasco promised not just a place in the lineup but also more chances to hit and grow her all-around game.

The university’s softball program had already seen big support from donors, with millions invested in upgrades. While the contract raised eyebrows, Canady said the coaching staff and vision for the team played a bigger role in her decision.

She found the shift from Palo Alto to Lubbock easy, saying Texas reminded her more of home. She also liked how much time Glasco spent helping her improve her hitting, which she said other schools hadn’t prioritized.

Despite a minor injury, Canady had a breakout season. She led the Red Raiders to their first Big 12 regular-season and conference titles with a 26-5 record and the nation’s best ERA of 0.86. She also delivered a 2-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts to win Texas Tech’s first Women’s College World Series game.

Coach Glasco says Canady is the best pitcher he’s ever coached. He sees her leading the team to a national title.

Off the field, Canady hopes to inspire the next generation. She enjoys signing autographs and dreams of helping young girls learn to hit.

Born in Topeka, Kansas, Canady was a multisport athlete in high school, playing softball, basketball, and even tackle football.