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Texas Tech Red Raiders – Official Athletics Website

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Texas Tech’s historic season added another chapter Friday afternoon as the Red Raiders secured their first trip to the Women’s College World Series following a 2-1 victory over Florida State at JoAnne Graf Field. The Red Raiders (50-12) utilized the same formula in both Super Regional wins over the Seminoles (49-12) – […]

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Texas Tech’s historic season added another chapter Friday afternoon as the Red Raiders secured their first trip to the Women’s College World Series following a 2-1 victory over Florida State at JoAnne Graf Field.

The Red Raiders (50-12) utilized the same formula in both Super Regional wins over the Seminoles (49-12) – an early first-inning lead and dominant pitching in the circle from NiJaree Canady. The result has the Red Raiders heading to Oklahoma City for the first time in program history where Texas Tech will face either Ole Miss or Arkansas next Thursday.

Canady further solidified her reputation as the nation’s top pitcher as she withstood a seventh-inning rally to return to Oklahoma City for a third time in her college career. Florida State led off the seventh with a leadoff walk to Katie Dack and then a double from Michaela Edenfield with Dack scoring immediately after on an RBI ground out from Shelby McKenzie. Canady fought out of the jam, leaving the tying run at third base after back-to-back foul outs to Lauren Allred at first base to end the threat.

Outside the double to Edenfield in the seventh, Canady only allowed an infield single to McKenzie in the second and then a double to Hallie Wacaser in the fifth for her second complete game gem in as many days. The victory was the 30th of the season for Canady (30-5), who combined to surrender only one run off five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over her 14.0 combined innings in the two-game sweep of the Seminoles.

Canady (30-5) benefited from an early lead once again with Mihyia Davis coming around to score in the first inning for the second-consecutive game. Davis, who slapped an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error to start the inning, raced home to beat the tag on an Alana Johnson sacrifice fly to shallow left field for an early 1-0 lead.

It marked the fifth time in as many games the Red Raiders have scored in the opening inning as Texas Tech is now 31-1 when doing so this season and a perfect 5-0 since opening the NCAA Lubbock Regional with a 6-0 victory over Brown. Texas Tech will enter the Women’s College World Series riding an eight-game winning streak where the Red Raiders have combined to outscore opponents, 56-8, during that stretch.

The Red Raiders added what became the game-winning run in the fifth as Demi Elder shot a single up the middle to score Johnson from second. Johnson collided with the Seminole shortstop on the play, recovering in time to beat a delayed throw home to give the Red Raiders a 2-0 lead. Elder finished 2-for-3 at the plate for a Texas Tech offense that combined for six hits off the Florida State pitching staff.

Julia Apsel (12-2) took the loss in the circle for Florida State as the left-hander allowed one unearned run off three hits and a strikeout over her 2.2 innings. She was relieved midway through the third by Jazzy Francik, who similarly gave up an unearned run off three hits and three strikeouts over the final 3.1 innings. Florida State combined for four errors as a team.

The Red Raiders will face the winner of the NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional between No. 4 seed Arkansas and unseeded Ole Miss in their Women’s College World Series debut next Thursday. Game times and television designations will be announced later this weekend by the NCAA.



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National outlet ranks two different Kansas teams among some of the best in recent history

The Athletic’s Brendan Marks (subscription required) took on the daunting task of ranking each great college basketball team since 2000. The Jayhawks made some splashes throughout the list, No. 25 Kansas 2019-20 This was a fan favorite Kansas team of recent memory. When you think of “What if” teams, this one has to be up […]

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The Athletic’s Brendan Marks (subscription required) took on the daunting task of ranking each great college basketball team since 2000. The Jayhawks made some splashes throughout the list,

No. 25 Kansas 2019-20

This was a fan favorite Kansas team of recent memory. When you think of “What if” teams, this one has to be up there for Jayhawk fans. This was a squad loaded with imressive stats. To start, a 28-3 record prior to the season’s cancellation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Combine that with the fact that the Jayhawks marked a 48.4% from the field which ranked 9th-best in the nation, along with the second-best amount of losses in the nation (3).

In that shortened season, Kansas posed the 11th-best defense in the land as the 1882 points that Bill Self’s squad gave up helped drive a stout defense.

Kansas was in the midst of a 16-game winning streak, which has included a 64-61 win over the No. 1 Baylor in what was one of the final games of that season.

Now, maybe when you look at a majority of stats, there aren’t many that will jump out as “fantastic” but one really sticks out.

Stat website Sports Reference measure strength of schedule, by this description.

“The rating is denominated in points above/below average, where zero is average. Non-Division I games are excluded from the ratings.”

Kansas ranked the hardest SOS with an 11.63, was the only team with 25+ wins up until Baylor who ranked 32nd with a 9.13 SOS.

Leading the team was Devin Dotson with 18 points per game Udoka Azubuike followed up with 13.7 points per night.

6. Kansas 2007-08

Self’s fifth year at the helm of the Jayhawks ranks as his most wins as Kansas totaled 37 wins to just three losses.

A 20-game win streak launched the season for this special squad, which was halted by a 4-3 stretch before Self and Co. saw a 13-game win streak go off en route to a Kansas National Championship in that thrilling 75-68 OT win against a Memphis team marshaled by John Calipari and the high-flying Derrick Rose.

In the Final Four, Kansas beat up North Carolina by 18 points in a game that featured five future NBA Tar Heels in Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Ty Lawson, and Alex Stepheson.

Seven different Kansas players went on from that team to join the NBA, the likes of Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson, Sherron Collins, Sasha Kaun, and Cole Aldrich

Self’s team averaged 80.5 points per game, which ranked 13th in the nation, while also holding firm with a defense 21st-best which allowed just 61.5 points per game.

The leading scorer on that team was Brandon rush, who returned 13.3 points per game, three more Jayhawks kept over 10 points per game during that championship-winning season.

More Kansas Basketball News



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Arkansas coach Sam Pittman says House settlement provides level NIL playing field in competitive SEC

ATLANTA — Sam Pittman says a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that went into effect this month levels the college football playing field in a good way for his Arkansas team. Pittman said Arkansas now has a chance to compete on more even terms with other Southeastern Conference powers like Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Pittman said […]

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ATLANTA — Sam Pittman says a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that went into effect this month levels the college football playing field in a good way for his Arkansas team.

Pittman said Arkansas now has a chance to compete on more even terms with other Southeastern Conference powers like Georgia, Alabama and Texas. Pittman said Thursday at SEC media days his program previously dealt with a financial disadvantage against the schools with more established name, image and likeness collectives since NIL payments began in 2022.

According to the terms of the House settlement, each school now can share up to about $20.5 million with their athletes.

“Financially with revenue sharing I think we are finally back on even keel with everybody, which we weren’t,” said Pittman, whose team finished 7-6 in 2024. “If I was going to make an excuse, it would be financially is why we haven’t done quite as well. … But I think now with it being even, look out, the Razorbacks are coming.”

Pittman and most other coaches brought seniors and graduate players to represent their teams at SEC media days, which concluded on Thursday. Pittman brought two 2021 recruits and a transfer, but Arkansas could have difficulty finding seniors next year from his original 2022 signing class because many members of that class have transferred.

Pittman, whose Razorbacks have earned bowl bids in four of his five seasons, said players have different reasons for transferring but many were lured away from Arkansas by more attractive NIL packages at other schools. When asked about the 2022 class, Pittman said, “Here’s what it’s not because of: the way they’re treated, because of the way they’re developed, because of the way they’re taught.”

“That’s not the reason. It could be playing time. It could be finances. Probably the majority of it is finances.”

The House settlement era began on July 1.

The enforcement of the House settlement is still being worked out as the new College Sports Commission has informed athletic directors in letters last week it was rejecting payments to players from collectives created only to pay players instead of as payment for name, likeness and image.

Some seniors at SEC media days said NIL payments and the transfer portal have contributed to their decisions to complete their eligibility instead of leaving school early to pursue opportunities in the NFL.

“I would most definitely say so,” Missouri offensive lineman Connor Tollison said. “Obviously, you know, you have a chance to make some money these days. … With the transfer portal, if you don’t have a necessarily a good opportunity at this place you’re at, you have the chance to go somewhere else and get a fresh start. It wasn’t necessarily something I experienced to my college career, but I’ve seen it. You know, it works for plenty of players. So yeah, I think it’s good for the players.”

When asked if NIL makes it easier for players to complete their eligibility, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, coming off a 4-8 season, said, “Listen, we all love our players, whether they’re one year in our program, six months, or four years.”

Linebacker Alex Afari, defensive back Jordan Lovett and tight end Josh Kattus were the seniors who accompanied Stoops to Atlanta.

“Of course I love making money from name, image and likeness,” Lovett said. “But I love football first. You know, football was my first love. So I play for the game, not for money.”

Lovett added his primary motivation for returning was to earn his first win over Georgia.

“It’s the big part of college football now because some dudes just make decisions off, you know, the financial stuff,” Lovett said. “I love football. … I still haven’t, you know, beat Georgia yet. You know, Georgia’s one of my goals.”



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President Trump mulls executive order to ‘preserve college sports’: What a draft calls for

By Ralph D. Russo, Justin Williams and Stewart Mandel As the future of college sports faces continued legal and legislative friction, President Donald Trump could soon get involved in the form of an executive order that seeks to “preserve college athletics” through antitrust protections and clarity on student-athlete status. A draft of an executive order […]

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By Ralph D. Russo, Justin Williams and Stewart Mandel

As the future of college sports faces continued legal and legislative friction, President Donald Trump could soon get involved in the form of an executive order that seeks to “preserve college athletics” through antitrust protections and clarity on student-athlete status.

A draft of an executive order titled “Saving College Sports” was obtained by The Athletic on Thursday, but it is not believed to be a finalized version. It is unclear if or when such an executive order will be formalized, but Trump has considered taking executive action on college sports for months. CBS News reported this week that the president was set to sign an order related to name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation for college athletes. Yahoo! Sports first reported on the contents of an executive order draft on Thursday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The seven-page draft directs the Secretary of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to address the debate over the employment status of college athletes.

“Ongoing litigation seeks to transform student-athletes into employees, which would make college sports financially untenable for many, if not most, schools,” the draft states.

It also directs members of President Trump’s cabinet and other political officials to pursue policy and protections in a number of other areas related to college sports, including rules that could be challenged by antitrust complaints and continued opportunity for scholarships and roster spots, along with preventing “unqualified or unscrupulous agents from representing athletes.” The draft also calls for better uniformity with federal and state laws, and safeguarding the role college sports have played in the development of Olympic athletes.

The draft points to the “waves of recent litigation against NCAA governing rules” and states that, while changes in recent years allowing college athletes to be compensated were “overdue and should be maintained, the inability to maintain rules at all … will destroy what Americans recognize today as college sports.”

This potential executive order comes at a time of heightened political and legal involvement in college sports. The recently approved House v. NCAA settlement, which took effect July 1, created a revenue sharing model that allows schools to directly pay college athletes and provides back-pay damages to former college athletes who could not earn NIL compensation.

College sports leaders have also been lobbying congressional lawmakers for federal legislation and antitrust protections to help regulate the NIL market and supersede a patchwork of varying state laws on the matter.

The Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act is the latest bill to be drafted in Congress. Introduced last week by members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, it was advanced through a subcommittee earlier this week and has bipartisan support. As written, the SCORE Act would codify many of the terms in the House settlement, but it has already faced considerable public opposition.

Trump has long held an interest in college athletics, according to industry sources familiar with his thinking, including preserving Olympic and other non-revenue sports amid the changing landscape. The president came away from a meeting with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban in May motivated to get involved. There were reports of a potential commission led by Saban and billionaire oil businessman Cody Campbell, a former Texas Tech football player and current board chair, but its implementation was put on hold as lawmakers worked on legislative solutions.

An executive order could be considered a way for Trump to either circumvent or push through congressional gridlock, but executive orders are not ideal long-term solutions — they are often repealed when a new administration takes office or can be challenged by courts. An order cannot grant antitrust exemptions or deny employee status to college athletes, but an order in line with the obtained draft would strongly signal Trump’s intent on those issues.

Legal battles are not new to college athletics. The House settlement is already being challenged despite being formally implemented just weeks ago, and the drafted order takes aim at the settlement as well.

“Even a recent litigation settlement that provides billions in back pay to former athletes and a revenue-sharing model between universities and student-athletes provides little assurance that it will not soon be upended by new litigation seeking more compensation with fewer rules, further reducing in the number of student-athletes,” the draft states.

Steve Berman, co-lead plaintiff counsel in the House settlement, took issue with Trump’s potential intervention in a statement on Thursday.

“Plain and simple, college athletes don’t need Trump’s help, and he shouldn’t be aiding the NCAA at the expense of athletes,” Berman said. “Mr. Trump boasts of his deal-making prowess. As a result of our case, college athletes are now free to make their own deals. For Trump to want to put his foot on their deal-making abilities is unwarranted and flouts his own philosophy on the supposed ‘art of the deal.’ Step back, Mr. President.”

Earlier this week, players’ unions for the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL and MLS issued a joint statement urging Congress to reject the proposed SCORE Act legislation, warning that an antitrust exemption would permit the NCAA and its members to “collude to harm athletes.”

“Whatever progress the athletes have made has been a result of their use of the antitrust laws,” they wrote. “The SCORE Act would take that weapon away from them.”

Despite questioning the legal viability of the settlement, the executive order draft overlaps with the settlement in its vision for NIL regulations. It also calls for the creation of a commission that would include individuals and organizations involved in collegiate athletics to continue exploring the order’s stated efforts to protect college sports.

“It is the policy of my Administration that college sports should be preserved,” the draft states. “My Administration will therefore support solutions that provide the long-term stability, fairness, and balance necessary to protect student-athletes, collegiate athletic scholarships and opportunities, and the special American institution of college sports.”

(Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images)



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President Trump working on executive order intending to ‘preserve’ college sports from ‘threat’

WASHINGTON — A draft of the long-discussed presidential executive order intends to “preserve” college athletics from “unprecedented threat” and destruction, it says, by implementing new policies related to athlete compensation, antitrust protection, athlete employment, state law uniformity and Olympic sport participation. The draft, though not believed to be the final version, is expected to align […]

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WASHINGTON — A draft of the long-discussed presidential executive order intends to “preserve” college athletics from “unprecedented threat” and destruction, it says, by implementing new policies related to athlete compensation, antitrust protection, athlete employment, state law uniformity and Olympic sport participation.

The draft, though not believed to be the final version, is expected to align closely with the order that President Donald Trump has long been exploring and offers a window into his thinking. It is unclear when, or even if, Trump will announce an executive order, which for four months has been discussed in the public sphere.

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The draft was provided to Yahoo Sports by three different congressional sources, all confirming that the document is believed to have originated from the White House. Attempts to reach White House staff were unsuccessful.

Here’s how President Trump wants federal government involved

The draft, seven pages long and titled “SAVING COLLEGE SPORTS,” outlines directives from Trump to members of his Cabinet to create policy related to various aspects of college athletics. Those aspects primarily include directing the attorney general and Federal Trade Commission to: (1) provide college leaders with protection from antitrust law around the “long-term availability” of scholarships and opportunities for athletes; (2) prevent “unqualified and unscrupulous agents” from representing athletes; and (3) support uniformity by, presumably, preempting the varying name, image and likeness state laws.

The draft also requests the assistant to the president for domestic policy work with the U.S. Olympic team to provide “safeguards” for NCAA Olympic sports; and directs the secretary of education and National Labor Relations Board to implement policy “clarifying that status” of athletes, presumably as students and not employees.

US President-elect Donald Trump introduces US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican from Texas, during Turning Point's annual AmericaFest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 22, 2024. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)

While Sen. Ted Cruz has been working on bipartisan legislation in Congress, President Donald Trump now appears to be entering the fray on college sports’ myriad issues. (Josh Edelson/Getty)

(JOSH EDELSON via Getty Images)

In its introduction, the order purports that such directives are necessary to preserve an industry in chaos and on the brink of destruction.

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“It is no exaggeration to say that America’s system of collegiate athletics plays an integral role in forging the leaders that drive our Nation’s success,” the order says. “Yet the future of college sports is under unprecedented threat.”

Court rulings, the order says, have “eliminated limits on athlete compensation, recruiting inducements, and transfers between universities, unleashing a sea change that threatens the viability of college sports.”

While some of these changes are “long overdue,” the order says that the inability to maintain rules “will destroy what Americans recognize today as college sport.”

“It is the policy of my Administration that college sports should be preserved,” the draft reads.

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Pushback vs. presidential order: ‘College athletes don’t need Trump’s help’

The order says the House settlement “provides little assurance” in preserving the sport and expects it to be “upended soon” by new litigation over increased compensation and fewer rules. The order describes a potential athlete-employment model as making the industry “financially untenable.”

Steve Berman, one of the co-lead plaintiff attorneys in the House settlement, released a statement to Yahoo Sports calling a potential executive order as “unwarranted” and describing it as flouting the president’s “own philosophy on the supposed ‘art of the deal.'”

“Plain and simple, college athletes don’t need Trump’s help, and he shouldn’t be aiding the NCAA at the expense of athletes,” Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman, said in a statement to Yahoo Sports. “Step back, Mr. President. These fabulous athletes don’t need your help. Let them make their own deals. And the Supreme Court with your appointee, Justice Kavanaugh, condemned the NCAA’s compensation rules as a violation of the antitrust laws. Why give them immunity, Mr. President, in light of that ruling?”

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The order gives the attorney general and Federal Trade Commission 60 days to make necessary revisions to new policy and gives the secretary of education and secretary of the treasury 120 days to develop financial education for athletes.

Any timing on the release of the order — if it is released at all — remains a murky topic.

College sports remains a political football for Trump, senate Republicans and Democrats

Trump has been determined to get involved in college athletics. Most recently, he held a golf outing with two of the sport’s most notable names, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua.

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Reports of an executive order surfaced in late April, as well as plans to form a presidential commission to study the industry. In fact, the executive order appears to create a commission (though it does not describe it as such) of “individuals and organizations involved in collegiate athletics, including athletes, schools, conferences, governing bodies, and leaders with experience relating to college sports, as well as the Congress and State governments” to assure that college sports is being preserved.

Trump’s plans — both the order and commission — were “paused” in May as congressional lawmakers urged White House leadership to give them more time to agree to college sports legislation. A congressional bill governing the sport is believed to be a more permanent solution than an executive order that is subject to legal challenges.

The pause in White House action in May provided a runway for House and Senate negotiations over college sports legislation. More movement has taken place in the House, where a bipartisan bill, the SCORE Act, is expected to soon go before a full House committee for vote, at which point it could land on the House floor — the furthest that any all-encompassing college sports legislation has advanced since the NCAA’s lobbying effort began five years ago.

However, the bill faces steep odds in gaining enough Democrat support for passage in the Senate, where filibuster rules require a 60-vote minimum. There are 53 Republicans in the Senate.

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The Senate has been working toward the introduction of its own legislation, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, who, much like Trump, has made college sports regulation a priority. He’s been in negotiations now for months with several Democrats, most notably Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker. No agreement has been reached despite more than a year of intense talks.

Though at first deemed to be a “bipartisan issue,” college sports legislation has created significant enough differences among Democrats and Republicans that no single bill has reached the House or Senate floor despite the introduction of more than a dozen pieces of legislation over five years.

Dividing the two parties is an array of issues, most notably the idea of preventing athletes from being deemed employees. Democrats are less inclined in such a provision because of their relationship with trial lawyers and labor unions, Cruz said during an interview in September of 2023.

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On the same day and at the same event, Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Rep. Lori Trahan, a Democrat from Massachusetts, pushed college leaders to examine a model to share revenue with athletes and collectively bargain with them.

“You might disagree,” Murphy said, “but I think it feels and smells a lot like employment at the highest level of the sport.”

There are other problematic concepts. For instance, the oversight and enforcement of the college athletics industry (should the NCAA or College Sports Commission be granted such authority or a federal entity, something that many Democrats support); guarantees around long-term athlete healthcare for lower-resourced Division I schools that cannot afford such (will the power conference schools subside?); and how limited is the liability or antitrust protection for the leadership of college sports?

Meanwhile, as lawmakers continue negotiations, college administrators are mired in legal negotiations of their own related to the new House settlement and revenue-sharing concept. The settlement’s primary goal — to shift athlete pay from NIL booster collectives to the schools — is at risk of crumbling as House plaintiff attorneys contend that college leaders are violating terms of the settlement by denying certain collective contracts.



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Florida’s DJ Lagway Jokes He Doesn’t ‘Have a Prosthetic Arm,’ Downplays Injury Issues

Florida Gators fans can breathe a sigh of relief. After an offseason of speculation about his health, quarterback DJ Lagway joked with reporters Wednesday and was optimistic about his status moving forward. “I don’t have a prosthetic arm,” he said while laughing. “I’m feeling great. Training’s been amazing. I’m actually getting better at throwing the […]

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Florida Gators fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

After an offseason of speculation about his health, quarterback DJ Lagway joked with reporters Wednesday and was optimistic about his status moving forward.

“I don’t have a prosthetic arm,” he said while laughing. “I’m feeling great. Training’s been amazing. I’m actually getting better at throwing the ball. I’ve been working on mechanics that’s going to help my accuracy this year, help my decision making. It’s been great.”

Cam Parker of Sports Illustrated noted Lagway was “extremely limited for the entirety of spring camp with multiple injury issues” including shoulder and hamstring concerns and a reported hernia.

He suffered the hamstring injury during the team’s loss to Georgia in November and was limited for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

Yet Lagway denied he underwent any surgery over the offseason and was confident he will be able to make all the throws asked of him during the season. That is notable because he was limited to handoffs in the spring game and didn’t participate in the viewing periods of spring camp.

Lagway flashed his potential as a freshman last season while completing 59.9 percent of his passes for 1,915 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions and adding 101 yards on the ground.

He helped turn the team’s season around with victories over LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State down the stretch before a Gasparilla Bowl win over Tulane. 

As he enters his sophomore season, expectations are high for Florida once again in large part because of Lagway’s presence under center. If he can remain healthy and take strides after his freshman season, the Gators could be a threat in the SEC.

Having him healthy early in the season will be key because Florida plays LSU, Miami and Texas during its first five games.



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Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers emerging as consensus No. 1 tight end in college football | Football

Vanderbilt football fans haven’t often been treated to one of the nation’s best positional players wearing black and gold over the years. That will change in 2025 when tight end Eli Stowers returns for his final season. Already named a preseason first-team All-American by Athlon, Phil Steele and the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Stowers is […]

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Vanderbilt football fans haven’t often been treated to one of the nation’s best positional players wearing black and gold over the years.

That will change in 2025 when tight end Eli Stowers returns for his final season.

Already named a preseason first-team All-American by Athlon, Phil Steele and the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Stowers is gaining all kinds of national attention as Vandy’s 2025 season nears:

ESPN football analyst Matt Miller ranks Stowers as the best tight end in the country, while fellow ESPN analyst Jordan Reid ranks Stowers second, trailing only Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq.

Pro Football Focus ranks Stowers as the 19th-best player — at any position — heading into the season. In fact, Stowers is the only tight end that the analytics website ranks in its top 50 players for 2025.

The Tankathon website ranks Stowers as the nation’s top 2026 NFL Draft prospect at tight end and the 50th-best overall prospect at any position.

“He’s a really great athlete,” Vanderbilt cornerback/wide receiver Martel Hight said of Stowers during SEC media days in Atlanta this week.

“He’s physical, pretty tall, has great hands. He doesn’t drop the ball. So guarding him is pretty tough. [He has a] bigger body, and he’s pretty swift, pretty big and pretty fast.”

A high school quarterback who has played tight end for only two seasons — just one at Vanderbilt — the 6-3, 235-pound Stowers racked up 49 catches for 638 yards (13-yard average) and five touchdowns in 2024.

Stowers would have almost certainly been a Day Two pick in the NFL Draft had he chosen to go pro. But his decision to return for another season is a good sign for the Vanderbilt football program.

The Commodores’ success on the field last season, as well as the school’s willingness to pay competitive NIL money to its top talents, each played a role in luring Stowers back. It didn’t hurt either that he and quarterback Diego Pavia are close friends, a bond that began when the two played together at New Mexico State in 2023.

“I think his choice to return is a testament to where we are as a program,” Vandy coach Clark Lea said. “You know, 2021, 2022 were defined by us losing players — drafted players to other programs and losing free agent graded players to the NFL.

“Our willingness in the last couple years to really step up from an NIL standpoint, and put the infrastructure in place to be competitive in the revenue sharing era, allows us to bring a guy like Eli back … I think that’s a great statement for Vanderbilt.”

Pavia certainly isn’t complaining, considering Stowers’ 49 catches were 20 more than the figures of wide receivers Junior Sherrill and Quincy Skinner, Jr., who were next on Vandy’s list.

A member of The Athletic’s annual Freak List of top college football athletes last season, Stowers won the 2019 Texas 6A high-jump title, and he has already recorded a vertical jump of 41-1/2 inches in college.

Stowers is both fast and elusive, as he forced 13 missed tackles last season (third most among Power Four conference tight ends, per PFF) and totaled 373 yards after the catch (fourth most among that same group).

The fact that he played quarterback in high school and for two years at Texas A&M — where Stowers didn’t see much action — helps him as a pass catcher as well.

“I know you see that smile on my face when you bring him up,” Pavia said of Stowers. “Natural talent … What makes him the best tight end in the country is that he’s played quarterback before, so he knows the openings. He knows where to sit. He knows what’s open. He gets a pre-snap read. He’s just an all-around player.”

Stowers produced three games of at least six catches and more than 100 yards last season, including his signature contest — six receptions for 113 yards in Vandy’s upset of No. 1 Alabama.

Who knows what Stowers — versatile enough that he’s thrown for one touchdown and run the ball 34 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns over three seasons — has in store for 2025?

“He’s got such a maturity … that complements his physical skills [and] put him among the best of the best,” Lea said. “He’s a good athlete, smart … lined up [in] the wildcat. He’s played quarterback in this system. We flex him out as receiver.

“We try to find matchups with him. He’s a trusted pair of hands for Diego.”



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