Ben Merrill was a standout at St. Sebastian’s in his final two years from 2022-24. (Dave Arnold/NEHJ)

Is it the busiest time of year in the men’s college hockey recruiting calendar? Far from it. The American Hockey Coaches Association Convention was earlier this month, and outside of the New England District and Massachusetts District festivals, there hasn’t been much to scout locally.

But there are still commitments to track.

A local NHL Draft pick switched his commitment, while two impactful players in New England prep this past winter made their decisions. An ’08 at Seacoast Performance Academy also has a college next to his name.

Plus, there are a slew of new CHL players committed to local schools.

Let’s dive in.

University of Nevada (Reno) wide receiver Cortez Braham Jr. sued the NCAA on Tuesday in hopes of becoming eligible for his seventh season in college sports and fourth as a Division I athlete.

Braham joins a growing list of college athletes who have sued the NCAA with antitrust claims in hopes of obtaining court orders that enable them to play after exhausting NCAA eligibility. The players, who have enjoyed mixed results in court, argue they would lose out on lucrative NIL deals and the chance to further their development as NFL prospects unless they can keep playing. One complicating factor is that the NCAA is not a pro sports league but instead a member organization that oversees full-time college students who play sports and who must maintain academic requirements.

Braham is one of the Wolf Pack’s best players. Starting all 13 games in 2024, the 6’2”, 201-pound receiver was second on the team in receptions (56) and in receiving yards (724). If Braham’s eligible to play this fall, he says he would land a “once-in-a-lifetime NIL contract opportunity worth nearly $500,000” in addition to augmenting his skills in hopes of a career in pro football. 

But Braham is not currently eligible under NCAA rules to play in the 2025-26 academic year. NCAA eligibility rules limit an athlete’s participation in NCAA sports to five calendar years from when the athlete begins studying at a college and four seasons of intercollegiate competition (including junior college competition) in any one sport. The rules also limit junior college transfers to a maximum of three years of D-I sports.

Braham’s college journey began in 2019, when he graduated from Westwood High School in Blythewood, S.C. A three-star rated prospect by ESPN and 247Sports, Braham enrolled at Hutchinson Community College (HCC) in Kansas and played for the school’s team, the Blue Dragons, which competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). 

Braham played three seasons (2019, 2020 and 2021) for the Blue Dragons, which won the NJCAA national championship in 2021. The receiver intended to transfer to West Virginia University in 2021, but his GPA of 2.47 was too low. The NCAA requires a 2.5 GPA for a JUCO player to transfer and play at a four-year school, a standard that Braham points out is higher than the academic requirements the NCAA stipulates for an athlete to transfer from one four-year school to another. 

Braham raised his GPA and transferred to WVU, where he played two seasons (2022 and 2023). He then transferred to Nevada for his 2024 season.

Braham believed he would be eligible to play at Nevada this fall given the aftermath of Vanderbilt quarterback and former junior college transfer Diego Pavia’s litigation play in 2025. After Pavia secured an injunction last December, the NCAA granted a waiver to allow similarly situated former JUCO players to play a fourth year of D-I in 2025 (The NCAA has appealed the court ruling in Pavia’s favor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit). Pavia had played two seasons of JUCO football and then, like Braham, three in D-I. 

But according to Braham, Nevada has refused to file a waiver on his behalf with the NCAA—a required step for attempting to continue his eligibility. The complaint refers to Nevada athletic administrators allegedly telling Braham and his representatives that while the university would not file a waiver, he could hire an attorney and sue the NCAA in hopes of securing a favorable court order. Braham’s complaint says his “inability to seek assistance from the NCAA directly” is “yet another example of the NCAA erecting procedural barriers that disproportionately burden JUCO athletes.”

Drafted by attorneys Brandon D. Wright and Gregg E. Clifton of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, Braham’s complaint raises what have become familiar antitrust arguments against NCAA eligibility rules. These rules are portrayed as unlawfully restraining the labor market for players and denying those players a chance to (1) earn NIL money—which reflects not only an athlete’s individualized marketability but the athlete’s association with a collegiate program; (2) further hone their talents in preparation for a career in the pros; and (3) receive the educational benefits of college courses. Braham seeks a court declaration and an injunction.

The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment, but its attorneys will answer Braham’s complaint in court. The NCAA and supporters of NCAA eligibility rules have argued that antitrust laws ought not to apply since eligibility rules are arguably more about education than commercial activities. These rules are described as appropriate for college sports given the role of education, and they can harmonize athletic and academic expectations. Also, by ensuring that college players can’t pursue long-term or indefinite careers in college football, the rules allegedly distinguish college sports as distinct from minor league sports. 

U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du and U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig S. Denney of the federal district court in Nevada will preside over Cortez v. NCAA.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Missouri Tigers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The 2024-2025 academic year has come and gone, and with it, the myriad of sports we love to watch here at Rock M.

Overall, it was a pretty successful year. Mizzou Football followed up its Top 10 finish in 2023 with another double-digit win season. The men’s basketball team had a major bounce back year and earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The volleyball team made a run to the Sweet 16. And gymnastics got all the way to the Final Four before earning a top three national finish.

Those are all impressive accomplishments in their own right. So we want to know from you: Which was the best? Does the gymnastics squad get the top spot because they finished highest and had some individual champions? Does the basketball team get extra points because of their recovery from a winless conference season? Does football get the nod due to the massive investment that goes into the SEC gridiron?

Let us know!

If he wasn’t patrolling the soccer sidelines, he was perched atop the hockey bench.

But Steve Scanlon, a longtime head coach at Wilmington High, was recently relieved of his coaching duties.

Scanlon has served as the boys soccer coach at Wilmington since 2000 and has been the boys hockey coach since 1992. Scanlon has amassed a 595-452-145 combined record in both sports, while claiming two hockey state championships and 11 league titles and four league crowns in soccer.

Scanlon received a text from Wilmington athletic director Dennis Ingram to call him a few weeks after the team’s hockey banquet. Scanlon was told both of his jobs at the school had been posted.

“I felt blindsided,” Scanlon said. “I thought for sure, like we do every year, we sit down for end-of-the-season meetings. Both parties bring up concerns, and you kind of go from there.”

Scanlon was diagnosed with throat cancer in January 2023 and has been receiving chemotherapy treatments since. He said his future at Wilmington was open for discussion but that he wasn’t granted an opportunity to talk it through.

“I think after the amount of time and the success that I deserved better at the end,” he said. “And we could have had some discussions about things and come to some kind of common decision, not this.”

Ingram said he appreciated Scanlon’s time and effort that he dedicated to the athletic program during his tenure.

“Steve was such an important person to me in my development as coaching,” Ingram said. “I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for him, and we just wish him the best if he chooses to do anything in the future.”

Scanlon was a three-sport athlete at WHS in soccer, hockey and baseball before graduating in 1980. He played soccer and hockey at Curry College.

His coaching career began in 1985 as the boys soccer head coach at Methuen High. He coached two seasons and won a Merrimack Valley Conference small school title before later coming back to the soccer scene in 1990, where he coached the Westford Academy boys team for eight years. He won a state title in 1992 while capturing three league titles and four sectional titles titles in Westford before replacing his father, Dick, in Wilmington.

Meanwhile, he started as the JV hockey coach in Wilmington in 1985 and stayed in that role for six years until taking over at the helm. He coached 39 total years in the hockey program between JV and varsity.

He’s reached an all-time record in hockey of 386-275-74, while recording a 338-228-101 mark in soccer between his three coaching stops. In total, he’s coached 1,473 games with a 724-503-246 record.

Scanlon is enshrined in the Massachusetts State Coaches Association Hall of Fame in hockey and soccer. He’s also in the WHS Hall of Fame as a coach and for the two state championship hockey teams.

“You got to have the right players,” Scanlon said. “I think we’ve had good players here. All my teams in the different towns I’ve coached in, we had good, dedicated players, and good, dedicated assistant coaches and guys that were really committed to winning.”

Scanlon said he never could have imagined the success he enjoyed as a coach. He’ll never forget the consecutive state titles with the hockey team in 2012 and 2013.

“It was incredible,” Scanlon said. “It was a culmination of everybody who ever played hockey in Wilmington. We always had that goal to win the state title. So when that came, that was a dream come true for sure.

“And then being able to do it a second time was just incredible. To see it through everybody’s eyes a second time. It was unreal.”

Scanlon’s teams endured some struggles as of late, turning in a 7-41-7 mark in soccer the past three seasons and a 27-54-4 record in hockey the last four seasons. He has also coached through the last few seasons with his cancer diagnosis, something he said was challenging at times.

“I missed very little, and if I had to, my kids and my assistants did a great job,” Scanlon said. “All my fellow coaches in the rest of the league, they all knew the situation and they were all super supportive.”

But Scanlon found things to appreciate in each and every season. Last winter, he took pride in Wilmington’s ability to overcome three deficits against Reading, a perennial power in the Middlesex League, before eventually falling in overtime.

“All the seasons are special, even losing seasons,” Scanlon said. “The kids do great things for you … each team makes you proud in a different way.”

But nothing will make him prouder than being able to represent his town the way he did for so many years.

“My proudest thing coaching was coaching all that time at my own school,” Scanlon said. “To be a coach of your alma mater for all those hockey seasons, it was something I took a lot of pride in.”

IMG Academy

May 28, 2025

Bradenton, Fla. (May 28, 2025) – IMG Academy, the world’s leading sports education brand, is back on top of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior circuit with Wakana Sonobe officially becoming a world junior No. 1. The tennis program continues to solidify its reputation as a dominant force in junior tennis, as Sonobe becomes the eighth IMG Academy student-athlete to achieve this prestigious title and the second back-to-back Japanese tennis player, following Rei Sakamoto, who earned the same distinction in 2024.

Sonobe’s perseverance and dedication to the sport makes her the second female IMG Academy student-athlete to reach the No. 1 world junior ranking, after Whitney Osuigwe in 2017. Sonobe began training at IMG Academy when she was 13 years old. Throughout her four years at IMG Academy, her continued success and growth is a testament to IMG Academy’s ability to holistically develop student-athletes who are recognized at the international level and the top student-athletes in tennis.

“The tennis program is incredibly proud of Wakana, and we are honored to be a part of her journey to being ranked at No. 1 in junior tennis,” said Juan Herrera, Director of Tennis at IMG Academy. “To see her name at the top, joining seven other IMG Academy student-athletes at No. 1 further cements IMG Academy’s position as the top junior tennis program in world. Our purpose at IMG Academy is to empower student-athletes to win their future and Wakana is well on her way to a bright future in this sport. ”

Including Sonobe, IMG Academy has recognized eight world junior No. 1s in the last 10 years, six of whom are competing at a professional tennis level.

• Miomir Kecmanovic (2016 World Junior No. 1) reached a career high professional ranking of No. 27 is currently the No. 2 Serbian player.
• Whitney Osiugwe (2017 World Junior No. 1) became the first American to win the junior French Open and has since competed in each major Grand Slam tournament.
• Axel Geller (2017 World Junior No. 1) retired after attending Stanford University.
• Sebastian Korda (2018 World Junior No. 1) made his debut at the US Open and went on to compete at the French Open in 2020 only losing to defending champion Rafael Nadal. Korda later reached the fourth round during his debut at Wimbledon and upset world No. 12 at the 2022 Australian Open. Most recently he reached a career high ranking of No. 15 in 2024.
• Shintaro Mochizuki (2019 World Junior No. 1) is currently the No. 4 ranked Japanese player.
• Jerry Shang (2021 World Junior No. 1) reached his first ATP tour-level semifinal at the Japan Open after winning his first ATP title at the Open Citta della Disfida Challenger.
• Rei Sakamota (2024 World Junior No. 1) made his Masters main draw debut at the 2025 Miami Open.

Sonobe had a standout year in the ITF circuit, achieving a perfect 9-0 record in singles during the 2025 season across the junior and professional levels. Most notably, she became the first female Japanese Australian Open Junior Champion. IMG Academy had back-to-back Jr. Grand Slam Champions, following Sakamoto’s claim to the same title in 2024. Sonobe had two Top-100 wins in Abu Dhabi, has won her last 16 consecutive sets, and is now 3-1 against Top-100 players.

Additionally, the tennis program saw success at the IMG Academy International Tennis Championships. Teodora Kostovic brought home the Championship title in the Girls 18s singles, IMG Academy’s first-ever back-to-back Girls 18s Singles Champion in tournament history, following Sonobe’s win in 2023.

About IMG Academy

IMG Academy is the world’s leading sports education brand, providing a holistic education model that empowers student-athletes to win their future, preparing them for college and for life. IMG Academy provides growth opportunities for all student-athletes through an innovative suite of on-campus and online experiences:

• Boarding school and camps, via a state-of-the-art campus in Bradenton, Fla.
• Online coaching via the IMG Academy+ brand, with a focus on personal development through the lens of sport and performance
• Online college recruiting, via the NCSA brand, providing content, tools, coaching and access to a network of 40,000 college coaches

To learn more about IMG Academy and its on-campus and online experiences, visit www.imgacademy.com.