Sports

The superhero

Published

8 months ago

May 5, 2025

TAMPA, Fla. – The device looks like something you’d wear as part of a Wolverine costume for Halloween.

I slipped on the FlexPro Grip, which enveloped my right hand. A black box sits on the back, with five rods extending outward, complemented by adjustable straps to secure it to a pitcher’s hand and wrist, along with grips for each finger.

I visited a new Driveline Baseball training facility in March to learn about this new technology in a place that experiments with everything. Phillies minor-league pitcher Josh Hejka was my guide.

Inside this high-tech warehouse, Hejka instructed me to place each finger into separate compartments within the device. These compartments can adjust to isolate various segments and joints of the fingers: the tips, mid-finger, and proximal joints. Each grip slot is connected to the Wolverine-like rods, which are tied to sensors in the device.

Few possess the skills to pitch in professional baseball while working as a part-time researcher at Driveline, but the 28-year-old Hejka is one of them. He graduated with a degree in computer science from Johns Hopkins University, compiling skills that allow him to answer his pitching-related questions through data collection and coding.

Hejka is interested in helping tame the sport’s injury scourge, a quest that will continue whether he makes it to the majors as a submarine-style pitcher or not. He believes the device fixed to my right hand might be part of the solution.

Hejka was introduced to the new technology while rehabbing at Driveline after Tommy John surgery in 2023.

There remains something of a defeatist attitude around injury prevention. Many accept today’s high rate of pitching injuries as inevitable, a natural consequence of the stress placed on arms. But Hejka believes the industry lacks understanding – and hasn’t done nearly enough exploration or innovation – to be so certain.

He doesn’t even believe the industry is looking in the right place.

“There’s not enough of a discussion of what is actually happening in the arm,” Hejka said, “and what can be done.”

I hear this sentiment more often, most recently from the Pirates’ Paul Skenes and Atlanta’s Spencer Strider. A growing number of pitchers are no longer satisfied with the old beliefs and want to find new solutions to why arms break down.

To understand the FlexPro Grip’s aim, Hejka explained how the tendons of fingers connect to the forearm muscles. We’re testing the mid-finger since it’s “more specific to stabilizing the (elbow) joint,” he said.

Similarly, strengthening the fingertips has the potential to increase spin rate, Hejka added.

He monitored the screen of his smartphone. When the app synced to the device around my hand, he instructed me to squeeze.

The FlexPro Grip supports different training regimes: some focused on speed, some on endurance. This was a max-effort test: How hard could I squeeze?

I immediately learned how difficult it was to gauge the amount of flexion force I was generating – the force needed by muscles to contract a joint. It felt like trying to squeeze against a hydraulic press.

“You can tell other training doesn’t hit these muscles because you do it once, and you’re like … ” Hejka said.

Driveline pitching coordinator Matthew Kress said of his first experience: “I felt a burning sensation, ‘Holy … .’ It’s a muscle (contraction) you have never felt before.”

Hejka looked at my numbers on his phone. “He’s pulling more than me,” Hejka said. “He got like 170 in his mid-finger.”

“A rock climber,” an actual athlete nearby joked.

What did the FlexPro score mean? “You are prepared to throw 80 (mph),” Hejka said.

My grip strength pleasantly surprised me, especially since my top-recorded fastball was a meager 62 mph.

“Maybe the calibration was off,” I suggested.

“Too humble,” Hejka said.

The app estimates a safe velocity range for pitchers using its scoring system based on the player’s grip strength. Data collected by the FlexPro team has found that a 90th-percentile grip should result in a 90th-percentile fastball velocity. If grip strength is below throwing velocity, say 50th-percentile grip strength and 90th-percentile velocity, that suggests a pitcher is at risk for injury.

The device is telling me that I should be safe to unleash a max-effort throw.

––––––––––

One way of attacking a problem is to consider what cannot change.

What are the limits of physics and human biology?

In the case of the sport’s Tommy John epidemic, there’s nothing that can be done to strengthen the ulnar collateral ligament.

The tiny triangular band of tissue measures about 25 mm in length and 5 mm in width, yet it plays a key role in stabilizing the pitching elbow.

The UCL connects to the upper and lower bones in the arm and is consistent in size across all pitchers, regardless of their height or weight.

The issue plaguing pitchers is that the ligament can’t always handle the immense stress it’s subjected to.

Dr. Christopher Ahmad, a Columbia University professor and orthopedic surgeon in New York, wrote last year that the UCL can withstand a torque force of 32 Newton-meters. The problem? Pitchers routinely produce a torque exceeding 60 Newton-meters on the ligament.

Without support from the surrounding arm structures, the ligament would fail.

The UCL is considered a passive stabilizer. It provides support and fights hyperextension, but it can’t change. It cannot strengthen, flex, or alter itself. It’s like a door hinge.

In contrast, the UCL is assisted by what are known as dynamic stabilizers: muscles. Muscles can contract, adapt, and – a key point – strengthen.

Since the UCL can’t be strengthened, the creators of FlexPro Grip, Hejka, and others at Driveline have turned their attention to what is around the ligament.

Initially, the FlexPro Grip was used as a part of Driveline’s rehab protocols after surgery, but Kress wondered if it could also serve a preventative role.

Hejka and Kress are interested in a specific group of muscles and their connective tissues. The forearm contains eight flexor muscles, and the FlexPro Grip targets three of them. One muscle of particular interest is the flexor digitorum superficialis, as it’s often tied to elbow injuries. This long muscle runs the length of the forearm and is connected to the index, middle, ring, and small fingers.

Grip exercises have been around for years, and Hejka had used them. But what had been missing was technology capable of isolating the flexor muscle groups, strengthening them in training, and quantifying progress.

That’s where FlexPro Grip comes in, a device launched in 2021 by a New Orleans-based company co-founded by CEO Daryl Moreau.

Hejka saw the magic firsthand. “The first time I did it ever, it was around 120,” Hejka said of his score. “Now, I am pulling over 210 – that’s with fingertips. With my mid-finger, I have gone from 100 to 190. So, it’s massive.”

In its December report on pitching injuries, Major League Baseball concluded that reducing injury rates may require incentives to lower pitch velocity.

But Hejka agrees with players like Skenes and Strider: pitchers will never pursue lower skill levels just to stay healthy.

“The question should not be, ‘How do we de-incentivize velocity, disincentivize performance because the individual incentives will never change,” Hejka said. “It’s always to my advantage to throw harder, to try and reach the major leagues. And if I get hurt after a month (in the majors), that’s better than me not being good enough to even make the major leagues.

“The question should be, ‘How do we incentivize proper preparation of the arm to handle stress?’ We would never tell Usain Bolt, ‘Hey, running that fast places a lot of stress on your hamstring.’ No, we would say, ‘How do we train Usain Bolt to make sure he can make his top speeds safely?’ And that’s where the track and field world is so far ahead of MLB.”

While much research has gone into identifying the causes of injuries in baseball, far less attention has been given to rethinking how to prevent them. Kress said it was frustrating that MLB’s injury study didn’t mention the role of flexor muscles.

Yet, Driveline is viewed by many as playing a role in the injury scourge because of the velocity-building programs that put it on the map.

However, Kress said injury prevention is a major priority within Driveline, hence the company’s efforts with Pulse, a wearable tracking device, and experimentation with products like FlexPro Grip.

“If you’ve read any Driveline blog, we know the harder you throw, the more stress you are going to place on your elbow,” Kress said. “That’s an inevitability you cannot change. It’s about how you prepare yourself for that stress.”

Strider is one major leaguer using Driveline’s Pulse and believes that improving player health should and will be the focus of much more attention.

“I don’t think it is the way it has to be, or is going to be, ” Strider told theScore of today’s injury rates. “I think different parts of the baseball industry have moved at different speeds and evolved at different speeds.”

The Phillies have half a dozen FlexPro units at their minor-league complex in Clearwater, though there’s no mandatory training regimen. The Padres have also experimented with the device.

Hejka believes there should be much more investment.

“I am not worried at all about injury,” Hejka said. “Who knows? Maybe it could happen. But it’s not something I can control. I can pitch with a clear mind knowing I am as prepared as I can be.”

Travis Sawchik is theScore’s senior baseball writer.

Sports

Spencer McLachlin Named Head Coach at UC San Diego

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Third-year USC women’s volleyball associate head coach Spencer McLachlin was hired for his first appointment as a head coach and will lead the UC San Diego women’s volleyball program, UCSD Director of Athletics Andy Fee announced on Tuesday, Dec. 23.

McLachlin becomes the eighth head coach in UCSD program history and will coach the Tritons in their final season as members of the Big West (2026) before the program transitions to the West Coast Conference ahead of the 2027 campaign. He joins JJ Van Niel (Arizona State), Tyler Hildebrand (Saint Mary’s College), and Amy Pauly (Orlando Valkyries) as former USC assistants under Brad Keller who have moved into head coaching positions.

“This opportunity is no surprise and has been a long time coming for Spencer,” said Keller. “UCSD is getting one of the best coaches in the game. Spencer and I have worked together in many different phases of our careers, and I know USC is in a better place with a brighter future for everything he has done here. Spencer is an innovator, a creator, and most importantly, a dreamer. Our game needs more leaders like him. I couldn’t be prouder of what he has done and for this new opportunity for him and his family.”

In his three seasons at USC, McLachlin helped lead the Women of Troy to three straight NCAA tournament appearances. The Trojans advanced to the second round in each of their three postseason berths. Most recently, McLachlin helped USC reach 25 wins and finish in a tie for third place in the Big Ten. Six Trojans received awards on all-conference teams and USC led the league in blocking (2.76 bps). The Trojans also ranked second (12th in the NCAA) in total blocks (322.5) and were second for opponent hitting percentage (.184). OH London Wijay earned AVCA All-America honorable mention.

With McLachlin on staff in 2024, USC advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year and finished 22-10 overall with a 13-7 mark in the Big Ten (tied for sixth). Setter Mia Tuaniga was named to the AVCA All-America third team. In his first season with the Women of Troy, McLachlin helped USC go 19-13 with a 12-8 mark in the Pac-12 for a fifth-place finish. That season, OH Skylar Fields was honored with AVCA All-America first-team recognition.

McLachlin is married to former USC volleyball standout opposite hitter Diane Copenhagen (2004-07), a 2004 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team selection. The McLachlins are parents to two daughters, Leila and Malia, and a son named Koa.

The 14th-ranked Trojans (25-7, 15-5 Big Ten) finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten and were awarded one of 33 at-large berths—and a hosting bid—into the 2025 NCAA tournament. USC made its fourth straight appearance in the tourney under sixth-year head coach Brad Keller (41st all-time) and moved into the second round for the fourth consecutive year with a 3-0 sweep of Princeton. The Women of Troy were eliminated from postseason play in a hard-fought five-set loss to Cal Poly in the second round.

For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Defending Big West Regular Season And National Champion Long Beach State Chosen As 2026 Preseason Coaches’ Poll Favorite

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West released its 2026 Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and Team, and defending Big West regular season and National Champion Long Beach State was selected as the preseason favorite. The Beach garnered 24 total points and four first-place votes from league head coaches, signaling strong expectations for another elite season.

Long Beach State’s status as a national powerhouse was further reinforced in the 2026 AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll (Dec. 23), where the Beach were ranked No. 3 nationally behind UCLA and Hawai’i.

The Beach also placed multiple student-athletes on the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team, as Skyler Varga and Alex Kandev earned preseason recognition following standout performances during Long Beach State’s championship 2025 season.

Varga returns as one of the nation’s premier attackers. During the 2025 season he played a central role in Long Beach State’s run to the NCAA National Championship, earning NCAA All-Tournament Team honors for his performance in the title match. He finished the year with 270 kills (2.73 per set) on a .368 attack percentage, while adding 33 service aces, 70 total blocks, and 341 points across 99 sets. In addition to his on-court excellence, Varga also received CSC Academic All-America recognition, underscoring his impact as a scholar-athlete.

Kandev, now a sophomore outside hitter, made his mark on the national stage during the 2025 NCAA Championship match. In the title match victory over UCLA, Kandev helped the Beach secure their fourth national title and earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors in the process. He concluded his freshman season with 210 kills (3.23 per set) while hitting .458, ranking among the team leaders in efficiency, and added 21 aces, 36 blocks, and 250 points in 65 sets.

Following Long Beach State atop the Big West preseason poll, Hawai’i was chosen second with 22 points and two first-place votes, and UC Irvine was tabbed third with 17 points. CSUN, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara rounded out the poll, each earning nine points.

With proven postseason performers and returning national contenders, Long Beach State enters 2026 as both the team to beat in the Big West and one of the top programs in the nation.

2026 Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Long Beach State – 24 points (4)

Hawai’i – 22 points (2)

UC Irvine – 17 points

T-4. CSUN – 9 points

T-4. UC San Diego – 9 points

T-4. UC Santa Barbara – 9 points

First-place votes in parentheses

2026 Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Team
George Bruening, UC Santa Barbara
Alex Kandev, Long Beach State
Jalen Phillips, CSUN
Tread Rosenthal, Hawai’i
Adrien Roure, Hawai’i
Kristian Titriyski, Hawai’i
Skyler Varga, Long Beach State

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Sports

NSU adds goalkeeper transfer – Northwestern State University Athletics

Published

2 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By: Jonathon Zenk, Assistant Director of Communications

NATCHITOCHES—After dipping into the transfer portal for a midfielder and defender, Northwestern State soccer head coach Ian Brophy now picks up a goalkeeper in the form of transfer Saki Tsuchiya.

Tsuchiya, a native of Takasaki, Japan, comes to NSU following a season at Valparaiso.

“We are very excited to add an experienced goalkeeper who really fits our style of play,” Brophy said. “Her ability with the ball at her feet is something that definitely suits us and should help us as a team. She will instantly provide competition in an already very competitive group and certainly makes us better.”

She played in three games for the Crusaders, sporting a save percentage of .708 and goals against average of 3.36 in just under 134 minutes. She recorded 12 saves this past season, seven coming against Drake and then posting five saves against Illinois.

Prior to her season at Valpo, Tsuchiya started her collegiate career at Tyler JC, where she competed for two seasons.

For Tyler JC, she appeared in 30 matches during the two years, where she posted a 1.18 GAA and a .780 save percentage.

She recorded three solo shutouts and five combined shutouts among her 13 wins as a sophomore in 2024. That season also earned her a Second Team All-Region selection, as her team captured the Region XIV championship and played in the NJCAA National Tournament 2023 and 2024.

As a freshman, she was named to the NJCAA Second Team All-Academic Team for 2023-24.

She played summer soccer in 2024 for TLH Reckoning of the USLW and in 2025 for Peoria City of the WPSL.

In high school at Kaishigakuen JAPAN Soccer College koutoubu, she was a three-year starter in net.

She joins an already impressive goalkeeper room that includes Second Team All-Southland Conference selection Kennedy Rist and rising sophomore Audrey Marfia, who recorded a goals against average of 0.39, surrendering just one goal in 230:32.

Tsuchiya will be the first Japan native to play for the Demons and joins Hosane Soukou, Ravina Sandhu and Anika Sproxton as players on the team not from the United States.

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Lauren Watson Becomes First Player in USD Beach Volleyball History

Published

3 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SAN DIEGO — Defender Lauren Watson became the first player in USD beach volleyball history on Monday afternoon when she signed a grant-in-aid agreement to play for the Toreros.

Watson, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, attends Notre Dame Preparatory High School, where she was twice named the Arizona Beach Volleyball Player of the Year by the Arizona Republic. She will join San Diego for its inaugural beach volleyball season in the spring of 2027.

“Lauren is a really good all-around talent,” said USD beach volleyball head coach Derek Olson. “As a defender that can sit in the pocket and run shots down, she has good defensive instincts and covers a lot of sand.”

Her high school career thus far has seen her earn two Arizona Beach Volleyball Pairs State Championships, three All-League First-Team honors, and her league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

“She also knows how to win and that’s very apparent by her results in tournaments,” Olson added. “But what I appreciate most about Lauren is her ability to play with anyone and make them better. She adds value to the environment that she is in.”

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Spencer McLachlin named new women’s volleyball head coach – The UCSD Guardian

Published

3 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

On Tuesday, Dec. 23, UC San Diego Athletics announced that USC associate head coach Spencer McLachlin will be the next head coach of Triton women’s volleyball. He replaces Melanie Greene, who stepped down on Dec. 6 after two seasons as head coach.

The coaching change comes after a tumultuous 6-24 season where a promising Triton team never found its rhythm. The Tritons were eliminated from postseason contention with three games left in the season following a loss to UC Riverside on Nov. 17. Assistant coach Kara Barkdoll Coy was named interim head coach for the final six games of the season after Greene’s departure.

“Spencer brings exactly what we need at this moment,” athletic director Andy Fee said in a press release. “He’s helped build winning programs, developed All-Americans, and knows how to compete at the highest level.”

McLachlin played collegiately at Stanford, winning a national championship with the Cardinal in 2010 and ending his four years in Palo Alto ranked third in career kills. McLachlin then served as an assistant coach at Hawai’i, California, UCLA, and Indiana before joining USC as associate head coach in 2023. This past season, the Trojans went 25-7 but fell in the second round of the NCAA Championship in a five-set upset loss against Cal Poly. McLachlin’s new position at UCSD will be his first head coaching role.

“I am thrilled to join UC San Diego as the Head Coach of the women’s volleyball program,” McLachlin said. “This is an incredible opportunity for my family and me to be part of an historic and beautiful university and build a program with great potential.”

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Volleyball Inks Four Highly Touted Transfers to 2026 Roster

Published

3 hours ago

December 30, 2025

Your Sports Nation

DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU Volleyball team announced the signings of outside hitter Suli Davis, libero Victoria Harris, opposite hitter Gabi Placide and setter Ava Sarafa to the 2026 roster on Monday.

Arriving for the spring 2026 semester, Placide brings in three years of collegiate playing experience; Harris and Sarafa come to the Hilltop with two and Davis comes to SMU with one year playing at the college level.

Details of the four transfers are below.

Suli Davis, So., 6-2, Outside Hitter, Euless, Texas – BYU

AVCA Second Team All-American (2025)

AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year (2025)

AVCA All-West Region First Team (2025)

Big 12 Freshman of the Year (2025)

All-Big 12 First Team (2025)

Big 12 All-Rookie Team (2025)

6x Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Oct. 21, Nov. 4, Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 2025)

2025 (Freshman at BYU)

–Broke BYU’s all-time freshman kills record during the Cougars’ five-set win over Utah on Nov. 26

–Broke BYU’s rally-scoring era freshman kills record against Arizona on Nov. 19

–27th player in Big 12 history with 500+ kills in a single season

–30 double-digit kill matches, third-most in the rally-scoring era at BYU

–Team-leading 10 double-doubles

–Led the team in kills in 22 matches, including 13 of the Cougars’ final 14

–Played in all 31 of the Cougars’ matches and 119 sets, starting 29 matches

–Recorded 541 kills, third-most in a rally-scoring era season at BYU, 252 digs, 43 total blocks, including 10 solo stuffs, 31 assists and 25 service aces

–Finished No. 1 in total kills (541), kills per set (4.55) and points per set (4.97) in the Cougars’ all-time freshman record book

–Finished No. 1 in sets played (119), total kills (541), kills per set (4.55), total points (591.5) and points per set (4.97) in the freshman rally-scoring era at BYU

–Is also second in double-doubles (10) and third in solo blocks (10) in the Cougars’ freshman rally-era record book

–Career-high 28 kills in back-to-back matches (at Utah on Nov. 14 and vs. Arizona Nov. 19), the second-most kills by a freshman in the rally-scoring era at BYU

Victoria Harris, Jr., 5-4, DS/Libero, Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina

SEC Community Service Team (2025)

SEC All-Freshman Team (2024)

SEC Freshman of the Week (Nov. 18, 2024)

2025 (Sophomore at South Carolina)

-Appeared in all 26 matches for the Gamecocks in her second season with the program

-Finished fourth in the SEC with 4.11 digs per set, totaling 399 digs

-Added 120 assists and 16 aces in her sophomore campaign

-Had seven matches with 20+ digs and 21 matches with double-digit digs

-Logged a season-best 27 digs at Missouri on Oct. 24

-Second in the SEC during conference play, averaging 4.31 digs per set for South Carolina

-Finished with 795 digs, 223 assists and 35 aces as a Gamecock in two seasons

Gabi Placide, Sr., 6-0, Opposite Hitter, Centennial, Colo. – Ole Miss

AVCA South Region Honorable Mention (2025)

SEC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 22, 2025)

AVCA West Region Honorable Mention (2024)

Big Sky All-Conference First Team (2024)

2x Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21, Oct. 28, 2024)

Big Sky Conference Fall All-Academic Team (2024)

Big Sky Outstanding Freshman Award (2023)

Big Sky All-Academic Team (2023)

2025 (Junior at Ole Miss)

-Started and played in all 29 matches for the Rebels

-Led the team with 558.5 total points, 5.12 points per set, ranking third in the SEC and 15th in the NCAA

-Registered 488 kills (31st in the NCAA) on a .213 hitting percentage in her lone season with Ole Miss

-Logged 34 aces (sixth in the SEC) to lead Ole Miss and added 182 digs, 1.67 digs per set.

-Had 10 matches with 20+ kills and logged double-digit kills in 25 of 29 matches

-Registered five double-doubles, including a 19-kill and 14-dig outing against LSU on Nov. 2

-Had a career-high 28 kills against Alabama on Oct. 31

-Notched 22 kills, 10 digs and five aces against Texas on Oct. 24

Ava Sarafa, R-Jr., 6-0, Setter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. – Kentucky

Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll (2024)

First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll (2023-24)

2025 (Redshirt Sophomore at Kentucky)
–Played in 27 matches and 80 sets for a Kentucky program that reached the final four in 2025
–Finished the season with 136 assists, 57 digs and 10 aces
–Logged 43 assists, 10 digs and six blocks against Nebraska on Aug. 31

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