Northern Kentucky native and 4-star point guard Taylen Kinney is set to take an official visit to the University of Kentucky beginning June 24, according to Sam Kayser of League Ready

Kinney, a top-25 prospect in the class of 2026, currently plays for Overtime Elite (OTE) in Atlanta, Georgia. Known for his explosive first step, playmaking ability, and leadership at the point guard spot, Kinney has become one of the most sought-after backcourt players in his class.

His connection to the Wildcats, however, runs deep.

The in-state standout previously made an unofficial visit to Lexington last year. Since then, the relationship between Kinney and Kentucky has only strengthened.

Earlier this spring, Pope, along with assistant coaches Jason Hart and Cody Fueger, made an in-home visit to meet with Kinney and his family. It was a clear signal that the Wildcats view Kinney as a priority target for their 2026 recruiting class.

Kinney’s upcoming official visit offers the staff a chance to build on their relationship and get a closer look at Pope’s vision for the program and the revamped facilities. It is also an opportunity for Kinney to connect with current players and get a feel for the atmosphere in Lexington.

For Kentucky, locking in an in-state star like Kinney would be a major win, and for Kinney, it’s another step in evaluating what could be a homegrown path to college stardom.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more Kentucky Wildcats news. And as always, Go CATS!!!

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ten student-athletes from the University of Michigan were named to the 2024-25 Academic All-District At-Large Team, selected by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday afternoon (June 17). To receive the honor, student-athletes must have completed at least one year of classes and have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average while hitting various participation requirements.

Six female student-athletes were honored in Carly Bauman (women’s gymnastics), Katie Easton (rowing), Logan Roeder (rowing), Abby Tamer (field hockey), Leia Till (rowing) and Kasey Umlauf (water polo). On the men’s side, Josh Eernisse (ice hockey), Josh Heindselman (wrestling), Rithik Puri (men’s gymnastics) and Hunter Thomson (men’s golf) were honored.

Carly Bauman

Bauman ended the 2025 season as the NCAA Regional Co-Champion on uneven bars with a score of 9.950 after being named the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Northeast Regional Gymnast of the Year. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native was a first team All-Big Ten honoree for the second straight season and was a three-time Big Ten Specialist of the Week. Bauman won 14 individual event titles across three events and posted 19 scores of 9.900 or better in her fifth season.

Katie Easton

Easton’s Academic All-District honor is the second of her career, following three CRCA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honors. She graduated this spring with a degree in public health. A team captain and program record-holder on the erg, Easton has been rowing in U-M’s 1V8 since the postseason of her freshman year and helped the boat place 12th at the NCAA Championships this year. The Melbourne, Australia, native is a three-time All-American and secured second-team honors in 2025. Her leadership and on-water contributions have been critical to U-M’s speed throughout her career, leading to her fourth Big Ten medal with the 1V8 in 2025. She has also been part of two Big Ten Championship teams at Michigan and is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree.

Logan Roeder

As coxswain, Roeder has helmed the 2V8 and 1V8 boats throughout her three years with the Wolverines while working toward her degree in psychology. Her first career Academic All-District honor in 2025 follows a season when she and her boatmates earned a bronze medal at the Big Ten Championships en route to an 11th-place national finish. The season earned Roeder honorable mention All-American recognition. As a member of the 1V8 through the entire 2025 season, Roeder’s leadership on and off the water has been vital to the success of the boat and team. The Chicago, Ill., native is a two-time CRCA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Abby Tamer

Tamer earned NFHCA All-America first-team honors and unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team after leading the Wolverines in scoring in 2024 with 38 points on career highs in goals (12) and assists (14). Tamer returned to the U-M lineup after redshirting the 2023 season while training with the U.S. women’s national team before representing Team USA in Paris, where she led the red, white and blue in scoring with two goals. Named the NFHCA’s 2024 Division I National Scholar-Athlete, she graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in applied exercise science and will pursue a master’s in sport management in 2025-26. She is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and has earned NFHCA Scholar of Distinction honors three times.

Leia Till

Till, a graduate student who transferred to U-M before the 2024-25 season from Virginia, made an immediate impact in the lineup while working toward her master’s degree in movement science. Rowing in the 1V8’s first four seats throughout the season, Till proved to be an important addition to the roster on its way to an 11th-place team finish at the NCAA Championships. She captured a bronze medal in her lone appearance at the Big Ten Championships. Till is a five-time CRCA Scholar-Athlete (four at Virginia, one at Michigan) and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in her lone season as a Wolverine.

Kasey Umlauf

Umlauf is a graduate student who earned her master’s degree in human genetics after completing her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. Umlauf started all 30 games for the Maize and Blue and tallied a career-high 22 goals in her final season in Ann Arbor. Umlauf was named to the CWPA All-Tournament team in 2025 and is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.

Josh Eernisse

A junior on the U-M ice hockey team, Eernisse played in all 36 games this season and had 11 points for the Wolverines. He has been named Academic All-Big Ten in both seasons that he was eligible and is a two-time recipient of the Carl Isaacson Award, a team award presented to the player with the highest scholastic average. A 2024 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Eernisse helped the Wolverines to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four.

Josh Heindselman

Heindselman earned All-America honors for the first time in his collegiate career with a seventh-place finish at heavyweight at the 2024 NCAA Championships. He boasted a team-best 26-6 record despite joining the Wolverines at the semester and earned bonus points in 16 matches, including 12 technical falls, to rank among the national leaders. Having already earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s in health care law, Heindselman completed several classes in Michigan’s School of Social Work and will enroll in medical school back in his native Oklahoma this fall.

Rithik Puri

A senior on the men’s gymnastics team, Puri competed in nine of the team’s 10 meets. A biomedical engineering major, he helped lead the Wolverines to their fifth straight Big Ten championship and seventh NCAA championship. The Chicago, Ill., native finished sixth on the still rings at the NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors with his second-highest score of the season (13.966). Puri is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a 2023 Big Ten Scholar of Distinction.

Hunter Thomson

A unanimous All-Big Ten first team and two-time All-America selection, Thomson concluded his U-M career as the program’s all-time scoring leader with a 71.53 average after breaking his single-season record with a 70.24 per-round average. He became the second Wolverine to lead the team in scoring average for four straight years. Thomson paced U-M in 13 of 14 events, including the final nine tournaments, and recorded 10 top-10 finishes, with seven in the top five. A PING All-Midwest regional selection, he won three individual titles, including the Canadian Collegiate Invitational (202, -14), the Boilermaker Invitational (203, -10) and the NCAA Urbana Regional (203, -10).

• CSC Release

Prime Video Unveils “Simple Plan: The Kids In The Crowd” Documentary and Amazon Music Soundtrack Celebrating Band’s 25-Year Journey

Available now, Amazon Music offers fans an exclusive early demo version of ‘I’m Just A Kid’ ahead of the soundtrack release.

The soundtrack, featuring a new single and past hits from the band’s catalog, will be available alongside the documentary on July 8.

Culver City – June 16, 2025 – Today, Prime Video announced the launch date, trailer, and key art for Simple Plan: The Kids In The Crowd, an intimate documentary capturing the remarkable 25-year journey of Canadian punk rock fan-favorites, Simple Plan. The documentary launches July 8 on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

“We’re thrilled to share this first look at our documentary. The film captures our journey, struggles, and most memorable moments together. Creating it has been deeply meaningful, and sharing our story is the perfect way to celebrate our 25th anniversary,” said the band. “The Kids in the Crowd is about dreaming big and perseverance. It’s a story of friendship, brotherhood, and music’s transformative power. Our hope is that it encourages people to believe in themselves and inspires a new generation of kids to find their passion, follow their hearts, and maybe even start a band in their own garage or basement…just like we did!”

As a companion to the documentary, available now, Amazon Music is offering fans an exclusive early demo version of ‘I’m Just A Kid’, from the album, ‘No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls’. The soundtrack full will launch with the documentary on July 8. The band is currently on their “Bigger Than You Think!” Headline Tour across North America, for more details visit here.

Simple Plan: The Kids In The Crowd offers an unprecedented look into the band’s journey from basement shows in Montreal to global stardom. The documentary chronicles the creation of hits like “Welcome to My Life,” “I’d Do Anything,” and “Perfect,” and examines the band’s continued impact as one of the most successful punk rock bands still selling out shows worldwide.

Fans will experience never-before-seen archival footage, along with new interviews with band members and celebrated icons of the punk rock community, including Mark Hoppus (Blink-182), Avril Lavigne, Dexter Holland and Noodles (The Offspring), and Fat Mike (NOFX).

The documentary is produced by Sphere Media with executive producers Bruno Dubé, Renaud Chassé, and Marie-Hélène Tremblay, and producer Samuel Sauvageau. Didier Charrette directs.

– END –

About Simple Plan

For more than two decades, SIMPLE PLAN has been one of the most culturally and commercially successful bands in rock. Their multi-platinum 2002 debut album, No Pads, No Helmets… Just Balls bore the smash singles “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid,” “Addicted” and “Perfect,” while subsequent hits “Welcome To My Life,” “Summer Paradise,” “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?),” “Shut Up!” and “What’s New Scooby-Doo?” have cemented their legacy as pop-punk legends. In all, the Montreal-formed quartet has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, captivated the main stages of the Vans Warped Tour and When We Were Young, performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics and with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, sold out shows around the world and raised more than $3 million through the Simple Plan Foundation. Their videos have garnered more than a billion YouTube views, while their inescapable social media presence driven another billion views on the viral #ImJustAKid Challenge alongside videos from NSYNC, Ed Sheeran, Will Smith, and Venus and Serena Williams.

About Prime Video

Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can customize their viewing experience and find their favorite movies, series, documentaries, and live sports – including Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies Red One, Road House, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, The Boys, Cross, and The Idea of You; licensed fan favorites; Prime member exclusive access to coverage of live sports including Thursday Night Football, WNBA, and NWSL, and acclaimed sports documentaries including Bye Bye Barry and Kelce; and programming from partners such as Apple TV+, Max, Crunchyroll and MGM+ via Prime Video add-on subscriptions, as well as more than 500 free ad-supported (FAST) Channels. Prime members in the U.S. can share a variety of benefits, including Prime Video, by using Amazon Household. Prime Video is one benefit among many that provides savings, convenience, and entertainment as part of the Prime membership. All customers, regardless of whether they have a Prime membership or not, can rent or buy titles via the Prime Video Store, and can enjoy even more content for free with ads. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favorite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access. For more info visit www.amazon.com/primevideo.

Sean O’Malley is still less than two weeks removed from a dejecting submission loss to Merab Dvalishvili, but the UFC star already thinking about his next fight.

O’Malley met Dvalishvili in the main event of UFC 316, in hopes of reclaiming the bantamweight title. However, he suffered a decisive submission loss to the champion. It was his second loss in a row to the Georgian, after surrendering the belt with a decision loss last September.

On Monday, O’Malley appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he opened up on his loss to Dvalishvili for the first time.

During the interview, Helwani asked the former champ if he knows who he wants to fight next. O’Malley admitted he has a name in mind, but didn’t specify who.

“Yes,” he said when asked if he knows who he wants to fight next. “I mean, we’ll see. We’ll see how I feel this week.

“Just depends on how I feel. The date depends on how I feel. There’s a lot to unravel. As of right now, I’m chilling, recovering, hanging out.”

Kamaru Usman’s title dreams are still alive in 2025.

The former UFC Welterweight Champion had a long road to get back into the win column. After nearly four years and a three-fight losing skid to Leon Edwards (twice) and Khamzat Chimaev, Usman returned in the main event of UFC Atlanta where he notched a dominant decision win over Joaquin Buckley.

His #5 ranking intact, Usman has set his sights on a title fight next.

However, Usman could be a ways from a title opportunity as champion Jack Della Maddalena will more than likely defend his title against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev later this year.

In the meantime, a UFC legend has suggested Usman fight someone else for the next title shot and he knows just the guy.

Chael Sonnen thinks Kamaru Usman should fight ‘alpha male’ Shavkat Rakhmonov in title eliminator

Shavkat Rakhmonov is the #3-ranked UFC Welterweight contender and holds a perfect 19-0 record.

Rakhmonov won a title eliminator bout against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 310 after then champion Belal Muhammad withdrew from a title defense. Unfortunately for Rakhmonov, injuries got in the way of a title fight, leaving him on the sidelines ever since.

Three-time UFC title challenger and analyst Chael Sonnen thinks the 38-year-old Usman should make a play for the undefeated contender.

“If you’re trying to get right to the title… I think one strategy, because I do believe Shavkat to be the true number one contender,” Sonnen said on Good Guy / Bad Guy.

“I do believe when Shavkat comes back, he’s probably gonna walk right into a title fight. I do believe between Islam [Makhachev] and Jack [Della Maddalena], I think Shavkat is the alpha male in that room

“I just think he’s the right size, and I think he matches up really well. I offer you that because I think that Kamaru could come out publicly and start going after Shavkat, saying let me fight him. Let me fight him for a number one contendership, of which if he won, I think he would be granted [a title shot].”

Sonnen continued.

“But even absent of getting that fight, should Shavkat walk right into a title fight, Usman’s now still aligning himself with one of the top two guys.

“I think strategy-wise, if he could align himself properly with Shavkat, and nobody’s gonna ask for that job. Nobody out there’s gonna ask to fight Shavkat. If he could come in and somehow get some business with him, it could pay off big.”

Shavkat Rakhmonov has fought once in the last 500 days

While one of the scarier contenders at 170 lbs with a 95% finish rate, injuries have kept Rakhmonov out of the Octagon.

Rakhmonov reportedly fought at UFC 310 last December with a torn MCL where he defeated Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision.

Prior to that, ‘Nomad’ hadn’t fought in a year with his last fight coming against Stephen Thompson in Dec. 2023.

Time will tell when we’ll see Shavkat Rakhmonov back in action.

Your business can reach over 3 million women’s sports fans every single month!

Here at The Next and The IX, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, reach out to our team at editors@thenexthoops.com to discuss ways to work together.

Heidrick actually opens the show by taking a moment to talk about the WNBA. “First and foremost, Caitlin Clark missed five games for the Fever, and it has been a struggle for them,” Heidrick says. “But she was back … [with] 32 points in her big return. … She got hot, she found a rhythm.” Per Heidrick, the Fever needed that.

Later on, Heidrick discusses the implications of the House settlement and how it will affect current and former college athletes. “The NCAA is going to pay almost $3 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 to the present day,” Heidrick informs listeners. She goes onto provide more context for this massive update, including how the funding will be allocated and which programs will benefit the most from this settlement.

Save 30% when you preorder “Becoming Caitlin Clark”

Howard Megdal’s newest book will be released this June! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.

Click the link below to preorder and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.

Heidrick closes out the show by discussing how roster limits, another aspect of the House settlement, will affect some women’s sports. Per Heidrick, unless some teams and programs find other ways to generate revenue, “someone is going to get left behind.” As Heidrick warns, “there are going to be cuts, people are going to feel this, because that money just does not grow on trees.”

Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about women’s college basketball, the WNBA, basketball history and much more!

The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom

The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.