On Thursday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins completed their sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. It was their fifth straight win. Since starting the season 5-11, the Twins have gone 13-9. They have also won nine of their last 13 games.
Long seasons are filled with good stretches and bad stretches for teams, but also for players. That’s, in many cases, even more the case in the minor leagues when development is the #1 key.
CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 18-20 St. Paul Saints: 18-14 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-14 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 19-10 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 15-15 FCL Twins: 3-1
TRANSACTIONS No surprise, but unfortunately, Austin Martin has been placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain.
LHP Kade Bragg has been promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers.
SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 13, Buffalo 10 Box Score If you’re a fan of baseball games with big offense, you’ll like this game. The two teams combined for 23 runs and 26 hits.
If you’re a fan of consistent scoring throughout the game, rather than one big inning and nothing else, you’ll like this game. Neither team scored more than three runs in an inning. Of the 18 half-innings played in the nine-inning game, just five times were no runs scored.
All nine Saints hitters had at least one hit. They combined for four homers. The team also walked seven times.
Oh, and hey, if you enjoy watching a baseball game in which one of your favorite team’s recently-optioned players with a great mustache ends the game with a walk-off home run. Then this is your game.
Cory Lewis started and went the first four innings. He gave up one run in three of them yet really limited the damage. He gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks.
Richard Lovelady threw the fifth inning. He gave up three unearned runs on one hit and one walk. The hit just happened to be a three-run homer by Ali Sanchez. That came in the fifth inning. Michael Tonkin was next, continuing his rehab stint. He was charged with two runs on three hits and two walks and a hit batter. He struck out two batters. Brady Feigl came on and calmed things down. He got five straight batters out, three of them on strikeouts. He got the Saints through the eighth inning.
Down 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Saints tied the game. With one out, Will Holland walked and stole second base, but he was able to jog home when Ryan Fitzgerald hit his fourth home run of the season.
Let’s jump ahead. When the Saints came to the plate for the bottom of the fifth inning, they were behind 6-2. Jair Camargo led off with a double. After one out, Holland hit his second homer since his return from the IL to make it 6-4.
With two outs, Mickey Gasper and Edouard Julien had back-to-back walks. Carson McCusker singled to left to drive in Gasper with the third run of the inning. In the top of the sixth, the Bisons scored two more runs and held an 8-5 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, a Jeferson Morales walk, a Camargo single, and Anthony Prato was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a pitching change, Will Holland hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-6. Unfortunately, that was all they were able to muster. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Carson McCusker hit his eighth double. With two outs, Morales singles to drive him in and make it 8-7.
Because of the Feigl outing, Buffalo went scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings. Still down a run going to the bottom of the eighth, the Bisons brought in Eric Pardinho. Prato led off with a single. With one out, Fitzgerald singled. However, with two outs, Julien singled off of the pitcher to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Prato to tie the game for the first time since the third inning. McCusker walked. Then Mike Ford singled to drive in Fitzgerald and Julien and the Saints went to the ninth inning with a 10-8 lead.
Lefty Anthony Misiewicz came on. With one out, he issued a walk and then gave up a home run to Riley Tirotta which again tied the game, this time at 10-10. He got the final two batters out.
So, we jump to the bottom of the ninth with the score tied. Camargo led off with a single. After a ground out, Holland walked. A new pitcher was brought in, and he got a strikeout for the second out.
Flashback – One night earlier, Josh Walker was brought in in the ninth inning. Mike Ford hit a three-run homer off of him.
Flash to Current – That brought to the plate Mickey Gasper, recently optioned, fantastically-mustached, and to this point in the game, hitless. He took a hack at the first pitch, an 83 mph curveball that hung right over the middle of the plate and hit it 104.5 mph at a 21 degree angle, and it landed 402 feet from home plate, over the outfield fencing, to give the Saints a 13-10, walk off win.
Carson McCusker went 3-for-3 with his eighth double, two walks and a stolen base. He extended his career-high, 11-game hitting streak. Through 30 games, he is hitting .352/.424/.686 (1.110) with eight doubles, nine homers and 29 RBI.
Jair Camargo went 3-for-5 with a double. Fitzgerald was 2-for-6 with his fourth homer. Holland went 1-for-2, walked twice, and hit his second homer.
What a fun game. If you were there, what did you see? Granted, I am not a fan of 3 1/2 hour games, but this one had game-action throughout. Was it as exciting, maybe even more exciting being there?
WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, NW Arkansas 3 Box Score The Wind Surge started fast and held on through the end for a nice, 5-3 win. It ended their five-game losing streak, which was their longest of the season. A good way to start a game on the road is to score in the top of the first inning. With one out, Ricardo Olivar hit his fourth home run of the season to give the team a 1-0 lead.
Rubel Cespedes singled to right which was followed by a Kala’i Rosario walk. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Ben Ross flew out to center, deep enough to score Cespedes. Kyler Fedko walked before Aaron Sabato crushed a double to score two runs and make it 4-0. It also caused a pitching change.
That’s where the score remained until the top of the fifth. With two outs, Fedko walked again and stole second base. Sabato hit an infield single down the third base line. Andrew Cossetti drove in Fedko with a double.
Connor Prielipp made the start and was really good. In his 46 pitches, he was able to complete four scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out a career-high six batters. Of his 46 pitches, 37 of them were strikes. That’s an impressive 80.4% It is rare to see a pitcher throw 80% strikes. I’m sure we haven’t seen it yet this season… (Note – you’ll want to see how many strikes one of the Mighty Mussels pitchers threw on Thursday.)
Angel Macuare pitched a perfect fifth inning. Mike Paredes gave up two runs on one hit. In 2 1/3 innings, he walked three, hit one and had three strikeouts. He gets the Win to improve to 4-0. Michael Martinez came on with the bases loaded and got out of the jam in the eighth inning. He started the ninth and gave up one run. He got one out, but Joel Cesar came on with the bases loaded. He allowed one of the runs to score but got the final two outs for his third save of the season.
Sabato led the way, going 3-for-4 with his fifth double and two RBI. Cespedes went 2-for-4 with a walk and stole his first base of the year.
KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 14 Box Score If you just see the final score, it sure tells a different story than what most of the game was. At the 7th inning stretch, Beloit led 2-1.
Tanner Hall started and gave up two unearned runs on three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. He had two strikeouts.
The Kernels actually scored first. In the top of the fifth inning, Nate Baez singles and Jose Salas was hit by a pitch. Caden Kendle knocked his sixth double to drive in Baez with the game’s first run. However, despite having runners on second and third and nobody out, the Kernels were unable to add another run.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Sky Carp took the lead with two runs.
Spencer Bengard came on with a runner on third base and two outs in the fifth and got the final out of the inning on a strikeout. In the sixth inning, he fielded a ground ball, got another soft groundout, and had a strikeout. Then came the National Anthem.
When Bengard returned to the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, he uncharacteristically issued two walks before Eric Rataczak singled to load the bases. Bengard responded with a strikeout for the first out. Another walk tied the game at 2-2. But Bengard got another strikeout. However, Ryan Ignoffo hit a 2-0 pitch for a long, grand slam that turned a 3-1 game into a 7-1 game. Gabriel Yanez came in and gave up a double, followed by a triple and the score was 8-1 after seven innings.
Impressively, the Kernels didn’t just give up. In the top of the eighth, Kyle DeBarge led off with a walk. Brandon Winokur and Gabriel Gonzalez singled to load the bases. Danny De Andrade knocked his 11th double to drive in two runs. Gonzalez scored on a sacrifice fly. De Andrade scored on a single that made it 8-5, a game again.
But, the Sky Carp gave up six more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to put the game away.
The Kernels had seven hits and three walks. Kyle DeBarge was 0-for-1 but walked three times and was hit by a pitch. He also stole his 17th base without yet being caught this season. Gonzalez went 2-for-5. Baez was 2-for-4.
While I rarely write about players on the opponent’s team (unless there is a connection to the Twins), Beloit catcher Ryan Ignoffo hitting two grand slams in the game seems noteworthy.
MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 5 Box Score On Tuesday, the Mussels mounted a comeback and walked it off in extra innings. On Thursday, the teams battled to another close game. Were the Mussels able to complete the comeback again?
Jakob Hall made the start. He gave up three runs in the first inning and one in the second inning. In four innings, he was charged with four runs on four hits. He walked two, hit two, and struck out three batters.
Hall finished with two scoreless innings. Lefty Zander Secrist kept that streak going. He put four zeroes on the board which gave the Mussels the opportunity to play some catch up. He coaxed three groundouts in the fifth inning. In the sixth, a Peyton Powell single was surrounded by two groundouts and a strikeout. The seventh inning was another 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout, a groundout and a line out. In the eighth inning, he got an infield pop up and two outs. In other words, he was completely dominant for four innings.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Poncho Ruiz led off with a single. He advanced to second when Fort Myers’ own, Peyton Carr, was hit by a pitch. Maddux Houghton doubles to drive in the team’s first run of the game. Yohander Martinez followed with a two-run single to left field to cut the deficit to 4-3.
With one out in the fifth frame, Jay Thomason singled to the opposite field. He stole second and reached base on a throwing error. That tied the score at four, and that’s where it remained until the ninth inning.
Secrist, who won a College World Series title at Tennessee less than a year ago, returned to the mound to start the top of the ninth inning. Unfortunately, Jean Joseph attacked the southpaw’s first pitch, a 70-mph slider, presumably meant to get a quick strike. Joseph hit it, 98.4 mph, and he flew 362 feet, landing in the left field berm at Hammond Stadium. Likely disappointed, he responded with two strikeouts and a ground out to first base to end the half-inning.
Did the Mussels have another comeback in them? No. A flyout and two strikeouts and the Mussels dropped this game 5-4.
Remember above my comments about how often we see a pitcher throw 80% strikes in a game? Connor Prielipp threw 37 strikes among his 46 pitches (80.4%). Secrist threw one more pitch than Prielipp (47) and one more strike (38). That’s 80.9%). I’m going to guess we won’t see 80% hit by a pitcher again this year. If I bet on stuff, I’d bet that there won’t be another day with two at 80+%!
Ruiz had two of the team’s seven hits. Houghton’s double was the lone extra base hit.
COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 10, FCL Orioles 1 Box Score The Twins swept the Orioles at Target Field, and down in Ft. Myers, the FCL Twins squad topped the FCL Orioles handily.
The Twins got ahead early. They scored one run in each of the first two innings. In the first inning, he was Merphy Hernandez who led off with a walk. He stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. He scored on a ground out. In the second frame, Ricardo Pena led off with a walk. After a fly out, Isaac Pena walked. A force-out advanced Ricardo Pena to third base with two outs. After scoring the first run, Merphy Hernandez drove in the second, with Pena scoring on a line drive to center.
The score remained 2-0 Twins through four innings. Melvin Rodriguez gave up two hits and a walk over four scoreless innings on the mound. He had two strikeouts.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Twins bats exploded with an eight-run inning. Ramior Dominguez led off with a walk, and Merphy was hit by a pitch. A ground out by Eduardo Beltre grounded out but both runners advanced and scored on a triple off the bat of Ariel Castro. Bryan Acuna singled him with the inning’s third run. Luis Fragoza ws hit by a pitch. After a second out, Yandro Hernandez loaded the bases thanks to a fielding error. Acuna scored on a passed ball. Isaac Pena walked to reload the bases. After a pitching change, a wild pitch scored Fragoza. Ramiro Domingez walks to again load the bases. Merphy Hernandez walked. Eduardo Beltre walked, and finally Ariel Castro walked before the inning ended.
RBI walks are not all that uncommon in the Complex Leagues. Neither are wild pitches, passed balls and errors. Again, these are part of the reason that we have to be really careful about how much the stats matter this far down the organizational ladder.
Santiago Rojas and Liam Rocha each threw a scoreless inning. Aiberson Ventura gave up one run on two hits in the bottom of the seventh.
PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 3-for-3, 2 BB, 2B(8), R, RBI Aaron Sabato (Wichita): 3-for-4, 2B(5), 2 RBI
Pitcher of the Day Zander Secrist (Fort Myers): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K. 47 pitches, 38 strikes (80.9%) Connor Prielipp (Wichita): 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 46 pitches, 37 strikes (80.4%)
FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (0-1, 9.00 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (4:05 PM CST) – LHP Aaron Rozek (1-1, 3.86 ERA). Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:05 PM CST) – RHP Jose Olivares (0-0, 0.66 ERA). Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Michael Carpenter (0-0, 3.00 ERA). FCL Twins @ FCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CST) – TBD
Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the roster, and discuss Thursday’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!
Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!
TEMPE – The 2026 Sun Devil Beach Volleyball schedule has been announced, marking the Sand Devils’ third season with head coach Kristen Glattfelder and second in the Big 12 conference.
The Sand Devils have 10 weekends of competition, two of them at home. The team will face 10 of the 16 teams that competed in the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship and will play against all four national semifinalists (TCU, LMU, Cal Poly and UCLA).
ASU will start its season across the Valley at the Canyon Classic at Grand Canyon from February 20-21. The Sand Devils will face host GCU along with Colorado Mesa, UC Davis and reigning 2025 NCAA Champion and Big 12 Champion TCU.
The Sun Devils will continue to stay in state and head south to Tucson to compete in the Cactus Classic on February 27, where they will compete against Arizona and Georgia State.
The home opener will be from March 6-7, as ASU will host Arizona, Southern Miss, Arizona Christian and Nebraska at the Sun Devil Classic.
The Sand Devils will be out of state for three-consecutive weeks. From March 13-14, they will compete in Manhattan Beach at the East Meets West Invitational where they will go head-to-head against NCAA runner-up LMU, as well as UCLA, Hawai’i and Cal. ASU will travel to LSU for the Death Volley Invitational from March 20–21, facing Georgia State, Texas, Florida State and LSU, before heading to TCU for the Big 12 Preview Tournament from March 27–28.
To start the final month of the regular season, the Maroon and Gold will head home and host the Sparky Invitational where they’ll play Stetson, GCU, FIU and Ottawa from April 3-4. The Sand Devils will be back on the road the following week and compete at the COE Challenge at Cal Poly from April 10-11 and face California, Cal Poly and UCLA.
ASU will play at lone dual at Long Beach State on April 17 before heading to Tucson for the Big 12 Championships on April 23 and 24.
In its first Big 12 season, Arizona State went 22-14, setting a new win record for the program. The Sand Devils also went 9-1 on home sand and finished the season ranked No. 12 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The team also finished second at the first Big 12 Beach Volleyball Championships, falling to TCU 3-2.
The program and players earned several awards and accolades after finishing second in the league. Daniella Kensinger, Ava Kirunchyk and Samaya Morin were all named to the Big 12 All-Conference Team. Morin was also named an AVCA Second Team All-American. In addition, the team had three pairs named Big 12 Pair of the Week.
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State concludes 2025 with a 23-8 record, showing tremendous turnaround after going 10-18 last season. It is the highest win total since 2011, while ISU also went 12-6 in Big 12 play to finish tied for third after being chosen ninth in the preseason poll.
Cyclones wrapped the season earning national and conference awards including AVCA Libero of the Year, AVCA Second Team All-America, Big 12 Libero of the Year and Big 12 Setter of the Year.
Iowa State is ranked in the final AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time since 2017 earning the rank of T-No. 22. It’s the highest final ranking in 13 seasons (2012, No. 14). The Cyclones capped the season in the second round of the NCAA Championship, ISU’s 18th trip to the tournament.
Rachel Van Gorp, National Libero of the Year
Van Gorp showed the nation she is the best of the best becoming the inaugural AVCA Libero of the Year. The true sophomore, in her first full season at the position, compiled a list of awards also including AVCA Second Team All-America, AVCA First Team All-Region, Big 12 Libero of the Year, First Team All-Big 12 and two Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Iowa State took home Big 12 Libero and Setter of the Year, while five Cyclones were placed on All-Big 12 Teams. Van Gorp was the unanimous choice for Libero of the Year, while Morgan Brandt secured Setter of the Year. Both were First Team All-Big 12 selections, and Tierney Jackson was placed on season team. True freshmen Alea Goolsby and Reagan Hanfelt earned Big 12 All-Rookie Team.
Leading the Conference
ISU ends 2025 as the Big 12 leader in digs (15.12 per set) and kills (13.98 per set). The Cyclones ranked top 25 nationally in kills (No. 18) and assists (12.91 per set, No. 24), helping lead Iowa State to hit at .245 on the season. The efficiency is the fourth-highest single-season hitting percentage in program history.
2025 By the Numbers
4 – ISU had four ranked wins on the season, the most since 2012. The Cyclones were the only Big 12 team to take down Arizona State this season and ended No. 6 ASU’s 12-match win streak and 26-match Big 12 win streak.
4 – Morgan Brandt ends her Iowa State career ranking fourth in program history with 3,787 assists. The total led all 2025 Big 12 active players.
7 – The Cyclones hit over .300 in seven matches. ISU had a stretch of three straight hitting over .400, a program first, while two of those match efficiencies now rank in the program all-time top 10.
8 – Iowa State ended non-conference with a record of 10-1, the best mark in eight seasons.
10 – Maya Duckworth entered the ISU top 10 in career kills and concludes her career with 1,073. Duckworth was the 12th in program history to join the 1,000-kill club.
12 – Iowa State sealed 12 Big 12 wins for the first time since 2012.
15 – ISU opened the season at 5-0 without losing a set, one of the final three teams to begins with 15 set wins. It marked the first time in program history to open the season with a 15-0 set record.
400 – Christy Johnson-Lynch celebrated win No. 400 this season vs. No. 16 TCU. Johnson-Lynch now owns 11 20-win seasons and 48 top 25 wins, with 12 in the top 10.
Kansas State volleyball All-American Shaylee Myers announced she is stepping away from the sport and will not pursue a professional career.
The Lincoln, Nebraska native was selected in the second round of last month’s Pro Volleyball Federation draft by the Atlanta Vibe, but has decided not to continue playing beyond her collegiate career.
Myers closed her time in Manhattan with one of the most decorated seasons the program has seen. She earned All-America Honorable Mention recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), becoming the 12th player in school history to receive the honor and the second under head coach Jason Mansfield, joining former Wildcat teammate Aliyah Carter.
Her All-America nod capped a historic senior campaign filled with accolades. Myers was named the program’s first-ever AVCA Region Player of the Year, earned AVCA First Team All-Region honors and was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection. She also claimed three Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week awards during the season.
Statistically, Myers rewrote the K-State record book. She finished her senior year with 498 kills (4.70 per set) and 547.0 points (5.16 per set), setting the rally-scoring era single-season record for kills per set and tying for third-most total kills in that era. Her 34-kill performance against West Virginia on Oct. 1 marked the Big 12’s top single-match output of the season.
Myers reached another milestone during the NCAA Tournament, becoming just the 20th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. She finished her career with 1,029 kills and 1,148.5 points, ranking among the program’s top 25 in multiple career categories.
K-State concluded the 2025 season at 18-10 overall and 10-8 in Big 12 play, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament — the program’s 19th postseason appearance and first under Mansfield.
Happy last day of 2025! We hope that, for you, it was a year to remember and not one to forget.
For the track and field community, this year left us with a lot to process. A quick search through the newsletter archives finds four uses of the word “change” in our subject lines this year, with phrases like “forecast,” “wide open,” “worth a try,” and “what?” sprinkled in as well. With one Olympic cycle firmly in the rearview and another just picking up steam, it makes sense: 2025 was, ultimately, a period of mass transition.
As the clock ticks to midnight tonight, we have a lot more questions than answers. Somewhere between “who will I kiss when the ball drops?” and “how hungover will I be tomorrow?”, you may start thinking instead about the bigger, more long-term unknowns looming for track and field in the year to come.
What do pro leagues look like next year?
Every professional sport evolves over time, but few go through as many evolutions and permutations as ours. That’s because we’ve never really had a dominant professional circuit.
Currently, we have the Diamond League, which seems to persist as “best of all the bad options.” One big improvement we got out of the 2025 season was the reclassification of the DL final to one last big event before the World Championships. The positioning, in essence, traded a little bit of star power for real stakes: a lot of the top stars opted to skip out on Zurich, but increased prize money and the promise of a wild-card entry to Worlds kept things interesting. Sure, the meets are still hard to watch (in the U.S.) and can feel repetitive mid-season, but it’s still the closest thing we have to a Premier League for track and field.
There was still enough of a perceived gap in the market, however, that several entities stepped up to try and fill the void. Grand Slam Track took the biggest swing at a legitimate Diamond League alternative, but unfortunately was also the biggest flop. All the public-facing messaging around the League’s bankruptcy filing insists that GST will return for a second season, but there’s a bit of a “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” sentiment at this point in the game. It’s safe to say that, until GST is able to roll out a compelling argument for its own continued relevance, no one is taking for granted that it’ll be a genuine presence on the pro circuit moving forward.
At the other end of the spectrum, ATHLOS NYC’s second one-off exhibition meet was enough of a purported success that the event, organized by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, has announced it’s expanding into a multi-event league for the 2026 season with stars Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, and Tara Davis-Woodhall attached as “advisor-owners.” Much like GST, there are more questions than answers at this point in time: How does a women’s-only event map onto a landscape that prizes gender parity? Will keeping its events in the fall ever move ATHLOS out of novelty status to feel like a “real” part of the season? Does the limitation of events to sprints, middle-distance, and long jump continue? Unlike GST, however, they benefit (at least in public perception) from taking an approach that’s generally seen as safer: starting small and expanding, rather than swinging for the fences and coming up short.
And then there’s the 11th-hour announcement that, once again, USATF will by trying to tie its disparate offerings into a branded package. This time, it’s a “USATF Tour”, which unifies 17 meets scheduled from March to July under one calendar. It’s unclear how this will be different from these meets operating entirely independently; the landing page for the site includes the notation “TBD” no less than seven times. You’ll need at least three different streamers to watch all the meets, and there doesn’t seem to be any clearly-stated prize or other incentive for athletes to participate in multiple events. The number of events isn’t even clear: the website says “16 unique events” but lists 17, the LA Distance Classic and LA Grand Prix are listed as separate events despite occurring on back-to-back days in the same city, and there’s an unnamed “Grand Prix” event set to air on NBC that has a date but no location.
It would be great if there was a unified domestic circuit for professional track and field in the U.S. It would be great if there was a premiere showcase for the best of women’s sports with a hefty prize purse. And it would be great if we all agreed to prioritize one A-tier circuit that mattered throughout the regular season. But more than anything else, it would be great if we could build a little year-over-year momentum for any one of these initiatives rather than facing down a whole bunch of unknowns each December.
How does World Ultimate Champs shape the season?
One of the few positive side effects of a life-altering global pandemic was that we haven’t had a track season without a global championship since 2018. In 2026, we’ll see what a season looks like when the entire sport isn’t oriented toward a ten-day conclusion where gold medals drown out any other metric of success.
Or will we? World Athletics is rolling out its new “World Ultimate Championship,” which, despite its name, is a three-day track meet and not a frisbee tournament. On paper, it’s sort of an unholy hybrid of a true global championship and a beefed-up Diamond League final, with most, but not all, events slated for a one-round final with big prize money on the line.
How this slots into the global calendar, and how it is perceived, remain to be seen. For steeplechasers, it might be business as usual, given that the event is omitted entirely (same goes, at least this year, for a number of jumping and throwing events). Small fields of 16 athletes on the track and 8 in the field will mean that simply qualifying for the meet will be prohibitively difficult, if not impossible, for even most pros. Conversely, it relies a lot on the biggest names to lend their star power to the event—only a few passes or withdrawals from reigning World/Olympic champs could make this event feel too small in a hurry.
Adding a new championship-style event to a non-championship year is a great idea in theory, but it has to feel like a championship level of stakes and competition to be taken seriously.
Does 2026 become the year of the comeback?
2025 was a year to forget for more than a few of the sport’s biggest stars. Olympic champs like Grant Holloway and Jakob Ingebrigtsen battled injuries and less-than-perfect returns, whereas domestic stars like Elle St. Pierre and Parker Valby returned late from long breaks. Some of the most dominant athletes of the last decade – like Yulimar Rojas, Shericka Jackson, and Soufiane El Bakkali—were not able to return to the top of podiums they’d once frequented.There’s a silver lining in each of these individual storm clouds, however: everybody loves a comeback story.
A year or two ago, athletes like Holloway and El Bakkali simply couldn’t seem to lose, and it was starting to get boring. Now, they get to head into 2026 with a chip on their shoulders rather than a target on their backs. Ingebrigtsen and Rojas are current world world record holders who remain squarely in their primes, at 25 and 30 years old, respectively. A few years of bad Achilles luck can’t possibly keep two of the sport’s biggest talents down for too much longer, right?
St. Pierre and Valby both returned to racing in November at the Abbott 5k in New York. St. Pierre was coming back from giving birth to her second son in May, and Valby was finally healthy again after an injury-plagued rookie season. Together, they represent two of the country’s biggest distance talents, but right now, we’re not quite sure where they fit into a broader pecking order where Nikki Hiltz and Sinclaire Johnson are dominating the middle distances and Shelby Houlihan has re-entered the chat.
Last, but certainly not least, there’s the crop of 30-something sprint stars who aren’t quite done. Shericka Jackson is just two years removed from her epic 21.41 200m gold in Budapest, and at 31, she’s still got the better part of a decade ahead of her if her countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a model to follow. Trayvon Bromell already had a bit of a comeback season of his own, getting back atop the 100m ranks on the DL circuit but still falling short of the podium at USAs. And let’s not forget that both Tokyo Olympic champions, Elaine Thompson-Herah (33) and Lamont Marcell Jacobs (31) aren’t totally over the hill just yet, even if they’re a little farther removed from their best seasons and haven’t shown signs of life in a while. Ya never know.
Who tries a new event next?
2025 saw Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone forego the hurdles during her typically blistering trips around the oval. That foray into a new-ish-to-her event culminated in another gold medal, a 47.78 world-leading time, and a new American record. We already know that the closest thing to a rival SML has in the 400m hurdles—Femke Bol—will be experimenting with the 800m in 2026, and has already been spotted exploring fascinating training systems in her pursuit of half-mile glory. New events are in!
It’s pretty clear that if McLaughlin-Levrone gives the 400m her undivided attention for another season or two that she would have realistic ambitions to break the world record. She’s demonstrated world-class ability at this “off event” at every level of her competitive life. And what else does she have to prove in her primary event?
Male 400H World champ Rai Benjamin has also talked about wanting to take on the flat 400m or even the 200m in future seasons. Is there something about the hurdles that makes them get really boring over time? Regardless, it’ll be fun to see if Benjamin can improve on his PBs of 44.21 from 2023 or 19.99 from 2018. Heck, he even ran a wind-legal 10.03 in 2020 – is 2026 the year that births the first sub-10/sub-20/sub-44/sub-47 runner in history?
If there was ever a time for stars who’ve solidified their place atop one event to try another, it’s now. What’s to stop Faith Kipyegon from going even longer in distance, when she could always retreat to the safety of the 1500m if it doesn’t work out? Heck, even Jakob Ingebrigtsen has teased a return to the steeplechase. And simply typing out the words “Grant Fisher marathon debut” will trigger some sort of seismic activity as distance bros all over the world start to jump up and down with excitement all at once. And over in the infield, there’s one true wild card who could mix things up: Ryan Crouser.
Crouser is the best male shot putter in history, yes. But he still holds the American high school national record in the discus (72.40m) and secured World Youth Championship silver in that event back in 2009. During Crouser’s last complete outdoor season, 2024, his World ranking score in the shot was 1520. During 2025, the highest ranking attained by a discus thrower was 1476, belonging to Mykolas Alekna. Now those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt—comparing greatness across disciplines is tricky business—but if you’re Crouser, coming off an injury-shortened-ravaged campaign that still saw you win World gold in the shot, don’t you at least think about kicking the tires on a different event that you were historically great at as a teen, and that might tax your shot-put-worn body in different, career-extending ways?
Greater Akron stepped onto the national college scene with authority in a big way in 2025.
From national titles to being drafted at the professional level, area athletes shined.
Here’s our top 10 college moments involving local athletes:
1. Akron Zips men’s soccer returns to NCAA Tournament glory
Behind Big East Offensive Player of the Year Stefan Dobrijevic and conference goalkeeper of the year Mitch Budler, the University of Akron men’s soccer team reached the elite eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
NEVIS – Karly Cobb couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin her reign as the new head coach of the Nevis volleyball team.
Not only did the Tigers go undefeated to capture the Northland Conference title, but they capped off the season by winning the Section 5A championship to qualify for the state Class A tournament. Nevis lost both matches at state to finish the season with a 24-9 record.
“My first season as head coach was incredible. I had the most supportive assistants, the most motivated team, and an incredible backing from the school and community. I am grateful to be a part of this community and am loving every minute of coaching for the Nevis Tigers,” said Cobb. “The team had their success this season due to their willingness to work hard and work together toward their common goal: getting to the state tournament.”
The Tigers won the Northland Conference title with a 7-0 record by defeating Clearbrook-Gonvick (25-20, 25-12, 25-17), Laporte (25-10, 29-27, 23-25, 25-13), Pine River-Backus (25-18, 25-15, 25-18), Cass Lake-Bena (25-12, 25-9, 25-15), Blackduck (25-17, 25-18 25-22), Northome-Kelliher (25-22, 25-17, 25-20) and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley (22-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-8).
PR-B finished second in the conference with a 6-1 record as Blackduck (5-2), N-K (4-3), Laporte (3-4), W-H-A (2-5), C-G (1-6) and CL-B (0-7) rounded out the standings.
Nevis opened the season with wins over Park Rapids (25-23, 25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10), Fosston (25-15, 18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9) and Lake of the Woods (25-20, 25-12, 25-18). The Tigers went 4-1 at the Ada-Borup-West Invitational and 1-3 at the Duluth East Invitational. At Ada, Nevis defeated Thief River Falls (25-22, 25-12), Red Lake County Central (25-19, 25-21), Fosston (23-25, 25-11, 15-9) and A-B-W (25-19, 25-20) while losing to Kittson County Central (25-7, 25-23). In the Duluth tournament, the Tigers defeated Duluth Denfeld (25-17, 25-13) while losing to Cloquet (25-22, 22-25, 15-11), Superior (25-23, 25-17) and Brainerd (27-25, 15-25, 15-5).
To close out the regular season, the Tigers posted wins over Sebeka (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18), Browerville-Eagle Valley (25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 15-9), Verndale (28-26, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23) and Menahga (24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 20-25, 15-6) before going 1-3 at the Pumpkin Classic in Moorhead. Nevis opened that tournament with losses to Moorhead (25-12, 25-8), Fargo North (28-26, 25-19) and Duluth East (25-22, 25-20) before closing with a win over Osseo (25-21, 25-22).
Senior Danika Anderson was named the Northland Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Anderson broke the school record with 52 digs in a match.
Contributed / Jodi Sandmeyer
For the Section 5A tournament, the Tigers received the No. 1 seed in the West and used wins over No. 9 B-EV (25-14, 25-17, 25-19), No. 4 Bertha-Hewitt (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21) and No. 3 Verndale (25-20, 23-25, 16-25, 25-16, 15-7) to reach the championship match. Nevis earned a trip to the state tournament with a 26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 29-27 win over Swanville, the No. 1 seed in the East, in the section title match.
In their fifth state tournament appearance, the No. 7-seeded Tigers lost to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) and Fillmore Central (25-22, 25-13, 25-6). R-T-R, the No. 2 seed, lost to No. 1 Mayer Lutheran in the title match while Fillmore Central, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 5 Cleveland for fifth place. Nevis also qualified for state in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“I feel that the girls had a good state tournament appearance,” said Cobb. “They played very competitively with RTR, finishing only a few points behind them every set and RTR ended up getting second in the tournament. Of course the girls had to work through nerves since it was their first time playing at (state) for every girl on the team. We then played Fillmore Central, and although that game did not go as we hoped it would, our girls stuck together and still gave it their all.”
Leading the Tigers this season were seniors of Ava Forbes, Clair Isaacson, Brenna Lindow, Danika Anderson and Amber Pyburn. Freshman Mackenzie Lindow and junior Cassandra Bolster rounded out the starting lineup with junior Emma Wike; sophomores Mya Durgin, Evelyn Dierkhising and Kyleigh-Ann Smart; and freshmen Arianna Hamblin and Sage Chase playing key roles as reserves.
Brenna Lindow capped off her senior season by being named the Northland Conference’s Outstanding Setter. Lindow concluded her career with more than 1,000 set assists.
Contributed / Jodi Sandmeyer
Forbes, Isaacson, Brenna Lindow, and Anderson received all-conference honors with Forbes being named the conference MVP, Brenna Lindow being named the conference’s Outstanding Setter and Anderson earning the conference’s Defensive Player award. Pyburn and Mackenzie Lindow were all-conference honorable mention players.
In 26 of the 33 matches (statistics weren’t available for the Thief River Falls, Ada-Borup-West, Duluth Denfeld, Brainerd, Kelliher-Northome, Moorhead and Bertha-Hewitt matches), Forbes led the Tigers with 458 kills, 62 blocks and 44 ace serves while adding 231 digs. Isaacson was second with 315 digs, tied for second with 38 ace serves and had 113 kills and 22 blocks. Brenna Lindow led the way with 782 set assists while contributing 31 blocks, 27 kills and 22 ace serves. Anderson was the team leader with 402 digs while serving 15 aces. Pyburn chipped in 185 kills, 83 digs, 46 blocks and 19 ace serves. Mackenzie Lindow had 190 digs, 112 kills, 38 ace serves and 21 blocks. Bolster had 50 digs and 13 kills. Dierkhising had 24 kills and 17 digs, Durgin had 35 digs and 13 kills, Hamblin had 37 digs, and Chase had 15 digs.
Senior Clair Isaacson received Northland Conference honors this season.
Contributed / Jodi Sandmeyer
Anderson also broke a school record with 52 digs in a match against Verndale in the postseason. Ava Forbes surpassed 1,000 kills and Brenna Lindow surpassed 1,000 set assists.
The Tigers will have five starting spots to fill, but Cobb is counting on her team to put another competitive group on the floor next season.
“I want to give the seniors a ton of credit for leading our team. Amber, Danika, Clair, Ava and Brenna gave their heart, grit and determination this season. They led with grace and their faith. They showed the other girls in the program what it means to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They had the motto ‘no doubt in my mind’ and they proved that to everyone. There was no doubt that they were here this season to accomplish their goals and they did just that. It is always hard saying goodbye to seniors, but this year is extra hard because these five have all been a part of the program since they were third graders, and I have coached all of them since 8th/9th grade on the JV team. I hope they know what a mark they have made on the Nevis program and I know they will always look back and cherish the memories,” said Cobb. “We will have two returning starters next year in Mackenzie Lindow and Cassandra Bolster. We will also have a few players that came off the bench this year and helped us out in Evelyn Dierkhising, Mya Durgin, Sage Chase and Ari Hamblin. Of course, after graduating five seniors we know we have some building to do. The younger classmen are fired up and want to get back down to St. Paul. They have now experienced the state tournament and want to make it their goal again. Our girls plan to put in the work this offseason and be ready to start off the 2026-27 season strong.”
