Schaller pursued two sports in high school, the other being hockey. And watching him early in his career at Maryland, it wasn’t hard to see the influence on the sport he left behind.

As Maryland eased him into a reserve role as a freshman, there were times when the sort of physicality that is generally encouraged on the ice might get a penalty in lacrosse. Those with a keen old-school mentality might point out that a generation ago, some of those plays might not have drawn a flag a generation ago.

But from the Terps’ perspective, it was much more appealing to refine Schaller’s aggression than to try to coax it out of him.

“Hockey guys probably don’t get paid as much as guys in the NFL and NBA and Major League Baseball, yet they’re probably some of the toughest cats out there,” Bernhardt said. “They definitely play for the love of the game and the passion and all that kind of stuff, and I think Will has a lot of those attributes.”

Tillman said he can’t remember a player collecting so many hustle plays in a season, especially since they have a penchant for being timely. One of Schaller’s more remarkable efforts was scrambling back after a failed clear to deflect a transition shot in a March 1 game against Notre Dame.  

But he also sealed the victory that day by sprawling out to cover a ricocheted shot as it scooted out of bounds to secure possession in the final 30 seconds. It doesn’t look as pretty as denying a goal, but it was just as vital.

“When you watch him play, you see a hockey player in a lot of ways,” McDonald said. “People line up to shoot, and he’s the first one to jump in front of a shot that’s going a hundred miles an hour. It’s pretty fearless. He brings a physicality to the game that not a lot of people in college lacrosse do. If you run through the middle, you know that Will Schaller will be there.”

Maryland and Schaller both had the luxury of time — to an extent — early in his career. Schaller got into the end of a handful of games in his first season, at least until Zappitello suffered a broken hand in April.

Just like that, Schaller was starting for the final quarter of the season and defending the likes of Johns Hopkins’ Jacob Angelus, Rutgers’ Shane Knobloch and Army’s Reese Burek. It was an education on the fly, and there were definitely times when Schaller’s lack of experience was evident.

“That was definitely a blessing in disguise in the long run,” Schaller said. “The experience when you’re a young guy and a sponge and impressionable is invaluable. It happens at all different stages in all different aspects, but getting that as a freshman, it was huge in my development. Sometimes the best way to learn is to be thrown into the deep end of the pool.”

Just how much he learned was clear by the end of last season. Schaller earned more regular playing time as a sophomore, especially with Maryland committed to using a four-man rotation at close defense.

When Jackson Canfield was banged up against Duke in the quarterfinals, it was Schaller who was summoned to cover Blue Devils star Brennan O’Neill — and helped keep him to one goal over the final three quarters as the Terps rallied for a 14-11 victory.

With Zappitello graduating — a year after Brett Makar, who anchored Maryland’s defense the previous two seasons — Schaller was a logical candidate to fill a larger role this season.

McDonald said there wasn’t much concern about replacing Zappitello, since the Terps had some veteran options who played cohesively at that end of the field. At the same time, no one is complaining about how this season worked out.

“We always knew there was something there,” Bernhardt said. “That alpha male in him, it was just a matter of time that once he could harness that and we could refine some technique things. In certain ways, I’d say I’m pleased and happy with the process he took and the progress he’s made because we’ve been the beneficiaries of it. But not really surprised just because of the type of person he is.”

Schaller doesn’t believe anything particularly remarkable happened. His preparation is the same as ever, and he is quick to credit the consistency of teammates who have helped make his job easier.

Sure, there was a need for someone to emerge and take on greater responsibility. But it hasn’t necessarily felt different.

“It’s not like I became a new person,” Schaller said. “It’s always been inside of me. It’s been a matter of, it’s going to come out and it’s going to come out at the right time. I’m very big on the dials versus the switch. You don’t just switch it on or switch it off. It’s always there inside of you, whatever it is. It’s understanding that you dial it in and dial it back.”

Perhaps it’s best to ascribe Schaller’s impact this season to an intersection of ability, preparation and competitiveness. His focus, listening skills and maturity remind Tillman of some of the players he coached at Navy who went on to become SEALs.

“Even in the recruiting process, he took notes, he was very logical, he had questions,” Tillman said. “He wasn’t going to be BS’d by the gear you had or fluffy stuff. It was really about substance and culture.”

Which, come to think of it, may well be why Schaller’s instincts led him to Maryland in the first place.

It may not have been easy to fully explain at the time, but it makes plenty of sense — especially with Schaller thriving as part of the Terps’ latest title contender.

“When you get some time to reflect and sit back, you realize the reward of feeling like you made the right decision is a special one,” Schaller said. “That’s something I hope everyone gets to feel at some point in their life, whether it’s a job they make or picking a significant other or whatever it may be. Just that rewarding feeling that you’re in the right place with the right people at exactly the right time is super special.”

NIL partnerships are best when they fit with the traits of the college sports star promoting them.

Some capitalize off their unique name, be it their own or a famous family heritage. Waterboys even landed deals with leading beverage manufacturers.

That frenzy during the NCAA college basketball tournament was a great reminder of the expansive landscape of name, image, and likeness.

While the majority of the NIL conversation focuses on college football and basketball players, college baseball stars are securing lucrative deals too.

Georgia Bulldogs pitcher Kolten Smith and TCU Horned Frogs pitcher Kaden Smith are the latest to land a perfect NIL campaign that highlights their sibling rivalry and love for the sport.

Kolten and Kaden Smith Show off Power of Clever Branding in NIL Deal

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After joining the Illinois women’s gymnastics program as an assistant coach in August 2024, Aja Sims-Fletcher will retain that position on head coach Josh Nilson‘s staff. Nilson was named the program’s head coach on Tuesday.

“When evaluating what our program needs to continue rising, Aja was the first person who came to mind,” Nilson said. “She commands excellence while creating a culture built on trust and integrity. Her athletes know she believes in them, challenges them, and supports them—qualities that are essential to sustained success.

“In this new era of Illinois Women’s Gymnastics, there is no better complement to my vision or coaching philosophy than Aja. She brings both elite-level experience and a deeply genuine, team-first approach. I couldn’t be more excited to build this next chapter with her by my side. We’re thrilled that Aja and her husband, Allen, are here to stay.”

“I’m incredibly excited to continue with the Illinois program and to work alongside Josh in his new role as head coach,” said Sims-Fletcher. “This past year, I saw firsthand the passion, vision, and leadership he brings to the gym every day. He truly cares about the growth of each athlete and the success of the team as a whole. I’m proud to be part of this next chapter and can’t wait to see what we accomplish together.”

In her first season with the Fighting Illini, Sims-Fletcher led the Orange and Blue to Round 2 at the 2025 NCAA Regionals. She helped freshman Chloe Cho become the third gymnast in program history to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while Cho was also an All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree under Sims-Fletcher’s guidance.

Prior to her time at Illinois, Sims-Fletcher spent one year as the inaugural head women’s gymnastics coach at Talladega College, where she became the second-ever HBCU gymnastics coach in the program’s debut season.

Sims-Fletcher competed collegiately at Alabama from 2014-17 as an all-arounder. She was a three-time All-American (first team twice, second team once) and a four-time NACGC/W Scholastic All-American during her career. She now holds a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama.

The Orlando, Fla., native has coached at various levels, including high school, club, and college, and was a volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater.

College football keeps changing — it happened again on Thursday.

After the first year of the 12-team playoff format, the 2025 College Football Playoff will feature a straight seeding format for the top squads as opposed to the previous campaign where four conference championship winners claimed the premier seeding with a first-round bye.

“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” executive director of the College Football Playoff Rich Clark said in a statement.

The Nittany Lions had one of, if not the most favorable draw in last year’s playoff. Despite losing the Big Ten championship to Oregon, Penn State was rewarded by having SMU and Boise State in its path to the College Football semifinal, who were arguably the two weakest teams in the field.

Oregon on the other hand didn’t have the same luck of the draw as Penn State. The Ducks’ first-round bye left them with a matchup with the soon-to-be national champions in Ohio State, which beat up on Dan Lanning’s team in a 41-21 Rose Bowl victory.

If the newly implemented seeding was in place last year, Penn State would’ve been the No. 4 seed, resulting in a first-round bye. It also meant the Nittany Lions would face the winner of Clemson vs. Notre Dame in the quarterfinal.

Penn State ultimately fell to the Fighting Irish in the semifinal with last year’s model, but the Tigers were arguably a stronger squad than both SMU and Boise State, led by quarterback Cade Klubnik, who’s in the conversation with Drew Allar as one of the top 2026 NFL Draft quarterbacks.

Oregon got screwed over by winning the Big Ten title, but it’s not like other conference-championship winners had any more luck as Arizona State, Georgia and Boise State joined the Ducks in losing their quarterfinal games.

Some of it you can chalk it up to luck of the draw, but the old format didn’t favor those that won the conference title, which is largely why straight seeding is being put in place.

“This change will continue to allow guaranteed access to the Playoff by rewarding teams for winning their conference championship, but it will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the entire regular season,” Clark said.

Not only does it benefit teams that win a conference championship, it benefits Power 4 schools with harder strength of schedules, namely the Big Ten and the SEC, as reports of the 2026 season’s format having 16 teams with both conferences getting four automatic qualifiers.

This in turn punishes the Group of Six conference champion as Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey wrote on X saying the rule might as well be called the “Boise State policy.”

“When the system is created to keep you down, you fight like hell to break it,” Dickey said.

This new system also benefits Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are independent, which Marcus Freeman and Co. take great pride in. There’s advantages to not playing a conference schedule, but there’s no longer the disadvantage of being ineligible for a first-round bye due to the inability of playing in a conference title game.

When Freeman and James Franklin sat a foot away from each other in their joint presser leading up to the Orange Bowl, the pair of coaches made their case. Freeman said it was part of the Notre Dame brand to be independent while Franklin said every team should be in a conference.

Franklin’s argument was there should be a need for “consistency” across college football. Now with the new format, Freeman’s comments don’t ring true anymore for the advantage that has been set up for Notre Dame.

“We know we can’t play in a championship game,” Freeman said. “We can’t have a first-round bye, but we continue to use not playing in Week 13 as our bye. And that’s the way we view it.”

The cliff notes is that this move benefits the top teams in the country, as it should’ve from the jump. It also creates an imbalance in power between the dominant conferences with futuristic changes in play with the potential 16-seed playoff.

The new model is another example of the ever-changing landscape of college football. Who knows what the format will look like a year from now, but in the meantime this is what’s in place.

It’s a moving target to figure out what’s best for college football with all the different pieces in play — just ask vice president for intercollegiate athletics Pat Kraft.

“I just think there’s a lot of things and nuances that may not be getting the attention,” Kraft said in February about the potential College Football Playoff expansion. “For us as practitioners and trying to operate this world, we need to better understand how that will work.”

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