OKLAHOMA CITY – Sun Devil Softball opens play at the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship on Thursday against Oklahoma State. ASU is the Tournament’s No. 5 seed, while OSU is the No. 4 seed.

The game is the first of the quarterfinal round and will start at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. AZT from OGE Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. The winner advances to face the winner of No. 1 Texas Tech and the Game 1 winner on Friday at 1 p.m. CT/11 a.m. AZT.

How to Follow

Every game during the first three days of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship will air live on ESPN+ with Pete Sousa (PBP) and Cat Osterman (analyst) calling the action. Saturday’s championship game will be live on ESPN. Live scoring will also be available during each game, with links for all of the live features available on the softball schedule page at TheSunDevils.com.

Updates will also be provided on social media via X/Twitter (@asusoftball) and Instagram (@sundevilsb).

Sun Devil Notes

ASU completed the regular season at 34-18 overall, including a 23-12 mark at home and an 11-6 road record. The Sun Devils went 14-10 in their first season in the Big 12 to place fifth in the final conference standings. They won five of the eight conference series, with one sweep while never being swept.

ASU sits fourth in the conference with its .307 batting average while posting a .853 OPS. They average 4.92 runs per game while placing third in the Big 12 with 413 hits. The Sun Devils recorded 66 doubles and hit 49 home runs during the regular season.

Arizona State pitchers hold a 3.18 ERA and 1.35 WHIP as they head to OKC. The staff leads the conference – and ranks ninth in the NCAA – with an average of 7.69 strikeouts per seven innings while adding a 3.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

About Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State enters the Championship with a 33-17 overall record and has won six of its last seven outings. The Cowgirls finished fourth in the Big 12 with a 13-9 mark in league play.

OSU is batting .300 as a team, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. They are third in the league with 51 home runs and second with 84 stolen bases. Rosie Davis leads the club with 50 hits while batting .352 with 49 RBIs.

The Cowgirls are third in the Big 12 with a 2.77 ERA and second by posting 7.04 strikeouts per seven innings. Ruby Meylan anchors the staff at 21-7 with a 1.50 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

Against the Cowgirls

ASU is 8-10 all-time against OSU, including a 4-0 loss at Farrington Stadium in a non-conference game on April 2. The Sun Devils have dropped four straight in the series and have a 5-4 record when the teams play at a neutral site.

Conference Tournament History

The 2025 Big 12 Championship is just the third time ASU has played in a conference tournament in program history. The Sun Devils are 1-2 all-time in a conference tournament, losing their first game in 2023. ASU defeated Oregon State in the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament before falling to UCLA in the second round.

Strike First, Finish Strong

The Sun Devils have habitually scored early in games, outscoring their opponents 89-43 in the first two innings this season. ASU has crossed the plate 52 times in the first inning, more than any other inning. Those early runs contribute to a 23-3 record when the Sun Devils score first, including a 16-2 mark when scoring in the first inning.

ASU has also put teams away by scoring late in games. They have an 80-56 edge in scoring in the fifth and sixth innings, with 47 runs scored in the fifth alone. The Sun Devils are 23-1 when leading after five and 26-0 when leading after six.

Three is Key

Scoring at least three runs in a game has been crucial to a positive result for the Sun Devils this season. ASU has gone 33-6 when they put three-plus runs on the board, including an 18-0 record when they score at least six runs.

In contrast, the team is just 13-18 when the opposition scores at least three runs and 21-0 when they hold the opposition to two or fewer.

Brown is Back

After sitting out last season with an injury, Kenzie Brown has returned as one of the top pitchers in the country. Entering the Championship, Brown is third in the NCAA with 252 strikeouts and second at 11.7 strikeouts per seven innings. Her strikeout total is the highest of any pitcher in a Power 4 conference.

Brown had 18 strikeouts against BYU on March 6 to tie the ASU record for strikeouts in a 7-inning game. She ranks in the Big 12 top five in 11 statistical categories, including second by allowing 4.18 hits per seven innings, third with a 1.30 ERA, and fourth with 18 wins. Brown’s strikeout total is the 10th-most for a season in ASU history, and she has double-digit strikeouts in a game 10 times.

Hall Pass

Kelsey Hall opened the season in the starting lineup just 277 days after tearing her ACL. Having started all 52 games, Hall is batting .329 with a .945 OPS. She leads the team with 47 RBIs, posting 52 hits with six doubles and 10 home runs.

In her sixth season of collegiate softball, Hall ranks 28th among players with 159 RBIs and 30th with 364 total bases. She is also 33rd with 152 runs scored and 39th with 40 home runs.

Tanya Time

During the regular season, Tanya Windle led the team with 60 hits and a .373 batting average. She also had 13 doubles and three triples, ranking third in the Big 12 in doubles and seventh in hits. Windle has 17 multi-hit games and four games with three-plus hits.

Windle ranks 17th among active NCAA players with 12 triples in her career. Her .393 career batting average is 13th among active players with at least 475 career at-bats.

Freshman Gem Part 1

Tiare Ho-Ching is batting .354 with 56 hits and 24 RBIs. The freshman has one of the two 4-hit games by a Sun Devil this season while adding eight multi-RBI outings. Ho-Ching has a hit in 18 of the last 23 games, with six multi-hit games during the run.

Ho-Ching has settled in as the team’s leadoff hitter. ASU has gone 24-10 when she bats in the No. 1 spot in the lineup, and she reaches 45.5 percent of the time when leading off an inning.

Freshman Gem Part 2

Ashleigh Mejia leads the club with 13 home runs and is second with 44 RBIs. Seven of the freshman’s homers have tied the game or given ASU the lead. She has recorded a hit in 12  of the past 18 outings, with an RBI in 11 of the last 15.

Her 13 home runs are the second-most by a Freshman in the Big 12 this season and fifth-most by a freshman in ASU history. Mejia is batting .310 and is third in the Big 12 with nine home runs and second with 26 RBIs in conference games. 

Around the Horn

Samantha Swan has made 51 starts behind the plate. She is batting .303 with 43 hits and 12 doubles. Her four games with at least three hits are tied for the most on the team.

AJ Murphy capped the regular season with a .370 average and five home runs. She homered twice in the final four games and tallied seven multi-hit games.

Meika Lauppe has emerged as the No. 2 pitcher on the staff with a 9-7 record, three saves, and a 2.99 ERA. Her 77 strikeouts are second on the team, and she limits the opposition to a .283 batting average.

 

Philadelphia will be the center of the Penn State football universe Thursday night as collective Happy Valley United hosts the second “We Are… In Philly” event to boost the program’s name, image and likeness (NIL) efforts.

The event, which Happy Valley United announced Wednesday was sold out, is expected to host more than 400 guests at the Union League of Philadelphia in Center City. According to a news release, the “premier gathering” will benefit Penn State football’s NIL initiatives, along with the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation.

The headliners of the evening are expected to be Penn State coach James Franklin and former superstar running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards and won the Super Bowl in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Assistant coaches Jim Knowles, Terry Smith, Stan Drayton, Deion Barnes and Dan Connor are slated to attend.

Additionally, the group of lettermen at the event is expected to include Marcus Allen, Christian Hackenberg, Grant Haley, Jordan Hill and Adam Taliaferro.

You can read Lions247’s coverage of last year’s event here and view our photo gallery of the event here. Lions247 will provide more coverage of this year’s event later Thursday night and into Friday.

The evening is scheduled to begin with a VIP reception with Franklin and others at 6 p.m. before the main reception begins at 7 p.m. and lasts until 10 p.m. The main reception will feature performances and entertainment from Go Go Gadjet and DJ Jason Weiss.

There will also be a “special We Are presentation” with artist and sculptor Jon Cramer, along with an auction.

In addition to raising money for NIL funds, an event like Thursday’s — which was produced for the second straight year by Penn State alum Rachel Pritzker — can help foster some more connection between the football program and its fan base.

“I think an event like this makes it more tangible,” former Penn State linebacker Brandon Bell said at last year’s event. “Obviously, everything is ever-changing and not many people know exactly what it is. But events like this are a very straightforward event we put on for fans or whoever wants to attend.”

Penn State has made strides in the space since 2021 when state legislation made it legal for college athletes to profit off of their NIL. The investment that the program has been able to make has been clear in terms of player retention — with players such as quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and defensive lineman Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton forgoing the NFL to spend their senior seasons at Penn State — and in terms of additions, both on the recruiting trail and through the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Follow along with Lions247 for more coverage from the “We Are… In Philly” event.

Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Ray Thomas, who has served on the Kansas State football strength and conditioning staff for the past four seasons, has been promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning, head coach Chris Klieman announced Wednesday.
 
“We are pleased to elevate Ray to lead our strength and conditioning program,” Klieman said. “Our players and coaches have the utmost respect for him, and his style and leadership will fit in seamlessly with our program as we enter the summer training months and into the season.”
 
Thomas was a driving force this offseason in helping K-State football players collectively gain 700 pounds of muscle while maintaining top-end speed as 33 players were clocked at over 21 miles per hour, six were over 22 miles per hour and four – VJ Payne, Dylan Edwards, Donovan McIntosh and Avery Johnson – hit 23 miles per hour.
 
“I am blessed and thankful for the opportunity this new role presents,” Thomas said. “I look forward to helping continue to lead these young men with Coach Klieman’s vision in mind. It’s time to get to work and begin preparations for summer workouts and the 2025 season.”
 
Originally coming to Manhattan as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in 2021, Thomas was promoted to associate strength and conditioning coach prior to the 2023 season. Before his arrival at K-State, Thomas worked the 2018 season at Colorado State, 2019 at Arkansas and 2020 at South Florida.
 
Thomas earned his bachelor’s degree in health performance and physical education from Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, as he was a football player for the Grizzlies from 2006 to 2010. He then went through a two-year teaching program for Pikes Peak BOCES, which serves 14 school districts in the Pikes Peak area of Colorado before earning his master’s degree in coaching from West Virginia in 2019.
 
Thomas became a certified strength and conditioning specialist in May 2018 and earned his USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coaching Certification three months prior. A native of Woodland Park, Colorado, Thomas and his wife, Arianne, have identical twin boys, Tre and Rowan, and a daughter, Maylee.
 
Coming off its third-straight season with at least nine victories – which included a 9-4 campaign in 2024 that was capped off with a win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl – Kansas State opens the 2025 season by taking on Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, August 23, at Avivia Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

 

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Chattanooga softball team opens play in the 2025 Southern Conference Tournament Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Fifth-seeded Mercer beat No. 8 Furman in the first game of the tournament and went on to take down fourth-seed and host Wofford in the afternoon matchup.
 
Links for streaming video on ESPN+ and live stats can be found online at GoMocs.com on the softball schedule page. Updates throughout the game can be found on X and Instagram.
 
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
GAME DAY INFORMATION
No. 1 Mocs vs. No. 5 Mercer
Thursday, May 8
10:00 a.m.
Spartanburg, S.C. | Hope Field                                                            
Links for live stats and video streaming on ESPN+ can be found online at GoMocs.com.
 
MOCS vs. BEARS
Chattanooga and Mercer have met 62 times since the Mocs first season in 1994. UTC holds a narrow 32-30 lead in the series while the Bears hold a 19-11 record in Southern Conference action. In the SoCon Tournament the two programs are deadlocked at 3-3. UTC beat Mercer 10-1 in five innings last season in Greensboro, N.C.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
The two teams faced off earlier this season in Macon, Ga., with the Mocs winning the Saturday double header. However, Sunday’s meeting was washed out. UTC won the first game 2-1 and earned a 6-0 shutout in the second.
 
ABOUT CHATTANOOGA
Chattanooga finished the regular season at 39-13 overall and 15-5 in league play, beating ETSU in the final game to secure its 16^th SoCon title outright. UTC is hitting .299 with 122 extra base hits that include 71 doubles, 15 triples and 36 home runs with 219 RBI. Olivia Lipari, named the 2025 SoCon Player of the Year, leads UTC with a .375 batting average. She ranks 28^th in the NCAA for doubles with 16 and second in the conference. She is third in the SoCon with a .701 slugging percentage and second for walks per game. Camryn Cernuto is second on the team at the plate with a .338 batting average, a team-best 15 sacrifice hits, four triples (along with Zoe Wright) and 17 steals in 18 tries.
 
Peja Goold, two-time SoCon Pitcher of the Year including 2025, leads the SoCon with a 1.50 ERA, 11^th in the NCAA and is third in the nation with eight shutouts on the year while her 23 victories ranks fifth in the NCAA.
 
ABOUT MERCER
The Bears are 33-23 overall and finished fifth in the SoCon standings with a league mark of 11-9. They are on a seven-game win streak that includes victories over Furman (11-7) and Wofford (5-2) Wednesday on the opening day of the SoCon Tournament. Mercer is hitting .278 as a team led by Tori Hedgecock with a .362 batting average. She has 14 home runs and 10 doubles with 57 RBI. The Bears pitching staff has an ERA of 3.34 led by Gabby Ellis at 2.51. She is 9-5 on the year with two shutouts, six complete games and 56 strikeouts.
 

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban met with President Donald Trump last week about NIL, and Trump has now set his plan in motion to remedy the growing problem of NIL in college football.

According to On3 Sports, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban is expected to be named co-chair of the Presidential Commission studying college sports.

What does that mean?

President Donald Trump, after meeting with Nick Saban and Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, plans to form a commission focused on collegiate sports. The Athletic reported Trump will be “very engaged” because of the national importance he sees in collegiate athletics.

Trump is also considering an executive order creating more scrutiny around NIL deals.

According to the report, the commission on college sports is expected to “deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports, including the frequency of college sports, including the frequency of player movement.”

Trump’s plan to consider an executive order and form a commission came with the House v. NCAA settlement, which is still ongoing.

Attorney Steve Berman called out Nick Saban and President Trump’s discussions as the settlement seeks approval. Legal executives say an executive order could create more problems than it could solve, and Berman called for conversations to end while both sides work toward final approval.

“While he was a coach, [Nick] Saban initially opposed NIL payments to athletes, pushing to add restrictions and red tape through national legislation to add ‘some sort of control,’” Berman said in a statement. “During his time scrutinizing the athlete pay structure, he made tens of millions of dollars and was previously the highest-paid coach in college football.

“Coach Saban and Trump’s eleventh-hour talks of executive orders and other meddling are just more unneeded self-involvement. College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefitting massively from NIL deals. They don’t need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions.”

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men’s basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.

By MAURA CAREY

The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement awaiting final approval from a federal judge is touted as a solution for thousands of athletes to finally get the money they deserve and provide some clarity to recruiting. For some, it’s too late.