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Where Will Sydney Berzon Go Next? LSU Star Pitcher Joins Transfer Portal

One of collegiate softball’s biggest pitching names has officially entered the transfer portal. Junior right hander Sydney Berzon is exiting LSU. While in the Tiger purple and gold, Berzon accumulated a 2.02 career ERA and notched 416 strikeouts in 486.1 innings. Berzon in 2023, was named the first NFCA All-American freshman pitcher since 2015 when […]

Published

1 month ago

May 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Where Will Sydney Berzon Go Next? LSU Star Pitcher Joins Transfer Portal

Berzon in 2023, was named the first NFCA All-American freshman pitcher since 2015 when Carly Hoover and Allie Walljasper were awarded the honors. Over her career at LSU she has been named to the 2024 All-SEC First Team, 2023 All-SEC Second Team, 2024 All-SEC Tournament Team, 2023 and 2024 NFCA All-Region First Team.

However, the larger question is where will the pitching ace end up next? There is no doubt Berzon will make her mark at another Power 4 institution and program, but which one? Here are some of the premiere programs that could be hunting Berzon.

Texas A&M

After being shocked and sent home early in regionals as the No. 1 overall seed, the Aggies could look to the portal to enhance their pitching rotation. Texas A&M sat squarely in the middle of the SEC in ERA this year as senior Emiley Kennedy harbored majority of the workload (157.2 innings). For Trisha Ford’s pitching staff no other pitcher threw more than 66 innings this year, thus, perhaps an arm with experience and power could elevate the Aggies next season.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia sits patiently awaiting SEC rival Florida in the Super Regionals that begin play on Friday. Despite the Bulldogs pitching staff being a senior heavy squad with Lilli Backes and Rachel Gibson, they do not have a pitcher with an ERA under a three and ranked 11th in the SEC in ERA. Perhaps Berzon’s ability to strikeout batters would assist the pitching rotation and take some pressure off a defense that sat second to last in the SEC.

Washington Huskies

Although Berzon is originally from the east coast, perhaps a cross country move to Washington is not out of the question. The Huskies recently fell and were booted out in their second consecutive regional. Although this does not seem dire to some, the Washington fan base is accustomed to a certain level of winning with the Huskies competing in the World Series 15 times, taking the runner-up spot in 1996, 1999, and 2018, and winning the title in 2009.

This year Washington finished the year in the Big 10 in the middle of the pack, but finished the regular season ranked third in staff ERA. However, Berzon could be a third arm added into the rotation that consistently has over 100 strikeouts a year, joining junior Sophia Ramuno (144) and freshman Morgan Reimer (125).

Washington players wait to greet Ava Carroll at home after a home run against Mississippi State in the Lubbock regional.

Washington players wait to greet Ava Carroll at home after a home run against Mississippi State during a game in the Lubbock Regional of the 2025 NCAA softball tournament, Friday, May 16, 2025, at Rocky Johnson Field. / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Programs That Love the Portal: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, & Texas Tech

Other potential programs that have had success in the portal are softball powerhouse Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech. Oklahoma won their fourth Women’s College World Series due to the pitching performance of Oklahoma State transfer Kelly Maxwell in 2024. This year the Sooners’ pitching staff is ranked fifth in the SEC. However, Oklahoma is known for taking in transfers and making them exceptional. Sam Landry who transferred from Louisiana-Lafayette is now the ace of their staff and was recently drafted No. 1 overall to Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Landry’s exit would leave a hole that needs to be filled and perhaps Berzon is the answer.

Oklahoma’s Sam Landry (21) pitches during a softball game in the Norman Regional of the NCAA Tournament between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Boston University Terriers at Love’s Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, May 16, 2025. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski is known for being a portal wizard. This year he picked up ace Ruby Meylan who left Washington. Meylan pitched majority of the innings this year for the Cowgirls (209) and could use another experienced arm to compliment her next season. Additionally, OSU was knocked out of regionals on Sunday in Fayetteville to Arkansas, perhaps Berzon is the addition Gajewski needs to make it back to a deep run in post season in 2026.

Although Texas Tech has National Player of the Year candidate NiJaree Canady, Gerry Glasco is another Power 4 coach known to hunt talent out of the portal. Canady leads the nation right now in ERA and the pitching staff ranks second in ERA in the country, but could another powerful presence on the mound assist the Red Raiders in 2026? Potentially, but I would not be surprised if the Red Raiders do not go after Berzon either; they currently have a young pitching staff outside of Canady and Chloe Riassetto.

Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady pitches against Mississippi State in the Lubbock Regional championship game of the 2025 NCAA softball tournament, Sunday, May 18, 2025, at Rocky Johnson Field. / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More News: Oklahoma State Softball Three-Year Starter Enters Transfer Portal

More News: NC State’s Leading Hitter Transfers to ACC Rival in Shocking Move

More News: Oregon’s Chambers’ Heroics in the Circle Led to First Super Regional Berth since 2023

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A screenshot from College Football 26 showing Dabo Swinney’s in-game model sparked strong reactions online.

A screenshot from College Football 26 showing Dabo Swinney’s in-game model sparked strong reactions online. originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is officially in a video game — but fans are wondering if EA Sports has ever actually seen him. Advertisement On Tuesday morning, EA Sports released a much-anticipated deep dive […]

Published

33 minutes ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

A screenshot from College Football 26 showing Dabo Swinney’s in-game model sparked strong reactions online. originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is officially in a video game — but fans are wondering if EA Sports has ever actually seen him.

On Tuesday morning, EA Sports released a much-anticipated deep dive into the Dynasty Mode of College Football 26, unveiling gameplay footage and new features ahead of the July 10 release. Among the biggest additions: real head coaches are now officially featured on the sidelines — a major upgrade from the generic placeholders used in previous versions.

But when the Clemson faithful caught their first glimpse of Swinney’s digital likeness, the reaction was… not kind.

The model, which appeared in a screen capture during the EA Sports YouTube reveal, drew near-instant criticism across social media. Fans pointed out that while coaches like Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman, and James Franklin bear a strong resemblance to their real-life counterparts, Swinney’s digital double looks like a random character generated from scratch.

“This isn’t Dabo. This is Dale from Clemson, who eats at the Esso every Sunday after church and thinks NIL is witchcraft,” one user joked on X.

Another fan added, “EA really looked at Dabo Swinney and said, ‘Let’s make him look like a divorced stepdad who sells pest control door-to-door.’”

Others compared the in-game Swinney to a mash-up of Jeff Daniels, Liam Neeson, Bob Odenkirk, and even former president George W. Bush — anything but the Clemson coach fans know so well.

Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney talks with media.© Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To be fair, the inclusion of actual head coaches — including assistants like Garrett Riley and Tom Allen for Clemson — is a welcome and long-awaited improvement. It adds authenticity and immersion to a franchise that had been dormant since 2013 due to NIL-related legal battles.

Still, many wondered how EA could get Swinney so wrong after reportedly receiving thousands of reference photos from Clemson. “If this is the worst part of the game, we’ll survive,” one fan admitted. “But seriously, they had one job.”

This isn’t the first time EA Sports has missed the mark with a Clemson figure. In last year’s College Football 25 trailer, a quick shot of the Tigers running down The Hill showed an unrecognizable version of offensive lineman Walker Parks.

Parks, listed at 6’5”, 310 pounds, looked closer to 375 in the game — fans joked he was “one biscuit away” from needing his own zip code. The clip went viral and sparked a wave of laughs and eye-rolls across social media.

Now, with Dabo’s look causing a new stir, it seems Clemson still can’t catch a break from EA’s character modeling team.

EA Sports has yet to respond to the criticism, but based on the flood of memes and commentary, the developers may want to consider a last-minute patch — or at the very least, a more accurate rendering in next year’s release.

Until then, fans will have to settle for watching “Not-Dabo” roam the sidelines, looking more ready to lecture on the dangers of TikTok at a Rotary Club than lead Clemson into Death Valley.

Related: FSU QB’s Trash Talk Gives Clemson Major Motivation for November Showdown

Related: Clemson Poised to Snatch 4-Star Safety From Jaws of Michigan, Miami

Related: Former MLB Umpire Who Ejected Clemson Star Strikes Again in CWS Controversy

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.

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Steve Sarkisian highlights what sets Texas apart in NIL recruiting battles

Texas Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian adamantly believes his program has the best product in the country. The Longhorns have certainly reached new heights under Sarkisian since he took the job in 2021. After a losing season in his first year, Texas has posted a 33-10 record with a Big 12 championship in 2023 and […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Texas Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian adamantly believes his program has the best product in the country.

The Longhorns have certainly reached new heights under Sarkisian since he took the job in 2021. After a losing season in his first year, Texas has posted a 33-10 record with a Big 12 championship in 2023 and back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances over the last two seasons.

Things have also improved significantly on the recruiting trail, as Texas is coming off the nation’s top class of the 2025 cycle after signing the No. 6 class and No. 3 class, respectively, over the previous two cycles.

Additionally, the Longhorns have produced the most NFL Draft picks (23) by any program over the last two years.

Sarkisian noted those accomplishments, along with making the 2024 SEC title game in the first season in the conference, when explaining why Texas is such an enticing spot for some of the top players in the country.

“All the while that’s occurring at a top five public institution in the United States,” Sarkisian said Tuesday on “3rd & Longhorn.” “All the while being part of an athletic department that’s won four of the five last athletic director’s cups.”

Longhorns football is backed by a large NIL war chest that is estimated to spend $22.2 million this year, the most in the country, per NCAA estimates. And Sarkisian believes there are additional opportunties for his players given Austin’s lack of professional sports teams.

“But all the while you’re doing it in the city of Austin, which, oh, by the way, is the largest city in the US with no pro sports,” Sarkisian said. “So, no NFL, no major league baseball, no NBA. So, who are getting those NIL deals?”

Sarkisian and Co. appear to be using that aspect to sign recruits and transfers to lesser deals than they might get elsewhere, something he believes has to happen to maintain depth and stay near the top of college football.

“Maybe we get a guy for a little bit less than another school’s offering,” he said. “Especially in this day and age, that’s got to happen … I (a recruit) want to look at more of the long-term money and Texas is going to provide me an opportunity to to create more opportunities whether it’s on the field, off the field, degree, NIL, brand building, player development, opportunity in the NFL.”

“We’ve got a lot of avenues to go come here and be really successful,” Sarkisian continued. So, there’s a lot to it. But like I said, I think we have the best product in the US. I don’t think there’s another school that can say that.”

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IU basketball recruiting target Sammy Jackson picks VCU – The Daily Hoosier

Darian DeVries suffered his first high school recruiting decision day loss this afternoon. 4-star wing Sammy Jackson surprised many Wednesday when he picked perennial mid-major power Virginia Commonwealth over Indiana and Texas, along with St. Joe’s. Jackson announced the decision at his high school. His father, long-time NBA player Marc Jackson, also started his college […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Darian DeVries suffered his first high school recruiting decision day loss this afternoon.

4-star wing Sammy Jackson surprised many Wednesday when he picked perennial mid-major power Virginia Commonwealth over Indiana and Texas, along with St. Joe’s.

Jackson announced the decision at his high school. His father, long-time NBA player Marc Jackson, also started his college career at VCU before transferring to Temple.

A Philadelphia product, Jackson chose to play at VCU for another product of his hometown. New VCU head coach Phil Martelli, Jr. played at St. Joe’s in Philadelphia.

Jackson took an official visit to IU earlier this month.

DeVries and the IU staff have several other wing players on their 2026 board, including Prince-Alexander Moody, who is on an official visit in Bloomington this week.

For more on where things stand with IU’s class of 2026 recruiting efforts, GO HERE:

IU basketball class of 2026 recruiting scorecard: Here’s where things stand in late June

For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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The importance of regaining the aura of Alabama Football

Published

3 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The aura has been lost, and in year two of the DeBoer era, it is more important than ever for some of that to return to the Alabama football program. With the NIL and transfer portal era, there is a lot more parity in college football, and because of that, we’ve seen Alabama be less dominant and opponents having more confidence than ever before that they can beat Alabama. We saw that in 2023 with how Quinn Ewers came into Bryant-Denny Stadium and dominated, and it was seen far too much last season.

This summer so far, we’ve seen Diego Pavia’s social media response to Ryan Williams, and the newest hot topic this week is what Thomas Castellanos had to say about the week one matchup. I get it, players should have confidence in their abilities and teams being able to beat Alabama, but it’s a different world when Vanderbilt legitimately feels like they are on the same level, or a team coming off a 2-10 season has any bulletin board material to give going into the season. The jury is still out on the Crimson Tide going into this season, and because of that, now more than ever, teams feel like it’s time to get their licks back.

Everything seems to still revolve around what Nick Saban did and what he still does to help the program. Though his presence is important and his run will always be held in high regard, it is important that in Kalen DeBoer’s second season that we start to see less of that focus on the past. The big question is, how do you do that? And the simple answer is to win games, and that starts with winning convincingly in Tallahassee, winning all three revenge games at home in 2025, and ending the season much stronger than 2024 with at least one playoff game. The path of transition is far from easy, but if Duke was able to transition from Coach K to John Scheyer without much, if any, drop off, there is no doubt the same can be done in Tuscaloosa.

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St. John’s Coach Rick Pitino On NIL, Transfer Portal: ‘Complaining is of No Value’

Rick Pitino took St. John’s from being a team that was nowhere to be found in the NCAA Tournament conversation to a No. 2 seed in just two seasons. How did Pitino get the Red Storm to rise to prominence so quickly? Living in the reality of NIL and the transfer portal, rather than fighting […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Rick Pitino took St. John’s from being a team that was nowhere to be found in the NCAA Tournament conversation to a No. 2 seed in just two seasons.

How did Pitino get the Red Storm to rise to prominence so quickly? Living in the reality of NIL and the transfer portal, rather than fighting it.

“I felt the change was here and quitting, resigning, complaining is of no value,” Pitino said about NIL on Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd.” “You have to win the day. You have to get the job done, and I just felt that ‘Okay, we’re going to use it to the best of our abilities at St. John’s.’

“So, we’re an urban school; we’re a computer school; we play in Madison Square Garden as our home court: How can we maximize our potential by embracing the NIL and the transfer portal? We went away from high school basketball players, although we have taken one or two to develop, but by and large we’ve gone after older players.”

Pitino also expressed that parents have never been more involved in the recruiting process than now.

On the basketball front, Pitino explained what his practices look like.

“We have player development sessions every morning, Monday through Friday, where we go three-to-four different sessions with four players, and we try to take players like a Donovan Mitchell, a Terry Rozier who maybe’s not ranked top-20 or 25 in high school, and they’ve got a little bit of a weakness. Donovan Mitchell had a weakness with the arc on his jump shot. Everybody’s got a weakness coming out that’s not top 10, so we try to take those player development sessions and make the players better,” Pitino said.

“Our practices, yes, are very difficult, but I will say this: They’re not long. We don’t go more than two hours, but we go hard for two hours. We’re up and down for two hours. If I make a comment or a correction, it’s going to be within 12 seconds, and then we’re moving on because conditioning is a gigantic part of our style of play.”

After going 20-13 in the 2023-24 season, Pitino and the Red Storm put together a 31-5 campaign highlighted by winning the Big East regular-season title with an 18-2 conference record, winning the Big East Tournament and claiming a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. While St. John’s was upset in the second round by No. 10 seed Arkansas, the 2024-25 season marked the first time in six years that the program had made the NCAA Tournament and the first time in 10 years that it had done so without having to play in the First Four round.

On the personal front, Pitino won the 2024-25 Naismith, AP and Big East Coach of the Year awards. St. John’s is Pitino’s sixth full-time men’s college basketball head-coaching gig, with the Hall of Famer previously coaching three seasons at Iona before leaving for Queens in March 2023.

St. John’s had a gargantuan transfer portal class this offseason, reeling in former five-star recruits and now sophomores Ian Jackson (previously of North Carolina) and Joson Sanon (previously of Arizona State), former Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, former Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell and former Stanford wing Oziyah Sellers, among others. 247Sports ranks St. John’s transfer class as the best in men’s college basketball.

While the Red Storm have minimal returning players, they have big man and 2024-25 All-Big East honoree Zuby Ejiofor back for his senior season. Next season, St. John’s will square off against SEC powerhouses Alabama and Kentucky, among other notable out-of-conference matchups.

Rick Pitino on the 2025 NBA Draft, Caitlin Clark’s Impact, Cooper Flagg

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NCAA allowing college basketball schedule to expand starting 2026-27 season

Gonzaga’s midseason showdown with Kentucky during the heat of the 2023-24 campaign was a rare instance of two college basketball heavyweights setting aside their conference obligations to deliver a thrilling nonleague matchup in the weeks leading up to the postseason. Up until that point, marquee nonconference games were mostly reserved for November and December, when […]

Published

3 hours ago

June 26, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Up until that point, marquee nonconference games were mostly reserved for November and December, when the college basketball calendar is at its most flexible. But in light of a recent proposal that, if approved, would extend the sport’s regular season by one game, more high-profile contests like the one between the Bulldogs and Wildcats in February 2024 could become more commonplace in the future.

According to a report from CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, the NCAA Division I Council will approve an increase from 31 to 32 games beginning with the 2026-27 season. Teams will be allowed to schedule up to one more game, barring any last-minute vetoes, but won’t be forced to play out a full 32-game schedule if they choose not to. Contests against non-Division I opponents will also count toward the total.

An expanded schedule would mean that teams that advance to the National Championship game could play up to 41 games during that season. No team has ever crossed the 40-game threshold to this point.

Per Norlander, the driving factor behind the push for 32 games is tied to multi-team events and their increasingly restrictive guidelines stemming from conference expansion, which has led to schools in the same league competing against each other in some events. That was previously not allowed but has since been changed through a waiver process. It’s also worth noting that lengthening the schedule will allow MTEs like the NIL-driven Players Era Festival to schedule three- or four-game tournaments.

Players Era is set for a second run this November with 20 participants, including Gonzaga, and is hoping to grow to 32 teams by 2026.

Of course, money is also at the forefront. In addition to freeing up more opportunities for lucrative neutral site contests, moving to 32 games will allow programs to host one more home game. With the House settlement ushering in revenue sharing for college athletes, teams will certainly be looking for more ways to create revenue.

The maximum games a team can play in a season was set at 31 in 2006-07. The format was 28 or 29 predetermined games with room for three-game or two-game multi-team events if applicable, making it a 31-game cap.

The switch to 32 games would align with Gonzaga’s move to the Pac-12 conference, which is to be made official on July 1, 2026. Only time will tell how the league arranges its conference schedule for men’s basketball, as the Pac-12’s current priorities are to find another football-playing school to join as a full-time member.