Sports

White Sox Release Oscar Colas

Published

7 months ago

May 25, 2025

The White Sox have released outfielder Oscar Colas, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate Charlotte Knights. Colas was previously outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster back in March, so the move has no impact on Chicago’s major league roster.

It’s an unfortunate end to Colas’s time in the organization. The 26-year-old was a fairly high-profile player in Cuba and Japan before he came over to affiliated ball by signing with Chicago for a $2.7MM bonus in early 2022. He crushed minor league pitching that year and put himself on the map as a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport headed into the 2023 season. He broke camp with the team after a strong spring training, but ultimately struggled badly across 75 games with the White Sox that year. He hit just .216/.257/.314 in 263 trips to the plate, with an elevated 27.0% strikeout rate against a lackluster 4.6% walk rate.

Those numbers weren’t enough for the White Sox to continue riding with Colas even amid a disastrous 101-loss season, and he was shipped back to the minors. Once back in Triple-A, Colas regained his hitting prowess somewhat and slashed .272/.345/.465 with the Knights in 54 games down the stretch. As the White Sox dove headfirst into a rebuilding phase in 2024, many expected that Colas would receive another opportunity to come up and try to establish himself in the majors with the club. That never came to pass, however, as reps in right field were instead primarily split between Dominic Fletcher, Gavin Sheets, and Tommy Pham.

Relegated to Triple-A for almost the entirety of 2024, Colas hit .273/.368/.273 with a 26.3% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk rate in the 13 games he did play in the majors last year but recorded no extra-base hits in the majors and saw his performance in the minors take a noticeable step back as he slashed just .246/.332/.400 across 400 trips to the plate. Colas did not factor into the club’s plans for the outfield this year either, as team brass added players like Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater to the mix rather than give Colas another opportunity. This year, he posted a brutal .163/.245/.255 slash line across the Double- and Triple-A levels in 29 games (110 plate appearances) before the White Sox decided it was time to pull the plug.

Now that the White Sox and Colas have parted ways, the outfielder is free to sign with any of the league’s 29 other teams. The outfielder won’t turn 27 until September and is not terribly far removed from sensational numbers in the upper minors, so it wouldn’t be a shock if an outfield needy club gave him a call to serve as a depth option or injury replacement. Another possible option would be to explore the possibility of playing overseas, building on his stint with NPB’s Fukuoka Softbank Hawks during the 2019 season. If Colas is unable to find an attractive stateside opportunity, he’s certainly young enough to find success overseas before attempting to make an MLB comeback as a handful of other players have done over the years.

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Clunis Named Kwik Star Summit League Men’s Track Peak Performer

Published

11 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Following a 60-meter run equalled by nobody on the national scene, Stephen Clunis walks away from the opening week of indoor track season with some hardware, taking home the Kwik Star Summit League Men’s Track Peak Performer of the Week award. The senior sprinter showed off the burners last Saturday, darting a NCAA-leading 6.61 second time in the 60-meter dash at the Crimson & Gold Invitational.

Clunis’ 6.61 time was a historic one for Kansas City in a multitude of ways. Most notably, it marks the first time a KC athlete, male or female, has ever held the nation’s top time in any event in program history. Secondly, the time went down in the record books as a new Kansas City men’s indoor 60m record, breaking the old program-best he set at 6.65 seconds last indoor season. The Kingston, Jamaica native leads the country by a hair, running 0.01 seconds faster than Darien Lawrence from Florida A&M. Clunis also leads the Summit League by over a tenth of a second and is the only sprinter in the conference to crack the sub-6.7 mark in the 60m.

For Clunis, it’s his first weekly conference award of the season and his third of his career. Clunis first broke out for the Roos at the season opening meet of the 2024-25 indoor campaign, running a then program-record 6.66 second time at the Bob Timmons Challenge and taking home his first Summit Peak Performer honor of his career. The senior broke this mark at the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas, coming in with a 6.65 second time to reset the program record at the time and earn his second and final weekly honor of the 2024-25 indoor season.

Clunis will run at the Iowa State Holiday Invitational this weekend, hoping to potentailly be the first men’s runner in the country to break the sub-6.6 mark in the 60-meter dash this season. Kansas City will run at Iowa State and Nebraska, also competing in the Husker Holiday Invitational this weekend.

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2025 AVCA Women’s Div. I Region Awards

Published

12 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The AVCA is proud to announce its 2025 Division I Women’s Volleyball All-Region teams and award winners.

There are 14 first-team All-Region members and an additional group of honorable mention selections for each of the 10 regions. A Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year were selected for every region.

The 213 student-athletes who made All-Region represent 109 different schools. Nebraska leads the way with seven All-Region selections, followed by Pittsburgh and Stanford with six apiece. Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Minnesota, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin all have five All-Region first-team or honorable mention selections.

CENTRAL REGION

Player of the Year: Shaylee Myers, Kansas State University, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Jovanna Zelenovic, University of Kansas, RS
Coach of the Year: Bobbi Petersen, University of Northern Iowa

EAST COAST REGION

Player of the Year: Olivia Babcock, University of Pittsburgh, RS, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Reagan Ennist, University of Virginia, OH
Coach of the Year: Dan Fisher, University of Pittsburgh

MIDWEST REGION

Player of the Year: Kenna Wollard, Purdue University, OH, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Teodora Kričković, Indiana University, S
Coach of the Year: Dave Shondell, Purdue University

NORTH REGION

Player of the Year: Mimi Colyer, University of Wisconsin, Sr., OH
Freshman of the Year: Ava Poinsett, Yale University, OH
Coach of the Year: Kelly Sheffield, University of Wisconsin

NORTHWEST REGION

Player of the Year:Julia Hanson, University of Minnesota, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Alanah Clemente, University of Oregon, RS
Coach of the Year: Keegan Cook, University of Minnesota

PACIFIC REGION

Player of the Year: Elia Rubin, Stanford University, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Logan Parks, Stanford University, S
Coach of the Year: Kevin Hambly, Stanford University

SOUTH REGION

Player of the Year: Eva Hudson, University of Kentucky, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Kassie O’Brien, University of Kentucky, S
Coach of the Year: Craig Skinner, University of Kentucky

SOUTHEAST REGION

Player of the Year: Flormarie Heredia Colon, University of Miami, OH, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Lily Hayes, University of Florida, L
Coach of the Year: Heather Gearhart, Winthrop University

SOUTHWEST REGION

Player of the Year: Torrey Stafford, University of Texas, OH, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Cari Spears, University of Texas, RS
Coach of the Year: Sam Erger, Southern Methodist University

WEST REGION

Player of the Year: Bergen Reilly, University of Nebraska, S, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Suli Davis, Brigham Young University, OH
Coach of the Year: Dani Busboom Kelly, University of Nebraska

2025 AVCA DIVISION I REGION COACHES OF THE YEAR

The following coaches have been selected as this year’s AVCA Region Coaches of the Year. Each of the honorees can be considered for the AVCA National Coach of the Year, and the awards will be presented at the Coaches Honors Luncheon in Kansas City on Dec. 18, at the 2025 AVCA Convention.

CENTRAL REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Bobbi Petersen, University of Northern Iowa
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-6
Petersen was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year for a conference-record, fourth-straight season. She helped UNI win 20 or more matches for the 22nd time in her 26-year career, and the squad gave her a 13th MVC regular-season championship and a third-consecutive undefeated conference season.

EAST COAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dan Fisher, University of Pittsburgh
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 28-4
Pittsburgh has been a force again this season under Fisher, who is in his 13th season on the sidelines for the Panthers. Fisher guided his 2025 squad to the school’s fourth-straight ACC title, and they are 28-4 heading into the regional round of this year’s NCAA Championship. He picked up his 400th win as a head collegiate coach in early September.

MIDWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dave Shondell, Purdue University
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-6
The 24-year coaching veteran is enjoying another very successful season. In addition to notching career coaching win No. 500, he weathered losing a number of key transfers and kept Purdue playing at an elite level in 2025. Among his squad’s many accomplishments, they have recorded nine wins over ranked teams so far this season.

NORTH REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Kelly Sheffield, University of Wisconsin
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-4
Another year, another stellar season for Sheffield and the Badgers. The veteran coach’s team is finding its stride at the right time, as they rolled through the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA Championship with a pair of sweeps and head into this week’s regional on an 11-match win streak. Early this season, he earned his 600th career coaching victory.

NORTHWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Keegan Cook, University of Minnesota
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 24-9
Cook has done a lot of impressive things in his career, but the fact that his team is in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Championship is remarkable. His Gophers, who began the season ranked 12th, lost four starters to season-ending injuries early in the year. The team persevered, stayed in the poll all season, and got sixth in the Big Ten.

PACIFIC REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Kevin Hambly, Stanford University
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 29-4
Despite losing a number of key players from last season, Hambly and the Cardinal have enjoyed a very successful campaign so far in 2025. His ninth season at Stanford included an Atlantic Coast Conference title and another NCAA Championship Sweet Sixteen appearance. Late this season, he earned his 400th career coaching victory.

SOUTH REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Craig Skinner, University of Kentucky
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 27-2
Skinner more than earned his second-consecutive Region Coach of the Year award, as his team has taken no prisoners in 2025. They enter the Sweet 16 on a 24-match winning streak and ran the table in the Southeastern Conference, earning both the regular-season title—the school’s ninth in a row—and SEC Tournament championship.

SOUTHEAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Heather Gearhart, Winthrop University
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 18-7
Gearhart made her third season as the head coach at Winthrop a memorable one. She helped the Eagles take home the 2025 Big South Conference regular-season title, after they went 12-2 in league play and closed the regular-season with a 10-match winning streak. The team had five players on the 2025 All-Big South teams.

SOUTHWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Sam Erger, Southern Methodist University
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 27-5
Erger and the Mustangs have solidified their place in the upper echelon of Division I volleyball in 2025. The fourth-year SMU coach has her team is in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history. In the NCAA Championship second-round sweep of Florida over the weekend, she picked up her 100th career win at SMU.

WEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dani Busboom Kelly, University of Nebraska
2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 32-0
Replacing a legend is never easy, but Busboom Kelly has proven that she’s up to the challenge in her first year as head coach at Nebraska. Her 2025 team has made history with a 30-0 regular-season record and 20-0 mark in Big Ten play. How dominant have the Huskers been? They enter the Sweet 16 having dropped only seven sets this season.

Check out the Division I Awards Archives, which include the All-Region Teams and Award Winners history.

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Johansson, Wicker Named to Big Ten Preseason Watch List – University of Nebraska

Published

27 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Two-time Nebraska National Champion Axelina Johansson and All-American Dyson Wicker were honored by the Big Ten on Tuesday, Dec. 9, as preseason athletes to watch entering the 2025-26 indoor track and field season.

Six-time All-American Johansson owns the shot put school record and looks to continue her impressive Husker career. The senior from Hok, Sweden, earned gold at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, throwing 19.28m (63-3 ¼) to earn her fifth First-Team All-America honor. Last season, she also earned her third-straight Big Ten title with a mark of 19.31m (63-4 ¼) at the indoor championships.

Sophomore Wicker, a Second-Team All-American from Heath, Texas, is the reigning runner up at the Big Ten Indoor Championships clearing 5.45m (17-10 ½). He owns the No. 3 pole vault mark in school history and was a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

The Nebraska track and field team opens its season at the Husker Holiday Open on Friday, Dec. 12 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track. Events begin at 10 a.m. (CT), and admission will be free for all home competitions.

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Monroe dad files complaint with feds over daughter’s trans competitor

Published

28 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Updated Dec. 9, 2025, 2:58 p.m. ET

The father of a Monroe High varsity volleyball player has filed a Title IX complaint against the district, charging that his daughter and others on her team were denied a chance to compete fair and square against another team because the other team had a transgender girl on its roster. He also said girls on his daughter’s team were forced to use the same locker room as the transgender player.

Sean Lechner, whose complaint was also directed at the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the state education department and the U.S. Department of Education, said the girls on his daughter’s team were not informed ahead of their September match against Ann Arbor Skyline High that one of their opponents was a transgender girl.

Lechner’s daughter, Briley Lechner, a sophomore on the Monroe varsity volleyball team, said the incident “was definitely very devastating for all of us girls. … This person disguised themselves to look female. So when we found out after, weeks after, that there was another male in the same locker room as us as we were changing and also playing with us, it caught everyone off guard.”

Briley Lechner said she did not see the transgender student in question in the locker room.

Sean Lechner and others, including Republican state legislators and candidates for office, who spoke at a Dec. 8 press conference in Monroe called for a ban on allowing transgender girls to participate in girls sports, saying they have an unfair advantage against cis-gender girls, or girls whose gender identity aligns with the gender they were assigned at birth.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association issues waivers for transgender girls on a case-by-case basis. Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA spokesman, said the organization, which governs high school sports in Michigan, issued a waiver for a fall 2025 transgender athlete.

Citing privacy rules, he would not identify the athlete’s team or the sport she played.

Kimmerly said schools are not required to inform opponents they have a transgender athlete on their team. Providing such information by a school or the MHSAA would be a violation of privacy rules.

In a prepared statement, Kimmerly said: “The MHSAA has communicated with members of the state legislature about this issue, as the legal landscape in this area – under both federal and state law – remains unsettled, and state and federal guidance have evolved in recent years often in competing ways.

“From our conversations with legislators, we know elected leaders from both parties recognize that the current issues surrounding eligibility and participation of transgender students remain subject to ongoing legal debate. The MHSAA has consistently emphasized that it must follow the law, and when conflicts in law arise, the MHSAA must rely upon the legislature or the courts to provide clarity.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments on a case involving athletics and transgender participation for Jan. 13, 2026, and we hope that decision provides clearer guidance for our membership moving forward. We additionally await any changes from Michigan’s legislature on this issue.”

Said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, a LGBTQ+ advocacy organization: “Title IX was written to protect students from discrimination and so that all girls can play sports. The law was never intended to force schools to disclose private information about children.

“Parents may have questions, but that doesn’t mean they can pressure schools to confirm or deny whether a student is transgender. Trans students have been participating in team sports for decades in Michigan, learning the same things all students learn about teamwork, dedication, and hard work.”

Lechner’s supporters said President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender girls from participating in girls sports is the law of the land and that the MHSAA is hiding behind Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

Contact Georgea Kovanis: gkovanis@freepress.com

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Women’s Track & Field: Ariella Rogahn-Press Chosen MIAC Track Athlete of the Week

Published

44 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Ariella Rogahn Press 25 — **Rogahn-Press**

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Sophomore Ariella Rogahn-Press (Albuquerque, N.M./Bosque School) was named the MIAC Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week for the week ending Dec. 7, the conference announced today. Rogahn-Press won the 400 meters at the University of Minnesota’s M City Indoor Classic on Dec. 5 in her first competition of the new season.

Rogahn-Press, who was an All-American in the 400 both indoors and outdoors last year, won the 400 on Friday by over five seconds with a time of 57.43. The converted time currently ranks third in Division III. At this same meet a year ago, she broke the school record in the 400 with a time of 57.34 in her first collegiate competition.

This is the sixth MIAC Athlete of the Week award for Rogahn-Press, who earned the award three times during the indoor season and twice during the outdoor season last year. The MIAC Rookie of the Year both indoors and outdoors, she was sixth at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships and fourth at outdoor nationals in the 400 meters to garner All-American honors.

Macalester resumes competition in January by hosting the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic on Jan. 24 in the Leonard Center Fieldhouse.

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Georgia State Beach Volleyball Announces Spring 2026 Schedule

Published

45 minutes ago

December 9, 2025

Your Sports Nation

ATLANTA – Head coach Beth Van Fleet and the Georgia State Beach Volleyball team unveils its spring 2026 schedule, featuring a competitive slate of home events, marquee tournaments and postseason opportunities as the Panthers prepare for another championship-contending season.

The spring opens on Feb. 20–21 with a road competition at Florida State, where the Sandy Panthers will see matchups against Bakersfield, North Alabama, UAB and Florida State.
Georgia State then travels to the University of Arizona on Feb. 27-28, where they will face off against Arizona State, Oregon, Arizona and Grand Canyon.

March opens with a conference matchup at Coastal Carolina on March 6-7. The Sandy Panthers are set to face its first conference matchup against Coastal, as well as contests against Florida Atlantic, Cal Poly and Tulane.

After starting the first month on the road, the Georgia State Beach Volleyball team will return to Atlanta to host the annual Day of Duals on March 11. Head coach Beth Van Fleet and the Sandy Panthers will host Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech.

The team will enjoy a bye week on March 14-15 before traveling to Baton Rouge, La., to face off in the East Meets West tournament at LSU. The Panthers are slated for contests against Cal, Arizona State, Grand Canyon and Boise State.

The Sandy Panthers close out March hosting the Sun Belt Mid-Season tournament on March 27-28.

Georgia State stays at home to begin April, hosting the GSU Diggin’ Duals tournament on April 3-4. The Sandy Panthers will host a conference matchup against Mercer, along with contests against UAB, North Alabama and South Florida.

Following its last home tournament of the season, Georgia State hits the road once again for a one-day tournament at Chattanooga on April 11. The Sandy Panthers are slated for contests against Chattanooga, Eastern Kentucky, Berry and UT-Martin.

The Sandy Panthers close out the regular season at Stetson on April 17-18. In addition to a matchup against Stetson, Georgia State is also set to face South Carolina and conference opponent UNC-Wilmington.

The Panthers head to the Sun Belt Championship tournament on April 23-25 to battle for a change at the NCAA tournament on May 1-3.

All dates, times and opponents are subject to change. For the complete 2026 Georgia State beach volleyball schedule and updates throughout the season, fans are encouraged to follow the program’s official channels and visit GeorgiaStateSports.com.