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Women's Basketball to Host Cal in ACC/SEC Challenge

Story Links 2025-26 Season Tickets COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri women’s basketball will host Cal in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge contest as announced by ESPN on Thursday. The cross-conference matchup will be played at home in Mizzou Arena on Thursday, Dec. 4. The contest will be the first challenge game of the Kellie Harper […]

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Women's Basketball to Host Cal in ACC/SEC Challenge

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri women’s basketball will host Cal in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge contest as announced by ESPN on Thursday.

The cross-conference matchup will be played at home in Mizzou Arena on Thursday, Dec. 4.

The contest will be the first challenge game of the Kellie Harper era. Harper became the fifth coach in Mizzou program history this offseason. In 20 seasons as a Division I head coach, Harper has led her teams to a 393-260 record with nine NCAA Tournament berths. She has piloted her squads to 15 top-three league finishes and four conference tournament championships. In 2022-23, Harper led the Lady Volunteers to the NCAA Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season.

Grace Slaughter enters her junior season to headline the Tigers’ new-look roster. 2024-25 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ranked 18th in the SEC with 15.0 points a season ago while also contributing and 3.6 rebounds.

The reloaded roster will also feature seven impactful transfer additions, Chloe Sotell (Pepperdine), Jayla Smith (Purdue), Lisa Thompson (Rutgers), Sydney Mains (Florida Atlantic), Shannon Dowell (Illinois State), Jordana Reisma (Cleveland State) and Saniah Tyler (Kentucky).

The Golden Bears finished last season at 25-9 including a 12-6 mark in ACC play before falling to Mississippi State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The program is headlined by junior guard Lulu Twidale who averaged 13.2 points and 3.3 rebounds last year. Twidale recorded 95 triples which ranked second among all sophomores in the country.

The ACC/SEC Challenge will feature 16 games spanning December 3-4. The games will be televised across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network.

The women’s challenge finished the inaugural year with a 7-7 tie, but saw the SEC coming out on top in year two, 10-6.

Coverage details, including platform designations and commentator information, will be announced closer to the 2025-26 college basketball season.

SEASON TICKETS

Season tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now and start at just $65. Current season-ticket holders can renew their tickets by using their Mizzou Tigers ticket account.

FOLLOW THE TIGERS

For all the latest information on Mizzou Women’s Basketball, please visit MUTigers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Tigers on X, Instagram and Facebook.

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UCLA men’s volleyball represents Team USA among players and coaches

A new Olympic cycle brings new opportunities for the next generation of Bruins. Some of UCLA men’s volleyball players are capitalizing on just that as they compete for Team USA in the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League, which began on June 11 and will run until Aug. 3. The squad most recently completed its […]

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A new Olympic cycle brings new opportunities for the next generation of Bruins.

Some of UCLA men’s volleyball players are capitalizing on just that as they compete for Team USA in the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League, which began on June 11 and will run until Aug. 3. The squad most recently completed its first two weeks of preliminary competition, beginning in Rio de Janeiro, before moving to Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Representing Westwood are graduates outside hitter Cooper Robinson, middle blocker Merrick McHenry, outside hitter Ethan Champlin and setter Micah Ma’a, alongside rising senior setter and reserve Andrew Rowan.

Ma’a is the only Bruin of the five competing who also appeared in the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the United States captured a bronze medal.

“This is a really exciting year for all of the teams because it’s the start of a new Olympic cycle,” said coach Karch Kiraly. “You have a blend of wonderful, elite performances, skills and experiences.”

L: (Edward Ho/Daily Bruin) R: (Michael Gallagher/Assistant Photo editor)
Former outside hitter Cooper Robinson (left) points his finger during a match at Pauley Pavilion. Rising senior setter Andrew Rowan (right) prepares to set the ball. L: (Edward Ho/Daily Bruin) R: (Michael Gallagher/Assistant Photo editor)

Kiraly competed for UCLA from 1979 to 1982, winning three national championships. After earning two Olympic gold medals as a player in 1984 and 1988, he served as the U.S. Women’s National Team coach from 2012 to 2024, before switching to the men’s squad last October.

The Santa Barbara, California, local led the 2021 Olympic women’s team to a gold medal and followed it with a silver medal placement in 2024.

“I’m extremely honored and privileged to work with this group … who’ve been doing it at such a high level for such a long time,” Kiraly said. “It’s also been a privilege to see the elite skills and sophistication with which the men play volleyball, and it’s an honor to be a part of that.”

The American squad split its first four games, securing victories over Iran and Cuba but losing to Ukraine and Slovenia, falling to the former in sweeping fashion.

Robinson delivered double-digit kills in three of the games across this opening stretch. The Pacific Palisades local currently leads the U.S. in total kills with a .463 hitting percentage.

Defensively, McHenry is currently tied for 10th in total blocks across the entire competition. He recorded seven denials in the USA-Iran match, which represented half of his total blocks so far in the tournament.

Team USA’s current 4-4 record may be attributed to the squad’s inexperience – a handful of players made their debut on the international stage – and it is currently ranked 13th in a pool of 18.

“We’re a young team with a lot of new guys,” said former Stanford libero and team captain Erik Shoji. “Day one, I literally met 10 or 15 guys out there, which is pretty unique for us. It’s just about a lot of communication, trying to gel on the court together and see how we can play. We don’t know each other very well, but the important thing is that we’re learning about each other on the court.”

The American team boasted another 2-2 campaign across its second week, defeating Canada and China while also being swept by Italy and Poland.

Champlin saw minimal playing time compared to Robinson across the first tournament’s first week. However, the three-time First Team All-American got involved against China, registering 10 kills.

Meanwhile, Robinson continued his string of strong performances with two additional double-digit kill outings.

“With a lot of young players, they need to experience what this level is like and what this environment can be like,” said former Stanford libero Kyle Dagostino. “That’s the beautiful part of this game. You come into some unfriendly environments, and you learn quickly how to survive. Even though we have some young players, I wouldn’t say that they’re inexperienced, and they’re very eager for this challenge to play around the world and to play against different styles of volleyball.”

(Daily Bruin file photo)
Former setter Micah Ma’a jumps to serve the ball. (Daily Bruin file photo)

While Ma’a and Rowan, who sit behind former Ball State setter Quinn Isaacson on the depth chart, saw limited court time, Robinson’s immediate pin-hitting impact indicates the potential for developing Team USA’s next generation.

Although Kiraly makes his debut helming a men’s squad with a bottom-half record, his experience in global play may warrant confidence in a budding American squad.

“The moment rarely got too big for our guys and even for the people who had never played on that stage before,” Kiraly said. “As the week went on, even though there were plenty of ugly plays and plays that need to be better, we competed hard throughout.”

Team USA will continue preliminary play against Turkey on July 16 in Chiba, Japan.



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Girls track relay teams compete at nationals

Members of the Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) varsity girls track and field team competed in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, in June. It was the first time since 2007 that EPHS had athletes qualify for the event. The girls 4×200-meter relay team placed eighth and earned first-team All-America honors, while the 4×100-meter relay team […]

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Members of the Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) varsity girls track and field team competed in the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, in June. It was the first time since 2007 that EPHS had athletes qualify for the event.

The girls 4×200-meter relay team placed eighth and earned first-team All-America honors, while the 4×100-meter relay team finished 19th.

4 young women in orange T-shirts with yellow ribbons around their necks
The 4×200-meter relay team earned first-team All-America honors. Members, from left: Audrina Vanier, Emma Nguyen, Vanessa Jordan and Finley Lane. Photo courtesy of Vanessa Jordan

Members of the 4×200-meter relay team are Vanessa Jordan, Finley Lane, Emma Nguyen and Audrina Vanier.

Team members who ran the 4×100-meter relay are Amelia Black, Vanessa Jordan, Libby Schwab and Audrina Vanier.

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Paul Selman is the head coach of the EPHS girls track and field team.

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Can USF’s all-sports excellence survive the era of salary caps and cash‑chasing?

USF rightly celebrated its accomplishment of finishing first among American Athletic Conference teams in the 2024–25 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings. The Cup identifies the most successful collegiate athletics programs in the country based on NCAA postseason performance across all sports. Note those last two words: “all sports.” Now, think about the new financial reality that […]

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USF rightly celebrated its accomplishment of finishing first among American Athletic Conference teams in the 2024–25 Learfield Directors’ Cup standings.

The Cup identifies the most successful collegiate athletics programs in the country based on NCAA postseason performance across all sports.

Note those last two words: “all sports.”

Now, think about the new financial reality that athletic departments across the country face. While they could they start directly pay their athletes on July 1, they basically face a $20.5 million salary cap.

NIL deals are subject to NCAA approval to ensure programs stay within the financial parameters.

During Michael Kelly’s time as USF’s Vice President for Athletics, one of his most significant accomplishments was providing the school’s 21 athletic teams the resources they needed to succeed.

We saw how that paid off in the 2024-25 athletic calendar.

The Bulls won American Athletic Conference championships in volleyball, women’s basketball, softball, and men’s indoor and outdoor track and field.

Going forward, though, whoever USF’s new athletic director turns out to be could find overall excellence like that challenging to achieve.

USF has about 500 student-athletes. Nearly one-fifth of those are football players. How will all that be divided?

Will each head coach receive a set amount of money that he or she can divide among their players?

The Bulls have an outstanding track and field program, but can USF afford to allocate the necessary funds to remain nationally competitive in the salary cap world if that possibly costs them a four-star football player?

Do sports like golf and tennis become collateral damage?

Will top athletes in all sports be strictly interested in a cash grab from the highest bidder, or will relationships with their coaches and teammates matter more?

Looking strictly at the rulebook, USF is equal to Power 4 programs in the amount of money the Bulls can spend. But even though the NCAA vows to enforce the rules, there are possibilities for abuse.

Does a major booster offer Daddy or Mommy a high-paying new work-at-home job as a back-channel way around the cap?

If they did, how would we know?

Another “what if” possibility: The power conferences tell the NCAA to take a flying leap and form their alliance, spending whatever they want to spend. Does the NCAA, essentially toothless now, still believe it can tell the SEC and Big Ten what to do?

I have said before and will repeat here: For decades, the NCAA had a monopoly on college athletics. Top executives earned handsome salaries primarily from the labor of 18- to 22-year-olds, who were locked into the sham of amateurism.

When the winds of change began to blow and antitrust action loomed, the NCAA fought it tooth and nail to avoid losing its indentured labor source..

Yes, those players received college educations – that’s a significant benefit. But even then, athletes in the so-called “minor sports” – translation, those sports don’t generate revenue – usually received a pittance, if that much.

I’m for all of the athletes receiving what they can.

However, I would also recommend that the person chosen to succeed Michael Kelly stock up on remedies for the headaches that are sure to come.





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TCA alum Anna Willis shines in freshman year at University of South Dakota

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Anna Willis, a 2024 graduate of The Classical Academy, has completed an exceptional freshman year of pole vaulting for the University of South Dakota. The class-3A record holder finished fourth place at the NCAA Division One Track and Field Championships and won the USA Track and Field Under-20 Championship just […]

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Anna Willis, a 2024 graduate of The Classical Academy, has completed an exceptional freshman year of pole vaulting for the University of South Dakota.

The class-3A record holder finished fourth place at the NCAA Division One Track and Field Championships and won the USA Track and Field Under-20 Championship just a week later.

“I wasn’t expecting anything crazy just because you never know when things are going to be taken away from you so it’s really important to value what you do have. It was just an honor to be able to make it to that meet my first year,” Willis said.

Anna, like many freshmen, struggled with the transition from high school into college. Being away from home for the first time began to weigh on her, but she turned that into something positive.

“Being away from home really allowed me to grow and learn my independence. It finally allowed me to have some accountability, knowing that no one is going to do the work for me and I have to do it myself.”

Fighting through adversity is a strong suit for Anna. Her father, Steve, says he believes that when she goes through adversity, she comes out on the other side stronger and more motivated than before.

While in high school, Anna went through a wrist surgery which caused her to put vaulting on hold for a bit.

Steve says they went to five different doctors to get their opinions on her wrist, and at one point they thought she would not vault again.

Through that entire process, Anna kept her head held high and told herself to remain patient with herself and with God’s plan, knowing it would all work out in the end.

“Dealing with a lot of adversity in high school helped me to have a really positive mindset throughout college. Always having that positive outlook on things and never doubting anything,” said Anna. “Just saying I know I can do this even if it’s not realistic. Just having that mindset will help.”

After having an All-American freshman year and winning the U20 pole vaulting championship, Anna has her eyes set on a new goal. She says she is aiming to vault over 15 feet.

She had already cleared 14 feet and 10 inches when she took second place at the Summit League Outdoor T&F Championships.

Something else that sits in the back of her mind is going to trials for the 2028 Olympic Games.
_____

Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.





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Check out all The Star’s All-County honorees for the spring season

The Star has finished unveiling its All-County teams for the 2025 high school spring season. There were 11 teams overall, with features on the top performer in each sport, and more than 170 first-team selections and 200 second-team choices. The teams were sponsored by Ventura Orthopedics. You can check out all the selections below (second-team […]

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The Star has finished unveiling its All-County teams for the 2025 high school spring season.

There were 11 teams overall, with features on the top performer in each sport, and more than 170 first-team selections and 200 second-team choices. The teams were sponsored by Ventura Orthopedics.

You can check out all the selections below (second-team selections are at the end of the player of the year stories).

Boys track and field

See who The Star selected as the Boys Track Athlete of the Year.

Girls track and field

A Camarillo thrower earned the Girls Track Athlete of the Year honor.

Boys golf

A SoCal title and a trip to state helped this Buena player wrap up The Star’s top golf honor.

Boys volleyball

A Camarillo setter who set the program record in assists earned Boys Volleyball Player of the Year honors.

Boys swimming

A record-setting season in the pool clinched this Royal High swimmer the top boys honor.

Girls swimming

A CIF-SS title and a second-place finish at state helped this Newbury Park High swimmer earn the top girls award.

Baseball

The Star’s top baseball honor went to a Pacifica slugger who struck fear into the opposition.

Softball

Smashing the home run record for her school was just part of her impactful career for this Agoura superstar.

Boys tennis

The top boys tennis player won a Marmonte League individual title while leading his team to a league championship.

Boys lacrosse

The pick for the best boys lacrosse player came from a school that has been dominant in the county.

Girls lacrosse

The county leader in goals, assists and points earned the top girls lacrosse honor.



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MLB's All

Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeout leader is being honored with a unique minor league bobblehead on Saturday. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, are giving away Nolan Ryan bobbleheads to the first 2,000 fans. Ryan never played for the Jumbo Shrimp, but he did play for the Jacksonville Suns, who […]

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MLB's All

Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeout leader is being honored with a unique minor league bobblehead on Saturday.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, are giving away Nolan Ryan bobbleheads to the first 2,000 fans. Ryan never played for the Jumbo Shrimp, but he did play for the Jacksonville Suns, who were in existence from 1962-1968, 1970-1984 and 1991-2016.

Ryan made all of three appearances in Jacksonville during the 1967 season, going 1-0 in seven innings.

One of the most successful pitchers in baseball history, Ryan pitched in 27 major league seasons with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and California Angels. He won 324 career games against 292 losses, and had a lifetime 3.19 ERA. Incredibly durable, he made 773 starts, including 16 seasons of 30 or more. He threw an MLB-record seven no-hitters and led baseball in strikeouts in seven different seasons. An eight-time All-Star, Ryan also won two ERA titles and captured a World Series in 1969 with the Mets. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

He’s also served as an executive for both the Astros and the Rangers.

As for the Marlins, the parent club of the Jumbo Shrimp, they are 39-47 on the season. They’ll take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. ET. Cal Quantrill (MIA) pitches against Chad Patrick.

Quantrill has gone 3-7 with a 5.42 ERA this year while Patrick is 3-7 with a 3.51. THe Brewers are 49-39.

GETTING ROWDY: Rowdy Tellez, who hit 11 home runs for the Mariners this season, has signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. CLICK HERE:

TOUGH INJURY SCARE: Luis Pena, who is one of the top prospects in baseball, is healthy after a scary hit by pitch. CLICK HERE:

HEADED to WBC: Marcelo Mayer, who is one of the top prospects in the sport, is set to play for Mexico in the next World Baseball Classic. CLICK HERE:

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