KEA‘AU — Hilo girls water polo opened up the state tournament as strong as ever.

KEA‘AU — Hilo girls water polo opened up the state tournament as strong as ever.

In Monday’s opening HHSAA round against Kahuku, the Vik Queens bounced back from their BIIF Championship loss with a 12-7 win over the Lady Red Raiders at Kamehameha-Hawaii’s campus. Hilo improved to an impressive 12-1 on the season, while Kahuku fell to 8-4.

It was a group effort in the Vik Queens’ scoring department, as Marsa Oishi and Lilinoe Tonelli led with three goals each. Teammates Stella Raye, Noelani Melini and Hiilawe Hubbard added two apiece for Hilo.

The Lady Red Raiders were led by Tiana Campana and Jaedon Harris with two goals apiece, while Eden Smith, Amberly Kaiahua-Fleming and Lilyana Newton each had one.

The Vik Queens will have their toughest test yet in their next matchup, set to take on first-seeded Punahou in Thursday’s quarterfinals at Kamehameha-Kapalama on Oahu. The match begins at 7:15 p.m.

Roosevelt 15, KSH 6

KSH girls water polo fell short in the opening round of Monday’s HHSAA playoff, falling to Roosevelt 15-6 on Oahu.

The Lady Warriors’ scorers were Oliliuwelaakawahine Wise with three goals, Kaopualani Puniwai-Ganoot with two and Lauren Kamauu with one.

Kimberly Cassens was on fire for the Lady Rough Riders with an impressive five goals. Teammates Jayzlyn Tomisa and Malia Lauret each had three goals, while Alida Lee and Joyce Wong both had one.

Roosevelt improved to 9-2 on the season, while KSH fell to 7-6. The Lady Rough Riders will be Baldwin in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon on Oahu.

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TRANSACTIONS

• In Triple-A with the St. Paul Saints, C Diego Cartaya was transferred to the development list, while OF Austin Martin was activated from the injured list and started in left field (more on that to come…).
• Down in the Florida State League IF Dameury Pena was activated from the injured list, and in a corresponding move the Mighty Mussels sent RHP Xavier Kolhosser back to the FCL Twins.

SAINTS SENTINEL
Buffalo 2, St. Paul 6
Box Score
In the words of Sean Aronson on the Saints broadcast, “Carson McCrusher” needs to be on a t-shirt. And probably trademarked. By somebody. Not me. Maybe. But somebody. We’ll see…

That’s because Carson McCusker finished this one 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs to give him nine on the season, ranking second in the International League. And my goodness, the first one was absolutely obliterated (make sure you turn the sound up):

The broadcast was adamant this ball cleared the roof of the Cuba Cabana out in right field. If you’ve been to CHS Field, you know that this party area is not particularly close to the field. Just to show how much power he has in his six-foot eight-inch tall frame, he went the opposite way for his second home run in the eighth inning.

But I digress, because we also need to talk about David Festa.

For the second game in a row the lanky right-hander cruised through his opposition. Last Tuesday he needed just 68 pitches to get through six innings, and punched out seven. In this one they didn’t quite let him finish six, but he again punched out seven and needed just 72 pitches, with 50 going for strikes (69%). In his 5 2/3 innings he gave up just three hits, and was removed from the game with two outs and a runner on second base. 

Travis Adams was brought on and promptly gave up an RBI single, leading to an earned run on Festa’s ledger and a no-decision in the scorebook. If it were me, I’d have let Festa at least finish that one batter one way or the other (and he wanted to), but it didn’t really end up making much of a difference thanks to McCusker.

Adams went on to complete 2 1/3 innings of his own, allowing no runs on three hits while striking out four. Jacob Bosiokovic finished out the ninth inning with the Saints up by five. He gave up one run on two hits and a pair of walks and struck out two.

Besides McCusker, Mickey Gasper finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and his third home run in five games with the Saints. Jeferson Morales added a double.

Austin Martin returned from the injured list and started this game in left field. He led off the game for the Saints with a single, and along with McCusker executed a double-steal for the game’s first run. However, Martin pulled up injured before reaching home and the only reason he did score is the throw got away from the catcher. He was removed for Anthony Prato to start the second inning.

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 4, NW Arkansas 5
Box Score
The Wind Surge took an early lead in this one as leadoff man Tanner Schobel started the game by reaching base on an error. Two outs later Rubel Cespedes drove him in with an RBI double for a 1-0.

Taking the bump for Wichita was Darren Bowen and he would get the first three innings. He delivered a one-two-three first inning including a strikeout, but lost his control in the second. Four walks led to a tie game, and he also allowed a solo home run in the third that made it 3-2.

The Wind Surge had that lead as in the top of the third Jake Rucker and Schobel traded places with back-to-back doubles to start the inning, and Kala’i Rosario drove in Schobel with a single two batters later that put them in front 3-1. They added their fourth run in the sixth inning after a Kyler Fedko double and two walks loaded the bases, before Rucker brought a run in with a groundout.

Righty Pierson Ohl came on to start the fourth inning and went the next two scoreless frames, giving up just two hits to keep Wichita in front. John Klein delivered a scoreless sixth inning, but ran into trouble in the seventh and eighth. A three-run homer in the seventh put the Naturals in front, then a pair of two out singles in the eighth ended Klein’s outing. He finished with three earned runs on six hits and a walk in his 2 2/3 innings pitched, while striking out three. Cody Laweryson got the final out of the game for the Wind Surge.

Down 5-4 in the ninth, the Wichita lineup went down one-two-three to fall to 15-13 on the season. Aaron Sabato (2-for-3, BB) led the way with multiple hits. Schobel scored two runs from the top of the lineup. Five of their nine hits as a team were doubles, but the Naturals’ big blast was enough to overcome the Wind Surge’s warning track power in this one.

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 0
Box Score
The Kernels blanked the Minnesota Twins former Midwest League Affiliate on Tuesday behind a stellar effort from their pitching staff and taking advantage of Snappers miscues.

Chase Chaney made the start and was excellent. He did not allow a run or issue a walk, scattering seven hits over six shutout innings. He threw 90 pitches, with 60 going for strikes (67%), and punching out six. He retired the first eight hitters of the game before giving up a single in the third inning.

The lineup scored all the runs they would need in the top of the first inning, after Brandon Winokur reached base on an infield single, and advanced to second on a throwing error. Danny De Andrade followed with an RBI single that made it 1-0.

They added a single run in the third when Kaelen Culpepper led off with a double, moved to third on another error (off the bat of Winokur), and was brought in to score on a De Andrade groundout. 

The Kernels lineup did most of their damage in the fifth inning. Caden Kendle led off with a double. Two more consecutive errors loaded the bases before Winokur drove in two with a single. Another De Andrade groundout scored another, before Khadim Diaw brought in the fourth run of the inning with an RBI single to make it 6-0.

The bullpen duo of Samuel Perez (2 IP, 2 H, 2 K) and Jacob Wosinski (IP, K) closed out the final three innings in scoreless fashion to complete the shutout. Chaney picked up his first win of the year and completed six innings for the second straight game.

The offense tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth thanks to an RBI double from Kevin Maitan and a Nate Baez sac fly to make the final score.

Winokur was the only Kernels batter with multiple hits, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. De Andrade had just one hit in five trips to the plate, but drove in three.

MUSSEL MATTERS
Dunedin 12, Fort Myers 13 (11 innings)
Box Score
Fans at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers were treated to an extra-inning barn-burner on Tuesday, as a big early lead turned into a tied up affair late and headed to extra-innings.

The Mighty Mussels ambushed Blue Jays starter Austin Cates, who wasn’t able to make it out of the first inning. Byron Chourio got him first with a solo home run. Then a sequence of single, walk, single, single knocked him from the game with Fort Myers up 3-0. They tacked more in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a thousand cuts approach, as singles from Demeury Pena, Chourio, Yasser Mercedes, and Jay Thomason built their lead to six.

Starting for the Mighty Mussels was Michael Ross, and he pitched the first three innings, retiring the first seven hitters he faced before allowing a one-out triple in the third. That runner ended up scoring on a wild pitch, but Ross also struck out the final two hitters he faced. In total, Ross allowed one earned run on one hit, while striking out four.

Then it got weird for Fort Myers and pitcher Jason Doktorczyk. While he did work the next three-plus innings, he was also kept in the game while giving up nine hits (including three home runs), eight runs (seven earned), and walking two. He did punch out four but by the time the Mighty Mussels made another call to the bullpen the game was tied at nine.

Hunter Hoopes pitched a scoreless and hitless 1 2/3 innings, striking out one. Ivran Romero came in for the ninth and kept the game tied to head to extras. Back out for the 10th the ghost runner did come around to score on a double, but one run wouldn’t be enough.

In the bottom half an RBI single from Yohander Martinez tied it up again, and they got the winning run to third before Chourio went down swinging.

Tyler Stasiowski was brought in for the top of the eleventh, and again the Blue Jays were able to take advantage, as a two-run homer put them up 12-10.

The visiting team couldn’t close it out, however. A walk to Mercedes and a single from Thomason loaded the bases with nobody out. An error brought the home squad within one, a wild-pitch tied it back up, and a sac fly from Jefferson Valladeres walked it off for those who stuck it out.

Five of the starting nine hitters had multiple hits in the win. Martinez (3-for-5, 2 RBI) and Thomason (3-for-5, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2 K, 2 SB) each had three to lead the way. As a team the Mighty Mussels racked up sixteen hits (though only two went for extra bases), and they finished 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

COMPLEX CHRONICLES
FCL Pirates 3, FCL Twins 7 (7 innings)
Box Score
The Twins lineup scored runs in five of their six turns at bat, taking advantage of 10 walks as a team in the game.

Daiber De Los Santos led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a groundout from Eduardo Beltre to get it started. In the second it was a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a sac fly from Victor Leal. In the next two innings they scored two runs each, with those coming thanks to those walks and a sac fly in the third, and an extra out in the fourth. De Los Santos reached base on a passed ball strikeout in the fourth, which allowed Bryan Acuna (double) and Jayson Bass (single) to take advantage with RBI hits. Three more walks and a sac fly from Beltre in the fifth capped their scoring.

Right-hander Miguel Cordero made the start and pitched into the fourth inning. He allowed three earned runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Ruddy Gomez finished the fourth and fifth innings by facing four hitters, and striking out all of them to earn his first professional win. Will Armbruester closed out the final two innings, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out two.

The Twins had just three hits on the game, compared to five from the Pirates, but they took advantage of their extra opportunities. Beltre (0-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI) drove in two and scored two runs without recording a hit or walk. Acuna (1-for-2, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB) and Bass (1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB, SB) each drew a pair of walks in addition to their hits. 

TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – David Festa, St. Paul Saints (5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K)
Hitter of the Day – Carson McCusker, St. Paul Saints (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, K)

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Tuesday. (Seth Note: We found that Twins Daily writers rankings were not included in the recent vote. The rankings have now been updated to include those votes. There were a few players that moved up or down 1-3 spots.) 

#3 – Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul): 1-for-3, BB, K
#6 – Kaelen Culpepper (Cedar Rapids): 1-for-5, 2 R, 2B
#9 – Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI
#11 – Kyle DeBarge (Cedar Rapids): 0-for-4, R, BB, K
#16 – Eduardo Beltre (FCL Twins): 0-for-2, 2 R, 2 RBI. HBP, SF
#17 – Tanner Schobel (Wichita): 1-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, 2 K
#18 – Yasser Mercedes (Fort Myers): 1-for-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, 3 K
#19 – Carson McCusker (St. Paul): 3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (9), 3 RBI, K, SB (1)
#20 – Ricardo Olivar (Wichita): 1-for-3. 

WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Buffalo @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) – RHP Andrew Morris (0-1, 4.57 ERA)
Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CDT) – RHP Trent Baker (1-2, 2.49 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (11:10 AM CDT) – RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CDT) – RHP Adrian Bohorquez (0-1, 6.75 ERA)

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins’ top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!

View Twins Top Prospects

Today, the McEndree University women’s water polo team kicks off the first game of the NCAA National Championship. McEndree’s inclusion would be big news on its own. It’s the first time they’ve ever made the NCAA tournament, which includes just nine teams across the U.S.—and typically few, if any, teams from the Midwest.

But this year, the private university in Lebanon, Illinois, about 30 minutes east of St. Louis, has even more reason to take pride in its season. The team lost its head coach in a fatal car crash in January, just as the season was getting underway—and they’ve been led in her absence by a 25-year-old in his first head coaching gig.

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“It’s been an interesting year,” says Alex Figueras, who was only named the women’s head coach a few weeks ago after handling the job on an interim basis. “We had one of the lowest moments and some of the highest moments in the same season.” 

Figueras is the first to credit Colleen Lischwe as the person responsible for McKendree’s success. Lischwe had twice been named Missouri Female Water Polo Player of the Year at Kirkwood High School before becoming an Academic All-American at Marist College in New York and twice participating in the NCAA National Championships.

After coaching at Kirkwood High, Lischwe landed a coaching job at McKendree, and after being named the women’s head coach in 2017, also became the head coach of the men’s team the following year—making her the only woman head coach in an NCAA water polo program.

Then tragedy struck. Lischwe was on I-44 around 6 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2025, when she was struck by a semi. Her Prius fell off the highway to Vandeventer Avenue below. Lischwe, 35, left behind a husband and a 3-year-old daughter.

She also left a team in mourning. Figueras, Lischwe’s young assistant coach, was among those devastated by her death; Lischwe had coached his club team for a half-dozen years before they became colleagues. Suddenly he found himself trying to fill her shoes as the team headed into its first game of the season, less than two weeks later.

He recalls a team meeting with a sports psychologist, who explained that, tempting though it was, they should try to resist focusing on “winning one for Colleen” or making all their efforts about her. “You don’t want this to be the only thing that’s driving you, because at a certain point, things are going to go back to normal, or whatever normal looks like,” Figueras recalls him explaining. “When that happens, then you lose your motivation.” 

The very idea seemed shocking, he says. “When he brought that up, it seemed weird, because I was like, things are never going to be normal again, right?” But as winter turned to spring, and the team kept winning, it began to make more sense. 

“It’s not to say that we’ve moved on, because I don’t think we ever really will,” Figueras adds. “Like, there’s that little unspoken bond that I think we’re always going to have with this group and that is always going to be that extra motivating factor, that we can hear her voice still pushing us.”

Western Water Polo Association

Western Water Polo Association

For Figueras, Lischwe’s death brought responsibilities he wasn’t sure he was ready for. A graduate of Saint Louis Priory School, he’d gone from playing club sports to competing in college to returning back to St. Louis to finish his degree at Washington University, where he graduated with a double major in marketing and English. He soon fell into coaching. 

“Most people, I think when they get into this world, they get in as an assistant, and then they start trying to work their way up to eventually go be an assistant at a top five program, or go be a head coach somewhere,” he says. “And that was never my goal. My goal was always I wanted to do it until it wasn’t fun anymore, and then I would get out of it.” 

Guiding the team has given him new appreciation for the job. In April, McKendree won its conference championship for the first time; the team finished its season with a 21–7 record. 

Says Figueras, “It’s been cool to develop these relationships, and that’s the part that I’m enjoying the most. I think I’m starting to find my way and figure it out.”

He’s gotten support from another person who knew Lischwe for years—his own dad, Miguel. A former college player for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Miguel Figueras has spent the last 25 years coaching teams in the St. Louis area while teaching second grade for the Clayton School District. But this spring, McKendree offered him the head coach position for its men’s team—and so next year, father and son will be working together, father taking the lead with the men, son with the women. 

Miguel Figueras says he’ll miss his job at Wilson Elementary School, but he jokes that his new duties won’t be all that different: “In a lot of ways, I’ll still be around seven and eight-year-olds when I’m working with college freshmen and sophomores!”

Miguel Figueras knows no one can fill Lischwe’s shoes, explaining that she did a great job of looking out for all her players, many of whom came from so far away to participate in McKendree’s program. “Colleen was always the force in making sure those kids were well taken care of,” he says.

But he’s also proud of his son. “They’ve just picked up right where Colleen left off,” he says of Alex and his assistant coach, 23-year-old Breno Tebet.

And despite not being quite old enough to parent the team, the fledgling head coach has found a way to mentor its athletes, his father says.

“It’s like he’s got 23 little sisters,” he explains. “He’s always been a very mature kid, but we’ve seen a lot of growth in him here.”

Both father and son were heading to Indianapolis yesterday for the tournament, and Alex Figueras was trying to set realistic expectations. They have a strong chance against Wagner College in the first round, he says, but Stanford is “like UConn women’s basketball” (read: not an easy foe). 

He adds, “I don’t want to count ourselves out, but I think that definitely will be a challenge. But getting into this is a big deal for us, and we want to definitely not just be like, ‘Okay, we’re just happy to be here.’” 

And no matter how this topsy-turvy year ends, there’s always next year. Alex Figueras will be back, and so will all but one player, he says. The graduating senior is a standout, but having so many players returning should give the coaches a lot to work with. The team Colleen Lischwe built should have plenty of victories to come, even when there’s a new roster of players who can no longer hear her voice pushing them.

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RayJ Dennis has become one of the most talked-about under-the-radar guards in the NBA’s developmental ranks. A 6’2″ spark plug with an All-Star motor, Dennis rose from Illinois high school floors to college stardom at Boise State, Toledo and Baylor before earning a two-way spot with the Indiana Pacers.

Along the way he racked up conference Player of the Year honors, kept opponents scrambling on defense, and showed a knack for clutch scoring. Now he’s carving out minutes on one of the league’s fastest teams while balancing time in the G League.

RayJ Dennis’ Biography

Early Career

RayJ Dennis’s basketball journey began in Plainfield, Illinois, where he first discovered his love for the game at John F. Kennedy Middle School. He spent his first two varsity seasons at Montini Catholic High School but really broke out after transferring to Oswego East High School for his junior year.

In that 2018–19 season he dazzled as a playmaking guard, averaging 17.2 points and 4.9 assists per game. By his senior year he was an unstoppable two-way force, upping his scoring to 23.2 points while dishing out 5.1 assists, grabbing 4.9 rebounds and logging 2.5 steals each night.

Despite his standout sophomore and junior seasons at Boise State, Dennis craved a bigger role. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and a team-best 2.9 assists in 2020–21, including a memorable 19-point explosion in a historic comeback at Utah State. But feeling he could do more, he transferred to Toledo for his junior season.

In 2021–22 he blossomed into the Mid-American Conference’s top guard, putting up 12.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. His senior season at Toledo became his coming-out party: Dennis averaged 19.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds, leading the Rockets to a 27–8 record.

His clutch 32-point, seven-assist performance in the MAC Tournament clincher earned him Tournament MVP, and he swept regular-season MAC Player of the Year and First-Team honors.

Having dominated the Mid-American ranks, Dennis opted to use his final year of eligibility at Baylor, joining a loaded Big 12 roster. He brought veteran savvy and leadership to the Bears, ranking among the team leaders in assists while showcasing improved three-point touch and defensive tenacity.

By season’s end he was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer team and picked up Second-Team All-Big 12 accolades. His collegiate path-from Boise State role player to Toledo superstar to Baylor key contributor-cemented his reputation as a guard who can adapt, lead and make big plays under pressure.

Professional Career

Dennis’s name on draft night undeterred, he joined the Los Angeles Clippers for Summer League action, turning heads with his relentless effort on both ends of the court and flair for playmaking. His summer showing earned him a training-camp deal with Los Angeles, but he was waived just before the season opener. Two days later he inked a two-way agreement with the Washington Wizards, only to be released again as rosters finalized.

Dennis caught on with the G League’s San Diego Clippers, where he flourished as a rookie. In his first handful of games he averaged 22.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.2 rebounds, earning All-Rookie Team notice. His performances forced NBA scouts to take note of his poise, decision-making and knack for scoring in isolation or as a secondary playmaker.

The high-octane offense of the G League suited his go-go playing style, and he consistently attacked closeouts off the dribble, created kick-out opportunities, and showed a daring flair for mid-range pull-ups when teams sagged off.

The Indiana Pacers scooped him up on a two-way contract, pairing him with the Noblesville Boom in the G League. Under coach Rick Carlisle’s tutelage, Dennis has expanded his defensive IQ-learning to navigate NBA-level screens and rotations-while continuing to refine his shooting mechanics.

He’s become a popular figure in Indiana’s locker room thanks to his infectious work ethic, running extra drills each morning and staying late for film sessions.

During his rookie NBA stint he’s seen action in 11 games, averaging 2.7 points in just under eight minutes per outing. He’s hit key threes in garbage-time minutes, drawn charges with surprising strength for his size, and earned compliments from teammates for his team-first attitude.

Off the court Dennis has made a splash in the Pacers’ community outreach programs, visiting youth centers and speaking about the importance of education, teamwork and perseverance.

RayJ Dennis’ Net Worth Details

RayJ Dennis’ net worth is estimated to be $1 million as of 2025.

Contract

RayJ Dennis inked a two-year two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers on January 3, 2025, after brief preseason stints with the Clippers and Wizards. Under its terms, he can appear in up to 50 NBA games while also suiting up for Indiana’s G League affiliate, and he’ll earn $324,931 in 2024–25 and $636,434 in 2025–26.

The agreement runs through the 2025–26 season, after which Dennis becomes a restricted free agent-granting the Pacers matching rights on any 2026–27 offer sheet.

Salary

Dennis’s two-way contract pays him $324,931, rising to $636,434 in 2025–26 if he remains on that deal. These amounts reflect the NBA two-way scale, which provides a prorated share of the league’s rookie minimum (about $579,000 in 2024–25) for NBA days combined with G League compensation.

Career Earnings

NBA Career Stats

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