logo
Wisconsin women's basketball standout Serah Williams commits to national champion UConn

Wisconsin women's basketball standout Serah Williams commits to national champion UConn

Yahoo30-04-2025

MADISON – When Wisconsin women's basketball player Serah Williams entered the transfer portal last month, it was assumed that interest would be high for the two-time All-Big Ten performer.
On April 30, we found out how high.
Advertisement
The 6-foot-4 forward announced on X and Instagram her commitment to reigning national champion Connecticut.
Williams posted the news with a graphic of her wearing a UConn letterman's jacket. At the bottom of the graphic was the state slogan: 'Welcome to Connecticut, Home of the Basketball Capital of the World.'
Her caption was a Bible scripture: 'Genesis 28:15 Yes. I'll stay with you, I'll protect you wherever you go. Go Huskiess'
Williams led Wisconsin in scoring and rebounding the past two seasons when she became one of five players in program history to earn first-team all-Big Ten recognition twice.
Advertisement
The Brooklyn, New York, native set a Big Ten record as a sophomore with double-doubles in scoring and rebounding in 17 straight games. She was also the media's pick for Big Ten defensive player of the year. She averaged 17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and a Big Ten-best 2.8 blocks per game.
This season, she averaged 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Her 1,494 points rank 11th in program history.
More: UW women's basketball transfer portal tracker. The latest: Two 2025 recruits land at other programs
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers basketball star Serah Williams transfers to UConn

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Athletes Unlimited Softball League opens with high hopes and support from MLB and USA Softball
Athletes Unlimited Softball League opens with high hopes and support from MLB and USA Softball

Hamilton Spectator

timean hour ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

Athletes Unlimited Softball League opens with high hopes and support from MLB and USA Softball

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Athletes Unlimited Softball League made its debut after a year of buildup and a recent collaboration with Major League Baseball. The Bandits beat the Talons 3-1 in the first game Saturday in Rosemont, Illinois. The Volts were set to play the Blaze in Wichita, Kansas later in the day. 'I kind of feel like we blinked and it was here,' Cat Osterman, general manager of the Volts, said. 'But then there were moments where it felt like we weren't ever going to get here either because it took a whole year of process. We're all excited.' Athletes Unlimited has featured softball since 2020, when it unveiled a unique format that crowned an individual champion. The organization that focuses exclusively on women's sports now has launched a traditional four-team softball league in a traveling format. The Blaze, Volts, Bandits and Talons will play 24 games each, touring to 12 cities. The top two teams will compete in the best-of-three AUSL Championship from July 26-28 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. MLB said last month that it is making a strategic investment in the league . It will include an undisclosed amount for operational costs and a commitment to help it gain visibility. It will market the AUSL and its athletes during its All-Star Game, throughout the postseason and during broadcasts on the MLB Network and streams on . USA Softball executive director Craig Cress likes the fact that a league with MLB's backing exists for players to join after their college careers. He sees it as an opportunity to keep the top American players facing elite competition so Team USA will be ready for Olympic softball that will be played in Oklahoma City in 2028. Japan has won the past two Olympic gold medals in the sport. Cress said he hopes the AUSL emerges as something comparable to Japan's well-established softball leagues. 'We have a great respect and a great rivalry,' Cress said of the history with Japan. 'But this Olympics on our home soil is our gold medal. We need to go get it. So from that standpoint, I know we've got a long way to go, but that's the end goal.' Cress said it was smart for Athletes Unlimited to add former MLB executive Kim Ng as commissioner and to seek out the league as a partner. He hopes the AUSL can catch fire the way the WNBA has the past two years with Caitlin Clark. 'The WNBA is now starting to really do some things with the star power they have coming in,' he said. 'But what got them to the point to be able to keep their athletes from going overseas to play? It was the involvement of the NBA.' There are indicators that this league could last longer than those that have come and gone over the years, starting with the well-structured support system, stability and the experience Athletes Unlimited had with the sport before launching this league. 'I think that one thing you hear about Athletes Unlimited from anybody that's been around it is we've done what we said we were going to do,' Athletes Unlimited co-founder Jon Patricof said. 'We've been around now for five years.' Bri Ellis, who was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year for Arkansas this season, played for the Talons on Saturday after being the No. 2 overall pick in the AUSL draft last month. She said she's thrilled about the timing of the league's rollout. 'It was kind of this relief that I don't have to be done now,' she said. 'I can keep going and keep playing and there's still a story to be written for me in my career, and so I'm just really grateful for everyone that's come before me and has worked their tails off to get the sport to where it is now.' ___ AP sports: Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

One phone call brought Haliburton, Siakam together, turned the Pacers into a contender.
One phone call brought Haliburton, Siakam together, turned the Pacers into a contender.

Indianapolis Star

timean hour ago

  • Indianapolis Star

One phone call brought Haliburton, Siakam together, turned the Pacers into a contender.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Outside of a handful of interactions in summer workouts, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton didn't know Pascal Siakam very well, when he learned Indiana might trade for the Toronto All-Star a year ago January. Haliburton and Siakam had exchanged pleasantries at Rico Runs — the well-known UCLA-based summer pickup games organized by longtime NBA assistant Rico Hines — but otherwise the pair hadn't often crossed paths. Now, with his front office considering a move to pair him with Siakam, Indiana's emerging franchise face thought it would be a good idea for the two to connect. Stepping out of a dinner during the team's mid-January swing through Atlanta last season, Haliburton talked with Siakam for roughly an hour. That phone call provided the building blocks of a relationship that's anchored the Pacers' run to the NBA Finals 17 months later. Re-live the Pacers unbelievable run to the 2025 NBA Finals with IndyStar's commemorative book 'I wanted to have a conversation, 'Hey, is this something you actually you want to do? Do you want to be here?'' Haliburton said Saturday, recounting the conversation. 'Because I think that the guys who have been a part of the nucleus of this group, we cherish this organization and what we have been able to build here. I think every team, when you ultimately win a championship or play at a high level, there's a trade that happens or you bring in somebody from the outside to be a part of it and you don't want to make the wrong move, right. 'If you go in for Pascal, you want it to be about the right things.' In Siakam, the Pacers were looking for an high-caliber complementary piece to Haliburton. At that point a two-time All-Star, Siakam had also garnered All-NBA second- and third-team nods during his career, and won a title with Toronto in 2019. And in Indiana, Siakam saw the forming momentum of a franchise rallying around a superlative young point guard. The kind of creative ball handler who could score in bunches but create for teammates with equal ease. 'We had a great conversation, and I think we just very much so aligned on wanting to win and that being the emphasis,' Haliburton said. 'I told him that, 'Hey, we could really play well together. I think I could get you the ball in space and allow you to do what you do.' He preached that there's many things that he could do to help me succeed.' And so it's been in the year and a half since a three-team trade brought Siakam to Indianapolis. After re-signing with the Pacers on a four-year contract worth close to $190 million in July, Siakam turned in the third All-Star season of his career this winter. He led Indiana in points and rebounds per game, and thus far is doing the same in the playoffs. He even narrowly edged Haliburton for Eastern Conference finals MVP, after Indiana dispatched the Knicks in six games. Together, their adaptable skillsets embody a team whose versatility has become one of its greatest strengths. These Pacers can play big or small, defend well, run the floor and find their offense all over it. Trading for Haliburton handed Indiana a franchise cornerstone around which it could build a winner. Siakam became the final, crucial piece to that puzzle. Together, they have positioned the Pacers as an NBA title contender for the first time in a quarter century, all of it starting with one forthright phone call between two men crucial to making it possible. 'The biggest thing that I can respect about him is just his work ethic,' Haliburton said. 'He comes in the gym, I know he's going to be there every day. I know the exact hoop he's going to be on, so I try not to take his hoop. I let him get his one-on-one work in. 'Seeing him work that hard makes me want to work harder, and I think that goes through our group. I love having him as a teammate.'

Uncommitted Daniel Coyle delivers three big hits as St. Laurence rolls past Lemont. ‘Never give up.'
Uncommitted Daniel Coyle delivers three big hits as St. Laurence rolls past Lemont. ‘Never give up.'

Chicago Tribune

timean hour ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Uncommitted Daniel Coyle delivers three big hits as St. Laurence rolls past Lemont. ‘Never give up.'

A varsity starter since he was a freshman at St. Laurence, junior infielder Daniel Coyle has been one of the Catholic League's most productive hitters throughout his career. But while several of the conference's stars have scholarship offers from major colleges, Coyle's recruiting so far has been quiet. That's just motivation for Coyle, who still has a point to prove. 'I love playing with that pressure on my back to keep going and show everyone what I can do,' Coyle said. 'I love when people doubt me, honestly. People see me and they're like, 'Oh, look at that short kid.' 'I'll prove you wrong any day.' Consider Coyle's point made on Saturday. He came up with three big hits, including an RBI double, and scored two runs as the host Vikings rolled to an 11-1 win over Lemont in six innings in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional championship game. Danny Donovan had a two-run double for the top-seeded Vikings (34-5). Adrian Perez went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, Wisconsin-Stout recruit Connor Marino finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and South Suburban College commit Ben Geary was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. It's the first sectional title since 2021 and seventh overall for St. Laurence, which will take on Simeon (20-12-1) at 5 p.m. Monday in the Crestwood Supersectional at Ozinga Field. John Strzechowski allowed four hits and six walks but just one run over 4 1/3 innings to earn the win as he consistently pitched out of jams. 'As soon as the coaches gave me this game, I was so fired up,' Strzechowski said. 'The guys were fired up. I knew I've got the guys behind me to win a sectional championship with.' Oakton recruit Zach Corse went 2-for-3, while Missouri-St. Louis commit Matt Devoy reached base three times and scored on a sacrifice fly by Zane Schneider for second-seeded Lemont (30-8-1), which fell short of making it back to state after last season's runner-up finish. That run last spring included a 9-0 win over St. Laurence in a sectional semifinal, and the Vikings were certainly hungry for revenge Saturday. 'This felt great,' Coyle said. 'That hurt last year. I really thought we had a great team last year, but this year, we have an even better one. We're tough, we're gritty and we're going to do whatever it takes to win.' Those adjectives certainly apply to Coyle. Just ask St. Laurence coach Pete Lotus. 'He's played with my son, Mickey, since they were really young and I've seen Dan be the best player on the field since he was a really young kid,' Lotus said. 'Over the years, other kids have gotten bigger or a little more physical than him, but he's still the same player. 'He's one of if not the best player on the field every single day. I think he does carry that chip because some other guys might get more college looks than him. But he's a baseball player and we'll take him anywhere on the field.' St. Laurence scored four runs in the second inning and four more in the fifth. Coyle's RBI double in the fifth came right after Lemont had cut the deficit to 4-1. 'He never gives up,' Donovan said of Coyle. 'He's always working. He's the biggest leader on our team, I'd say. He gets all the guys going no matter what, even if he's playing bad. 'Today, he had big hits. He can do it all.' Coyle is hitting .324 with 39 runs, 16 stolen bases, three homers and 41 RBIs. Batting third in St. Laurence's order, he's certainly smaller than most people who bat in that spot. But that hasn't stopped him yet. 'I believe there's no one better than me,' Coyle said. 'When I get to the plate, all I'm thinking is 'This pitcher can not beat me.' I believe I'm the best one out there. 'Not cocky, but confident.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store