Florida State SS Alex Lodise wins the Dick Howser Trophy as the top college player in the nation
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise has been named winner of the Dick Howser Trophy as the national player of the year, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced Friday.
Lodise is the third player in program history to win the Howser, joining J.D. Drew in 1997 and Buster Posey in 2008. The award has been presented annually since 1987 and is named after former FSU All-American and head coach Dick Howser.
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Lodise was named Atlantic Coast Conference player and defensive player of the year, and he also is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as the top amateur player in the nation and Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop.
Lodise ranked among the national leaders with a .394 batting average, 17 home runs, 18 doubles, 68 RBIs and .705 slugging percentage. He committed only five errors on 216 fielding chances (.977) and was part of 34 double plays.
The junior from Jacksonville, Florida, had at least one hit in 48 of his 58 games. He had 31 multi-hit games and 13 games with three or more hits. Among his season highlights was hitting for the cycle in a March 25 game against Florida — finishing it with a walk-off grand slam.
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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
NCAA fines Michigan millions, adds game suspension for Moore over sign-stealing scandal
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The NCAA fined Michigan tens of millions of dollars Friday and suspended coach Sherrone Moore for a third game as punishment for a sprawling sign-stealing scandal that has loomed over college football's winningest program for nearly two years, including its national championship season in 2023. The NCAA said it had 'overwhelming' and concerning evidence of a cover-up by Wolverines staff and noted there were 'sufficient grounds for a multiyear postseason ban' against a program now considered a repeat violator. But the governing body stopped short of program-crippling punishments, saying a two-year postseason ban 'would unfairly penalize student-athletes for the actions of coaches and staff' who are no longer there. 'The panel concluded that an elaborate, impermissible scouting scheme was embedded in the Michigan football program over the course of three football seasons, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and this occurred under former head coach Jim Harbaugh's oversight,' said Norman Bay, chief hearing officer for the Division I Committee on Infractions. 'What makes this case even more serious, in addition to the clear intent to impermissibly gain a substantial competitive advantage, is the elaborate effort to obstruct the investigation.' Moore, who is facing a school-imposed two-game suspension this season, will also sit out the first game of the 2026-27 season for a total of three games. Moore received a two-year show-cause order, but will be allowed to fulfill coaching commitments under the NCAA order. The biggest blow came from the financial penalties, which are expected to exceed $20 million. They include a $50,000 fine, a 10% fine on the football program's budget, a 10% fine on Michigan's 2025-26 scholarships and a fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of postseason revenue for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The program also faces a 25% reduction in official recruiting visits during the upcoming season and a 14-week prohibition on recruiting communications during its four-year probation period. Harbaugh, a former Michigan quarterback and now the coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers, faces a 10-year show-cause order following the conclusion of his previous four-year order effective Aug. 7, 2028. Connor Stalions, a former low-level staffer who ran the scouting and sign-stealing operation, was issued an eight-year show-cause order, which effectively bans a person from college athletics for the period handed down. Michigan said it would appeal the decision. '(R)espectfully, in a number of instances the decision makes fundamental errors in interpreting NCAA bylaws; and it includes a number of conclusions that are directly contrary to the evidence – or lack of evidence – in the record,' the school said. Athletic director Warde Manuel added that 'a postseason ban should never have been a consideration in this case. I fully support the university's decision to pursue an appeal.' The scheme Harbaugh has always maintained he knew nothing about the scheme. NCAA investigators were clearly skeptical. 'Aspects of the record suggest that there may have been broader acceptance of the scheme throughout the program,' the report says. 'At a minimum, there was a willful intent not to learn more about Stalions' methods. However, the true scope and scale of the scheme -- including the competitive advantage it conferred -- will never be known due to individuals' intentional destruction and withholding of materials and information.' The NCAA does not have rules against stealing signs, but does prohibit schools from sending scouts to the games of in-season opponents and using electronic equipment to record another team's signals. The scheme run by Stalions, the NCAA said, was elaborate and detailed – in fact, the NCAA said, Stalions described it as 'counterintelligence' and his network of helpers was referred to as the 'KGB,' a nod to the Soviet-era spy service. During the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, 'Stalions directed and arranged for individuals to conduct off-campus, in-person scouting of Michigan's future regular season opponents,' the NCAA report said, noting that he bought their tickets and saying he spent some $35,000 in 2022 alone. 'While in attendance, they filmed the signal callers on the future opponents' sidelines and then provided that film to Stalions. Using the footage they collected, Stalions then deciphered their signals. Additionally, on one occasion, Stalions personally attended a future opponent's contest. In total, 56 instances of off-campus, in-person scouting of 13 future regular season opponents occurred across 52 contests.' When asked about Stalions' devices, accounts and documents, the NCAA said, 'multiple members of the KGB stated that Stalions gave them access to his hard drives and Google drive to review videos and assist in identifying signals.' Stalions, a Naval Academy graduate, was a volunteer for Michigan's football program for years, including when he was stationed in San Diego and slept in his car while renting his house, until Harbaugh hired him 2022. The retired captain in the Marine Corps was an analytics assistant for the Wolverines when he was suspended in October 2023, a day after the school disclosed it was under NCAA investigation. Stalions later resigned. 'If I'm a bad guy, then everyone in football is a bad guy,' Stalions said in a recent Netflix documentary. Stalions, who did not participate in the NCAA investigation, recently said he knew almost every signal opponents used in seven games over two seasons. The NCAA said the efforts to cover up the scheme included Stalions and other Michigan employees. 'Stalions himself described smashing his phone into 1,000 pieces and throwing it into a pond, providing false and misleading information during interviews, telling a potential witness to lie when interviewed, and some staff members, most notably Harbaugh not participating in interviews at all,' Bay said. 'Moore deleted his entire 52 message text thread with Stalions from his personal phone. Harbaugh failed to cooperate by refusing to provide necessary records or participating in interviews with NCAA enforcement staff.' The coaches In a notice sent to the school last year, the NCAA alleged that Moore violated rules as an assistant under Harbaugh. The text messages with Stalions were recovered and provided to the NCAA. Harbaugh, who left the Wolverines after they won the 2023 national championship, served a three-game suspension in exchange for the Big Ten dropping its investigation into the allegations after the two ended up in court. The NCAA also noted unrelated recruiting violations were part of the mix, violations that got Harbaugh that initial show-cause order. The NCAA said those involved lower-level staffers communicating with four recruits. 'The scouting scheme and recruiting violations in the football program demonstrate that Harbaugh violated the principles of head coach responsibility,' the NCAA said. 'Harbaugh did not embrace or enforce a culture of compliance during his tenure, and his program had a contentious relationship with Michigan's compliance office, leading coaches and staff to disregard NCAA rules.' The Wolverines open the season on Aug. 30 at home against New Mexico State and then play at Oklahoma, where Moore was an offensive lineman, on Sept. 6. 'I am glad that this part of the process has been completed,' Moore said in a statement issued by Michigan. 'I greatly respect the rules governing collegiate athletics and it is my intent to have our program comply with those rules at all times.' ___ Carey reported from Tampa, Florida. ___ AP college football: and
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-Wisconsin players say in lawsuit that former coach Marisa Moseley psychologically abused them
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Five former Wisconsin women's basketball players have filed a lawsuit saying they received psychological abuse from ex-Badgers coach Marisa Moseley and that the university responded with 'a policy of laissez-faire inaction.' The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court lists the Wisconsin Board of Regents, Moseley and former Wisconsin associate athletic director for external communications Justin Doherty as defendants. The plaintiffs are Lexi Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher and Tessa Towers. The lawsuit was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal. Moseley announced in March that she was resigning for personal reasons. She went 47-75 in four seasons. In their complaint, the plaintiffs say Moseley 'unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives, including retaliating against them based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discriminating against them based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities.' They say Moseley intruded on players' privacy in one-on-one meetings by 'pressuring them to divulge everything from issues with their parents or romantic partners to their confidential mental health symptoms and treatment choices.' 'Moseley accomplished all of this by abusing her position of power by making threats about scholarships and playing time, and manipulating her players, claiming that she was simply 'building trust' with them on and off the court,' the complaint states. For example, the complaint says Ellew was experiencing a mental health event when Moseley kept her alone in the back of a locker room and threatened to notify police unless she agreed to check into a mental health facility. According to the complaint, several players and their parents reported abuse allegations to Doherty, who retired earlier this year. The complaint says Wisconsin adopted 'a policy of laissez-faire inaction' rather than intervening to protect the players. Wisconsin didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. In January, Wisconsin officials said they were looking into allegations Towers had posted on social media saying she was mistreated by Moseley and her staff. The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Towers was placed on 11 new medications in less than a year after she disclosed her ADHD diagnosis. The complaint says Towers' mental health deteriorated as Moseley singled her out. 'Tessa's teammates found Moseley's behavior towards their friend and teammate disturbing,' the complaint says. 'Her teammates knew about Tessa's ADHD, and they watched their coach bully her because of it. Then, as they witnessed Tessa's mental health problems escalating in multiple crises, they observed their coach's behavior grow even worse. They could do nothing about it since Moseley threatened to reduce their playing time if they visited Tessa in the mental health facility or continued their friendships with her.' Moseley stepped down following a 13-16 season that ended with a first-round loss in the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin has since hired former Missouri coach Robin Pingeton to take over the program. ___
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Golf is not like team sports. It was never meant to have a finish line to the season
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Instead of outrage and grave concern that Rory McIlroy chose to sit out the first FedEx Cup playoff event — without dropping a single spot in the rankings — let it be a reminder that golf is not like other sports. These are not the 'playoffs.' That's for team sports. This is golf, which has never had a defining finish to its year and never will. The FedEx Cup attempted to create a finish line until the tour tried to promote it as so much more. What it did was create an incentive for the best players to compete after the majors were over. That part has worked beautifully, and it still does, with or without McIlroy. Perhaps one reason McIlroy's absence got so much attention was no one had skipped a postseason event (barring injury) since Webb Simpson five years ago. Simpson pulled out of the BMW Championship at No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, saying he wanted to be fresh for the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake. McIlroy had said in June he has earned the right to do whatever he wants, and that includes skipping a $20 million tournament (for the third time this year), and sitting out the first round of what the PGA Tour calls its 'playoffs.' He remains at No. 2. But he certainly wasn't the first to do that. Tiger Woods was a no-show for the first playoff event in 2007, and he still went on to win the FedEx Cup. Phil Mickelson skipped the BMW Championship that year when it was the third of four postseason events. Sergio Garcia? He missed seven postseason events when he was eligible (and presumably healthy), one year taking time off in Switzerland and Spain because he wanted a break. McIlroy finished up nine holes of practice at Caves Valley on Monday afternoon as some of the players who advanced to the second stage were still on their way to the BMW Championship after a steamy week in Memphis, Tennessee. Given the heat, he's probably fresher than most. He first raised the question last year when he was No. 3 in the FedEx Cup, finished next-to-last in Memphis and wondered what he was doing there. He only dropped to No. 5. It changed nothing. So it was no surprise McIlroy sat this one out. Scottie Scheffler could have easily done the same. The TPC Southwind is where he last missed a cut (in 2022, when the postseason opener had 125-man field and a 36-hole cut). The FedEx St. Jude Classic also gave him a sponsor exemption when he was 17, and he has never missed it as a PGA Tour member. His choice. But playoffs? Jim Mora and his infamous 'Playoffs?' interview comes to mind this time of the year. The FedEx Cup might be a lot easier to understand — and appreciate — if the PGA Tour had just stuck to the right language when this season-ending bonanza first was unveiled. It was at East Lake in 2006 during the Tour Championship — remember, that was the year Woods and Mickelson both decided to skip the PGA Tour's finale — when former Commissioner Tim Finchem laid out the details of the FedEx Cup. He said golf was the only major sport where the regular season was more compelling than the finish (he apparently didn't think much of tennis). And so Finchem introduced a concept referred to as a championship series of four tournaments. He used that phrase — 'championship series' — 20 times in a lengthy news conference. The eight times he mentioned 'playoffs' was comparison with other sports, and how the championship series would be 'our version of the playoff system." And then some marketing genius leaned on 'playoffs,' the word was painted onto a grassy hill at Westchester Country Club, the term stuck and it still doesn't make sense. That especially was the case when it began with 144 players, leading Jim Furyk to do the math. 'In football, there's 32 teams in the NFL and if I'm correct, 12 teams go to the playoffs,' he said in 2007. 'This year, 125 guys also keep their tour card and 144 people are going to the Playoffs. So that's roughly 110% of the league.' Golf is not like other sports. The concept is fine. The PGA Tour's version of the playoffs is working because it provides three weeks of its best players competing for a trophy that is slowly gaining in stature. It's not one of the four majors. It's probably still a notch below The Players Championship. The PGA Tour has tweaked the format five times, seeking a solution that doesn't exist. The most recent format — 'starting strokes' — was the most controversial, with the No. 1 player starting at 10-under par before the Tour Championship began. Not even Scheffler liked that. But it at least rewarded the players who performed the best throughout the year. Now the 30 players who emerge from the BMW Championship this week will all start from scratch at East Lake, and the low score wins. The 'season-long champion" could be someone who wins for the first time all year. How is the FedEx Cup trophy any different from the old Tour Championship trophy? The money is better. And unlike the last Tour Championship before the FedEx Cup began, at least everyone will show up. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf: Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
