Latest news with #ChristianMoore
USA Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Tennessee baseball practices on grass ahead of 2025 Fayetteville Super Regional
Tennessee baseball practices on grass ahead of 2025 Fayetteville Super Regional No. 14 national seed Tennessee (46-17) won the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Regional on Monday. The Vols will next play in a Fayetteville Super Regional at No. 3 national seed Arkansas (46-13). The best-of-three series will be contested, Saturday-Monday, at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Baum-Walker Stadium has a real grass playing surface. Tennessee practiced Wednesday away from Lindsey Nelson Stadium before traveling to Arkansas. The Vols practiced at Covenant Health Park, home of the Cubs' Double-A affiliate Knoxville Smokies. Covenant Health Park opened April 15 and has a real grass playing surface. "We were happy to host a practice for the reigning national champion Tennessee Vols this morning," the Smokies announced. "We wish them the best of luck in Arkansas! Go Vols, and go Smokies!" Game 1 between the Vols and Razorbacks in the Fayetteville Super Regional is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, and will be televised by ESPN. The second game will take place Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT (ESPN), while first pitch for Monday's if necessary series finale is to be determined. More: Christian Moore returns to Knoxville at Covenant Health Park More: Former Vol transfer commit Ryan Galanie hits game-winning grand slam at Covenant Health Park Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Paul Skenes, Jac Caglianone, David Price headline The Athletic's SEC baseball All-Century Team
The SEC just completed its 25th regular season of the 21st century, and the league has never been better, relative to its competition around the nation. Last year, Tennessee became the fifth different SEC team in the last five seasons to win the national championship, and three of the last four College World Series Finals featured an SEC vs. SEC matchup. Advertisement Dating back to 2009, SEC teams have won 10 national titles, with LSU, South Carolina and Vanderbilt each winning two and Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Tennessee winning one. These championship teams have been loaded with elite players, headlined by seven winners of the Golden Spikes Award. So, who are the best of the best? Here's our SEC All-Century Team. Catcher: Mike Zunino, Florida (2010-12) — Zunino hit .327 with 47 home runs and a 1.013 OPS in three years at Florida. His best season came in 2011, when he hit .371 with 19 home runs and 67 RBIs. The Gators went 62-28 in the SEC and reached the College World Series three times during his three years on campus. First base: Jac Caglianone, Florida (2022-24) — Cags is the only player in SEC history with two 30-home run seasons. He hit 33 as a sophomore in 2023 and followed up with 35 in 2024, when he slashed .419/.544/.875 with 83 runs scored and 72 RBIs. He was also part of the Gators' weekend pitching rotation in his last two seasons. Second base: Christian Moore, Tennessee (2022-24) — Moore is one of the top offensive second basemen in college baseball history. As a junior, he slashed .375/.451/.791 with a school-record 34 home runs and 74 RBIs. For his career, he hit 61 home runs with a 1.144 OPS. He played in the College World Series twice and was a key member of the Vols' 2024 national championship team. Shortstop: Alex Bregman, LSU (2013-15) — Bregman was a consistent producer during the 'dead ball' era of college baseball, hitting .337 with 21 home runs and a .923 OPS. His best season statistically was in 2013, when he slashed .369/.417/.546 as a freshman. He played on two teams that reached the College World Series. Third base: Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt (2006-08) — Alvarez's 22 home runs in 2006 are the most ever by a true freshman in the SEC. He slashed .359/.460/.680 with 40 home runs and 132 RBIs over his first two seasons and was a first-team All-American in 2007. He was slowed by a hamate injury as a junior and hit .317 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 40 games. Outfield: Andrew Benintendi, Arkansas (2014-15) — Benintendi enjoyed one of the most out-of-nowhere seasons of the past two decades. After hitting .276 with one home run and a .701 OPS as a freshman in 2014, he won the Golden Spikes Award as a sophomore when he hit .376 with 20 home runs and a 1.205 OPS. He is one of only five players to lead the SEC in batting average and home runs in the same season, joining Mississippi State's Rafael Palmeiro in 1984, Kentucky's Jeff Abbott in 1994, Mississippi State's Brent Rooker in 2017 and Georgia's Charlie Condon in 2024. Advertisement Outfield: Dylan Crews, LSU (2021-23) — One of the most decorated college players ever, Crews was a two-time first-team All-American and the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award. In three seasons, he hit .380 with 58 home runs and 184 RBIs. As a junior, he slashed .426/.567/.713 and led the Tigers to their first national championship since 2009. Outfield, Wyatt Langford, Florida (2021-23) — Langford, amazingly, appeared in only four games as a freshman, all as a pinch hitter. His next two seasons were among the most productive in SEC history. He hit .355 with 26 home runs and 63 RBIs as a sophomore and .373 with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs as a junior on a team that lost to LSU in the CWS Finals. His career OPS was 1.217. DH: Charlie Condon, Georgia (2022-24) — Condon played in a home run-friendly environment, but his numbers in two seasons — he famously redshirted as a freshman — are absurd. In 2023, he hit .386 with 25 home runs and a 1.284 OPS. He was far better as a third-year sophomore, hitting .433 with 37 home runs and a 1.565 OPS en route to winning the Gold Spikes Award. Condon is one of 10 players in SEC history to hit at least 60 home runs. He accomplished it in 116 games; the other nine did so in an average of 207 games. Utility: AJ Reed, Kentucky (2012-14) — The most accomplished two-way player of the past 25 years, Reed won the 2014 Golden Spikes Award after slashing .336/.476/.735 with 23 home runs at the plate and going 12-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 1.134 WHIP on the mound. In three years at Kentucky, he hit 40 home runs and had a .973 OPS. Starter: Aaron Nola, LSU (2012-14) — It would be hard to find a pitcher with a better two-year run than Nola, who went a combined 23-2 with a 1.52 ERA and 0.813 WHIP in 2013 and 2014. Not surprisingly, he was named SEC Pitcher of the Year both seasons. He wasn't bad as a freshman, either, going 7-4 with a 3.61 ERA and 1.059 WHIP as a weekend starter. Starter: David Price, Vanderbilt (2005-07) — Price won the Golden Spikes Award as a junior in 2007 when he went 11-1 with a 2.64 ERA and 0.945 WHIP to go along with 194 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings. In his three years, he went 22-10 with a 3.23 ERA and had 441 strikeouts in 313 innings. Starter: Paul Skenes, LSU (2023) — Skenes spent only one year in the SEC, but it was arguably the greatest season by a pitcher in league history. His numbers: 13-2, 1.69 ERA, 0.750 WHIP with 209 strikeouts and 20 walks in 122 2/3 innings. In two starts at the College World Series — where LSU beat Florida for the national championship — he allowed seven hits and two earned runs in 15 2/3 innings. Advertisement Reliever: Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State (2012-14) — Holder had nine saves and allowed only one earned run in 28 1/3 innings (0.32 ERA) as a freshman. His numbers the next two years weren't quite as gaudy but still very impressive: 9-1, 28 saves with a 1.93 ERA and 0.941 WHIP. The 2013 Bulldogs reached the CWS Finals. Reliever: Matt Price, South Carolina (2009-12) — Price saved a combined 43 games over his last three seasons on teams that won back-to-back national titles and then lost in the CWS Finals. His best season was in 2011 when he went 7-3 with a 1.83 ERA and 1.085 WHIP with 20 saves. Swingman: Carson Fulmer, Vanderbilt (2013-15) — Fulmer, who was a reliever until midway through his sophomore season, had a 24-3 record with a 1.99 ERA, a 1.087 WHIP and 14 saves in three seasons. He was part of the 2013 team that set a record with 26 SEC wins, the 2014 team that won the national championship and the 2015 team that lost in Game 3 of the CWS Finals. • Jac Caglianone was the obvious choice at first, but several others deserve a mention: Matt LaPorta (Florida), Justin Smoak (South Carolina), Hunter Morris (Auburn), Brent Rooker (Mississippi State) and Christian Walker (South Carolina). • There was a spirited Alex Bregman vs. Dansby Swanson debate in 2015. Bregman was named first-team All-SEC, while Swanson went on to become the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft (Bregman went second). Bregman gets the nod for this team. He played all three years at shortstop. Swanson missed most of his freshman season due to injury and played second base in 2014 on the national championship team. Chris Burke, like Swanson, played both second base and shortstop. He had a great career at Tennessee but played only one season this century. • Pedro Alvarez edged Tommy White for third base. White's home run numbers were better (75 to 49), but 27 came as a freshman at NC State, and he played in a more offensive era. They have a similar career OPS, and Alvarez was a better defensive player. • Picking the final outfield spot was extremely difficult. Andrew Benintendi, who won the Golden Spikes Award, was the pick over Jace LaViolette (Texas A&M), Jackie Bradley Jr. (South Carolina), Mikie Mahtook (LSU), Jake Mangum (Mississippi State) and many others. Advertisement • AJ Reed, the 2014 SEC Player of the Year, was an obvious pick for the utility position as the best true two-way player of the last 25 years. Austin Martin, who played multiple positions at Vanderbilt, was another option. He had a 1.007 career OPS and had most of his junior season taken away by the pandemic. • There are far too many elite pitchers to name, but Michael Roth, who was on two national title teams at South Carolina and went 26-6 with a 1.90 ERA in four seasons, was the toughest omission. • Kevin Kopps of Arkansas had arguably the finest season for a reliever in league history (12-1, 11 saves, 0.90 ERA), but both Jonathan Holder and Matt Price had much better careers while also having standout individual seasons. (Top photo of Jac Caglianone: Jay Biggerstaff / Getty Images)
Finextra
15-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
MuchBetter launches pre-paid corporate card
MuchBetter, the innovative fintech company, has announced the launch of the MuchBetter Prepaid Corporate Mastercard - a powerful, flexible solution designed to simplify company spending and modernise expense management for businesses of all sizes. 0 The introduction of this new product marks an expansion in the B2B unit of MuchBetter beyond the consumer wallet space, marking a significant milestone in its evolution as a comprehensive financial services provider. Purpose-built for scaleups, fintechs, and globally minded enterprises with smart controls and real-time insights, the Corporate Card combines a dedicated Merchant Portal and mobile app with intuitive expense tracking, and budgeting tools to help businesses manage operational spend with precision - all backed by a regulated infrastructure, safeguarded funds, and a seamless user experience. The MuchBetter Corporate Card allows companies to issue virtual cards in seconds, assign tailored spending limits, and define merchant category controls, all through an easy-to-use digital dashboard. Real-time transaction notifications and insights eliminate end-of-month surprises and help companies track budgets in-flight. With features like card-level spend limits, categorisation, and instant issuance, the Corporate Card makes it easy for companies to scale their finance operations without the bureaucracy. The MuchBetter Corporate Card includes: • A dedicated corproate e-wallet mobile app • A self-service Merchant Portal platform allowing full card management, access to reports and insight and centralised receipt collection • Real time receipt and invoice upload capability • Ability to connect to any account system of your choice 'Business spend is evolving rapidly, and legacy corporate cards haven't kept up. We've designed our Corporate Card product to serve businesses often underserved by traditional banks. Our goal was to build a corporate card that not only supports growing teams and scaling businesses, but that also brings consumer-grade UX into the business banking world,' says Christian Moore, Head of Portfolio at MuchBetter. 'The MuchBetter Corporate Card is more than just a payment method - it's a gateway to financial control and efficiency. We've designed it to give finance teams what they really want: instant visibility, control over limits, and the flexibility to issue cards quickly and securely, with no paperwork or delays. It's everything a modern business expects from its financial stack.' The MuchBetter Corporate Card integrates seamlessly with MuchBetter Business's Accounts banking platform, catering to enterprises seeking access to business accounts in a wide range of currencies, without the friction, long lead times, or high fees associated with traditional banks. The Corporate Card will be issued via MuchBetter's partner, Paynovate, with plans to become a principal issuer with Mastercard in the future. The launch of the corporate card comes as MuchBetter Business partners with Living Sky, the first white-label platform customer for its embedded banking technology. Living Sky, established by the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council in Canada, is integrating the MuchBetter Corporate Card as part of its boutique banking offering for high-net-worth corporate clients. 'The white-label capabilities of our corporate card are a game-changer for platforms like Living Sky,' adds Moore. 'They can now offer best-in-class corporate spend tools to their clients, branded as their own, while we handle the technology, compliance and card issuing.' Powered by Temenos' cloud-native infrastructure, and in partnership with leading Tier 1 UK bank NatWest and as Direct SWIFT Members, MuchBetter Business's platform supports a fast and fully digital onboarding journey, access to global payment schemes, and FX services, all under a single, fully regulated platform. MuchBetter Business Accounts are just one of the exciting offerings from MuchBetter which also includes an e-wallet, a payments gateway, and soon to be white-label offerings of all these products. This company is poised to offer a whole ecosystem of services to serve the next generation of business customers who expect real-time, mobile-first, global-ready financial services.
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Christian Moore extends on-base streak in game No. 3 at Knoxville
Christian Moore extends on-base streak in game No. 3 at Knoxville Rocket City (7-16) won its first contest Thursday in a six-game series at Knoxville (12-11). The Trash Pandas defeated Knoxville, 5-3, at Covenant Health Park. 3,961 were in attendance. Former Vol Christian Moore started at second base for Rocket City against the Smokies. He went 1-for-4 and scored one run. Moore extended his on-base streak to five games. Game No. 4 between the Trash Pandas and Smokies is slated for Friday at 7 p.m. EDT. Knoxville won the first two contests in the series. Moore was selected by the Angels in the first round (No. 8 overall) of the 2024 MLB draft. Rocket City is a Double-A affiliate of the Angels. He played at Tennessee from 2022-24 and appeared in 186 games, totaling 61 home runs, 160 RBIs and 179 runs. Moore appeared in 72 games for the Vols in 2024. He recorded a .375 batting average, 34 home runs, 74 RBIs, 83 runs and 38 walks during Tennessee's national championship season. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Angels' MLB prospect ranking for Christian Moore during Smokies' series
Angels' MLB prospect ranking for Christian Moore during Smokies' series Former Vol Christian Moore played his first baseball game in Knoxville on Tuesday since the 2024 NCAA Tournament super regional. The former Tennessee second baseman and Rocket City are playing a six-game series, Tuesday-Sunday, against the Smokies at Covenant Health Park. Rocket City is a Double-A affiliate of the Angels. Moore opened the series with a three-hit performance against the Smokies, including one home run. He is currently the top-rated prospect in the Angels' farm system and projects to make his MLB debut this season. The former Vol is the No. 4 second base prospect and No. 64 overall prospect in MLB. Moore was selected by the Angels in the first round (No. 8 overall) of the 2024 MLB draft. He played at Tennessee from 2022-24 and appeared in 186 games, totaling 61 home runs, 160 RBIs and 179 runs. Moore appeared in 72 games for the Vols in 2024. He recorded a .375 batting average, 34 home runs, 74 RBIs, 83 runs and 38 walks during Tennessee's national championship season. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
