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USA Today
30-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
USC women's basketball announces nonconference schedule for 2025-2026 season
While the start of the 2025 college football season is just around the corner, college basketball is also not all that far away. On Tuesday, USC women's basketball released its nonconference schedule for the 2025-2026 season. The Trojans will certainly not be shying away from high-profile opponents this year. USC's nonconference slate includes matchups with the two teams who played in last year's national championship game in South Carolina and UConn, as well as a trip to South Bend, Indiana to take on annual powerhouse Notre Dame. Let's take a look at the Trojans' full nonconference slate: Vs. New Mexico State, November 4 USC will tip off its season at Galen Center in early November. Vs. North Carolina State (in Charlotte), November 9 It will not take long for Lindsay Gottlieb's team to face their first real test of the season. Less than a week in, the Women of Troy will travel across the country to take on NC State at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Vs. South Carolina (at Arena), November 15 USC will take on the defending national runners-up in Dowtown Los Angeles in an early season showdown. Vs. Portland, November 18 The Trojans will return to Galen Center for a matchup with Portland on November 18. At Notre Dame, November 21 After falling to the Irish at home last season, USC will make the trip to South Bend in 2025. Vs. Tennessee Tech, November 25 The Trojans will spend Thanksgiving week at home with a matchup against Tennessee Tech. Vs. Pepperdine, November 28 The Waves will come to Galen Center for a Southern California showdown on Black Friday. Vs. Saint Mary's, December 2 The Women of Troy will host a West Coast Conference foe to kick off the month of December. Vs. UConn, December 13 In a rematch of the past two Elite Eights, USC and UConn will square off at Galen Center. Both teams will be without their respective superstars from last season, however, as the Huskies' Paige Bueckers is now in the WNBA, and the Trojans' Juju Watkins will almost certainly still be recovering from the ACL injury that she suffered during last year's NCAA Tournament. Vs. Cal Poly, December 18 In one final tune-up game against a mid-major opponent, the Trojans will host Cal Poly. Vs. Cal (In San Francisco), December 21 USC will close out nonconference play with an old Pac-12 showdown in the Bay Area.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
4-star big man reclassifies to 2025 to play for Alabama this season
The post 4-star big man reclassifies to 2025 to play for Alabama this season appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Alabama Crimson Tide are hoping to build on what was a fairly successful 2024-25 season, with the arrival of a few new recruits. The Crimson Tide were busy in the transfer portal this offseason, adding players to help shore up what should be a contending roster in the SEC. Alabama also added to its 2025 recruiting class with the recent commitment of big man Collins Onyejiaka who decided to reclassify to play this upcoming season, as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports. Advertisement Collins Onyejiaka's decision to reclassify to the class of 2025 makes him immediately eligible for Alabama for the 2025-26 season. He joins an incoming class of recruits for Alabama that also includes forward London Jemison, guard Davion Hannah and forward Amari Allen. Onyejiaka is considered a four-star recruit and was playing at The Newman School in Boston, MA. He will be one of eight newcomers on the roster this upcoming season. Alongside the four incoming freshmen, Alabama also added four players out of the transfer portal in forward Keitenn Bristow, guard Jalil Bethea, center Noah Williamson and forward Taylor Bol Bowen. The newcomers are expected to help compliment a strong group of returners including talented guard Labaron Philon. Philon had initially declared for the NBA Draft, but made a surprising reversal and withdrew from the draft to return to Alabama for his sophomore season. This upcoming season will be Nate Oats' seventh as head coach. He took the helm ahead of the 2019-20 season and has compiled an overall record of 145-63 during his tenure. Over that stretch, Oats has led the program to five NCAA Tournament appearances including one Final Four in 2023-24 and two Elite Eights in 2023-24 and 2024-25. This past season, Alabama was eliminated in the Elite Eight by Duke. Advertisement Prior to Oats taking over at Alabama, he was the head coach at Buffalo for four seasons, leading the Bulls to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Related: Dawn Thornton, Alabama A&M land former Pac-12 assistant Related: Ben McCollum sets subdued goal for 1st season with Iowa
USA Today
14-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jayson Tatum injury draws parallels to Juju Watkins
Jayson Tatum injury draws parallels to Juju Watkins Jayson Tatum, like JuJu Watkins, endures the cruelty of sports and an untimely injury For those who are unaware, while I graduated from USC and now live in Los Angeles, I was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. Hence, am have been a massive Boston Celtics fan since I started watching basketball at seven years old. (I even own a custom Drew Peterson Celtics jersey, which I bought after last season's championship.) Obviously, I was devastated after seeing star Jayson Tatum go down with an injury in Monday's playoff game, and the subsequent news Tuesday that he underwent surgery to repair a torn achilles. After the initial shock wore off, however, my thoughts shifted towards another basketball injury that I remember all too well: Juju Watkins's ACL tear. The parallels between the two situations are striking. Both Tatum and Watkins are superstar players who entered the postseason looking to lead their respective teams to glory. Instead, however, both suffered severe injuries in the second round that not only prematurely ended their championship quests, but will likely keep them out for the majority of next season as well. Both players are still quite young—Tatum is 27, while Watkins is just 19. While fans are generally confident that both will be able to return to elite levels of play, there are major questions surrounding what their respective teams will look like in their absences, as well as when they finally return to the court, potentially not until the fall of 2026. There is one key difference between the two situations: Tatum and the Celtics already won a championship last year. While Watkins has taken the USC program to new heights—Elite Eights, conference titles, and No. 1 seeds—this was supposed to be the year that the Trojans finally broke through and reached their first Final Four since the days of Cheryl Miller. With Watkins now sidelined for the foreseeable future, there are now much more uncertainty regarding if/when that will happen. Differences aside, though, both situations are incredibly sad to watch unfold. With both the Celtics and the Women of Troy, 2025 was supposed to mark the dawn of a potential dynasty, with Tatum and Watkins leading the way. After severe injuries to both star players, however, there are now major question marks surrounding the futures of both teams. With one bad plant of a foot, both Boston and USC went from perennial contenders to organizations with massive questions in a nanosecond.
Indianapolis Star
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana basketball adds assistant coach who developed NBA talent from Tennessee
Rod Clark is leaving Tennessee basketball after four seasons as an assistant coach on Rick Barnes ' staff, Clark told Knox News. Clark was hired to join Darian DeVries's staff at Indiana. DeVries was hired in March to replace Mike Woodson. DeVries coached at West Virginia last season after six seasons at Drake. Clark was on staff for some of the best seasons in Tennessee history. Tennessee won an SEC Tournament title in 2022 and an SEC regular-season title in 2024 with Clark on staff. It also went to back-to-back Elite Eights for the first time in program history in 2024 and 2025. It also reached a Sweet 16 in 2023. Rod Clark was instrumental in Vols landing Dalton Knecht, Chaz Lanier Clark, 32, was instrumental in Tennessee's recruiting efforts, including in the transfer portal. Notably, he spearheaded UT's recruitment of Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Clark headed the recruitment and secured an April 2023 visit from Knecht. The 6-foot-6 guard went on to win the SEC player of the year award and had one of the most impressive seasons in Vols basketball history. Knecht was a first-team All-American, the fourth consensus first-teamer in UT history. Lanier followed in the 2024 portal class from North Florida. He set the Tennessee single-season record with 123 3-pointers. The 6-5 guard earned multiple All-American honors. Clark also was essential in UT landing prospects such as Zakai Zeigler, Tobe Awaka, JP Estrella and Amari Evans. Rod Clark hired by Indiana basketball after four seasons with Tennessee Tennessee was Clark's first high-major college coaching job. He was an assistant coach for one season at Austin Peay. He was at the University of Illinois-Chicago for one season before he was hired at Austin Peay. Clark previously coached at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, from 2017-19. Clark is a Kansas City native. He played his final two seasons in college at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky. He played his first two seasons at Neosho Community College in Kansas and Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, respectively.
New York Times
01-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Hailey Van Lith's long college career ends with a loss, but also redemption
BIRMINGHAM, Ala — Standing at the top of the key, as Texas celebrated its first Final Four trip since 2003, TCU coach Mark Campbell addressed his players on the court for the final time this season. He then turned to his star, Hailey Van Lith, and gave her a hug. They embraced for about a minute before waving goodbye to their fans and walking off the court arm in arm. Advertisement The second-seeded Horned Frogs were fresh off their 58-47 loss to top-seeded Texas on Monday night, ending Van Lith's long career that has spanned five seasons with three different teams in five Elite Eights. But no tears rolled down her face on the court. Those came when TCU got back into the locker room and even at times in the postgame news conference. When Van Lith got choked up, it was from talking about her season at TCU and Campbell, not the loss to Texas. 'He has just breathed life into me, and from a life perspective, he's taught me a lot of great lessons about how to have healthy relationships, and what it takes to have a healthy relationship, and how much better life can be if you just let people see who you are,' Van Lith said. Hailey Van Lith embraces her coach after her last collegiate game ❤️ — ESPN (@espn) April 1, 2025 Van Lith arrived at TCU with no expectations about how many wins she'd gain with the Horned Frogs, who were 21-13 in Campbell's first year last season. Last season, Van Lith's season also ended in the Elite Eight with LSU — a year filled with adversity for her. She said she just wanted to find herself, find love in basketball and in life again. She said she found that at TCU. Monday night's Elite Eight wasn't her best game. She finished with 17 points, seven turnovers and shot just 3 of 14 from the field, but the legacy she's left at TCU and in college basketball isn't tied to just this result. She said she wanted redemption this season, a place where she felt at home, and to play for a coach who helped her be herself. She got more than she could've ever imagined, and at the same time, she impacted an entire program that was rebuilding from the ground up after using walk-ons last season to fill its injury-plagued roster. Advertisement 'To watch Hailey show up and do her process and her grind and her training habits, it was inspiring to her teammates, it was inspiring to our staff,' Campbell said. 'You want to give your best when you see someone approach their craft the way that she does. And that's been from Day 1.' When Van Lith left LSU, entering the transfer portal a second time after spending her first three seasons at Louisville, her father, Corey Van Lith, told her that Campbell reached out. That wasn't uncommon, though. Van Lith and Campbell have kept in contact since he was an assistant at Oregon and was her primary recruiter out of high school. Despite not choosing the Ducks, they kept in contact throughout their career. He texted to check on her and consistently reached out to her parents as well. When she left Louisville, Campbell reached out again. He didn't think he had a shot to sign Van Lith, though. So, he just gave her advice on her options and what types of schools fit her style. They broke down offensive schemes and more. 'He cared about my best interests,' Van Lith said. Van Lith remembered that when Campbell called her father again last year. Corey wasn't sure if they should call back, though, because TCU wasn't having much success, but Van Lith urged him to call, and soon after, she and Campbell connected too. She loved the idea of playing back in a pick-and-roll offense with a dominant big and shooters around her. But even more importantly, she felt refreshed talking to him. 'It was like a revival of somebody breathing life into me when that whole year I felt like people were taking it,' Van Lith said. 'For him to make me feel something in a 30-minute conversation that I hadn't felt for a whole year, I knew I had to take a visit.' Van Lith doesn't regret playing at LSU. But she acknowledged that it wasn't the best fit for her from a basketball standpoint. The 5-foot-9 guard thrives in the pick-and-roll and with her ability to create off the bounce, especially with plays breaking down. That wasn't always possible at LSU because coach Kim Mulkey's offense ran off dominant post players. Angel Reese was the focus of the offense, along with Aneesah Morrow. Advertisement 'Coach Mulkey's vision for a one was different than the one that I am,' Van Lith said. 'The style of play I play as a one didn't fit her system.' Her numbers dropped to just 11.6 points per game, her lowest average since her freshman season. Her WNBA projections dipped as well, along with her confidence. Van Lith has been in the spotlight since she was coming out of Cashmere High School in Washington and had one of the largest followings in college basketball, men's or women's. She said the spotlight wore on her at times in her college career. This postseason, for the first time, she opened up about her mental health struggles and seeking help to heal. There were days when she said she had suicidal thoughts and took medication because she couldn't sleep or eat. Though she felt more at ease in Fort Worth and with the Horned Frogs, those feelings didn't just disappear. She arrived at TCU with a wall up, Campbell said. 'She kind of kept her distance for different reasons,' he said. 'Just as we went through that journey together, that wall slowly came down, and she opened up and became vulnerable and we were able to challenge each other and have honest conversations.' She and Campbell were tied at the hip throughout her time at TCU. She needed to get to know her new coach on a deeper level, and he wanted her to be able to open up to him. As she did, the improvement in her game started to show as well. LET'S GOOOOOOOO — TCU Women's Basketball (@tcuwbb) April 1, 2025 She wanted to play point guard at TCU, a position many around the country thought she couldn't play because of her struggles at LSU. She set the TCU single-season record in assists with 202 and points with 663. She was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. 'She was the perfect piece at the right time,' Campbell said. Advertisement Her impact with the Horned Frogs won't be forgotten, Campbell said. 'I don't know the criteria in regards to getting your jersey hung at TCU, but I have a hard time believing that anybody in any sport in one year can have a greater impact than what Hailey Van Lith has had at TCU,' Campbell said. 'If it's up to me, yes, no question (her jersey will eventually be retired).' As Van Lith walked off the floor at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, it was obvious that TCU had changed her for the better. 'I really praise God for the struggle and the suffering,' Van Lith said. 'I praise Him for the nights where I didn't want to be alive anymore. I praise Him for the nights that I was on medication because I couldn't sleep or eat. And it's painful to talk about it, but it's really how beautiful life is. So I'm sitting up here now with women that I love and a coach that I love and a team that I love and we aren't even sad about losing. We're sad that we aren't going to see each other probably next week. So, my journey has been crazy. I'm super grateful for it; wouldn't have had it any other way.' If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. (Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
