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USA Today
10-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
College World Series Preview: 3 things to know about Coastal Carolina
College World Series Preview: 3 things to know about Coastal Carolina The College World Series returns this week for the 75th anniversary of the CWS in Omaha. LSU baseball is headed to Omaha for the 20th time in program history. The Tigers will be joined by seven other programs looking to make a run at the national title. Just about every pocket of the country is represented in the field of eight. There's a heavy West Coast presence with Arizona, Oregon State, and UCLA. LSU and Arkansas represent the boot, while Murray State and Louisville represent Kentucky. From the Southeast, we have Coastal Carolina. We have a fresh field as none of these teams were in Omaha last year. A few schools are chasing their first national championship while programs like LSU and Arizona look to add to a large trophy case. Ahead of the CWS, we'll examine all eight teams. With only two SEC teams in the field, LSU fans are likely unfamiliar with most of these squads. Here are three things to know about Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are riding a 23-game win streak Coastal Carolina is the hottest team in college baseball right now. The Chanticleers' last loss came on April 22 at The College of Charleston. Since then, Coastal Carolina has notched four sweeps and won the Sun Belt Tournament. There are always questions about how teams like Coastal will fare against power conference competition, but CCU quieted those concerns. The win streak includes a victory over Clemson and a sweep of Auburn in the super regional. This team has the talent to hang with the top squads in college baseball. According to the Massey Ratings, Coastal Carolina is the fourth-best team in the sport. They're far from a sleeper in Omaha. Led Sun Belt in stolen bases and fielding percentage The little things can be the difference in June baseball. Coastal Carolina led the Sun Belt in stolen bases and fielding percentage. The Chanticleers can create extra runs on offense and know how to keep them off the board on defense. Sebastian Alexander is one of the top runners in the country with 27 steals on the year. Wells Sykes can run too, with 17 steals to his name. CCU has a strong defense behind the plate as well, with First-Team All-Sun Belt catcher Caden Bodine. Pitching staff is deep The only pitching staff in Omaha that can rival Coastal Carolina from a depth standpoint is Arkansas, and the Razorbacks are on the other side of the bracket. With a strong starting rotation and deep bullpen, the Chanticleers have the tools to fight out of the losers' bracket if they must. Jacob Morrison has been one of the top pitchers in the country all year. The big righty is 11-0 with a 2.15 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 96.1 innings pitched. Along with Morrison, you have Riley Eikhoff, who has a 2.90 ERA in 15 starts. It doesn't stop there as Cameron Flukey, 3.24 ERA in 91.2 innings, rounds out the rotation. Not many teams have three bonafide starters like that.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Where does Liam Doyle rank in top 150 prospects for 2025 MLB draft?
Where does Liam Doyle rank in top 150 prospects for 2025 MLB draft? One week remains in the 2025 SEC baseball regular season. Ahead of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, MLB released its list of the top 150 prospects for the 2025 MLB draft. Among the prospects, Tennessee left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle ranks No. 10 overall. He is the No. 3 left-handed pitcher on the board behind Jamie Arnold of Florida State (No. 3 overall) and Kade Anderson of LSU (No. 9 overall). "While he throws his fastball nearly two-thirds of the time, Doyle has four effective pitches after switching to using an upper-80s as his changeup," Doyle's scouting profile says. "Despite his dominance this spring, there are concerns about his ability to succeed as a starter at the next level because he has an unorthodox delivery and constantly throws with maximum intent." Doyle began his collegiate career at Coastal Carolina where he earned first team honors in the Sun Belt Tournament. He played his 2024 campaign at Ole Miss before transferring to Tennessee in the offseason. Doyle has pitched 74.2 innings for the Vols this season and has totaled 127 strikeouts, while allowing 23 walks and 19 runs. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Panthers GM Dan Morgan addresses signing basketball player with no football experience
Panthers GM Dan Morgan addresses signing basketball player with no football experience What were the Carolina Panthers thinking last week when they signed a basketball player with no prior football experience? President of football operations and general manager Dan Morgan gave us a look into that thought process on Tuesday. Morgan chatted with reporters this afternoon, primarily about the upcoming 2025 NFL draft. But he was asked about the team's addition of new tight end Colin Granger, who was playing college basketball just a little over a month ago. "I think it's a good opportunity to fill out our 90-man roster," Morgan replied. "Colin had a good workout. He was recommended by George Fant, who we're familiar with from our Seattle days. It's just an opportunity just to add a guy, and be open minded and just kinda try some new things and see what we have." The Panthers announced a deal with Granger last Monday. Their official release on the signing noted that this will be the 6-foot-9, 235-pounder's "first foray" into football. Granger split a five-year collegiate basketball career between Ohio University, Western Carolina University and Coastal Carolina University. His final game came back on March 4, when he started at center for the Chanticleers in their Sun Belt Tournament matchup against the University of Southern Mississippi. As alluded to by Morgan, Granger came recommended by former Seahawks offensive lineman George Fant—who also played basketball in the Sun Belt Conference before switching to football. In fact, he was an all-conference selection (as a forward) in three different years at Western Kentucky University. Hopefully for Morgan and the Panthers, Granger ends up succeeding in his transition like Fant—who has now played nine NFL seasons. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New Panthers TE Colin Granger reacts to his improbable jump from college basketball to NFL
New Panthers TE Colin Granger reacts to his improbable jump from college basketball to NFL On March 4, Colin Granger suited up as the starting center for the Coastal Carolina University basketball squad. And now, just 34 days later, he's a professional football player. The Carolina Panthers announced a deal with Granger on Monday, officially signing the 6-foot-9, 225-pounder to their roster as a tight end. Remarkably enough, Granger has no prior football experience—at least on a notable organized level. He's spent the last five years as a Division I baller (basketballer, that is), and is set to make an improbable jump from the hardwood to the gridiron. Granger recorded his own reaction to the agreement with the Panthers this afternoon. Scroll through his Instagram post to take a look . . . (Warning: Explicit language) That final college basketball game, a Sun Belt Tournament matchup against the University of Southern Mississippi, saw Granger collect a team-high 19 points while shooting at an efficient 63.6-percent clip from the field. He and the Chanticleers fell just short in a 66-63 defeat. Before his lone season in Conway, S.C., Granger split the first four years of his collegiate career between Ohio University (2020 to 2022) and Western Carolina University (2022 to 2024). (For all the latest updates on free agency, follow along here.)
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Troy vs Kentucky Prediction: Odds, Expert Picks, Betting Trends and Stats for 2025 March Madness First Round
The Kentucky Wildcats (22-11) are set to face the Troy Trojans (23-10) in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Friday in Milwaukee, WI. Kentucky enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and as one of the true, blue bloods of the sport holding records for the most appearances (62) and the most games played (185). They have secured eight National Championships and reached 17 Final Fours. The good news for this year's Wildcats is Lamont Butler practiced earlier this week signaling his availability despite ankle and shoulder injuries. The guard's presence on the court adds scoring but also helps space the court for Kentucky. Troy enters the tournament as the No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region having won the Sun Belt Tournament with a 94-81 win over Arkansas State. The team averages 73.9 points per game, ranking 177th nationally, and has a field goal percentage of 43.8%. The winner of this game earns the right to play the winner of Illinois vs. Xavier. Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Date: Friday, March 21, 2025 Time: 7:10PM EST Site: Fiserv Forum City: Milwaukee, WI Network/Streaming: CBS Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates. The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM: Odds: Troy Trojans (+525), Kentucky Wildcats (-750) Spread: Wildcats -11.5 Total: 152.5 points Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's Trojans & Wildcats game: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Kentucky -11.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total OVER 152.5. Troy has won 6 straight and 8 of their last 10 games Troy is 6-0 against the spread in their last 6 games The Game Total is 6-1 to the OVER in Troy's last 7 games Kentucky is 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games (16-14-1 ATS for the season) Kentucky has won 4 of their last 7 games If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
