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USA Today
20-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oregon baseball's Mark Wasikowski named Big Ten Coach of the Year
Oregon baseball's Mark Wasikowski named Big Ten Coach of the Year Oregon baseball coach Mark Wasikowski was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches Tuesday morning after the Ducks captured the conference regular season crown. The Ducks went 22-8 in conference play and 41-13 overall as they will be the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament this week in Omaha. This is the first time Wasikowski has been named Coach of the Year during his six seasons at Oregon. He makes it a clean sweep on the diamond as Oregon's softball coach, Melyssa Lombardi, was also given the award last week. It's quite the achievement for the Ducks in just their first season in the Big Ten. Besides Wasikowski being honored, five Oregon players were named to the conference First Team and four others were named to the Third Team. Friday night ace Grayson Grinsell, closer Seth Maddox, first baseman Jacob Walsh, outfielder Mason Neville and second baseman Ryan Cooney were the Ducks' First-Teamers. Headlining the Third Team is designated hitter Dominic Hellman, shortstop Maddox Molony, outfielder Anson Aroz, and starting pitcher Jason Reitz. Catcher Burke-Lee Mabeus was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team as well. Grinsell led the Ducks on the mound, going 9-2 with a 2.33 earned run average. Seth Maddox ended the regular season with a 2.60 ERA and seven saves. On the offensive side, Neville was the guy for the Ducks with his NCAA-leading and program single-season mark of 26 home runs and 56 runs batted in. Walsh, the program overall leader in round-trippers with 59 total, also dramatically improved his batting average to .344 and 59 RBI. Cooney, who hit eighth in the order for much of the season, managed to hit .341 and drive in 47 runs. The Ducks will attempt to make it a double championship season as they open the conference tournament on Thursday with Michigan State. The Spartans starting lefty, Joseph Dzierwa, was the Pitcher of the Year. UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky won Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kings' Domantas Sabonis suffers right ankle injury in win against Grizzlies
All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis left the Sacramento Kings' Monday night victory over the Memphis Grizzlies early after suffering a right ankle injury in the third quarter. Sabonis had already left the court to head to the locker room once earlier in the proceedings, after a first-quarter collision with Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard left him with a cut above his left eye. He'd return after getting it stitched up, scoring six points with four rebounds in 11 first-half minutes to help stake Sacramento to a double-digit lead at intermission. In the opening minute of the third quarter, though, as Sabonis rolled to the rim after screening for teammate Zach LaVine, he stepped on the foot of Grizzlies defender Jaylen Wells, rolling his right ankle hard and instantly grasping for it as he crashed to the court in a heap: The 28-year-old big man immediately signaled to the Kings' bench that he needed to come out of the game, and needed the help of teammates and coaches to get to his feet and hobble back to the Sacramento locker room. Shortly thereafter, the team ruled him out for the remainder of the game. The Kings would rally without their starting center, riding red-hot shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and the playmaking of LaVine, Malik Monk and DeMar DeRozan to build a lead that ballooned to 20 points in the fourth quarter and hold off the visiting Grizz for a 132-122 win. Sacramento improved to 34-33, remaining in ninth place in the Western Conference. [Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem is back: Enter for a shot to win up to $50K] Interim Kings coach Doug Christie, who looked shaken on the sideline in the moments after Sabonis' injury, told reporters after the game that he had no update on his star center's status. His teammates sounded an optimistic note about a player who, in LaVine's words, 'gets bumped and bruised because he plays so damn hard.' 'I'm always concerned when my teammate's not on the court,' Monk told reporters. 'I really didn't see the play until I looked up. It looked pretty bad. But Domas [is] strong. He'll probably be back sooner than we think.' The Kings will certainly hope so. They enter Tuesday 3.5 games back of the eighth-place Clippers, two games ahead of 10th-place Dallas and three games up on 11th-place Phoenix; an extended absence for Sabonis could deal a serious blow to their chances of remaining in play-in position. (It could also harm the chances of Sabonis — an All-NBA Third Team selection in each of the last two seasons — reaching the 65-game threshold for inclusion in year-end awards voting.) Sabonis is averaging 19.2 points, an NBA-leading 13.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 34.8 minutes per game, shooting 63% on 2-pointers and 42.5% from 3-point land. The only other player hitting those marks this season? MVP candidate Nikola Jokić — a similarly bruising point-center offensive hub to whom Sabonis' game is frequently compared. While Sabonis' absence isn't quite as detrimental to Sacramento as Jokić's would be to the Nuggets — although, y'know, try telling the Warriors that — it's still considerable. For the season, the Kings have outscored opponents by 4.2 points per 100 non-garbage-time possessions with Sabonis on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass, and have been outscored by 5.7 points-per-100 with him off of it. That net-rating gap has narrowed somewhat since the Kings' roster-remaking trade deadline, which saw the franchise ship out Sabonis' running buddy De'Aaron Fox, shooting guard Kevin Huerter and lightly used reserves Jordan McLaughlin, Alex Len and Colby Jones and bring in not only LaVine, but also veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas and combo forward Jake LaRavia (who played on Monday like he had a bone to pick with the Grizzlies team that jettisoned him). Valančiūnas, a stalwart per-minute producer dating back to his days in Toronto, has put up 9.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in just 19.5 minutes per game in Sacramento; the Kings are plus-27 in 321 minutes with Valančiūnas on the floor and Sabonis off of it, according to PBP Stats. But even with Valančiūnas and the versatile Trey Lyles to plug the gap, the Kings are 31-27 with Sabonis in the lineup and just 3-6 in the nine games they've played without him; that includes four losses in six contests that he missed earlier this month with a left hamstring injury. Even if they're able to hold down the fort and hold off the likes of the Mavericks and Suns in the play-in chase, the Kings know their best chance of making any noise come mid-April comes with their hard-charging center upright and fully operational. 'Domas wants to be out there as much as anybody,' LaVine told reporters. 'We need to make sure he doesn't rush back and takes care of himself, because we're going to need him in the long run.'


USA Today
17-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dolphins' top 2025 draft prospects: Texas A&M DL Shemar Stewart
Shemar Stewart is a Miami native who is loaded with potential and has a strong chance at being the most physically impressive prospect on the board when the Dolphins are on the clock at No. 13 overall. The former Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman has an outstanding first step and a powerful bull rush. Stewart earned Third Team All-SEC honors in 2024 and finished his collegiate career with 65 total tackles including 12 for loss with 4.5 sacks and four passes defended. He also returned a fumble for a score in 2023. Position: Edge/Defensive lineman Projected round: 1st round Height: 6'6 Weight: 290 Fit for Miami The Dolphins drafted edge rusher Chop Robinson in the first round last year, but still have a lot of unknowns on the other side. Veteran linebacker Bradley Chubb was out all of last season due to a 2023 knee injury. It's also unclear if Emmanuel Ogbah, who is set to hit free agency in March, will return to the Dolphins in 2025. Miami will get Jaelan Phillips back after he suffered a season-ending injury for a second straight year, but depth is needed on the edge. Stewart's flexibility for work along the defensive line could make him helpful in multiple facets. Stewart can play the edge or be a factor on the interior of the line. At 6'6 with a long wing span, his explosiveness and bull rushing can make him a moveable piece within the front of Anthony Weaver's defense. Bottom line Stewart's athleticism and potential make him enticing, but his production raises concerns. The Aggies lineman recorded exactly 1.5 sacks in each of his three seasons in the college ranks. While he showed great things at the 2025 Senior Bowl, taking Stewart at No. 13 overall would probably be a bit of a reach. A trade back in the first round could make Stewart a more palatable candidate for the Dolphins.