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USA Today
07-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer reminisces on his time at Oklahoma
Shane Beamer's genes helped get his foot in the door as a college football coach. His time at Oklahoma, though, set him up for his first head-coaching job. Beamer, entering his fifth year running the program at South Carolina, joined the "Dari Nowkhah Show" on KREF in Norman this week and spoke about his time with the Sooners. Beamer served as OU's assistant head coach and tight ends coach from 2018-2020. "Just so cool to be a part of a program that has so much tradition," Beamer said. "To be able to come into that building each day and drive past all those Heisman Trophy statues and see all the conference championships, it was a really cool experience for me." He left after his three seasons with the Sooners, as South Carolina needed a head coach after firing Will Muschamp during the 2020 season. Beamer has taken the Gamecocks to three bowls in his four seasons and most recently finished with his best year yet as South Carolina finished 9-4 and beat Clemson in the regular season finale. Expectations are even higher this year as the Gamecocks found themselves ranked No. 13 in the first USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released earlier this week. Oklahoma, incidentally, checked in a de facto 26th, picking up the most points for the Top 25 without achieving a ranking. "We loved our time out there. We really did," Beamer said. "I took that job sight unseen when Lincoln called me. The only time I had ever been in the state of Oklahoma was in 1991. I was a freshman in high school, and Virginia Tech came out there and played Oklahoma. I didn't step foot in Norman, Oklahoma again until I literally arrived until I literally arrived to take the job." Beamer's current school will play his former on October 18 at South Carolina. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Clemson guard Chase Hunter is one college basketball coach's 2025 NBA draft sleeper
The 2025 NBA Draft is two days away, and aside from the Duke Blue Devils with projected No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, there aren't many ACC programs with players who expect to be first-round selections this year. The Clemson Tigers won't see anyone drafted in the first round and perhaps not even the second round, though big man Viktor Lakhin made a pair of recent mock drafts from ESPN and Yahoo Sports as a late selection. At least one college basketball coach believes there's another Clemson star worth a look as an undrafted free agent. That's Chase Hunter, who spent six seasons with the Tigers and helped lead Clemson to only its second Elite Eight appearance in program history in 2024. Hunter's name was mentioned as part of a discussion with anonymous college coaches The Athletic (subscription required) recently asked to weigh in on potential second-round draft picks. One rival ACC coach highlighted Hunter and said of the Atlanta native: "Another one I like and mentioned to NBA guys during the year and didn't quite understand why people didn't like him. So smooth. Gets to the rim. He can play in pick-and-roll. He rejected us a couple times and got to his pull-up and made it look effortless. Good size for a guard. Can really defend. I did see a couple of times when physicality hurt him. But he was one of the best guards in the ACC. I would bet on him for the mix of toughness, athleticism, offensive skill that he is going to stick at least as a backup point guard." That's quite a compliment for Hunter, who surprised many when he decided to forgo the NBA Draft last summer and return to Clemson for another season. Hunter had career highs in scoring (16.5 points per game), shooting percentage (47 percent), rebounds (3.0) and steals (1.4). Clemson went 27-7 overall and 18-2 in ACC play, at one point climbing to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll in the regular season. Hunter finished his college career with 1,789 points across six seasons, good for third in Clemson history behind Elden Campbell (1,880 points) and Terrell McIntyre (1,839). Though no one expects him to be drafted, Hunter signing as an undrafted free agent would be a low-risk investment for a team that values the attributes rival coaches like the one above mentioned. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennessee baseball ranked top 10 for fifth consecutive season
The 2025 college baseball season concluded Sunday. LSU defeated Coastal Carolina, 2-0, in the College World Series Finals at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Tennessee (46-19) was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional at Arkansas. Advertisement The final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released on Monday. The Vols finished the 2025 campaign ranked No. 10 with 410 points. LSU (1), Arkansas (3), Tennessee (10), Texas (12), Auburn (13), Vanderbilt (14), Georgia (15) and Ole Miss (18) finished the 2025 season ranked in the top 25. 2025 marks the fifth consecutive season the Vols have finished with a top 10 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Below are final rankings each season for Tennessee in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll under eighth-year head coach Tony Vitello. PHOTOS: Tony Vitello through the years Tennessee baseball's final ranking in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll each season under Tony Vitello 2025: No. 10 (46-19) Advertisement 2024: No. 1 (60-13) 2023: No. 4 (44-22) 2022: No. 9 (57-9) 2021: No. 5 (50-18) 2020: No. 20 (15-2)* 2019: Not ranked, received 68 votes (40-21) 2018: Not ranked (29-27) *2020 season canceled after 17 games due to coronavirus pandemic Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee baseball's final ranking each season under Tony Vitello
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee baseball ranked top 10 for fifth consecutive season
The 2025 college baseball season concluded Sunday. LSU defeated Coastal Carolina, 2-0, in the College World Series Finals at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Tennessee (46-19) was eliminated in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional at Arkansas. The final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released on Monday. The Vols finished the 2025 campaign ranked No. 10 with 410 points. LSU (1), Arkansas (3), Tennessee (10), Texas (12), Auburn (13), Vanderbilt (14), Georgia (15) and Ole Miss (18) finished the 2025 season ranked in the top 25. 2025 marks the fifth consecutive season the Vols have finished with a top 10 ranking in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Below are final rankings each season for Tennessee in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll under eighth-year head coach Tony Vitello. PHOTOS: Tony Vitello through the years Tennessee baseball's final ranking in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll each season under Tony Vitello 2025: No. 10 (46-19) 2024: No. 1 (60-13) 2023: No. 4 (44-22) 2022: No. 9 (57-9) 2021: No. 5 (50-18) 2020: No. 20 (15-2)* 2019: Not ranked, received 68 votes (40-21) 2018: Not ranked (29-27) *2020 season canceled after 17 games due to coronavirus pandemic Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Alabama picks up transfer portal commitment from in-state foe
Alabama picks up transfer portal commitment from in-state foe Alabama baseball picked up its fourth offseason commitment from the transfer portal on Monday. Former South Alabama infielder Brennan Holt, who spent a year at LSU and a year at Oklahoma State, announced his decision to transfer to the Crimson Tide in a post to social media. Holt joins pitchers Matthew Tippie (Texas State) and Kaden Humphrey (North Florida) and infielder Justin Osterhouse (Purdue-Fort Wayne) as players Alabama has added via the portal since its season ended with a 6-5 loss to Southern Miss at the Hattiesburg Regional of the NCAA Tournament on May 31. A product of Parkview Baptist School in Baton Rouge, Holt spent the past two seasons at South Alabama after committing to LSU in 2020. He was rated the No. 5 overall recruit in Louisiana by Perfect Game coming out of high school. Holt spent one season with the Tigers in 2022 and appeared in five games before obtaining a medical redshirt due to injury and transferring to Oklahoma State for his sophomore season in 2023. He played in 34 games for the Cowboys and batted .173 (11-for-52). As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, Holt started all 56 games for South Alabama and batted .266 with three home runs, 15 doubles and 24 RBIs. His average rose to .303 as a junior this past season, clubbing six home runs to go with 14 doubles. Holt primarily played second base and was the Jags' leadoff hitter. He stole 29 bases over two seasons with South Alabama, which finished 23-28 overall in the Sun Belt conference this year. Alabama capped the 2025 season at 41-18 overall and were 16-14 in SEC play during the regular season in coach Rob Vaughn's second year in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide's 40 victories in the regular season marked the first time since 2002 that Alabama had posted 40 or more wins in a regular season. Alabama was the No. 2 seed at the Hattiesburg Regional and was ranked No. 20 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll entering the NCAA Tournament. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinions.
