Eight high school sports takeaways from Thursday, including milestones, walk-offs, and college transfers
Sophia Cappiello
lofted a walk-off sacrifice fly that scored Kayleigh Martin and gave Tewksbury a 7-6, 11-inning win over Chelmsford.
Scituate junior
Matt Monahan
provided a walk-off single to beat Martha's Vineyard, 2-1, in the JL Murphy Tournament.
On the lacrosse field,
Emily Berube
provided the overtime winner for Bishop Feehan, battling crosstown rival Attleboro to a 10-9 victory.
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Technically there was still a second left on the clock, but Marshfield essentially walked off Westwood, 7-6, on
Brody Jordan's
goal with one second remaining. That followed
Nate Cochran's
equalizer with under a minute remaining, both of which came off
Charlie Carroll
assists that followed
Sam O'Brien
faceoff wins.
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North Andover's Isa Robinson poses after scoring her 200th career goal in a win over Natick.
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2. Milestones
North Andover's
Isa Robinson
enjoyed a six-goal day in a 16-4 win over Natick, pushing her past 200 goals for her career.
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Medfield's
Izzy Kittredge
and Greater Lowell's
Emma Finch
both recorded their 100th goal. Kittredge scored four goals in a 17-7 win over Algonquin and is just 6 points away from 200, while Finch scored seven times in a 13-4 win over Monty Tech.
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3. Three stars
Jayla Jones
, North Andover
— The 5-foot-3-inch sophomore shortstop, who moved from South Texas, delivered six RBIs in a 14-0 win over Lawrence.
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Tuto Sampaio
and
Julien He
, Winchester — The duo combined for 36 kills, with Sampaio providing 21 and He adding 15, to beat Greater New Bedford, 3-1, in the ALS One Invitational.
Ryan Solimini
, Abington — The junior chipped in everywhere, making two diving catches, pitching 4 2/3 innings of relief with seven strikeouts to pick up his fifth win, and driving in the go-ahead run with a sixth-inning triple to beat Millbury, 6-5.
4. Going, going, gone
It was not a day for power, but those with wheels did deliver a pair of round-trippers as Revere's
Caleigh Joyce
and Medway's
Bryanna Frauton
both raced to inside-the-park homers.
5. Daily lacrosse leaderboard
Goals
Julia Kipperman
, Nauset, 8
Reese Bromby
, Newburyport, 7
Emma Finch
, Greater Lowell, 7
Kyla Darmon
, Sandwich, 6
Nick Emsing
, BC High, 6
Isa Robinson
, North Andover, 6
Seamus Cable
, Wakefield, 5
Nick Hitchman
, Melrose, 5
Nico Smith
, Mansfield, 5
Elisabeth Stutzman
, Sandwich, 5
Charlie Thurlow
, Manchester Essex, 5
Points
Desmond Csizmadia
, Methuen, 8
Kipperman, Nauset, 8
Cooper Masso
, Bishop Feehan, 8
Robinson, North Andover, 8
Smith, Mansfield, 8
Bromby, Newburyport, 7
Darmon, Sandwich, 7
Thomas Donovan
, Mansfield, 7
Finch, Greater Lowell, 7
Dillon Albert
, Canton, 6
Meghan Daley
, North Andover, 6
Emsing, BC High, 6
Cole Hogencamp
, Mansfield, 6
Izzy Kittredge
, Medfield, 6
Sara MacLeod
, Billerica, 6
Thurlow, Manchester Essex, 6
6. Daily strikeout leaderboard
Jill Ondrick
, Weymouth, 21
Rebecca Hornung
, Southeastern, 12
Sam Luekens
, Newburyport, 12
Elsie Testa
, Abington, 12
Reese Taylor
, Apponequet, 11
Jack Mangone
, Mystic Valley, 9
Max LaMonica
, North Quincy, 8
7. College corner
Drew Bourdeau
, a former Newburyport boys' lacrosse star and assistant coach at Marblehead and North Andover, led Saint Anselm to its first outright Northeast-10 regular season title with a perfect 8-0 record in his first season with the Hawks. Bourdeau, a Saint Anselm's graduate ('18), was hired away from coaching Bedford High, where he was named 2024 US Lacrosse New Hampshire Coach of the Year, to replace
Mike Sciamanna
, who left for Merrimack.
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𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐔𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 🏆🥍
The Hawks clinched their first-ever outright NE10 regular season title (second title overall) last weekend and completed an undefeated regular season👏 Read the full story below ⬇️
📰:
— Saint Anselm Men's Lacrosse (@STAHawksMLAX)
8. Commitment central
Originally from Lynn,
Jason Asemota
is returning close to home by committing to Boston College basketball. The 6-foot-8-inch, 205-pound power forward played one season at Baylor after attending Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Ariz. Asemota played in 24 games last year, averaging 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Dante Reno
(Sturbridge), who attended Loomis Chaffee and Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, is entering the transfer portal after one year at South Carolina. The son of Yale coach
Tony Reno
, the 6-foot-2, 214-pound redshirt freshman will have four years of eligibility remaining. He threw for 2,358 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior for Cheshire.
South Carolina QB Dante Reno is entering the transfer portal, he tells
Reno was a 4-star prospect in the 2024 class. He has 4 years of eligibility
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal)
Brendan Kurie can be reached at
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Boston Globe
28-07-2025
- Boston Globe
Wally Seaver Invitational has become the place for summer basketball fans, and the fight vs. ALS
Proceeds from the tournament will be donated to the Peter Frates Foundation. Final numbers for the tournament were not yet available. 'It's humbling, it's grounding, and I know what we're fighting for,' said Paul Seaver, the tournament director and son of Wally, who passed in 2013. 'It's good to keep my dad's name and legacy alive, but it's about helping those who are fighting ALS now and unbeknownst will fight ALS as this disease will continue to be fought.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In the blue division final, New Hampshire powerhouse Trinity outlasted Mansfield, 53-45, at Mass Premier. Trinity bested Attleborough, 68-58, in the semifinals to clinch their place in the championship. Advertisement 'We just saw one of the best teams in Massachusetts and one of the best teams in New Hampshire,' said Paul Seaver. 'Before that, in the semifinals, we saw the same thing. It's amazing.' Trinity's Jordan Torres (right) cuts past Mansfield's Darrian Sanders for a layup try during Sunday's blue division championship game of the Wally Seaver Invitational in Foxborough. MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Jordan Torres hit clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch, taking over offensively to seal the deal. He supplied 15 points, 7 rebounds, a steal, and 2 blocks. Xander McBournie added 15 points. Advertisement 'ALS is a really big thing for us and playing for a cause is all that really matters,' said Trinity coach Ray Farmer. 'We talk about being bigger than basketball and basketball being the message that's used to be better men. This is a great opportunity for us to seize that and exploit that even more. 'I'm happy that my guys stepped up to the plate for something that actually mattered.' The Pioneers implemented suffocating defense, consistently engaging in full-court defense and contesting every shot, refusing to let opponents find any sort of rhythm. The Hornets — who bested Portsmouth (N.H.), 78-72, in the semifinals — couldn't sustain the furious pace in the second half of the final. The resilient Hornets, who played with seven players (including six for the most of the championship game) and without a coach, showcased why they will be a team to watch when the temperature drops this winter. The Mansfield duo of Tom Muldoon (left) and Troy Lasbury-Casey converge on Trinity's Jamar Gregory-Alleyne. MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Kacyn Connor paced all scorers with 20 points, adding 3 rebounds and a block. Troy Lasbury-Casey dominated the glass, recording 14 rebounds to go with 7 points, an assist, a steal, and a block. Darrien Sanders did it all, as the point guard finished with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and 3 blocks. In the girls' purple division, St. Mary's downed Catholic Central League rival Bishop Fenwick, 55-47 at Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton. Cam Kerry can be reached at
New York Times
08-07-2025
- New York Times
College football recruiting reset: Fireworks for Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama
The Fourth of July week is always a pivotal time in the recruiting world. Fresh off June official visits, recruits are ready to issue commitments, and it's when classes across the country begin to truly take shape ahead of football season beginning in the fall. Last week was no exception, with more than 150 recruits making a decision. But boy were there some fireworks in what was the most captivating recruiting week of the year to this point. From shocking decisions to some drama in the race for the top class, consider this your primer to anything you may have missed. Advertisement Let's get into it. Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite. • No one had a better Fourth of July than Texas Tech and coach Joey McGuire, who landed five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo of Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas, in rather surprising fashion. Ojo is ranked No. 7 overall and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the Class of 2026. Just one day before the announcement, he wrote on social media that his finalists were Texas, Michigan, Ohio State and Florida, but he picked the Red Raiders on Friday with no indication Texas Tech was in the race. The Athletic reported Ojo is set to receive an annual compensation of $775,000 for three years from Tech's revenue-sharing pool, but there is a verbal agreement in place where the money could jump into the $5 million range depending on a potential increase in the revenue cap or schools' willingness to ignore the cap, as many have with NIL regulation. Should he sign with the Red Raiders in December, Ojo would become the highest-rated recruit in program history. Texas Tech also landed two four-stars last week in running back Ashton Rowden and cornerback Donovan Webb — both Texas natives — and is making some moves in the Class of 2027 as well. The Red Raiders recently emerged as the favorites to land five-star edge LaDamion Guyton, a Georgia native who is the top player in the '27 class, and Cooper Hackett, a five-star offensive tackle from Oklahoma. Talk about a talent infusion! • Alabama finished the month of June on a high note with commitments from two top-50 prospects — including five-star edge Xavier Griffin — in a three-day span. Turns out July has been even better to coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff. The Crimson Tide landed two more five-stars over the weekend in wide receiver Cederian Morgan, an in-state prospect, and safety Jireh Edwards from Baltimore. They also added defensive lineman Nolan Wilson, a Mississippi native who ranks No. 58 nationally. Advertisement Alabama's class is now ranked No. 5 overall with an average player rating of 93.06, tops among teams with at least 15 commitments. The class includes nine top-100 prospects and four five-stars, and three of the top four recruits in the state are headed to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban, who was spotted taking pictures with recruits on Alabama official visits last month, would be proud. • When Fran Brown took the Syracuse job in November 2023, there were high expectations for the former Georgia assistant, who was among coach Kirby Smart's ace recruiters. Brown has lived up to the hype on the recruiting trail and made his biggest splash yet on Saturday when wide receiver Calvin Russell, a Miami native who ranks No. 47 nationally, committed to the Orange over Michigan, Florida State, Oregon, Miami, Florida, LSU and North Carolina. Like Ojo at Texas Tech, Russell is set to be Syracuse's highest-rated recruit in program history. Blessed Beyond Measures! — Calvin Russell Dual Sport Ath (@14gump_) July 7, 2025 • Stop us if you've heard this before: Georgia was dominant on the recruiting trail in June. And the rich only got richer last week as the calendar turned to July. Smart and his staff recently picked up a pledge from four-star tight end Brayden Fogle, an Ohio native, after landing 16 commits in June. There were five top-100 prospects among those June commits — cornerback Justice Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Pierre Dean, offensive tackle Ekene Ogboko, defensive lineman James Johnson and cornerback Caden Harris, who flipped from Vanderbilt. With five-star quarterback Jared Curtis as the headliner, the Bulldogs are in prime position to finish with another top-three class. • Penn State added two commitments over the weekend from prime recruiting areas, four-star linebacker Tyson Harley of Gonzaga College High in Washington, D.C., as well as three-star offensive tackle Marlen Bright of DePaul Catholic in Wayne, N.J. James Franklin's class ranks No. 14 nationally with an average player rating of 89.06 — the program's lowest since the 2017 class. • If the last names of some of Notre Dame's newest commits sound familiar, well, it's because they are. Four-star wide receiver Kaydon Finley, the nation's No. 110 prospect out of Aledo, Texas, is the son of former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley and picked the Irish over Texas, his father's alma mater, on Friday. Advertisement A day later, three-star wide receiver Devin Fitzgerald, the son of former Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald, committed to the Irish. This, after four-star linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., the son of former Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis, pledged to Notre Dame in November. Marcus Freeman is a hit with NFL dads, and the Irish, who now have the nation's No. 4 class, are reaping the benefits. • Don't look now, but USC has some competition in the race to secure the nation's top class. Hello, Texas A&M. The Aggies picked up three big pieces last week in defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright of Buford (Ga.) High, linebacker DaQuives Beck of Carthage (Texas) High and linebacker Tank King of Port Arthur (Texas) Memorial. Perry, ranked No. 38 nationally, is the highest ranked of the three four-star additions. Mike Elko's class currently ranks third nationally behind USC and Georgia, and the average player rating of 92.23 is higher than both — and the Aggies surely aren't finished. • Did Vanderbilt just pick up one of 2026's diamonds in the rough? Three-star offensive tackle Mitchell Smith of Picayune (Miss.) Memorial committed to the Commodores on Friday over Alabama and Florida State. He took visits to all three campuses before picking the Commodores in a ceremony alongside his loved ones. Smith is ranked No. 699 nationally and also picked up offers earlier this year from UCLA, Clemson, USC, Florida, Nebraska and others. The Commodores currently have 16 commits in a class that ranks No. 49 nationally. • Interim head coach Frank Reich scored quite the win on Monday when Stanford landed a pledge from four-star defensive back Lasiah Jackson of Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County. Jackson is the nation's No. 123 prospect and the No. 17 player in Georgia. He picked Stanford over in-state Georgia Tech, Florida State and Alabama. • It's been a tough few days for Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian, who, in addition to losing out on Ojo to Texas Tech, also lost Finley — an in-state legacy — to the Fighting Irish. It wasn't all bad news for the Horns. On Friday, they received a pledge from John Turntine III, an offensive tackle from Fort Worth, Texas, who ranks No. 36 nationally. Turntine is one of three top-100 prospects in Texas' class, joining five-star QB Dia Bell and five-star edge Richard Wesley. Advertisement • USC has had its quarterback in place since Jonas Williams flipped from Oregon in February, and on Friday, the Trojans landed one of the nation's top receivers to give him another threat in the passing game. Four-star Ethan 'Boobie' Feaster picked the Trojans over Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU in a big win for USC and a big loss for the in-state Aggies. Feaster plays at DeSoto (Texas) High and reclassified to the 2026 class in February. He is ranked No. 40 overall and the No. 4 wide receiver. Feaster joins five-star tight end Mark Bowman, the headliner of the class, to give Williams another top pass catcher. • One of the most fascinating quarterback prospects in the nation is heading to Kentucky. Four-star Cincinnati native Matt Ponatoski chose the Wildcats over Alabama, Arkansas and Oregon and plans to play football and baseball in Lexington. Ponatoski is ranked No. 280 overall and the No. 21 quarterback in the class. He was named Ohio Mr. Football by the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association in 2024, beating out Tavien St. Clair, a former five-star prospect and current freshman at Ohio State. Ponatoski, who plays at Archbishop Moeller, threw for 4,217 yards with 57 touchdowns and only three interceptions as a junior. Ponatoski, a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, also won the Gatorade Ohio Baseball Player of the Year award. 'I think people think it might be too much,' he told local television station WLWT of playing both sports. 'But it's what I signed up for and I'm ready to go.' Saw Matt Ponatoski at @Elite11 last month. Was really impressed with him. Think Kentucky got a gem: — Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 7, 2025 • Sacramento State has made it clear it intends to compete like a big-time program, and the Hornets are recruiting like one, too. Coach Brennan Marion recently picked up a commitment from four-star wide receiver Xavier McDonald, who ranks No. 115 in the 2026 class. McDonald, a Mississippi native, visited Sacramento State officially in June and picked Marion's program over Ole Miss, LSU and North Carolina. Getting this one over the finish line will be huge for Marion to prove his program is for real, but to earn McDonald's commitment in the first place is no small feat. • Looking ahead, this is another big week for top recruits. Four-star athlete Jalen Lott of Frisco (Texas) Panther Creek is picking among LSU, Georgia, Texas, Oregon and USC. He is ranked No. 49 nationally. Five-star defensive lineman Lamar Brown of Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab is committing on Thursday and has a top four of Texas A&M, Texas, LSU and Miami. The Aggies and Tigers have been in heavy pursuit, though he originally canceled his LSU official visit last month, only to reschedule it a day later. Advertisement Other top-100 prospects also committing this week: four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Carlton of Temple (Texas) High on Thursday, four-star athlete Samari Matthews of Cornelius (N.C.) Hough on Friday and five-star tight end Kaiden Prothro of Buford (Ga.) High on Saturday. (Photo of Joey McGuire: Josh Hedges / Getty Images)
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
How a $5 million 'Wild West' NIL offer cost Texas an elite prospect they would've never lost under previous recruiting rules
How a $5 million 'Wild West' NIL offer cost Texas an elite prospect they would've never lost under previous recruiting rules originally appeared on A to Z Sports. The Texas Longhorns were always viewed as a heavy favorite to keep Mansfield, Texas, native and five-star offensive tackle prospect Felix Ojo in their class. Steve Sarkisian pitched an excellent situation to Ojo, including an NFL pipeline, a great NIL offer, and the ability to win. Advertisement Instead, Ojo shocked the world when, hours before his decision came, a flurry of new crystal ball projections pointed to Texas Tech. Not long later, the Red Raiders were announced as Ojo's next stop. The next shocker was the staggering NIL offer agreed upon, which included $775,000 a year that could swell to $5.1 million. Ojo's agent, Derrick Shelby, explained that the house settlement about revenue sharing is what caused the rise of the Red Raiders. He explained that offers changed after that pivotal moment, but Texas Tech stood firm. 'Through this process, some of his visits and offers were coming pre-House settlement. It was more of the wild, wild west,' Shelby said. 'Once they signed off on the House settlement, a lot of the numbers changed. Now, they may not have as much to give. Tech's number didn't change.' The loss was stunning for Texas in the moment, but the context makes it more understandable how Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns couldn't win. Ojo was prioritizing the bag throughout his recruitment, and it's why Ohio State hadn't expected to win the fight even before the house settlement. Advertisement Financially, Texas and Ohio State have too many players to pay to compete with a lesser program that can be top-heavy with its spending. That's the cost that comes with being a deeper roster and hyper-competitive across numerous sports. Ojo, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound standout, is ESPN's No. 4 offensive tackle and the second-highest-ranked recruit from Texas in the 2026 class. After taking official visits to Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, and Texas this spring, Ojo committed to Texas Tech, marking the highest-rated recruit in the program's history since ESPN started tracking high school prospects in 2006. Ojo's commitment comes with one of the most substantial fully guaranteed revenue-share agreements in college football, made possible by the recent federal settlement allowing direct athlete compensation. ESPN indicated that Ojo's deal is comparable to the multimillion-dollar contract signed by Jackson Cantwell, the No. 3 overall prospect in 2026, who secured over $2 million annually with incentives at Miami earlier this year. Advertisement This move underscores Texas Tech's aggressive investment in talent. According to ESPN's Max Olson, the Red Raiders allocated over $10 million to acquire 17 players during the winter transfer portal window. In total, Texas Tech added 21 transfers, assembling the nation's second-ranked transfer class this offseason. Ojo's signing is the latest in a series of bold financial commitments by the program, signaling its intent to compete at the highest level. View the original article to see embedded media. View the original article to see embedded media. This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
