Latest news with #Pac-12DefensivePlayeroftheYear
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
USC football countdown to kickoff continues—Tuli Tuipulotu in focus
The countdown to USC's 2025 football season is officially on! The Trojans kick off their new campaign 49 days from today. You need something to help you while away the days and hours in the spring and summer. This is one way to do so. In this new series, countdown to kickoff, we will be counting down the days by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number. Today, we look at former USC All-American defensive lineman Tuli Tuipulotu. Position: Defensive line Years played at USC: 2020-2022 Career highlights: Tuipulotu emerged as an immediate contributor on USC's defensive line as a true freshman in 2020. That year, he played alongside his older brother, Marlon. With Marlon off to the NFL in 2021, the younger Tuipulotu stepped up to help fill the void, earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors. In 2022, however, Tuipulotu took things to an entirely new level. That season, he recorded a remarkable 13.5 sacks, the most of any player in the country. In addition, he had 46 total tackles and two forced fumbles. Tuipulotu was named a Unanimous All-American and won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Morris Trophy (given to the top lineman in the Pac-12 Conference, and the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award. After USC: Following the 2022 season, Tuipulotu declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, where the Los Angeles Chargers selected him in the second round. It has not taken Tuipulotu long to emerge as a star at the professional level. After being named the PFWA All-Rookie team in 2023, he followed it up with an 8.5-sack campaign in 2024. Still just 22 years old, Tuipulotu appears to be one of the league's brightest young stars on the defensive line.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Washington softball legends to face off in Seattle for Athletes Unlimited Softball League
When the Athletes Unlimited Softball League's Seattle series begins on Friday, July 11, a pair of Washington Huskies legends will make their return to the field at Husky Softball Stadium when Baylee Klingler and the Blaze battle Sis Bates and the Volts in front of three sold-out crowds. The two teams have struggled during the first season of the AUSL, with the Volts sitting in third place with a 5-10 record on the season, while the Blaze are sitting in last at 3-12. However, that shouldn't take any luster away from the matchup between the two former Huskies, who have six All-American selections between them. "With more than a dozen appearances in the College World Series and a national championship, the University of Washington boasts one of the most storied histories in all of college softball," former Miami Marlins general manager and AUSL senior advisor Kim Ng said in a press release when the series was announced. "We are looking forward to the AUSL adding to the list of historic moments for the sport that have taken place at Husky Softball Stadium, and for the Seattle fans to provide a great homecoming for Baylee and Sis." Bates, a three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, has struggled at the plate but starred in the field thus far this year. She holds just a .211 batting average with 4 hits in 19 at-bats, 2 runs batted in, a walk, and a .461 OPS, while boasting a .950 fielding percentage on the infield. Klingler, who was a top-three finalist for USA Softball's Collegiate Player of the Year in 2022, has continued to mash at the plate, just like her Husky career. Her .444 batting average and 1.168 OPS are both among the top five in the league, while she's added 16 hits, 2 home runs, 3 doubles, and 11 RBIs.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nashville SC signs Wyatt Meyer, team's first-round pick in 2024 MLS SuperDraft
Nashville SC has signed Wyatt Meyer, the team's first-round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. 'Wyatt came into preseason with the first team in tremendous form after an outstanding collegiate career and demonstrated his versatility and ability to contribute in both midfield and the back line,' Nashville SC general manager Mike Jacobs said in a news release. 'His range of passing and decision-making put him in position to help our group in a number of different roles.' Meyer's contract is for one season with options for 2026, 2027 and 2028. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound defender played college soccer at California, where he appeared in 66 career games with four goals and six assists between 2020-24. Meyer, 23, was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and All-Pac-12 First Team as a senior in 2023, starting all 18 games as the Golden Bears gave up just over a goal per contest. Nashville drafted Meyer 11th overall in the 2024 SuperDraft, which took place in December 2023. Meyer returned to Cal for a fifth season last fall, playing in eight games after missing the start of the season with an injury. At Cal, Meyer was teammates with Kevin Carmichael, who Nashville drafted in the second round of the 2024 SuperDraft. Carmichael and Bryce Boneau, Nashville's third-round pick that year, both signed contracts with Nashville's MLS Next Pro affiliate Huntsville City FC this week. MAKING A SPLASH: Nashville SC signs Ahmed Qasem, 21-year-old midfielder from Sweden Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@ and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC signs Wyatt Meyer, 2024 MLS SuperDraft first-round pick
