Latest in Sports
Miami Herald
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
South Dakota State mourns death of transfer RB Nate White
South Dakota State running back Nate White died at age 20, the football program said in a statement late Wednesday. White spent his first two seasons at Wisconsin but didn't get into a game. In January, he transferred to play for the Jackrabbits with three years of eligibility remaining. Police in Brookings, S.D., did not confirm a cause of death and said in a press release an active investigation is underway. 'Jackrabbit football is a brotherhood and today we are all hurting with the shocking news of the loss of Nate White,' South Dakota State coach Dan Jackson said in a statement. 'Nate impacted our program with his hard work, determination and overall positive spirit. We grieve with his family and will honor his memory throughout the upcoming season.' A Milwaukee native, White chose to play for Wisconsin over offers from Vanderbilt, Purdue and Iowa State, among others. He played quarterback as a high school junior at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee and had 48 rushing touchdowns in his final two seasons as a prep. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Miami Herald
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Sacramento State plans to play in FBS in '26 despite NCAA denial
At the very least, Sacramento State football is determined, vowing to move from the FCS level to FBS in 2026 even though the NCAA Division I council denied a waiver this week for the program to move up a level. Since 2024, Sacramento State has expressed a desire to move into college football's highest level, with original hopes of moving into a reconfigured Pac-12 Conference that was set to return to action in 2026 with five Mountain West Conference programs. But the Hornets program did not receive an invitation for its football program to join an existing conference. Instead, the Hornets launched a plan to leave the Big Sky Conference for the Big West Conference in all sports but football and have its football team play as an FBS independent in 2026. While the NCAA has nixed that plan, at least for the time being, the school plans on moving forward anyway. 'We still plan to be playing FBS football in 2026,' Sacramento State president Luke Wood posted on X after the NCAA denied the school's waiver request. 'Sacramento State has met every meaningful benchmark for FBS membership, and we believe our university, our students, and the entire Sacramento region deserve major college football,' Wood wrote. As part of its plan to move its football program to the FBS level, Sacramento State has proposed a 25,000-seat football stadium. Its current football venue, at just over 21,000 seats, is configured with temporary stands. The Hornets also secured a deal to move its men's and women's basketball games into the Sacramento Kings' home arena for 2026. On the football field last season, Sacramento State did not fit the bill of an FBS team with a 3-9 record. The Hornets did go 8-5 in 2023 and won a first-round game in the FCS playoffs. Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
Miami Herald
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Florida State Football Preview 2025: Seminoles Season Prediction, Win Total Projection, Top Players
Florida State Seminoles Key to the Season Get better offensive line were 134 FBS teams last season, and 133 of them allowed fewer than four sacks per game. Florida State is the one team that didn't. In 2023, the Noles allowed 1.79 sacks per four teams allowed more tackles for loss, only five teams were worse at running the ball, and all this from an attack that was among the best in the country at cranking out big runs just two seasons starts with this. More time to work, longer drives, and a more productive defense, so … X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN 2025 Florida State PreviewFlorida State Offense BreakdownFlorida State Defense Breakdown Florida State Seminoles Key Player Luke Petitbon, C enough versatility to figure out the other four spots up front, but Petitbon has to be a true leader for the completely rebuilt line. An All-ACC blocker for Wake Forest, the 6-2, 303-pound veteran of four seasons has to be the steadying force for an offense that changes out just about everyone. Florida State Seminoles Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Duce Robinson, WR passing game didn't work. The quarterbacks didn't have time, the rushing attack failed to help the cause, and the receivers weren't able to show off. There were plenty of talent losses, but getting Robinson from USC makes up for wasn't a volume catcher in his first two seasons, but he made huge things happen, averaging over 19 yards per grab. Top Transfer Out: Patrick Payton, EDGE Sr.A future NFL starter, Payton was a key part of the defense over the last three years with 110 tackles, 16 sacks, and 32 tackles for loss. FSU was able to find a few nice options up front to pick up the slack, but they don't have anyone like Payton, who's now off to LSU. Florida State Seminoles Key Game Alabama, Aug. 30After going 1-11 in its last 12 games against FBS teams, no team in college football needs a big Week 1 showing more desperately than Florida State. Pull this off, and everything last time these two met, the hype was high for a good Seminole team coming off a big 2016. Bama hurt quarterback Deandre Francois in a season-opening 24-7 win, and the FSU program wasn't good at football again until 2022.- 2025 Florida State Schedule Breakdown Florida State Seminoles Top 10 Players 1. Darrell Jackson, DT Sr. 2. Duce Robinson, WR Jr.3. Jeremiah Wilson, CB Sr. 4. Shyheim Brown, S Sr.5. James Williams, EDGE Jr.6. Tommy Castellanos, QB Sr.7. Luke Petitbon, C Sr.8. KJ Kirkland, S Soph.9. Stefon Thompson, LB Sr.10. Elijah Herring, LB Sr. Florida State Seminoles 2024 Fun Stats - First Half Scoring: Opponents 167, Florida State 82- Fumbles: Florida State 22 (lost 9), Opponents 9 (lost 2)- Interceptions Thrown: Florida State 13, Opponents 4 Florida State Seminoles 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen Really, is Florida State back to where it's supposed to be?There's talent, and things will be far better than they were last year, but it won't be 2023. This year's schedule is far more difficult than that, but it's not quite as tough as last year's, when FSU played five teams that finished with ten or more Alabama opener is an obvious problem, but the Noles should be, at worst, 3-1 when Miami comes to town. There's a real shot at a 6-2 record, and maybe 7-1 with a little luck before going to Clemson. Clemson, NC State, and Florida - FSU closes with three road games in the final four put the win total a tad too low, just because of all the turnover. This should be a 7-to-8-win team, and at the very least, it should get back to a bowl game for the third time in six The Florida State Win Total At … 6.5Likely Wins: East Texas A&M, Kent State, at Stanford, Wake Forest50/50 Games: at Florida, Miami, at NC State, Pitt, at Virginia, Virginia TechLikely Losses: Alabama, at Clemson 2025 Florida State PreviewFlorida State Offense BreakdownFlorida State Defense Breakdown © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Miami Herald
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Florida State Football Preview 2025: The Seminoles Hit the Refresh Button
What happened to Florida State? This isn't actually all that program got caught in an all-time bad break perfect storm at the end of 2023 to miss out on the CFP, made worse by a 63-3 Orange Bowl loss to a Georgia team that could've put up 80+ if it tried, and …Because there wasn't enough horrible luck for that Seminole team, it was the last year of the four-team the hits just kept onnnnnnnn coming. X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN Florida State Offense BreakdownFlorida State Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to SeasonAfter suffering the most brutal of gut punches, Florida State seemingly had a good enough team returning to quickly get back on track. Fully motivated, it all instantly fell apart after a last-second loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland. From there, the bad vibes never went away. Oh, and 2024 Florida State played a way harder schedule than it did the year 2023 team was great, starting with a dominant win over Jayden Daniels and a strong LSU team in the opener, but lost in history was how FSU slipped by Clemson because Dabo's 19th-string kicker biffed the game-winning field goal try in regulation. Also forgotten was that the LSU win and the ACC Championship victory over Louisville were the two victories over teams that won ten games. In all, the 2023 team played seven games in the regular season against teams that went bowling. The 2024 team played 11 - Charleston Southern was the lone outlier - including five that won ten games or more. Three of those were against CFP teams, and one was against a Notre Dame squad that played for the national doesn't mean Florida State should've lost to Boston College by 15, or to North Carolina by 24, or to Florida 20, all at home. And now this becomes a wildly interesting experiment. From 12-1, to 1-11, to almost completely starting over, at least with the starters, FSU is loaded with upperclassmen, it's totally reliant on new guys, and that might be exactly what the program should be between 11 to 15 new starters for the opener against Alabama who weren't part of the 2023 fun or the 2024 pity party. Getting Gus Malzahn as the offensive coordinator was a coup, there's a new defensive coordinator, and overall, the refresh should get everything going again. It might be one of those Mike Tyson "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" things with Alabama to kick things off, but there's talent, along with decent depth on the way to a bowl. Remember, FSU has only been to three or those since there's an expanded playoff this time around, just in case head coach Mike Norvell makes it three double-digit winning seasons in four years. But that only happens if he gets a lot more out of his … Florida State Offense BreakdownFlorida State Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chicago Tribune
17 minutes ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Introducing the 2025 Post-Tribune Baseball All-Area Team
Three players from Crown Point and three players from Boone Grove highlight the first team. Alex Barr, Kankakee Valley, senior, pitcher: Went 3-2 with 0.57 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings. Also hit .452 with five home runs, 25 RBIs and 19 runs scored. North All-Star, conference pitcher of the year. Committed to Indiana. Mason Barth, Andrean, senior, shortstop: Batted .505 with three home runs, 27 RBIs, 51 runs scored and 44 steals for Class 3A state champion and Northwest Crossroads Conference champion. Also went 5-0 with title-clinching save, 1.50 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 28 innings. North All-Star, conference offensive player of the year. Committed to Notre Dame. Dylan Bowen, Hanover Central, junior, shortstop: Batted .390 with five home runs, 26 RBIs and 34 runs scored. All-conference. Committed to Oklahoma State. Braden Branigan, Andrean, senior, pitcher: Went 7-0 with 0.62 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings for 3A state champion and NCC champion. All-conference. Committed to Lindenwood. Davian Carrera, Boone Grove, senior, first baseman: Batted .466 with 47 RBIs, 35 runs scored and 11 steals for 2A state champion and Porter County Conference round-robin and tournament champion. All-conference. Committed to Indiana. Xavier Carrera, Boone Grove, senior, shortstop/pitcher: Batted .436 with four home runs, 42 RBIs, 34 runs scored and 10 steals for 2A state champion and PCC round-robin and tournament champion. Also went 6-3 with 2.28 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 58 1/3 innings. All-conference. Committed to Indiana. Linus Chariton, Crown Point, senior, pitcher: Went 8-0 with 0.62 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 45 innings for 4A sectional champion and Duneland Athletic Conference co-champion. All-conference. Committed to Olive Harvey. Billy Chidsey, Crown Point, senior, shortstop: Batted .487 with one home run, 28 RBIs, 31 runs scored and 17 steals for 4A sectional champion and DAC co-champion. North All-Star, conference most valuable position player. Committed to Purdue Northwest. Caden Crowell, Valparaiso, senior, pitcher/first baseman: Went 9-0 with 0.25 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 55 innings for 4A state champion. Also hit .375 with three home runs, 24 RBIs and 32 runs scored. North All-Star, conference most valuable pitcher. Committed to Notre Dame. Sean Dunlap, Crown Point, junior, catcher/outfielder: Batted .429 with six home runs, 35 RBIs, 36 runs scored and 15 steals for 4A sectional champion and DAC co-champion. All-conference. Committed to Tennessee. Billy Miller, Kouts, freshman, pitcher/shortstop: Went 8-1 with 0.61 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 57 innings for 1A state runner-up. Also hit .514 with five home runs, 45 RBIs, 54 runs scored and 20 steals. All-conference. Seth Pitcock, Boone Grove, senior, pitcher/shortstop: Went 9-1 with 0.74 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 66 innings for 2A state champion and PCC round-robin and tournament champion. Also hit .484 with two home runs, 29 RBIs, 52 runs scored and 33 steals. North All-Star, conference MVP. Committed to Valparaiso. Troy Barrett, Chesterton, junior, pitcher/outfielder: Went 7-1 with 1.11 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. Also hit .368 with 20 RBIs and 30 runs scored. All-conference. Gabe Bush, Valparaiso, senior, outfielder: Batted .352 with 17 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 27 steals for 4A state champion. All-conference. Committed to Purdue Northwest. Matt Cook, Hanover Central, junior, pitcher: Went 3-3 with 2.16 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings. All-conference. Committed to Evansville. Logan Cotton, Crown Point, senior, pitcher: Went 8-2 with 1.59 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 53 innings for 4A sectional champion and DAC co-champion. All-conference. Committed to Indiana. Trevor Fenters, Valparaiso, senior, infielder/pitcher: Batted .373 with one home run, 28 RBIs and 27 runs scored for 4A state champion. Also went 6-1 with 0.77 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings. All-conference. Committed to Indiana State. Josh Flores, Lake Central, senior, pitcher: Went 7-1 with 2.76 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 38 innings for DAC co-champion. North All-Star, all-conference. Committed to Kentucky. Mason Jarrett, Munster, senior, outfielder: Batted .398 with 36 RBIs, 34 runs scored and 14 steals. All-conference. Committed to Triton. Drew Kosteba, Lake Central, senior, outfielder: Batted .404 with three home runs, 38 RBIs, 28 runs scored and 12 steals for DAC co-champion. North All-Star, all-conference. Committed to Purdue Northwest. Blake Kouder, Andrean, senior, catcher: Batted .386 with 20 RBIs and 34 runs scored for 3A state champion and NCC champion. All-conference. DJ Malloy, Valparaiso, junior, second baseman: Batted .408 with 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored for 4A state champion. All-conference. Ivan Mastalski, Andrean, senior, pitcher: Went 7-0 with 1.69 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings for 3A state champion and NCC champion. Committed to Indiana. Caiden Verrett, Hanover Central, senior, catcher: Batted .395 with three home runs, 17 RBIs, 33 runs scored and 19 steals. North All-Star. Indianapolis recruit in baseball and football.
