Bill Walton, gymnastics legend
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Hi, friend!
Today we’re mourning the death of UCLA men’s basketball great Bill Walton, one of the best to ever grace the college court and an even better hoops commentator and person. If this video of him performing with the UCLA gymnastics team doesn’t make your Wednesday, we don’t know what will.
— USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins, responding to NBA Unplugged host Kevin Hart’s question about the sport’s skyrocketing growth. The NCAA’s Caitlin Clark era may have ended, but the future of the collegiate game is in good hands…like, really good hands.
Softball
🥎 Diamond’s gotta shine
The GIST: ICYMI, superstars dominated the storylines at the long weekend’s Super Regionals. National awards, NCAA records, and Women’s College World Series (WCWS) berths — oh my!
The accolades: Last night, USA Softball named No. 8–seed Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady the Player of the Year. The sophomore leads the nation’s pitchers in earned run average by an unbelievably wide margin and will continue to tear up the circle as her Cardinal goes to work in the WCWS.
- Joining Canady in the spotlight is infielder Jaysoni Beachum, who unanimously bagged Freshman of the Year last night. Although her heroics at the plate weren’t enough to help No. 15 Florida State reach the WCWS, the future’s bright in Tallahassee.
The records: Two players made Division I (DI) history over the long weekend. First, No. 4–seed Florida utility player Skylar Wallace set the career runs record when she crossed the plate for the 303rd time in Friday’s Game 1 win over Baylor. She’s a runner, she’s a track star.
- Next, No. 7 Missouri pitcher Taylor Pannell is walking away a winner despite her squad’s season-ending loss to No. 10 Duke — her 15th save on Saturday tied the DI single-season record.
- As for DI team records, No. 2 Oklahoma extended one of their own on Friday when the Sooners beat aforementioned Florida State 4–2 to advance to the WCWS, marking their 18th (!!!) straight NCAA Tournament win. Doesn’t get more dominant than that.
🎾 Tennis
Tennis wrapped up its postseason with Sunday’s singles and doubles championship finals. Georgia’s women’s doubles squad, Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova, finally earned natty glory after the Bulldogs fell short in the gals’ team and singles finals. Big Dawgs gotta eat.
🥍 Lacrosse
The legendary Kavanagh brothers’ relentless attack led the top-seeded Notre Dame men back to the top, crushing No. 7 Maryland 15–5 in Sunday’s championship for the Irish’s second straight national title.
- There was no repeat on the women’s side: No. 2 Boston College flipped the script on last year’s final, storming back from a 6–0 deficit to beat No. 1 Northwestern 14–13 on Sunday. Although this was BC’s seventh straight title game, it’s just the program’s second win. Sweet.
👟 Outdoor track & field
With the long weekend’s prelims done and dusted, the selection committee released the official team and individual finalists for next week’s national championship. Reigning indoor women’s champ No. 1 Arkansas looks particularly strong, especially after their 4x400m squad set an NCAA record on Saturday. Got the zoomies.
🏌️ Men’s golf
Georgia Tech sophomore Hiroshi Tai won the individual national title Monday, beating out Vanderbilt junior Gordon Sargent by just one stroke. Sadly for his squad, it wasn’t enough to keep the No. 8–seed Yellow Jackets in the running for the team trophy. That battle will come down to No. 5 Florida State and No. 6 Auburn today at 5:25 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.
Baseball
⚾ Full count
The GIST: The national tournament’s 64-team field is officially set, with plenty of controversy following Monday’s selection show. Here’s the bracket by the numbers before Friday’s regional kick-off.
No. 1: The Tennessee Volunteers, who bagged the tourney’s top seed for the second time in program history. Whether it’s a good thing remains to be seen — fans are fairly certain there’s a curse, as no No. 1–seed has won the ’ship this century. They’re not superstitious…but they are a little stitious.
2: 2023 Men’s College World Series contenders who failed to make this year’s bracket. TCU came this close as one of the “first four out,” while Stanford was always a long shot after an abysmal finish in the Pac-12.
3: National tourney first-timers. High Point, Niagara, and Northern Kentucky are the new kids on the block. Catch them in the Clemson, Stillwater, and Knoxville Regionals, respectively.
8: Schools from mid-major conferences who earned at-large berths (aka they didn’t win their conference tournaments). The division between Power Five and mid-major schools is less stark in baseball than in some other sports, but the Power Five still claimed 31 of the 64 bids.
11: SEC teams in the bracket, the most any conference has ever sent to the natty. This feat comes just a few weeks after the SEC sent all 13 member teams to softball’s national bracket. Guess it does just mean more.
- Even more impressive, four of the top five seeds — No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Arkansas — hail from this powerhouse group. SEC teams have also won four of the last six national titles. The Southeast’s favorite pastime.
18: Vanderbilt’s consecutive national tournament appearances, the sport’s longest active streak. Impressive to say the least.
Giveaway Alert
The NBA and NHL playoffs are ramping up, and before you know it, we’ll be moving into outdoor sport mode.
And you can get in on the action too with our outdoor adventure giveaway.
- The grand prize pack has over $4K worth of goodies including polarized sunglasses, sustainable adventure essentials, gift cards, and so much more.
There’s no time like the present to enter to win outdoor adventure gear. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Recs from our roster!
🎾 Who’s getting a Barbie
A handful of women’s sports icons, including tennis legend Venus Williams. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Mattel is inspiring young girls to chase their dreams. Iconic is an understatement.
📺 What to watch
This GQ Couples Quiz. Minnesota Timberwolf Karl-Anthony Towns and his girlfriend, model Jordyn Woods, quiz each other on all things love and life.
⚽ Who’s investing in women
Angel Reese. Now a co-owner of DC Power Football Club, she’s more dedicated than ever to advancing women's sports. What can’t she do?
Today's email was brought to you by Katie Kehoe Foster and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Lindsay Jost. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Lisa Minutillo and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster and Alessandra Puccio. Managing edits by Dee Lab. Head of Content Ellen Hyslop.