Latest news with #Class6A
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Stillwater's Ethan Holliday named 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year
Stillwater High School's Ethan Holliday is the 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year, the company announced Tuesday. The top-ranked prospect for the upcoming MLB draft according to Holliday helped Stillwater reach the Class 6A state tournament and finished his senior season with a .611 batting average, 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound shortstop also had a 1.295 slugging percentage and scored 57 runs as Stillwater finished with a 25-8 record. Holliday, the son of former big leaguer Matt Holliday, is signed with Oklahoma State. He is the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who won the Gatorade award in 2022 before getting selected first overall in the draft. Expert MLB daily picks: Unique MLB betting insights only at USA TODAY Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@ or on Twitter at @nicksardis . Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at .
Indianapolis Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Getting caught up on Central Indiana high school football commitments, recruitments to watch
Expect an on-rush of football commitments over the coming weeks as college programs look to get a handle on the 2026 class. A few recent commitments from Central Indiana players in the rising senior class: ∎ Kaiden Bower, Carmel: The 6-3, 250-pound defensive end committed to Charlotte over offers from Air Force, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) Toledo and Troy. Bower finished last season with 55 tackles (24 solo), 4 ½ sacks, 6 ½ tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hurries. Bower, a three-star prospect, is one of 10 commits in Charlotte's current class for new coach Tim Albin. The 49ers were 5-7 last season. 'Finding the right program and school is so important,' Bower said. 'I visited a lot of schools so I could make the best-informed decision. From the moment I walked onto Charlotte's campus it really felt like home. The coaches and the recruiting staff were fantastic. The practice I watched was very fast paced and aggressive. The coaches pushed the players on each rep and were focused on player development, which is very important to me. You can tell Coach Albin has a clear vision and is building a strong program. The strength coach was really energetic and was pushing development in the weight room too. You could tell that there is a very high standard being set. The campus is really amazing, and the university has a great business school. Charlotte has all the resources that I need to succeed on the football field, in the classroom and at life.' ∎ C.J Scifres, Center Grove: Scifres posted his decision on social media after taking an official visit over the weekend. The 6-6, 325-pound offensive lineman is a three-star recruit, per 247Sports, and not rated by On3. Scifres was named to the IFCA's Top 50 All-State team as a junior as he did not allow a sack all season for a team that threw for more than 3,000 yards and won a Class 6A regional. ∎ Job Mavrick, Westfield: The 6-2, 280-pound offensive lineman, who transferred from Culver Academy to Westfield prior to his junior year, committed to Ohio over offers from Cornell, Mercyhurst and Western Illinois. Ohio won at least 10 games and played in a bowl game each of the past three seasons under Albin. ∎ Avin Robinson, Brownsburg: The 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver committed to Central Michigan over and offer from Kent State. Robinson caught 41 passes for 933 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior on Brownsburg's Class 6A state championship team. ∎ William Johnson III, Avon: The 6-4, 270-pound Williams committed to Kent State over offers from Akron, Central Michigan, Fordham, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and UMass. Also, Bloomington South receiver Jalen Williams committed to South Florida. The 6-5 Williams caught 21 passes for 370 yards and six TDs as a junior at Bloomington North. ∎ Heritage Hills duo: Two of the state's top recruits play for Heritage Hills, the defending Class 3A state champion (will play in 4A the next two-year cycle). Tight end Tyler Ruxer, rated as the No. 1 prospect in the state by On3sports, plans to make his announcement on July 7 at the Heritage Hills Auditorium. His teammate, quarterback/athlete Jett Goldsberry, also a top 10 in-state prospect, will also make his announcement on July 7. Ruxer has taken official visits to Duke, Northwestern and Oklahoma with Minnesota planned for this weekend. He also has Purdue and West Virginia in the mix. Goldsberry, likely one of the favorites for Mr. Football going into the season, has an official visit scheduled for Ole Miss this weekend. He also has taken official visits to Purdue and Rutgers and is visiting North Carolina (official visit June 21-22), Wake Forest (official visit June 19-20) and West Virginia (official visit June 17-18). ∎ Jerimy Finch Jr.: Warren Central defensive end Jerimy Finch Jr. is closing in on a decision. Finch has taken official visits to Purdue, Alabama and Michigan. He has an official visit scheduled to Tennessee this weekend and Miami (Fla.) the weekend of June 20. ∎ Dominick Barry: Center Grove tight end Dominick Barry has an official visit set to Wake Forest the weekend of June 20. Barry caught 31 passes for 237 yards and five touchdowns as a junior.
Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas barrels its way into the Class 6A state baseball final
Teams can sometimes succumb to jitters when it's their first time playing at the state final four. Not St. Thomas Aquinas' baseball team. The Raiders were itching to get on the field Friday at Hammond Stadium. And when they did, they barely stopped hitting. Aquinas unleashed an offensive barrage in its first trip to state since last winning a championship in 2018, and routed Valrico Bloomingdale 15-0 in four innings in a Class 6A semifinal. The Raiders (28-6-1) will next take on Gainesville Buchholz in the 6A state championship game on Saturday at 2. Aquinas is seeking its fourth state title all-time. 'We looked to this game with anticipation,' Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow said. 'We had a long last week after that regional final and during the week as we ramped up, we could feel the adrenaline. 'When we stepped out in that first inning, it went well on defense and well on offense and it took away any jitters we might have had.' Junior center fielder Nico Sabatino was the tone-setter for the onslaught, roping a leadoff double to left off Bloomingdale starter Hayden Porter to start a five-run first inning. Sabatino would later hit his eighth home run of the season on a solo blast to right field. 'My job is to get the team going,' Sabatino said. 'I saw that fastball and I took it. I was just in that flow state and now the offense is ready to go.' Aquinas' power was a major reason it made it to Fort Myers this season as it hit 67 home runs entering the state final four. 'We kind of look at baserunners and barrels,' Wardlow said. 'If we get baserunners, somebody is gonna barrel up a ball. If they stay in the middle, they'll open it up. If we can get out front and just stack up one and another, we can hold teams down.' Cole Lasher, who has seven homers this season, went 2 for 2 with a double and three RBI. Andrew Alvarez, who has 13 home runs, went 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI. And Zack Malvasio, who has hit a team-high 16 home runs, went 2 for 4 with two RBI. 'We just had to put it on them early and not let up,' Alvarez said. 'We had to keep that type of energy and not let up.' Senior Thomas Giltner did the rest as he gave up two hits over four shutout innings and struck out two, sparing Aquinas from having to use any more pitchers before Saturday's final.
Miami Herald
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas baseball tops Doral Academy to punch ticket to Fort Myers
The task in front of the St. Thomas Aquinas baseball team when the Raiders traveled south into Miami-Dade County on Saturday was a big one. After splitting the first two games of their Region 4-6A final best-of-3 series, the last thing the Raiders wanted was to have to play a winner-take-all contest on Doral's home field, a place they refer to as 'the birdcage' because of its match-box style unusual dimensions that have given opponents fits for years. But the Raiders never blinked. St. Thomas wrapped out 13 hits including three long home runs and brought an end to Doral's long home postseason win streak with a 12-6 victory before a standing-room-only crowd. Doral, the No. 2 seed, entered Saturday having won 13 consecutive regional playoff games on its home field dating back to a 4-1 regional semifinal loss to Belen Jesuit in 2017. Aquinas knew it would have to bring its big bats with them to beat the Firebirds at their own game and that's exactly what happened. The win clinched the program's 10th trip to the state final four and first since 2018 when the Raiders won their last of three state championships. Aquinas (27-6) will be the No. 2 seed and take on No. 3 Valrico Bloomingdale at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Friday in a Class 6A state semifinal. 'We just had to get back to business today,' said center fielder Nico Sabatino who went three-for-five with a double and two RBI and also hit a grand slam home run in the first game of the series to propel the Raiders to a 8-4 win. 'We didn't let Thursday's loss effect us too much. It happens, that's why it's a best-of-three, a chance to come back and make things right. We came in here today, trusted each other, did our job and this was the result.' Doral (27-7) had Jadyn Nunez, a North Carolina commit, on the mound but the Raiders were unimpressed. After retiring the side in order in the first, Nunez struggled in the second, putting two batters on by hitting them. Cole Lasher then hit a ground ball up the middle that shortstop Kobe Carrion got to but couldn't handle. He then tried to fire back to third to double back the runner but threw wild into the stands, scoring two runs when each runner was awarded two bases. Shortstop Jayden Doverspike, the No. 8 hitter in the lineup then stepped up and launched the first of three Aquinas home runs over the high net in left field and just like that, the Raiders led 4-0. The Firebirds quickly answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, a solo homer by George Pardo Jr. being the big hit, but the Raiders had an answer to that when they plated five more runs in the top of the fourth to open up a 9-4 lead. Lasher opened the inning with a base hit, was sacrificed to second before C.J. Pangello drew a walk and Sabatino followed with an RBI single which would be Nunez's last batter. Matthew Paez took over on the mound for Doral but things got no better. He gave up a walk, an RBI sacrifice fly by Zack Malvasio and then the big blow when first baseman Brady Buxbaum stepped up and blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left center to finish off the big inning. 'I just tried to change my approach today,' Buxbaum said. 'This entire series I was going up there a little too anxious trying to do too much so it was just a matter of trusting myself and trusting my guys behind me. I got a curve ball, middle, got under it and lifted it up and out. That was a big inning for us because it gave us a big cushion.' With a 10-4 lead, Aquinas starter Jonathan Lopez, normally the team's shortstop, had hung in there, battling the searing mid-afternoon heat for five innings. But when Jaivyn Francois, Gavin Ruvalcaba, Tyler Rodriguez and leadoff hitter Gabriel Milano led off the inning with four consecutive singles to make it 10-5, Lopez came out. With the bases loaded, no outs and Doral's No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters headed to the plate, reliever A.J. Lopez (no relation) induced a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Leonardo Hernandez and then struck out Caleb Hernandez and Nunez to end the inning. St. Thomas' Andrew Alvarez then finished things off in the seventh with his team's third home run of the game, a two-run shot, again over the high net in left and the Firebirds were done, going down in order in the bottom of the inning to end the contest. The win ended years of frustrating regional losses for Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow, who took over the program a year after Troy Cameron delivered that state title in 2018. 'I don't look at things like that,' Wardlow said shurgging his shoulders. 'The way I approach things is the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror. I'm always looking forward and that's the way we do things with our kids. We're going to go back to work on Monday doing the same things we've done, not changing anything. Today was great but we've got two more to go and I made sure our guys knew that.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Georgia track signee Brayden Williams sets new wind-aided 100-meter record
Everything is bigger in Texas—and apparently, everything's also faster. Duncanville senior and Georgia track signee Brayden Williams blew away the competition in the prelims of the Class 6A Region II meet in Waco last week running sub-10 times in the 100-meters on back-to-back running a 9.95 on Thursday, Williams ran the fastest wind-aided 100-meter time by a high school athlete in U.S. history the next day at 9.82. Williams became just the fourth high school runner in U.S. history to break 10 seconds for all conditions just over a month ago. In that meet, he ran a wind-aided 9.99 in the 100-meters. Advertisement While he may be closing in on the record for the fastest 100 meters for all conditions, Williams hasn't won that record just yet. Christian Miller out of Florida set that record last year, running a wind-legal 9.93. He did hold the record for the fastest win-aided 100 at 9.94 before Williams broke it last week. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: Duncanville's Brayden Williams sets new wind-aided 100-meter record
