NCAA

The NCAA picked a hell of a week to get into the gambling business, didn’t it?

Within 24 hours of approving a rule change that will allow student athletes and athletic department staff to bet only on professional sports, the FBI arrested more than 30 people in connection with a major sports gambling and betting scheme. The level of sophistication alleged in one 22-page indictment reads like an “Ocean’s Eleven” script with four New York Mafia families, a current NBA player and a head coach all allegedly involved.

For Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, the news and arrests are a public relations nightmare.

But for the NCAA, it’s a warning.

Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling paved the way for sports betting, more than 35 states have legalized it, so I understand why the industry no longer feels dirty. But the governing body for more than half a million young athletes must remember nothing will ever sanitize that industry.

A century ago, the Black Sox scandal nearly destroyed baseball in America. Fast forward a hundred years and we find out 16 professional tennis players — including a U.S. Open champion — were fixing matches for gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy. In between, Pete “Charlie Hustle” Rose received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball games as a manager and Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee, is busted for betting on games. Last year, former NBA player Jontay Porter was found to have placed several bets on games using another person’s account. We call him “former” because the league banned him for life.

So, if NCAA officials believe it is too cumbersome to enforce its current gambling ban (it is investigating multiple violations across several schools), imagine what life inside the organization would be like without some sort of deterrent.

In fact, no imagination is required. Just read the indictment filed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The FBI alleges the gambling scheme began in 2019, operated across 11 states and involved crime families with origins that date back more than a century.

According to documents, hidden cameras, programmable card shuffling machines and X-ray tables were among the pieces of technology used to steal tens of millions from victims during rigged poker games. Those allegedly involved in the scheme included Chauncey Billups — a Hall of Fame player and head coach of the Portland Trailblazers. Authorities said Billups, who led the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 championship, used his celebrity to lure in victims. In addition, the FBI said Damon Jones, a former player and assistant coach for the Lakers, shared inside information about the health of LeBron James with betters back in 2023. Terry Rozier, an active NBA player on a $100-million contract, was also arrested.

Now consider this: There are roughly 40,000 young men and women who play NCAA basketball and about 8,000 head and assistant coaches leading teams. How confident are you that March Madness won’t take on a different meaning if coaches and players are allowed to bet on games and find themselves underwater? A recent UC San Diego study found internet searches seeking help with gambling addiction increased 23% between 2018 and June 2024.

And while it’s true, the new rule maintains a ban against student athletes and coaches betting on college sports — so there are some guardrails against fixing games — but tilting outcomes is only one possible harm from gambling. The International Tennis Federation found that angry gamblers accounted for 40% of social media attacks aimed at players, with several threats credible enough to be submitted to the FBI. And there is already evidence that college students who aren’t athletes are using student loan money to place bets, and a 2023 NCAA survey found that 14% of U.S. 18- to 22-year-olds bet at least a few times a week.

Another 16% use a bookie.

I repeat: a bookie.

This just feels like a tragedy we can all see coming.

And we’re to believe the NCAA will be equipped to protect student athletes from predators when the Mafia is said to be using professional athletes and X-ray machines to steal from card players who are supposed to know better? The decision-making process for the human brain isn’t fully developed until a person is 25, and the NCAA just voted to let 18-year-olds with “name, image, likeness” money go in the deep water with sharks.

Given what just unfolded in the NBA this week the responsible move for the NCAA would be to pause the rule change — which is to take effect Nov. 1 — and reassess the risks. It’s one thing for sports gambling to cost a pro athlete to lose his career. It would be worse to see addiction or debt obligations steal a young person’s future before it begins.

YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow

DESMOND HOWARD has signed a big-money extension with ESPN.

The 55-year-old former wide receiver will continue his 20-year stint at the broadcaster following negotiations.

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The Heisman trophy winner said: “I am thrilled to continue this journey with ESPN.

“There’s nothing I’d rather be doing during the fall than showcasing the incredible sport that we all love alongside my College GameDay family.”

The channel’s content president Burke Magnus was thrilled with the new deal.

He said: “Desmond has played a pivotal role in ESPN and College GameDay’s success for two decades, so we’re thrilled that the Heisman Trophy winner and one of college football’s all-time greats will continue to offer his analysis and perspective – and, of course, occasional friendly jabs – across our coverage.”

The former Michigan Wolverines ace gave one of the most iconic highlights of all time when he struck the famous trophy pose after a return touchdown against archrival Ohio State. 

Howard also etched his place in football history as one of only four men to win the Heisman and the Super Bowl MVP. 

Howard landed that honour with the Green Bay Packers, scoring a kickoff return touchdown to help lead the team to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI.

Michigan retired Howard’s iconic No. 21 jersey in 2015 after he was the first receiver in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring. 

Howard set or tied five NCAA records and 12 single-season Michigan records.

In 1991, he won the Heisman Trophy by the second-largest margin in history, claiming 85 percent of the vote.

When they chose to continue their college careers, both USC offensive lineman DJ Wingfield and UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson thought the courts and NCAA had cleared the way for them to play a fifth season of football.

USC had told Wingfield as much, offering him $210,000 in NIL to join the Trojans’ offensive line. UCLA, meanwhile, offered Robinson $450,000 to be one of the Bruins’ top wideouts.

But after first seeing their waivers rejected in the spring, then suing the NCAA this summer, a U.S. District Court judge has now shut the door on either Wingfield or Robinson suiting up this fall.

Both players had hoped to prove this week in court that they were deserving of a preliminary injunction that would allow them to play out the season at USC and UCLA. Their attorneys argued that the NCAA’s Five-Year Rule, which limits athletes to four seasons in five years, violated antitrust laws by limiting athletes’ eligibility — and thus, their NIL earning potential. To block Wingfield and Robinson from playing this season, their attorneys argued, would mean causing “irreparable harm.”

But after a hearing was held for both Monday, a judge in California’s Central District court quickly rejected those claims, denying the request for injunctive relief from both players, as well as San Diego linebacker Jagger Giles.

Either could appeal the decision, but it’s unlikely that either player’s case would be heard soon enough to play the 2025 season.

Others who have challenged the NCAA’s eligibility rules in court have had inconsistent results. But in the case of Wingfield and Robinson, Judge James Selna held that the NCAA’s Five-Year Rule was not “commercial in nature” but rather a “true eligibility rule,” and therefore was not beholden to antitrust scrutiny.

Not every judge has come to the same conclusion, as a cascade of similar eligibility cases have been filed in the months since Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a preliminary injunction in his case against the NCAA. Pavia was granted a fifth season after challenging that the NCAA’s rule counting his junior college tenure toward his overall NCAA eligibility would unfairly limit his ability to earn NIL compensation.

The judge in Wingfield and Robinson’s case was less swayed by that argument.

“There is a subtle difference between a rule that retrains NIL compensation and a rule that limits one’s potential to negotiate a NIL agreement,” the judge wrote. “Putting aside the NIL agreements, the question of whether a player’s time has run remains in full force. The eligibility question is not tethered to the question of compensation or commercial transaction.”

In Wingfield’s case, the judge also found that the five-month delay in Wingfield requesting a temporary restraining order after being ruled ineligible in March weakened the urgency of his claims of “irreparable harm.”

Losing Wingfield will undoubtedly deal a significant blow to USC, which had been counting on Wingfield to step into a starting role along the offensive line. Without him, the Trojans will enter the season perilously thin on the interior.

Wingfield’s collegiate career began in 2019 at El Camino College, a junior college in Torrance. He left El Camino during the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then returned in 2021 before transferring to New Mexico in the spring of 2022.

An injury ended his first season with the Lobos before he finished a single game, but he returned to play in nine games in 2023 before transferring to Purdue, where he started along the Boilermakers’ line as a fifth-year senior in 2024.

Robinson took a similar path as Wingfield through junior college, spending one season at ASA College in Brooklyn before the pandemic, then redshirting for a season at Central Florida in 2021 before spending the next three years at Appalachian State.

Robinson was an All-Sun Belt selection at receiver last season with 53 catches for 840 yards and two touchdowns. He was expected to be one of the Bruins’ top receivers this season.

Two years after a sign-stealing scandal at the University of Michigan rocked college football, the NCAA on Friday increased sanctions the Wolverines had self-imposed but refrained from handing down the most severe punishments.

Michigan won’t be subject to a postseason ban and won’t be required to vacate victories — especially important because the Wolverines won the national championship in 2023, the last of three seasons they were accused of improperly stealing signals that opposing coaches used to communicate with players on the field.

However, they were fined approximately $30 million and the program was placed on four years of probation. Also, the suspension of head coach Sherrone Moore was increased from the self-imposed two games to three. In addition to the third and fourth games of the 2025 season, Moore also will miss the 2026 opener.

Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan head coach from 2015 to 2023 who now is coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, will have a 10-year show-cause penalty tacked onto the current four-year show cause that resulted from scouting and recruiting violations in 2021-2022.

Connor Stalions, the staff member who carried out the sign-stealing scheme, was handed an eight-year show-cause penalty and former assistant Denard Robinson was hit with a three-year show-cause sanction for recruiting violations and failing to attend an NCAA hearing on the matter.

As long as Harbaugh remains in the NFL, the penalty will have no real impact on him. However, the sanction could make him unwelcome in the college ranks for more than a decade.

The show-cause sanction effectively makes it difficult for the person to secure employment at an NCAA school because it requires a school attempting to make the hire to “show cause” to the NCAA why it shouldn’t also be penalized for giving the person a job.

The NCAA had charged Michigan with 11 rule violations, six of them the most serious Level 1 variety, after an investigation revealed that Stalions had carried out a scheme to shoot video of the signals opposing coaches used to communicate with players on the field.

Stalions, a retired captain in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was paid $55,000 a year as an off-field defensive analyst at Michigan. He is alleged to have arranged for people to attend the games of upcoming Michigan opponents and film the sideline signals from 2021 to 2023, when the scheme was uncovered and Stalions resigned.

The NCAA does not prohibit stealing signs during games, but since 1994 schools are not allowed to scout upcoming opponents in person. The rule was designed to prevent well-funded programs from gaining an advantage by sending scouts to opponents’ games when programs with smaller budgets couldn’t afford such scouting.

According to the NCAA notice of allegations, Stalions was accused of arranging the scouting of at least 13 future opponents on 58 occasions. He purchased tickets at nearly every Big Ten school.

The fine imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions includes a $50,000 initial fine, 10% of the football budget, 10% of the cost of football scholarships for the 2025 season and the loss of all postseason-competition revenue sharing for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Added up, it should exceed $30 million.

Moore improperly deleted a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions when the scandal became public. However, the NCAA was able to retrieve the texts, but Moore was not charged with having knowledge of the sign-stealing.

Harbaugh was suspended for the last three games of the 2023 regular season despite his adamant denial that he knew anything about the sign-stealing. Michigan won all three games anyway and went on to capture the national championship.

While preparing the Chargers for his first season at the helm in August 2024, Harbaugh reiterated that he was “not aware nor complicit” in the sign-stealing at Michigan. He felt compelled to address the situation because Moore — his replacement as head coach — was one of seven staffers from the 2023 championship Michigan team under investigation.

“Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal,” Harbaugh said in a statement in 2024. “I was raised with that lesson. I have raised my family on that lesson. I have preached that lesson to the teams that I’ve coached. No one’s perfect. If you stumble, you apologize and you make it right.

“Today, I do not apologize. I did not participate, was not aware nor complicit in those said allegations. So for me, it’s back to work and attacking with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.”

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti became an unlikely Michigan advocate in pushing the NCAA to keep sanctions to a minimum, suggesting to the NCAA Committee on Infractions that Michigan deserved no further punishment.

This was the same Petitti who suspended Harbaugh in a Nov. 10, 2023, letter to Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel that appeared to question the integrity of the Wolverines’ program.

The school sought an emergency temporary restraining order against the Big Ten to allow Harbaugh continue coaching, saying due process had not been followed and asserting that Harbaugh had no knowledge of Stalions’ sign-stealing.

Michigan eventually withdrew the restraining order request, but the relationship between the school and the commissioner remained contentious as Harbaugh served the suspension and the Wolverines turned the episode into a rallying cry.

This season, Michigan will visit USC on Oct. 11 but does not play UCLA.

Some inside jokes can be funny. Others not so much.

John Mateer seems to have fallen into the second category: The Oklahoma Sooners quarterback is now on defense regarding NCAA policy about student-athletes and sports betting.

Screenshots of Venmo transactions the QB made in 2022 began circulating Monday on social media. They appear to show that Mateer, then a Washington State freshman, wrote “sports gambling” to describe two separate payments to the same individual. The amounts were undisclosed.

One of those descriptions included in “UCLA vs USC” in parentheses. The Trojans defeated the Bruins 48-45 on Nov. 19, 2022, the day before both Venmo payments were allegedly made.

Current NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from engaging in sports betting at any level, although a proposal is being considered that would permit gambling on professional sports only.

Mateer released a statement Tuesday indicating that he had written those words in jest.

“The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends.

“I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches, and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.”

Oklahoma Athletics said in a statement that its student-athletes receive ongoing education on matters related to sports gambling and that it uses a service that provides comprehensive monitoring of sports gambling activities.

“OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern,” the department said. “OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.”

Mateer played three seasons at Washington State, including the past two as the Cougars’ starting quarterback, before transferring to Oklahoma this offseason.

When DJ Wingfield picked USC in the transfer portal last January, it seemed like an ideal one-year arrangement for both parties. The Trojans desperately needed experience on the interior of their already thin offensive line. Wingfield — after two seasons at a junior college, one at New Mexico and another spent at Purdue — was seeking to raise his profile in his final season of eligibility.

USC offered him a clear path to playing time at left guard, as well as a $210,000 payday for his name, image and likeness. He just needed the NCAA to approve a waiver for him to play another season.

Neither Wingfield nor USC figured that would be a problem at the time. But the NCAA denied Wingfield’s initial request for a waiver in late March, then later denied his appeal.

So, with fall camp set to open this week, Wingfield took the only route remaining for him to play at USC: He filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking injunctive relief in order to play for USC.

Wingfield is seeking to challenge the lawfulness of the NCAA’s “Five-Year Rule”, which contends that players are eligible to play four seasons of competition across five years. Both USC and Wingfield believed, according to the complaint, that his waiver would be approved, considering recent rulings in the cases of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Rutgers’ Jett Elad, each of whom won the right in court to play an additional season.

But the waiver was denied, robbing Wingfield, he claims, of what could have been a “once-in-a-lifetime” NIL payday as well as an opportunity to “enhance his career and reputation” by playing at USC.

“The effect of the NCAA’s anticompetitive conduct will be to penalize Wingfield for having attended a junior college and for the disruptions caused by the pandemic,” the complaint reads. “The NCAA’s anticompetitive conduct, coupled with its unreasonable denial of Wingfield’s meritorious request for a waiver, thus threatens him with immediate irreparable harm.”

Wingfield’s collegiate career began in 2019 at El Camino College, a junior college in Torrance. He left El Camino during the 2020 season due to the pandemic, as Wingfield was tasked with taking care of his mother.

He played at El Camino in 2021 before transferring to New Mexico in the spring of 2022. Before completing a single game with the Lobos, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, ending his season. He returned to play in nine games in 2023 before entering the transfer portal.

Wingfield transferred to Purdue where he earned a starting job in 2024, five years after he first started his college football career.

Still, he figured the NCAA would look past that timeline, given his circumstances and the cascade of legal challenges claiming that the NCAA is violating antitrust laws by limiting athletes’ eligibility.

Now that decision — and Wingfield’s college football future — is in the hands of a federal judge.

Whatever that judge decides could have an adverse impact on the Trojans offense this season. Without Wingfield, USC would be perilously thin up front. His absence could mean sliding projected right tackle Tobias Raymond to guard, while sophomore Justin Tauanuu steps in as starting right tackle. Otherwise, USC is likely to turn to inexperienced sophomore Micah Banuelos at left guard.

Kaedin Robinson, a former record-setting wide receiver at Appalachian State whose bid to play for UCLA this fall was blocked by the NCAA, has sued the college governing body in an effort to receive one more season of eligibility.

In the lawsuit filed this week in the Central District of California, Robinson asserted the NCAA relied on an “unlawful” five-year eligibility rule that violated federal antitrust laws in declaring Robinson ineligible to play next season because it unjustly limited his opportunities.

UCLA had requested that the NCAA waive the five-year eligibility rule and grant Robinson permission to play next season after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia made a successful bid to gain an additional season of college eligibility thanks to a court injunction after having spent one season at a junior college.

But in March, the NCAA informed UCLA that its waiver request was denied, saying Robinson did not meet the criteria for an extension of eligibility. Believing his college career was over, Robinson went on to hire an agent with intentions of entering the NFL draft.

Robinson’s lawsuit claims he was penalized for attending a junior college in 2019 and facing “significant disruptions” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By denying Robinson the chance to play at UCLA, the lawsuit stated, the NCAA will deprive him of the roughly $450,000 NIL contract UCLA had offered as well as a chance to enhance his career and reputation by playing for the Bruins next season.

Robinson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt senior from Asheville, N.C., had started his college career at ASA College in Brooklyn before sitting out the 2020 season. He was on Central Florida’s roster in 2021 before going on to spend three seasons at Appalachian State, the final two alongside quarterback Joey Aguilar, who was UCLA’s top quarterback in the spring before transferring to Tennessee upon the arrival of Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee.

In 2023, Robinson caught 67 passes for 905 yards and 10 touchdowns, logging the most receiving yards by an Appalachian State player in the Football Bowl Subdivision era. Last season, Robinson caught 53 passes for 840 yards and two touchdowns.

Robinson had intended to be one of Aguilar’s top targets again at UCLA before the NCAA declared Robinson ineligible and Aguilar departed. Should he prevail in court, Robinson would join a receiving corps that also includes Kwazi Gilmer, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Mikey Matthews, Rico Flores Jr. and Carter Shaw.

In addition to restoring Robinson’s eligibility, his lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages; attorneys’ fees and costs; and prejudgment and postjudgment interest.

EUGENE, Ore. — Buoyed by top performances in the hammer throw, high jump and 400 meters, the Georgia women’s track and field squad distanced itself from the opposition and cruised to its first outdoor national championship in team history.

Georgia lapped the field with 73 points ahead of runners-up USC (47) and third place Texas A&M (43). Fourth-year Bulldogs coach Caryl Smith Gilbert also won national titles at USC in 2018 and 2021.

Samirah Moody won the 100-meter dash and Madison Whyte and Dajaz DeFrand went 2-3 in the 200 to lead USC.

USC placed first in the 4×100 relay with a time of 42.22 seconds.

In the 100, Moody took first with a time of 11.14 seconds while teammates DeFrand and Brianna Selby finished seventh and eighth, respectively. In the 200, Whyte, a sophomore who also anchored the 4×400 team, clocked in at 22.23 while DeFrand, a junior, finished at 22.39.

Olympic gold medalist Aaliyah Butler and Dejanea Oakley of Georgia took the first two spots in the 400 meters with Butler posting a 49.26 and Oakley a 49.65. Butler’s time was the fifth best all-time for a collegian and Oakley was eighth.

The Bulldogs expanded their lead when Elena Kulichenko won the high jump for the second straight year after tying for the title last year. The Odessa, Russia, native won with a jump of 6 feet, 5 inches.

Michelle Smith, a freshman, finished third in the 400 meter hurdles at 55.20 to clinch the team title. Skylynn Townsend took sixth in the triple jump at 44-4¼.

Georgia ended the night by finishing first in the 4×400-meter relay with Butler taking the lead in the final leg with a winning time of 3:23.62. The Trojans posted a third-place finish in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:26.01. UCLA’s team finished seventh at 3:31.14.

The Bulldogs entered Saturday competition in the lead with 26 points after Stephanie Ratcliffe won the hammer throw on Thursday with a nation-leading distance of 234 feet, 2 inches.

Washington and USC shared the lead earlier Saturday night after Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan won the 1,500 meters and Moody took the 100, but Georgia got 18 points from Butler and Oakley and never looked back.

Georgia also got points in the javelin with a second-place finish from freshman Manuela Rotundo and a fourth-place finish from Lianna Davidson. Senior Keslie Murrell-Ross finished sixth in the shot put.

EUGENE, Ore. — South Florida ran a brilliant 1,600-meter relay to close the NCAA men’s outdoor track and field championships Friday night, leaving USC and Texas A&M tied for the team title.

The Trojans, who won the indoor title earlier this year but hadn’t won an outdoor title in 49 years, and the Aggies, both finished with 41 points, one ahead of Arkansas.

That came after a late surge by the USF anchor to edge Texas A&M in the final race, winning in 3 minutes, 42 seconds. Arkansas was third with the Trojans a disappointing eighth to earn just one team point. The Aggies earned eight points in the relay — a win would have been worth 10 points — and the Razorbacks got six.

Arkansas protested after the race that a USF runner hindered a Razorback but the protest was denied. If successful, Texas A&M would have won the title and Arkansas and USC would have tied for second.

USC’s top performances included Max Thomas (third in the 100 with a time of 10.10 seconds), William Jones (second in the 400 with a 45.53) and Garrett Kaalund (third in the 200 with a 19.96). The 4×100 relay team took second overall with a time of 38.46.

The women’s title will be decided Saturday at Hayward Field on the Oregon campus.

Sam Whitmarsh of Texas A&M, runner-up a year ago, beat indoor champion Matthew Erickson of Oregon to capture the 800 in 1:45.86, the second-fastest in school history.

Jordan Anthony of Arkansas, the NCAA champion in the indoor 60, added an outdoor title, winning the 100 in 10.07 from Lane 9.

Ja’Kobe Tharp, who won the 60 hurdles at the indoor championships for Auburn, added the 110 hurdle title to his resume with a personal-best time of 13.05. Tharp ran the fifth-fastest time in NCAA history, only 0.07 off of Grant Holloway’s record.

Auburn also won the 400 relay in a time of 38.33.

Samujel Ogazi of Alabama raced to a dominant win in the 400 with a time of 44.84, more than six-tenths faster than the runner-up. The sophomore, who made the Olympic finals in Paris, became the first Nigerian athlete to win the 400 NCAA title in 26 years.

James Corrigan of Brigham Young, a 2024 Olympian, won the 3,000 steeplechase in 8:16.41, grabbing the lead at the last water jump. His time is the fourth fastest in college history.

Nathan Green of Washington, the 2023 champion, won the 1,500 meters in 3:47.26 with the top 11 finishing within 0.68 of Green.

Brian Masau on Oklahoma State added the outdoor title in the 5,000 to the indoor title he won earlier this year, finishing in 13:20.59.

Ezekiel Nathaniel of Baylor lowered his Nigerian record to 47.49 in the 400 hurdles, the second-fastest time in the world this year.

Carli Makarawu of Kentucky took the 400 in 19.84 seconds, a Zimbabwe national record, edging countryman Makanakaishe Charamba of Auburn, who ran 19.92.

Oklahoma’s Ralford Mullings, who returned to the championship for the second time in his career, took the discus title by launching a meet-record and personal-best 227 feet, 4 inches.

Brandon Green Jr. and Floyd Whitaker gave Oklahoma a 1-2 finish in the triple jump with Green soaring 55-2 to win by more than a foot. Green led from the first jump and had it wrapped up after five rounds and then had his best leap to end it.

Arvesta Troupe of Mississippi cleared 7-5¼ to win the high jump.

Superstar U.S. gymnast Simone Biles has apologized to Riley Gaines after calling the outspoken former NCAA swimmer “truly sick” and a “sore loser” in recent days during their public argument concerning transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

“I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport,” Biles wrote Tuesday morning on X. “The current system doesn’t adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges, and it didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for.”

Gaines was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference swimmer at Kentucky. At the 2022 NCAA national championships, Gaines and Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, tied for fifth place in the 200 freestyle finals, but only Thomas got to pose on the podium with the fifth-place trophy.

At the same meet, Thomas won the 500 freestyle to become the first out transgender woman to claim a Division I title. But in February and in response to an executive order by President Trump, the NCAA changed its policy to limit competition in women’s sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth.

Gaines has become a leading voice for preventing transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. She and more than a dozen other former college swimmers filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that the organization had violated their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete in the 2022 championships,

Last week, Gaines reposted an X post from the Minnesota State High School League that congratulated the Champlin Park High softball team — which made national news because its star pitcher is transgender — for winning the 4A state championship.

“Comments off lol,” Gaines wrote about the league’s post. “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”

Biles reposted Gaines’ post the same day and didn’t hold back in expressing her views on the matter.

“@Riley_Gaines_ You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,” Biles wrote. “Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!

“But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”

Biles added in a separate post, “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”

Days later, the 11-time Olympic medalist returned to X, seemingly with a cooler head, to apologize for getting “personal” in her response to Gaines and attempt to explain her feelings again.

“These are sensitive, complicated issues that I truly don’t have the answers or solutions to, but I believe it starts with empathy and respect,” Biles wrote. “I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. My objection is to … singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful.

“Individual athletes — especially kids — should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over. I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”

Gaines responded on X with a post in which she accepted “Simone’s apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me” but stated that “you can’t have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you’re ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them.”

“I agree with you that the blame is on the lawmakers and leaders at the top,” Gaines added. “Precisely why I’m suing the NCAA and support candidates who vow to stand with women. … I welcome you to the fight to support fair sports and a future for female athletes. Little girls deserve the same shot to achieve that you had.”

Texas San Antonio wasn’t going to be a team UCLA could walk over.

Just a week ago, the Roadrunners made a mockery of the Austin Regional — scoring 26 runs across three games — and took down No. 2 Texas twice on the Longhorns’ home turf. Their greeting to the Bruins on Jackie Robinson Stadium on Saturday night was just as loud.

American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Mason Lytle sent Michael Barnett’s second pitch of the game into no-doubt territory beyond the left-field wall for a home run. UTSA’s dugout poured onto the field in response — earning an early warning from the umpires. A straight steal of home from Roadrunners left fielder Caden Miller in the second brought even more juice from the road support. Down 2-0, the Bruins were shell shocked, in need of a response.

“They jumped on us, no question about it,” UCLA coach John Savage said. “You know it’s going to be a dogfight. Every game is going to be a dogfight from the end of the season until the end of the year.”

The runs may not have been coming at the same pace, when UCLA scored a season-high 19 in the opening game of regionals, but the hits kept on rolling like they did a week ago. UCLA tallied 10 hits and six walks — scoring two runs in the third and one in the fourth to take the lead — but stranded 13 on base, toeing the line of nail-biting baseball to win 5-2.

Leading 3-2 with two outs in the eighth, it wasn’t until sophomore third baseman Roman Martin connected for a two-RBI triple that the Bruins could breathe. He waved his arms in celebration as Bruins fans behind the third-base dugout led an “eight clap” for the first and only time Saturday.

UCLA’s Roman Martin celebrates during the Bruins’ win over Texas San Antonio on Saturday.

(Ross Turteltaub / UCLA Athletics)

“You can get overly excited in these situations,” said Savage, one win from his first trip to Omaha since leading UCLA to the College World Series crown in 2013. “That’s lesson No. 1. Rule No. 1. A lot of baseball left this weekend. We understand that — that game really could have gone either way.”

UTSA still hit the ball all over the ballpark, as it did against Texas, but Barnett relied on his defense to limit the damage. He tossed six innings of two-run ball, giving up six hits, walking none and striking out one.

Barnett has steadily climbed in the Bruins’ rotation since his freshman campaign. He was a midweek starter in 2023, a Sunday starter in 2024. Now he’s the pitcher Savage uses to set the tone for the Bruins in the postseason.

“It’s obviously a huge privilege to be able to start these big games for us and set the tone,” said Barnett, who has 4.02 earned-run average. “A little adversity early on doesn’t matter. This team’s built off adversity.”

It was a clean, defensive clinic from the Bruins. Roch Cholowsky made a slick play in the seventh, fielding a hard ground ball to his left and throwing to first off-balance from behind second to help reliever Jack O’Connor toss a scoreless inning. Catcher Cashel Dugger handled dropped-third strikes from righty August Souza to make it smooth sailing in the eighth.

“They did the fundamentals a little bit better than us, and it’s that time of year,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “I just tip my hat to UCLA.”

Bruins first baseman Mulivai Levu doubled down the line to score Dean West for the Bruins’ first run. Cholowsky then managed to score on a ground out to third by Martin, tying the score 2-2.

An inning later, West drove in a run on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly after three UCLA singles to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead.

Savage pointed out his team’s collective offensive effort and how the Bruins didn’t rely on Cholowsky to carry them. He said Martin, West, Payton Brennan and AJ Salgado have improved, adding, “This is not a one-man show.”

Freshman right-hander Easton Hawk hurled a shutdown ninth inning to earn the save. In a bullpen that’s been in flux all year long, mixing in different relievers in late innings, Hawk has emerged as the team’s closer.

“He’s come in and pounded pretty good with multiple pitches, and you clearly see his talent,” Savage said of Hawk, who has given up just one run over his last 10 appearances. “That end of the game is no joke, and that’s only built for certain guys, and we felt that he could handle it.”

As the Bruins celebrated on the field, after Hawk ended the game with a strikeout, it signaled a truth heading into Sunday — UCLA is one win from booking a flight to Omaha.

Twelve years ago, John Savage was the man in Westwood.

Fresh off the Bruins’ first College World Series title in 2013, then-UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero rewarded the coach with a lucrative 12-year contract extension.

It’s been a grueling journey since.

UCLA has tallied numerous No. 1 national rankings, seven NCAA tournament berths, four first-round draft picks and one super regional appearance since then, but not a single return to Omaha. The last two years of Bruins baseball were poor by the program’s standards — missing the postseason in back-to-back years and ending 2024 with a losing record for the first time since 2016.

UCLA pitcher Wylan Moss celebrates after an out against UC Irvine on Sunday night.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Something had to give in 2025, the final year of Savage’s contract, as UCLA tried to build upon a sophomore class that has helped transform it into one of the best offenses in the nation.

UCLA entered the NCAA tournament with reason to be optimistic. With star players such as Roch Cholowsky on the roster, perhaps a return to the College World Series wasn’t out of the question.

On Sunday, the Omaha oracle pointed UCLA’s way, the Bruins inching one step closer to advancing to the College World Series. Bullying second-seeded UC Irvine with its bats like it had against every team in the Los Angeles Regional, first-seeded UCLA won 8-5 to advance to the NCAA super regionals for the first time since 2019. UCLA will host the Los Angeles Super Regional against Texas San Antonio at Jackie Robinson Stadium this week.

“I’m very proud of our team, very proud of our guys winning 19 games last season and coming back,” Savage said. “It’s just a team — and they’re playing together. … Proud of our program, proud of my coaches.”

UTSA defeated Texas 7-4 in the Austin Regional final, taking down the national second-seed Longhorns to advance to its first-ever super regional.

If UCLA beats UTSA, it’ll advance to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2013.

UCLA pitcher Easton Hawk delivers against UC Irvine on Sunday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA’s offense was just as ready to explode — like they did versus Fresno State and Arizona State — against a depleted UC Irvine pitching staff (with high-leverage bullpen arms Ricky Ojeda and David Utagawa unavailable after pitching earlier Sunday). Rallying for six hits across the first two innings, the Bruins put together three runs thanks to RBI singles from Roman Martin and Cashel Dugger, and a sacrifice fly from Roch Cholowsky.

UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu helped place the game in blowout territory — an 8-0 lead — when he connected for a three-run home run in a five-run fourth inning. Much like UCLA had done all weekend, the lineup kept on churning.

Levu led all Bruins with three RBIs, while Cholowsky went one for three with two RBIs from sacrifice flies.

“Everyone has a great approach at the plate,” Levu said. “It’s kind of hard for the other team to get past us.”

Freshman Wylan Moss set the tone for UCLA’s combined pitching effort. Moss, who entered the contest with a 2.25 earned-run average and an All-Big-Ten Freshman Team recognition, was as good as advertised to stymie UC Irvine, which came off an 11-run offensive showing earlier in the day.

The 6-foot-3 righty struck out the top of the Anteaters lineup — Will Bermudez, Chase Call and Jacob McCombs — swinging on change ups. Moss, who had yet to pitch in the NCAA Tournament, was lying in wait for a game of magnitude.

He pitched 3 ⅓ innings, giving up two runs and two hits, while walking three and striking out four. From there, a five-pitcher bullpen effort kept Irvine at bay, pitching 5 ⅔ innings of five-run ball the rest of the way to wrap up regional action in Westwood.

UCLA players and coaches celebrate after their Los Angeles Regional victory over UC Irvine on Sunday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Things got more complicated for UCLA in the sixth, when freshman right-hander Cal Randall gave up a solo home run to UC Irvine designated hitter Alonso Reyes to make it a three-run game, but right-hander Jack O’Connor entered to extinguish the threat — and set down UC Irvine outfielder Chase Call on a fielder’s choice to close out the inning.

It wasn’t easy sailing for the Bruins in the late innings.

Graduate student right-hander August Souza bailed UCLA out of a bases-loaded jam by freezing the potential go-ahead run, Blake Penso, on a full-count, 87-mph fastball in the seventh.

When the Bruins needed it the most, Souza struck out two in a scoreless eighth, putting metaphorical champagne on ice in Westwood.

“Just honestly blessed to play this year,” said Souza, who didn’t pitch in 2024 because of injury. “It’s my sixth year. Didn’t think I’d play in college this long, and just happy to get this win with my team and celebrate getting to a super regional.”

Freshman right-hander Easton Hawk tossed a perfect ninth, striking out James Castagnola to end it, prompting the Bruins to run onto the field in celebration. UCLA owned the Los Angeles Regional title.

“I liked everything today,” said UC Irvine coach Ben Orloff, who praised Savage as one of the best coaches in the nation. “Besides the third out.”

What makes the 2025 Bruins different from other UCLA teams? Savage said leadership and teamsmanship could make the Bruins national title contenders.

Cholowsky, with pitchers Cody Delvecchio and Michael Barnett, helped transform the team’s culture as team captains, Savage said. They accomplished this despite having to endure the legal saga that temporarily forced the Bruins out of Jackie Robinson Stadium in the fall.

Now, postseason baseball will remain in Westwood for at least one more weekend.

Highlights from UCLA’s 8-5 win over UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional on Sunday.

“We got knocked out of the stadium the first day of school,” Savage said. “It was unfortunate, but they came together, man, and they did a remarkable job of just building this team. I gotta tip my hat to the players. The players did a remarkable job.”

But it’s not time to celebrate just yet. If UCLA wants to go to the College World Series, Savage said, the focus needs to shift to beating UTSA.

“Like I told them, ‘there’s nothing to really celebrate,’” Savage said. “You can enjoy this, but at the same time, we got to get back to work on Tuesday.”

Under threat of elimination, UC Irvine‘s bats emerged once again.

Bringing the power for a second straight game, the Anteaters connected for five home runs Sunday, eliminating Arizona State 11-6 in the Los Angeles Regional of the NCAA baseball tournament.

Needing to win four straight games to advance to the super regionals after losing to Arizona State on Friday, UC Irvine is halfway to its goal.

Alonso Reyes — who had just one home run in 2025 entering Sunday’s game — ripped a two-run home run off of Sun Devils starter Derek Schaefer in the fourth inning. Later in the inning, after Arizona State coach Willie Bloomquist went with Lucas Kelly out of the bullpen, Chase Call cleared the batter’s eye in dead center field for a two-run home run to give the Anteaters a 6-1 lead.

UC Irvine took a 7-2 lead in the sixth when Call launched a changeup over the heart of the plate from Sun Devils closer Cole Carlon beyond the left-field wall and into the neighborhood behind Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Call’s two home runs weren’t the only examples of the Anteaters’ power at the plate.

UC Irvine star center fielder Jacob McCombs connected for a no-doubt home run (423 feet, 106.5 mph) for the second straight day in the third inning, lifting the ball over The Jack and Rhodine Gifford Training Facility in right field. McCombs, an All-Big-West First Team honoree, leaned back in the batter’s box after his home run, taking time to admire his go-ahead blast.

Even when the Sun Devils threatened — scoring three in the sixth to make it a two-run game — James Castagnola replenished the lead with a two-run home run in the seventh. UC Irvine forced Carlon — who entered the game with a 2.73 earned-run average — from the game. He conceded a season-high five runs (four earned) across 1⅓ innings.

Plenty is still up for grabs for the Anteaters, but it will now require more of the same offense — and taking down UCLA twice (once Sunday night and on Monday) to extend their season. Luckily for coach Ben Orloff, he preserved most of his pitching staff thanks to redshirt sophomore left-hander Ryder Brooks’ start.

The brother of former UCLA Friday night starting pitcher Jake Brooks made himself at home at Jackie Robinson Stadium, tossing 5⅓ innings of five-run ball, giving up six hits, walking four and striking out three with low-slot delivery. It was Brooks’ longest start since a complete-game shutout of Hawaii on April 19.

Orloff dipped into his bullpen for just two relief pitchers. Ricky Ojeda, the Big West Pitcher of the Year, tossed 1 ⅓ innings on 34 pitches. Over the last three days, Ojeda has thrown 74 pitches — and would be on just a few hours rest if he pitches Sunday night against UCLA. The Anteaters split their midweek season series against the Bruins earlier this year.

Michael Barnett flipped a weighted baseball into his hand and threw it against the side of the strength-training room next to UCLA’s clubhouse.

Jostling through folding tables, water coolers, television stands and a postgame news conference podium, he resumed his starting pitcher routine, as he would for any start, moving inside the weight room to stretch his right arm with resistance bands.

The junior right-hander’s pregame obstacle course — navigating university staffers, media and more — before trotting down to the bullpen, was outside of the ordinary. Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium was different — from the energy on the concourse to the noise from the dugouts and ultimately, the power from the Bruins’ bats.

Hosting its first regional since 2019, national No. 15 seed UCLA posted season highs for hits and runs in a dominant, 19-4 victory over regional No. 4 seed Fresno State.

“It wasn’t the cleanest game — it didn’t feel like the cleanest game,” said UCLA coach John Savage, “but at the end of the day, at this time of the year, you win any way you can and certainly we did that today. So it was a good win.”

A six-run, seventh-inning sent the Bulldogs unknowingly waving a white flag. UCLA first baseman Mulivai Levu’s line drive off the left-field wall cleared the loaded bases to provide the Bruins with a 12-2 lead. Fresno State’s nine players dejectedly walked off the field, as if they’d been walked off in a mercy-rule defeat.

But the field crew reminded the Bulldogs that in the NCAA tournament, no matter how many runs you trail by, both teams play nine innings. The Bruins still had seven more runs to score in the eighth inning Friday.

It wasn’t Big Ten player of the year Roch Cholowsky — the 20-year-old who dreamed of Omaha when he chose the Bruins over entering the MLB draft — who led the offensive barrage that gave UCLA a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The middle of the UCLA lineup helped produce a rally as they had all year.

UCLA’s Dean West makes contact during the Bruins’ blowout win over Fresno State on Friday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Levu — who led the Bruins in regular-season RBI with 74 and led UCLA with five RBI against Fresno State — singled into left field to start the rally. Cleanup hitter Roman Martin brought home the first run of the game with a single into left. Payton Brennan and Blake Balsz (who tallied his third-career, three-hit game) connected for back-to-back RBI base hits, solidifying a lead as the Bulldogs awaited the walk back to the dugout for a mid-inning reprieve.

“The nice part about today is I was just trying to simplify everything and trust that my teammates are gonna pick me up,” Balsz said.

Before Fresno State starting pitcher Jack Anker knew it, UCLA strung together four runs in the blink of an eye, creating distance against the Mountain West champions they never made up.

Martin connected for a third-inning solo home run — his seventh of the year — while Balsz joined his teammate with multiple RBI after a run-scoring single a few batters later.

“One of the huge things we talked about, one of our offensive goals is to score first, and that’s really a huge momentum shift for us,” Martin said. “It definitely kind of took a little bit off, especially during our first playoff game, kind of eased us into it a little bit.”

UCLA tagged Anker for six earned runs and 10 hits across five innings, holding the Bulldogs junior who entered the game averaging 10.5 strikeouts-per-nine innings to just two punchouts. The two strikeouts were the second-fewest Anker forced against an opposing team this season.

UCLA pitcher Michael Barnett delivers during the first inning Friday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Barnett’s outing on the mound was an obstacle much like his routine before toeing the Jackie Robinson Stadium mound. The sinkerballer struggled with command against the Bulldogs, throwing just 40 strikes among 74 pitches, and lasted just 4⅓ innings before UCLA coach John Savage pulled Barnett with runners on the corners and one out in the fifth.

Southpaw Chris Grothues, a junior in his first season of high-leverage pitching opportunities, broke Barnett out of the inherited jam with a 3-6-1 double play to end the inning. Grothues then spun a scoreless sixth — placing the Bruins in cruise control for the rest of the contest, earning the victory.

“They did a really good job against Barnett,” Savage said, adding that he felt lucky to be up 6-2 entering the seventh. “Our bullpen did a nice job. Grothues came in, got that double play. That was a big play — the 3-6-1 — that was a big momentum swing.”

Cholowsky, who also led the nation in wins-above-replacement with 6.36, according to D1Baseball, still collected two hits Friday.

Leadoff hitter Dean West was hit by a pitch three times by Bulldog pitchers, the last of which brought home a run to make it 9-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Brennan hit a two-run home run in the eighth, while catcher Cashel Dugger also pulled a solo home run over the right-field wall for the Bruins’ 15th run.

UCLA advances to the winner’s bracket where it’ll face the winner of the UC Irvine-Arizona State game late Friday. The Bruins split midweek season series against both the Anteaters and the Sun Devils.

The NCAA Division I college baseball playoffs begin this week, and there are several graduates from Southern California high schools representing in the college ranks.

Freshman Dylan Volantis of Texas, a Westlake High graduate, has had an All-American season, going 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 12 saves as a closer in the SEC.

Freshman shortstop Nate Castellon, a Calabasas grad, helped Cal Poly win the Big West tournament. He’s batting .364.

Collin Clarke (Santa Margarita) is 5-2 with a 4.59 ERA for Oregon. Trent Caraway (JSerra) has 33 RBIs for Oregon State. Colin Yeaman (Saugus) is batting .342 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs for UC Irvine. Aiden Taurek (Foothill) is batting .336 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs for St. Mary’s.

Derek Curiel (Orange Lutheran) is the No. 2 hitter for LSU with a .336 average and 45 RBIs. Aidan Cremarosa, who once played for Burbank Burroughs until enrolling at IMG Academy, is 6-5 with a 4.13 ERA for Fresno State.

Dean Curley (Northview) is batting .313 with 12 home runs for Tennessee. Jimmy De Anda (Mater Dei) has a .281 average for Utah Valley.

For USC, Ethan Hedges (Mater Dei) leads the team with a .343 average and has nine saves. For UCLA, freshman Easton Hawk (Granada Hills) has been a late-season closer with five saves.

The Call brothers, Chase and Phoenix, play for UC Irvine and UCLA, respectively, and could face off in the Westwood regional.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

UCLA is hosting the Los Angeles Regional that includes UC Irvine, while USC ends its postseason drought with a trip to the Corvallis Regional, the NCAA announced Monday.

The Bruins earned the No. 15 national seed and right to host a regional at Jackie Robinson Stadium. UCLA will open play against Fresno State on Friday, while UC Irvine will face off with Arizona State to round out the UCLA regional pool. The Anteaters were coming off a strong season but on the bubble entering the selection show.

USC’s postseason fate was in doubt during the final weeks of the season, but the Trojans made the tournament field for the first time since 2015. USC will travel to Corvallis Regional and open play against TCU on Friday. Oregon State and Saint Mary’s round out the regional field.

WASHINGTON, May 21 (UPI) — President Donald Trump welcomed the University of Florida’s men’s basketball team to the White House on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate its 2025 NCAA championship season, praising the Gators’ teamwork, grit and determination.

Standing alongside head coach Todd Golden, Trump called Florida’s run “one for the history books” and noted the program’s place in history as the only NCAA Division I school to win three national titles in both basketball (2006, 2007, 2025) and football (1996, 2006, 2008).

The Gators finished a dominant 36-4 season with a 65-63 victory over Houston in what Trump described as “one of the most exciting games and championships” he had seen.

“You refused to let up when the odds were against you,” Trump told the team. “Lesser teams would have crumbled.”

Trump highlighted stellar performances throughout the season, including that by senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a career-high 34 points in the Final Four against Auburn and became the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score 30 points or more in both the Elite Eight and Final Four.

“He’s unbelievably special,” Trump said. “He’s going to be a very early draft pick if they’re smart.”

University of Florida Interim President Kent Fuchs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida senator, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who served at Florida attorney general.

Golden thanked Trump for the invitation and drew a comparison between the team’s culture and the country’s ideals.

“Mr. President, I’d like to think of our program similarly to how you think of the United States. We’re a meritocracy,” Golden said. “We work really, really hard. No matter what you look like, where you come from, if you put the team first and win, we’re going to play you.”

He then presented the president with a signed Gators jersey featuring the number 47, referencing Trump’s status as the 47th president.

Trump accepted the gift and invited the team to the Oval Office for commemorative coins and photos alongside members of his administration and several lawmakers.

“Go Gators,” he said. “We love you.”

Alexis Ramirez went three for four and drove in five runs and UCLA cruised to the NCAA Super Regionals with a 12-1 dismantling of UC Santa Barbara on Sunday in the Los Angeles Regional.

The ninth-seeded Bruins (52-10) travel to face eighth-seeded South Carolina next weekend. UCLA is chasing its ninth Women’s College World Series berth in the last decade. In going 3-0 in this weekend’s regional play, UCLA outscored it opponents 31-2. UCLA started the weekend with a 9-1 win over the Gauchos (36-26) on Friday.

Ramirez started the hit parade driving in the game’s first two runs. UCLA scored four runs in the first and second innings, three in the fourth and the game was mercy-ruled after the Gauchos came up empty in the bottom of the fifth.

Jessica Clements, Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery all homered for UCLA. Clements and Grant each drove in a pair of runs.

Taylor Tinsley moved her season record to 14-4 pitching four innings, surrendering just three hits and one unearned run. She struck out six and didn’t give up a walk.

Malaya Johnson (24-12) took the loss for UC Santa Barbara giving up six hits and six earned runs in an inning of work.

Ainsley Waddell singled to center field to score Alexa Sams in the bottom of the second for the Gauchos’ run.

The crack of the ball off Jordan Woolery’s bat in the first inning sent a sharp, resounding message — the Bruins weren’t going to let their opponent dictate the tone this time.

Woolery, UCLA’s RBI leader, went two for three with a three-run homer, a triple and five RBIs to lead the Bruins to a 10-0, six-inning shutout over San Diego State in Game 2 of the Los Angeles Regional on Saturday afternoon.

The No. 9 Bruins (51-10) cruised into Game 6 of the regional, where they’ll have a chance to clinch a spot in the Super Regionals with one more win. Their opponent has yet to be determined for Sunday’s 4:30 p.m. PDT first pitch.

It was a complete role reversal. Just a day after UCLA’s bats stayed quiet through the first four innings in an eventual victory over UC Santa Barbara, the Bruins opened their second regional matchup with intent.

On the first pitch, Jessica Clements ripped a leadoff double. One pitch later, Savannah Pola dropped down a bunt and, spotting an uncovered second base, the speedy second baseman turned it into a heads-up double.

With runners in scoring position, Jordan Woolery did what’s become second nature — she brought them home, and did so with a bang.

Staying patient in the box, Woolery worked the count full, waiting for a pitch she could drive. She then clobbered a high fly ball that just cleared the glove of San Diego State center fielder Julie Holcomb, sailing over the wall for a three-run homer.

A candidate for national player of the year, Woolery is one of UCLA’s most consistent threats near the top of the lineup. She entered the regional ranked fifth in the nation with 75 RBIs — the second-highest single-season mark in program history.

Woolery added another RBI later, legging out a triple after a diving attempt by the Aztecs’ right fielder missed and the ball skipped past, allowing Clements to score. The hit brought her total to six RBIs for the weekend.

In an encore to her heroics at the plate and dominance in relief the night before, Kaitlyn Terry took the mound with poise and command. The left-hander turned in a smooth outing, giving up only two hits and one walk while striking out five.

Her only trouble came in the bottom of the third. A walk, an infield single and a fielding error loaded the bases, giving San Diego State a prime chance to take the lead. But Terry stayed composed.

After recording two outs, Terry dug in for a seven-pitch battle with Angie Yellen — and won, inducing a routine groundout to end the inning and preserve the Bruins’ lead.

From there, she settled in and found her rhythm, retiring nine straight batters and striking out three, earning the complete-game shutout victory.

A six-run rally in the sixth inning sealed the game via the run rule. Kaniya Bragg opened the onslaught with a two-run double, followed by an RBI single to right field from Terry. Then, just like the night before, Megan Grant delivered the finishing blow — a two-run triple that slammed high off the center-field wall, narrowly missing a three-run homer.

With the win, the Bruins notched back-to-back mercy-rule victories — their 27th of the season, extending a program record.

With UCLA’s bats quiet early, Kaitlyn Terry stepped into the batter’s box looking to ignite a two-out rally — and with one swing she brought the Bruins to life.

Terry, a right fielder and left-handed pitcher, hit a three-run home run in the second inning to jump-start UCLA’s 9-1 win over UC Santa Barbara in six innings in the opening round of the Los Angeles Regional on Friday.

The No. 9 Bruins (50–10) advanced to Game 3 of the regional, where they’ll face the winner of Arizona State and San Diego State at 2 p.m. PDT Saturday.

Before the season, coach Kelly Inouye-Perez stressed that a UCLA championship push had to start with securing a regional at Easton Stadium — and taking care of business once there.

UCLA is chasing its ninth Women’s College World Series berth in the past decade, but early on Friday, the path looked shaky. Instead of a confident march into the postseason opener, it felt like déjà vu for a moment — a flashback to the haunting 2023 regional, when the Bruins dropped their first game and ultimately fell short of a trip to Oklahoma City.

The Bruins squandered early opportunities uncharacteristic of the nation’s No. 2 run-scoring lineup.

Trailing in the second inning, Alexis Ramirez reached base on a hit up the middle, then stole second. After advancing on a groundout, she was caught in a rundown between third and home. Still, UCLA had a chance to even the score with runners on first and second, but Terry flied out to end the inning.

UCLA pitcher Taylor Tinsley delivers against UC Santa Barbara in the Los Angeles Regional on Friday.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Terry found herself in a similar situation two innings later, and she delivered.

With two outs in the fourth, Kaniya Bragg reached first on a hit-by-pitch. Batting for the first time this season, Taylor Stephens followed with a slow roller into right field — just soft enough for Bragg to beat the tag at third while Stephens stepped onto second.

On the next pitch, Terry crushed a home run to center field.

Taylor Tinsley, an All-Big Ten first team selection, gave up three hits and one walk while striking out one. Her only blemish came in the second inning, when she gave up a run on an RBI single by UCSB catcher Delaina Ma’ae.

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1. UCLA’s Jordan Woolery fields the ball at third base against UC Santa Barbara on Friday. 2. UCLA infielder Kaniya Bragg fields the ball. 3. UCLA’s Megan Grant celebrates after hitting a game-ending home run in the sixth inning. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

A pair of home runs in the sixth inning ended the game via the mercy rule. Jessica Clements hit a three-run home run. That was followed by a walk and steal from Savannah Pola, who was driven in by Jordan Woolery’s RBI single. Megan Grant ended the game with a two-run blast to left-center field.

UCLA, which finished its first season in the Big Ten tied for second with Nebraska, has won 26 games by mercy rule this season.