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Davis to speak at First Pitch

Former Major League Baseball outfielder Rajai Davis will be the featured speaker at the 2026 Youngstown State Baseball First Pitch Breakfast on Jan. 31 at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center.

The event will also provide fans with the opportunity to meet the 2026 Penguins baseball squad, enjoy a breakfast buffet and bid in live and silent auctions on an impressive lineup of Major League Baseball memorabilia, unique experiences and YSU baseball gear. A breakfast ticket will also provide entrance into a door prize drawing, which will be for two different door prizes. The first prize will be an autographed helmet signed by the 2026 YSU baseball team. The second prize will be four 2026 season tickets for Youngstown State baseball home games.

General admission tickets are $55 apiece. Premium Reserved tables are also available for $650 and include eight breakfast/raffle tickets and premium seating at the First Pitch Breakfast. Fans can also join Davis and the YSU baseball staff for an exclusive dinner on Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Michael Alberini’s in Boardman for an additional $200 per guest. Please note there are limited tickets available for Friday’s dinner.

For the breakfast on Jan. 31, doors and buffet will open at 8 a.m. with the program commencing at 9 a.m.

Davis played for eight different teams during his 14-year MLB career, and he led the American League with 43 stolen bases while playing for Cleveland, where he hit the game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series. Davis finished his career with 415 stolen bases while recording 30 or more steals in seven different seasons.

Davis was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 38th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft as a second baseman. He made his major league debut for the Pirates on August 14, 2006. He finished his MLB career with a .262 batting average, 62 home runs, 387 RBIs and 415 stolen bases. Since retiring in February 2021, Davis has served in the Baseball Operations department of Major League Baseball.

The program is also holding the 2026 YSU Baseball First Pitch Auction. Fans and supporters can bid on exclusive auction items through Feb. 2. Visit BidPal.net/FirstPitch26 to view auction items as they are added to the online site over the coming weeks.

Tickets for Friday night’s dinner and Saturday’s First Pitch Breakfast can be purchased online or by returning the ticket order form. Fans can also contact associate head coach Will Maddox at wpmaddox@ysu.edu.

Soto and Pirates finalize 1-year deal

PITTBURGH — Two-time All-Star reliever Gregory Soto and the Pittsburgh Pirates finalized a $7.75 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

Soto gives the Pirates an experienced left-handed option in a bullpen that will get a makeover in 2026 after relievers Colin Holderman and Dauri Moreta were designated for assignment last month.

The 30-year-old is 15-34 with a 4.26 ERA and 56 saves over seven seasons with five teams. He was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022 for Detroit. He spent 2025 with Baltimore and the New York Mets, who acquired him in late July just before the trade deadline.

Soto struggled in New York, going 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 25 appearances. His departure is the second significant subtraction from the Mets bullpen in free agency after closer Edwin Díaz agreed to a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier Tuesday.

Pittsburgh appears to be settled at the back end of the bullpen, where Dennis Santana performed well after two-time All-Star David Bednar was traded to the New York Yankees last season. Soto gives the Pirates a pitcher who has filled a variety of roles, including closer.

USC-Brown hoops game canceled

LOS ANGELES — The men’s basketball game between Brown and Southern California scheduled for Sunday in Los Angeles has been canceled. So has the women’s game against Monmouth, which was set for Sunday in Rhode Island.

Brown athletic officials announced both cancellations Tuesday. USC said the schools mutually agreed on the decision following the mass shooting on the Ivy League school’s campus in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday. The shooter remained at large as of Tuesday.

Brown’s next scheduled game is Dec. 31 at home.

The Trojans (10-1) will play against an as-yet announced opponent on Sunday at Galen Center.

“The entire USC community sends its support to Brown University following the tragedy that has impacted its students, staff, alumni and the city of Providence,” USC officials said in a statement.

Indiana’s Cignetti wins COY again

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti exceeded expectations again this season and it earned him a second consecutive honor as The Associated Press coach of the year in college football.

Cignetti is the first coach to win the award in back-to-back years since it was first presented in 1998. He is the fourth coach to win it twice, joining Brian Kelly, Gary Patterson and Nick Saban.

The 64-year-old Cignetti is 24-2 while leading the Hoosiers to unprecedented heights in his two seasons since leaving James Madison of the Championship Subdivision to take over what had been the losingest program in major college football. Last year, the Hoosiers won their first 10 games, were ranked as high as No. 5 in the AP Top 25, and reached the first round of the College Football Playoff.

He outdid himself this year, showing his smashing debut was not a one-off.

Indiana is 13-0, Big Ten champion for the first time since 1967, No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time and the top seed for the CFP. He also is coach of Indiana’s first Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the AP player of the year.

Cignetti was a landslide winner for coach of the year in voting by the nationwide panel of 52 media members who cover college football. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

In 2022, the Hoosiers became the first Bowl Subdivision program to reach 700 all-time losses. They entered this season with 714, a figure that still stands, and they’ve since been passed by Northwestern (717) for the dubious FBS mark.

In a program that had never won more than nine games in a season before Cignetti’s arrival, the Hoosiers have double-digit wins for a second straight year and completed a regular season without a loss for the first time.

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Haskell to speak to Curbstone

Charles “Chuck” Haskell, the executive director of the Ohio Athletic Commission, will be the guest speaker at Monday’s luncheon meeting of The Curbstone Coaches at the Avion Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The event begins at noon and the public is welcome to attend. For those arriving early the buffet lines will open at 11:45 a.m.

Salem changes today’s game times

Due to the weather forecast for today, Salem changed the start times of its girls and boys basketball games.

The junior varsity girls game against Carrollton will start at 11 a.m., with the varsity to follow.

The JV boys game against Southeast was moved to 2 p.m., with the varsity squad taking the court right after.

YSU announces Hall of Fame class

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State will induct a class of five former student-athletes and a long-time contributor into the YSU Athletics Hall of Fame in February.

The class of 2025 features Marta Burak (women’s tennis), Danielle Curry (women’s track and field), Dr. Ray Duffett (contributor), Phil Klein (baseball), Eric Rupe (men’s cross country and track and field), and Heidi Schlegel (women’s basketball).

The ceremony is set for 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 7, in the DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium. Tickets are available by contacting Austin Snodgrass at arsnodgrass@ysu.edu. The inductees will be introduced at halftime of the women’s basketball game against Green Bay. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. The YSU men host Robert Morris at 4:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader.

Burak, who played from 2011-15, was a four-time first-team all-league honoree and won all but one regular-season and postseason Horizon League match in her four-year career. She had a school record 94 singles wins and guided YSU to the 2014 and 2015 Horizon League Tournament titles and the 2015 regular-season title. In 40 league matches, she lost five out of 74 sets played, and three of those were her freshman year. Overall, she had a career mark of 94-31 in singles and won 78 doubles matches. Burak was the YSU Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2014-15.

Curry, a thrower from 2007-10, set the outdoor track shot put record with a throw of 15.71 meters in 2010 and ranks second all-time. She ranks eighth all-time in the indoor track weight throw at 17.18 meters, and she was named the Horizon League Indoor Field Newcomer of the Year in 2008. Curry earned the Horizon League Outdoor Field Athletic of the Year in 2009 and was a five-time Horizon League individual champion.

Duffett served as the Youngstown State team doctor from the late 1980’s until 2025. He is retiring from his service to the Penguin community, and he has been practicing here in the Mahoning Valley since 1988. Prior to coming to the area, Dr. Duffett worked with MLB and NFL players in Cincinnati, where he honed his skills and later benefited the YSU Athletic community, including four National Championship football teams in the 1990s.

Klein, a pitcher from 2008-11, was named First-Team All-Horizon League his sophomore year in 2009, and he is one of just four pitchers to earn first-team honors since YSU joined the Horizon League in 2002. Klein was also a Second-Team All-Horizon selection in 2011. Klein was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 30th Round of the 2011 MLB Draft, and he went on to make 40 appearances over three seasons in the majors with the Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies.

Rupe (Maplewood), who competed from 2011-15, led the Penguins by placing first at the Horizon League Cross Country Championship with a time of 25:41.24 as a junior. In 2013 he became the first YSU male runner in school history to win a cross country conference championship. He placed first in the Disney World Cross Country Classic with a time of 25:05.46 in 2013 and won the 5,000-meter run at the indoor Horizon League Championships with a time of 14:49.68 as a senior. By winning the 5,000-meter run, Rupe defended his title and became the first repeat champion in the event since Butler’s Gary Blackman in 2003-04. As a junior he won the event in a time of 15:09.25. In 2014, Rupe helped the Penguins win the Horizon League Outdoor Championship with first place finishes in the 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter runs.

Schlegel, who played from 2010-15, was a two-time All-Horizon League selection in 2013-14 and 2014-15. She ranks fourth on the all-time scoring list with 1,729 points, and her 621 points in 2013-14 rank fifth on the single-season chart, while her 584 in 2014-15 is eighth. Schlegel’s 20.0 ppg average in 2013-14 ranks eighth in a single season. Her 14.5 career-scoring average ranks 10th all-time, she ranks eighth all-time with 796 career rebounds and seventh all-time with 25 double-doubles.

Utah’s Whittingham steps down

SALT LAKE CITY — Kyle Whittingham, who with 177 victories is the most successful coach in the history of the Utah football program, will be stepping down after the Utes’ appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31.

“The time is right to step down from my position as the head football coach at the University of Utah,” Whittingham said in a statement Friday. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to lead the program for the past 21 years, and I’m very grateful for the relationships forged with all the players and assistant coaches that have worked so hard and proudly worn the drum and feather during our time here. The opportunity to guide so many talented young men as they pursued their goals — both on and off the field, has truly been a blessing.”

Whittingham posted a 177-88 (.668) record over 21 seasons. Utah finished with 18 winning seasons under Whittingham and won at least 10 games eight times.

During his tenure, Whittingham twice helped Utah navigate conference changes. The Utes moved from the Mountain West Conference to the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 and then departed the Pac-12 for the Big 12 Conference in 2024.

Whittingham led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 Championships and Rose Bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022. Then, after a 5-7 campaign in their first Big 12 season, Utah went 10-2 this season and finished in a tie for third place in the league.

The second-longest tenured head coach in FBS college football, Whittingham earned three national Coach of the Year awards, including the AFCA and Bear Bryant Awards in 2008, and the Dodd Trophy in 2019.

Morgan Scalley will be Whittingham’s successor at Utah. Scalley has been designated head coach in waiting in recent seasons while serving as defensive coordinator — a position he has held since 2016.

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Andy Hake to speak to Curbstone

Mineral Ridge head football coach Andy Hake will be the guest speaker at Monday’s luncheon meeting of The Curbstone Coaches at the Avion Banquet Center on Western Reserve Road in Beaver Township.

The event begins at noon and the public is welcome to attend.

For those arriving early the buffet lines will open at 11:45 a.m.

Penn State targets ISU’s Campbell

Penn State is in talks to name Iowa State’s Matt Campbell as its next head football coach, according to reports.

Multiple outlets, including The Athletic and ESPN, citing anonymous sources, reported talks between Campbell and the Nittany Lions were progressing.

Campbell’s potential hire comes nearly two months after the Nittany Lions fired longtime coach James Franklin midway through his 12th season following an 0-3 start in Big Ten play.

The Nittany Lions began the year ranked No. 2 after advancing to last year’s CFP semifinals. They went 3-3 under interim coach Terry Smith and are currently awaiting a bowl assignment.

Campbell, Iowa State’s all-time winningest coach, went 72-55 for a Cyclone program that was 489-622-45 with just three bowl wins over its 133-year history before his arrival. Campbell’s 10-year tenure in Ames includes eight winning seasons, three bowl wins and the program’s only 11-win campaign last year, when Iowa State reached the Big 12 championship game.

Campbell, who was previously the head coach at Toledo for five years before joining the Cyclones, is 107-70 overall as a head coach. He signed a contract extension at Iowa State in August worth $5 million per year until 2032, with a buyout of $2 million.

A Massillon Perry graduate, Campbell would become Penn State’s 17th full-time coach. He would take over a team that missed big during the early signing period that began on Wednesday.

Penn State, the second Power Four program to fire its coach this season, signed only two players toward its 2026 recruiting class this week. The Nittany Lions have no commitments in the 2027 class.

Now, current Nittany Lions will have to weigh whether or not to stick around and play for Campbell, who’s done a lot with a little in Ames while reportedly passing on other job offers, including overtures from the NFL.

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Fielding wins HL Athlete of Year

The postseason honors continue to pour in for junior McKinley Fielding, as she can now add Horizon League Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year to her résumé, the league announced Thursday.

Fielding becomes just the second Penguin female to win the prestigious award, and the first since Morgan Cole in 2022. This marks the third-straight year that a Penguin has received a #HLXC Athlete of the Year honor, though, as YSU great Hunter Christopher won the Men’s Athlete of the Year award in 2023 and 2024.

At the Horizon League Championships on Nov.1, Fielding blazed through the field en route to winning the conference crown, as her winning 6K time of 20:10.9 was 36 seconds quicker than the second-place finisher, and also broke her previous program record mark in the event by 30 seconds. Her victory put her in YSU XC lore as she became just the second Penguin female to win the individual Horizon League title, joining Morgan Cole in 2022. She also received First Team All-Horizon League honors for the second consecutive year following the league meet.

Fielding also led the Penguins to their third Horizon League title in program history, and first since 2014. The Penguins had 54 points, followed by Purdue Fort Wayne with 74 points, and Oakland with 79.

On the season, Fielding was the top YSU finisher in each of the five races she competed in, including a victory on Sept. 27 at the YSU Invitational XC Meet, where she set a new course record 5K time of 17:35.5. She had an impressive 42nd-place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships in Evansville, Ind., on Nov. 14.

Cavs fined again for resting players

NEW YORK — The NBA fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $250,000 on Thursday for violating the league’s player participation policy by resting All-Star guard Darius Garland for a nationally televised game against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 24.

It is the second time this season the Cavaliers have been fined for violating the policy. They received a $100,000 fine on Nov. 18 for resting both Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley against the Miami Heat on Nov. 12.

The league said an investigation confirmed that Garland was able to play in one of the team’s games in a back-to-back set. He played on Nov. 23 at home against the LA Clippers but the not the next night in Toronto, which was carried by Peacock in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada. Garland is considered a star play under the policy.

The Raptors extended their winning streak to eight games with a 110-99 victory. Cleveland was also missing De’Andre Hunter (rest) and Jarrett Allen (sprained finger) for that game.

Slay contemplating football future

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Cornerback Darius Slay has put off reporting to the Buffalo Bills to instead take time to consider his future, the player’s agent confirmed Thursday.

“Slay is honored that a first-class organization like the Bills claimed him, but he is going to take some time away from football right now and decide in the next few days if he wants to keep playing,” Drew Rosenhaus wrote in a text to The Associated Press.

Slay has 13 seasons of NFL experience, and the decision to take some time comes a day after the Bills claimed him on waivers following his release in Pittsburgh. In his first season in Pittsburgh, Slay was inactive in two of the Steelers’ past three outings after losing his starting job.

He was cut to make room for the team claiming receiver Adam Thielen on waivers.

Slay was not present at Bills practice on Thursday, with the team declining to comment.

Complicating matters further, Buffalo (8-4) may have lost a player for nothing if Slay decides not to continue playing. In claiming Slay, the Bills released fourth-year defensive back Ja’Marcus Ingram, who on Thursday was claimed by the Houston Texans.

Slay, meantime, takes up a spot on Buffalo’s 53-player roster as the team prepares to host Cincinnati (4-8) on Sunday. The Bills regarded Slay as an upgrade over Ingram in a bid to add experienced depth to a position where veteran Tre’Davious White and rookie Maxwell Hairston have split time opposite starter Christian Benford.

The 34-year-old Slay was an All-Pro in 2017 while playing his first seven seasons in Detroit. He spent another five years in Philadelphia, where he won a Super Bowl last season.

Athletics’ Las Vegas stadium on track

LAS VEGAS — The Athletics are on track to open their approximately $2 billion Las Vegas stadium on time, officials said Thursday at the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting.

The A’s, who are scheduled to move to Las Vegas before the 2028 season, met their year-end goals of beginning the concrete phase, having cranes in place and putting in the first buttress and concrete column.

A’s President Marc Badain also was instrumental in getting Allegiant Stadium built in time for the 2020 NFL season, when he had the same title with the Raiders. Mortenson-McCarthy built Allegiant and is the contractor for the A’s new venue.

Ceremonial groundbreaking on the 33,000-person capacity domed stadium located on the Las Vegas Strip occurred June 23. The A’s Ballpark Experience Center opened Tuesday in Las Vegas to give fans a chance to view the stadium in detail and take part in other immersive experiences.

The price tag has gone up considerably twice, rising from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion to the current estimate. A’s vice chairman Sandy Dean indicated he didn’t expect the cost to increase much more.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark, and the A’s have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been seeking investors, but Dean said he didn’t have an update on that effort.

Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said A’s officials have not yet asked for their share of public assistance.

This Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting occurred one day short of the one-year anniversary of when it approved lease, non-relocation and development documents, the last major hurdles before construction. The lease and non-relocation agreements each cover 30 years.

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