EAST MEADOW, NY -- Top forward prospect Victor Eklund could be a call-up option for the New York Islanders before the season comes to a close, per general manager Mathieu Darche.
"We're looking at everything for sure," Darche said as his team tries to recover from a four-game slide to get back into a playoff spot with four games to go. "Eklund has done really well in Bridgeport. Obviously, he's put up points. There are other aspects of the game. Obviously, there's a first adjustment. What makes the adjustment maybe a bit easier for him is that he played against men this year in the SHL."
Through his first four AHL games, the Islanders' second of three first-round picks at the 2025 NHL Draft (No. 16) has recorded six assists.
But, as Darche said, it's more about points, and well, he's been really strong in all three zones. He has a tremendous grasp of where he needs to be positioned, too, and he's got a drive, a motor that will make him a fan favorite.
Eklund, who signed his three-year entry-level deal last August, is eligible to be recalled without the Islanders having to make any kind of roster moves.
The first season of his ELC will slide if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games, including the postseason, if the Islanders qualify.
Even if recalled, the 19-year-old will be eligible for the AHL Playoffs.
If not this season, Eklund will be a player to watch at training camp, as he'll certainly be fighting for a roster spot ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Detroit Red Wings - 40-29-8 - 88 Points - 4-6-0 in the last 10 - Lost 2 - 6th in the Atlantic
Columbus Blue Jackets - 38-27-12 - 88 Points - 3-6-1 in the last 10 - Lost 3 - 5th in the Metro
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
Columbus fell 2-1 to Winnipeg in its most recent contest on Saturday. It begins its final road trip of the regular season on Tuesday at Detroit and includes games at Buffalo (Thursday) and Montreal (Saturday).
The Blue Jackets play all four of their games this week against the Atlantic Division. The club has earned points in 18 of its last 22 games against the division dating back to Apr. 8, 2025 (13-4-5).
CBJ rank second in the NHL in scoring the first goal of the game (46) and fourth in goals scored in the opening period (79).
The Jackets have also earned points in 25 of their past 33 contests overall since Jan. 11 (20-8-5, 45 pts.). The club ranks third in the league in goals-against per game (2.61) and fifth-T in points pct. (.632) over that stretch.
The team has earned points in 10 of its last 14 road games, ranking fifth in the league in points pct. since Jan. 11 (9-4-1, .679).
Columbus leads the NHL with a franchise-record 57 goals scored by defensemen in 2025-26 (57-133-190, 77 GP).
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Adam Fantilli has set single-season career highs in assists and points with 21-34-55 in 77 contests.
Jet Greaves has earned points in 15 of his last 19 starts (12-4-3, 2.34 GAA, .913 SV% in 20 GP), ranking fifth among goaltenders in GAA and seventh in SV% since Jan. 11 (min. 6 GP).
Kirill Marchenko has posted assists in three of the past four games (1-4-5) and is the fifth player in Blue Jackets history with 25-plus goals in consecutive seasons (31 in 2024-25; 26 in 2025-26).
Mason Marchment has collected assists in each of his past three outings (1-4-5) and has 2-5-7 in his last six games. He ranks second on the team in goals since making his CBJ debut on Dec. 20, 2025 (14-14-28 in 34 GP).
Zach Werenski, with 21-57-78 in 70 games in 2025-26, sits two assists shy of tying the franchise's record for assists in a single season set by Artemi Panarin (79 GP in 2018-19) and matched by the defenseman in 2024-25 (81 GP). He's also two points away from becoming the third American-born defenseman in NHL history with consecutive 80-point campaigns (Brian Leetch, 1990-91 - 1991-92 with NYR; Phil Housley, 1991-92 - 1992-93 with WPG).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.5% - 21st in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.3% - 27th in the NHL
Goals For - 236 - 18th in the NHL
Goals Against - 234 - 22nd in the NHL
Red WingsStats
Power Play - 22.0% - 13th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 77.3% - 25th in the NHL
Goals For - 223 - 22nd in the NHL
Goals Against - 231 - 12th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheRed Wings
Columbus is 49-52-1-15 all-time, and 21-28-0-8 all-time in Detroit.
Columbus has earned points in four-straight meetings of the series vs. Detroit (3-0-1) and five of the last six (3-1-2).
CBJ have earned points in three consecutive road games (1-0-2) and five of the past six at Little Caesars Arena (3-1-2).
After going 19-39-11 vs. Detroit from 2000-12, the Blue Jackets are 30-13-5 since the 2012-13 campaign.
The road team has recorded points in 10 of the last 12 games of the series dating back to Apr. 9, 2022 (7-2-3).
The teams have combined for seven or more goals in 13 of the past 16 contests, including the last seven-straight.
The winning team has scored four or more goals in 16 consecutive games since May 7, 2021, and in 18 of the last 20 in the overall series dating back to Mar. 2, 2021.
Five of the past six games at Detroit have been decided by a single goal with three decided in overtime (CBJ; 1-2).
CBJ has scored a power play goal in five of the past six meetings overall (6-of-13; 46.2 pct.)
Who To Watch For TheRed Wings
Alex DeBrincat leads the team with 39 goals and 81 points.
Lucas Raymond leads Detroit with 48 assists.
Goalie John Gibson is 28-20-3 with a SV% of .904.
CBJ Player Notes vsRed Wings
Boone Jenner has 29 points in 35 games vs. the Red Wings.
Zach Werenski has 25 points in 27 games.
Charlie Coyle has 14 points in his career against Detroit.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 39 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
Damon Severson - Missed 5 Games - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
Dmitri Voronkov - Missed 4 Games - Upper Body - Week-to-week
Mathieu Olivier - Missed 3 Games - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 198
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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INDIANAPOLIS — You wouldn’t think Michigan would be all smiles at halftime.
Yes, it had a four point lead over Connecticut in the national championship game, but it was an unattractive four-point lead. It was arguably the worst first-half performance of the season. Not only did the Wolverines fail to make a single 3-pointer in the first half – the only time that’s happened this season – but there were no makes outside of the paint.
An awful first 20 minutes, but the Wolverines weren’t just staying positive, they were beaming in happiness.
Why?
"It can’t get any worse," Michigan guard Nimari Bennett told USA TODAY Sports.
True, but it’s not like the second half was any better. Michigan struggled offensively for all 40 minutes. The 69 points were Michigan's third lowest of the season. It was the worst 3-point shooting night of the season.
Actually, it was the worst shooting performance of the season, period.
UConn needed to make Michigan look ugly to win. It did that – and it still lost.
So, how did the Wolverines do it?
Because of one thing hiding in plain sight; while Michigan was lighting up the scoreboard with its prolific offense all tournament long, it made everyone forget one thing: they are just as good on defense.
The Wolverines made sure to remind everybody on Monday, resulting in a national championship as those halftime smiles carried over to after the buzzer sounded and Lucas Oil Stadium rained maize and blue confetti.
It’s not like Michigan’s defensive prowess wasn't there for all to see. Three players – Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara – were Big Ten all-defensive players, with Mara the conference defensive player of the year.
That’s why teams’ defensive shooting percentage of 38.4% and average of 6.1 blocks per game were each the second best mark in the country, and it was on full display in the NCAA Tournament.
The reason why Michigan won its first five tournament games by an average of 21.6 points per game wasn’t just because it was scoring at least 90 points, but because it harassed opposing offenses every night.
No team shot above 45% against the Wolverines, and the collective opponent shooting percentage from those games? A whopping 37.9%. The defense got better in the tournament.
"The statistics, it speaks for itself," Bennett said. "I feel like we're the best defensive team in the country."
Bennett and company did prove it. UConn shot a season-worst 31% from the field. A team that was top 10 in assists with more than 18 per game had just nine, the only time it was held to single digits.
Despite making nine three pointers, UConn missed 24 attempts. Shots were constantly getting contested by the the Wolverines' quickness to the ball. Even with the looks UConn wanted, not many of them were wide open.
It didn't get any easier near the basket. Six shots inside the paint got swatted away, making it tough for the Huskies to prevail even with their own defensive toughness.
"It's hard to have a level of disappointment where literally it just came down to we just didn't make enough shots in the basket," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "To be able to keep that team under 40% from the field – 38% – this team has destroyed everyone they've faced in this tournament."
In the NCAA Tournament, teams are 1-50 all-time when:
- scoring under 70 points - shooting under 40.0% from the field - shooting under 15.0% from three on 15+ attempts - getting outrebounded
For all of its defensive success, Michigan still had to find a way to score, and it did so in an uncharacteristic way.
If there was one thing Michigan wasn’t good at, it was free throws. The Wolverines entered the night 109th in the country with a 74.3% mark from the charity stripe. They drew fouls, resulting in 28 free throw attempts.
How many makes? How about 25 for an 89.3% clip.
All of it proving to be just enough to get the biggest win of the season.
"We started off really, really bad offensively, our defense was the reason why we won most of those games, today is the same thing," Lendeborg said. "We had to dig deep."
While it wasn’t pretty by any means, how Michigan won showed there is nothing to doubt about this title. Since the statement it made at the Player’s Era tournament, Michigan had been a relentless machine on both sides of the ball, churning blowout after blowout, no matter who was on the other side.
Even when it isn’t able to do that, instead of falling apart like most teams could, the Wolverines opted to hone in on one of its many strengths and ride it toward a win.
"They're legit. They definitely deserved to win the national championship. They're clearly the best team in the country this year," Hurley said.
UConn wanted a slugfest, and it’s exactly what it got. Michigan coach Dusty May actually admitted the Huskies "had a masterful game plan to beat us." All of it pointed to a third national title in four years to cement Hurley’s dynasty.
Little did UConn and the rest of the country realize Michigan had been throwing it down all season, and it didn’t need another offensive surge to do that. The defense carried Michigan just as much to this point, and in the end, it proved defense wins championships.
"Obviously, it's a big stage, but we deserve to be here," Bennett said. "We deserve this moment."
One area the Philadelphia Flyers still need to address, regardless of a successful playoff push, is the center position. By the sounds of it, they'll be one of many teams queueing up to sign a burgeoning KHL star.
On Monday, NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported that north of 15 NHL teams--effectively half the league or more--have interest in Dinamo Minsk center Vitali Pinchuk, who had 31 goals and 66 points in 65 games this season.
And, a few hours later, Daily Faceoff NHL insider Anthony Di Marco added that the Flyers have at least some degree of interest in the 6-foot-3 center, which we can assume places them within Seravalli's group of teams as well.
Pinchuk, 24, has steadily improved each year he's been in the KHL, progressing from zero points in 12 games in 2021-22, to 14 points in 61 games in 2022-23, to 43 points in 66 games last year, to 66 points in 65 games this year.
Not sure if it's already been said, but I'm told the Flyers do have some level of interest in Vintali Pinchuk.@DailyFaceoff
With Trevor Zegras, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, and Christian Dvorak all in the fold for the foreseeable future, any center the Flyers sign will have to be a meaningful addition.
Pinchuk's rather steady developmental curve bodes well for an NHL future, even if he isn't necessarily a star at the end of the day.
The Flyers, of course, also covet size, as evidenced by many recent draft selections. Jack Berglund, Porter Martone, Spencer Gill, Shane Vansaghi, and Carter Amico are all physical forces who bring other positive traits to the table, be it skating, intangibles, or just raw skill.
Pinchuk, we can safely assume, has the skill, evidenced by his 31-goal explosion this year, and he's plenty big for the NHL.
If the Flyers need a second opinion to complement the scouting reports they will invariably have in-house, they don't have to go very far to find one.
Now that two trustworthy insiders have come together to virtually guarantee the Flyers' interest, at least to some extend, it's a situation to watch for the fast-approaching NHL offseason.
Apr 6, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Baltimore Orioles players celebrate teams win against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Is it dramatic to suggest that last night’s Orioles game against the White Sox was a must-win? Probably. But if the O’s had followed up an ugly sweep in Pittsburgh by losing to the two-time reigning worst team in the American League, even the most level-headed fans among us might have thrown their TVs out the window.
Fortunately, it didn’t happen. The O’s escaped the opener in the Windy City with a 2-1 victory to snap their three-game losing streak. Their record is now 4-6, which isn’t good but somehow ties them for third place in the AL East. Brandon Young, fresh up from the minors for his season debut, played the hero with five shutout innings of work, immediately making him the second-best starter on the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson hit a massive dinger. Ryan Helsley overcame control problems in the ninth to strand the tying and winning runs on base. Check out Stacey’s recap for the full breakdown of the action.
Was it the kind of game that will make anyone feel better about the Orioles? No, not really. The O’s offense again was utterly inept aside from the Henderson homer. Their only other run scored on a routine fly ball that fell in for a single when Austin Hays strained his hamstring on the play. The O’s went hitless with runners in scoring position, grounded into two double plays, and struck out seven times (three by Henderson) with just one walk. Tyler O’Neill failed to hustle on the Hays play, settling in at first base when he should have easily been on second. There was plenty of the typical O’s sloppiness, and you get the feeling that the Birds wouldn’t have been so fortunate to win if they’d been playing against a better team.
Still, a win is a win, and the Orioles will gladly take one however they can get it. They’ve got two more games to try to keep taking advantage of the White Sox. A reminder that today’s game has been moved up to a 3:10 ET start time rather than 7:40 in hopes of avoiding the bitter cold that’s sweeping through Chicago. Trevor Rogers will start for the Orioles against 2025 All-Star Shane Smith.
The O’s have yet to win two games in a row this season. Maybe today is the day that changes.
Based on last night’s game alone, I don’t know who Adley is. He went 0-for-3 and committed a throwing error, but also hustled into a run and threw out two base stealers. The guy is all over the place.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two former Orioles: right-hander Ricky Bones (57) and the late Baltimore-born righty Tom Phoebus (b. 1942, d. 2019), who threw a no-hitter for his hometown team in 1968. I’ll also give an honorable mention to fellow Maryland native Josh Hader (32), who isn’t technically a former Oriole but started his pro career in the O’s system before being traded as a prospect for Bud Norris.
On this date in 1977, a 20-year-old designated hitter named Eddie Murray made his major league debut for the Orioles, going 1-for-4. His first career hit was a seventh-inning single off the Rangers’ Bert Blyleven. Murray went on to win AL Rookie of the Year that season on his way to an incredible 21-year MLB career that led him to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (where he was later joined by Blyleven). The Orioles’ starting pitcher in Murray’s debut was another Hall of Famer, Jim Palmer. Quite the star-studded affair.
Random Orioles game of the day
Despite popular demand, it’s the return of the Random Orioles Game of the Day feature. I’ll use a random number generator to pick a season from Orioles history and check out how they fared on this date. Today’s random year is: 2023. Ooh, that was a good year.
On April 7, 2023, the Orioles beat the Yankees in a 7-6 barnburner in their home opener at Camden Yards. In front of a sellout crowd of 45,017, the O’s took a 4-0 lead, then fell behind 5-4, then tied the game on an Adley Rutschman RBI single in the sixth and took the lead on a Ramón Urías double in the seventh. Félix Bautista allowed the potential tying run to get to third base in the ninth before nailing down the final out. It was a great start for an Orioles team that ultimately was 17 games above .500 at home that year.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 04: Kerry Carpenter #30 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates his first inning two run home run with Riley Greene #31 behind Pedro Pagés #43 of the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park on April 04, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 St. Louis Cardinals season is off and rolling! So far, they have displayed a gritty never-say-die attitude and style of play that Cardinals fans have historically appreciated. Rookie top prospect JJ Wetherholt is leading off (almost) every game and doesn’t look out of place doing it. Alec Burleson is doing Burly things, playing a solid defensive 1B and providing steady, consistent, offensive production. Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, and Victor Scott have each displayed varying levels of steps forward in their performances thus far! Obvious caveat that it’s still early, and we have much larger previous sample sizes to suggest that Cardinals fans should be rightfully skeptical, but also optimistic, that these improvements can be sustainable.
Ivan Herrera is really starting to lock in offensively. After a 1-13 (.077/.071/.154) -45 wRC+ to start the season in the Tampa Bay Rays series. Since then, Herrera seems to be locking in as that offensive threat once more, going 5-15 (.333/.545/.467) 189 wRC+. Small sample sizes abound! (sorry, Morty)
The other prominent Catcher on the team has once again drawn the ire of Cardinal nation as Pedro Pages is off to a relatively rough start offensively, going 3-16 (.188/.278/.375) 94 wRC+. Which isn’t THAT big of a deal if it weren’t for another young catcher putting up an early-season performance that seems to have Cardinals fans really revved up for a changing of the guard.
Jimmy Crooks is 8-18 (.444/.545/1.000) 285 wRC+ against AAA pitching in a 5-game sample size.
Crooks is off to a really good start, and when he makes contact with the baseball its really exciting. The defensive acumen is big league caliber, and Crooks clearly has a big league future. What still needs work is the quality of the at-bats. As you can see here from Prospect Savant, the swing decisions and the chase rate would only get worse, not better, as he faced the next level of pitching. Which we watched play out at the big level in his cup of coffee at the end of the 2025 season.
As we’ve seen with the likes of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. All of these players have exciting traits when they impact the baseball, but controlling the strike zone, getting their pitch to hit, and covering areas of the zone that big league pitchers will pick apart are elements that prevent them from displaying their talents to their fullest potential.
Rebuilds are hard for fans. Especially a fan base that hasn’t experienced one in over 30 years. Patience is important for fans who hope to return to being a perennial force in the National League. I liken Cardinals prospects to a casserole. The likes many of you probably experienced this past Easter Sunday. Cardinals prospects like Jordan Walker once again, for example, have been elevated before they were “fully baked” at the minor league level. As an organization, you don’t want to “pick around the raw parts.” Chances are you’ll be left disappointed with your experience. Cardinals prospects should be viewed in a similar light. Despite your “hunger,” exercising caution and allowing players to fully develop at the minor league level will ultimately pay off long term.
The Cardinals took what I consider to be the right decision in demoting players like Josh Baez, Blaze Jordan, Jimmy Crooks, and Richard Fitts before the season. I also thought Nathan Church was someone who could benefit from more AAA seasoning, and after an electrifying performance on Opening Day, Church’s numbers early aren’t all that great. 3-22 (.136/.174/.136) -7 wRC+ I seem to have been correct (early) about that observation.
As all listed players above display exciting potential but aren’t quite ready to impact the major league level, and while the allure of something new and exciting at the AAA level will be tempting, as a majority of Cardinals fans watch a sub standard product that they’re not accustomed to, the Cardinals front office will exercise discipline and patience to ensure that players are fully ready to make the transition to the major leagues. Which means, barring injury, a lot of what you see is what you get early in 2026!
BINGHAMTON, NY - SEPTEMBER 18: George Lombard Jr. #2 of the Somerset Patriots Warms-up during the game between the Somerset Patriots and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Mirabito Stadium on Thursday, September 18, 2025 in Binghamton, New York. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
For the first time this year, all four Yankees full-season affiliates were in action this past week, as Somerset, Hudson Valley, and kicked off their seasons on Friday night while Scranton put in a full week of work. Some bad weather led to several postponements around the system, but we got to see a great deal of the organization’s top prospects on both sides of the ball. With the first full week of the season beginning Tuesday night, let’s recap the appetizer.
Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Record: 6-3, 1 GB in the International League East after a 4-2 week against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)
Run differential: +29
Coming up: Home vs. Durham Bulls (Rays)
The RailRiders got off to a bad start to their first full week of the year after Tuesday’s opener was rained out, and they dropped back-to-back games to open the week. Poor defense doomed a less-sharp Brendan Beck on Wednesday, while the bats fell silent in Elmer Rodriguez’s season debut on Thursday. The right-hander tossed five solid innings, allowing one run with two strikeouts in a losing effort. He spent the first week of the season on the Temporarily Inactive List on paternity leave.
Scranton rebounded in a big way by dominating a Friday twin bill, taking the opener 4-2 before blasting their way to a 17-4 win in the nightcap that required Braden Shewmake (yes, the infielder) to get the final out. Remember Zack Short from spring training? He was the sacrificial lamb for Rochester in the seventh inning of that game. Carlos Lagrange pitched in the matinee and only lasted 3.1 innings, walking five batters in a choppy outing. It’s the first time we’ve really seen those command issues pop up.
Dom Hamel had a second straight mediocre start on Saturday, but was picked up by home runs by Paul DeJong and Seth Brown, who was promoted to Scranton after being in a weird, organizational limbo for a week without an assignment. The offense exploded again on Sunday, putting up 16 runs to secure a series victory, while Luis Gil made his season debut and allowed three runs in 4.2 choppy innings.
There are a lot of standout performers here. Ernesto Martinez Jr. had a very strong week as he makes his case as next-up on the first base depth chart. Yanquiel Fernández absolutely had a case to be the Prospect of the Week, but I’m not sure he counts. Either way, he went 8-for-25 with three home runs, five extra-base hits, and eight RBIs. It makes you wonder why a team like the Rockies gave up on someone who just turned 23, who’s able to put an absolute charge into the ball.
Why did the Rockies give up Yanquiel Fernandez after one poor showing in the bigs? pic.twitter.com/zWVRnXshJZ
While other veterans like DeJong and Ali Sánchez had strong weeks, the focus is naturally on the prospects. Jasson Domínguez is hitting the cover off the ball to start the year and went 7-for-16 with two home runs and two doubles in four games this week. He’s only taken four at-bats against lefties this season, but the quality of his at-bats looks significantly better than it did last year. The defense remains an adventure, but he’s on the right track.
As for Spencer Jones… not so much. He came on towards the end of the week with two doubles and a home run, but he struck out a staggering 14 times in 23 plate appearances this week and has 19 in 37 PA on the season. It just has to be better.
On the pitching side, Scranton’s gotten great starts to the season from Yerry De los Santos, Kervin Castro, and Yovanny Cruz, whose longstanding command issues have yet to pop up with seven strikeouts to just one walk in 4.1 innings. With the current volatility of the bullpen, you can’t rule out that a few more sharp weeks will have him in pinstripes sooner than later
Record: 1-1, 0.5 GB in the Eastern League Northeast after a 1-1 week against the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox)
Run differential: +15
Coming up: Away @ Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets)
Somerset was rained out on Sunday, so we only managed to get a pair of very, very different games in against Portland in the Double-A version of The Rivalry.
Friday’s season opener was a blowout from the very start, with Somerset pouring on 18 runs on 22 hits thanks to big days by George Lombard Jr. (more on him later), Coby Morales, Garrett Martin, Marco Luciano, and Tyler Hardman. Saturday’s game was more of a pitcher’s duel, where Somerset lost 1-0, and the bats were held to just four measly hits.
Ben Hess started his season in unbelievable fashion, striking out the first seven hitters he faced on Friday before starting to struggle with command. The walks came back to bite him, but he settled in to fire five solid innings of two-run ball with nine strikeouts in his season debut. Kyle Carr and Xavier Rivas both pitched on Saturday, with Rivas as the piggyback, and walked seven hitters in 6.1 one-run innings, albeit with nine strikeouts. All five natural relievers used delivered scoreless relief.
Only two games means there isn’t much to go off of, but Morales drilled two home runs and had six RBIs, Hardman went 4-for-8 with a homer, Luciano went 5-for-9 with two doubles, and former Mexican League MVP Nick Torres went 3-for-5 in his first game of MLB-affiliated ball since 2018. Through all of it, the star of the show was the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, who you’ll hear about later on.
Players of Note:
Ben Hess: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 9 K Marco Luciano: 5-for-9, RBI, 2 2B, 5 R Tyler Hardman: 4-for-8, HR, 4 RBI, 2B Coby Morales: 3-for-8, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 K
High-A Hudson Valley Renegades
Record: 2-0, 0.5 GB in the South Atlantic League North after a 2-0 week against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets)
Run differential: +9
Coming up: Home vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals)
Like Somerset, storms in the Northeast postponed Sunday’s game against Brooklyn, but the Renegades still managed a successful mini-week that featured a plethora of 2025 draftees, including a pair making their professional debuts.
Hudson Valley took Friday’s season opener, 3-1, behind a strong start from Pico Kohn and steady hitting from the middle of the order. Sean Paul Liñan made his organizational debut after being acquired from the Nationals in the Jorbit Vivas trade and didn’t make it out of the third on Saturday, but the offense put up eight runs, and the bullpen did more solid work in relief to finish what turned into a two-game sweep.
Kohn, the team’s fourth-round pick last year out of Mississippi State, tossed 5.2 strong innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts in his pro debut. Statcast is (still) not available for High-A and Double-A, so we don’t have data on what was working for him on a pitch-by-pitch level, but it’s likely he did a lot of his work with the slider, which complements his low-90s fastball. After the success we saw with Cam Schlittler, the Yankees will definitely try to bump up the 6-foot-4 right-hander’s fastball velo as he gets situated.
Elsewhere on the pitching staff, 2025 11th-rounder Ben Grable struck out two and got the save on Friday night in his pro debut, while Tony Rossi and Chris Veach, two intriguing former undrafted free agent relievers, combined for seven strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings.
Liñan struck out four in 2.2 innings to start Saturday’s contest and was mostly followed by strong relief. After Tanner Bauman’s rough outing, Hudson Valley got 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts from the trio of Hansel Rincon, Baron Stuart, and Jackson Fristoe.
The 2025 draftee trio of Kaeden Kent (3-for-7, 3 BB), Core Jackson (3-for-9, HR, 2B), and Kyle West (3-for-9, RBI) anchored the lineup this week, as did a familiar face looking to get off to a strong start in a new location. Former top prospect Roderick Arias made his High-A debut on Friday after two frustrating years in Single-A, and he looked sharp, going 4-for-8 with a walk and an RBI. Fingers crossed that a guy with his skillset can finally figure it out.
Record: 0-3, 3 GB in the Florida State League West after a 0-3 week against the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Tigers)
Run differential: -21
Coming up: Away @ Clearwater Threshers (Phillies)
For those who’ve followed Tarpons baseball for the last few years, it usually doesn’t matter who goes through the system; it’ll look like this more often than not. The top 2025 draftees, both pitchers and position players, get aggressively pushed to High-A in their first full season, so Tampa is usually left with late-round finds who need more development, undrafted arms, and international prospects graduating to full-season ball.
Tampa lost 12-7 on Friday, 13-4 on Saturday, and 13-6 on Sunday. They walked 32 batters, which is somehow even more than the Marlins against the Yankees at the same time. There’d be stretches of these games where you’d see good pitching, but more often than not, it was a Single-A classic: guys struggling to find the strike zone.
On the hitting side, it was good to see Brando Mayea make his Single-A debut after a few years of underperformance and injuries had harmed his trajectory. He had multiple singles registering over 105 mph, but also struck out a few times. 2024 seventh-rounder JoJo Jackson and 2025 UDFA Logan Maxwell had good weeks, as did Hans Montero. Rough week for Engelth Urena, who’s 0-for-10 to start the year.
On the pitching side? Oh boy. 2025 18th-rounder Justin West, Danny Flatt, and Henry Lalane got the starts, and none of them opened the 2026 season on a high note. Lalane, in particular, struggled with command as he tries to rebound from an injury-riddled 2025. One bright spot: the velo on his four-seamer is on its way back up.
The bullpen was a trainwreck. 2024 fifth-rounder Greysen Carter, who was sent to the Tampa backfields midseason last year to work on his command, continued to struggle with walks. Jose Ledesma and Jordarlin Mendoza got hit around, the team had to use multiple position player pitchers, and the only relievers who had scoreless innings were 2025 UDFA Matthew Tippie, Pedro Rodriguez, and Josh Tiedemann.
Players of Note:
Brando Mayea: 3-for-14, 3 RBI, 2B, 4 K JoJo Jackson: 4-for-12, 3 RBI, BB, 2 SB Henry Lalane: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K
Prospect of the Week:George Lombard Jr.
Weekly Stats: 6-for-9, HR, RBI, BB, 2 2B, SB
The Yankees’ No. 1 prospect got off to a tremendous start to his 2026 season on Friday. After a strong spring training as a non-roster invitee on both sides of the ball, he blasted a home run in his first at-bat of the season and opened the season with a 5-for-6 performance, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
He followed it up with a more modest performance on Saturday, but he still doubled, walked, and stole a base in the shutout loss. It was only two games, but it was a dream start for a prospect whose biggest goal in 2026 is to improve his hit tool after an up-and-down start to his Double-A career last year.
Lombard started 2025 on a torrid hot streak in High-A to get him a promotion in early May, and another hot streak to start 2026 could make his dreams of a promotion to the Show more and more realistic in the near future.
Kyle Tucker hits a single in the seventh inning of the Dodgers' 14-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
Fans lined up before the game, waiting patiently for the chance to take a selfie with trophies that commemorated the back-to-back World Series championships.
Dodger Stadium is not the only place you can do this. The trophies were from 1992 and 1993, and they honored the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Dodgers matched that back-to-back feat over the past two years, including a classic Game 7 victory in Toronto in last year’s World Series, and returned here Monday to a noise pit packed with fans primed to boo, and to urge their team to exact vengeance on the evil mercenaries from America.
On this night, the mercenaries prevailed, in a pummeling so relentless and a silencing so rapid that a three-peat appeared all but inevitable: Dodgers 14, Blue Jays 2.
Dalton Rushing celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting his second home run of the game in the eighth inning of a 14-2 win over Toronto on Monday. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
“These fans, sadly, didn’t want to see us come to town,” Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing said, “and rightfully so, after what we did tonight.”
Those fans did want to see the Dodgers, but they did not want to see this. On a night the Dodgers fielded a lineup without Mookie Betts and Will Smith, the team hit five home runs — two by Rushing — and scored in every inning but the second and ninth. Of the six Toronto pitchers, the only one to hold the Dodgers scoreless was catcher Tyler Heineman.
To the Dodgers, well, it was another day on the job, if a bit louder than usual at the start. They had a game to win on the long road toward October and, as they often do, they won.
In Toronto, however, pitcher Kevin Gausman said, “It feels like we’re getting ready for Game 8.” The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.
They even booed Justin Wrobleski, the Dodgers’ starting pitcher, and Miguel Rojas, usually an infielder but on Monday the Dodgers’ final pitcher. Wrobleski, who won his seventh major league game Monday, said he expected the boos.
“It was fun,” he said. “They care about baseball here. It’s a fun environment. If people weren’t a little upset and a little, I’d say, passionate about what happened last year in the World Series, maybe they’re not real fans.”
The boos could have been a sign of respect, or of a long memory: about the ninth most-memorable part of Game 7 was Wrobleski hitting Toronto infielder Andrés Gimenez, then shouting language so profane Wrobleski later said he apologized to his mother for using it. You cannot be a nobody if you can get the benches to clear in Game 7.
“They wouldn’t boo me,” Wrobleski said, “if they didn’t know who I was.”
Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski delivers during the first inning against the Blue Jays on Monday. (Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
The Dodgers led 4-1, then 5-1, then 6-1, then 9-1, and that was before the sixth inning was done.
“When you score a lot of runs, you’re going to take the crowd out of it,” Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
“I think the media and everyone else was more hyped up. It’s a new team, new year. We’ve got different guys on our team too. But we obviously understand it’s a World Series matchup.”
The Blue Jays were different: infielder Bo Bichette is in New York, catcher Alejandro Kirk is on the injured list, infielder-outfielder Addison Barger is hurt, and Toronto is borrowing a page from the Dodgers’ playbook with a rotation full of hurting pitchers: Shane Bieber, José Berrios, Cody Ponce and phenom Trey Yesavage all are on the injured list, and Max Scherzer left after two innings Monday because of tendinitis in his throwing arm.
The Dodgers are 8-2. The only defending World Series champion to get off to a better 10-game start in the last 100 years: last year’s Dodgers, at 9-1.
Last year worked out just fine. This is April, and no one is facing elimination any time soon. That explains how Roberts rated his anxiety level on Monday.
“It was probably a 10 in October and probably a one tonight,” he said.
Monday’s game offered yet another example of how the team that supposedly is ruining baseball is fattening the wallets of the league’s other 29 teams. The Dodgers have led the league in road attendance in each of Ohtani’s two previous seasons and almost certainly will do so again this season — and a fair number of those ticket buyers are Dodgers fans following their team here, there and everywhere.
In a 10-minute pregame walk around the main concourse, I saw plenty of fans in Dodgers jerseys: not only with the names of Ohtani, Betts and Freeman but with the names of Rojas, Kiké Hernández and Roki Sasaki.
As soon as the third inning, a “Let’s Go Dodgers” chant echoed through the stadium.
The Blue Jays are off to a 4-6 start, including series losses to the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox. The Jays should be good again, and soon. In the meantime, they are offering 77-cent hot dogs Tuesday.
For all the Dodgers fans here, that’s quite the trip: a rout that silenced a hostile crowd one day, hot dogs valued at 55 cents in U.S. currency the next. The fruits of victory, as Tommy Lasorda might have said, rarely are so cheap and filling.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Blake Lizotte #46 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on March 12, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The Penguins got some seemingly positive updates on a key penalty killer just before the end of the regular season.
The Sportsnet Pittsburgh broadcast shared footage this weekend of Blake Lizotte, who has been sidelined since March 14 with an upper-body injury, skating and taking shots ahead of Sunday morning practice.
“He’s continuing to progress,” Penguins coach Dan Muse told reporters before Sunday’s win over the Florida Panthers. “He has been on the ice some, so he’s progressing.”
When asked if there is hope Lizotte could return by the end of the regular season, Muse answered, “There’s always hope. He’s progressing. It’s been moving along, in a good place, but I’m not in a position right now to have an exact date. But he’s making good progress.”
Muse not ruling out the possibility that Lizotte returns before the end of the regular season is notable because that would be earlier than his initially projected recovery timeline.
The Penguins announced on March 17 that Lizotte would be re-evaluated in four weeks, a day that falls three days after the season wraps up on April 14.
The acquisition of Elmer Söderblom, who has three goals in his last five games, has made the loss of Lizotte from the fourth line sting less at even strength.
But his absence from the penalty kill has been a factor throughout this final stretch of the regular season. The Penguins boasted the No. 2 penalty kill in the NHL (84.2 percent) until Lizotte’s injury, after which point the unit has ranked 30th with a 67.6 percent success rate.
The question for the Penguins could be who gets bumped out of the healthy lineup if Lizotte is able to return in time for the postseason now that Söderblom has made his case to stay with his size and physicality.
If Lizotte and Söderblom both stay in the lineup, the Penguins might end up looking at another winger like Justin Brazeau or Tommy Novak as the odd man out.
Either way, the Penguins will hope Lizotte’s return to skating means he might be able to rejoin the team for a potential postseason run. The team first needs to clinch their ticket to the playoffs, which could happen as soon as Thursday with a road win over the New Jersey Devils.
Apr 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon (19) runs out a ground ball and is safe on a fielding error by the Miami Marlins during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The Yankees had an excellent first week and a half of the season, winning three series in a row en route to a 7-2 start. Their pitching was fantastic, their offense was carried by a stellar top-half of the order, and even their two losses came in games in which they led late and only lost by one run. It wasn’t hard to envision a world where the team held on in those games and managed to run the table through the first nine games.
But even when everything’s going right, this is baseball, so there are still things going wrong. Perhaps the biggest spot of consternation among fans and analysts during this opening salvo has been the putrid play of the bottom of the Yankee lineup. The Yankees have gotten a .143 batting average combined from the 6-thru-9 slots of the order, along with a downright ghastly .402 OPS. As a fun (?) little reference point, that’s more than 100 points lower than CC Sabathia’s career OPS as a hitter.
Sure, no team expects the last hitters in their order to dominate, but the Yankees certainly expected something from the final four players on the card, rather than a convincing impression of National League pitchers hitting circa five years ago. So, with the usual caveats about the season being a tiny sample thus far and that we shouldn’t overreact to anything we’ve seen, do you think the bottom of the order will prove to be a major issue going forward?
I think the base answer to this question is still no. The bottom four of the Yankees’ order includes Jazz Chisholm Jr., who perhaps shouldn’t have been predicting 50/50 seasons but still has a 122 OPS+ as a member of the Yankees and projects as a near-All-Star caliber player. The rest of the order does not have the upside of Chisholm, but the expectation should still be that of improvement. Jose Caballero was never going to run the .828 OPS he posted in pinstripes last year, but he also won’t hit .129 all year. Austin Wells may never become a great pure hitter, but the career .717 OPS he carried into the season was pretty great for a plus defensive catcher.
All that said, if you’re inching toward the panic button regarding the bottom of the order, I can’t totally blame you. The most concerning hitter of all has been Ryan McMahon, who’s looked lost at times and is hitting .087 on the year. Chisholm will come around, and Wells provides ample value with his glove, but it’s not hard to wonder if the Yankees are going to be staring at two total blackholes on the left side of their infield sooner rather than later.
What do you think? Will the team’s lower hitters slowly regress to the mean and provide enough value with their bats to allow their generally strong gloves to play up? Or will we look up in a couple of months to see that the Yankees are still running out three or more players at the bottom of the order struggling to breach the Mendoza Line?
Today on the site, Michael starts us off with a review of the first week of minor league baseball that saw all full-season affiliates in action. We’ll also get a recap of last night’s American League action from Kevin, and a look ahead at the upcoming series with the A’s. Later, Jonathan will remember Oral Hildebrand, and Peter gives us his first At-Bat of the Week for the 2026 season, featuring Ben Rice.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - APRIL 06: Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers goes to the basket during the second half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on April 06, 2026 in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cavs chose to give nearly all of their regular rotation players who played the night before against the Indiana Pacers the night off. They were without Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Thomas Bryant, and Max Strus due to rest, in addition to Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson still being out with injuries.
Things were worse on the other side. The Grizzlies had 13 players ruled out for this game. That left nine available players, with four of those being guys on 10-day contracts due to the hardship exemption.
Despite the number of players missing, the Cavs were able to run out some lineups that made more sense compared to Sunday. The starting five of Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, Sam Merrill, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are all expected to be in the playoff rotation. And they played like it.
The Cavaliers made sure this game wasn’t up for grabs in the fourth quarter. A 19-5 run helped them reassert control in the second quarter. Then, a strong third quarter allowed them to create the separation they needed for a stress-free victory.
Schroder had his first great game in a month. He did a good job of setting up the offense and finding avenues to score himself. Continually getting into the lane off the dribble allowed him to do so.
He finished 22 points on 8-12 shooting to go along with 11 assists. This included going 7-8 on shots in the paint.
Monday’s performance was only the second time Schroder has recorded double-digit points with at least three assists since the first week of March. For reference, he accomplished this seven times in his first 15 games with the team.
As we’ve seen throughout his career, Schroder needs the ball in his hands consistently to be his best self. He’s a rhythm player who requires constant touches to get the most out of his game.
What Schroder does best doesn’t translate as neatly to playing off-ball. He’s not someone who attacks quickly off the catch or is a typical floor spacer. Instead, he’s deliberate in how he probes the paint and gets others involved while doing so.
This ideal role isn’t one Schroder has been able to play with the Cavs when Mitchell and Harden are in the lineup. Both of the starting guards do a majority of their work on-ball. And while Schroder has shown to be impactful throughout his career, he’s not good enough to warrant taking the ball out of either Mitchell’s or Harden’s hands for extended stretches.
The Cavs could use this version of Schroder in the playoffs, the one that is consistently getting downhill and playmaking from there. How they go about doing so when the team is fully healthy is an equation they haven’t solved recently.
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Keon Ellis showed how well-rounded his offensive game is. He put up 19 points on 7-11 shooting to go along with eight assists. Ellis did this by decisively attacking whenever the ball swung his way. This included doing a good job of running second-side pick-and-rolls similar to what we’ve seen from Strus.
The offensive game has been better than advertised since coming over from the Sacramento Kings. Right now, Ellis feels firmly cemented in the playoff rotation.
Evan Mobley’s numbers look more impressive than they felt.
There were times it seemed like Mobley wasn’t processing the game quickly enough to be a focal point in the offense. Early on, he struggled to make plays against a Memphis defense that was heavily shading his way whenever he caught the ball in a stationary position. That’s why he ended up with three turnovers in the first half.
However, just because something doesn’t feel impressive doesn’t mean it wasn’t. You don’t luck your way into 24 points on 9-11 shooting with four assists.
Mobley is at his best when he’s in motion. This game proved that once again. Nearly all of his baskets came whenever he was forcefully going toward the basket. Memphis didn’t have anyone who could stop him or even slow him down. And quite frankly, few teams do when he’s attacking with force like this.
Larry Nance Jr. performed well for his second game in a row. He provided good minutes off the bench as he had 10 points, three rebounds, and a steal in just over 21 minutes.
This has been a difficult season for Nance. He hasn’t had nearly the impact that he and the Cavs were hoping for when he returned home this past offseason. An uncharacteristically shaky jumper and slightly less athleticism than he had a few years ago have kept him from doing so. At least he’s been able to end the season strong, even if it’s too late to get back into the rotation.
The Cavs feel locked into the fourth seed.
The New York Knicks‘ win over the Atlanta Hawks secured that Cleveland can’t fall further than four, and also made it difficult for them to climb up to three. That’s a good place for the Cavs to be, considering it would delay a possible matchup with the Boston Celtics for as long as possible.
The Cavs haven’t had much to play for over the past week. That feeling will continue, especially when they take on the Hawks — their likely first-round opponent — twice during their final three regular-season games.
I’d be surprised if Kenny Atkinson decided to play a majority of his guys in those matchups. Atlanta has something to play for with how close spots five through eight are in the East. The Cavs don’t. There isn’t a reason to go for it, considering this team’s injury luck, unless you want to do everything you can to make sure you didn’t play the Hawks in the first round. But even if they did go for it, there’s no guarantee that Atlanta would fall out of fifth place.
We’ll find out how the Cavs choose to approach this when they host the Hawks on Wednesday.
PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 05: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his first period goal against the Florida Panthers at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 5, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Monday was a scheduled day off for the Pittsburgh Penguins who are getting multiple days off between games for only the second time since returning from the Olympic break at the end of February. Over the last week of play, the Penguins won four of their five games on the schedule, and are now just two points away from clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season. If that work is not completed for them beforehand, the Penguins will have a chance to clinch on Thursday night when they travel to New Jersey.
Pens Points…
After a stretch that saw the Penguins play 20 games in 36 days, the players get a well earned three days off before game action resumes on Thursday in New Jersey. Following that, the Penguins then have another weekend back-to-back set, this time against the Washington Capitals. [Pensburgh]
While the Penguins have done their part to cement a playoff spot over the past few weeks, their cross state rival the Philadelphia Flyers have pulled themselves back into the playoff conversation, currently sitting in third place in the Metro division, setting up a potential all Pennsylvania first round series. [Pensburgh]
Rickard Rakell has been on a tear for the Penguins over the last few weeks, but last week may have been his best work yet, posting seven goals and eight points over five games to earn NHL First Star of the Week honors, making him the first Penguin to win the award this season. [Penguins]
Not only are the Penguins nearing a playoff birth for the first time in four years, they are also closing in on locking down home-ice for the first round as the second seed in the Metro. While they may not be at the top of the list, it’s still difficult to now exactly where to place the Penguins among the favorites right now. [Sportsnet]
Like Egor Chinakhov before him, Elmer Solderblom is undergoing a renaissance since being acquired by the Penguins shortly before the trade deadline. Filling in for the ever important Blake Lizotte, Soderblom is hitting a new level and will be forcing hard decisions to be made when Lizotte is healthy. [PPG]
NHL News and Notes…
Remember the panic roughly a decade ago about scoring declining across the NHL to historically low levels? Well that trend has certainly reversed and now it’s the other end of the ice seeing cratering numbers as goaltender sve percentages have hit 30 year lows across the NHL. [TSN]
INDIANAPOLIS — Starting guards Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. were each whistled for two quick fouls in Connecticut’s 69-63 loss to Michigan in the national championship game of the men's NCAA Tournament, changing the complexion of a matchup the Huskies hoped could be won on the perimeter.
Nursing a foot injury suffered in the national semifinal against Illinois, Ball finished with 11 points in 16 minutes. Demary lasted just 21 minutes, scoring one bucket before being called for his fifth foul with just over a minute to play.
“I just thought that the first-half foul trouble, really, I thought we were positioned if we didn't have that foul trouble to potentially go into halftime with a lead,” coach Dan Hurley said.
Forward Tarris Reed Jr. had 13 points and 14 rebounds but was bothered by the defense of Michigan's Aday Mara and made just 4 of 12 attempts from the field, his worst shooting performance since missing all three shots in a regular-season matchup against Illinois late November. Guard Braylon Mullins had 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting and made 3 of 10 attempts from 3-point range.
The main reason UConn stayed close with Michigan was the same reason UConn was here in the first place: Playing in the final game of his college career, senior forward Alex Karaban had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds while adding two assists and two steals.
“So it hurts right now. It hurts a lot right now,” he said.
Crucially, Karaban played all 40 minutes, continuing to serve as the Huskies’ steadying force in his final March Madness experience.
“For coach to play me 40 minutes, I can't thank him enough,” Karaban said. “That's all I wanted. That's all I wanted, is to give everything I got, leave everything I've got out there and try to do everything to help us win.”
Said Hurley, “Let me play him into the ground one more time, just one more 40-minute game for Alex. Let me just play that guy into the ground one more night like I have throughout his career. He deserved to play 40 minutes.”
The most fitting way for Karaban to end his career would have been as a three-time national champion, joining his part on back-to-back winners in 2023 and 2024 and placing him in elite, UCLA-only territory among college players with three rings.
“Obviously. for us it's tough,” said Hurley. “Again, we did not come here for watches, we came here for rings.”
But there’s something apt about the way this ended, too. Since his redshirt freshman season, when he played a complementary role on a loaded roster, Karaban has been the glue that held the Huskies together — the key cog that helped the program breathe rarefied air in reaching three championship games in four years.
“I might cry up here just talking about just the impact he's had, in the locker room, throughout every single practice, every single game,” Ball said. “He's just always there, and he's the same person every single day. He doesn't change. Incredibly smart, great guy off the court. I'm going to miss this guy so much.”
Karaban’s performance in the second half helped UConn shake off multiple double-digit deficits and hang tight with an opponent expected to leave the Huskies in the dust after dismantling Arizona in the national semifinals.
After the Wolverines took their largest lead of the game at 43-35 six minutes into the second half, Karaban corralled an offensive rebound and put back the layup to stem Michigan’s momentum. With Michigan ahead 58-48 at the five-minute mark, Karaban found Mullins for a 3-pointer that set up a frantic final stretch.
Later, with 2:30 remaining, Karaban hit a 3-pointer of his own to cut Michigan’s advantage to 62-56. While his effort would come up short — and wasn’t perfect, with a pair of missed free throws with just over six minutes to go and a missed 3-pointer with 17 seconds left — Karaban nearly willed UConn across the finish line.
“Yeah, you know, blessed that I've been able to wear this jersey for the longest amount of time possible, the max amount, the max amount of minutes, the max amount of games this season. I came back ultimately to win, fell short,” he said.
Win or lose on Monday night, Karaban’s place in program history is secure. He is already the first active player to be inducted into the program’s hall of fame. He holds career marks for wins (126), games played (150), games started (149) and minutes played (4,909). He finished his career with a blistering 18-2 mark in the NCAA tournament, including a 5-1 mark in the Final Four.
This is a place that has put out a lengthy list of college basketball’s best individual players in the past three decades. While not the program’s best overall player and not the Huskies’ best NBA prospect, Karaban leaves with an even more important title: the most important player in UConn history.
“He's put UConn in that rarefied place in college basketball,” Hurley said. This guy changed my life, the staff's lives, the joy he's brought to the university, the fan base.
“His decision to come to UConn has made us … Florida won the national championship last year. I'll probably get in trouble for this. Michigan won the national championship this year. But he's helped to make UConn, I think, right now, we're probably the premier program in college basketball right now, having been to three out of four national championship games, having won two of them.”
That’s a small comfort after coming so close to a third ring. But Karaban took solace in the legacy he leaves behind: Already a blueblood, UConn has become something much more — a potential dynasty, if Hurley can keep this up — thanks to the senior’s four years as the program’s irreplaceable piece.
“I'm just reminding myself right now that when I came into UConn how much I've grown, and I'm ultimately leaving UConn in a better place right now from where I started,” he said. “I gave it everything I got. I gave it my heart. I gave everything. All I thought about was UConn basketball every single day.
“Now that I'm leaving, and for UConn to be one of the best brands in college basketball and to be at the top, I left it better than when it started. I'm most proud of that.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 03: Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees takes his turn at bat against the Miami Marlins during the home opener at Yankee Stadium on April 03, 2026 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Over the weekend, the Yankees faced the Marlins, and Miami have been doing something you might not have realized. Starting towards the end of last season, the Marlins have begun calling pitches in the dugout via the coaching staff and relaying them to the catcher and the pitcher. Don’t expect the Yankees to hop on that, as both players and coaches openly said over the weekend that they don’t like the idea.
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: With a 7-2 record, the Yankees’ 2026 season has gone pretty well so far. One aspect of the team that has definitely struggled has been the lower part of the batting order, as the players who have batted in the 6-9 spots have a collective .404 OPS. However, between Jazz Chisholm Jr. hitting a big double on Sunday and just having faith in their players in general, the Yankees aren’t worried about that yet.
ESPN | David Schoenfield: As we’re now over a week into the new season, here’s one way to rank the MLB teams of 2026: watchability. Between how good they are, the young talent they have, and the style they play, Schoenfield tried to rank teams by how interesting they could be to watch this year. The Yankees came in at fifth.
PennLive | Brian Linder: Former Phillies’ player and longtime MLB coach Tom Nieto passed away recently. Nieto spent time in the Yankees’ organization from 1995-2002 and then was a manager of the GCL Yankees in 2012-13. In between then, he also worked with Willie Randolph during his tenure as the Mets’ manager. We send our best wishes to his family and loved ones.
The Islanders Eklund Question Begins To EmergeThe Islanders need a spark — and Victor Eklund might be it. Should New York call up the 19-year-old with the playoffs at stake?
