After failing to record an extra-base hit through six games, Alex Bregman went 3-for-5 with his first home run for the Red Sox, two doubles and three RBI in his team’s 8-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Bregman got things started with a two-run homer in the first off Orioles starter Charlie Morton, opening the scoring and giving the Red Sox a lead they would never surrender. He doubled in the seventh and came around to score, adding an RBI double in the ninth to cap off Boston’s scoring for the afternoon.

The 31-year-old inked a three-year, $120 million deal with the Red Sox in February after nine seasons with the Houston Astros, winning World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.

‘You start the season and you can be feeling great in spring training and swinging the bat well and then the season starts and you get that little bit of adrenaline that you don’t have during spring training,’ Bregman said. ‘Sometimes your swing gets a little big or sometimes your at-bats speed up on you a little bit.’

Bregman and Morton were teammates with the Astros in 2017 and 2018, and the slugger entered Thursday’s contest just 1-for-14 in his career (including playoffs) against the now 41-year-old Orioles starter.

‘Charlie’s gotten me a lot,’ Bregman said. ‘Obviously so much respect for him, he’s a great dude.’

The Red Sox had been limited to 11 runs in their four-game series to begin the season against the Texas Rangers, but the offense came alive at Camden Yards, notching 21 hits in the back-to-back wins before heading to Boston for the home opener at Fenway Park.

‘Hitting is contagious,’ Bregman said. ‘Getting into the rhythm of the season is nice… It’s hard to judge baseball on four games. You need a way bigger sample size. Over the course of time, cream always rises to the top’

Red Sox manager Alex Cora, a coach of Bregman’s in Houston, was thrilled to see his new star have a big day.

‘He’s a good hitter. He’s very smart. He cares about his teammates,’ Cora said. ‘To see him perform is super cool.’

Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, who homered in the game, thought Bregman’s home run set the tone in the first and ‘he just kept tacking on with doubles.’

Said Casas: ‘Happy to have him on my team.’

Not so much for the rest of the American League East, expected to be one of baseball’s most competitive divisions.

‘Adding Bregman is a huge piece,’ Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. ‘He hurt us all series.’

Bregman experimented with a much-discussed torpedo bat in Wednesday’s game, but went back to his regular lumber for his big performance on Thursday in the series finale, reiterating that ‘it’s the hitter not the bat.’

The Red Sox host the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon for what will be Bregman’s first game at Fenway Park in a Red Sox uniform.

‘It’s going to be a blast, I can’t wait,’ Bregman said. ‘First and foremost being able to see my wife and son. I haven’t seen them in like a month and a half.

‘The ballpark is going to be rocking.’

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Only four teams remain in the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament. Who will be the last team standing?

The Final Four in Tampa Bay, Florida is made up of three No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina and Texas. UConn, however, is the betting favorite to cut down the nets as the sole No. 2 seed remaining.

Will UCLA cap its historic season with the program’s first national championship after advancing to its first Final Four? Will experience reign supreme as UConn makes its record 24th Final Four appearance, which marks the most all-time in men’s or women’s college basketball? Or will the national title stay in the Southeastern Conference for the fourth consecutive year with two teams still in the running in Texas and South Carolina? Texas advanced to its fourth Final Four appearance and first since 2003, while South Carolina is through to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive season and the seventh overall. 

Before the Final Four tips off Friday — South Carolina vs. Texas (7 p.m. ET) and UCLA vs. UConn (9:30 p.m.) — here’s a look at where we rank each team and why.

OPINION: UConn will steamroll Final Four teams. No one is beating Paige Bueckers this March Madness

#1 UConn

The question on everyone’s mind entering the Final Four is whether anyone can stop Paige Bueckers. Bueckers is playing with a different sense of urgency in the final NCAA Tournament of her career and the veteran has put up historic numbers to match. Bueckers has scored 105 points the past three games, marking the most by a UConn player in that span. And now her team is two victories away from her first national title and UConn’s first since 2016. It’s not just Bueckers. Sarah Strong, the Big East Freshman of the Year, has looked far from a rookie. She’s averaging a double-double in the tournament (17 points, 11.8 rebounds) and joins Maya Moore as the only freshmen in UConn history to record 600-plus points in a season. Don’t forget about Azzi Fudd and Kaitlyn Chen, who are both averaging career highs from beyond the arc. UConn has the highest field goal percentage in the nation (51%) and the highest three-point percentage (38.3%) remaining in the tournament, while simultaneously holding opponents to the lowest point total (51.7). A 6-foot-7 Lauren Betts stands in UConn’s way. The Huskies will have to address the size, length and versatility of UCLA, but have experience on their side.

The Huskies are extremely motivated. UConn didn’t cut down the nets following its 78-64 Elite Eight win over No. 1 USC, like the other three teams, because the Huskies said they aren’t done yet. ‘Anything less than a national championship is really a disappointment,’ Bueckers said on Thursday.

#2 UCLA

UCLA’s selection as the No. 1 overall seed drew some criticism at the beginning of the tournament, but the Bruins have showed they rightfully deserved the top spot. Despite that, UCLA is considered an underdog to UConn. ‘We’ve spent more time as number one in the country all year long and we were the most non-talked-about No. 1 team in history…If you want to talk about whoever you want, go ahead. It’s going to all shake out about who shows up to perform, who plays their best when their best is needed,’ head coach Cori Close said Thursday. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts has surely showed up and recorded monster numbers, including a historic 31-point, 10-rebound performance in UCLA’s 76-62 Sweet 16 win over No. 5 Ole Miss, shooting 93.8% from the field, which ties the record for the highest field-goal percentage in an NCAA Tournament game with a minimum 15 attempts. Betts is top five in the nation in field goal percentage (64.91%) and blocks per game (3), but she not only scores and defends. Betts also creates open looks for her teammates. And UCLA’s role players have made opposing teams pay. Gabriela Jaquez and Timea Gardiner combined for nine of UCLA’s 10 threes in the team’s 72-65 Elite Eight win over No. 3 LSU.

OPINION: UCLA’s Lauren Betts needed confidence to go with her skills. Now she has both

#3 South Carolina

It’s hard to believe the defending champion Gamecocks enter the Final Four weekend as underdogs while in pursuit of their third national title in four years, but that’s exactly the case. South Carolina has struggled to find its offensive rhythm in the tournament so far. South Carolina scored a season-low 54 points in its Elite Eight win over No. 2 Duke on Sunday. It made a season-low 19 field goals on a season-low 44 attempts from the field and South Carolina’s bench — which leads the nation in points per game (40.6) — was held to only nine points. ‘I just hope that we can get our offense going a little bit. We can’t seem to just to play a little more fluidly,’ head coach Dawn Staley said on Sunday. The Gamecocks’ top-notch defense even faltered, giving up 41 rebounds (19 offensive) to an undersized Duke lineup. South Carolina has been able to grind out close and ugly wins so far, but that won’t fly against No. 1 Texas.

The Gamecocks’ depth and everyone eats mentality has been their strength all season, but South Carolina will need a de factoscorer to step up and command the floor. Chloe Kitts has been the most consistent scorer, averaging 12.5 points and eight rebounds in the 2025 women’s NCAA Tournament, but MiLaysia Fulwiley, the SEC Sixth Player of the Year, will need to come up big if they want to become the first team to win back-to-back national championships since UConn’s historic four-peat (2013-16). Fulwiley dropped 23 points in South Carolina’s 71-67 Sweet 16 win over No. 4 Maryland, but only scored five points vs. Duke. South Carolina can’t afford for her to have a quiet night. Other concerns that need to be addressed include shot selection and rebounding.

One thing the Gamecocks are not lacking is confidence and experience. ‘I don’t think we look at ourselves as underdogs… All of us wants to win. Everybody here wants to win. We know they’re going to come and bring whatever they have against us,’ South Carolina guard Raven Johnson said.

#4 Texas

Texas has mainly floated under the radar despite being a No. 1 seed, but the Longhorns grabbed everyone’s attention with their 58-47 Elite Eight win over No. 2 TCU to advance to the program’s first Final Four since 2003. Texas did so with its defense. The Longhorns held TCU to 47 points and 26.7% from the field, season lows from the Horned Frogs. Texas is as battle-tested as they come. The Longhorns were crowned co-champions of the SEC (alongside South Carolina) in their first season in the conference, the hardest in women’s college basketball. They have an efficient one-two punch in Madison Booker, SEC Player of the Year, and Rori Harmon, who was named to the SEC All-Defensive team. Booker is averaging 18.8 points and eight rebounds in the tournament, while Harmon is averaging 8.5 points and two steals. Freshman Jordan Lee has also given Texas some big minutes off the bench. There are question marks, however, surrounding the Longhorns’ long range shooting. Texas is only shooting 8-of-24 from three throughout the tournament. South Carolina, in comparison, attempted 26 threes alone in its Elite Eight win over Duke.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN: Texas women’s basketball stats for Madison Booker, Rori Harmon and more

Texas is set to face South Carolina for the fourth time this season. Harmon said ‘energy’ is going to be the decider in the matchup: ‘With South Carolina, I think both of us are pretty similar in a way where we both can play defense and we both have weapons to score. So kind of the name of the game is just who is going to win it more on the biggest stage that we’re at right now and who is going to be tougher and bring the most energy.’

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The National Invitation Tournament had new competition in 2025 as the undercard during college basketball’s postseason, but the event’s latest pivot seems to have accomplished what it set out to do.

The introduction of the College Basketball Crown this year fundamentally changed the composition of the NIT field once again, with just four of the 32 participating teams this year coming from power conferences (Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, SMU and Stanford). But the de facto mid-major championship event that this led to produced a bunch of interesting matchups while March Madness played out mostly according to script ahead of this weekend’s Final Four.

This version of the NIT culminated with Thursday’s championship game between the UC Irvine Anteaters and Chattanooga Mocs at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

UC Irvine (32-7) barely missed the NCAA Tournament after losing to UC San Diego in the Big West conference championship game and served as one of four No. 1 seeds in the NIT bracket. The Anteaters had consecutive narrow wins to reach the championship game, beating UAB in overtime at home in the quarterfinals before a 69-67 win over North Texas in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Chattanooga (29-9) was an unseeded team in the bracket after getting upset in the Southern Conference tournament, but it reeled off an impressive run led by guards Trey Bonham and Honor Huff. The Mocs won in triple overtime at No. 4 seed Middle Tennessee State in the opening round, got a 15-point win at No. 1 seed Dayton in their next game, then won at Bradley, 67-65, in the NIT quarterfinals. They reached the championship game with an 80-73 win over Loyola Chicago in the semifinals.

Check out the highlights from the NIT title game:

Final: Chattanooga 85, UC Irvine 84 (OT)

What a game!

Chattanooga outlasted UC Irvine in a thrilling NIT final. The Anteaters had a chance to win at the overtime buzzer, but Jurian Dixon couldn’t get the layup to go.

Four Chattanooga starters scored in double figures — Collin Mulholland and Trey Bonham each had 19 points, while Garrison Keeslar and Honor Huff each had 14. All five UC Irvine starters scored at least 13 points, led by Devin Tillis’ 19.

Chattanooga takes halftime lead with half-court buzzer-beater

What a way to end the half!

Chattanooga’s Trey Bonham gave the Mocs a 38-37 lead at halftime by hitting a half-court buzzer-beater. The fans at Hinkle Fieldhouse were fired up, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who was in the crowd to cheer on his alma mater.

Bonham leads all Mocs scorers with 11 points. Devin Tillis has a game-high 13 for UC Irvine.

NIT championship game 2025: TV channel, live streaming for UC Irvine vs. Chattanooga

The 2025 NIT championship game featuring No. 1 seed UC Irvine and unseeded Chattanooga is scheduled to be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Thursday beginning at 9 p.m. ET. The game can also be live streamed on ESPN+ or through Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Date: Thursday, April 3
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+, Fubo

Watch the NIT championship game with Fubo

NIT bracket 2025

Here’s a look at the full NIT bracket entering the finals of the 2025 tournament:

First round

(1) SMU 73, Northern Iowa 63
(4) Oklahoma State 89, Wichita State 79
(3) Arkansas State 103, Saint Louis 78
(2) North Texas 75, Furman 64
(1) UC Irvine 82, Northern Colorado 72
Jacksonville State 81, (4) Georgia Tech 64
UAB 69, (3) Saint Joseph’s 65
(2) Santa Clara 101, UC Riverside 62
(1) Dayton 86, Florida Atlantic 79
Chattanooga 109, (4) Middle Tennessee 103 (3OT)
(3) Bradley 71, North Alabama 62
(2) George Mason 86, Samford 69
(1) San Francisco 79, Utah Valley 70
Loyola Chicago 73, (4) San Jose State 70
Kent State 75, (3) St. Bonaventure 56
(2) Stanford 87, Cal State-Northridge 70

Second round

Oklahoma State 88, (1) SMU 79
(2) North Texas 65, Arkansas State 63
(1) UC Irvine 66, Jacksonville State 61
UAB 88, (2) Santa Clara 84
Chattanooga 87, (1) Dayton 72
Bradley 75, (2) George Mason 67
Loyola Chicago 77, (1) San Francisco 76
Kent State 77, (2) Stanford 75

Quarterfinals

(2) North Texas 61, Oklahoma State 59
(1) UC Irvine 81, UAB 77 (OT)
Chattanooga 67, Bradley 65
Loyola Chicago 72, Kent State 61

Semifinals

UC Irvine 69, North Texas 67
Chattanooga 80, Loyola-Chicago 73

Championship game

(1) UC Irvine vs. Chattanooga, 9 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+

TAMPA, Fla. – Shay Holle didn’t expect to meet A’ja Wilson when Texas women’s basketball went to the Las Vegas Aces star’s pop-up for her new Nike signature shoe, the A’One, on Wednesday.

When the Longhorns arrived, they watched a video of Wilson congratulating them on making it to the Final Four. The Gamecocks legend even wished them good luck in their matchup against South Carolina.

As Nike representatives apologized that Wilson couldn’t be there, Wilson’s voice came in through the speakers – then she walked in from the back of the room.

‘We’re all like, ‘Oh my gosh’ – we were already freaking out just about getting the shoes and getting to see the whole thing,’ Holle said Thursday during a media day ahead of the women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four. ‘We are very, very grateful for A’ja and Nike for just allowing us to do that and making it work in our tight schedule. It was really fun.’

Wilson took time to visit with the Longhorns, who all received pairs of the pink A’One. SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker was ‘fangirling for real’ when she met Wilson, who Booker has watched since Wilson’s college career.

Texas senior point guard Rori Harmon said the experience was amazing. She loved the setup – all pink – and she was grateful that Wilson welcomed them with open arms, even with them squaring off against Wilson’s alma mater.

Harmon is still debating if she’s wearing the shoes in the Final Four matchup. But Booker and Holle are planning to wear them when No. 1 seed Texas (35-3) faces No. 1 seed South Carolina (34-3) in the Final Four at Amalie Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

The Longhorns got to test out Wilson’s shoe in practice Thursday, and Booker, Harmon and Holle all had glowing reviews, saying they ‘felt great.’ Harmon liked how lightweight the shoes are, and said they’re perfect for the way she likes to play. Holle’s feet are ‘kind of picky,’ but she didn’t have any problems.

‘I love them, honestly,’ Holle said. ‘They felt good, and they looked really cute, so no complaints.’

Holle has worn Sabrina Ionescu’s signature shoe for most of the season. Texas gets a lot of Longhorns alum Kevin Durant’s signature shoes, but Holle loves being able to wear the shoe of a women’s basketball player she watches. She followed Wilson and Ionescu during college and still watches them in the WNBA.

‘That’s someone you really look up to when you’re a little girl playing basketball,’ Holle said. ‘So being able to wear their shoes is really cool. … People are appreciating and recognizing the women’s game a lot more and the work that they put into it. And that they deserve their own shoes, too, like, duh, come on.’

Wilson is the first Black woman to receive a signature shoe since Tennessee great Candace Parker got a signature shoe with Adidas in 2011. Wilson’s shoe means a lot for women’s basketball, Booker said, and she’s happy with the direction the sport is going in.

‘I think that’s why I want to wear the shoes, to kind of keep repping for her, because that’s big that she got a shoe,’ Booker said. ‘That’s very hard. She went through a lot of milestones in her career just to get that shoe.’

Harmon is happy that Wilson is getting the recognition to match her dominance on the court, and said the three-time WNBA MVP is a great role model for young girls and boys.

‘She’s been killing it for a while now, and I’m just glad that she got what she deserved,’ Harmon said. ‘I’m just glad that she’s kind of the focal point right now, because she really does deserve to be. … I like that she’s basically the face of women’s basketball.’

Shay Holle is a senior guard who has become a critical player for No. 1 Texas as the Longhorns have made a run to the Final Four.
After considering transferring due to limited playing time her freshman year, Holle dedicated herself to improving her defense and became a starter.
Holle is known for her positive attitude and willingness to do whatever the team needs, her teammates calling her the ‘glue girl.’
The Longhorns face defending champion South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday night.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — She considered transferring after a freshman season of little playing time. Now, as a senior, Shay Holle is the winningest player in Texas women’s basketball history and critical to the No. 1 Longhorns as they prepare to play No. 1 South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday.

“Shay is like our glue girl,” Texas senior forward Taylor Jones said. “She is what holds our team together.”

Holle was a freshman when Vic Schaefer became the Texas head coach in 2020. 

Watch Texas vs. South Carolina in Final Four on Fubo (free trial)

Her freshman year under a new coach did not play out how she imagined. She wasn’t on the court as much as she wanted to be. Her attitude and energy when she wasn’t getting playing time, though, reflected the player she’d be.

“It gave me such a good perspective of, like, how you can bring something to a team without being on the floor,” Holle said. “I was always on the practice team, with the guys on scout, just trying to prepare them for our game and just really finding the joy in that and the work.”

Her efforts boosted the team morale, and she became known as the player who “does all the gritty work and just shows up with a positive attitude,” Jones said. 

After her freshman season, Holle sat down with Schaefer to discuss her future as a Longhorn. She could leave her dream school, go to a mid-major school and quickly be an all-conference player. Or she could stay. 

“If she was going to be at Texas, she had to get better,” Schaefer said.

“He told me, ‘If you can defend, not turn the ball over and make an open shot, you’ll find yourself on the floor,’” Holle said. 

Holle spent the following months playing one-on-one with the male practice-squad players to improve her defense. By the end of her sophomore season, she was a starter. 

Leading defender Rori Harmon had torn her ACL and was out for the rest of the season. Schaefer needed someone to step up and become the Longhorns’ best defensive player. 

“(It was) Shay Holle,” Schaefer said. “She and I would have never dreamed that would happen two years before that, or even the year before, to be known as our best defender.”

Holle also became a leading defender in her conference, making the Big 12 All-Defensive Team last season. 

Because of her freshman year on the bench, Holle has the mindset of finding joy in whatever role she needs to fill for her team. 

As a fifth-year senior, she plays nearly 26 minutes every game, third-most on the team, and averages 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but her role isn’t to have the best stats. 

“To be able to go to the Final Four with Coach Schaefer my last year, it’s so special,” said Holle, who is playing in her first Final Four. “This is something I will remember forever, tell (my) kids about.”

Texas vs. South Carolina: Date, time, TV channel, where to watch

Date: Friday, April 4
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Fubo

Popi Márquez is a student in the University of Georgia’s Sports Media Certificate program.

TAMPA, Fla. — There are myriad ways the NCAA transfer portal has altered the fabric of college sports. Players’ ability to freely move from school to school has given them agency like never before and changed the way rosters are built. 

But one unintended consequence of the portal, at least for college basketball, is its effect on postseason preparation.

The winter transfer window for women’s basketball opened on March 25 and will remain open until April 23. This means that transfer season and tournament season effectively run simultaneously, forcing head coaches who would normally be locked in on the postseason to also devote time to recruiting portal players, retaining staff members and keeping players from jumping ship.

“So now you have assistant coaches leaving in the middle of the tournament,” UCLA head coach Cori Close said. “On top of everything else we’re doing, I have people calling about our coaches and are they interested in jobs and things like that.”

Watch women’s Final Four on Fubo (free trial)

The transfer portal, rise of NIL and a host of other fundamental changes have made the job of a college basketball head coach more demanding than ever. Many programs have, in an effort to take some of the load off the head coach’s plate, created general manager-type roles that previously only existed in the pro game.

“It’s necessary,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “I don’t know if we’ll call it (general manager), but it will be some of the duties of a GM. I think it’s a lot of money in the space. It’s a lot of moving parts that we need somebody singularly focused on that movement and the ways we need to navigate in that space. If we’re here at a Final Four, the GM can be taking care of some of the stuff that we have to take on now.”

But even the creation of a separate general manager position doesn’t exactly remedy the issue that players and coaches are free to move schools during what should be the season’s most pivotal time.

“I do think the whole thing about how it affected the coaching carousel, I think that’s worth a second look because that has been a major distraction, and when that’s a distraction it affects the student-athlete experience,” Close said. “I think that’s something we have to take a look at.”

Women’s Final Four schedule

South Carolina vs. Texas, 7 p.m. Friday | ESPN
UConn vs. UCLA, 9:30 p.m. Friday | ESPN

Bo Underwood is a student in the University of Georgia’s Sports Media Certificate program.

Texas women’s basketball assistant coach Blair Schaefer is the daughter of head coach Vic Schaefer.
The father-daughter duo previously coached together at Mississippi State, where Blair played and Vic was head coach.
Blair joined her father’s staff at Texas in 2020 and has been instrumental in the Longhorns’ success.
Texas will face South Carolina in the Final Four on Friday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After his team’s Elite Eight win over TCU on Monday, Texas women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer celebrated with his family on the court. His wife, Holly, and son, Logan, came from the stands.

His daughter, Blair, was already on the court.

Because she was coaching on the sideline with him.

“It’s a full-circle moment whenever we can just embrace that moment together,” she said, “because (basketball doesn’t have) a lot of father-daughter duos.”

Watch Texas vs. South Carolina in Final Four on Fubo (free trial)

They’ve celebrated reaching the Final Four before – with him as a coach and her as a player at Mississippi State. This weekend, they’ll share more moments on the sport’s brightest stage, with the No. 1 Longhorns set to play No. 1 South Carolina in the semifinals Friday.

“Her impact on our team is quite remarkable,” said Vic Schaefer, whose daughter has been on the Longhorns staff since 2020, the last three years as an assistant coach. “I knew she would be great with the kids. I knew she’d be great with X’s and O’s, but she’s really embraced the recruiting piece and what it takes to do that as well.”

She first picked up a basketball when she was 8, and after scoring 60 points in one game, she knew that she had found her forever sport.

“I never really played another sport. It’s always been basketball for me,” Blair Schaefer said.

Blair Schaefer’s college career shaped by dad

Prior to her time at Mississippi State, her dad was always a coach to her. But when the time came for the recruiting process to start, the idea of him becoming her coach was a dream she knew would be a reality. 

“It’s not that I didn’t talk to other schools,” she said. “I knew that other people were interested, but I just knew where my heart was.”

Schaefer was a part of one of the winningest recruiting classes in Mississippi State women’s basketball history. She made it to the NCAA Tournament all four years of her college tenure, including the program’s first trip to the Final Four and first national championship game in 2017. 

Schaefer made 175 career 3-pointers, which ranks sixth in Mississippi State history. 

Even though the man on the Mississippi State sidelines was “Dad” at home, he was always “Coach” on the court. 

“We would sit at family dinner and I’d ask, ‘How was Coach today?’” her dad said. “She’d say, ‘Ah, he was a little grumpy.’ Never once did she bring anything home.”

How Blair Schaefer got into coaching

Once Schaefer left home, she moved to Los Angeles to work for Entertainment Tonight before returning to Mississippi to work for WCBI-TV in Columbus. She found her way back to basketball as an analyst for SEC Network, but she knew that being courtside – next to her dad – was where she belonged.

“I came to the realization that being behind a camera and telling the audience what’s going on in front of me didn’t feel like I was helping anybody,” she said. “I called my dad after a bad day at work and said, ‘I need to get into coaching.’”

At that moment, Schaefer’s father took off the coach’s hat and threw on the dad one.

He was still coaching at Mississippi State. He advised his daughter to finish out her TV contract before they would begin to discuss the possibility of her joining the Bulldog coaching staff. 

The following year, Schaefer became Mississippi State’s coordinator of player development. In 2020, she and her father made the move back to his hometown of Austin to join the Longhorns. 

Her dad had full confidence that she would make an immediate impact on the program.

“Sometimes your kids surprise you,” he said. “She hasn’t surprised me very much in her life.”

Texas women’s basketball embraces Blair and Vic Schaefer dynamic

The Schaefers’ family dynamic has made Austin feel like a safe place for players, especially for those living away from home for the first time.

“It’s my home away from home,” freshman guard Bryanna Preston said. “They’ve just welcomed us with open arms.”

Schaefer started off as the Texas director of basketball operations before taking on her current role. While she’s sitting courtside with her dad during games, players watch the father-daughter dynamic and notice the similarities between the two.

“They both have the same competitive spirit and they both want to win,” sophomore forward Madison Booker said. “You can tell that they’re definitely kin.”

The full Schaefer family joined in Monday’s celebration, with mom joining dad on the ladder to cut a piece of the net, and Logan, who is Schaefer’s twin brother, looking forward to another family trip to the Final Four. 

“It’s really cool seeing her be so successful,” he said of his sister, “especially with dad, and doing what they love to do.”

Texas vs. South Carolina: Date, time, TV channel, where to watch

Date: Friday, April 4
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Fubo

Abby Halpin and Ansley Gavlak are students in the University of Georgia’s Sports Media Certificate program.

PALM BEACH, Florida – Conventional wisdom, it was suggested to Arthur Blank, would be to clear the deck for Michael Penix, Jr. and not have the presence of former starter Kirk Cousins as part of the atmosphere in the Atlanta Falcons quarterback room.

Best for Penix to have a clean slate?

“Well, I think Michael does have a clean slate. He’s the starting quarterback,” the Falcons owner replied. “And everybody in the room understands that.”

Blank clearly gets the predicament. Cousins, demoted in December, didn’t come to the Falcons last year on a four-year, $180 million contract – with $100 million guaranteed — to ride the bench. Blank heard such a sentiment directly from Cousins during an hour-long conversation recently, when the owner said he took five pages of notes.

If Cousins stays, it’s fair to wonder how synergy will flow behind the scenes.

Sure, Cousins, 36, has always been a class act. But the 14th-year vet hasn’t been a backup since the early days of his NFL career in Washington.

“Kirk is a consummate professional as a football player and as a human being,” Blank said during a session with a small group of media, including USA TODAY Sports, at the NFL league meetings this week. “I think Kirk will do what he needs to do. He’ll show up when he needs to show up. I think he’ll do what his heart and spirit allows him to do. I never see him as being a divisive individual. I don’t think it’s in him to be that way.

“With certain personalities, you might worry a little bit. I’m not really worried about that.”

Conventional what?

Blank doesn’t rule out the possibility of a trade – a reunion between Cousins and Kevin Stefanski with the quarterback-needy Cleveland Browns has fueled much speculation – but also concurs with coach Raheem Morris in maintaining that he is comfortable having the veteran as a pricey backup. Never mind if Cousins wouldn’t be comfortable in that role.

As Blank put it, “We’ve already paid him.”

Forget “conventional” wisdom. There’s also the thinking that having invested $100 million into Cousins, the Falcons have secured some expensive insurance.

After all, it’s the NFL. Even if Penix flourishes as the starter, there’s always risk. Unless there’s a trade offer that they can’t refuse, it will be best for the Falcons to hang on to Cousins for an emergency as the NFL’s best backup. After all, they’ve paid for that right.

“I’ve had that conversation,” Blank said. “And I see it, significantly, through that lens. In this league…the quarterback position is right in the center of everything. When you have a starting quarterback, God forbid, even with all the protection the league affords with rules and equipment, etcetera, players get hurt on occasion. And it could be the quarterback.”

In other words, whether or not they keep Cousins (at least for another season), isn’t about the quarterback’s feelings or desires to start again. There’s some NFL business wisdom involved here.

“We’ve got $275 million in the salary cap, plus benefits,” Blank said. “We owe it to the franchise to make sure that we have the backup quarterback who can step in and play. Obviously, if we thought that person was better than the starting quarterback, that person would play. But you want a backup quarterback who, maybe with some modification and game plan, can give you a chance to win.”

It probably isn’t easy for Blank to consider that he committed $100 million to Cousins and the quarterback didn’t survive a full season as the starter. The Falcons started 6-3 and had a two-game lead in the NFC South in early November. Then it went sideways. After Cousins was benched, Penix started the final three games and the Falcons finished 8-9 to mark their seventh consecutive season without a winning record.

Blank, the co-founder of The Home Depot, insists that he’s never been a “risk-averse person” when it comes to investments. Against that context, and given the ability of NFL owners to essentially print money, he sees Cousins as an investment in the franchise that just hasn’t panned out.

Although Blank maintains that signing Cousins was an “excellent plan,” that’s a debatable decision tracing to GM Terry Fontenot. The Falcons overpaid for an aging pocket passer coming off a torn Achilles tendon, in a league that is increasingly dominated by mobile quarterbacks. Maybe the decision to stun the NFL universe and draft a quarterback eighth overall last April will ultimately ease the sting if Penix blossoms into a star.

Then again, Blank said of Cousins, “If we played Tampa Bay every week last year, he’d be in the Hall of Fame now.”

Cousins earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after both of his outings in October against the eventual NFC South champion Buccaneers, passing for 509 yards in the first contest and combining eight touchdown passes in the games.

Blank also maintained that while he felt the Falcons made a wise investment in the quarterback, “I think from Kirk’s standpoint, he made the wise financial investment in a good franchise.”

That point can certainly be made of another big contract for Cousins, with another huge guarantee. You can’t knock Cousins’ ability to work the NFL market over the years.

No shortage of drama (or disses) in Jerry Jones, Micah Parsons contract talks

Yet the guarantees work both ways. Even though Cousins has a no-trade clause in his deal, he gave up leverage in getting the guaranteed money.

No, the Falcons don’t expect to see Cousins during the offseason workout that begin later this month.

“If he is, we’ll welcome him with open arms,” Morris said this week. “But I’m not going to be fool enough to make myself get worked up and angry about Kirk Cousins missing voluntary workouts.”

At least that’s some type of conventional wisdom.

Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell