Dean Evason, who nearly got the Columbus Blue Jackets into the playoffs amid tragedy in 2024-25, is out of a job after the team’s slow start.

The Blue Jackets announced on Monday, Jan. 12, that they had fired Evason and were bringing in NHL veteran coach Rick Bowness to replace him. Assistant coach Steve McCarthy also was fired.

“This season has been a frustrating one for all of us, and the bottom line is we are not performing at a level that meets our expectations,’ general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. ‘We all share in that responsibility, me included, and while this was not a decision that was made lightly it is one that needed to be made at this time. Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances and I thank him for that.’

Evason is the first NHL head coach fired this season.

The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs by two points last season despite the death of star Johnny Gaudreau in August 2024. He and his brother Matthew were hit by a car while bicycling in New Jersey.

Bowness, 70, had announced his retirement in 2024 after spending nearly 50 years in the league as a player or coach. He had most recently coached the Winnipeg Jets and had led the Dallas Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

“Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season,” said Waddell. “He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group.”

The Blue Jackets, who ended a four-game losing streak on Sunday, are last in the Metropolitan Division with a 19-19-7 record. Evason, 61, finishes his tenure in Columbus with a 59-52-16 record.

Cruz Medina would have done anything to play for the San Jose Earthquakes, but the MLS club killed the top prospect’s dream by not giving him a chance, his father says.

Antonio Guero Medina launched a diatribe on social media as reports say his son is on the verge of joining Liga MX power Chivas.

The 19-year-old developed a reputation as a top prospect in San Jose’s academy, signing as a Homegrown Player in 2022 when he was 15.

But Medina has yet to make his first-team debut for the Earthquakes, spending his time in MLS Next Pro with the club’s reserve side The Town FC.

With his son on the verge of leaving his childhood team without a senior appearance to his name, Medina’s father hit out at the club on his Instagram story.

He said his son was an Earthquakes fan since birth and ‘willing to do anything for the badge,’ but claimed that the club ‘found every way to kill his dream.’

The midfielder’s father added that ‘all these people they have in charge (don’t) have a (expletive) clue!’ He concluded his post by encouraging young players to steer clear of San Jose’s academy.

Medina is set to embark on a fresh start at Chivas, as reports state he will begin with the club’s reserve side CD Tapatío.

The California-born player has represented the United States at various youth international levels, but has also accepted a call-up from Mexico’s under-20 side. His international future is still up in the air.

Any pro tennis player determined to win the four Grand Slams in a calendar year must start Down Under. As in Melbourne, site of the Australian Open, the sport’s first Grand Slam of the year.

The first round of play is set for Jan. 18-20 on the hardcourts at Rod Laver Arena.

(A player who wins all four Grand Slams in a calendar year would be elevated into rarefied air. Only Rod Laver, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf have pulled off that feat in the Open Era, when prize money was awarded for Grand Slams.)

This year, on the men’s side, Italy’s Jannik Sinner will be looking for his third consecutive title at the Australian Open, but his chief rival, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, will be the top seed.

On the women’s side, American Madison Keys arrives as the defending champion. But Aryna Sabalenka, seeking her third title in four years, will be the favorite and Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff contenders.

Not to look too far ahead, but Grand Slam play will continue with the French Open starting in May, Wimbledon starting to in June and the U.S. Open starting in August.

When is the Australian Open? Dates and schedule

Jan. 18-20: Round 1
Jan. 21-22: Round 2
Jan. 23-24: Round 3
Jan. 25-26: Round 4 (Round of 16)
Jan. 27-28: Quarterfinals.
Jan. 29: Women’s semifinals.
Jan. 30: Men’s semi-finals
Jan. 31: Women’s final
Feb. 1: Men’s final

Australian Open Times

Melbourne is 16 hours ahead of New York, creating some challenging viewing times. Matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) and as late as 7:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET).
Start times for matches will be 11 a.m. (7 p.m. ET), noon (8 p.m. ET), 7 p.m. (3 a.m. ET) and 7:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m.)

How to watch the Australian Open

The Australian Open will be broadcast across ESPN and ESPN 2. You can also stream on Fubo, which offers a free trial for new users.

The Los Angeles Rams got a scare when Matthew Stafford suffered a finger injury during the team’s 34-31 wild-card win over the Carolina Panthers.

Stafford’s injury occurred after he attempted a pass near the end of the first half. He hit his throwing hand hard on D.J. Wonnum’s arm, and the 37-year-old recoiled in pain and doubled over following the impact.

Below is a look at the play on which Stafford was injured:

Despite the injury, Stafford did not miss a snap for the Rams. He dealt with some midgame struggles after he first bent back his finger but rebounded in time to lead Los Angeles on a game-winning touchdown drive with 38 seconds left. He finished the game completing 24 of 42 passes for 303 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a more-than-respectable showing.

But how will Stafford’s finger problem impact him moving forward? Here’s what to know about his status for the Rams’ divisional-round game against the Chicago Bears.

Matthew Stafford injury update

Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters Monday, Jan 12 that Stafford was dealing with ‘a little sprain’ in his right index finger. McVay also outlined that the plan is for Stafford to play in the divisional round against the Bears.

‘He’s as tough as it gets, and he’ll be good to go,’ McVay said, per the Associated Press.

McVay’s update comes after reports indicated X-rays on Stafford’s injured hand had been negative.

The veteran quarterback also addressed his injury during a postgame news conference Saturday, Jan. 10. At the time, he said he ‘got a finger bent back’ but expressed confidence it wouldn’t impact him too much moving forward.

‘They saw it on the TV on the sideline or whatever. I didn’t obviously know exactly what had happened,’ Stafford explained of his finger injury. ‘It wasn’t pleasant. It wasn’t great.’

‘We’ll see what it is,’ Stafford added. ‘I was obviously able to finish the game and throw it decent. Once the ball’s snapped, the adrenaline’s pretty good. So we’ll hopefully just keep it going.’

As such, it appears the only question will be about how much Stafford practices as he prepares to face Chicago.

Who is the Rams backup QB?

Garoppolo has started 64 games across his 12 NFL seasons since being a second-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft. The Eastern Illinois product has a 43-21 career record across those starts and helped lead the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl 54, where they lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Rams QB depth chart

The Rams have just three quarterbacks in their organization as a whole. All three are on the team’s 53-man roster.

Below is a look at the pecking order at the position:

Matthew Stafford
Jimmy Garoppolo
Stetson Bennett IV

Bennett was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He played collegiately at Georgia and helped lead the Bulldogs to two national championships.

Bennett has not yet played a snap at the NFL level but was designated the team’s emergency third quarterback for the team’s wild-card win over the Panthers.

Soccer fans around the globe have lodged their complaints about the high prices for tickets to 2026 World Cup matches in North America this summer.

However, in what may be a first, someone who will be playing in the tournament is also echoing their concerns.

USMNT winger Timothy Weah said he is “disappointed’ in the pricing structure that places most all of the tickets beyond the price range of the average person.

‘It is too expensive,’ Weah told French outlet Le Dauphiné. ‘Football should still be enjoyed by everyone. It is the most popular sport. This World Cup will be good, but it will be more of a show.’

WORLD CUP TICKETS: How to buy them

In an effort to make some reasonably priced options available, FIFA is providing a selected number of tickets to national federations of the participating countries for them to distribute to loyal fans who have previously attended their nations’ matches.

The ‘supporter entry tier’ tickets − which cost $60 apiece − are extremely limited. Otherwise through FIFA’s dynamic ticket pricing, the cheapest group stage games that did not involve host nations Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have ranged from $120 to $265, and from $4,185 to $8,680 for the July 19 championship match in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

‘I am just a bit disappointed by the ticket prices,’ the Marseille winger added in the interview before Tuesday’s French Cup match against Bayeux. ‘Lots of real fans will miss matches.’

Currently on loan at Marseille from Juventus, Weah, 25, has scored seven goals and recorded five assists in 47 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team. He is the son of 1995 Ballon d’Or winner and former president of Liberia, George Weah.

Alabama football quarterback Ty Simpson has declared for the 2026 NFL draft. But his declaration has not stopped teams from sending offers to Simpson’s camp for him to return for one last college football season.

According to a person close to Simpson, Miami sent the Alabama quarterback an offer to be the highest-paid player in college football at $6.5 million. The Hurricanes’ official offer started at $4 million and quickly ballooned to $5 million within minutes before reaching the current offer.

Tennessee and Ole Miss, according to the source, offered Simpson $4 million.

In 2025, Simpson’s base salary at Alabama was $400,000, according to a person close to Simpson. It doubled to $800,000 with incentives.

As of Sunday, Jan. 11, Simpson is not in the NCAA transfer portal. He also has not yet signed his NFL paperwork, but is preparing to travel to Mobile for the 2026 Senior Bowl.

According to the source, Simpson and his family have had ‘restless hours’ talking through offers received. But the expectation is for Simpson to remain in the NFL draft as one of the top three quarterbacks on the board along with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

In the 2025 draft, the New York Giants signed former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart to a four-year, $17-million contract with a $9 million signing bonus, all of which was guaranteed, per ESPN. Dart was drafted 25th overall.

Simpson is also pulled to having his legacy being tied to Alabama and the Crimson Tide being his alma mater in the NFL.

In 2025, Simpson led the SEC with 305 completions and 473 pass attempts. He had 3,567 passing yards, 30 total touchdowns and five interceptions.

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him atcgay@gannett.com or follow him@_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The Colorado Avalanche had mostly avoided adversity during their dominant first half of the season.

Then it hit.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog crashed into the net on Jan. 4 and is week-to-week. Defenseman Devon Toews (upper body) and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood also are out long term.

The Avalanche lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time this season during their trip to Florida.

But they have regrouped, beating the Ottawa Senators 8-2 and the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0. Their 33-4-7 record through Sunday, Jan. 11, gives them a 12-point edge in the Presidents’ Trophy race.

The Avalanche remain on pace to break the Boston Bruins’ 2022-23 NHL record of 135 points in a season and remain the top team in USA TODAY Sports’ latest power rankings. Here are the full rankings:

USA TODAY Sports NHL power rankings

Note: Stats through Jan. 11. Parentheses show movement from two weeks ago:

1. Colorado Avalanche (0)

The Avalanche have yet to lose in regulation at home. They have won 17 in a row at Ball Arena.

2. Minnesota Wild (+1)

Both Wild goalies, Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, are heading to the Olympics with Team Sweden, along with forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin. Minnesota is also sending three Americans (Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber and Matt Boldy) and Germany’s Niko Sturm.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning (+2)

The Lightning have won nine in a row. That has coincided with a nine-game point streak in which Nikita Kucherov has scored 23 points.

4. Dallas Stars (-2)

The Stars remain second in the league in points percentage, but they have one win in their last eight games.

5. Carolina Hurricanes (-1)

Goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is likely done for the season after surgery, leaving Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen as the tandem. Andersen picked up his first win since Nov. 6.

6. Detroit Red Wings (0)

Patrick Kane reached the 500-goal milestone with a two-goal performance on Jan. 8. He’s the fifth U.S.-born scorer to hit that mark and needs five points to pass Mike Modano (1,374 points), the top U.S.-born scorer.

7. Montreal Canadiens (+2)

The Canadiens have had a topsy-turvy January. They scored 21 goals in their four victories and were shut out in their two losses.

8. Vegas Golden Knights (-1)

Jack Eichel, shut out in his return from an injury, has put together a five-game point streak. He also had a five-game streak before his injury.

9. New York Islanders (+1)

Bo Horvat, named to Team Canada on Dec. 31, has been out since suffering a lower-body injury the following day. The Islanders have won three of their last four games without him.

10. Buffalo Sabres (+5)

The Sabres have won 13 of their 14 games to move into a wild-card spot. Most of that surge has happened after the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams. Buffalo is trying to end a record 14-season playoff drought.

11. Philadelphia Flyers (-3)

Trevor Zegras is heading to a career season with 41 points in 43 games, but he has been shut out in four of his last five games. He’ll become a restricted free agent in July.

12. Toronto Maple Leafs (+10)

William Nylander had a goal and two assists in his return from a six-game injury absence. He leads the Maple Leafs with 44 points despite missing 10 games this season.

13. Pittsburgh Penguins (+3)

The Penguins, who averaged five goals a game during their six-game winning streak, have been limited to one goal in losing their last two games. … Forward Blake Lizotte signed a three-year contract extension averaging $2.25 million a year.

14. Edmonton Oilers (0)

Connor McDavid has a career-best 18-game point streak and has moved into a tie with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL scoring lead.

15. Washington Capitals (-4)

NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin has reached 20 goals for a 21th consecutive season. That puts him in second place all time in that category behind Gordie Howe.

16. Boston Bruins (+5)

Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov had their first career hat tricks in a 10-2 win against the Rangers. Khusnutdinov finished with four goals, and David Pastrnak tied a franchise record with six assists. The game was the Bruins’ first with double hat tricks since 1964.

17. Seattle Kraken (+9)

The Kraken’s 10-game point streak ended on Jan. 11 with a 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Seattle was limited to 12 shots in that game.

18. Florida Panthers (-5)

Matthew Tkachuk (offseason hernia surgery) is accompanying the Panthers on their road trip in hopes of getting back into the lineup for the first time this season. But coach Paul Maurice told reporters that there would be no lineup changes for their Jan. 12 game, meaning no Tkachuk or injured Brad Marchand.

19. Los Angeles Kings (-1)

Captain Anze Kopitar, out for the second time this season, was placed on the injured list. He has missed two games with a lower-body injury. He missed four games earlier this season.

20. San Jose Sharks (+3)

Macklin Celebrini, named to Team Canada, saw his 13-game point streak end in a Jan. 11 loss to the Golden Knights. He had 27 points in that stretch.

21. Utah Mammoth (+3)

Clayton Keller, considered the biggest player left off the USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off squad, has made the U.S. Olympic team. He has seven points in his last three games.

22. Nashville Predators (+6)

The Predators have gone 13-7 since the beginning of December to move from last in the NHL to two points out of a playoff spot.

23. New Jersey Devils (-6)

Dougie Hamilton was a healthy scratch on Sunday after the return of defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic. Hamilton has a 10-team trade list and his agent, J.P. Barry. told TSN’s Pierre LeBrun: ‘We have made it clear to the Devils that we will consider teams outside our list and other creative ways to get to a team that is mutually acceptable.’

24. Ottawa Senators (-4)

Senators general manager Steven Staios put out a statement criticizing ‘the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet’ after a rumor was spread about goalie Linus Ullmark’s leave of absence. The team on Jan. 12 signed veteran goalie James Reimer for the remainder of the season at a pro-rated $850,000.

25. New York Rangers (-6)

The Rangers have given up 15 goals in the two games since Igor Shesterkin left a Jan. 5 game with a lower body injury. Jonathan Quick left a 10-2 loss to the Bruins after giving up six goals on 20 shots.

26. Chicago Blackhawks (+5)

Connor Bedard, who wasn’t named to Canada’s Olympic team, has returned after missing 12 games with a shoulder injury. He had two assists in his second game back. The Blackhawks won their last four games before Bedard’s return and are 1-1 since.

27. Anaheim Ducks (-15)

The Ducks have gone through a 1-8-2 skid to drop out of a playoff spot. Leading scorer Leo Carlsson has been held without a point in nine of those 11 games.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (-3)

Defenseman Denton Mateychuk was injured on Brandon Tanev’s hit from behind on Sunday, Jan. 11. The Blue Jackets ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the Mammoth in that game.

29. Calgary Flames (0)

Defense prospect Zayne Parekh set a career record for most points by a Canadian defenseman at the world junior championships (13) to help his team win a bronze medal.

30. St. Louis Blues (-3)

The Blues signed defenseman Philip Broberg to a six-year contract extension averaging $8 million a year. St. Louis obtained Broberg via an offer sheet in 2024 that the Oilers didn’t match. The defenseman has been named to the Swedish Olympic team.

31. Winnipeg Jets (-1)

The 2024-25 Presidents’ Trophy winners dropped to last in the NHL with an 11-game winless streak. But they have escaped the cellar by winning two in a row.

32. Vancouver Canucks (0)

The Canucks have been outscored 21-12 in a six-game winless streak and 10-2 in their last two games. Goalie Thatcher Demko has been placed on the injured list.

This story has been updated with new information.

After the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll was released on Monday, Ole Miss Rebels coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin panned the outlet’s national rankings.

‘This is a joke,’ McPhee-McCuin shared on X in a quote tweet of the AP’s rankings. ‘And if the voters [are] not going to do their jobs, we don’t need [an] AP poll! Had we lost two games in a row, we’d be fighting to stay in, or we’d be out!’

‘It’s not fair to my kids. Just do right! I can’t get behind people that don’t do their jobs. The bias is unfair!’, she later tweeted. ‘And this is no shot at anyone but the voters that didn’t do their jobs! This week, we lost to Texas by [three] on the road. Beat [No. 5] Oklahoma on the road and [won] a lot vs [Mississippi] State at home. You [move] us up 2 spots? I’m tired of the disrespect!’

McPhee-McCuin isn’t the only SEC coach voicing their frustration over the last several days.

On Sunday, Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said the SEC had a ‘vendetta’ against the Longhorns after his team fell, 70-65, to LSU. ‘Not only have we started in the league, and I get to play South Carolina twice last year, this year, I get LSU twice,’ said Schaefer. ‘I have to play South Carolina on the road this year, as well as LSU. I get them back-to-back in the same week. Now, make that make sense.’

The Rebels coach eventually chose to move on from sharing her displeasure with a final tweet.

‘OK, let me redirect my energy back to things I can control! Which is this week off!’ she said.

Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014, the Louisville women’s basketball team has been the league’s most consistent program. From 2018 through 2023, the Cardinals went to five consecutive Elite Eights, won four straight ACC regular season titles and appeared in the Final Four twice.

Under coach Jeff Walz, the expectation for the Cardinals is competing for ACC crown and a Final Four bid every season. When Louisville didn’t do that in the past two years — losing during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and 2025 — folks started to wonder if Louisville’s reign was over.

“There’s been good basketball played at Louisville for about 19 years now,” Walz said a few weeks ago after an overtime win at North Carolina, pointing to the start of his tenure as coach in 2007. “You know, our standards are a little higher than most. When we get beat in the second round, it’s a bad year. When we lost in the first round, I had a for sale sign in my yard. I mean, people were like, ‘Get rid of this guy.’”

There’s a little bit of tongue-in-cheek hyperbole from Walz, but it’s true fans started counting them out in the race for the ACC title, much less contending for a national championship. Those who had pessimistic beliefs about Louisville were validated in November, where the Cardinals lost to UConn and rival Kentucky by double figures.

But then December came. Louisville nearly beat South Carolina, losing to the mighty Gamecocks by two points, and then won a ranked road game at North Carolina, followed by outclassing Tennessee on a neutral court.

Since losing to the Gamecocks, Louisville has won nine straight games. Walz’s Cardinals not only look like the best in the ACC, but also the conference’s best hope at a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and Final Four bid.

Statistically, the Cardinals are playing great defense and taking care of the ball. They rank 12th nationally in opponent 3-point shooting (25.1%), 21st in opponent offensive rebound rate (24.7%), 13th in total rebounds per game (44.1), and 18th in assist-turnover ratio.

“When we pass the ball and we’re unselfish, we’ve got six or seven kids that can make open shots that you have to guard, and when we do that, then we can spread the floor,” Walz said last week. “We can put pressure on you, and that’s why I think we’re having success now.”

This team is also growing and maturing as the season goes along. It’s a young squad with a combined 10 freshmen and sophomores. Imari Berry and Elif Istanbulluoglu have made the biggest improvements, Tajianna Roberts is still playing at an All-ACC level after earning a nod there as a freshman, and Laura Ziegler has lived up to the hype since transferring in from Saint Joseph’s.

Louisville is 4-3 in Quad 1 games, has a NET of 11 and is seventh in WAB (wins above bubble). The losses to UConn and Kentucky feel like a lifetime ago.

“We competed and played well (in non-conference). We had a really nice win over Tennessee. I think part of it is, our league, our teams played,” Walz said. “Like Duke, you know, we’re playing good teams. We’re playing ranked opponents.”

Ahead are two big tests. The Cardinals play at Notre Dame on Thursday and at N.C. State on Sunday, both places that aren’t kind to road teams. If Louisville comes out on top on both, they should be taken seriously as a contender again.

Top prospect shelved for Duke

Since the preseason, Duke head coach Kara Lawson has been complimentary of freshman, Emilee Skinner. Ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the 2025 class by ESPN, the 6-foot point guard came into this season with a lot of hype.

“She’s the best passer we’ve had here since I’ve been at Duke, and it’s not really close,” Lawson said after Duke’s Nov. 12 win over Norfolk State. “She sees the floor in an advanced way. She’s able to deliver catchable passes, passes that are easy for people to shoot or easy for people to lay up. And she has a great intelligence about her. She understands the playbook, understands the strengths of her teammates, and that’s again, more advanced than the typical freshman.”

But Skinner hasn’t played all that much, with a total of 47 minutes across three games for the Blue Devils, seemingly due to a nagging lower body injury on which Lawson has been mostly mum. Skinner hasn’t taken the floor for Duke since Dec. 7, when the Blue Devils beat Virginia Tech.

A source close to Skinner familiar with her situation told USA Today Sports that she’ll be redshirting this season. Since Skinner played in three games, she should retain this year of eligibility.

Meanwhile, Duke has adjusted, as they’ve now won eight consecutive games.

Coaching carousel warming up

Joe McKeown announced last March this season would be his last as coach at Northwestern. The 69-year-old has been a head coach in Division I women’s basketball for 40 years with previous stops at New Mexico State and George Washington.

He’s 783-442 and 19 of his teams have been to the NCAA Tournament. But since taking the reins at Northwestern in 2008, the Wildcats have gone dancing just twice and seem to be on track to miss March Madness again with a 6-10 overall record this season.

Knowing McKeown’s retirement is looming, Northwestern is already vetting candidates, multiple sources told USA Today Sports. Second round interviews with candidates will begin this week. Some of the best mid-major coaches in the country — from the Ivy League, Atlantic 10 and CAA — will be in the mix for this opening. Michigan native Carrie Moore, who won the Ivy with Harvard last season, is among the frontrunners.

Elsewhere, schools who have yet to announce coaching changes are quietly putting feelers out to agents and potential candidates about who might be interested in their job if it were to open. Two of those that bubbled up last week, multiple sources told USA Today Sports, were Texas A&M and VCU.

At Texas A&M, Joni Taylor is 14-39 in SEC play in four seasons with one NCAA Tournament appearance. Beth O’Boyle has been the head coach at VCU since 2014, but has gone dancing just once — in the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season — and is on-pace for her third losing season in four years.

UCLA’s dual-sport star has to scale back time on the court

One of the feel-good moments of this women’s college basketball season was when Megan Grant notched an And-1 for UCLA in a win over Long Beach State. It didn’t impact the game, as the Bruins led by 60, but the bench erupted when they saw the softball star connect on the basket.

This is Grant’s first season playing college basketball. Softball fans are familiar with Grant, an All-American utility player, who has featured in the outfield and infield corners for the Bruins across three seasons, mashing 49 home runs in 180 games.

But with softball season approaching, basketball coach Cori Close has to share Grant with softball skipper Kelly Inouye-Perez. And so, Close said, Grant won’t travel with the basketball team for the rest of the regular season, but will play in home games when it doesn’t conflict with softball.

“She’s pretty much all of softball’s until we get to the postseason,” Close said after UCLA’s win at Nebraska on Sunday. “And then we’re going to sort of reevaluate at that point. But she’s been a great addition to our team and even though she’s not here in the day-to-day right now, she’s here in spirit.”

Grant has played in 12 basketball games this season and scored in three of them, including a win over North Carolina.