Sports
Shaikin: Why USC, college baseball’s most decorated team, plays home games over an hour from campus
“You ever played Mafia before?”
I had asked Connor Clift, a senior catcher for the USC baseball team, about the Trojans’ trying season.
“We play Mafia for hours,” Clift said.
It’s a video game.
“You have a sheriff, and you have townies, and the mafia tries to kill the townies, and the sheriff tries to catch the mafia,” he said. “Nobody knows who is who, and then you fight it out.”
The Trojans play for hours, because they ride the bus for hours. They are a team without a home.
They practice half an hour from campus — an hour, with traffic. They play most of their home games an hour from campus — two hours, with traffic.
“Beat the traffic,” sophomore outfielder Austin Overn said, “or else you’re screwed.”
The most distinguished team in college baseball history is homeless. The 12-time NCAA champion Trojans cannot play on campus because of construction that includes upgrades to Dedeaux Field and new facilities for the USC football team.
When USC hired Andy Stankiewicz as its new baseball coach two years ago, he said had been assured whatever construction would take place would displace the team for the 2028 season.
The Great Park in Irvine is a 1,300-seat facility the Trojans have used for the bulk of their home games this season. “This was the best option on short notice,” said Rock Hudgens, USC director of baseball operations.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“That’s it. One year,” he told The Times then. “When it’s over, we’re going to be in a gorgeous, brand new Dedeaux.”
That timeline changed last summer. The baseball team had to vacate last fall — and for two years, not one.
“That was a little bit of a surprise, honestly,” Stankiewicz said. “You have to learn to make the adjustment on the fly and keep going.”
Coaches and administrators scrambled. Baseball teams long have been barnstormers, but the Savannah Bananas do not have to worry about classes.
For fall practices, the Trojans bused to El Camino College in Torrance. The community college had priority for the baseball field in the afternoon, so the USC players shifted their classes to the afternoon and departed for El Camino as early as 7 a.m.
On occasion, Stankiewicz said, the Trojans would get there and the gates to the field would be locked, and the team would have to wait for campus security officers to come by and open up.
To leave El Camino at 11 a.m. and get to class at USC at noon, Overn said, could mean rushing to get in a shower and a couple bites of lunch in between.
Bobby and Blaire Burkitt, and their children Tre, 8, Nicholas, 6, watch USC warm up before a game at the Great Park in Irvine on May 3. Admission is free for the Trojans’ games in Irvine.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“It was,” he said with a smile, “a little fast for me.”
The Trojans already had their 2024 schedule. No school would displace its own team so USC could play there. And, as USC associate director of operations and event management Garrett D’Angelo said, “We wanted one spot that was home.”
In Irvine, on the site of the former El Toro Marine base, voters rejected a proposed international airport two decades ago. Since then, a community sports mecca dubbed the Great Park has blossomed there, surrounded by thousands of homes. The NHL’s Ducks built themselves a practice rink there, not far from a stadium used by a minor league soccer team.
That is where USC found its home away from home, at a sparkling 1,300-seat ballpark designed to host championship games of youth tournaments. The ballpark is surrounded not by campus landmarks, but by an iconic orange balloon on one side and a water park on another side.
No one expected students would show up, but USC has a robust alumni base in Orange County.
“This was the best option on short notice,” said Rock Hudgens, USC director of baseball operations.
The Trojans built their own locker room, because the one in Irvine had 12 lockers and USC needed 40. They rented an ice machine and arranged for regular deliveries of ice.
The ballpark did not include a batter’s eye. The Trojans contracted with an event production company to deliver one, and so the makeshift batter’s eye is framed in the same way a concert stage would be.
The Great Park in Irvine did not include a batter’s eye. The Trojans contracted with an event production company to deliver one, and so the makeshift batter’s eye is framed in the same way a concert stage would be.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
To make the place feel like home, they wrapped ballpark columns and draped railings with USC decor. They used Velcro, because the wraps and drapes come off when the stadium is used by others — including the weekends USC had to rent fields at Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine because the ballpark already had been reserved.
At the start of May, when USC had its finals week, players normally would have walked to class Thursday and Friday and taken their exams. Instead, because USC had a home game Friday night in Irvine, the players bused to Orange County Thursday afternoon and took finals in a hotel Friday morning.
The Trojans have fallen on hard times since the glory days of Tom Seaver and Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson, Barry Zito and Mark Prior. They have not won an NCAA championship in 26 years.
Over the past 18 seasons, they have posted three winning records and made one postseason appearance.
The Southland is not exactly a hotbed for college baseball — Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State aside — but the Trojans have not averaged even 1,000 fans for years. In 2015, the last time USC posted a winning record, the average attendance was 826.
Josh Boatright, 14, shows off his autographed baseball before the USC-Cal game on May 3. Boatright said he’s been to a few games this season but doubts he would go if the Trojans played on campus as opposed to his neighborhood.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
That is what makes this home-away-from-home season such a pleasant surprise. The students may not be here, but admission is free, and youngsters playing on adjacent diamonds stop by with their families.
Josh Boatright, 14, rode his bike past the ballpark one day and checked out a few innings. He has been back three times, although he admits he would not be as interested in the Trojans if the team played at Dedeaux Field instead of in his neighborhood.
“If I go all the way to L.A.,” he said, “I’d probably go for a Dodger game.”
The Trojans have averaged 740 fans at the Irvine ballpark this season, more than they averaged at Dedeaux Field last season, even for a team with a losing record. USC has three games left in Irvine this season.
“I feel like, as of now, it’s a home,” Overn said. “For the most part, I feel like we’re here all the time.
“It’s a home. It’s obviously not the home we were expecting this year.”
And, after we talked, Overn walked into the Friday night — not to a dorm room or an apartment or a fraternity, and not to a campus party, but to a bus that would take him to a Marriott hotel within walking distance of an outdoor mall that celebrates “life at its most stylish, delicious and exciting.”
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Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Dominiq Ponder died this weekend, the team’s head coach Deion Sanders confirmed on Sunday with a social media post.
“God please comfort the Ponder family, friends and loved ones,” Sanders wrote on social media. “Dom was one of my favorites! He was Loved, Respected & a Born Leader. Let’s pray for all that knew him & had the opportunity to be in his presence. Lord you’re receiving a good 1. Comfort us Lord Comfort us.”
Ponder was 23 years old.
Details of Ponder’s death are not yet known.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his team warm up before an NCAA college football game against TCU Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas. (Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
Ponder, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound signal caller, joined the Buffaloes and “Coach Prime’s” program in 2024 after spending time at Bethune-Cookman before making his way to Boulder.
Last season, Ponder played just two games for the Buffaloes while serving in his backup role. He recorded two rush attempts and one pass attempt.
The Opa Locka, Fla., native also received tribute from a fellow quarterback with the Buffaloes, Colton Allen.
Bethune-Cookman QB Dominiq Ponder takes a snap during the Wildcats’ spring game Saturday, April 22, 2023, at Daytona Stadium. (IMAGN)
“Dom, you were a blessing to so many people,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “You had a presence about you that just made everything better. You brought so much joy to me and everyone around you. I’m grateful for every lift, every practice, every rep, every conversation we got to share. I’ll carry those with me for the rest of my life.”
Ponder was going to be a part of Colorado’s spring practices, which are set to begin on Monday. It’s unknown if Sanders will postpone the start due to Ponder’s passing.
Ponder also received a tribute from the University of Central Florida.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up before an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Tyler Tate/AP Photo)
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“Our prayers are with Dominiq and the Ponder family along with all in the Colorado football program,” the university’s football account on X wrote.
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Sunday was “Senior Night” for the USC women’s basketball team at Galen Center, but it was the other team’s seniors who stole the show.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 14 points, Kiki Rice had 11 points and four assists and Lauren Betts had 15 rebounds and five assists as UCLA wrapped up the regular season with a 73-50 victory over its rival and finished undefeated in conference play for the first time since going 18-0 in the Pac-10 in 1998-99 under Kathy Olivier.
Having already clinched the regular-season title, UCLA became the first team to navigate the Big Ten schedule without a loss since Maryland in 2014-15.
“These are two elite programs, we knew it would be different tonight, we knew they’d come with fire,” said UCLA coach Cori Close, who improved to 9-4 against the Trojans since counterpart Lindsay Gottlieb started at USC in 2021. “We knew we’d have to do it with our defense, our rebounding and by taking care of the ball.”
It was the Bruins’ 22nd consecutive win, one shy of the record they set last season. Since their lone loss to then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, they have won by 20 or more points 17 times.
Ranked second in the nation in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls behind defending national champion Connecticut (30-0), the Bruins earned the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament in Indianapolis and got a bye into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Charlisse Leger-Walker, nicknamed “X-ray vision” by teammates, equaled her season high with 20 points for the Bruins (28-1, 18-0) while Gianna Kneepkens added 14 points and five assists.
“Anytime we play together we know we can win,” Leger-Walker said. “We did a good job looking into the scout. Every game we just think about going 1-0. People scouting us know that all five players on the court can score the ball.”
UCLA center Lauren Betts, left, controls the ball in front of USC forward Vivian Iwuchukwu during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
UCLA held USC to 27% shooting in the teams’ first meeting — a 34-point Bruins victory at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 3 behind Betts’ 18 points. It was USC’s most lopsided loss under coach Lindsay Gottlieb. On Sunday, USC shot 39% and was only three for 19 from three-point range.
“Going undefeated [in conference] is a great step in the right direction towards what we want to accomplish,” said Jaquez, who appreciated the flowers she received before the game from USC. “I love this rivalry. It’s super fun to play against them and it was nice that they honored us too.”
UCLA jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and carried a 19-11 advantage into the second quarter. The Bruins widened the gap to 18 points by halftime, holding the Trojans scoreless for the last 3:08.
USC (17-12, 9-9) opened the second half on an 11-2 run but gave up 14 second-chance points and allowed 22 offensive rebounds.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice, front, and forward Angela Dugalic celebrate as USC guard Kennedy Smith walks away during the first half Sunday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“If we get more possessions than our opponent we’re most likely going to win,” Close said. “We didn’t allow one basket on an out-of-bounds play and they lead the conference in that.”
Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson, USC’s leading scorer, got into early foul trouble but still finished with 12 points. She was held to 10 points on four-for-15 shooting in the first meeting.
“It was a great crowd, we were in the fight but we didn’t rebound or shoot well enough,” Gottlieb said. “We wanted to keep them out of our paint. We swarmed Betts, double-teamed her and got it out of her hands but other people scored.”
Londynn Jones, who spent three seasons in Westwood (playing in 108 straight games) before transferring to USC for her senior year, was held to six points in the team’s first meeting and nine points (on four-of-10 shooting) in the rematch. The Trojans’ other senior, Kara Dunn, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points.
“I love Londynn,” Close said. “We think she looks better in blue, but we love her and I told her that. I appreciate all she gave to our programs.”
Asked if this is the best team she has ever coached, Close had a one-word answer.
“Yes.”
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Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counter-attack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.”
“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read.
“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations. Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”
A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began.
Israel’s gymnastics team is considered one of nation’s strongest Olympic programs alongside its Judo and sailing teams. The team is only a week removed from a successful trip at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Germany, where the country’s star Artem Dolgopyat won the gold medal in floor gymnastics.
Now, the team will have to seek safety until the attacks are over.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.
Additionally, the embassy announced that due to the security situation, it would be closed on March 2, and did not give an estimate on when it would be reopening. The closure includes consular sections in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The embassy also said it is “not in a position at this time to evacuate or directly assist Americans in departing Israel.” It noted that Ben Gurion Airport remains closed and there there are neither commercial nor charter flights operating from the airport.
On Friday, ahead of the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the embassy gave all non-essential workers permission to leave Israel, with reports that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged those looking to leave to do so as soon as possible.
Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.
The strikes landed in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. Initial reports said four people were killed when missiles landed in a residential area on Sunday, but that death toll rose to eight, according to Israel’s national emergency service.
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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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