Michigan
A Michigan baseball season full of underdogs and shortcomings
This 12 months’s Michigan baseball workforce could be summed up in a single phrase: resilient.
The Wolverines have endured a rollercoaster of a season. For many of the 12 months, they fell wanting expectations. Michigan confirmed flashes early within the 12 months. With shut losses to No. 14 Texas Tech and No. 4 Vanderbilt in addition to a win over No. 21 Maryland, it appeared just like the workforce had a shot to compete amongst the elite applications.
However then it acquired a actuality test.
Of their first Massive Ten collection, the Wolverines’ once-potent bats floor to a halt in opposition to Iowa, scoring simply 2.3 runs per sport within the collection loss. From March 15 to Might 10, they misplaced six straight midweek video games resulting from an absence of pitching depth, a difficulty that plagued Michigan all 12 months. The 7.00 ERA of 2022 was this system’s worst for a full season in over 20 years and ranked second to final within the Massive Ten.
After dominating Michigan State and Ohio State on consecutive weekends in mid-April, the Wolverines’ morale was at its peak. Rivalry wins are good, however on the finish of the day, each of the collection wins had been in opposition to dropping groups within the Buckeyes and the Spartans. Michigan nonetheless needed to show it may compete with the perfect.
And within the common season, it couldn’t.
After two extra collection losses, all-time low got here in School Park the place the Wolverines had been throttled by Maryland, wanting all however useless within the collection sweep.
“It’s by no means too late to proceed to enhance,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich stated after the third loss to the Terrapins. “And we’re going to have the suitable mindset no matter occurs we’re going to ensure now we have the suitable mindset we’re gonna compete. … We’re not going to go down with no battle. We are going to do every little thing now we have to do to increase our season.”
However after getting dominated, a swap flipped. The Wolverines reached some extent the place that they had little left to lose. They acquired again up and stored preventing.
From Might 19 on, Michigan was the underdog in all 12 video games that it performed. And in these video games, the Wolverines emerged victorious in eight.
Going into the ultimate weekend of the season, Michigan had one factor on its thoughts: making the Massive Ten Event. This was removed from a assure for the Wolverines, who had been slated in opposition to a tricky opponent for his or her ultimate collection of the common season in Rutgers. After successful the primary two video games of the collection, one thing appeared to vary for Michigan.
“You bought to know what this workforce is like Rocky Balboa, who’s been crushed and bloodied and battered and knocked to the mat many instances, 24 instances, and we get again up each single time,” Bakich stated after clinching the collection win and a Massive Ten Event berth. “I don’t know if I’ve been extra pleased with the group. … The fellows reply each single time and it feels particular.”
On the time it was straightforward to dismiss the Rocky comparability. Though Michigan earned a spot within the Massive Ten Event, it fell wanting the expectations all 12 months. The Wolverines regressed from their projected second-place end within the Massive Ten, barely getting the fifth seed going into the convention match. And to increase its postseason and make the NCAA Event, Michigan needed to make historical past.
It did.
With wins in opposition to Illinois, Maryland, Iowa and Rutgers, the Wolverines grew to become the primary workforce in Massive Ten historical past to beat all high 4 seeds. Regardless of being the underdog in every of the video games it performed, Michigan gained the convention championship.
And the Wolverines rode that into the Louisville Regional.
Even after the spectacular scorching streak, Michigan was nonetheless anticipated to be defeated within the NCAA Regional. Because the three seed, the Wolverines once more beat the chances by defeating the highest two seeds in Oregon and Louisville to win their first two video games. However as Michigan was using excessive and on observe to make the journey to Tremendous Regionals, the Cardinals fought again.
The Wolverines misplaced 20-1 within the first probability to get rid of Louisville and went down 7-2 within the first inning of the win-or-go-home sport someday later. However Michigan wouldn’t go down with no battle and proved why Bakich in contrast them to Philadelphia’s iconic boxer.
The Wolverines stood again up and stormed again, discovering a 9-7 lead coming into the underside of the eighth inning. However 4 runs by the Cardinals with two outs put a cease to the late-season marketing campaign.
“(I’m) simply very pleased with our workforce,” Bakich stated. “What you noticed in the present day was a microcosm of the entire season. The flexibility to take a punch and get knocked down and rise up off the mat and hold preventing and never stop is the toughness and the resiliency of the group. You realize, this workforce, Staff 156, will at all times be remembered as one of many more durable groups that Michigan baseball has ever seen.”
The magic that the Wolverines captured of their ultimate 12 video games proved that the preseason lofty objectives carried some weight. Though they had been crushed up and knocked down going into the late-season push, they by no means stop. Michigan’s season was removed from straightforward, however in the long run — though they fell brief — the Wolverines displayed what they’re fabricated from: resilience, battle and an underdog mentality.
Michigan
Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast: Recapping Spartans’ Win Over Washington
No. 16 Michigan State just keeps winning, and it’s doing so against quality Big Ten teams.
The Spartans steamrolled Washington at the Breslin Center on Thursday, besting the visitors, 88-54. They did so in front of a vibrant home crowd on what was the annual Alumni Night.
With the victory, Michigan State improves to 13-2 on the year, 4-0 in Big Ten play and 8-0 on its home court. It is also extended its win streak to eight games.
Our Aidan Champion recaps the win on this postgame edition of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast.
You can watch the episode below:
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo addressed the media after Thursday’s contest.
Below is a partial transcript from Izzo’s opening statement:
Izzo: “Well, when you have a game like that, it’s hard to even know what to say except — that was Matt Larson that said it walking up the steps — I hope every media person, every alum, every student and every fan, appreciates the specialness we have here. The alumni reunions that we have every year are incredible, but for that many former Izzone members to come back over 20 and 30 years was special. Special for me, I think special for my team. And I almost felt sorry for Washington; I mean, they probably thought they were coming in here and there’d be no students. And that group was so good and so fired up; there was no entitlement, none of them left, none of them transferred. They were unbelievable. And I could have stayed there for a half hour after and thanked each and every one of them. But in all the things that happen, please appreciate that this place is different. It’s different. You can say it about places all over — this place is damn different. And I’m just thankful for them, I’m thankful for our marketing people, I’m thankful for our Izzone coach and I’m thankful for all the people that put in the work to get this thing done. I don’t want to make it bigger than the game, but for Tom Izzo, it’s bigger than the game. And when Matt said it to me walking up the steps, I thought it was special.”
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Michigan
Michigan State football lands Division II transfer WR Rodney Bullard from Valdosta State
Jonathan Smith continues to replenish his roster and Michigan State football’s receiver room.
The Spartans picked up a pledge Thursday from wideout Rod Bullard, a transfer from Division II Valdosta State in Georgia. The 6-foot, 170-pound native of Albany, Georgia, has two years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2022 and playing 28 games the past two seasons.
As a sophomore in the fall, Bullard caught 42 passes for 1,001 yards with 12 touchdowns and an average of 23.8 yards per catch. The Blazers lost to Ferris State in the Division II national title game, and Bullard had three catches for 15 yards in the 49-14 loss.
In 2023, he had 43 catches for 566 yards and seven scores and returned 16 kicks for a 24.8-yard average with a 99-yard touchdown return.
Bullard is the 14th transfer and third incoming receiver, joining Chrishon McCray (Kent State) and Omari Kelly (Middle Tennessee State). The Spartans lost wideouts Jaron Glover (Mississippi State), Jaelen Smith (Texas-San Antonio), Aziah Johnson (North Carolina) and Antonio Gates Jr. (undecided) among 13 outbound transfers from their 2024 team that finished 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the third straight season.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
Michigan
Michigan basketball signee enrolls early, will practice with team
A member of the Michigan men’s basketball 2025 recruiting class is already on campus.
Oscar Goodman, a 6-foot-7 forward from New Zealand, is enrolled for the winter semester, which started on Wednesday, a team spokesperson said. Goodman will not appear in games this season but will be allowed to practice and participate in other team activities.
The spokesperson said this was not a typical “reclassification” — when an athlete graduates early and competes in college a season ahead of a typical schedule — but a byproduct of New Zealand’s school calendar.
Goodman will be listed as a freshman on the roster (he wasn’t listed on the online version as of Thursday morning) and a redshirt freshman next season. The rest of the Wolverines returned to campus on Wednesday after a week-long stay in Los Angeles, where they beat USC and UCLA.
“Oscar arrives in Ann Arbor as an accomplished international player and prospect, who was just named to the New Zealand senior national team,” Michigan coach Dusty May said in a statement upon Goodman’s signing in November.
“He comes from a tight-knit family that values everything that we want our program to be about. His training at the NBA (Global) Academy, as well as his eagerness and ability to compete, will allow him to affect our program positively from day one.”
Goodman, from Opunake, is ranked as the No. 75 player in the 2025 class according to the 247Sports composite. He was an all-star at the 2024 FIBA under-17 World Cup after averaging 17 points, 6.3 rebounds, and three assists per game.
Michigan’s 2025 class also includes Orchard Lake St. Mary’s guard Trey McKenney, the No. 1 player in Michigan and No. 19 prospect nationally, and wing Winters Grady (No. 82), an Oregon native currently playing for Prolific Prep in Napa, California. They figure to arrive in Ann Arbor in the summer.
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