Albany announced the hiring of Kelly Morrone as the next women’s basketball head coach.

Morrone spent the past six seasons as the head coach at Merrimack, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. She was named 2026 MAAC Coach of the Year after the Warriors finished 19-13 (15-5 MAAC) and was selected to the women’s NIT. Merrimack lost to NJIT in the first round.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to accept the position of head women’s basketball coach at the University at Albany,” she said Saturday in a statement. “I’ve long admired the tradition and pride of the Great Danes, and I am deeply grateful to be entrusted with this important opportunity. It is a privilege to lead a program with such strong institutional support and a clear commitment to excellence.”

Her record at Merrimack was 74-92. During her tenure, Merrimack made the transition from Division II to Division I.

She also won 117 games at John Carroll, a Division III program in University Heights, Ohio.

Morrone played at South Carolina and was a three-year captain, her career ending with a second-round loss in the Women’s NCAA Tournament in 2003. She began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Buffalo (2005-08), followed by stops at Davidson (2008-10), Rhode Island (2010-12) and William & Mary (2012-13) before John Carroll.

At Albany, she replaces Colleen Mullen, who recently accepted the same job at Rhode Island. Mullen led the Great Danes to one NCAA Tournament berth in eight seasons, but before her arrival, Albany was a consistent winner in the America East.

The Great Danes appeared in the NCAA Tournament six consecutive seasons between 2012-17.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Cubs placed right-handed starter Cade Horton on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a right forearm strain.

The move is retroactive to Saturday for Horton, who exited Friday’s start against the host Cleveland Guardians after one-plus inning and 17 pitches.

Horton retired the side in order in the first inning before walking Kyle Manzardo on five pitches to open the second. He left the game with the Cubs’ head trainer. The Guardians went on to win 4-1.

“I had some tightness in my wrist and as the game went on, it went into my forearm,” Horton said on Friday. “I wanted to err on the cautious side and not hurt anything else. I just wanted to be smart about it and make a smart decision.”

Horton lowered his ERA to 2.45 on Friday after he yielded two runs in 6 1/3 innings in the Cubs’ 10-2 win over the Washington Nationals on March 28. It is the 24-year-old’s second season in the major leagues.

He was 11-4 with a 2.67 ERA in his rookie season.

Also on Sunday, the Cubs recalled left-hander Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa and tabbed right-hander Ethan Roberts as the 27th man for Sunday’s doubleheader against the Guardians.

Martin, 28, has yet to pitch in a major league game. He is 24-13 with a 3.76 ERA in 174 career appearances (three starts) in the minors.

–Field Level Media

UConn guard Solo Ball’s availability for Monday’s national championship game against Michigan is in question as he deals with “some type of a foot sprain,” per head coach Dan Hurley.

Hurley told reporters that Ball was in a walking boot and will not practice Sunday, one day after the Huskies’ 71-62 victory over Illinois in the Final Four.

“It’s going to be tough to get an MRI on Easter, on a Sunday,” Hurley said.

Ball contributed 13 points and two assists in 28 minutes during the win over the Fighting Illini. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 12.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 38 games (all starts) this season for UConn, which will vie for its third national title in four years Monday.

If Ball is unable to play, it likely would put more of the onus on freshman guard Braylon Mullins. Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross likely will see additional playing time as well.

–Field Level Media