Sports
Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Florida earn NCAA top seeds; Miami (Ohio) gets in
Jan 10, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) talks to head coach Jon Scheyer during the first half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images They were mocked by pundits across the nation, their schedule was scoffed at and when they finally lost, bubble teams saw renewed hope.
But here is how you now refer to this year’s Miami (Ohio) RedHawks: 2026 NCAA Tournament participants.
The RedHawks (31-1) barely skated into the March Madness field as one of the final four teams chosen on Sunday.
But that beats being passed over, and No. 11-seed Miami will face SMU (20-13) in the First Four at Dayton on Wednesday, located just 42 miles away from Miami.
“It’s surreal,” RedHawks coach Travis Steele said. “We put a lot into this. I’m happy they’re getting the reward for all of the work they’ve put in.”
Miami had some nervous moments in recent days after losing to UMass in its opening game of the Mid-American Conference tournament. 12-seeded Akron ended up winning the MAC’s automatic berth.
Selection committee chairman Keith Gill said Miami made the field ahead of three teams, all power-conference schools. He said SMU was the last team chosen and that the RedHawks were definitely one of the top 37 at-large teams in the country.
“Miami (Ohio) was not the last team selected into the field,” said Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference. “They came in before NC State, Texas and SMU.”
Factors that the RedHawks overcame included zero Quad 1 opponents and a dismal nonconference strength of schedule of 363.
The other First Four matchup on an 11-seed line is North Carolina State (20-13) against Texas (18-14).
Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida were selected as the four No. 1 seeds by the selection committee.
The Southeastern Conference has 10 teams make the field. The Big Ten has nine followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big 12 with eight apiece.
Duke (32-2) is the No. 1 seed in the East. UConn (29-5) is the No. 2, followed by Michigan State (25-7) and Kansas (23-10).
The Blue Devils will take aim at reaching the Final Four for the second straight year. Duke meets No. 16 Siena (23-11) in the first round on Thursday at Greenville, S.C.
Arizona (32-2) was placed in the West as the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats look to overcome a long drought as they haven’t reached the Final Four since losing the national title game in 2001. Their last national championship was four years earlier.
Arizona opens with No. 16 seed Long Island (24-10) on Friday in San Diego.
Purdue (27-8) is the No. 2 seed, Gonzaga (30-3) is No. 3 and Arkansas (26-8) is No. 4.
Michigan (31-3) landed the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Iowa State (27-7) is No. 2, Virginia (29-5) landed the No. 3 spot and Alabama (23-9) is No. 4.
The Wolverines will play the winner of the First Four matchup between UMBC and Howard. This is the first appearance for the Retrievers since the famous 16 vs. 1 victory over Virginia in 2018.
Santa Clara (26-8) drew the No. 10 seed in the Midwest to make the March Madness field for the first time since 1996 when the Broncos were in for the third time in four seasons to end the Steve Nash era.
Defending champion Florida (26-7) earned the top seed in the South and will face either Lehigh or Prairie View A&M in the first round.
Houston (28-6), which lost to the Gators in last season’s final, is also in the South as the No. 2 team. Illinois (24-8) is No. 3 and Nebraska (26-6) is No. 4. The Cornhuskers are 0-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play and lost in the first round to Texas A&M in 2024 in their most recent appearance.
The first four out were Oklahoma (19-15), Auburn (17-16), San Diego State (22-11) and Indiana (18-14). Former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl — whose son Steven now coaches the team — had been banging the drum the loudest for the Tigers to be in at Miami’s expense.
Pearl, serving as a CBS studio analyst, said Oklahoma or Auburn should have been in the tournament instead of SMU.
The NCAA Tournament appearance is the first for the RedHawks since 2007. Miami’s best NCAA experience came when program icon Wally Szczerbiak led the RedHawks to the Sweet 16 in 1999.
Miami was in the spotlight for the first time since that run with this season’s stunning success that included an unbeaten regular season.
“As the year went on, it got louder, louder and louder,” Steele said of the noise prompted by the unbeaten streak. “Everywhere we went was the Super Bowl, sellouts, free tickets, free beer, whatever. Our guys handled it real well. We had fun on the journey.
“It probably is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we had this year.”
No. 11 seed VCU (27-7) won the Atlantic 10 tournament to get into the field. Though the Rams have won 16 of their last 17 games, Gill said they would have missed the cut if they had lost to Dayton in Sunday’s conference title game.
VCU faces No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) in a South matchup Thursday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton no longer coach at Virginia
Feb 22, 2026; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton calls out instructions during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images Virginia parted ways with Amaka Agugua-Hamilton as its head women’s basketball coach after four seasons.
The university announced the news Saturday about Agugua-Hamilton, who helped the Cavaliers become the initial First Four team to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Georgia 82-73 in overtime in the first round, then upsetting second-seeded Iowa 83-75 in double overtime in the second round.
Virginia’s season came to an end after dropping a 79-69 decision to third-seeded TCU on March 28.
The Cavaliers, who finished 20-12 this season, posted a 70-58 record with a 29-42 mark in ACC play under Agugua-Hamilton.
The university issued a brief statement on Saturday, saying only that she will not return to the role and that a national search will begin immediately.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kelly Morrone named women's basketball coach at Albany
Dec 10, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Merrimack Warriors head coach Kelly Morrone at the end of the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images 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
Sports
Cubs place RHP Cade Horton (forearm) on 15-day IL
Mar 28, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Cade Horton (22) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images 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
Amaka Agugua-Hamilton no longer coach at Virginia
Kelly Morrone named women's basketball coach at Albany
