Sports
Miami (Ohio) not last team in NCAA field, but treated like it with First Four trip
Miami RedHawks guard Peter Suder (5) reacts to a turnover in the second half of Mid-American Conference Tournament first round game between the Miami RedHawks and the UMass Minutemen at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Thursday, March 12, 2026. Top-seeded Miami was eliminated from the tournament with an 87-82 loss to the Minutemen. According to NCAA Tournament committee chair Keith Gill, Miami (Ohio) was not on the edge of being excluded from the 2026 NCAA Tournament field.
Gill, the Sun Belt Conference commissioner, asserted that the RedHawks received the 34th of 37 at-large invites into the 68-team field.
But when it came time for the committee to create the matchups, the RedHawks might as well have been the last team in. Miami received a No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, but the squad that went 31-0 during the regular season must face fellow No. 11 Midwest seed SMU in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, just to advance to the final 64.
“Miami came into the field before NC State, Texas and SMU,” Gill said on ESPN Sunday night. “So they came in before those schools. And when we put them on the seed line and we scrubbed them against those schools, they ended up falling, so they ended up being kind of the last at-large on our seed list — but they weren’t the last at-large selected into the field.”
Why did the committee treat Miami (31-1) like No. 34 in the selection process, but No. 37 in the seeding process? Gill declared that the committee followed its principles.
“One of the things that’s really important is, we look at the resume metrics and what you’ve accomplished as a way to kind of figure out who gets into the field,” Gill said. “And when you look at Miami’s resume metrics first, they have a historic 28-0 regular season against Division I competition. They have a WAB (Wins Above Bubble) that is 37th (in the nation). They have a Strength of Record (ranking) that’s 28. So they have some really strong kind of resume metrics that show their accomplishments.
“And then they’re obviously a quality team in terms of their offensive kind of work in terms of being second in scoring offense in the nation and also being first in field goal percentage. And so when we look at those things and we put those together, we felt like Miami was certainly one of the 37 best at-large teams.
“I think what happens when we do our scrubbing process, we’re looking a little bit more at the predictive metrics. Their predictive metrics aren’t quite as good — and that’s why they ended up falling against some of those teams on the seed line.”
The Mid-American Conference regular-season champions won 31 consecutive games to start the season before an upset loss in the conference tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. Akron became the three-time defending champions by claiming the MAC title, which cast doubt on whether the NCAA Tournament selection committee would grant the MAC two bids for the first time since 1999.
In the end, VCU wound up being the team that should have felt the most pressure on Sunday. Though the Rams appeared to be a legitimate at-large candidate with a WAB ranking of 40 and a Strength of Record that stood 39th in the nation, they apparently would have fallen short if they had not defeated Dayton in Sunday’s A-10 final.
“With regards to VCU,” Gill told CBS during the Selection Sunday show, “(the Rams) would not have been in the field if they had not won the Atlantic 10 automatic qualifier.”
The RedHawks made the field with a NET rating of 64 over Oklahoma (38) and Auburn (44). Auburn had wins over Florida, St. John’s and Arkansas — all teams that received a five seed or better — but wasn’t one of the 10 SEC teams awarded a bid.
Gill elaborated about the process with ESPN without delving into many specifics.
“I think a lot of times when it comes down to that last team in the field — and, so, this year that was SMU — and so that conversation between them and some of those teams that are outside the tournament is really challenging,” Gill said. “All those teams had good years and some really good things on their resumes. They also had some things that were probably not as good, so when you’re trying to compare those and get to that last team in the tournament, it is tense and you’re just trying to make sure you’re making the best decision.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aliyah Boston helps power Fever to comfortable win vs. Fire
May 20, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Portland Fire forward Bridget Carleton (6) dribbles the ball while Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images In her first game back from a lower leg injury, Aliyah Boston scored 24 points to power the Indiana Fever to a 90-73 win over the visiting Portland Fire on Wednesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Boston shot 8 of 11 from the floor and also collected eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block for the Fever (3-2). Kelsey Mitchell provided a boost too, scoring 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Lexie Hull added 16 points on a perfect shooting night, making 4 of 4 3-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws.
The Fever played without superstar Caitlin Clark, who was ruled out less than two hours before tip-off. Fever coach Stephanie White said before the game that Clark “woke up with some stiffness and some soreness” in her back.
“It’s not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious,” White said. “… She’s healthy. We’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to.”
Bridget Carleton paced Portland (2-3) in the defeat with 16 points and three steals, while Sug Sutton chipped in 14 points and four assists. Carla Leite made her season debut for Portland after being sidelined with an ankle injury, notching six points, one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.
The Fever led nearly wire-to-wire and grew their lead to as much as 26 points following a 12-3 run in the third quarter that was highlighted by Boston swishing a 3-pointer from 27 feet out that Mitchell provided the assist on.
Indiana made 9 of 28 3-pointers while holding Portland to a 3-for-16 clip. The Fever also won the rebounding battle by eight, had 21 assists on 28 made-baskets, and scored 20 points off 14 turnovers by Portland. Seven of those assists came from Fever guard Tyasha Harris, who started in place of Clark.
Fever forward Monique Billings picked up a technical foul in the third quarter for bouncing the ball high — showing some emotion — after making a bucket while getting fouled. That technical could lead to a postgame fine as the WNBA tightens its grip on its discipline policies.
Damiris Dantas did not play for the Fever due to a coach’s decision.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Padres' Jackson Merrill suffers apparent back injury
May 18, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) comes off the field after making a catch on a ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images San Diego Padres centerfielder Jackson Merrill left Wednesday night’s game against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers after four innings with an apparent back injury.
Merrill looked to sustain the injury while leaping to catch Shohei Ohtani’s first-pitch homer to start the game. Merrill was seen stretching his back on multiple occasions during the next three innings.
San Diego manager Craig Stammen and a trainer visited Merrill before the top of the third before permitting him to stay in the game. Bryce Johnson was going to pinch-hit for him in the fourth before Xander Bogaerts flied out to end the inning.
Johnson replaced Merrill defensively before the top of the fifth. At the time of his departure, Los Angeles owned a 2-0 lead.
Merrill fanned in his only at-bat, dropping his average to .203.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Rockies place RHP Victor Vodnik (elbow) on 15-day IL
Apr 16, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Victor Vodnik (38) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Colorado Rockies placed closer Victor Vodnik on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday because of inflammation of the right ulnar nerve, also known as the funny bone.
In a corresponding move, the Rockies selected the contract of right-hander Keegan Thompson from Triple-A Albuquerque. They also designated first baseman Blaine Crim for assignment to clear a spot for Thompson on the 40-man roster.
Vodnik, 26, last pitched on Monday, when he allowed three runs, one hit and two walks on 14 pitches while facing three batters in Colorado’s 7-6 home win over the Texas Rangers.
The right-hander is 1-2 with four saves, an 8.00 ERA, 13 walks and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings over 18 relief appearances (10 games finished).
For his major league career in parts of four seasons with Colorado, Vodnik is 11-9 with 23 saves, a 4.53 ERA, 79 walks and 142 strikeouts in 151 innings over 140 relief appearances. He had career bests of 10 saves and a 3.02 ERA last season.
The Rockies already had starting pitcher Chase Dollander and Ryan Feltner and reliever Jimmy Herget on the IL.
Thompson, 31, pitched in the majors for the Chicago Cubs from 2021-24 and compiled a 17-11 record with five saves, a 3.64 ERA, 111 walks and 225 strikeouts in 227 1/3 innings over 104 games (23 starts).
This season at Albuquerque, Thompson was 1-3 with a 3.34 ERA, 10 walks and 19 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings over 11 games (five starts).
Crim, 28, who had not played in the majors this season, batted .200 with five home runs with 12 RBIs in a combined 20 games with the Texas Rangers and Colorado last season. He batted .265 with seven homers and 35 RBIs in 36 games this year for Albuquerque.
–Field Level Media
Aliyah Boston helps power Fever to comfortable win vs. Fire
Padres' Jackson Merrill suffers apparent back injury
