Sports
UConn turns to veteran Alex Karaban, downs UCLA to reach Sweet 16
Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts against the UCLA Bruins in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Alex Karaban has seen his role evolve across 147 games at UConn, from a supporting role as a freshman to a key shooter and connector on offense and, now, the senior leader.
On Sunday, the Huskies asked him for something different. With others struggling and their season on the line, they needed Karaban to carry their offense.
Karaban responded with a career-high 27 points, freshman Braylon Mullins added 17 and No. 2 seed UConn took down No. 7 seed UCLA 73-57 to return to the Sweet 16.
UConn (31-5) will face No. 3 Michigan State in the East Region semifinals. The program is shooting for a third national title to cap Karaban’s four-year career, after eventual champion Florida eliminated the Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Two nights after racking up 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, Tarris Reed Jr. had 10 points and 13 boards but shot just 3 of 8 from the field. Jayden Ross had 11 points, but Solo Ball was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and Silas Demary Jr. scored two on a pair of free throws.
Xavier Booker had 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half to fuel UCLA (24-12), but he was held in check after that and finished with 13. Eric Dailey Jr. put up 12, Donovan Dent added 11 with nine assists and Skyy Clark also scored 11.
It was the second matchup of the blue bloods all-time after the Bruins defeated UConn in the 1995 NCAA Tournament on the way to their most recent national championship.
UCLA led by six early on until the Huskies hit seven shots in a row, anchored by a pair of 3-pointers from Ross that gave them their first lead at 23-21.
Eric Reibe threw down a two-handed dunk with 3:38 remaining, and Mullins knocked down two triples in the final 2:49 to give UConn a 38-33 halftime edge.
But it barely lasted. UCLA scored the first six points of the second half, and Clark’s triple put UCLA ahead 42-40.
Karaban dug in and converted two layups. His third-chance tip-in put UConn back up 46-44 with 13:49 to go.
He added one trey from the left wing and sidestepped a defender closing in to hit another, capping a 14-0 run for the first double-digit lead of the night at 56-44.
Dailey briefly brought UCLA within four on a 3-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play, but a 9-0 UConn run restored the double-figure advantage. The Bruins shot 33.3% in the second half and 38.8% overall to UConn’s 46.9%.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
Sports
Phillies place RHP Aaron Nola on paternity list, option OF Otto Kemp
May 26, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Phillies placed right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola on the paternity list in a series of Friday moves ahead of their road series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In a corresponding move, the Phillies recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Philadelphia also optioned utility player Otto Kemp to Triple A and replaced him with outfielder Steward Berroa.
Nola, 32, is second in franchise history in strikeouts (3,031) and fourth in starts (296). This season, though, he’s 3-4 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts. He wasn’t scheduled to start this weekend after last pitching in Tuesday’s 4-3 win at San Diego, allowing two runs on three hits over six innings.
Hoffman, 28, has made two appearances for the Phillies this season, allowing one run on five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He made his major league debut last season for Philadelphia, making a single appearance on Aug. 18.
Kemp, 26, is hitting .080 in 25 at-bats across 13 games this season. He’s a career .216 hitter with eight homers and 28 RBIs, all of which came in 2025 when he debuted.
Berroa, 26, was acquired April 8 in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s hitting .250 in 38 games with Lehigh Valley this season and is a career .167 hitter at the major league level in 30 games with the Toronto Blue Jays (2024) and Brewers (2025).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hailey Baptiste on injury: 'Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare'
May 24, 2026; Paris, France; Hailey Baptiste of the United States returns a shot in her first round match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic on day one at Stade Roland Garros. Rising American Hailey Baptiste confirmed her season is over on Friday, two days after sustaining major leg injuries during the second round of the French Open.
“Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” Baptiste said on Instagram. “In my head, all I can think is why, why, and why. Why me? Why now? And why like this?”
According to her agent, Baptiste sustained ACL and meniscus injuries and will require surgery.
Baptiste, ranked No. 26 in the world, was injured during a match against China’s Wang Xiyu when she landed awkwardly after hitting a forehand shot. She grabbed for her left knee, writhed in pain on the court and was eventually taken off the court on a wheelchair.
“It’s hard to see any purpose in something like this right now, but in my heart, I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Baptiste wrote. “It’s been a long and heavy couple of days filled with bad news, uncontrollable tears, and a million thoughts running through my head.
“This new, but somewhat familiar, challenge faces me with what will probably be one of the hardest chapters of my life, and I’m beyond ready to show how strong I really am.”
Baptiste, 24, finishes 2026 with an 18-13 record. Just last month, she notched the biggest win of her career by upsetting World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Open. She lost to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the semis.
Baptiste also reached the semifinals at Abu Dhabi in February before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. She advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals in March before losing to Sabalenka.
Baptiste was slated to play doubles with Venus Williams at Roland Garros but the pair withdrew Thursday, one day after Baptiste’s devastating injury.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football while with team
Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby talks to coaches during the spring football game, Friday, April 17, 2026, at Jones AT&T Stadium. Brendan Sorsby placed at least 40 bets on Indiana football during his two seasons with the program, ESPN reported Friday, citing court documents filed by the quarterback’s legal team as part of his request for a temporary injunction against the NCAA to maintain his college eligibility.
The court documents also revealed that Sorsby wagered about $90,000 over a four-year period using sportsbook accounts registered to a family member and friends, and that his gambling continued after transferring from Cincinnati to Texas Tech this winter, per ESPN.
Sorsby had been declared ineligible after investigations found he’d made thousands of dollars of bets on a variety of sports via gambling apps, violating NCAA policy. The current policy prevents student-athletes from placing bets on any NCAA-sanctioned or professional sports. Players can receive permanent bans for betting on their own teams.
The NCAA denied Sorsby’s request for reinstatement on Tuesday, making his lawsuit seeking an injunction for his 2026 season eligibility all the more critical. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday in district court in Lubbock, Texas.
The most recent documents filed revealed that Sorsby acknowledged he made at least 2,900 bets totaling more than $30,000 while enrolled at Indiana from June 2022 to December 2023. This included at least 40 bets ranging from $1 to $114 on Indiana football and/or individual players, per ESPN. The bets totaled at least $850 in September and October of 2022, while he was redshirting.
Sorsby made his debut for Indiana against Penn State on Nov. 5, 2022, with the betting reportedly coming to an end two weeks prior.
Sorsby said in a letter to the NCAA that he never bet in a game he played in, nor ever bet against his team.
On Tuesday, Sorsby said in a social media post that he’d recently completed a 35-day, in-patient rehab stay in Arizona to treat “a diagnosed gambling addiction and anxiety disorder.”
“While I accept responsibility for my behavior and know that I have a lot of work ahead of me, for the first time in many years I feel more free and no longer fully at the mercy of my addiction,” Sorsby wrote in part.
“With the support of my coaches, teammates and the university, I’m looking forward to returning to campus in Lubbock. If I’m blessed and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to continue my college career at Texas Tech, I know I will get the support I need, including through the school’s Center for Students in Addiction Recovery. I am deeply sorry to everyone I’ve disappointed and am committed to the hard and necessary work ahead.”
Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech from Cincinnati this offseason and was the Red Raiders’ projected starter for 2026. ESPN ranked Sorsby the No. 1 overall transfer in this year’s class.
Texas Tech on Friday appealed the NCAA’s denial for reinstatement, and members of the university including coach Joey McGuire and president Lawrence Schovanec continued to voice support for the quarterback amid the news of his addiction.
Sorsby’s suit took aim at what he called the NCAA’s “deeply hypocritical” stances on sports betting, and Schovanec wrote an open letter to the campus community Tuesday saying the NCAA’s ruling “should be reversed or modified” given the facts and “context” of Sorsby’s case.
“As a generation of college athletes face the legalization and rapid proliferation of sports betting in our country, gambling addiction is rising to the point of epidemic among college aged men in particular,” Schovanec wrote. “The NCAA’s stated mission includes ‘fostering (student-athletes’) lifelong well-being,’ and they have claimed their goal is to promote a ‘culture of care’ for student athletes’ mental health. Gambling addiction is a clinically recognized behavioral disorder.”
–Field Level Media
