Sports
Vanderbilt faces No. 12 Texas A&M, eyes NCAA Tournament
Feb 22, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Zhuric Phelps (1) goes to the basket during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Vanderbilt will meet No. 12 Texas A&M for the first time this season when the Commodores travel to College Station, Texas, for a Southeastern Conference game on Wednesday evening.
For the Commodores, a win would be a big step toward an NCAA Tournament bid, something they haven’t attained since 2017. Vanderbilt snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-72 win over then-No. 24 Ole Miss on Saturday and will finish the regular season with two of its three games at home after Wednesday’s contest.
It’s another sign that the Commodores (18-9, 6-8) made a great hire in first-year coach Mark Byington, who joked about tournament talk after Saturday’s win.
“I try to stay away from it, but you cant’ be naive and understand that the message isn’t getting through to the players,” Byington said. “I mean, I’ll walk down the street, I’m going to Starbucks and somebody will yell at me, ‘You’re the last four in (the NCAA Tournament)!'”
The Aggies (20-7, 9-5) lost their second straight game, 77-69 at home to then-No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday. Texas A&M is tough to beat when it shoots well, which it didn’t do when it went just 5 of 30 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range on Saturday.
“We liked all of our shots from behind the arc,” guard Zhuric Phelps said. “We have to knock those down. That’s something to work on (Sunday).”
That, unfortunately, has been a persistent issue for A&M, which ranks 329th nationally in 3-point shooting (30.6 percent).
Wade Taylor IV leads the Aggies in scoring average at 15 points a game, and Phelps (14.4) is the team’s only other double-figure scorer.
The Aggies get many of their points by relentlessly pounding the offensive glass, snagging 41.8 percent of available offensive rebounds, which ranks first in the country, according to kenpom.com.
The Commodores, meanwhile, are somewhat thin in the paint, with the 6-foot-7 Devin McGlockton (team-high 7.9 rebounds per game) and 6-8 Jaylen Carey (5.8) being the two best options. But keeping those two on the floor has been a problem. McGlockton has fouled out of three recent games; Carey has fouled out of two.
The Commodores have more scoring versatility than the Aggies, with Jason Edwards (17.3 ppg), McGlockton (10.9) and AJ Hoggard and Tyler Nickel (9.9 each) leading the way for Vanderbilt.
Edwards has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and has reached at least 20 eight times.
The Aggies have virtually clinched an NCAA Tournament berth regardless of the outcome Wednesday but will look to improve their seeding in that event as well as in the SEC tournament.
The top four seeds will get double byes in the 16-team conference tournament next month. The Aggies sit in a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings with Tennessee and Missouri.
Texas A&M won’t play Tennessee again during the regular season and beat then-No. 15 Missouri 67-64 on Feb. 8 in the only matchup between the teams.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marlins' Class A pitcher fails drug test, suspended 80 games
Sep 11, 2020; Miami, Florida, USA; A general view of a illuminated Miami Marlins logo in center field after the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies split a double header at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images Miami Marlins minor league pitcher Eiver Mosquera has received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.
This season with Class-A Jupiter and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Marlins in 12 games (nine starts), the 19-year-old was 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 16 walks in 38 innings.
Mosquera joined the organization in 2024 as a $150,000 international signing out of Venezuela.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC focusing on Fire, not player's demand, fan reaction
Sep 20, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC midfielder a(7) brings the ball up the pitch against Charlotte FC during the second half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Their leading goal scorer wants out of town and their goalkeeper is public enemy No. 1 after a costly gaffe during the World Cup played a key role in the United States losing to Belgium in the round of 16.
But New York City FC is still relying on Nicolas Fernandez Mercau and Matt Freese for big contributions Saturday night when the Chicago Fire invade Yankee Stadium.
Fernandez Mercau scored his 11th goal on a penalty kick Wednesday night during a 2-1 win at Columbus that got NYCFC (6-6-4, 22 points) to .500. It came one day after reports that the club rejected an $18 million offer for his services, leading to his demand that the team transfer him.
“You see a player that is performing for and with his team with a lot of energy,” head coach Pascal Jansen said of Fernandez Mercau. “That’s what he’s supposed to do.”
Freese, whose whiffed clearing attempt led to a third goal for Belgium in a 4-1 win on July 6, was booed on every touch Wednesday. Despite the jeers, he made three saves in the team’s first fixture after the World Cup break.
Meanwhile, Chicago (8-5-2, 26 points) sits third in the East table despite a 3-2 loss Wednesday night at Inter Miami. The result snapped the Fire’s three-match winning streak.
Chicago opted not to stand pat during the summer transfer window, adding Robert Lewandowski from Barcelona on a two-year deal. The 37-year-old Lewandowski, the captain of Poland’s national team, started at Miami and played 63 minutes.
“After just two days with my new team, I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly in my first game,” Lewandowski said.
Lewandowski’s signing led to the departure of star striker Hugo Cuypers. The Fire sold him to LIGA MX’s Monterrey for a reported $7.5 million after he scored 40 goals in 75 league matches over the past 2 1/2 seasons. Cuypers scored 13 goals in 11 matches this season, tying Dallas’ Petar Musa for the league lead.
NYCFC is 3-0-2 in its last five matches against Chicago.
–Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal acquire Brayan Ceballos from Revs for up to $850K GAM
Mar 15, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Revolution forward Luca Langoni (41) congratulates defender Brayan Ceballos (3) after he scored his second goal during the first half against the FC Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The New England Revolution traded defender Brayan Ceballos to CF Montreal on Friday in exchange for up to $850,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM).
The payments were divided into $500,000 in 2026 GAM, $250,000 in 2027 GAM and up to $100,000 in conditional GAM. The Revs also retained a percentage of Ceballos’ sell-on rights should he be transferred again.
“Brayan is a reliable and versatile defender who can play effectively in a variety of systems, making him an important addition to our roster,” Luca Saputo, Montreal’s managing director for recruitment and sporting methodology, said in a statement. “His strengths will complement those already present in our defensive unit. We are confident that he will contribute to our collective objectives as well as the team’s development.”
Ceballos, 25, came to the Revolution from Brazil’s Fortaleza EC in January 2025. He had three goals in 38 career games (37 starts) for the Revs, with two of those goals coming in one game this season, March 15 against Cincinnati.
“We are grateful to Brayan for all his contributions during his time in New England. We wish him all the best in Montreal,” Revolution general manager Chris Tierney said in a statement. “As we look to continue improving the first team, generating this significant amount of allocation money will allow us to continue investing in the roster in the future.”
–Field Level Media
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