For the second time in two games, the Los Angeles Lakers played Monday with stars Luka Dončić and LeBron James following a seven-game absence by James.
For the second time in those two games, the Lakers lost.
The Orlando Magic opened a 100-83 fourth-quarter lead, then held on for a 118-106 win. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak at home for the Magic, who hadn’t previously won at the Kia Center since Feb. 23.
Dončić and James each scored 24-plus points. But it wasn’t enough to stop a slump that’s now seen the Lakers lose seven of their last 10 games. The loss drops the Lakers to 43-28, which at the conclusion of Monday’s game dropped them into a fourth-place tie in the West with the Memphis Grizzlies, a half-game behind the third-place Denver Nuggets.
The race for the No. 2 seed in the West remains tight with the Nuggets, Lakers and Grizzlies all within 2.5 games of the second-place Houston Rockets. The Oklahoma City Thunder are in control of the No. 1 seed with a 13.5-game lead over Houston.
Monday’s loss to Orlando follows a 146-115 loss to the now 31-40 Chicago Bulls in James’ first game back from a groin injury. With Dončić and James back together, the Lakers had hoped to finish strong down the stretch in the race for the No. 2 seed. Instead, they remain mired in a mini-slump with consecutive losses to teams with losing records.
Dončić led the Lakers with 32 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists while hitting 4 of 10 3-pointers. But he struggled from the field on a 9-of-23 shooting night.
James posted 24 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds while shooting 9 of 18 from the field. Austin Reaves (18 points, six rebounds, four assists) and Dorrian Finney-Smith (14 points, seven rebounds) joined the star duo in double figures for the Lakers.
But the Lakers had no answer for Orlando’s duo of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. Wagner, who scored 37 against the Lakers in a November win in Los Angeles, torched the Lakers again with 32 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Banchero added 30 points and seven rebounds to help lead the season sweep of the Lakers.
The Lakers will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday against the Pacers on the second leg of a four-game road trip.
The Mavericks have 11 games remaining on their regular-season schedule and are battling the Phoenix Suns for the 10th seed in the Western Conference, which would get them in the play-in tournament. Dallas is tied with Phoenix at 34-37, but the Suns would win a tiebreaker with a 3-1 record versus the Mavs in their regular-season matchups.
Davis is one of three big men currently out with injuries, but appears to be ready to return ahead of Dereck Lively II (fractured foot) and Daniel Gafford (sprained knee). Lively and Gafford have participated in three-on-three activities.
Davis has averaged 25.7 points, 12 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks this season, but has been limited to 43 games. (Meanwhile, Dončić is scoring 26.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.9 steals for the Lakers, fueling Mavericks fans’ anger over the controversial trade.)
Rejoice, baseball fans, because the MLB regular season started earlier than ever in 2025. Tuesday marked the start of the Tokyo Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
With the Cubs’ and Dodgers’ 2025 seasons already underway, when does the rest of the league start playing regular-season games? Here’s everything you need to know about MLB Opening Day 2025.
When is MLB Opening Day 2025?
For the Cubs and Dodgers, Opening Day was technically Tuesday, March 18, in Tokyo. They will play another regular-season game Wednesday before flying back to the United States to finish spring training.
For 26 other MLB teams, Opening Day will take place Thursday, March 27, with 14 games scheduled that day. The Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees will get things started at 3:05 p.m. ET, and the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays will get underway two minutes later. The final two games of the day — the Cubs vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Athletics vs. the Seattle Mariners — will begin at 10:10 p.m. ET. Despite playing regular-season games on March 18 and 19, both the Cubs and Dodgers will play on March 27.
The Colorado Rockies and the Tampa Bay Rays are the only two teams that won’t play a regular-season game by the 27th. Those teams will open the season the following day, on Friday, March 28. The Rays and Rockies were initially set to begin play March 27, but the game was moved back a day after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field in October.
In fact, Tropicana Field will not be ready for the start of the season, forcing the Rays to play their home games this year at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, where the Yankees play their spring training games. The Rays pushed back their first regular-season game so stadium workers would have an additional day to transition the ballpark from Yankees to Rays.
What is the MLB Tokyo Series?
To kick off the 2025 MLB regular season, the league opted to play two games between the Cubs and Dodgers in Tokyo a week before domestic Opening Day. Both teams boast Japanese stars, including Ohtani, Yamamoto and Wednesday’s starter, Roki Sasaki, for the Dodgers, as well as Seiya Suzuki and Tuesday’s starter, Shota Imanaga, for the Cubs.
This is the second straight season in which the league has played its first regular-season game overseas. The Dodgers and the San Diego Padres opened the 2024 MLB season with a two-game series in Korea while the rest of the league was still in the midst of spring training.
Every time Shohei Ohtani stepped up to the plate today, the fans at the Tokyo Dome went silent.
As noted, the Brewers and Yankees kick things off on March 27 at 3:05 p.m. ET on ESPN. ESPN will also broadcast the Detroit Tigers vs. Dodgers contest, which starts at 7:10 p.m. ET. Those are the only two games that will be nationally broadcast that day.
Full schedule of March 27 games (all times Eastern):
3:05 p.m. – Milwaukee Brewers at New York Yankees
3:07 p.m. – Baltimore Orioles at Toronto Blue Jays
4:05 p.m. – Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox
4:05 p.m. – Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals
4:10 p.m. – Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals
4:10 p.m. – New York Mets at Houston Astros
4:10 p.m. – San Francisco Giants at Cincinnati Reds
4:10 p.m. – Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres
4:10 p.m. – Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
4:10 p.m. – Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins
4:15 p.m. – Minnesota Twins at St. Louis Cardinals
7:10 p.m. – Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers
10:10 p.m. – Chicago Cubs at Arizona Diamondbacks
10:10 p.m. – Athletics at Seattle Mariners
On March 28, the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays will play their first regular-season game at 4:10 p.m. ET.
MLB Opening Day 2025 starting pitchers
With the regular season quickly approaching, a number of teams have already announced who will be on the mound for Opening Day. The Dodgers called on Yamamoto to start Game 1 of the Tokyo Series, and he opposed Imanaga in the contest.
The following pitchers will get the ball for their teams on domestic Opening Day:
Freddy Peralta (MIL) vs. Carlos Rodón (NYY)
Zach Eflin (BAL) vs. José Berríos (TOR)
Garrett Crochet (BOS) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (TEX)
Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs. MacKenzie Gore (WAS)
Tanner Bibee (CLE) vs. Cole Ragans (KCR)
Clay Holmes (NYM) vs. Framber Valdez (HOU)
Logan Webb (SFG) vs. Hunter Greene (CIN)
Chris Sale (ATL) vs. Michael King (SDP)
Yusei Kikuchi (LAA) vs. Sean Burke (CWS)
Paul Skenes (PIT) vs. Sandy Alcantara (MIA)
Pablo López (MIN) vs. Sonny Gray (STL)
Tarik Skubal (DET) vs. Blake Snell (LAD)
Justin Steele (CHC) vs. Zac Gallen (ARI)
Luis Severino (ATH) vs. Logan Gilbert (SEA)
Kyle Freeland (COL) vs. Ryan Pepiot (TBR)*
*-Game on March 28
With every Opening Day starter finally announced, fans can expect all the action to continue March 27.
The New York Yankees’ Opening Day roster has lost another starting pitcher.
General manager Brian Cashman confirmed to reporters Saturday that Clarke Schmidt will begin the season on the injured list due to a shoulder issue, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post, making him the third member of the rotation to go down due to injury.
Reliever Ian Hamilton will also begin the season on the injured list.
Fortunately, Schmidt’s injury appears to be relatively minor. He threw a bullpen session earlier this week and reported no issues; it could just be that the team has decided he won’t be ready in time for the start of the season. Still, no Schmidt means the Yankees are already digging deep into their depth chart.
At the start of March, the Yankees’ rotation was slated to look like one of the best in MLB, with a unit consisting of:
Schmidt missed a large chunk of the season last year due to a lat strain but still enjoyed a career season, with a 2.85 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.
The Yankees are expected to be legitimate World Series contenders, but losing Gil and Cole hurt their odds at BetMGM. Vegas still gives them the best chance of any team in the AL to win the Commissioner’s Trophy at +900, but the team isn’t on what you would call a good trend right now.
The Los Angeles Dodgers remain easily the MLB favorites, with +240 odds after beating the Yankees in the Fall Classic last season and enjoying arguably the best offseason of any MLB team.
The Yankees are scheduled to open their season at home Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Six days and counting until league-wide Opening Day on March 27. With that, the race begins in what just might be the sport’s most competitive division in 2025.
We’ve already previewed the teams in the other five MLB divisions. Let’s conclude by breaking down the seasons ahead for the five squads in the American League West.
Projected record (per FanGraphs, as of March 21): 84-78, 54% odds to make the playoffs, 29.6% odds to win the division
What happened last year? It was an odd, up-and-down year in Houston. Despite a horrendous start to the season, the Astros were still able to chase down the Seattle Mariners to take the AL West crown for the seventh time in the past eight seasons. But for the first time since 2017, Houston failed to reach the ALCS, instead getting bounced in the wild-card round by the red-hot Detroit Tigers.
Best-case scenario: The major changes in Houston’s lineup are in the rearview, as an Astros offense led by José Altuve and Yordan Alvarez finds new life. Top prospect Cam Smith, acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade, makes an instant impact in the big leagues, and the lineup keeps churning with help from free-agent acquisition Christian Walker. Meanwhile, the rotation really takes a step up after going through a growth phase last season. Another year of experience for youngsters Spencer Arrighetti, Hunter Brown and Ronel Blanco, alongside ace Framber Valdez, proves to be the secret to once again making Houston a threat in October.
Worst-case scenario: The losses of Tucker and Alex Bregman loom large over the Astros, as their offense struggles to supplement those departures. Alvarez is once again unable to carry the offense by himself and finds himself back on the IL. The experiment with Altuve playing left field goes horribly wrong, as the career second baseman struggles to track down baseballs and takes adventurous routes that put himself and the team’s center fielder in danger. But the worst news is that the Astros’ long streak of reaching the postseason comes to an end, and Houston is left wondering if this team’s window of contention has officially closed.
Make-or-break player: Yordan Álvarez. It feels like we’ve been waiting for a while now for Alvarez to have the season in which he transforms himself into David Ortiz. While that’s a tall task, he has been one of baseball’s best hitters since he debuted in 2019, and he played in a career-high 147 games last season. And now more than ever, without the likes of Tucker and Bregman in the lineup, the Astros need Alvarez to carry them offensively. He’ll still have Altuve hitting in front of him and Walker hitting behind him, but this lineup needs his bat to be special and the dominant force we’ve come to expect.
Season prediction: There have been lots of changes in Houston over the past four years, with many monster names no longer present in the lineup. The departures of Bregman and Tucker are not insignificant, and when it’s all said and done, the void they left behind will be apparent. That said, it’s not like Houston has spiraled when pivoting before; there’s a reason they made it to the ALCS even after George Springer and Carlos Correa left in free agency. This team knows how to win, and even in a division that is tougher than it used to be, Houston will find a way to reach the postseason.
Seattle Mariners
Projected record: 85-77, 57.4% odds to make the playoffs, 33.4% odds to win the division
What happened last year? It was a year to forget in Seattle, as the team’s offense sputtered, led by a disappointing season from star Julio Rodriguez. The Mariners were one of the worst offenses in baseball history in terms of strikeouts and strikeout rate. Despite having ultra-elite starting pitching in Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, Seattle failed to reach the postseason, which led to the firing of bench coach/offensive coordinator Brant Brown and longtime manager Scott Servais.
Best-case scenario: Rodriguez looks like the superstar talent that he showed in his first two seasons and puts himself in the conversation for AL MVP. He gets help from the rest of Seattle’s lineup, as power-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh and last year’s deadline addition Randy Arozarena provide additional punch to help make Seattle one of the more explosive offenses in the sport. But the thing that puts the Mariners over the top is their starting rotation, which continues to be baseball’s best, not only allowing Seattle to hoist the AL West crown for the first time since 2001 but also powering a run to the ALCS.
Worst-case scenario: After a season in which they struggled mightily, Seattle’s offense continues to sputter, and with nobody left to fire, the blame falls at the feet of the offense, which has remained unchanged for the better part of the past three seasons. Rodriguez continues his history of first-half struggles and is unable to turn it on late in the season. Raleigh, Arozarena and the rest of Seattle’s lineup fall into the same rut they were stuck in last year. And after a season of good health in the rotation, the Mariners’ arms are unable to replicate last season’s success, and Seattle’s strength and depth are challenged as they miss the postseason again.
Make-or-break player: Julio Rodriguez. There are few players more important to their team’s success than J-Rod. He has so many tools and has shown that he has the ability to be an MVP-caliber player. But the two-time All-Star still needs to find some consistency, specifically getting off to fast starts to the season. J-Rod has a career .740 OPS in the first half and a .903 OPS in the second half. Rodriguez is too good to not return to All-Star form soon. If he can get some of that second-half juice going in April, it’ll be huge for this team’s chances in 2025.
Season prediction: Seattle is a team with many possible outcomes for this season. Do they hit? Do they not? Do they pitch well? Do their pitchers get hurt? With the Mariners, it’s best to evaluate what we know for sure. Their pitching is the best in baseball, and their offense didn’t change from last season to this one, except for the addition of Donovan Solano. So the hope here is for a big bounce-back from the offense with the rotation continuing to be one of baseball’s best. That’s a lot to ask, but Seattle will likely make the wild-card race interesting again in 2025.
Can Julio Rodriguez lead the Mariners back to the playoffs in 2025? (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports)
Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports
Texas Rangers
Projected record: 84-78, 52.6% odds to make the playoffs, 28.9% odds to win the division
What happened last year? After winning it all in 2023, the Rangers struggled to stay healthy in 2024 and missed the postseason after a brutal World Series hangover. The biggest cause of Texas’ challenges was their inability to stay healthy. Much of their lineup had at least one stint on the injured list, and their starting pitching was also depleted by injuries.
Best-case scenario: The Rangers turn the page on their disappointing 2024 season and look more like the team that hoisted the World Series trophy in ‘23. The offense carries Texas to the AL West title, and what’s more, theirs is the best offense in baseball, as Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Adolis García and new additions Jake Burger and Joc Pederson find their groove again. Youngsters Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford stay healthy and add another dynamic to an explosive lineup. The Rangers not only reach the playoffs, but also, with a rejuvenated Jacob deGrom at the front of the rotation, Texas gets back to the World Series, with a shot to be champion for the second time in three seasons.
Worst-case scenario: Injuries go through the Rangers’ roster like a hot bowl of Texas chili, as their lineup is unable to make it through the 162-game season. Carter’s balky back continues to plague him, Seager has another bout of hamstring issues, and the biggest question of all, deGrom is still unable to complete a season in the team’s rotation. The injuries cost Texas big-time, as they once again are a nonfactor in a weaker AL West, and they miss the postseason for the second consecutive season.
Make-or-break player: Jacob deGrom. The Rangers have offense and plenty of it, but the biggest question for Texas’ 2025 season lies within their rotation, specifically with the health of two-time Cy Young Jacob deGrom. Since signing a five-year, $185 million deal with Texas, deGrom has made just nine starts after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery during his first year with the club and returning last September to make three starts. Health has been a question throughout deGrom’s career, but when healthy, he has been historically good. It’s unfair to expect sub-2.00 ERA deGrom to return this year, but if he can stay in the mid-3s and make 25 starts, the Rangers would take that any day of the week — especially if it means he’s pitching in October.
Season prediction: In a weaker season for the division as a whole, 2025 represents a good chance for the Rangers to get back to the top of the AL West. Not only that, but their lineup as currently assembled should be a top-five offense in the American League, with a good chance to be one of the best in MLB. Their season, maybe even more than other teams’, will rely on good health. Barring major injuries, the Rangers should be the favorites in the West this season, with a real chance to do damage in October.
Athletics
Projected record: 76-86, 13.0% odds to make the playoffs, 4.4% odds to win the division
What happened last year? 2024 was a big season of growth and development for the A’s. In their final season in Oakland, this team showed signs that the years of on-field lows had started to come to an end. Slugger Brent Rooker turned himself into a star, and the lineup took a big step forward, as Lawrence Butler, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers each played a part in the A’s having one of baseball’s best offenses in the second half.
Best-case scenario: The A’s do exactly what they showed in the second half of 2024, proving they’re ready to take a step forward and start winning. In a lineup built on power, Rooker, Butler, Bleday and Langeliers lead the A’s to a top-five finish in MLB in home runs. Rookie shortstop and 2023 first-round pick Jacob Wilson puts on an AL Rookie of the Year performance. The team’s revamped starting rotation, led by free-agent addition Luis Severino, gives the offense plenty of support as the A’s shock the American League and win the division for the first time in a full season since 2013.
Worst-case scenario: The glimmer of hope from 2024 proves to be fool’s gold, as the A’s young stars sputter to find their footing under the weight of higher expectations. The team’s starting pitching is unable to find productive innings beyond Severino. The A’s not only fail to build on their strong finish from last year but also are left wondering if they have a core for the future.
Make-or-break player: Lawrence Butler. It wasn’t all roses and rainbows for Butler last season. In fact, there were some serious struggles that led to him being sent to Triple-A. But after he returned, he had a new way about him, and with 20 homers in his final 79 games, he showed the type of player he can be. The A’s believed in Butler enough to give him a seven-year, $65.5 million extension this spring, and his ceiling in this organization is extremely high. If he hits, we could be talking about one of the most dynamic names in the American League at the top of the A’s lineup for the next seven years.
Season prediction: This feels like an A’s team on a mission — a mission to show people that they aren’t just a bunch of developing kids and that they can really make noise in the AL West. What’s more, they have the benefit of having one of the better managers in the AL in Mark Kotsay. In a division that looks very winnable for the first time in seven seasons, the A’s might not finish on top, but they’ll be in the midst of the wild-card chase all season.
Los Angeles Angels
Projected record: 76-86, 10.6% odds to make the playoffs, 3.7% odds to win the division
What happened last year? All you really need to know is that Mike Trout got hurt. Again. And the Angels wilted out of contention before the All-Star break. Again.
Best-case scenario: Trout finds the fountain of youth and turns back the clock to his days of being the world’s best player. He stays healthy for a full season for the first time since before the pandemic. His presence reenergizes the team, helping keep the Angels competitive for the duration of the season and playing games that matter in the second half — something that hasn’t happened in a while.
Worst-case scenario: Another season like the Angels have had the past four years, with Trout again failing to play in 120 games. That’s the worst case not only because of Trout’s importance to the Angels’ lineup but also from the psychological standpoint of the organization and player himself. At some point, you wonder how much a guy can take when it comes to his body failing him. For this year, another lengthy stint on the injured list for Trout would see the Angels’ season drift into the sunset.
Make-or-break player: Mike Trout. Trout is everything for the Angels. End of sentence. There is no way they can compete, win or even be in a relevant baseball conversation without the future Hall of Famer in the lineup every day. Yes, his body has failed him over the past five seasons, but if there’s any hope for him to stay healthy, it’s the idea that his move to right field will help save his body some additional wear and tear. Trout can still be an impact player, and when healthy, he’s still one of the best in the world.
Season prediction: The Angels were surprisingly active this winter, and though they didn’t make any earth-shattering moves, they did improve marginally. It’s tough to envision a world in which the Angels are in contention for the postseason, both because they don’t have enough from a talent perspective and because the rest of the American League is stronger. Their goal should be relevance and a healthy campaign from Trout.
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.
Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the 12th of 12 players who wore the No. 8 jersey for the Warriors.
That player would be Golden State guard alum De’Anthony Melton. After ending his college career at USC, Melton was picked up with the 46th overall selection of the 2018 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets.
The North Hollywood, California native would play the first season of his pro career with the Phoenix Suns instead, however, after being dealt there a few weeks after the draft. He would also have stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers before he signed with the Dubs in 2024.
His stay with the team would span just 6 games before he’d be dealt again — this time to the Brooklyn Nets — that same season. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Melton wore only jersey No. 8 and put up 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (and the Seattle Supersonics before them) have 51 jersey numbers worn by the players who have suited up for the franchise since its founding at the start of the 1967-68 season. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Thunder Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And while those Supersonics jerseys may not remain part of the franchise history should a new team be established in Seattle as was the case with the return of the Charlotte Hornets, they are part of the Thunder’s history today.
For this article, we continue with the 24th jersey number in the series, jersey No. 22, with 20 players in total having donned the jersey in the history of the franchise.
The fifth of those players did so in the Seattle SuperSonics era, forward alum Bill Hanzlik. After ending his college career at Notre Dame, Hanzlik was picked up with the 20th overall selection of the 1980 NBA draft by the SuperSonics.
The Middletown, Ohio native would play the first 2 seasons of his pro career with Seattle, ending when he was dealt to the Denver Nuggets in 1982.
During his time suiting up for the Sonics, Hanzlik wore only jersey No. 22 and put up 5.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 13th of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 11 which has has had a total of 19 players wear the number in the history of the team.
The first of those players wearing No. 11 played in the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, big man alum Yinka Dare. After ending his college career at George Washington, Dare was picked up with the 14th overall selection of the 1994 NBA draft by the Nets.
The Kano, Nigeria native spent all 4 seasons in the league with New Jersey, moving on to other domestic leagues afterward.
During his time suiting up for the Nets, Dare wore only jersey Nos. 11 and 33 and put up 2.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
The New England Patriots are reportedly expected to host University of Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson for a top-30 visit.
This was reported by The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler on Monday.
Sampson was one of the most explosive running backs in college football last season. He rushed for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Volunteers. He was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, along with earning First-Team All-SEC and Second-Team All-American honors.
He recorded 2,492 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns in three seasons at Knoxville.
The New England Patriots are expected to host Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson for a 30 visit, source said.
One of the premier backs in the class rushed for 1,491 yards & 22 TDs this fall for the Volunteers and recently ran 4.48 at his pro day.
Rhamondre Stevenson is still expected to be the top running back option for the Patriots, but the team could still look to fill out the depth behind him.
This is a deep draft class at the running back position, and an electric playmaker like Sampson could fit in nicely with the unit.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas hired Xavier’s Sean Miller to take over the Longhorns basketball program on Monday, turning to the coach who had just knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament a few days earlier in an attempt to spark a program that struggled in its first season in the Southeastern Conference.
The announcement comes a day after Texas fired Rodney Terry, and less than a week after Miller and Xavier knocked the Longhorns out of March Madness in a First Four game. Xavier was beaten in the next round by Illinois.
Texas planned an introductory news conference with Miller on Tuesday. Contract terms were not immediately disclosed.
For the 56-year-old Miller, it’s the second time he is leaving Xavier, a Catholic school in Cincinnati that plays in the Big East, for a bigger program.
He coached the Musketeers from 2004-09 before leaving for Arizona. He then returned to Xavier in 2022 after he was fired.
Miller inherits a Texas program looking to find its footing in the SEC, college basketball’s dominant league this season. Texas finished 14th in the 16-team conference and barely scraped its way into the NCAA Tournament before its early exit.
Texas gets a coach with a history of success at mid-major and power conference programs, who also was implicated and later cleared in an NCAA investigation into Arizona.
Miller went 120-47 in his first stint at Xavier, leading the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament his final four seasons before being hired at Arizona. He won 302 games and five Pac-12 regular-season titles in 12 years with the Wildcats, but the program found itself in the NCAA’s crosshairs after being ensnared in a 2017 FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball.
The NCAA uncovered recruiting violations and academic misconduct, and Arizona self-imposed a postseason ban for 2020-21.
Miller was fired after that season, but escaped sanctions in 2022 in a report by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process that was set up to handle complex cases. Two of his former assistants were penalized.
He returned to Xavier, where he went 65-40 with two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Musketeers went 22-12 this season.
“When we were considering our next head coach, Sean Miller was a name that immediately came up as a perfect fit for us,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said. “He certainly checks all the boxes, is exactly what we’re looking for in every facet as a leader, and in talking with him, he has a great plan and vision for our program.”
Terry was a Texas assistant when he took over the team in midseason in December 2022 after former coach Chris Beard was arrested on domestic violence charges and later fired. Terry led the Longhorns to the Elite Eight, their deepest tournament run since 2008, and was given a five-year, $15.3 million contract.
But Terry struggled to match that success and Texas’ first season in the SEC was a dud. The Longhorns went 6-12 in league play despite having conference freshman of the year Tre Johnson, who is expected to enter the NBA draft.
The charges against Beard were dropped shortly after he was fired at Texas. He was hired at Mississippi and has the Rebels in the Sweet 16 for just the second time in school history.
