From the start, the Mets‘ series finale against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday afternoon didn’t look promising.

Even before Griffin Canning allowed two runs in the top of the first, the game’s start time was bumped up from 7:10 p.m. to 1:10 p.m. due to inclement weather expected at night, and when the game got underway, the weather still wasn’t great.

Perhaps that can help explain why Canning didn’t look sharp for the second straight start (his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers was cut short because of a lengthy rain delay), although he didn’t use that as an excuse after the game.

“Just not very good, not very competitive out there,” he said. “Kinda just let the team down (with) how I set the tone.”

While Canning’s three innings of five-run ball (three earned) with four walks was not what New York was hoping for as it failed to get the sweep of the White Sox following a 9-4 loss, the bigger concern remains the team’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position.

Even with Mark Vientos launching a two-out, opposite-field three-run homer with runners on first and third to get the Mets closer and make it a 5-3 ballgame in the third inning, the offense went just 2-for-12 with RISP.

Entering Wednesday, New York was hitting .212 with RISP — the fourth-worst mark in the majors and the worst in the NL. That number only got worse after the series finale.

“We gotta get better with runners in scoring position. We are all aware,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. “Yes, the underlying numbers (are encouraging), but at the end of the day, we gotta get the job done, right? I thought yesterday we took some better at-bats, today not so much.”

Indeed, the Mets only managed five hits on the day but walked eight times, including five times in the first 3.2 innings against Chicago starter Shane Smith, which is why they had so many scoring opportunities. But once again, the offense couldn’t break through.

To make matters worse, former Mets top pitching prospect Mike Vasil pitched three scoreless innings against his old club, allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out five to lower his season ERA to 2.10 in his first big league season.

“That’s just baseball,” Vientos said. “Baseball is a game that’s six months, seven months of the year and you’re hot, you’re cold, and then you’re in the middle. That’s just the name of the game.”

While the skipper understands his team’s offensive struggles at the moment, he shares his third baseman’s confidence that things will turn around.

“We got a lot of good hitters there, I’m pretty confident that at the end of the year the numbers are gonna be where they need to be, especially with runners in scoring position,” Mendoza said. “But right now we gotta continue to find a way. We gotta find a way to get the job done and we will.”

What’s helped New York get past the woes offensively are wins.

Despite the laboring offense, the Mets are 34-22 — good for second in the NL East. It’s part of the reason some players inside the clubhouse aren’t worried about the offense.

“The way I look at it is if this is us struggling and we’re winning games, imagine when we’re not,” Vientos said. “I don’t think the whole season is gonna be like this. I hope to believe that it’s not gonna be like this, that’s just baseball — you’re always waiting for that hot streak and I know it’s coming for us.”

In theory, Vientos is right. Once the Mets start hitting like the team is capable of, then they should presumably take off.

However, the problem with that thinking is that it assumes that every other aspect of the team remains the same. Yes, right now, New York is getting carried by its pitching, both starting and relief. But what happens if/when both of those areas falter, like they likely will at some point in a long season?

The answer: Games like Wednesday’s.

“We gotta be better,” Mendoza said.

Condolences to any NBA franchise hoping to unearth an overlooked gem late in next month’s NBA Draft.

This year’s second round appears to be historically barren as a result of the skyrocketing NIL market across college basketball.

In the pre-NIL era, college basketball’s top underclassmen routinely entered the NBA Draft even if they were projected to slip to the second round or go unselected. They earned more money chasing an NBA two-way contract or an overseas payday than they could returning to a college model where the only payouts came under the table.

The calculus began to change in 2021 when a series of court rulings forced the NCAA to allow athletes to benefit financially from their name, image, and likeness without fear of penalty. Now underclassmen who are fringe NBA prospects are returning to college in record numbers because they can earn as much as $3 to $4 million per year playing for deep-pocketed college programs.

Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, UConn’s Alex Karaban, Duke’s Isaiah Evans and Purdue’s Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn were among the prominent college stars who did not even test the waters this spring. Only 106 players entered the 2025 NBA Draft as early entry candidates, the league announced last month. That’s the lowest number of early entrants since 2015, down from a peak of 353 in 2021.

Many of those 106 early-entry candidates did not remain in the NBA Draft — even some who had a chance to be selected as high as in the 20-45 range. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg pulled out on the eve of Wednesday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline. So did Houston’s Milos Uzan and Florida’s Alex Condon. Days earlier, Boogie Fland and Darrion Williams did the same.

Others truly took their decisions down to the wire. On Wednesday afternoon, promising Auburn point guard Tahaad Pettiford revealed he’d return to school, as did Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and San Diego State’s Miles Byrd. Arkansas’ Adou Thiero, reigning Big East player of the year RJ Luis and ex-Florida State star Jamir Watkins chose to stay in the draft.

The flood of returning talent to college basketball reflects how much money top-tier programs are willing to spend to try to build the best possible rosters. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported last month that as many as 15 teams will have $10 million rosters next season. Those in the NIL space who have spoken to Yahoo Sports say that it will take up to $6-8 million just to be competitive in a power conference.

For as long as that kind of money remains available, the sport of college basketball will always be a big winner at the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline. Fringe NBA prospects are staying in college longer than they have in at least a decade or two, maybe longer.

Which stay-or-go decisions were the most impactful this season? Below is a list of college programs who got stronger and a few programs who lost key players they may struggle to replace.

Jamie Squire via Getty Images

WINNERS

1. FLORIDA

Don’t count out Florida as a potential repeat national champion. The Gators project as no worse than a preseason top-five team next fall thanks to a wildly successful offseason so far.

It starts in the frontcourt where Florida returns all four players who were part of the rotation during last season’s NCAA tournament. In late April, versatile forward Thomas Haugh opted to bypass the NBA Draft and return to school. He’ll see more playing time at small forward next season with frontcourt stalwarts Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu withdrawing from the draft over the past week and reserve center Micah Handlogten also coming back.

All four of last season’s top perimeter players are moving on, but Florida went on a shopping spree via the transfer portal to help replace some of that lost firepower. Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee averaged 16.9 points and 5.5 assists last season. Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland is a former five-star recruit who might have gone in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft had he not pulled his name out last week.

2. HOUSTON

Houston received unexpected good news on Tuesday when point guard Milos Uzan announced that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning for his senior year. The potential preseason No. 1 Cougars had been bracing for Uzan’s departure, adding talented freshman Kingston Flemings and proven veteran Pop Isaacs via the transfer portal.

While Isaacs ultimately chose to transfer to Texas A&M once Uzan decided to return, that’s a tradeoff Houston should welcome. Uzan averaged 11.4 points and 4.3 assists in his first year in Kelvin Sampson’s system, helping lead the Cougars within two points of a national title. He should be even better next season, surrounded by returning standouts Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler, as well as one of the nation’s best freshman classes.

“One of the reasons why Baylor was so good the year they won the national championship, they had a lot of transfers who stayed and came back their second year,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said Tuesday. “The second year is an opportunity to take a big step because June, July and August will be different for a guy in his second year versus a guy in his first year.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

3. MICHIGAN

The most coveted player in Michigan’s transfer portal haul is officially on his way to Ann Arbor. Yaxel Lendeborg, the former UAB star forward who led the Blazers in every major statistical category last season, withdrew from the NBA Draft on Monday after previously announcing he would join the Wolverines if he opted to return to college.

Lendeborg averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks at UAB last season and is viewed as a potential replacement for NBA-bound Danny Wolf. The hope for Lendeborg is that the 6-foot-9 forward can play alongside transfer big men Aday Mara and Morez Johnson much like Wolf and 7-footer Vlad Goldin did last season.

Had Lendeborg received a first-round guarantee from an NBA team, he might have opted to stay in this year’s draft. He instead returns to college as the centerpiece of a Michigan team that has Final Four potential if it can overcome concerns about inadequate outside shooting.

4. AUBURN

Auburn will return one of the standouts from last season’s juggernaut team that won the SEC regular-season title and advanced to the Final Four. The Tigers are bringing back point guard Tahaad Pettiford, who averaged 11.6 points per game last season as the program’s sixth man.

While concerns about Pettiford’s size and ability to hold up defensively prevented him from securing a first-round guarantee this draft cycle, he has a chance to establish himself as a 2026 first-round selection. The 6-foot sophomore will be the centerpiece of a reloaded Auburn team brimming with elite transfers and incoming freshmen.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was certainly happy to have Pettiford and Serbian big man Filip Jovic back in the fold.

5. TEXAS A&M

The biggest beneficiary of Uzan’s return to Houston might not have been the Cougars. Uzan’s decision paved the way for Texas A&M to scoop up a combo guard who has shown the ability to score in bunches.

On the same day Uzan announced his intent to return to Houston, Pop Isaacs backed out of his previous commitment to the Cougars and transferred instead to Texas A&M. Isaacs will have the ball in his hands at Texas A&M, whereas he would have played off-ball alongside Uzan had he stuck with Houston.

“Texas A&M needed a point guard,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said Tuesday. “Pop’s a very, very talented kid. I was looking forward to working with him but with Milos coming back changed some things. I think it worked out for everybody, which, to me, is the perfect scenario.”

Isaacs averaged 15 points per game two seasons ago as a sophomore at Texas Tech. He was on his way to an even bigger season at Creighton last year, scoring 27 against Kansas, 25 against Texas A&M and 18 against San Diego State before a hip injury ended his season after just eight games.

6. KENTUCKY

Otega Oweh came through for Kentucky at the buzzer on Wednesday as he did so many times during his debut season in Lexington. The 6-foot-4 all-SEC guard took himself out of the NBA Draft hours before Wednesday’s midnight deadline for prospects to withdraw.

In many ways, Oweh was the quintessential example of a player with incentive to return to college in the NIL era. Despite a strong showing at the combine, he would have been lucky to be selected had he remained in the draft, yet he provides invaluable scoring punch to a Kentucky team that needs his star power.

Last season, Oweh averaged a team-best 16.2 points per game while adding 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals. He scored more than 20 points eight times in February and March, including a pair of game winners against his former team Oklahoma. Next season, he’ll anchor a transfer-laden Kentucky team that has a chance to contend in the SEC and crack the preseason top 10.

7. SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State already appeared to be the class of the Mountain West next season. Now the Aztecs will be an even bigger favorite to return to the NCAA tournament and perhaps do some damage there.

Hours before Wednesday night’s draft withdrawal deadline, Miles Byrd announced he is coming back to San Diego State. “Back to work,” Byrd, a redshirt junior and projected second-round pick, posted to Instagram.

Byrd’s return means San Diego State will bring back six key rotation pieces from last year’s NCAA tournament team, including 7-foot NBA prospect and Mountain West newcomer of the year Magoon Gwath. Also part of the fold is 2024-25 preseason all-conference guard Reese Waters, who missed the entire season with a foot injury.

Patrick McDermott via Getty Images

LOSERS

1. NORTH CAROLINA

Drake Powell was arguably the most important potential returner for North Carolina. The bouncy 6-foot-6 guard averaged a modest 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds as a freshman, but he boasted the talent to blossom into a lethal perimeter scorer and lockdown defender as a sophomore.

It was bad enough for North Carolina that Powell told ESPN at the NBA Draft Combine that the “door’s closed” on a return to Chapel Hill. Powell elevated himself into a potential late first-round pick by measuring prototypical wing size, 6-foot-5 barefoot with a 7-foot wingspan and a 37-inch standing vertical jump.

What was worse was the perhaps unintentional parting shot he took at North Carolina on the way out the door. When asked why he was ready to jump to the NBA, Powell said, “I feel like I’m the same two-way player that was coming into college. Obviously I don’t think I got to showcase that at UNC, but the potential is still there.”

Those comments won’t help Hubert Davis recruit future NBA prospects, especially since Powell is not the only decorated recruit who didn’t reach his potential with the Tar Heels. Ian Jackson transferred to St. John’s this spring after his stock sank during his lone season in Chapel Hill. Elliot Cadeau transferred to Michigan last month after spending two underwhelming seasons with North Carolina.

2. SCHOOLS STILL SEEKING AN IMPACT TRANSFER

Schools hoping to make a late splash in the transfer portal are running out of options. Two of the best remaining transfers came off the board on Wednesday when RJ Luis and Jamir Watkins both announced they intended to remain in the NBA draft.

Luis, the reigning Big East player of the year, averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, leading St. John’s to a sweep of the Big East regular-season and tournament titles. Watkins, a 6-foot-7 forward, earned second-team All-ACC honors this past season at Florida State after averaging 18.4 points and 5.7 rebounds.

North Carolina, Kansas, Ole Miss, Villanova and Georgetown were among the teams pursuing Luis, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported. It’s unclear which programs were targeting Watkins, but Pittsburgh reportedly was among those who initially reached out.

3. DUKE

Duke coach Jon Scheyer made a slight miscalculation this spring when identifying potential targets in the transfer portal: He zeroed in on a prospect who was too good.

Cedric Coward began his career at Division III Willamette, spent two seasons at Eastern Washington and then followed David Riley to Washington State. The long-armed, explosive 6-foot-6 wing was averaging 17.7 points and shooting 40% from behind the arc for the Cougars before a shoulder injury halted his season after just six games.

There appeared to be a real chance Coward might play alongside the Boozer twins at Duke when he committed to the Blue Devils earlier this spring while also keeping his name in the NBA Draft. Then Coward measured a condor-like 7-foot-2-inch wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine, unleashed a 38.5-inch max vertical leap and ranked as one of the most consistent shooters in drills.

The question after that was no longer whether Coward would be a first-round pick. It became how high in the first round could he rise?

As so often is the case for Duke, reinforcements are on the way. Scheyer responded by nabbing Dame Sarr, a heralded 6-foot-8 wing from Italy, and by persuading five-star forward Sebastian Wilkins to not only pick the Blue Devils but also reclassify from Class of 2026 to 2025.

Condolences to any NBA franchise hoping to unearth an overlooked gem late in next month’s NBA Draft.

This year’s second round appears to be historically barren as a result of the skyrocketing NIL market across college basketball.

In the pre-NIL era, college basketball’s top underclassmen routinely entered the NBA Draft even if they were projected to slip to the second round or go unselected. They earned more money chasing an NBA two-way contract or an overseas payday than they could returning to a college model where the only payouts came under the table.

The calculus began to change in 2021 when a series of court rulings forced the NCAA to allow athletes to benefit financially from their name, image, and likeness without fear of penalty. Now underclassmen who are fringe NBA prospects are returning to college in record numbers because they can earn as much as $3 to $4 million per year playing for deep-pocketed college programs.

Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, Florida’s Thomas Haugh, UConn’s Alex Karaban, Duke’s Isaiah Evans and Purdue’s Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn were among the prominent college stars who did not even test the waters this spring. Only 106 players entered the 2025 NBA Draft as early entry candidates, the league announced last month. That’s the lowest number of early entrants since 2015, down from a peak of 353 in 2021.

Many of those 106 early-entry candidates did not remain in the NBA Draft — even some who had a chance to be selected as high as in the 20-45 range. Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg pulled out on the eve of Wednesday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline. So did Houston’s Milos Uzan and Florida’s Alex Condon. Days earlier, Boogie Fland and Darrion Williams did the same.

Others truly took their decisions down to the wire. On Wednesday afternoon, promising Auburn point guard Tahaad Pettiford revealed he’d return to school, as did Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and San Diego State’s Miles Byrd. Arkansas’ Adou Thiero, reigning Big East player of the year RJ Luis and ex-Florida State star Jamir Watkins chose to stay in the draft.

The flood of returning talent to college basketball reflects how much money top-tier programs are willing to spend to try to build the best possible rosters. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported last month that as many as 15 teams will have $10 million rosters next season. Those in the NIL space who have spoken to Yahoo Sports say that it will take up to $6-8 million just to be competitive in a power conference.

For as long as that kind of money remains available, the sport of college basketball will always be a big winner at the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline. Fringe NBA prospects are staying in college longer than they have in at least a decade or two, maybe longer.

Which stay-or-go decisions were the most impactful this season? Below is a list of college programs who got stronger and a few programs who lost key players they may struggle to replace.

Jamie Squire via Getty Images

WINNERS

1. FLORIDA

Don’t count out Florida as a potential repeat national champion. The Gators project as no worse than a preseason top-five team next fall thanks to a wildly successful offseason so far.

It starts in the frontcourt where Florida returns all four players who were part of the rotation during last season’s NCAA tournament. In late April, versatile forward Thomas Haugh opted to bypass the NBA Draft and return to school. He’ll see more playing time at small forward next season with frontcourt stalwarts Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu withdrawing from the draft over the past week and reserve center Micah Handlogten also coming back.

All four of last season’s top perimeter players are moving on, but Florida went on a shopping spree via the transfer portal to help replace some of that lost firepower. Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee averaged 16.9 points and 5.5 assists last season. Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland is a former five-star recruit who might have gone in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft had he not pulled his name out last week.

2. HOUSTON

Houston received unexpected good news on Tuesday when point guard Milos Uzan announced that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning for his senior year. The potential preseason No. 1 Cougars had been bracing for Uzan’s departure, adding talented freshman Kingston Flemings and proven veteran Pop Isaacs via the transfer portal.

While Isaacs ultimately chose to transfer to Texas A&M once Uzan decided to return, that’s a tradeoff Houston should welcome. Uzan averaged 11.4 points and 4.3 assists in his first year in Kelvin Sampson’s system, helping lead the Cougars within two points of a national title. He should be even better next season, surrounded by returning standouts Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler, as well as one of the nation’s best freshman classes.

“One of the reasons why Baylor was so good the year they won the national championship, they had a lot of transfers who stayed and came back their second year,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said Tuesday. “The second year is an opportunity to take a big step because June, July and August will be different for a guy in his second year versus a guy in his first year.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

3. MICHIGAN

The most coveted player in Michigan’s transfer portal haul is officially on his way to Ann Arbor. Yaxel Lendeborg, the former UAB star forward who led the Blazers in every major statistical category last season, withdrew from the NBA Draft on Monday after previously announcing he would join the Wolverines if he opted to return to college.

Lendeborg averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks at UAB last season and is viewed as a potential replacement for NBA-bound Danny Wolf. The hope for Lendeborg is that the 6-foot-9 forward can play alongside transfer big men Aday Mara and Morez Johnson much like Wolf and 7-footer Vlad Goldin did last season.

Had Lendeborg received a first-round guarantee from an NBA team, he might have opted to stay in this year’s draft. He instead returns to college as the centerpiece of a Michigan team that has Final Four potential if it can overcome concerns about inadequate outside shooting.

4. AUBURN

Auburn will return one of the standouts from last season’s juggernaut team that won the SEC regular-season title and advanced to the Final Four. The Tigers are bringing back point guard Tahaad Pettiford, who averaged 11.6 points per game last season as the program’s sixth man.

While concerns about Pettiford’s size and ability to hold up defensively prevented him from securing a first-round guarantee this draft cycle, he has a chance to establish himself as a 2026 first-round selection. The 6-foot sophomore will be the centerpiece of a reloaded Auburn team brimming with elite transfers and incoming freshmen.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was certainly happy to have Pettiford and Serbian big man Filip Jovic back in the fold.

5. TEXAS A&M

The biggest beneficiary of Uzan’s return to Houston might not have been the Cougars. Uzan’s decision paved the way for Texas A&M to scoop up a combo guard who has shown the ability to score in bunches.

On the same day Uzan announced his intent to return to Houston, Pop Isaacs backed out of his previous commitment to the Cougars and transferred instead to Texas A&M. Isaacs will have the ball in his hands at Texas A&M, whereas he would have played off-ball alongside Uzan had he stuck with Houston.

“Texas A&M needed a point guard,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said Tuesday. “Pop’s a very, very talented kid. I was looking forward to working with him but with Milos coming back changed some things. I think it worked out for everybody, which, to me, is the perfect scenario.”

Isaacs averaged 15 points per game two seasons ago as a sophomore at Texas Tech. He was on his way to an even bigger season at Creighton last year, scoring 27 against Kansas, 25 against Texas A&M and 18 against San Diego State before a hip injury ended his season after just eight games.

6. KENTUCKY

Otega Oweh came through for Kentucky at the buzzer on Wednesday as he did so many times during his debut season in Lexington. The 6-foot-4 all-SEC guard took himself out of the NBA Draft hours before Wednesday’s midnight deadline for prospects to withdraw.

In many ways, Oweh was the quintessential example of a player with incentive to return to college in the NIL era. Despite a strong showing at the combine, he would have been lucky to be selected had he remained in the draft, yet he provides invaluable scoring punch to a Kentucky team that needs his star power.

Last season, Oweh averaged a team-best 16.2 points per game while adding 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals. He scored more than 20 points eight times in February and March, including a pair of game winners against his former team Oklahoma. Next season, he’ll anchor a transfer-laden Kentucky team that has a chance to contend in the SEC and crack the preseason top 10.

7. SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State already appeared to be the class of the Mountain West next season. Now the Aztecs will be an even bigger favorite to return to the NCAA tournament and perhaps do some damage there.

Hours before Wednesday night’s draft withdrawal deadline, Miles Byrd announced he is coming back to San Diego State. “Back to work,” Byrd, a redshirt junior and projected second-round pick, posted to Instagram.

Byrd’s return means San Diego State will bring back six key rotation pieces from last year’s NCAA tournament team, including 7-foot NBA prospect and Mountain West newcomer of the year Magoon Gwath. Also part of the fold is 2024-25 preseason all-conference guard Reese Waters, who missed the entire season with a foot injury.

Patrick McDermott via Getty Images

LOSERS

1. NORTH CAROLINA

Drake Powell was arguably the most important potential returner for North Carolina. The bouncy 6-foot-6 guard averaged a modest 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds as a freshman, but he boasted the talent to blossom into a lethal perimeter scorer and lockdown defender as a sophomore.

It was bad enough for North Carolina that Powell told ESPN at the NBA Draft Combine that the “door’s closed” on a return to Chapel Hill. Powell elevated himself into a potential late first-round pick by measuring prototypical wing size, 6-foot-5 barefoot with a 7-foot wingspan and a 37-inch standing vertical jump.

What was worse was the perhaps unintentional parting shot he took at North Carolina on the way out the door. When asked why he was ready to jump to the NBA, Powell said, “I feel like I’m the same two-way player that was coming into college. Obviously I don’t think I got to showcase that at UNC, but the potential is still there.”

Those comments won’t help Hubert Davis recruit future NBA prospects, especially since Powell is not the only decorated recruit who didn’t reach his potential with the Tar Heels. Ian Jackson transferred to St. John’s this spring after his stock sank during his lone season in Chapel Hill. Elliot Cadeau transferred to Michigan last month after spending two underwhelming seasons with North Carolina.

2. SCHOOLS STILL SEEKING AN IMPACT TRANSFER

Schools hoping to make a late splash in the transfer portal are running out of options. Two of the best remaining transfers came off the board on Wednesday when RJ Luis and Jamir Watkins both announced they intended to remain in the NBA draft.

Luis, the reigning Big East player of the year, averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, leading St. John’s to a sweep of the Big East regular-season and tournament titles. Watkins, a 6-foot-7 forward, earned second-team All-ACC honors this past season at Florida State after averaging 18.4 points and 5.7 rebounds.

North Carolina, Kansas, Ole Miss, Villanova and Georgetown were among the teams pursuing Luis, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported. It’s unclear which programs were targeting Watkins, but Pittsburgh reportedly was among those who initially reached out.

3. DUKE

Duke coach Jon Scheyer made a slight miscalculation this spring when identifying potential targets in the transfer portal: He zeroed in on a prospect who was too good.

Cedric Coward began his career at Division III Willamette, spent two seasons at Eastern Washington and then followed David Riley to Washington State. The long-armed, explosive 6-foot-6 wing was averaging 17.7 points and shooting 40% from behind the arc for the Cougars before a shoulder injury halted his season after just six games.

There appeared to be a real chance Coward might play alongside the Boozer twins at Duke when he committed to the Blue Devils earlier this spring while also keeping his name in the NBA Draft. Then Coward measured a condor-like 7-foot-2-inch wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine, unleashed a 38.5-inch max vertical leap and ranked as one of the most consistent shooters in drills.

The question after that was no longer whether Coward would be a first-round pick. It became how high in the first round could he rise?

As so often is the case for Duke, reinforcements are on the way. Scheyer responded by nabbing Dame Sarr, a heralded 6-foot-8 wing from Italy, and by persuading five-star forward Sebastian Wilkins to not only pick the Blue Devils but also reclassify from Class of 2026 to 2025.

The Mets couldn’t complete the series sweep, falling to the Chicago White Sox by a score of 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon at Citi Field.

Here are the key takeaways…

–Griffin Canning had an outing to forget. The right-hander struggled with his command, walking four hitters while throwing just 44 of his 80 pitches for strikes, and the White Sox capitalized when they had traffic on the bases, with Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman each driving in a pair of runs in the first two innings to give Chicago a 4-0 lead.

Canning lasted just 3.0 innings, and while the defense behind him wasn’t always strong (Brett Baty and Jeff McNeil committed back-to-back errors in the second inning), the right-hander allowed three earned runs, and five runs overall, striking out three to go along with those four walks.

-Offensively, the Mets had a couple of base-runners on in the first and second, but failed to take advantage against Chicago righty Shane Smith. In the third, however, after back-to-back walks from Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto, Mark Vientos came through with two outs, slamming a three-run home run to right to bring the Mets back within two at 5-3.

Vientos’ sixth homer of the season was the big blow against Smith, who lasted 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on two hits while walking five and striking out five.

–Brandon Waddell gave the Mets some needed outs after Canning’s shortened start, but he seemed to be running out of gas in the sixth, which was his third inning of work. Another Benintendi RBI hit and a Lenyn Sosa RBI knock put the Sox up 7-3. Waddell then came back out for a fourth inning, allowing another run before his afternoon came to a close.

Waddell ended up saving the bullpen by going 5.0 innings, throwing 94 pitches while allowing four earned runs on seven hits.

–Mike Vasil, who was at one point the Mets’ top pitching prospect, pitched the sixth inning for Chicago. An eighth-round pick in 2021, Vasil was a Rule 5 pick by the Phillies after the Mets didn’t protect him on the roster. He eventually ended up with Chicago this offseason, and pitching against his former organization on Wednesday he struck out five over 3.0 scoreless innings.

-Nimmo had two of the Mets’ five hits, and he reached base four times. Nimmo scored the Mets’ fourth run of the day in the ninth inning on a Pete Alonso RBI double.

Who was the game MVP?

Benintendi, who homered off Waddell in the eighth and had four RBI on the day.

Highlights

Mark Vientos gets the Mets right back in the game with a three-run shot! pic.twitter.com/eTh2a9a6aH

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 28, 2025

“BATY! BEAUTY!”

What a play for the final out of the inning by Brett Baty 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IoICzEtZiU

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 28, 2025

Pete Alonso with an RBI double

He has tied Howard Johnson for fourth place on the Mets’ all-time RBI list pic.twitter.com/IOzSvF8s5c

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 28, 2025

Upcoming Schedule

The Mets are off on Thursday before welcoming the Colorado Rockies to Citi Field for a three-game weekend set, starting on Friday night at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

David Peterson starts for the Mets, while the Rockies have not yet announced a starter.