Latrobe’s Luke Pletcher presses forward after NCAA title dreams evaporate
Luke Pletcher is a two-time All-American wrestler at Ohio State and a legitimate Olympic hopeful. He has to wrap up only two more online classes before he graduates, and he has a coaching job — a volunteer assistant position at Pitt — lined up once he does. Yet at the...
With family by his side, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi prepares for football
One minute, a recruit will send Pat Narduzzi a text message while he’s on a conference call with reporters. Then, Marty, the family dog, might bounce into the room, perhaps looking for something to eat or checking to make sure Pitt’s football coach is hard at work and not sneaking...
Former Latrobe wrestler Luke Pletcher joins Pitt coaching staff
Latrobe’s Luke Pletcher is coming home to chase a goal while helping a former rival reach its own. Pitt wrestling coach Keith Gavin hired Pletcher, a two-time All-American at Ohio State and three-time PIAA champion, as a volunteer assistant. Pletcher will join the staff after his graduation from Ohio State...
2 Pitt divers, 1 swimmer earn All-American status after NCAA cancellation
Three athletes from Pitt’s swimming and diving team lost their opportunity to compete in the NCAA Championships, but that roadblock didn’t stop them from becoming first-time All-Americans. Sophomore divers Serena Buchwald and Amy Read and junior swimmer Blaise Vera were named Wednesday 2020 All-Americans by the College Swimming & Diving...
With draft approaching, former Pitt teammates Reggie Mitchell, Saleem Brightwell reunite
Saleem Brightwell always felt comfortable asking Reggie Mitchell for guidance. Didn’t matter where. Didn’t matter when. Didn’t matter how many people were watching. He did so during a moment of chaos in Clemson’s Death Valley in 2016 when more than 80,000 people were making so much noise that Mitchell, Pitt’s...
Former Pitt guard Trey McGowens decides to transfer to Nebraska
Former Pitt guard Trey McGowens settled on his new home Saturday when he announced on his Twitter page his intention to transfer to Nebraska. COMMITTED #GBR? #PuBd pic.twitter.com/ieTpZrtj4g— Trey McGowens 3rd (@Trey5mac_) April 4, 2020 The Cornhuskers (7-25, 2-18) finished last in the Big Ten this season. Fred Hoiberg has...
High school, college players feel effect of MLB Draft change
If things were normal, Serra Catholic catcher Mark Black would be about two weeks into his senior season, wowing scouts, fans and teammates with his daily power displays as he tried to boost his stock for the MLB Draft. If things were normal, Pitt outfielder Nico Popa would be in...
Pitt women’s basketball gains player, loses another via transfer portal
One of the top women’s basketball players in the Mountain West Conference could be in a Pitt uniform next season. Jayla Everett, the 2019 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, decided to transfer from New Mexico to Pitt. She posted her intention on Twitter on Thursday. ??? pic.twitter.com/jraBEeI7x1— JAY (@jayla_dianne4)...
Pitt AD Heather Lyke says if football is played in the fall, fans will be there
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said Wednesday if the football team is allowed into Heinz Field to play a normal season, fans will be a part of it. “If we’re playing the game, we’ll be playing it in front of fans,” she said, speaking on a Zoom conference call with...
Former Pitt guard Ryan Murphy settles on Tulane as his final destination
Former Pitt shooting guard Ryan Murphy announced on his Twitter account Wednesday morning his intention to attend Tulane next season. Blessed to announce I’ll be playing my final year for Coach Hunter and his staff at Tulane ! #RollWave #GreenWave @GreenWaveMBB pic.twitter.com/FbnrSMvD9s— Murph dawg (@Ryanmurphhoop) April 2, 2020 Tulane (12-18,...
Pitt football coaches keep busy while working from homeVideo
The coronavirus has forced Pitt coaches and most of their colleagues across the U.S. to work from home. But athletic director Heather Lyke knows football coach Pat Narduzzi isn’t sleeping in. She said she received a recent text message from Narduzzi at 6:15 a.m., detailing the tasks performed by each...
NCAA granting extra year of eligibility impacts student-athletes in many ways
It sounded so simple and fair. The NCAA Division I Council voted Monday to grant all student-athletes in spring sports an additional year of eligibility after losing the 2020 season to covid-19. But what happens to those rosters in 2021? What about the scholarships that need to be honored? Who’s...
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons wants to continue basketball series with Pitt
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said Wednesday he hopes to continue the basketball series with Pitt after the current four-year contract expires Nov. 13 with a game at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. “I’d love to see it continued,” he said on a conference call that was otherwise devoted...
Former Norwin, Pitt player Alayna Gribble plans to resurrect her career at Saint Joseph’s
There was a time — a very brief time, as it turned out — when Alayna Gribble was at peace with putting an end to her basketball career. After all, by the time she was 21, Gribble had accomplished more than most student-athletes manage in a lifetime. She was the...
Pitt’s Au’Diese Toney says he’s staying with Panthers
After two Pitt guards revealed plans to transfer, junior-to-be Au’Diese Toney announced Saturday on Twitter he is staying. “You never forget those who believed in your first,” Toney wrote. You never forget those who believed in you first and you never abandon those who held you down while experiencing your...
Isolated college coaches, players deal with change in recruiting landscape
When it’s time to get serious about next football season, Ethan Carr will get down on the floor and do a series of push-ups and sit-ups, followed by some challenging pull-ups. Then, he might open the front door and run through the mostly deserted streets of Harrison City. It is...
Former Pitt forward Samson George enters transfer portal
Samson George, who was honored as a departing member of the Pitt basketball team at the final home game Feb. 26, wants to continue his collegiate career. George, a native of Minna, Nigeria, who expects to graduate from Pitt this year, has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal....
Burrell grad Scherer eager for big finish to Pitt track career after breakout seasonVideo
Sprinter Nikki Scherer arrived at Pitt two years ago with a plethora of WPIAL and PIAA gold medals, eager to soak up all college life had to offer while still leaving her competition in the dust. But the Burrell grad quickly found out it wasn’t going to be that easy....
WVU basketball will play Pitt, Robert Morris during 2020-21 nonconference season
Pitt and West Virginia basketball teams will play the last of a four-game series Nov. 13 at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. The series, negotiated in 2016 by former Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes and West Virginia’s Shane Lyons, ended a five-year period in which the two long-standing rivals did...
Pitt product Kevan Smith trying to catch on with Tampa Bay Rays
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Kevan Smith took some blindside hits during his days as a quarterback at Seneca Valley and Pitt. However, no blitzing linebacker or safety ever hit Smith in quite the way Los Angeles Angels general manager Billy Eppler did during a phone conversation in November. Eppler informed...
Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple seeks more balance in Year 2
After three days of football practice in March, it is impossible to build momentum or make definitive declarations, especially when players donned pads only one day. Doesn’t matter. Mark Whipple is giving it his best shot. Before the coronavirus outbreak halted spring drills at Pitt and everywhere else and the...
Pitt’s Trey McGowens enters transfer portal, joins Ryan Murphy as departing guards
Sophomore guard Trey McGowens, one of the building blocks coach Jeff Capel put in place at the outset of his Pitt tenure, entered the NCAA transfer portal. Pittsburgh sophomore Trey McGowens just informed @Stockrisers that he will enter his name in the transfer portal. He averaged 11.5 points last season...
Pitt lands commitment from guard Femi Odukale for its class of 2020
Pitt men’s basketball received good news Tuesday for its depth at guard when three-star Femi Odukale announced on his Instagram account his plans to enroll next academic year. Odukale’s commitment came two days after guard Ryan Murphy entered his name in the transfer portal. View this post on Instagram What...
ACC officially cancels spring sports season
The ACC announced Tuesday it is shutting down all athletic-related activities, including all competition and practices, through the end of the 2019-20 academic year. It was a unanimous decision made to mitigate the further spread of coronavirus. Each university will continue to work in accordance with its school and state...
First Call: Coronavirus crisis may keep Raiders in Oakland; Tom Brady’s options narrowing; Xavier Johnson staying at Pitt
In “First Call” for Monday, we defend the NFL’s decision to move forward with the start of its league year. Coronavirus may impact the Raiders’ ability to move to Las Vegas on time. And potential landing spots for Tom Brady are disappearing. Look a little deeper The NFL took heat...
