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GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- A strong official visit was all the Florida Gators needed to get back in the running for Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes four-star running back Carsyn Baker.
Ahead of his summer official visit schedule, Baker had a top five of Georgia, Ohio State, Florida State, Clemson and South Carolina. Now, he plans on dropping one school, although he didn't reveal which one, and putting the Gators in his top schools.
"Most definitely glad I took this visit, and (Florida) most definitely impressed a lot," said Baker, a top 20 running back in the class of 2026. "It's a great place to be at, and they have unlimited things to get what you need and get developed and be a great person on and off the field."
As a result, Baker will shake up the rest of his summer official visit schedule. He was originally set to visit Clemson (May 30), Florida State (June 6), Ohio State (June 13) and Texas A&M (June 20) but will be cancelling one of the scheduled trips, he said.
He plans on making a decision "probably at the end of June, early July," before his senior season begins.
"I feel like Florida set a very high standard for every other official visit I'm going on. I was very impressed by them," he said.
As far as Florida goes, the scheme, use of multiple feature backs and development by position coach Jabbar Juluke give the Gators a strong chance to earn a pledge from Baker, which would be its first commitment at the position for the 2026 class.
He also described his meeting with head coach Billy Napier as the highlight of his visit due to how genuine he is, the culture he's built and their discussions on how Baker can be used in the offense.
"The scheme that we run at Langston with the toss and the inside zone and everything, Florida has a similar play," he said. "I feel like I can eat inside of the offense. I rushed for 1,300 yards in the same scheme, similar to what they run here."
With Florida back in the mix for Baker, he will be a target to keep a close eye on going forward as the Gators seem to have a light board for the running back position. Florida Gators on SI is keeping track of every recruiting move by the Gators, from commitments to prospects of note to the summer official visit schedule, on our 2026 Recruiting Tracker.
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The Michigan Wolverines tore it up on the recruiting trail in 2024-25 and have regained their momentum for the Class of 2026 heading into the 2025 season. Recently one of the Class of 2026's top players, running back Savion Hiter of Mineral, Virginia, made a Michigan-themed announcement, listing the Wolverines among his final four schools alongside Georgia, Ohio State and Tennessee. Hiter named his announcement date, causing Michigan freshman QB Bryce Underwood to notice a strange, unexpected coincidence. Hiter announced August 19 of this year as his announcement date which caught Underwood's eye. "lol, that's my birthday," the Michigan QB wrote on Instagram following the news. Hiter is a high priority recruiting target for the Wolverines and is ranked as the nation's number one running back according to several scouting services including 247Sports.com. Underwood's August 19 birthday is 11 days before he is scheduled to take the field as a college player for the first time, likely as Michigan's starting quarterback, against the New Mexico Lobos at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. An Underwood/Hiter duo in 2026 would likely be the highest ranked quarterback/running back duo in the country based on high school rankings, should it come to fruition in Ann Arbor. Hiter is also ranked as the number one player in the state of Virginia and the number nine ranked player nationally according to 247Sports.
Bruins' David Pastrnak Calls Out Canadiens' Juraj Slafkovsky: He Just Lacks Humility'
Juraj Slafkovsky is one of the most promising players in the NHL, but now he has been called out by David Pastrnak, who stated he lacks humility. After being picked No. 1 overall in 2022 NHL Draft, expectations were high in Montreal for young star Juraj Slafkovsky, and thus far, he's shown glimpses of being the elite level player many expected when he entered the National Hockey League. However, there are still some major steps to go, and in a recent interview, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak pointed out perhaps one area where the 21-year old may need to improve moving forward. When asked about Slafkovsky and his potential, Pastrnak gave nothing but a glowing review of the young Canadiens star, but he did note that he believes Slafkovsky needs more humility. 'He's still a young player who is gaining experience in the NHL every year. This season it was already clear that he gave the team more than before...He just needs a little more humility, he should set an example for the young ones.' On the ice, there's no doubting that Slafkovsky has the presence, the size and the talent to be a true star, posting 101 total points over the past two seasons, but for whatever reason, it appears as though Pastrnak believes he needs to improve off the ice before he can take a major leap in Montreal. Ultimately, the talent is still there for Slafkovsky, and at 21-years old, he'll continue to learn off the ice, and if he can go anywhere close to living up to the potential that he's shown in his first three years at the NHL level, there's no doubt that he can be a big time star and help lead the Canadiens to significant post-season success.
Top moments from 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions
The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class had its day in Cooperstown on Sunday. This year's class included Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who were elected by the eligible voters from the Baseball Writer's Association of America, and Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Here are some of the top highlights from Sunday's induction speeches. Dave Parker's son reads poem written by Hall of Fame father Parker's induction into the Hall of Fame was long overdue, and he sadly did not have the opportunity to enjoy the moment of seeing his name in the Hall of Fame as he died June 28. That left his speech in the hands of his son, Dave Parker II, who read a poem written by his dad. Parker spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he was an MVP winner, two-time batting champion and World Series champion with the 1979 "We Are Family" team. Dick Allen's wife remembers his kindness Allen was the other veterans committee inductee, and his widow, Willa Allen, spent the majority of her speech remember the kindness of Allen off the field as much as his ability on the field. Allen is going into the Hall of Fame as a Phillie but won the 1972 American League MVP with the Chicago White Sox. He led the league in OPS four times and was the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year. A reminder that Billy Wagner wasn't naturally left-handed Being left-handed is a huge advantage (and money-maker) for pitchers, and Wagner was one of the most dominant left-handed relief pitchers to ever step onto a mound in the big leagues. But he wasn't always left-handed. Wagner was a natural-born right-handed person but taught himself how to throw left-handed after fracturing his right arm twice as a kid. It led to quite a career. Wagner made a name for himself with the Houston Astros but also spent years with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. CC Sabathia takes playful dig at Ichiro Sabathia accomplished a ton in his 19-year big league career. He won 251 games, won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, was the 2009 ALCS MVP and a World Series champion. He still has apparently not gotten over the one individual award he did not win — the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year Award, which went to fellow 2025 inductee Ichiro. Sabathia made sure to make a playful dig at that. Sabathia was the only American League rookie outside of Ichiro — who also won the American League MVP that year — to get a first-place vote. He received one. The others all went to Ichiro. Ichiro stole the show Ichiro stole 509 bases in his Hall of Fame career, and on Sunday, he added one more steal to his list of accomplishments by absolutely stealing the show at Cooperstown. He delivered two of the best lines of the day, first by calling out the one lone writer who did not vote for him, keeping him from being just the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee ever (after Mariano Rivera). His best line of the day, however, might have been when he referenced his brief time as a member of the Miami Marlins toward the end of his career. Ichiro played 14 of his 19 seasons with the Seattle Mariners while also spending time with the Marlins and Yankees.
Important trade stalls as Maple Leafs dangle bottom-six forward
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