One of the Auburn Tigers' top commits in the 2026 recruiting class has announced his departure from the class.
Baton Rouge (La.) Central four-star linebacker JaMichael Garrett on Thursday decommitted from Auburn after a nearly year-long commitment. Garrett, 247 Sports' No. 8 linebacker in the class, first committed to the Tigers on July 27, 2024.
"BLESSED for everything the Auburn Community has done for me," Garrett wrote in his announcement to his personal "X" page.
BLESSED for everything the Auburn Community has done for me https://t.co/Y7lgqDNRf4
— Jamichael “Jmike” Garrett (@jamichael97) June 12, 2025
Garrett's decommitment doesn't come as a surprise, though, as he did not visit Auburn this summer during the summer official visit season. He visited Ole Miss on May 30 and is set to visit Miami starting on Friday and Texas A&M the week after.
Garrett had even teased the idea of a possible decommitment back in April to On3's Chad Simmons.
“If anything changes, it will be before the season starts,” he said. “Auburn is still the school I am committed to, but I am looking at my options and I will take visits. I want to give some of these great schools a chance since they are recruiting me so hard.”
The Tigers are now left with one linebacker commit in the class in Mobile (Ala.) Cottage Hill Christian Academy four-star Shadarius Toodle, the No. 9 linebacker in the class, according to the 247 Sports Composite.
Overall, Auburn has seven commits in the 2026 class with Toodle, four-star edge rusher Hezekiah Harris, four-star receiver Devin Carter, three-star receiver Denairius Gray, three-star receiver Parker Pritchett, three-star safety Wayne Henry and three-star running back Eric Perry.
More must-reads:
One of the most lopsided trades of the last decade in the NBA was a "hallway" trade between the Lakers and Clippers. NBA veteran Mike Muscala was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Ivica Zubac, a young center at the time who needed development, along with Michael Beasley. In a win-now move for the Lakers in their first season with LeBron James, they gave up on a young center that showed promise, for a stretch big that the Lakers felt could help them get to the playoffs.
Oregon wide receiver Jurrion Dickey has struggled to live up to expectations in his first two seasons with the Ducks, and he is now in a terrible position heading into 2025 as well. Dickey has been suspended indefinitely by Oregon, head coach Dan Lanning announced on Tuesday. Lanning also suggested that Dickey may not play for the Ducks again. "We have two team rules; that’s respectful, be on time,” Lanning said, via James Crepea of The Oregonian. “There’s some pieces of that where I felt like he needed a break from us and we needed a break from that so we could focus on what’s in front of us right now. "Wishing him nothing but the best, as far as success and want to see him get back to where he can be a contributor somewhere; that might be here that might be somewhere else.” Dickey was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top wide receivers in the country when he came out of Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, in 2023. He suffered an injury in his senior year in high school and redshirted as a freshman at Oregon. Dickey has two catches for 14 years during his time with the Ducks. Oregon went 13-1 in Lanning's third season with the program last season. The Ducks lost to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
One of NASCAR's brightest young stars in Connor Zilisch could miss time after falling in Victory Lane following his victory in the Aug. 9 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. Zilisch slipped on the door of his No. 88 Chevrolet before suffering a hard fall in Victory Lane and breaking his collarbone. He underwent successful surgery on Tuesday, with a timetable for his return yet to be announced. Even in light of the viral incident, NASCAR will not restrict drivers from celebrating in a certain way moving forward, per NASCAR's Mike Forde. Drivers have long climbed on the roof or door of their vehicles on the frontstretch and in Victory Lane to celebrate victories, but accidents stemming from that action are rare. After winning the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen on Aug. 10, Shane van Gisbergen — who will likely be Zilisch's Cup Series teammate at Trackhouse Racing in 2026 — carefully climbed out of his No. 88 Chevrolet — something he does regularly, not just in response to Zilisch's fall. Zilisch did not race in the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen due to his injury. The Xfinity Series will return on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway, with Zilisch leading the regular-season standings by seven points.
Lakers governor Jeanie Buss is supposed to remain in charge of the team for years even after the sale. Given what just happened with the Boston Celtics, it might only be months. When the Grousbeck family sold the Celtics for $6.1B in March, ESPN reported that Wyc Grousbeck would stay on as the Celtics CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season. Now, new owner Bill Chisholm will take over once the sale is final. That should concern current Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss, whose family sold a majority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers to investor Mark Walter. Buss is supposed to stay on as team governor for "at least a number of years," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, but new NBA owners haven't been keen on waiting to take control of teams recently. Mark Cuban thought he would continue running the Dallas Mavericks when he sold a controlling interest to the Adelson family in November 2023. Before the end of that season, when Dallas advanced to the NBA Finals, new team governor Patrick Dumont, the son-in-law of Miriam Adelson, was firmly in charge. General manager Nico Harrison reported directly to Dumont, which is how Luka Doncic ended up traded to the Lakers despite Cuban's objections. It might be different with the Lakers. Walter has owned a minority share in the Lakers since 2021, so he's had a working relationship with Buss. Her role as team governor may be a condition of the sale itself. With the team preparing for a long-term future with Doncic, Walter and his fellow owners might opt for continuity in the team governor role. But in general, people do not spend billions of dollars on a professional sports team so that someone else can be in charge. Buss is in charge of the Lakers now. Recent history says she won't be for long.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!