Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers have been making some moves on the 2026 recruiting trail and their latest pickup is quite a big one.
Havon Finney from Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California, committed to the Tigers on Monday. Notably, Michigan, Oregon and USC were amongst the other schools high up on the list for the four-star cornerback, so this marks another important recruiting win for the Tigers.
At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Finney fits that traditional LSU mold as a lanky and tall cornerback who can lock down the outside of a defense. He's also highly ranked as a recruit. According to the 247Sports Composite, he's the No. 7 cornerback recruit in the 2026 class.
He was originally a 2027 recruit, but he reclassified to 2026 and is joining an LSU class that's stacked. LSU can thank his primary recruiter, cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond, for facilitating this recruiting win.
"The corners coach is really cool, Corey Raymond. He’s put a lot of dudes in the league. I’ve grown to know him, and it’s been a cool experience," Finney had told Steve Wiltfong of On3 roughly a month before his commitment.
According to the national recruiting rankings from 247Sports, Kelly's 2026 class is ranked fourth in the nation behind only USC, Clemson and Notre Dame. There's still a lot of time for things to shake out, but Kelly is building one heck of a class in 2026, right after he brought in the seventh-best class in 2025.
Kelly has had a hard time winning the big game as a head coach over the years, but he's brought in some big-time talent to LSU since becoming head coach in 2022.
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The Oregon Ducks reeled in their quarterback of the future during the 2024 offseason, when they signed UCLA transfer Dante Moore. A consensus five-star recruit coming out of high school in the 2023 recruiting cycle, Moore enters his third season at the collegiate level and is officially a draft-eligible prospect. Although he hasn't officially been named as the starter, Moore will enter the 2025 season with plenty on eyes on him as he attempts to become the third consecutive Oregon starting quarterback to get selected in the NFL draft. Coming out of King High School, Moore was ranked as the No. 3 quarterback and No. 4 player in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Ahead of him in the rankings was Nico Iamaleava, the No. 2 quarterback and No. 3 player in the country, and Arch Manning, the consensus top prospect in the country. It's fair to say both Iamaleava and Manning have done enough to warrant considerable draft consideration. Manning has patiently waited his turn behind Quinn Ewers to become the starter at Texas, one of the preseason favorites to win the College Football Playoff. Iamaleava led Tennessee to a CFP appearance in his first season as the starter for the Volunteers. He transferred to UCLA over the offseason and is expected to help the Bruins compete in the Big Ten. Moore has had a unique path to Oregon. He spent his freshman season with UCLA, appearing in nine games total and starting in a handful. After the season he transferred into Oregon along with Dillon Gabriel. Now, he is set to lead the Ducks after backing up Gabriel last season. It will be interesting to see how Moore navigates this season. A former top recruit who hasn't taken the traditional path, he will be one of the most heavily-watched quarterbacks as he looks to make a name for himself as an NFL draft prospect. Moore's situation in Eugene is also a big reason why he's in the position he is. Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is one of the best playcallers in college football and had a hand in the development of Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel as the Ducks' quarterbacks coach. Oregon lost a couple of key skill players to the NFL draft over this past offseason. Former Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson, and wide receiver Tez Johnson were taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. Along the offensive line, Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. was selected in the first round of the draft as well. However, they managed to retool the offense over this offseason with their transfer portal class. The Ducks were able to land a trio of offensive lineman including the No. 2 player in the portal in Isaiah World. Oregon also signed wide receiver Malik Benson and running back Makhi Hughes from the transfer portal to supplement the Ducks' offense. If the Ducks can get back into the CFP for the second consecutive season, it will more than likely be because of Moore's play at quarterback, which will make or break the year for Oregon.
The Los Angeles Lakers are working on building a contender around last season's blockbuster addition of Luka Doncic, and could have their eyes on a player named the biggest "steal" of free agency. James Herbert of CBS Sports noted that former Boston Celtics star Malcolm Brogdon is still looking for his next NBA home and could be a bargain for a team that lands him. "After a couple of years in Portland and Washington, it feels like it's time for the veteran guard to get back on a winning team," Herbert wrote. "If healthy, he could be a real bargain for a contender -- it was only two years ago that he won Sixth Man of the Year in Boston." Bleacher Report's Timothy Rapp named the Lakers as a team to watch for Brogdon, who has shared his admiration for Lakers star LeBron James in the past. Speaking to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, the former NBA Rookie of the Year said he believes James is the greatest of all time and disagrees with those who use his longevity as an argument against him. “At 40, I think that LeBron is playing at a higher level, but I think medicine and I think science has come a long way,” Brogdon said. “But I think also longevity has to be counted for LeBron. He’s the first player in this game to have longevity that is counted against him, you know? It’s one of his downfalls.” Brodgon was a solid contributor for the Washington Wizards last season, scoring 12.7 points with 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
If the New York Yankees are looking to add in the coming days, they may have to part ways with some of the young talent rising through the ranks of their farm system. The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Thursday afternoon that catcher Rafael Flores was one Yankees prospect who has been coveted by trade partners. Flores was promoted from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last Saturday. Flores hit .287 with 15 home runs, 23 doubles, 48 runs, 56 RBIs, six stolen bases and an .841 OPS across 87 games in Double-A. Through six Triple-A contests, the 24-year-old catcher is batting .208 with one home runs, three runs, three RBIs and a .720 OPS. MLB Pipeline has Flores ranked as the Yankees' No. 8 prospect, making him the only catcher in the organization's top 25. The Yankees already swung a blockbuster deal with the Colorado Rockies on Friday, acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon, parting ways with pitching prospects Griffin Herring and Josh Grosz in order to complete the trade. The following day, superstar outfielder Aaron Judge hit the 10-day injured list with a flexor strain. Those two moves could change New York's plans for the coming days, including their willingness to move Flores. The future of second-year first baseman Ben Rice, who has spent roughly one-seventh of his time at catcher this season, could also play a part in determining Flores' availability. The trade deadline is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The Hurricanes announced Thursday night that they’ve signed winger Jackson Blake to an eight-year, $45M extension that will kick in for the 2026-27. While that would normally mean an average annual value and cap hit of $5.625M, the actual cap hit of the contract will fall in the $5.1M range due to deferred compensation, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The contract buys out the extent of Blake’s RFA eligibility and will make him a UFA following the 2033-34 season. Blake’s stock has been on the rise since immediately after Carolina selected him in the fourth round in 2021. He was a USHL All-Star in his post-draft season with the Chicago Steel before making the jump to NCAA hockey with North Dakota, where he totaled 102 points in 79 games in two seasons — earning a Hobey Baker finalist nod in his sophomore year. He signed his entry-level contract with the Hurricanes in April 2024 and joined them for the brief remainder of the regular season. In his first full pro season, Blake hit the ground running. He made the Canes out of camp and had five points through his first nine games despite seeing less than 12 minutes of ice time per night. That offense didn’t quite hold up the rest of the way, though. While he ended up seeing significant deployment alongside Sebastian Aho at even strength, he ended up finishing the year with a 17-17–34 scoring line in 80 games, finishing ninth on the team in scoring and ninth in Calder Trophy voting as the league’s Rookie of the Year. That’s fine production, especially considering he averaged under 14 minutes per game on the year. He’ll need to build on it to justify that cap hit, though, especially with so much risk attached to a max-term deal. The good news is that Blake has another year left on his entry-level contract to continue his development before he’ll need to start justifying that cap hit. The son of former NHLer Jason Blake turns 22 next month, yet with this deal, he’s guaranteed to surpass his dad’s career earnings. The Hurricanes have historically opted to sign their young players for as long and as early as possible, a trend that continues here. Sometimes, it’s paid off — their eight-year, $59.4M commitment to Seth Jarvis last offseason looks like a steal after he put up a repeat 67-point performance in 2024-25. There’s also the glaring example of where that strategy has failed regarding center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, whose $4.82M cap hit looks more stomachable now with a rising ceiling but is still well above his market value four years into the deal. The jury is still out on newly acquired Logan Stankoven, who they inked to an eight-year, $48M extension at the beginning of the month. Blake’s deal will be one of the last of its kind. It contains two elements — deferred compensation and an eight-year term — that will be outlawed when the new CBA Memorandum of Understanding takes effect on Sep. 15, 2026. If he waited until reaching RFA status next summer to sign, a lengthy negotiation could have lost him that eighth year if the two sides didn’t come to terms until the beginning of training camp. With the salary cap’s upper limit projected to reach $104M in 2026-27, the Hurricanes have around $16M in projected space with Blake’s and Stankoven’s deals taken care of. While they’re projected to be Carolina’s 11th- and 12th-highest-paid forwards on their opening night roster this season, they’ll be their fifth- and sixth-highest-paid forwards in 2026-27.
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