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South Carolina gets a much-needed transfer portal commitment as the transfer portal begins to come to a close. The Gamecocks landed a Texas A&M transfer, Madina Okot, on Monday night to help bolster its center position. With Okot's size, she has a 6’10 wingspan and a 10’3 approach height (running vertical height) it will be tough for opponents to score near the rim against the Gamecocks.
Okot provides a formidable post presence on the inside. She can score the basketball and is efficient with her touches. In 2024-2025, Okot averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on 65% shooting from the field. Her rebounding will be valuable for the Gamecocks heading to next year on both ends. Her 9.6 rebounds per game ranked third in the SEC. Of the 325 rebounds she grabbed last season, 120 came on the offensive glass. 37% of her rebounds came on the offensive glass another really good sign of potentially more possessions for the Gamecocks.
Okot also gets it done on the defensive end, averaging 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She set a career-high in blocks this season against Missouri, where she finished with four. One of her best games came in a double overtime victory over Vanderbilt, where she recorded a 20-20 game, finishing with 21 points and 23 rebounds. She recorded a career-high five steals against Alabama State back in November.
Okot has a really cool story, having only played basketball for five seasons, getting her start in Kenya. Before coming to the United States, she played for Zetech University in Kenya as she awaited approval for her Visa.
An area where South Carolina struggled last season was at the center position. To put it frankly, the Gamecocks didn't have their prototypical enforcer in the post like they've had in years past in Aja Wilson, Aliyah Boston, and Kamilla Cardoso. Ashlyn Watkins tore her ACL against Mississippi State on January 5th and is still recovering from the injury. Adhel Tac is another player for the Gamecocks who has dealt with injuries that have forced her to miss the last few years on the court. With the addition of Okot, they get some of that back.
At worst, Okot provides South Carolina with a rotational piece and depth. Her ceiling is being a starter and becoming a potential All-SEC caliber player with the Gamecocks. With her experience and being able to excel in the SEC, Okot should be a player that Coach Staley can rely on heading into next season. She is very coachable and coach Staley is great at getting the best out of her players. She has created quite a reputation for developing players and sending them off to the WNBA where they excel.
Coach Staley also landed an elite scorer from Florida State in Ta’Niya Latson this offseason, who averaged 21.3 points per game and, in all likelihood, helped bring back Raven Johnson for another season. It has been an offseason of departures for South Carolina, which lost Te-Hina Paopao (Atlanta Dream), Bree Hall (Indiana Fever), and Sania Feagin (Los Angeles Sparks). MiLaysia Fulwiley and Sakima Walker both entered the transfer portal.
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Liberty have wise plan for Breanna Stewart's recovery
The New York Liberty will be without star forward Breanna Stewart for the time being. However, head coach Sandy Brondello doesn't seem overly concerned about the timeline for the former UConn Husky. Brondello confirmed on Wednesday that Stewart is suffering from a bone bruise on her right knee. She was injured this past Saturday in the Liberty's 101-99 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Brondello wouldn't put a firm timetable on Stewart's return. With 19 games left in the season, the coach seems more concerned about Stewart's status for the playoffs. "We want to be smart with it," Brondello said on Wednesday before the Liberty played the Minnesota Lynx, according to Michael Voepel of ESPN. "If we can get her back at the end of August, I think that's great. It's big picture ... so when she's ready. But keep it fresh for the playoffs. I know she'll be back before then. How early she gets back before the end of the [regular] season, I don't know." The Liberty are the defending WNBA champions and Stewart is a huge part of what they do. She's averaging 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season and had not missed a contest until this past Saturday's. Stewart is a two-time WNBA MVP and has averaged 20.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in nine seasons. She won four national championships at UConn and has won three WNBA titles (two with the Seattle Storm). It's tough to win back-to-back championships even when fully healthy, so the Liberty are smart to allow Stewart to take her time getting back to full strength.
Massive Brawl Breaks Out For The Steelers As Rookie Makes His Presence Known
The Pittsburgh Steelers are fully engulfed in training camp ahead of the 2025 season, and tempers have been flaring ever since the team put pads on for the first time on Wednesday. This is seen every year, and it also seems to be heightened when the team participates in its annual "Friday Night Lights" practice. The team always goes out to a local high school and completes a practice there in front of a stadium full of fans. Emotions are running high as it is the closest practice the players will have to a game prior to the first preseason matchup. Fights will break out during team periods, but they are also seen during individual competition. This was the case on Friday for Pittsburgh, as the team went through backs on backers as well as one-on-ones between receivers and the secondary. Backs on backers is a pass protection drill for running backs and tight ends, and they will line up across from defenders and attempt to block them. It gets chippy, and that was the case for rookie running back Kaleb Johnson and linebacker Mark Robinson. Robinson might not be a major contributor on the defense for Pittsburgh, but he is a true athletic specimen. He is fast and powerful, and that presents a pretty tall task for Johnson, who is trying to improve his pass protection. According to the reporting from insider Brian Batko, Johnson and Robinson began fighting, which turned into other players fighting from the offense and defense. It led to a fairly large brawl. Johnson was very vocal about wanting to step up his pass protection. It is the best way to see the field as a young running back in the league. Luckily for him, he is in the same room as Jaylen Warren, who is one of the top backs in the league in that regard. He can learn from his teammate, and is clearly catching onto a thing or two as he was able to beat Robinson in the rep after the fight broke out. The rookie running back still has a long way to go in pass protection, but he has been making strides throughout camp. That has certainly been because of tips he has picked up from Warren, as well as getting used to life in the NFL. He made his presence known on Friday by starting a major brawl during the drill, and then coming back a minute later to win the rep. Steelers Running Backs Wanted All The Smoke During Friday Night Lights The fight between Johnson and Robinson was not the only one. Players came rushing into the fold as a brawl broke out, and veteran running back Trey Sermon found himself in the middle of a fight with linebacker Devin Harper. It was reported by Brooke Pryor that their fight began just after the initial brawl was broken up. Those are two guys that are fighting for a spot on the final roster, so it is a bit risky to get into a brawl in the middle of practice, especially after the fight was just broken up. However, Head Coach Mike Tomlin has been known to smirk as brawls like these as they breakout during practice.
'Most likely scenario' for Terry McLaurin revealed
A recent report indicated that teams potentially interested in acquiring Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin learned that the club is "not trading" him before the 2025 season begins. The 29-year-old, who is in the final year of his current contract, may have responded to this news by requesting a trade on Thursday. However, ESPN's Bill Barnwell shared Friday that he doesn't "think there's a strong chance McLaurin gets traded" before September. "There's been no suggestion from the Commanders' side that they're looking to deal him, even after his request," Barnwell wrote. "Trading him now would likely result in landing 2026 draft picks, which won't help the Commanders in a season in which they're hoping to compete. And there just aren't many teams with the cap space or cash budget at this point of the offseason to give him the sort of deal he appears to want." McLaurin allegedly does not want to accept less money than DK Metcalf, who received a five-year, $150M deal from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March. Whether or not McLaurin "deserves" such an extension is irrelevant as it pertains to his importance to Washington and the market for players at his position. McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign with team highs of 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards as quarterback Jayden Daniels guided Washington to the NFC Championship Game and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors. Additionally, McLaurin was second in the NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Washington sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX in February 2026. That shows why Barnwell and others are convinced that acquiring future draft assets for McLaurin makes little sense for the win-now Commanders. "The logical thing is for McLaurin to stay with the Commanders, for the two sides to come to terms on a new deal or some sort of raise, and for Daniels to have his best pass catcher on the field in Week 1," Barnwell concluded. "It's still the most likely scenario." On Thursday, Nicki Jhabvala and Dianna Russini of The Athletic noted that "several teams that called Washington about [McLaurin] before his trade request on Thursday were told the team will not trade him." Commanders general manager Adam Peters seems to understand he still has plenty of time to work something out with McLaurin before Washington opens the regular season against the New York Giants on Sept. 7.
Brewers Tried Bringing All-Star Slugger To Milwaukee: Report
The Milwaukee Brewers may not have added a big bat ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline, but it sounds like it wasn't from a lack of trying, at the very least. As the trade deadline approached, rumors swirled about various sluggers. The two that popped up the most when it came to the Brewers were Ryan O'Hearn, formerly of the Baltimore Orioles. Former Arizona Diamondbacks star Eugenio Suárez also was mentioned. Suárez was traded to the Seattle Mariners and O'Hearn was dealt to the San Diego Padres. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Friday that the Brewers at least showed interest in O'Hearn on Friday, although they were unable to get a deal done. "Brewers were involved on O’Hearn today, sources said. But that counts for little, leaving them still without any additions other than Danny Jansen with 90 minutes to go," Hogg reported on Friday. O'Hearn would've been a solid pickup because of the fact that he has launched 13 homers and has driven in 43 runs this season. While this is the case, Milwaukee missed out. Positionally, there would've been some question marks, but that doesn't matter any longer. Now, the deadline is behind us and there's no need to think about or worry about what could'be been. This is a contender as is. It would've been nice to land someone like O'Hearn, but Milwaukee still has a 64-44 despite the offensive questions.
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