Zoo Crew suffers tough loss to Happy Valley Hoopers in The Basketball Tournament
The disappointment will linger with Nelly Cummings after he and his Zoo Crew teammates lost to the Happy Valley Hoopers, 85-82, on Wednesday night in the Sweet 16 of The Basketball Tournament at Petersen Events Center. After all, a team composed largely of former Pitt players led their Penn State...
Norwin alum Noah Czajkowski commits to Pitt baseball team
When he put his name into the national free-agent database known as the NCAA transfer portal, pitcher Noah Czajkowski hoped to garner interest from Division I baseball programs nearer to where he grew up. That one such suitor was Pitt came as a pleasant surprise and a welcome bonus. Czajkowski,...
While noting loss of Pitt-Penn State rivalry, Pat Narduzzi pleased to continue series with West Virginia
Pitt and Penn State haven’t met on the football field since 2019 when a four-game series ended with the Nittany Lions’ 17-10 victory at Beaver Stadium. It was the 100th game in a series that spans three centuries, but it has been played only five times since 2000. No renewal...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi wants another championship ring but understands plenty needs to be fixed
Pat Narduzzi made a fist on his right hand and, with sincere pride, flashed the bling that represents his greatest triumph as Pitt’s head coach the past nine seasons: the ring earned in 2021 as ACC champion. He appeared on the ACC Network on Tuesday morning during the ACC Kickoff...
Zoo Crew advances to TBT Regional Final with 91-79 victory against Best Virginia
When former Pitt player Nike Sibande was asked Monday night if he’s a better player now than at the end of his final season 16 months ago, he didn’t hesitate with his answer. He tapped the side of his head with his right index finger. “Personally, I think I grew...
In wake of lawsuits filed by FSU, Clemson, commissioner Jim Phillips plans ‘to fight to protect the ACC’
At the outset of an ACC football season that will play out unlike any that came before it — with lawsuits filed against the conference by two of its marquee members while teams prepare to fly cross-country to play games — commissioner Jim Phillips said Monday he will “fight to...
Pitt women’s soccer coach Randy Waldrum leads Team Nigeria into Olympic Games
Randy Waldrum is well aware of the challenges his Nigerian women’s soccer team will confront in Bordeaux, France, when the Olympic Games get underway Thursday. “We don’t have the resources that the U.S. team has,” said Waldrum, who also has coached Pitt’s women’s team since 2018. “We don’t have the...
Zoo Crew advances in The Basketball Tournament, awaits Best Virginia in Round of 32
Mike Young played in two NCAA Tournaments and scored 1,835 points in four seasons at Pitt. He proudly sits seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list. Who could ask for anything more from a collegiate basketball career? Something’s missing, however, and Young plans to fix that Monday night at Petersen...
Returning to the Pete for The Basketball Tournament gives ex-Pitt players chance to reflect on careers
If the Zoo Crew is fortunate enough to win six games in The Basketball Tournament that starts Saturday at Petersen Events Center and share the $1 million winner-take-all prize, the victory will raise an obvious question for the nine-man team of former Pitt and Pittsburgh area players: What will they...
Jeff Capel’s ‘family-type’ culture helped attract transfers Damian Dunn, Cam Corhen to Pitt
Damian Dunn didn’t transfer to Pitt from Houston, one of the top college basketball schools in the nation, because his hometown of Kinston, N.C., is less than 100 miles from where Jeff Capel grew up in Fayetteville. He didn’t listen to Capel’s sales pitch because his father, Paul, competed against...
Pitt signs basketball coach Jeff Capel to contract extension through 2029-30 season
Most of the news concerning the Pitt men’s basketball team this offseason has centered on coach Jeff Capel’s attempts to rebuild the team’s scoring base after losing Blake Hinson and Bub Carrington. The news was finally about Capel on Wednesday when Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke extended his contract through...
On Sports: Steelers near bottom of NFL skill-position rankings; Bengals’ Tee Higgins locked in 1-year deal
You’re not the only one unimpressed by the group of “skill position” players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. It being the height of football media’s “list season” (a dead period before training camps open), ESPN’s Bill Barnwell released his annual “Ranking NFL team WR, TE, RB talent for 2024 season,”...
Hempfield grad, Pitt pitcher Phil Fox drafted by White Sox in 7th round
Hempfield graduate Phil Fox can’t remember a time when he didn’t want to pitch in professional baseball. “From the day I was, like, born, I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” he said. The Chicago White Sox made no promises that he will have...
On Sports: Patric Hornqvist again engraved on Stanley Cup; ex-Pitt star arrested; waived Pirate starts for Dodgers
Former Pittsburgh Penguins fan favorite Patric Hornqvist has his name on the Stanley Cup for a third time. The NHL’s “Keeper of the Cup,” Philip Pritchard, released a photo of the newly engraved chalice via social media over the weekend. And among the 53 of Florida Panthers players and staff...
Pitt receives commitment from Texas tackle Jordan Fields, 4th offensive lineman in Panthers’ 2025 class
Pitt received its fourth verbal commitment from a 2025 offensive tackle Friday when Jordan Fields, a three-star recruit from Houston, turned down a scholarship offer from his hometown university and decided to move from one North Shore to another. HAIL TO PITT????????????????????????@247Sports @On3sports @Rivals @CoachDarveau @CoachDuzzPittFB @PittPanthers247 @JGonzalesJr10 pic.twitter.com/G5guK1fxSz— Jordan...
Pitt’s Bobby Grier remembered as a civil rights pioneer, devoted father
Bobby Grier was laid to rest Thursday, remembered as a civil rights pioneer who boldly stepped onto the football field at the Sugar Bowl in the midst of politically charged racial hatred. Georgia Tech was playing Grier’s Pitt team that day — Jan. 2, 1956 — after the governor of...
Pitt swimmer Jayla Pina will represent the nation of Cape Verde in the Paris Olympics
Junior swimmer Jayla Pina will represent Pitt and the nation of Cape Verde in the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. She will compete in the 200 IM on Aug. 2 at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. It will be her second appearance at the...
Long snapper prospect Henry Searcy flips from Syracuse, joins Pitt’s class of 2025
Long snapper Henry Searcy joined Pitt’s 2025 recruiting class after de-committing from Syracuse, he said in a social media post. Searcy (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) committed to Syracuse on July 2 before informing coach Pat Narduzzi he flipped to Pitt. A rising senior at Chiles High School in Tallahassee, Fla., he...
Kevin Colbert, Bill Hillgrove will join current, past Pitt football players in leadership symposium
Shawn Robinson was exposed to sports through most of his life, most notably as a Pitt defensive back for four years at the turn of the century. As founder and president of Orange Arrow, a consulting service aimed at helping develop young student-athletes for pursuits later in life, Robinson and...
Pitt football pioneer Bobby Grier, 1st Black player in the Sugar Bowl, dies at 91
Robert “Bobby” Grier Sr., who was a fullback, linebacker and defensive back at Pitt but more significantly a civil rights pioneer in the 1950s, has died. Grier, who was 91, died June 30, according to a Pitt news release. Grier was the first Black player in the Sugar Bowl after...
Pitt basketball alum Marcedes Walker to compete in Paris Olympics for Azerbaijan
After an accolade-filled Pitt women’s basketball career, Marcedes Walker was officially named to the Azerbaijan Olympic roster Wednesday. Walker helped propel Azerbaijan to the FIBA 3x3 Qualifying Tournament title in April, clinching the country’s first spot in the Olympics for the 3x3 basketball event. “It’s an honor to represent Azerbaijan...
Pitt incoming freshman forward Kiara Williams to miss season after leg surgery
Kiara Williams, a rising freshman forward for Pitt’s women’s basketball, will be sidelined for the entire 2024-25 season after she underwent successful lower leg surgery. “We certainly wish Kiara well as she starts her recovery process,” coach Tory Verdi said in a statement. “She will work hard with our training...
Pitt lands commitments from 3 more 2025 prospects, including 2 defensive backs, elevating its 21-man class to No. 26 in the nation
Operating under the Pat Narduzzi dictum that Pitt never can have too many defensive backs, the Panthers added two more to their Class of 2025 on Monday — bringing the current total to four — after 3-star prospects Joshua Guerrier of Ocoee, Fla., and Cole Woodson of Haymaker Va., pledged...
Hampton grad Tyler Bischke: ‘No-brainer’ to play for Pitt
Tyler Bischke’s college baseball career took him thousands of miles away before bringing him back to nearly where he started. And right back to where he wanted. After playing at three schools in four years, including programs in southcentral Oklahoma and New Orleans, the Hampton graduate spent his final season...
$1M basketball tournament set at Petersen Events Center, hosted by Pitt’s Zoo Crew
The Basketball Tournament, a $1 million, winner-take-all national event, enters its 11th year next month — with a local twist. For the first time, the opening round of games July 20-24 are scheduled for Petersen Events Center. The Zoo Crew, a Pitt alumni team, will be the host. Zoo Crew...
