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Kathryn Plummer Looks Back on a Historic College Career

PITTSBURGH, PA – DECEMBER 21: Kathryn Plummer #2 of the Stanford Cardinal cuts down the net after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers during the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on December 21, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

A member of the U.S. Volleyball and Beach Volleyball National team, Kathryn Plummer is the only player in history to have won FIVB World Championship medals in both beach and indoor. In 2019, Plummer was part of the US national team that won the Pan American Cup in Peru. An alum of Stanford University’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams, Plummer is a three-time NCAA champion and a recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award, which is annually given to the best American amateur athlete. Most recently, she played for the Italian professional volleyball team Saugella Team Monza. 

After graduating from Stanford shortly after winning your third NCAA championship title, you chose to join a professional volleyball team in Italy. What made you decide to play overseas?

For women’s volleyball, there’s not much opportunity to play professionally in the United States as of now. The Italian professional volleyball league is very competitive – I knew I would be surrounded by the best players in the world. I wanted that challenge.

Playing Italy was definitely a challenge. First of all, it’s a challenge in and of itself to be away from home: You’re in a whole different culture, people are speaking a different language. You’re being coached in a different language. Additionally, the process of transitioning from a collegiate athlete to a professional player is quite a process. From finding an agent to finally negotiating a contract there were various steps involved before I finally got to visit the team. Between the NCAA semifinal and the championship during my final season at Stanford, I squeezed meetings with four or five agents in my hotel room all while preparing for the national championship.

With all this said,  I’m glad I got to go to play overseas. I’m young, and I want to learn new things.

How was your season affected by the pandemic? What are your plans moving forward?

By the end of February, our games started to get postponed, and competing seemed no longer to be an option. At that point, pretty much all we could do was just practice, and I ultimately made the decision to return home in the United States. The league was officially canceled when I arrived back in the U.S.

Hopefully, I will be able to play next season, but with various international tournaments that were originally planned for this summer have been canceled much is up in the air.

Ok. So let’s backtrack a little bit to when you first started playing volleyball. Did you grow up playing both beach and indoor volleyball in high school?

Growing up, I was the “sporty” girl. I played basketball, soccer, softball – everything that you could imagine.

I grew up in Southern California, where men’s volleyball is a big part of the culture. My older brother played volleyball. I was the little sister that wanted to go to everything, all the practices, all the games. In a way, I was kind of forced into watching it. I decided to try it myself and first started playing volleyball when I was 10. I really loved it, and soon began to exclusively dedicate my time to the sport … Although I guess in high school, I was on the track and field team, but it was more of a hobby than anything else.

Were you really tall as a kid or did you hit a growth spurt later on?

Yeah, I was really tall. My parents are 6’8″ and 6’3″, and my brother is 6’7″. We’re a very tall family.

You were recruited by various universities. What made you ultimately decide to go to Stanford?

My recruiting process started pretty early – I got my first offer in the seventh grade. Academics and athletics are most important to me, and Stanford excelled in both.

But the thing that drew me in the most was that when I visited Stanford, I felt that I could be myself. Everyone at Stanford is kind of quirky, and weird – they all have their own little thing that makes them unique. At other schools, I felt like I was trying to put on this facade to fit in with their program, but at Stanford, everyone was different in their own ways – I felt like I could really thrive there.

Well you definitely did thrive over there! You started your Stanford athlete career by winning a national championship your freshman year. What was that experience like?

I’ve talked about this with my teammates from class many times –  it was kind of a blur. I think we were just immensely joyful.

The other championships that we won together throughout our Stanford experience felt different than our first. Our freshman year was one of just pure happiness because we were giddy freshmen that didn’t really know the gravity of what we had accomplished. We were following a lot of senior leadership.

What type of expectations did you set for yourselves following such a great first season?

As a team, we talked about trying to not listen to the expectations that other people were putting on us. The next three years, I think we pushed ourselves for a strong season because we knew that we could hold ourselves to high standards, as opposed to pushing ourselves to meet any sort of external pressure cast upon us.

In your second season at Stanford your team’s campaign to the finals was cut short after losing to Florida 3-2 in the NCAA semi-finals. What was that experience like?

Pretty much throughout my entire sophomore season, our team breezed through. We had a tough preseason – we did really well. We had a tough conference – we did really well.

I think by the NCAA championships, we let the expectations that were set upon us starting from our successful 2016 season creep in a little bit. We didn’t feel like we were just playing a volleyball game – we felt the pressure to follow up a championship win from the previous year.

We just weren’t a cohesive group. Both Florida and Stanford played good volleyball, but our competitor was more of a cohesive team than we were.

Following the season, we sat down and really tried to bring together our whole team. We sought to find ways to support every member of our team  – I thought this was really important and allowed us to have a lot of success the next two years.

You won three national championships during your time at Stanford. Is there one that is most memorable?

I definitely think my senior season was the most special. All of the seasons were really awesome, but senior year was most memorable because it was the last time I was in a Stanford uniform, the last where my parents watched me play in college and the last I was going to get to play together with my teammates. It was a very bittersweet, happy yet sad moment. My teammates and I were crying because we were happy that we won the championship, but also sad because we knew it was over. Our whole four years – and everything we built in those times was over.

Why do you think your class on the team has been so successful as a unit? 

We were best friends off the court too, which is nice, but that is by no means necessary to have a successful team. I think we embraced different leadership roles on our team. As for myself, I tried to lead by example – I tried to figure out how to score. Other people had different types of leadership styles: For example, Morgan Hentz was a leader that kept everyone accountable; She made sure that everyone was doing their job. Jenna Gray was the goofy one that lightened the mood when it was too tense. Audriana Fitzmorris was the very intellectual, analytical one. Everyone came together to form a very cohesive group. We worked really hard to figure out ways to support and communicate if people were struggling. There were many tough conversations in the process, but I think it came together at the end.

What was your academic experience like at Stanford? Stanford is a very academically competitive institution as it is athletically – was anything particularly challenging? 

I studied Human Biology. My sophomore year was tough, because I was taking the core classes for my major which was hard.

But after that, I really liked my courses,  because I could take the classes that were very applicable to my interests. I’m very interested in how the body works in exercise and sports. I took a bunch of anatomy and human performance classes, which was really cool. As an athlete, I started to understand my own body better at the biological and molecular level.

You also played on the Beach Volleyball team as a freshman and sophomore at Stanford. How did you balance playing two sports?

It was tough to play competitively for two seasons in one academic year, but it was also nice to be able to get a little breath of something fresh. It was really tough in the winter quarters, because I was practicing for both indoor and beach.

I eventually made the decision that I wanted to start my professional career in indoor and maybe transition to beach later on in my career, because beach is a lot more forgiving to your body when you’re older. So, following my sophomore year I solely focused on playing for the indoor team.

What are your future goals for the sport? 

Since I was little, it has been my dream to go to the Olympics. I’m going to be playing professionally at least until 2024. There’s a lot of things that will unfold up until that point, but I want to try to make the Olympic team. Then we’ll see what I want to do, but that’s way far away. There’s always a professional career in beach volleyball –  you can get paid for that, which is nice. I also just might have a normal job and work in an office. Who knows?

2025 NCAA Softball Kicks Off as Oklahoma Hunts 5th-Straight World Series Win

Oklahoma and Texas line up on the softball field before the second game of the 2024 Women's College World Series.
Oklahoma will pursue their fifth-straight NCAA softball title this season. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

College softball is back, with a new-look Oklahoma team kicking off the 2025 NCAA season in pursuit of a fifth-straight Women's College World Series win.

Despite Oklahoma's ongoing dominance, 2025's lineup does promise significantly higher parity than seasons past.

Having graduated a number of last year's stars — including a senior class that snagged four straight national titles — the Sooners enter the season ranked third.

Instead, 2024 runner-up Texas takes the top spot, followed by perennial contenders Florida at No. 2. Both teams enter 2025 with the majority of their rosters from last season intact, earning them an edge over the revamped Sooners.

Texas star catcher Reese Atwood blasts a double during a 2024 NCAA Softball Regional game against Northwestern.
Star slugger Reese Atwood is back to lead the Texas softball offense. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Texas on top as SEC looms

Still hunting a first national championship, Texas returns with six starters and four of their five 2024 pitchers — including then-freshman phenom Teagan Kavan, who led the team with 20 wins last year.

Meanwhile, last season's Big 12 Player of the Year, junior catcher Reese Atwood, is back to lead the Longhorn offense.

After joining rival Oklahoma in flipping to the SEC this year, Texas is gearing up to meet their new conference foes with the No. 1 target on their backs.

"It's a great honor, to tell you the truth," Texas head coach Mike White said about the preseason ranking. "And now we got to back it up. We’ve had a team that's been called young in the years past, and now we're a little more mature."

"We have a tough slate of games ahead of us, and then, of course, the gauntlet of the SEC is ahead of us," White noted. "We’ve really just got to go play good softball now."

The impact of conference realignment will extend beyond the SEC this season. The sport's historic dynasty No. 6 UCLA is now competing in the Big Ten while No. 4 Oklahoma State is taking over the top spot in the Big 12 rankings.

Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady winds up from the circle during a 2024 NCAA Softball Super Regionals game against LSU.
A $1 million NIL deal convinced 2024 National Player of the Year NiJaree Canady to transfer to Texas Tech. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

2025 NCAA softball season takes the field

As multiple teams travel to warm-weather destinations to start the season, the first week of competition showcases a slate of top-ranked matchups.

With a top-tier win already in the books, No. 4 Oklahoma State opened their 2025 campaign with a bang at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Thursday. Buoyed by a trio of home runs, the Cowgirls handed No. 12 Florida State a 9-6 loss.

Waiting on deck at this week's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, are two ranked games featuring superstar pitchers.

First, No. 16 Nebraska ace Jordy Bahl — a two-time NCAA champion with Oklahoma — will likely take the circle against No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday. If she gets the start, it will mark her first game in nearly a year, as the Cornhusker transfer suffered a season-ending ACL injury in last year's opener.

Then on Friday, a revamped No. 10 Texas Tech side will face No. 25 Mississippi State, with former Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady likely leading the charge.

The 2024 National Player of the Year transferred after her sophomore season with the Cardinal, as Texas Tech sealed the deal via a record-shattering $1 million NIL contract.

Oklahoma softball pitcher Jordy Bahl winds up during the 2023 Women's College World Series against Florida State.
Star transfer Jordy Bahl is back with Nebraska softball after missing 2024 play with an ACL tear. (Grace Bradley/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's Top 25 NCAA softball games

Look for Bahl to lead No. 16 Nebraska against No. 5 Tennessee at 7 PM ET on Thursday, before No. 25 Mississippi State will contend with Canady and No. 10 Texas Tech at 5 PM ET on Friday.

Both games will stream live on the GameChanger app.

Unrivaled Basketball Drops 1v1 Tournament Bracket

Napheesa Collier and Stefanie Dolson tip off an Unrivaled basketball game.
The winner of the Unrivaled 1v1 tournament will earn $200,000 in prize money. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball's 1v1 tournament is fast approaching,​ with the offseason league dropping the competition's official bracket on Wednesday.

The head-to-head showdown tips off on Monday, February 10th, with the semifinals and three-game final series all tipping off on Friday, February 14th. 

Fan votes determined the seeding for the debut league's first-ever in-season tournament. Those ballots gave the Mist's Jewell Loyd and Vinyl's Arike Ogunbowale first-round byes, moving them straight into Tuesday's quarterfinal round.

Meanwhile, the other 28 competitors have four rounds to overcome to claim the trophy — not to mention $200,000 in prize money.

Breaking down the Unrivaled 1v1 bracket

Some early battles will be tougher than others, as Unrivaled co-founder and current scoring leader Napheesa Collier takes on fellow UConn alum Katie Lou Samuelson. The winner of that matchup then faces either Jackie Young or Rickea Jackson.

Collier's fellow co-founder Breanna Stewart — also a UConn product — drew 2024 UConn standout Aaliyah Edwards in Monday's first round. The winner subsequently earns a second-round date against either Marina Mabrey or Kate Martin.

Despite her first-round bye, Ogunbowale's bracket quadrant appears to be a gauntlet.

The guard will first battle either fellow Notre Dame alum Skylar Diggins-Smith, who has four game-winners under her belt so far this season, or Vinyl teammate Dearica Hamby.

The Olympic 3×3 bronze medalist trails only Collier and Laces star Kayla McBride on Unrivaled's score sheet, averaging 21.2 points per game. Additionally, Hamby's 10.4 rebounding average has her sitting fourth in the league.

Should they advance, either McBride or Satou Sabally will await Ogunbowale in the quarterfinals.

Ultimately, every matchup is stacked considering the star-studded league's depth.

"I just want the top dawgs to knock each other out," joked Courtney Williams ahead of her own first-round clash with Tiffany Hayes, with the winner set to square off against either Rhyne Howard or Lexie Hull.

"[If] your shot's falling, really anyone can win 1v1," she continued. "It's all about who figured it out in that moment."

An official game ball rests on the Unrivaled basketball court in Miami, Florida.
The three-day 1v1 tournament will tip off on Monday. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

How to watch next week's Unrivaled 1v1 tournament

The inaugural contest's first round tips off at 2 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage on truTV. The evening session begins at 7 PM ET on TNT.

Both the second round and quarterfinals will air on truTV starting at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, with the semifinals and finals taking over both truTV and TNT on Friday beginning at 7:30 PM ET.

No. 1 UCLA Downs No. 8 OSU in Top 10 NCAA Basketball Action

UCLA center Lauren Betts lifts a shot over Ohio State during Wednesday's Big Ten basketball game.
UCLA center Lauren Betts registered 19 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday's win. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

No. 1 UCLA added another Top 10 NCAA basketball win to their 2024/25 resume on Wednesday, tallying their second of the season after holding off Big Ten foe No. 8 Ohio State 65-52.

Despite Buckeye freshman Jaloni Cambridge's game-leading 21 points, Ohio State fell to a tough UCLA defense. The Bruins clamped down in the second and fourth quarters, relinquishing just 18 points to the Buckeyes across those two periods.

Meanwhile, UCLA junior Lauren Betts continued her National Player of the Year campaign, scoring a team-high 19 points plus 14 rebounds after clinching the double-double before the first-half buzzer.

Star junior guard Gabriela Jaquez narrowly trailed Betts, posting 17 points to help push UCLA over the line.

The victory marks a program-record 22nd consecutive win for the still-undefeated Bruins — their longest winning streak since 1978.

"I told the team after the game that these games are fun when they're close," Jaquez said afterwards. "This might have been one of the first games where it got close."

Top 10 NCAA upset rattles the Big 12

Wednesday didn't pan out as smoothly in the Big 12, where No. 12 Kansas State upset No. 9 TCU 59-50 in the Wildcats' first Top 10 win of the season. The victory broke the pair's tie atop the conference standings, putting Kansas State firmly in control of the Big 12.

While the Wildcat defense stifled TCU top scorers Sedona Prince and Hailey Van Lith, holding them to a respective 14 and 10 points, Kansas State senior Serena Sundell showed out on offense. The guard scored a season-high 27 points — 15 of which came during the Wildcats' third-quarter surge.

"[Sundell] lived at the rim," TCU head coach Mark Campbell told reporters after the game. "She absolutely destroyed us in the post. She just shot layups and layups and layups. That's what makes her unique is she's a 6-foot-2 versatile playmaker.... We didn't have an answer for that one."

UConn guard Azzi Fudd controls the ball against Tennessee during the rivals' 2022 basketball game.
Tennessee hosts historic rival UConn in a Top 20 matchup tonight. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

How to watch Top 20 NCAA basketball on Thursday

The NCAA action continues with historic rivals No. 5 UConn taking on No. 19 Tennessee at 6:30 PM ET tonight. That's when Paige Bueckers and the Huskies will take aim at Jewel Spear and the Vols, with live coverage on ESPN.

USWNT Star Midge Purce Signs One-Year NWSL Contract Extension with Gotham

Gotham winger Midge Purce holds the ball before a set piece during a March 2024 NWSL match.
Purce earned NWSL Championship MVP with Gotham in 2023. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

USWNT attacker Midge Purce re-signed with Gotham FC on a one-year deal Wednesday. The move quieted speculation about the star's future with the club.

The 29-year-old announced her return in classic fashion. She simply adding a two-word quote to Gotham's press release on Wednesday: "I'm back."

Purce played a major role in Gotham's 2023 title-winning run. She earned NWSL Championship MVP honors after assisting on both goals in NJ/NY's trophy-clinching match. However, she was sidelined for much of the subsequent season — her fifth at Gotham — after a late March 2024 ACL tear.

"Midge brings a number of great qualities to our team, and her dynamism and experience are great additions to our talented attacking group," Gotham GM Yael Averbuch West said in a statement. "We are very excited to welcome her back into the mix."

Purce signing helps ease Gotham's 2025 concerns

Securing the striker eases some fears about Gotham's plans for 2025. This offseason saw a number of high-profile exits including USWNT stars Lynn Biyendolo (née Williams), Crystal Dunn, Jenna Nighswonger, among others.

"We fully understand our journey won't always follow a straight path, and we are realistic about the time, fortitude, and effort required to achieve our goals," Averbuch West recently told fans in an open letter.

"I know this offseason has been a time of uncertainty for our fans, and I want you to know we've worked tirelessly to build a team you’ll be excited to stand behind in 2025 and every season after."

Ultimately, Purce's return rounds out a still-solid Gotham squad. Of course, the roster remains punctuated by USWNT mainstays Rose Lavelle, Emily Sonnett, and Tierna Davidson.

The team is currently in Spain for preseason training. They'll play a pair of closed-door scrimmages before returning to New Jersey to kick off the 2025 NWSL season.

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