Sports
Okla. State lands No. 44 hoops recruit Montonati
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Jeff Borzello
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Paul Biancardi
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Paul Biancardi
Basketball Recruiting
- National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com
- 18 years of coaching experience at Division I level
- Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State
Senior Jalen Montonati, the No. 44 player in the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 basketball rankings, announced his commitment to Oklahoma State on Thursday, giving coach Steve Lutz his first top prospect since taking over the Cowboys in 2024.
Montonati, the top high school player in the state of Oklahoma, also visited Kansas State and Oklahoma, but the 6-foot-6 wing opted to play where his father suited up for Eddie Sutton in the late 1990s.
“In a time with so much portal recruiting, they made me a priority,” Montonati told ESPN. “The day after Coach Lutz got the job, he called me and expressed that I was a priority. The support and love from Coach Lutz and the staff was great all summer long. They attended all my games.”
Oklahoma State made it clear to Montonati earlier this month that he was their top target with a late-night in-home visit on the first day of the recruiting period.
“When the September recruiting period opened, they came to my house at midnight. They wanted to be the first ones to see me,” Montonati said. “We have built a great relationship where we talk about basketball and life off the court.”
A product of Owasso High School (Oklahoma), Montonati averaged 15.8 points on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring and summer for the MoKan grassroots program, including a 29-point performance against Brad Beal Elite at the Nike Peach Jam in July. Montonati also helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, pacing the team in 3-pointers.
Montonati is a shooter with length who is capable of getting clean looks against closeouts and in contested situations. He’ll be an immediate asset as an off-ball threat, someone who opens the floor for others and moves off screens.
He’s the first commitment for Oklahoma State in the 2026 class.
Happy Boxing Day!
The traditional British holiday featured a huge matchup, with Manchester United hosting Newcastle United as the only Premier League game of the day. In the end, a phenomenal strike from Patrick Dorgu was the difference, as Ruben Amorim’s squad hung on for a 1-0 victory and a valuable three points.
Take a look back at all the day’s action.
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Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Jalen Smith made an incredible diving touchdown catch to help the team to a Rate Bowl win over the New Mexico Lobos on Friday night.
Minnesota trailed by three points in overtime and needed a field goal to extend the period or a touchdown to win the game.
On third down, Drake Lindsey found Smith between three Lobos defenders. Smith dove and made the wild catch to give Minnesota the 20-17 win.
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Minnesota wide receiver Jalen Smith scores a touchdown in overtime in front of New Mexico safety Austin Brawley (21) during the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Golden Gophers led 14-6 after Darius Taylor scored a touchdown. But on the ensuing kickoff, Damon Bankston returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown. New Mexico’s trick play two-point conversion tied the game.
The bowl victory marked Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck’s seventh since he became the Golden Gophers’ head coach. Minnesota hasn’t lost a bowl game under Fleck and hasn’t lost a bowl game since the 2014 season, when Jerry Kill was the head coach.
GEORGIA TECH COACH BRENT KEY DEFENDS STATE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AMID WIDESPREAD CRITICISM
New Mexico safety Austin Brawley and safety Tavian Combs (7) react after losing to Minnesota in the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Lindsey was 18 of 28 with two touchdown passes, both to Smith.
The Lobos went viral during the game for their turquoise uniforms, but they didn’t do enough to distract Minnesota’s defense.
New Mexico quarterback Jack Layne was 14-for-25 with an interception.
Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck, wide receiver Jalen Smith and safety Albert Nunes lift the trophy after defeating New Mexico in the Rate Bowl Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
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Minnesota finishes the season with an 8-5 record. New Mexico fell to 9-4.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Brooks Koepka’s decision to leave LIV Golf years after becoming one of the notable faces to join the renegade league sent shock waves through the sport this week.
Koepka played in the LIV Golf series for more than three seasons, winning five events and taking home the PGA Championship in 2023.
Golf commentator Brandel Chamblee on Friday offered his two cents on fans clamoring for Koepka to return to the PGA Tour, writing in a post on X he disagreed with the notion.
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Brooks Koepka of Smash GC plays his shot from the third tee during the quarterfinals of the LIV Golf Michigan Team Championship at The Cardinal at Saint John’s Resort Aug. 22, 2025. (Aaron Doster/Imagn Images)
“I certainly disagree with this,” he wrote. “Allowing Brooks Koepka to return to the PGA Tour with no consequence, would undermine the very meritocratic foundations that make the PGA Tour legitimate — not because of who he is, but because of what his return (will) signal.”
Chamblee said there should be a penalty of some kind for Koepka or anyone else who jumped to the league, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government.
“LIV did not merely offer an alternative league, it fractured fields, diluted competitive meaning, triggered legal warfare, undermined sponsorship stability, and forced structural change across all of professional golf,” he continued. “Koepka was not a passive bystander, he was a marquee legitimizer.
“You don’t punish him for being influential, but you cannot pretend his influence didn’t matter. His credibility made LIV viable, his stature normalized defection and his success (especially after joining LIV) validated the disruption.”
Brooks Koepka acknowledges the crowd on the fifth green during the first round of the British Open at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
Chamblee suggested a penalty would suffice and being reintegrated into the PGA Tour would be the route that officials should go with.
“A penalty would not so much be a punishment as it would be an acknowledgment of choice and the consequence does not need to be punitive to be meaningful,” he added. “He could be made to re-qualify for the PGA Tour (his 5 year exemption for winning the PGA Championship for majors may stand but not for the PGA Tour).
“He could have limited season eligibility and/or a suspension tied to prior contracted breach. The players who stayed on the PGA Tour paid a price. They had to absorb the uncertainty, play in weaker fields, shoulder reputational risk and take on a greater responsibility of protecting the tour’s continuity.”
Ultimately, Chamblee wrote, the penalty wouldn’t be about punishing anyone but rather the consequences for sending a ripple effect through the sport and protecting the PGA Tour.
“It is about whether the PGA Tour believe commitments mean something. If elite players can destabilize the system, take guaranteed money and then return instantly because they are popular or successful, the message is that rules apply only to the expendable,” Chamblee wrote.
“If excellence alone erases consequences then the PGA Tour ceases to be a meritocracy and becomes a marketplace of convenience. Great players most certainly deserve respect, but institutions deserve protection.”
Brooks Koepka plays a shot from a bunker on the second hole during the second round of the U.S. Open June 13, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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LIV Golf said Koepka was leaving the series to prioritize the “needs of his family and staying closer to home.”
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