Welcome Back to the Tradition's Finest Podcast! Episode 138 - "The Bust of All Time Episode" includes a discussion of the following sports-related topics: - NCAA: News & Storylines - - NCAA College Football: Posthumously, Mike Leach is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, following an adjustment to eligibility criteria for coaches - - Leach, whose use of the Air Raid offense, widespread coaching tree and distinct personality left a significant impression of the sport, had been kept off previous ballots because his career winning percentage at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State - 158-107 (.596) - fell just below the previous threshold of .600 - - In 2025, the National Football Foundation, which oversees the Hall of Fame, announced that the winning percentage required for coaching eligibility would be adjusted to .595, whereas the other requirements for coaches to become eligible for selection, including ten or more years as a HC and at least 100 games coached, have not changed and/or remain the same - - Leach died in December 2022 at the age of 61 from complications related to a heart condition, while still coaching at Mississippi State - - **NOTE: He won division titles at both Texas Tech and Washington State, where his 2018 team finished the season ranked No.10 nationally, and guided teams to bowl appearances in all but two seasons at his three (3) head coaching stops - - Leach's previous ineligibility for the Hall of Fame garnered extensive criticism of the process involved in selection, from many coaches, media members & fans - as Leach coached or hired many notable coaches throughout his pristine career, including USC's Lincoln Riley, TCU's Sonny Dykes, Oklahoma State's Eric Morris, Baylor's Dave Aranda & Tennessee's Josh Heupel, among others - - Similarly, Jackie Sherrill, who had a career winning percentage of .592 at Washington State, Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, also appeared on the ballot for the first time, as Sherrill had six (6) AP top-10 finishes, including a No.2 overall ranking while at Pitt in 1980 - - Other notable players on this year's ballot include Auburn QB Cam Newton and Baylor QB Robert Griffin III, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2010 and 2011, respectively, as well as Ohio State LB A.J. Hawk and Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon, both national award winners - - **NOTE: The 2027 ballot includes 80 players and nine (9) coaches from the FBS level, and 99 players & 39 coaches from other NCAA or NAIA divisions, while the next Hall of Fame class will be announced in January 2027, during the College Football Playoff. . .Q: What are your thoughts on the late Mike Leach being included on the HOF ballot for the first time after the career winning percentage for eligibility was adjusted to .595?. . ."You Can't Make This Up:" Jordyn Adams spent the better part of eight (8) years pursuing one sports dream, but now he's returning to another: The former five-star football recruit & first-round MLB draft pick has enrolled at SMU and plans to join the Mustangs football program, a source confirmed to CBS Sports - - Adams was once considered one of the country's premier high school athletes - a standout WR at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina - he finished his prep career ranked as the No.3 WR in the 2018 class and the No.14 overall prospect nationally - - **NOTE: The only WRs ranked ahead of Adams in the Class of 2018 were future NFL stars: Amon-Ra St. Brown & Ja'Marr Chase - - While in high school, Adams signed with North Carolina and intended to play both football & baseball, but those plans changed when the Los Angeles Angels selected him with the No.17 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and signed him away from college on a deal worth more than $3 million, which was a decision that launched a professional baseball career that stretched from 2018 up until just a couple weeks ago, when he last appeared in a Triple-A game on May 20 with the Nashville Sounds - - Adams made his major league debut in 2023, as he appeared in 17 games for the Angels that season and returned for 11 more games in 2024, after which point, he departed the Angels' organization, spending time with the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers' organizations - - In total, Adams played 38 MLB games, collecting 13 hits, six (6) runs scored, one HR and five (5) RBIs - as he spent the bulk of his career in the minor leagues, appearing in 678 games and accumulating more than 2,400 at-bats, while showcasing the athleticism that once made him one of the nation's top football recruits - - After his baseball career came to a close last month, rather than continuing to pursue another opportunity in the MLB, Adams has elected to revisit the sport many believed could have carried him to a professional career as well - - As for now, Adams remains eligible to play college football for SMU, but the NCAA continues to debate significant eligibility changes, for instance, last month Division I leaders discussed an age-based "five-for-five" model that would give athletes five (5) years to compete beginning immediately after high school graduation or their 19th birthday - whichever comes first, as this type of proposal could impact cases like Adams in the future - - Adams never enrolled, however, at UNC after signing with the Angels, and so, because he went directly into the MLB and never played college football, his eligibility situation differs from that of a traditional college athlete. . .Q: What is your most current take (or stance) on a situation such as that of Jordyn Adams? Should Jordyn Adams, a former eight-year MLB player, be considered eligible by the NCAA to play college football for the SMU Mustangs next season? If so, why?. . .NCAA College Basketball: Former Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic, the No.1 player in the NCAA transfer portal this spring, has committed to Kentucky, he announced on Monday - - Momcilovic chose the Wildcats over Louisville and Arizona, meanwhile, St. John's was also among the schools in pursuit as recently as last week, but the Red Storm bowed out after landing Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou - - Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 junior, was the best shooter in college basketball last season: he averaged 16.9 points and shot 48.7% from 3-point range, leading the nation in 3-point percentage and ranking fifth in 3-pointers made - - **NOTE: In his three (3) seasons in Ames, Iowa State won 83 games and made two Sweet 16 appearances, as Momcilovic earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season - - It's impossible to overstate the significance of Momcilovic's addition for the outlook of the Kentucky Wildcats - as well as for head coach Mark Pope, who is entering a pivotal season, coming off a campaign in which the Wildcats struggled for long stretches and finished 22-14 with a second-round NCAA tournament exit despite having the nation's most expensive roster - as with Momcilovic in the fold, and after starting center Malachi Moreno withdrew his name from the NBA Draft last week, Pope now has a top-25 roster on his hands entering the 2026-27 college basketball season - - Kentucky has leaned heavily on the portal this offseason, as Momcilovic will likely join fellow transfers Alex Wilkins (Furman) and Zoom Diallo (Washington) in the Wildcats' starting lineup - - After announcing his intent in early April to enter the transfer portal and the NBA Draft, he went through the entire draft process, earning an invitation to the combine, as he cemented himself as one of the elite shooters in the pool of players, shooting nearly 69% across the four (4) shooting drills, but removed his name hours before the draft's early-entry withdrawal deadline. . .Q: What do you make of Milan Momcilovic's decision to remove his name from the NBA Draft and to transfer to the University of Kentucky?. . .NCAA College Softball: Women's College World Series (WCWS) Semifinals: No.2 Texas Longhorns vs. No.7 Tennessee Volunteers - - Teagan Kavan pitched her fifth career shutout in the Women's College World Series and Texas defeated No.7 seed Tennessee twice on Monday to advance to the championship series - - The No.2 seed Longhorns, who had to advance through the loser's bracket after falling to the Vols in the tournament opener, won Monday's first game 5-2, and then rolled again 4-0 behind Kavan's gem - - **NOTE: Texas joined Oklahoma as the only other NCAA program to reach three (3) consecutive WCWS championship finals - - Texas had the pitching, as Teagan Kavan, who surrendered three (3) runs before being pulled after three (3) innings in the WCWS opener, rebounded to cruise past the Vols, outdueling Tennessee ace Karlyn Pickens, as Kavan surrendered only two hits and struck out 10 batters in the deciding game - - The Longhorns also got a sterling performance on the circle from Citlaly Gutierrez in the first game, as the senior went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one earned run, before handing the ball off to Kavan, who picked up the one-out save - - **NOTE: With her performance, Kavan passed Cat Osterman for the most WCWS shutouts in Texas history, and she has now allowed one or fewer earned runs in nine (9) of her 11 career WCWS starts - - Women's College World Series (WCWS) Semifinals 2: No.1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. No.11 Texas Tech Red Raiders - - In just a matter of hours, Alabama went from the winners' bracket to ending its season in the WCWS semifinals: The No.1 seed Crimson Tide (56-9) fell 2-0 to the No.11 seed Red Raiders (60-8) to solidify its fate in a do-or-die game after suffering a first 5-4 loss to Texas Tech on Monday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City: In Game 1, Texas Tech forced the winner-take-all game with a walk-off win in Monday's opener, thanks to a 7th inning HR by Mia Williams - - In Game 2, the Red Raiders picked up right where they left off after the first game, as Texas Tech started the second game with a hit in its first at-bat, and by the end of the 3rd inning,
