It’s a weird state of the sport when the following sentence is true: One of the most important commitments of the college basketball offseason has transpired in late August.

On Saturday night, Mark Mitchell, who previously played at Duke and Missouri, committed to play for Kentucky this season. In industry circles, Mitchell had been widely rumored as Lexington-bound in the past week and a half. On Friday morning, he received a temporary restraining order — via a Jefferson Circuit Court ruling in Kentucky — to pursue a fifth season of college basketball. He officially entered his name into the transfer portal (with a do-not-contact tag) hours later. 

College basketball transfer portal five-for-five tracker: Grading each move in unparalleled free agency window

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Isaac Trotter

And a little more than 24 hours after that, Mitchell made his intentions public. The pick confirmed the whispers that had grown to a rumble in the day leading up to the decision. In picking Kentucky, Mitchell provides a proven producer in the frontcourt at the power forward position and gives Mark Pope one more piece (if Mitchell’s legal pursuit keeps him eligible all of this upcoming season) that validates some Final Four dreams for Big Blue Nation in 2026-27.

Dramatic offseason perhaps ending on a high note

It seems so far away now, but there was a point a few weeks removed from Kentucky’s season when Pope was feeling severe heat for missing out on a variety of high-profile prospects, including the No. 1 high school player in 2026, Tyran Stokes. 

That’s now all in the past, as it could easily be argued that Pope wound up landing two of the four or five most important transfers of 2026. The first was Milan Momcilovic, who picked Kentucky over Louisville in what was one of the more expensive bidding endeavors of the spring. Momcilovic is a stretchy 3-man who hopes to again be one of the best long distance shooters in the country.

So long as Mitchell’s eligibility case doesn’t hit a road block, Momcilovic will have a good contrast with Mitchell in the frontcourt. The 6-9, 230-pound big averaged 18.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the SEC last season and was one of the 10 best players in the conference across the past two seasons. Those two will start alongside center/sophomore Malachi Moreno, who bypassed being a potential top-40 pick in order to improve with a healthy payday in Year 2 under Pope. 

Kentucky has secured the top-rated portal class of the year, by the way, beating out Louisville.

The in-state rivals, coincidentally enough, are regarded by many coaches across college hoops as the two biggest spenders of this 2026 offseason. Kentucky’s other portal commits include former Furman point guard Alex Wilkins, former Washington point guard Zoom Diallo and his teammate who also played at UW last season, Frank Kepnang, a center.

No fan base has endured more highs and lows in the past five months than Kentucky’s.

Kentucky the latest to benefit from the legal route

Mitchell is the latest proven college player to double back to school after having a cup of coffee in Summer League — a trend that CBS Sports first reported in more than a month ago. Mitchell played with the Denver Nuggets, but with no certainty of making an NBA roster this fall, he and his representation took to the courts to sue for a fifth year. Former Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler also took this route, committing to BYU after getting some runs in with the Utah Jazz for about a month.

These two will not be the last, either.

The NCAA is enduring a nationwide legal battle at the moment, as the organization voted in late June to allow all Division I athletes moving forward eligibility for five seasons in a five-year span. But players whose eligibility expired this past spring did not apply to that rule change.

So now there are more than a hundred former Division I men’s basketball players (and others) trying to sue for what they believe is an unjust rule change right at the start of the summer. The NCAA has had two minor but critical wins so far: injunctions in Colorado (which was federal in scope) and Ohio (which was under a different framing) have been stayed, which is to say the courts ruling in favor of the players’ eligibility has been paused. 

Mitchell’s case was in Kentucky and seen as favorable. The NCAA will still try to get the case overturned there as well, but predicting which lawsuits in which states will go which way is impossible at this stage. For now, Mitchell is like so many others across the country: hoping that a local judge will give him more leniency than the NCAA in order to keep playing college sports, make significant money in the process — and potentially change the competitive dynamic of college basketball in the process. 

You won’t find many Kentucky fans objecting to the process now that they’ve got what’s clearly one of the 15 best rosters heading into November … so long as Mitchell remains eligible.

Coco Gauff —AFP

MASON, OHIO—Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima won quarterfinal matches Friday night to set up one all-American men’s semifinal at the Cincinnati Open. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also advanced to make it four US players in the semis.

“It’s insane, I think we’re all doing so well,” Gauff said. “Hopefully, you know, we can have a double title win. Obviously there are more matches to be played for that to happen. We definitely root for each other.”

Tiafoe beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (2), 7-5, and Nakashima beat fellow American Taylor Fritz, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, marking the first time two Americans have reached the men’s semifinals in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in 2010.

Nakashima is the first American man to reach the semifinals in Canada and Cincinnati in the same season since Fish in 2011. Nakashima is coached by Tiafoe’s former coach, Wayne Ferreira.

“It’s a guy who knows me pretty well in Wayne,” Tiafoe said. “I expect some good serving and all the best from him. Happy where I’ve been mentally more than anything. This has been a great week.”

Tiafoe reached the Cincinnati finals in 2024, losing to Jannik Sinner.

The other men’s semifinal Saturday features Italy’s Flavio Cobolli against Frenchman Arthur Fils.

Gauff beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 6-2, 6-2. Gauff will face surprise entrant 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek at 7:30 a.m. Sunday in Manila.

Bejlek outlasted 2019 champion Madison Keys, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5), on Friday. She upset No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the Round of 16.

“Sara is a great player,” Gauff said. “I watched her a lot in Abu Dhabi [in February] this year when she won that title. So I think it’s going to be a tough match. I’m looking forward to it.” —AP

Zab Judah has made a bold prediction ahead of tonight’s world title battle between Rolly Romero and Teofimo Lopez.

Romero defends his WBA welterweight title against Lopez at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this evening, competing for the first time since his unanimous decision victory over Ryan Garcia in May 2025.

Lopez is attempting to become a three-division world champion after previously holding world honours at lightweight and super-lightweight, but his reign at 140lbs came to an end in January when he lost his WBO crown to Shakur Stevenson.

One man who knows what it is like to be world champion at both 140lbs and 147lbs is Judah, who notably became undisputed at welterweight back in 2005.

Speaking to MillCity Boxing, Judah revealed that he is backing Romero to claim the upset victory tonight and successfully defend his belt against Lopez.

“In the past when we’ve seen Rolly in preparation for a fight, he was always on the internet saying crazy s**t, doing crazy things, this time we don’t see any of that. He’s locked in, he’s training, and I predict that Rolly Romero is going to beat Teofimo Lopez.

“From what I’ve been hearing about him in training, he’s been doing good and knocking people out.”

The winner of tonight’s bout has already been linked to a unification fight against the victor of the upcoming WBC welterweight title fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn, while there are also possible match-ups with WBO champion Devin Haney or IBF champion Liam Paro.

Serena Williams to team up with Carlos Alcaraz in US Open mixed doubles (Agency Images)

Serena Williams is set to make her return to the US Open in a blockbuster mixed doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced on Saturday that Williams and Alcaraz have received a wild card into the US Open mixed doubles main draw, with the event set to begin on Tuesday.The partnership brings together two generations of Grand Slam champions and is expected to be one of the biggest attractions of this year’s tournament.

Serena returns to Flushing Meadows

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will be back at the US Open for the first time since 2022. Williams returned to competitive tennis this summer after a break from the sport. She played singles at Wimbledon and later teamed up with her older sister Venus Williams in doubles at the Cincinnati Open.It remains unclear whether Serena will also compete in the women’s singles draw. The USTA still has one women’s singles wild card available, although Williams has not confirmed whether she intends to use it.

Alcaraz returns after injury

Alcaraz, meanwhile, is set to return to action after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury. The Spaniard recently confirmed that he will defend his US Open singles title, making his mixed doubles partnership with Williams an additional attraction at Flushing Meadows.The 2026 mixed doubles event will feature a revamped format designed to bring some of tennis’ biggest stars into the competition. Matches will be played in a best-of-three format with sets decided at four games, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak if required.The winning team will also share a $1 million prize.

Star-studded mixed doubles field

Williams and Alcaraz are part of an impressive field featuring several high-profile combinations. Former world No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will form another headline pairing, while Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud are also set to compete.American stars Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will team up, while reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori will return to defend their title.For Williams, the US Open holds a special place in her career. She has won the tournament multiple times and previously captured the US Open mixed doubles title in 1998 alongside Max Mirnyi.

Gilas Pilipinas women after beating Senegal in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-qualifying Tournament. –FIBA PHOTO

The Gilas Pilipinas Women did not have the most colorful run in the recently concluded Fiba Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

That, though, doesn’t faze new coach BT Toews on his long-term goal with the Nationals.

“We want to move forward,” Toews said shortly after Gilas’ run in Mexico came to a halt. “Fighting is not enough at this level; your brain has to follow.”

“We’re still waiting for the execution to get better and [commit] fewer hiccups in a game.”

The Philippines only won one game in the pre-qualifiers when it downed Senegal on Friday, 79-75, to close out its campaign.

“One game does not give you an identity, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction,” Toews said.

With losses to Canada and Mexico, however, the Philippines lost its chance for an outright ticket to the Olympic qualifiers.

With the tourney being Toews’ first as head coach after replacing Pat Aquino, pressure was in the equation.

Instead, the veteran tactician chose to focus on the Nationals’ next big assignment, which is the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.

“That’s another chance for us to learn; that’s another chance for us to compete,” he said. “But we want to win more than anything else.” INQ

Having previously fought and lost to Manny Pacquiao, Adrien Broner has considered how his former foe would fare in a prime-for-prime battle with Terence Crawford.

The two all-time greats were in talks to collide in 2021, only for Pacquiao to schedule a clash with Errol Spence Jr before losing his WBA title to replacement opponent Yordenis Ugas.

But even if he had fought Crawford, the Filipino icon was hardly in his prime following back-to-back points victories over Broner and Keith Thurman.

Instead, many consider his peak to be around 2009, back when he scored vicious stoppages over Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Crawford, meanwhile, was arguably in his prime when he fought Spence in 2023, becoming the undisputed welterweight king with a dominant ninth-round finish.

All eight of his 147lb outings, in fact, resulted in stoppages where ‘Bud’ utilised his freakish 75in reach and proved the superior technician.

Broner, therefore, has told FightHype that he believes Crawford would be too skilled for a remarkably fast and ferocious Pacquiao.

“Crawford [would win]. I just think he’s too technical. First of all he’s sharp, he don’t fade [in the later rounds], he’s long and he got power …  Timing beats speed any day.”

While Pacquiao famously became an eight-division world champion, five of them lineal, Crawford retired in December after having won all four belts in three weight classes.

He was also the consensus top dog at 135lbs and held a major super-welterweight belt, yet most would sooner applaud his undisputed title reigns.

In particular, his victories over Spence and Canelo Alvarez, who he unanimously outpointed in September, will almost certainly see him secure a place in the Hall of Fame.

Many trainers with a promising young horse often have the allure of a significant spring race firmly in their sights.

This sentiment is certainly shared by Cranbourne-based trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.

With Golden Slipper winner Guest House already earmarked for ambitious targets, they are eager to see Buggsy follow a similar path towards spring success.

However, the immediate priority is to assess Buggsy’s condition in his first start back at Sandown on Saturday, competing in the Chef’s Hat Handicap (1000m).

Buggsy made a winning debut over the same course and distance in March and followed this with a third-place finish in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on April 11.

Kent Jnr has observed that Buggsy has ‘come of age’ this campaign.

“He won track and distance on debut, albeit very greenly, and he had probably come to the end of his prep when he ran third in a Listed race,” Kent Jnr explained.

“Whilst he only got beaten a length and ran third, I thought there was a bit more there and that he had come to the end of it by then, so we gave him a nice break, and have set him for the spring.

“He’s trialled up well and I think there’s improvement to come. His trackrider thinks the run will bring him on and it’s hard to disagree with him.

“He’s a strong colt but I think he’s forward enough for 1000 metres.”

Although Kent Jnr believes Buggsy is fit enough to race and potentially win over 1000m on Saturday, he highlighted the challenges involved in preparing the colt on tracks that have been affected by rain.

“It’s the same every spring,” Kent Jnr remarked.

“We’re ducking and diving, avoiding Polytrack trials and waiting for the grass, but we’ve had a pretty good run with him.

“He’s had two good grass trials, he went well in the second one when he went head and head with a Group 1 filly from New Zealand (Lara Antipova) and they cleared out from third.

“He’s a sprinting colt. We don’t think we’ll get him out to a mile this preparation.

“That’s our feel at the moment and the obvious races beckon if he goes well on Saturday.”

Craig Williams, who rode Buggsy to his inaugural victory, will be reunited with the colt for Saturday’s race.

Compare the latest racing odds from leading bookmakers for the Sandown meeting.