Big Ten, SEC establish new eligibility rules; most disappointing MLB players of 2026

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🏈 Five things to know Wednesday

1. The Big Ten and SEC will not allow NFL players to rejoin their conferences. In the wake of the court rulings that paved the way for professional athletes to play a fifth year of college sports, the Big Ten unveiled it will bar NFL players from transferring to its schools. The SEC followed suit hours later with a new rule of its own. That comes as a disappointment to LSU, where Lane Kiffin already signed three former pros. Kiffin’s recent signee, Dae’Quan Wright, joined the team after going through training camp with the Browns and sparked a firestorm with his commitment to the Tigers. The SEC went a step farther than the Big Ten and also banned NBA and WNBA players from returning to school, and you can bet LSU is not thrilled about that, either, since Will Wade has been active in recruiting fifth-year players.
2. The 2028 Tour Championship will have a completely new look. The top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings open play at the 2026 Tour Championship on Thursday in what is now the penultimate installment of the existing format. The PGA Tour unveiled a new two-week Tour Championship that will begin in 2028. The tournament will pit the top 32 regular-season finishers against each other in match play, which promises to up the stakes and deliver new engagement in what should be an exciting finish to the playoffs. The changes have been well-received, and Rory McIlroy is among the proponents.
3. The recent batch of NFL “Rivalries” uniforms are here. Eight teams unveiled new outfits on Tuesday as every squad in the NFC North and AFC South got fresh alternates. Each team can only wear the “Rivalries” uniform once per year, and in a few cases, one is plenty. While the Texans knocked it out of the park with an Oilers-adjacent nod to their history, the Lions phoned it in with an ensemble that looks more like the Panthers’ uniforms than anything.
4. A Ukrainian player left the LSU women’s basketball team after the addition of a Russian recruit. Kate Koval was expected to be the Tigers’ starting center this season. Now, she’s off the roster. Koval’s father is a drone operator for the Ukrainian military, which remains at war with Russia. While coach Kim Mulkey did not confirm whether the signing of Russian freshman Anna Minaeva was the reason behind Koval’s departure, she noted that the war between their countries is very personal to Koval.
5. Enes Kanter Freedom is banned indefinitely from Sky home games. The ejection from his courtside seat he received on Sunday was not punishment enough. The Sky went a step further and locked the former NBA center out of Wintrust Arena altogether due to his altercation with Natasha Cloud during the game against the Fever. Kanter is a loud voice in the discourse surrounding transgender athletes and used his platform at the game to get his point across.

🔮 Do not miss this: SEC football, basketball expert picks and rankings

The SEC might be the deepest conference in college football and college basketball this year. How do you pick a league champion when seemingly all 16 teams have at least some redeeming qualities, if not nationally renowned traits? We put our experts up to the task, and they delivered with football superlatives, quarterback rankings and picks for the regular-season basketball title.

Our six-man panel picked the conference’s order of finish in football. All but one of them have both Texas and Georgia in the top two, and the Bulldogs have the edge in first-place votes. Just as interesting as the championship picks are the teams our experts selected as the most overrated and underrated. While Alabama picked up two fourth-place votes, Chris Hummer says the consensus is too high on the Crimson Tide.

• Hummer: “Compared to some of the other favorites in the SEC, the Tide simply have more questions. Most people point to the inexperienced Keelon Russell as Alabama’s weak point. But my concerns focus more on the Tide’s offensive line and run game. Alabama is one season removed from ranking 126th of 136 teams nationally in yards per carry. That was with a first-round pick at offensive tackle.”

Speaking of Russell, he is one of five new starters to be unveiled thus far. Our Brad Crawford is betting on his pedigree as a former five-star recruit, because he has the Alabama signal caller at No. 7 in his SEC quarterback rankings. Here’s where he landed:

6. John Mateer, Oklahoma

7. Keelon Russell, Alabama

8. Byrum Brown, Auburn

9. Marcel Reed, Texas A&M

SEC football is less than two weeks away, but don’t forget that basketball is right around the corner, too. There are four squads at the front of the preseason race with Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas carrying stacked rosters into 2026-27. But our Cameron Salerno says not to count out the field.

• Salerno: “As for the other teams, keep an eye on Arkansas. Despite the Razorbacks having a young roster, it’s pretty easy to make the case that this is the most talented team John Calipari has had since arriving in Fayetteville. … Another team to monitor is LSU. Will Wade is building one of the most unique rosters in college basketball history.”

😔 The most disappointing MLB players of 2026

It was always going to be nearly impossible to match 60 home runs and contend for the American League MVP again. But to bat a measly .167 with 17 round-trippers? That is beyond disappointing. Cal Raleigh simply has not come even relatively close to living up to the high expectations he set for himself in his breakout 2025 season. He even regressed defensively, too.

“Big Dumper” is just one of many disappointing major-leaguers this year. Look at Edwin Díaz and his unsightly 11.85 ERA, or Jazz Chisholm Jr. and his .220/.297/.397 slash line.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is up there with the biggest letdowns, too. Take it from our Dayn Perry:

• Perry: “It seems like a long time ago that Vlad Jr. hit 48 home runs as a 22-year-old. Coming off a productive 2025 season and 2025 playoffs that saw him power up, Guerrero has shed home run power like never before. At present, he’s slugging just .356 — an appalling figure for a first baseman signed to a $500 million contract — with just seven home runs in 117 games. It’s been more than a calendar year since Guerrero has hit a regular-season home run at home. There are many reasons the Blue Jays have backslid so much since the end of the World Series, but Vlad’s power outage may be the biggest reason of all.”

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• In case you missed it: Angel Reese shattered the 23-year-old WNBA rebounding record.
• Ja’Marr Chase had an injury scare but validated that he avoided a serious knee issue.
• Vanderbilt named its starting quarterback, and it’s not the former five-star recruit.
• The Blue Jays’ road to the Wild Card got tougher with Shane Bieber landing on the IL.
• Grade the transfer: It’s high marks all the way around after Tottenham Hotspur paid a $102 million fee for Savinho, while Manchester United might have overpaid for Carlos Baleba.
• Vikings wide receiver Jeshaun Jones faces a three-game suspension for violating the NFL substance abuse policy.
• A study by the British Medical Journal found at least 25 percent of NFL players could develop CTE.
• The Commanders signed a former Pro Bowler to add depth following Laremy Tunsil’s injury.
• Five more fighters secured UFC contracts, and one notched a shocking upset, in Week 3 of Dana White’s Contender Series.
• With Matchweek 1 in the books, check out our first in-season Serie A Power Rankings.
• Take a look inside the feud between Vince Young and Jeff Fisher that derailed the Titans.
• LeBron James partnered with the PGA Tour to create an event for aspiring golfers in Akron, Ohio.
• Joe Milton might have a future as a starter. At the very least, he has a good chance of winning the Cowboys’ backup quarterback job.

📺 What we’re watching Wednesday

⚾ LLWS: Nicaragua vs. Curaçao, 1 p.m. on ESPN

⚾ Rays at Tigers, 1:10 p.m. on MLB Network

⚽ Carabao Cup: Second round, 2:45 p.m. on Paramount+

⚽ UEFA Champions League qualifying playoffs, 3 p.m. on Paramount+

⚾ LLWS: Nevada vs. Iowa, 3 p.m. on ESPN

⚾ Cubs at Diamondbacks, 3:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited

⚾ LLWS: Canada vs. Japan, 5 p.m. on ESPN

⚾ Red Sox at Marlins, 6:40 p.m. on Peacock

🎾 US Open: Mixed doubles semifinals and final, 7 p.m. on ESPN

⚾ LLWS: Alabama vs. Ohio, 7 p.m. on ESPN

⚾ Astros at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited

⚾ Dodgers at Braves or Brewers at Mets, 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network

⚽ Leagues Cup: Toluca vs. Austin, 8:30 p.m. on FS1/Apple TV

⚾ Twins at Athletics, 9:05 p.m. on Peacock

🏀 Tempo at Storm, 10 p.m. on USA Network

⚽ Leagues Cup: Club America vs. Crew, 10:45 p.m. on FS1/Apple TV