Grow Omaha Sports

The 2025 NBA Draft concluded last Thursday night, and six players with ties to Omaha have new cities to call home.

Ryan Kalkbrenner became the sixth Creighton basketball player to be selected in the NBA Draft since 2014, when the Charlotte Hornets selected him in the second round, No. 34 overall. Kalkbrenner is one of the greatest Bluejays ever, ranking second in program history in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals made and field-goal percentage. He is one of only two players in Big East history to be named Defensive Player of the Year four times, joining Patrick Ewing.

Jamiya Neal will be joining Kalkbrenner in Charlotte, as the Hornets signed him to a Summer League contract after the NBA Draft concluded. Neal averaged 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in his lone season with Creighton and will look to earn a more permanent spot in the NBA with his play in the NBA Summer League.

Steven Ashworth signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Indiana Pacers after going undrafted. An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum deal. It is generally used by teams to add to their Summer League and G League rosters. Ashworth will play for the Pacers in the NBA Summer League and then most likely the Noblesville Boom in the G League.

John Tonje, formerly of Omaha Central High School, was selected in the second round, No. 53 overall by the Utah Jazz. Tonje began his college career at Colorado State University before transferring to Missouri and finally Wisconsin, where he was a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection. Tonje is just the fourth Badger since 2015 to be selected in the NBA Draft.

Chucky Hepburn, a former Omaha Metro basketball standout at Bellevue West High School, agreed to a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors after going undrafted. A two-way contract pays a player based on the league they are playing in, whether that’s the NBA or a G League affiliate. Hepburn played his first three seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to Louisville for his senior season. In his lone season with the Cardinals, Hepburn became the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-ACC selection.

Hunter Sallis, hailing from Millard North High School, went undrafted but quickly signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Sallis spent two seasons at Gonzaga before transferring to Wake Forest to finish his college career. In his two seasons at Wake Forest, he became the 10th player in program history to earn multiple First Team All-ACC honors. Sallis’ 18.3 points per game last season ranked fifth among all ACC players.

Former Bluejay Trey Alexander was informed on Friday that he wouldn’t be extended a qualifying offer by the Denver Nuggets, making him an undrafted free agent. Alexander was playing on a two-way contract for the Nuggets last season, averaging just 4.9 minutes per game over 24 appearances in NBA games. He was the G League Rookie of the Year, averaging 25.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in 30 appearances with the Grand Rapids Gold.

Union Omaha fell to San Antonio FC Saturday, 1-0, in USL Cup play. The Owls’ next match is Saturday, July 5 at 10 p.m. against AV Alta FC. All USL League One matches can be streamed on ESPN+.

Major League Baseball announced rosters for the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, and Omaha Storm Chasers catcher Carter Jensen will represent the Kansas City Royals. Jensen is currently ranked as the No. 80 prospect in baseball, No. 10 catching prospect and No. 3 in the Royals organization. Jensen was drafted No. 78 overall by the Royals in the 2021 MLB draft out of high school and just completed his first week at the Triple-A level after being promoted from Double-A on June 23.

Creighton volleyball will begin its 2025 regular-season in the AVCA First Serve against defending national champion Penn State. While the match was announced in February, the match time and broadcast information were finalized on Monday. Creighton and Penn State will face off at Pinnacle Bank Arena at 4 p.m. on August 23. Fans who cannot make the trip to Lincoln can watch the game on Fox Sports 1.

Creighton basketball will compete in the Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas for the second year in a row and will begin the tournament against a pair of Big 12 Conference powerhouses. Creighton will play Baylor at 1 p.m. on Monday, November 24 and Iowa State on November 25 at 1:30 p.m. A third game will be played either November 26 or 27, depending on the seed each team earns after the first two games.

Isaac Collins, a former Creighton baseball star and current Milwaukee Brewer, had a career-best, three-hit game Wednesday that included a solo home run in the eighth inning. Collins, drafted in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies, made his MLB debut in September of 2024 with the Brewers. This season, he’s batting .268 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.

The Omaha Storm Chasers host the Iowa Cubs in game three of this week’s series, tied 1-1, tonight at 7:08 p.m. They will play tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. with Independence Day fireworks following the game.

Upcoming Games
• Union Omaha at AV Alta FC | Saturday, July 5 | 10 p.m.
• Omaha Storm Chasers vs. Iowa Cubs | July 1 – July 6 | 7:08 p.m. Tonight

The 75th anniversary of the College World Series has concluded, and the series was packed with late-inning excitement and historic performances that honored the event in its diamond jubilee. With LSU’s win in the CWS Finals against Coastal Carolina, coach Jay Johnson became the fastest coach to win two national championships at one school after taking the LSU job in 2021.

Johnson also scored redemption against Coastal Carolina, which denied him history when he was the head coach at Arizona and was seeking to become the first coach to lead his team to a national championship in his first season. While LSU was the headliner of the event, this College World Series featured Cinderella runs, walk-off victories and historic performances from more than just the Tigers.

Six conferences and one independent school were represented in this year’s eight-team field, and Murray State became the latest bid stealer to crash The Greatest Show on Dirt. Three teams – Oregon State, Louisville and LSU – scored walk-off victories. Arkansas’ Gage Wood threw the third no-hitter in the College World Series – the first in 65 years, and was inches away from throwing the first perfect game in CWS history. On the biggest stage in college baseball, Coastal Carolina’s Kevin Schnall was ejected in the first inning for arguing balls and strikes and allegedly pushing an umpire, providing for one of the most intriguing moments of this year’s series.

Fans from all around the country must have heard about the excitement – the CWS Finals were the most-watched two-game series on ESPN platforms ever, drawing 2.5 million average viewers. Game Two of the Finals was the sixth most-watched CWS game on record with 2.8 million viewers.

The 2025 College World Series was historic in more ways than one, and it was a fitting reward for Omaha in its 75th anniversary hosting annual classic. This year’s teams, players and performances will be remembered for years to come and are just setting the bar for the next generation of stars to play in Omaha.

The NBA Draft began last night, and while Ryan Kalkbrenner was floating into the late first round in multiple mock drafts, he was not selected. Kalkbrenner still has a shot at hearing his name called in Round Two, which begins tonight at 7 p.m.

The Omaha Storm Chasers snapped a seven-game losing streak last night against Indianapolis, defeating the Indians 7-5 in 10 innings. The Storm Chasers were swept in their home series last week against the Durham Bulls after sweeping the Toledo Mud Hens the week prior. Tomorrow, Omaha is back in action beginning at 6:05 p.m. All Storm Chasers games can be streamed with a subscription to MLB.TV

Union Omaha dropped a match 4-3 to the Richmond Kickers at Werner Park last night. The Owls will be back in action against San Antonio FC on Saturday at 8 p.m. for a group stage match in the USL Cup. All Union Omaha games can be streamed on ESPN+.

Upcoming Events
• Omaha Storm Chasers at Indianapolis | June 24 – June 29 | 6:05 p.m. Tonight
• NBA Draft Round 2 | Tonight, June 26 | 7 p.m.
• Union Omaha vs. San Antonio FC | Saturday, June 28 | 8 p.m.

Game Two of the Men’s College World Series Finals raised the stakes for both LSU and Coastal Carolina, with the Tigers being one win away from their second national title in three years, and the Chanticleers needing to fight their way out of the corner to force Game Three.

If the stakes weren’t already high enough with a national championship hanging in the balance, history was also in reach with a series win for each coach. Jay Johnson would become the fastest coach in college baseball history to win two national championships with one team – Johnson took over LSU in June 2021 and won his first Men’s College World Series title in 2023. Kevin Schnall, in his first season at Coastal Carolina, would become the first-ever first-year head coach to win a national championship. Schnall is the sixth coach to lead his team to the MCWS Finals in year one, and all five previous coaches have failed to reach the mountaintop.

Those stakes were clear on both sides of the diamond, and the tensions were high to open Game Two.

In the bottom of the first inning, Kevin Schnall was seemingly unhappy with Homeplate umpire Angel Campos and where his strike zone was set up. Schnall let him know – loudly – and after one warning, he was promptly ejected from the game. 

First base coach Matt Schilling then had words for Campos, most likely just telling him to have a great day, and was also tossed from the game.

Per the NCAA, Schnall and Schilling received an added two-game suspension for prolonged arguing, meaning if Coastal Carolina would have forced Game Three tomorrow, they would be unavailable for that game.

Coastal gave its coach something to cheer about from the tunnels of Charles Schwab Field when Dean Mihos blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the second. Facing adversity, the Chanticleers took the early lead in Game Two, 1-0.

In the top of the third inning, LSU evened the score when Ethan Frey hit a hard line drive over Sebastian Alexander’s head in left field. Alexander had trouble tracking the ball off the bat and couldn’t recover in time, giving Frey an RBI double to bring the game to 1-1.

LSU kept the pressure on in the top of the fourth after holding Coastal scoreless. 

With the bases loaded and no outs, Chris Stanfield singled to left field that scored both Jared Jones and Jake Brown.

Later in the inning, with two outs, Derek Curiel singled up the middle, scoring Stanfield and Luis Hernandez. With the score now 5-1 in favor of LSU, Jacob Morrison’s day was done after just three and two-thirds’ innings pitched.

Hayden Johnson entered the game to stop the onslaught and got out of the jam two batters later, but Coastal Carolina was in a big hole.

The fifth and sixth innings came and went with no runs scored and only three baserunners between the two teams. The story to that point? LSU starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson, who had allowed just one run while striking out nine.

Eyanson would last just a few more batters though. After putting Ty Dooley on base via hit-by-pitch to begin the seventh inning, Eyanson allowed another home run. This time, Wells Sykes homered into left field, cutting Coastal Carolina’s deficit.

LSU brought in closing pitcher Chase Shores, who ended the inning without any additional runs added for Coastal, and LSU was heading to the plate in the eighth inning ahead 5-3.

Neither LSU nor Coastal Carolina scored in the eighth inning, and it was on to the ninth, where Coastal Carolina would have to keep the deficit at two in the top of the inning before receiving one more chance to overcome it in the bottom. 

The Chanticleers did just that, holding LSU scoreless again in the top of the ninth, and went to the plate with one more chance to score two runs.

To lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, Dean Mihos took a 100 mile-per-hour fastball to right field for a single, and Coastal Carolina had life.

The next at-bat, Ty Dooley couldn’t handle Chase Shores’ heat and struck out for the first out of the inning.

Wells Sykes grounded into a double play in the next at-bat to end the game, and LSU secured its second national title in three years. 

Player of the Game: RHP Anthony Eyanson – Eyanson secured his 12th and most important win of the season in an impressive outing where he went six and one third innings, allowing seven hits, three runs and one walk while striking out nine. 

Coach Jay Johnson became the fastest coach to two national championships at one school after taking the LSU job in 2021. After only returning 10 players from last year’s squad, Johnson assembled a juggernaut capable of beating the favorite, Arkansas, in this years’ College World Series – Twice – and of knocking Coastal Carolina off the rails of its 26-game winning streak. Johnson also scored redemption against Coastal Carolina, who denied him history when he was the head coach at Arizona and was seeking to become the first coach to lead his team to a national championship in his first season. LSU had yet another successful trip to Omaha, winning its eighth Men’s College World Series title and the Rocco’s Jell-O shot challenge once again.

The 75th anniversary of the Men’s College World Series was packed with late-inning excitement and historic performances that paid honor to the event in its diamond jubilee. In the end, the best two teams emerged from Brackets One and Two to showcase the nation’s top talent in the Finals, and LSU’s stars shined brightest. Congratulations to the 2025 Men’s College World Series champion LSU Tigers.