This is what dreams are made of
From The GIST College Sports (hi@thegistsports.com)
Happy National Cocoa Day!
While you sip on a cup of hot cocoa, add some extra sugar to your morning by scrolling through some sweet college sports news with us.
— No. 9–seed Clemson men’s soccer senior captain Brandon Parrish, on what he’d tell the kids who saw the Tigers win their second championship in three years with Monday’s 2–1 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame. Hey now, hey now.
Men’s soccer championship
🏆 A dish best served cold
The GIST: As mentioned, the No. 9–seed Clemson Tigers won their fourth national title on Monday after defeating fellow ACC squad No. 2 Notre Dame. They're more than good.
How it happened: Early season stumbles — including a tight loss to Notre Dame in September — saw preseason–No. 9 Clemson fall from the ranks for six weeks. But the Tigers rallied, staying undefeated since September 22nd to stun the stacked ACC by winning last month’s conference tourney.
- Then the Tigers’ “revenge tour” continued through their five-match College Cup journey, where Clemson’s brick-wall defense didn’t allow a goal until the tourney’s literal last minute.
What’s next: For top collegiate footballers like senior midfielder Ousmane Sylla, Clemson’s natty-winning scorer and the Cup’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player, the next stop is Tuesday’s 2024 MLS SuperDraft.
- And while only grads and seniors were draft-eligible in the past, MLS clubs can pick any non-freshman NCAAer this year, meaning the pro league could potentially ransack Clemson’s roster.
- That said, if the pros keep their picks senior-centered, expect both Clemson and Notre Dame to be ferocious next year: Both squads could return a respective seven and eight of their College Cup’s starting 11. Watch this space.
Women’s volleyball
🏐 Here comes the sun
The GIST: The women’s volleyball national semifinalists take the court in Tampa, FL, tomorrow night, hoping to make Santa’s nice victorious list for the opportunity to wrap their season with a championship bow on Sunday.
No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (32-1) vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh Panthers (29-4), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN): No ACC team has ever won the natty, and Pitt — who’ve never made the final — are hungry to change that stat. The Panthers face an uphill battle though: They’ve never defeated Nebraska.
- On the flip side, the overall No. 1–seed Huskers are no strangers to success. This will be the five-time champs’ 17th (!!!) Final Four berth and they’ve won all but one set all tourney.
No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers (30-3) vs. No. 2 Texas Longhorns (26-4), 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN): This is defending champ Texas’ 15th NCAA semi, and with stars like middle blocker (MB) Asjia O’Neal, these Longhorns could swim to a fourth ’ship.
- But not if the Badgers have anything to say about it. With junior outside hitter Anna Smrek back and healthy, Wisconsin’s lone 2021 trophy could soon have company.
Together With The GIST
🎙️ Sound on
If you love The GIST’s newsletters, you’re going to love our twice-weekly podcast, The GIST of It. Hosted by besties Ellen Hyslop and Stephanie Rotz, it’s the women-produced and -hosted sports pod you’ve been waiting for. Talk about a golazo.
El and Steph dive into current sports topics and how they intersect with society and pop culture. They cover everything from season previews to calling out the sexist BS that’s rampant across the industry.
Join the conversation by subscribing to The GIST of It wherever you tune into podcasts. Happy listening.
💸 No. 4 Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark added Gatorade to her robust name, image, and likeness (NIL) portfolio yesterday, becoming just the fourth college athlete to ink a deal with the sports drink company.
🐅 No. 7 LSU women’s basketball announced Sunday that junior guard Kateri Poole, a 2023 national championship starter, is no longer on the Tigers’ roster. The often tight-lipped program unsurprisingly gave no additional details.
🏈 On Monday, UNC football quarterback (QB) Drake Maye announced he’ll be entering the 2024 NFL Draft, cementing the redshirt sophomore as a possible overall No. 1 pick. Meanwhile, No. 16 Notre Dame will fill their Sam Hartman–sized QB hole with Duke signal-caller Riley Leonard next season.
🏒 Beantown officially owns the NCAA men’s hockey ice, with Boston College and Boston University netting Nos. 1 and 2, respectively in Monday’s poll.
🏀 As the only mid-week ranked college hoops game, the No. 20 Creighton women’s battle with No. 19 Marquette at 8 p.m. ET tonight on FloHoops is can’t-miss TV, especially as both squads hope to leap Big East goliath No. 17 UConn in next Monday’s poll.
Peep our squad’s MVPs (Most Valuable Picks):
📺 What to watch
Family Switch. Bonus points if you can spot NWSL stars Alyssa and Gisele Thompson’s cameo.
👕 What to shop
Abercrombie’s NFL and NBA collection. Snag some cute items from your team or surprise the sports fans in your life with classic looks.
🎁 What to gift
One of these “crowd-pleasing” presents. Find an affordable option for everyone on your list this holiday season.
Today’s email was brought to you by Dee Lab, Ruth Lenzen, Emma Fernandez, and Briana Ekanem. Editing by Molly Potter and Isabella Troia. Fact checking by Mikaela Perez. Ops by Lisa Minutillo and Elisha Gunaratnam. Ads by Katie Kehoe Foster, Lauren Tuiskula, and Dee Lab. Managing edits by Ellen Hyslop.