Flag football has been a headliner among growing sports over the past several years, a positive trend in offering girls the opportunity to play the game at the high school level. And the trend isn’t slowing, with more states adding it to the list of officially sanctioned high school sports.  As of 2024, 28 of the 50 states have kicked off girls flag football, whether as a full-fledged competition or pilot program, and more are certainly on the way.  At the forefront of all the progress are the athletes, which brings us to the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards. T ..read more

Cam Newton-sized quarterbacks are typically compared to linebackers. What’s a defense to do when the QB they’re chasing is bigger and stronger than the biggest and strongest of them? This latest quarterback to take the internet by storm is even bigger. Forget the linebacker. What does a defender do when a quarterback is built more like a lineman? Jamar Graham, the reportedly 6-foot-8, 250-pound Tucker High School (Ga.) quarterback committed to Alabama A&M, is yet another example of the South knowing how to build up their boys. Perhaps the tallest QB in th ..read more

A new high school takes over the top spot as the Spring esports regular season on the PlayVS platform comes to a close across North America. As the championships await, here is the latest Super 25 ranking, showcasing the best of the best in high school esports. The methodology: PlayVS has analyzed the performance of all schools competing in their Spring seasons to determine the top 25 esports programs nationwide. Schools must actively compete in at least five (5) unique esports titles to be eligible. Schools are ranked by the average match-win percentage of their top-perfor ..read more

Politics and sports mixed on a Sunday afternoon in New York City, providing a snapshot of growing tensions over the presence of migrants. Last Sunday, a group of alleged migrants refused to leave a soccer field despite two club teams producing a permit to play on the field. It produced a scene where one parent involved said that “the guys who refused to follow the rules won.” The incident, which involved uniformed members of the New York Police Department showing up to escort the migrants off the field, resulted in the cancelation of the club soccer game. The Manhattan Kickers and FA Euro New ..read more

The best part of this play from Mateo Heredia is the no-big-deal walk away as if nothing happened. But for the El Segundo High School (El Segundo, California) pitcher, it was a very big play. Heredia, a right-handed pitcher, reacts to the batter’s contact slightly to his right and just over his head by stabbing his glove in the direction of the hit. Almost as if magnetically drawn, the ball goes straight into the glove while Heredia’s twisted and his back is to home plate. What a play from Heredia, who merely walks off the mound as if it was routine.   Pitching @SportsCenter #SCTOP10 pic ..read more

Syracuse football has been hot on the recruiting trail, landing a three-star player this week in Terrell Wilfong. Wilfong is a three-star wide receiver from West Orange High School (West Orange, New Jersey). He is the No. 15 player in the state according to Rivals. His offer list included Boston College, Cincinnati, UConn, Maryland, Temple and West Virginia among others. He is the second commit to Syracuse from New Jersey, an area that the program has traditionally used to supplement its roster. He is the fourteenth commit in this class for Syracuse. “I chose ‘Cuse because it feels like a home ..read more

In the midst of debates about the efficacy of the NCAA transfer portal, one state’s high school athletics association is considering loosening transfer rules to allow similar flexibility for its student-athletes. The Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is discussing adjusting its transfer-related eligibility rules. Currently, high school students who transfer only keep varsity eligibility the next year if their family also makes a residence move, according to The News Tribune. The new rule would allow students to transfer more freely. States aro ..read more

Justin Pippen, the star guard of prestigious Sierra Canyon High School (Chatsworth, Calif.) and son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, announced on Friday that he has committed to the University of Michigan. The four-star guard chose the Wolverines over the other six universities that offered him, including Stanford, Cal, Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M. He was named to the Los Angeles Daily News All-CIF Open Division team this year after helping the Trailblazers go 26-4. Ranked as the No. 62 player on the 247Sports list and No. 101 on the composite ranking, Pippen had a good assist ..read more

Omari Moore is beginning to see things heat up with his recruitment. While he flies a bit under the radar, the guard prospect has double-digit offers from mid-majors and Power Six conferences. Moore is a 6-foot-3 guard from Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, New Jersey) who is a strong distributor and a proven scorer. Defensively, he uses his length well in addition to being a solid rebounders. The class of 2025 prospect currently holds a strong offer list that includes Columbia, Drake, Fordham, Iona, Lehigh, Old Dominion, UPenn, St. John’s and La Salle among others. “I have been in frequent contac ..read more

Show them the money. That’s the message from Ron DeSantis, who believes that high school coaches in his state should make more. The Florida governor came out this week on behalf of his state’s high school coaches, stating that they don’t make as much as in other states. Things are certainly on the move in Florida lately, with the state reportedly ready to allow NIL for high school athletes. DeSantis, who ran in the Republican presidential primary earlier this year, said that there is a significant disadvantage between what Florida high school coaches are making and the rest of the country. “I ..read more