Pitt Take 5: After long road stint, Panthers return for 1st home game since Nov. 18
Under normal circumstances, Pitt men’s basketball plays eight games in a month. That’s what the schedule will demand in January and February and how it was structured in November. But this is December, and there must be allowances made for final exams, family and, realistically, an opportunity for players to...
Pitt senior setter Rachel Fairbanks determined to end 4th NCAA Tournament with titleVideo
While she was being recruited by Pitt volleyball coach Dan Fisher four years ago, Rachel Fairbanks informed him she was able to jump and touch as high as 10 feet. Fisher admitted he was skeptical. Besides, he was recruiting the Los Angeles-area native to be a setter, not an outside...
Tennessee grabs No. 1 in AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll; Pitt falls out of rankingsVideo
Tennessee is the new No. 1 in men’s college basketball after a massive shakeup in the AP Top 25. The Vols received 58 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday to reach No. 1 for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Tennessee climbed two spots from last week...
Pitt defensive linemen David Ojiegbe, Thomas Aden enter NCAA transfer portal
The number of departing players from the Pitt football roster climbed to 12 on Monday, the first day the NCAA transfer portal officially opened. The two most recent players to announce their intentions to leave are reserve defensive linemen David Ojiegbe and Thomas Aden. Ojiegbe, a redshirt freshman, will be...
Pitt accepts invitation to play Toledo in GameAbove Sports Bowl in Detroit
No matter how poorly Pitt played in its final five games of the regular season, that 7-0 record at the outset matters, too. The Panthers were rewarded Sunday for their 7-5 record when they were invited — and accepted the bid — to the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Ford Field,...
Jeff Capel’s timely timeout helps Pitt rally to victory, come home with 8-2 record
The second half was only 101 seconds old, and Pitt already had started whittling down Virginia Tech’s eight-point halftime lead to six. But this game — this moment — was not about Pitt shaving a couple points off its deficit. Jeff Capel wanted physicality. He wanted rebounding, defense and pressuring...
Pitt women’s volleyball sweeps Oklahoma, advances to 5th straight round of 16
The Pitt women’s volleyball team can count on the totality of its talent to pull it out of tight situations. The Panthers needed their ability to solve puzzles to sink eighth-seeded Oklahoma during the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at Petersen Events Center in front of...
Vermont stuns Pitt in quarterfinals of NCAA men’s soccer tournament
Vermont advanced to the first final four in program history and spoiled No. 2 Pitt’s hopes of a national title in the regional final, defeating the Panthers, 2-0, on Saturday at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The Panthers dominated possession in the first half and were on the attack the majority of...
Jaland Lowe carries Pitt to 2nd-half rally in victory at Virginia Tech in ACC opener
Before Pitt found its shooting touch, before the Panthers started to play with the necessary physicality and focus, before Jaland Lowe decided the floor was his, Pitt looked like a team headed for defeat. Suddenly, the momentum shifted and Lowe scored 15 points in the second half Saturday to lead...
No. 1 Pitt sweeps Morehead State in opening round of NCAA Tournament
Senior libero Emmy Klika and her teammates huddled together in front of the net after the Pitt women’s volleyball team swept Morehead State on Friday night at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers’ tradition of taking a photo after every match is the program’s simple way of documenting the steps along...
QB Nate Yarnell reveals transfer plans after up-and-down Pitt career
In four seasons at Pitt, Nate Yarnell has served four distinct roles at the game’s most important position. He has been a quarterback-in-waiting, hope for the future, an afterthought and, finally, an insurance policy. But all of that will end for Pitt’s bowl game and in 2025 after he revealed...
Pitt has something to prove, and process begins at Virginia Tech
Pitt fans have seen this act before, or at least something similar. What’s worse, it’s back after first revealing itself less than a week ago. Two of the fans’ favorite teams won seven games to start the season, with the help of late dramatics that only served to heighten the...
First Call: Bill Belichick to the ACC?; Russell Wilson contract theories; Jets’ rumored interest in Arthur Smith
Friday’s “First Call” has some predictions about how the Pittsburgh Steelers may handle their quarterback situation next year. There are rumors about Bill Belichick coaching at the college level and Arthur Smith drawing interest from another NFL team for a head coaching spot. We also examine some quirks in the...
Pitt wide receiver Daejon Reynolds reveals plans to transfer
Wide receiver Daejon Reynolds, whose role in Pitt’s passing game diminished this season, decided to place his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Reynolds, 21, will have one season of eligibility. Reynolds spent the past two seasons with the Panthers after transferring from Florida where he caught a total of...
Pitt can’t keep up with Mississippi State, suffers blowout loss in SEC/ACC Challenge
In the wake of Pitt’s 90-57 loss to Mississippi State on Tuesday night in Starkville, Miss., Jeff Capel couldn’t help thinking what his father, Felton Capel II, a longtime coach himself, might say. “When I was younger when he was coaching, (he said), ‘Sometimes, you’re the bug. Sometimes, you’re the...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi pleased with 2025 recruiting class, calls it ‘a doozy’
Pat Narduzzi uttered his best line of the season at the outset of Pitt’s signing day news conference when he told reporters, “I think we have a doozy for you.” Name puns aside, Narduzzi and his coaches believe they signed a strong 2025 class of 21 high school seniors, some...
NCAA volleyball notebook: Morehead State coach can boast of beating Pitt at homeVideo
Kyrsten Becker-McBride has served on the volleyball staff at Morehead State in one capacity or another for 14 years. Friday, she will lead the Eagles (18-14) into Petersen Events Center to challenge top-ranked and No. 1 overall seed Pitt at 7 p.m. On paper, it would appear to be a...
After rolling through regular season, Pitt volleyball team prepares for upstart Morehead State
Cat Flood entered the transfer portal. Valeria Vazquez Gomez could have hung up her Pitt volleyball gear after last season. Instead, both decided to spend their final year of eligibility in blue-and-gold because they wanted one more shot at a national championship, and, on paper at least, the Panthers appear...
Pitt secures 4-star cornerback Mason Alexander of Indiana among 21 recruits on signing day
After the last game of the regular season, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi made a bold statement: “In 36 years of coaching, I’ve never seen so many injuries.” As it turned out, Pitt didn’t have enough depth to compensate for those injuries, and a five-game losing streak ensued. That’s where signing...
After strong start to season, Pitt basketball aims to stay grounded
When there’s no one on the floor at Petersen Events Center and the seats are empty, Pitt sophomore point guard Jaland Lowe likes to grab some basketballs and shoot foul shots by himself. The idea is to see how many he can make in a row. One time recently, he...
Pitt running back Desmond Reid, linebacker Kyle Louis named to All-ACC first team
Pitt running back Desmond Reid and linebacker Kyle Louis were difficult to miss on the football field this season, and their names were equally prominent on the All-ACC football team revealed Tuesday on the ACC Network. Reid was a first-team selection as an all-purpose back and return specialist. Plus, he...
Pitt running back Rodney Hammond plans to enter transfer portal
Running back Rodney Hammond Jr. put an end to his four-year Pitt career Tuesday when he announced on X that he is planning to enter the transfer portal. Thank you for everything Pittsburgh but I will be entering the portal for my last year— Rodney L. Hammond (@RodneyLHammond1) December 3,...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi laments recruiting calendar that limits home visits before signing day
At the age of 58, Pat Narduzzi isn’t shy about admitting he’s an “old-school” coach. Before he signs a player from high school or the transfer portal, he’d like to look that young man in the eye, shake his hand and meet his family. “I want to know where they...
Pitt ranked No. 5 by NCAA NET, 18th in AP, 19th in coaches’ poll
The effects from Zack Austin’s long 3-pointer surfaced Monday when Pitt received significant recognition in two national polls and, especially, in the NCAA NET rankings. The Panthers improved their record to 7-1 with a dramatic overtime victory at Ohio State on Friday, and voters in the Associated Press and USA...
Defensive tackle Nahki Johnson, 2 other Pitt players planning to enter transfer portal
Pitt defensive tackle Nakhi Johnson, center Terrence Moore and cornerback Noah Biglow are planning to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Johnson made his announcement on X and Moore’s agency, 3 Strand Sports & Entertainment, also used X to announce its client’s plans. All three ended the regular season as backups...
