SPORTS digest || Former YSU assistant could get Struthers job

STRUTHERS

The vacant Struthers High School boys basketball job could be filled today when the Struthers Board of Education meets.

Published reports indicate that former Youngstown State assistant coach Mikme Wenicki will be hired, pending board approval. Wernicki was an assistant under former Penguins head coach Jerry Slocum.

James Franceschelli, who had been the Wildcats’ head coach, resigned in May.

Court backs NCAA transfer rule year off

CHICAGO

A federal appeals court has backed an NCAA rule requiring most football players who transfer schools to sit out a year.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld a lower-court finding that NCAA transfer rules don’t violate U.S. antitrust laws.

Monday’s decision was in a lawsuit brought by a former punter for Northern Illinois University, Peter Deppe. The ruling focuses on a requirement that most Division I football players who transfer to another school must sit out a year.

Deppe’s lawyers argued the Indianapolis-based NCAA enforces the rule primarily to ensure transfers don’t hurt the quality of the football and thereby cut into lucrative revenues. They say that makes it an unreasonable restraint on trade.

But the 7th Circuit rejected that. Its unanimous opinion accepted the NCAA’s concern that easy player transfers would undermine “the amateur character of college athletics.”

A statement from the NCAA welcomed the ruling, saying it was consistent with prior court rulings that recognize “the NCAA’s ability to preserve college sports.”

Tigers agree to terms with top overall pick

DETROIT

The Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.

The Tigers announced the agreement before Monday’s game against Oakland. In 17 starts at Auburn this year, Mize went 10-6 with a 3.30 ERA. The 6-foot-3 junior averaged 12.24 strikeouts per nine innings.

In three seasons at Auburn, Mize went 20-13 with a 2.96 ERA, 324 strikeouts and 43 walks.

The Tigers have agreed to deals with 35 players from this year’s draft.

Pacers plan to part ways with Stephenson

INDIANAPOLIS

The Indiana Pacers are parting ways with guard Lance Stephenson, the gritty veteran who brought energy off the bench in last season’s surprising run to the playoffs.

The team will not pick up the team option next season, Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said Monday.

“This was a very difficult decision, but as free agency begins on July 1, we want to have flexibility so that we can prepare for all of our available options,” he said.

A year ago, Pritchard decided to trade star Paul George before almost surely losing him in free agency and got Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis from Oklahoma City in a deal that turned out remarkably well for Indiana.

Oladipo emerged as a leader, earned his first All-Star trip and won the league’s steals title. Sabonis, a lottery pick in 2016, became a key contributor off the bench. Point guard Darren Collison was the NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter, and Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic thrived in their roles, too. Myles Turner, Indiana’s 22-year-old center, was one of the league’s leaders in blocks.

Texas hires Oregon's White as softball coach

AUSTIN, Texas

The University of Texas has hired Oregon softball coach Mike White to lead the Longhorns program.

The 56-year-old White led the Ducks to five Women's College World Series in nine seasons and the program earned the overall No. 1 seed for the tournament this past season.

Staff and wire reports