Bit of a different post today, a personal one. Today is an awesome day for sports fans, it really is. Football season is a time we can laugh and cheer with family and friends, and I'm super excited to do so.
What the past few years has also brought to millions of people, myself
Breaking: Maryland women's basketball senior guard Brinae Alexander tells
@testudotimes
that she will be using her final year of eligibility to return to the Terps next season. Full interview coming out tomorrow morning on the Testudo Times Podcast.
The 2024 McDonalds All-American Game MVP: Derik Queen
Monster performance from the Terp commit, helping the EAST to an 88-86 win.
A lot to like tonight if you're a Maryland fan/Kevin Willard.
Breaking: After almost four years of waiting, Terps fans can rejoice as five-star forward Derik Queen announced his commitment to Maryland men's basketball.
The Baltimore native is ranked as the No. 15 player in the nation.
Maryland beat out offers from Indiana, Houston and KU.
Quick timeline here:
Feb. 21: Derik Queen commits
March 9: Kevin Willard admits faults in this year's roster construction
March 24: Maryland lands Rodney Rice
March 27: Julian Reese announces a fourth year, Ja'Kobi Gillespie commits
Tough season, but a strong offseason so far
Maryland men's basketball earned a commitment Wednesday from Belmont transfer Ja'Kobi Gillespie.
Gillespie, a point guard, has two years of eligibility remaining and will immediately compete for a starting role.
This year, the Terps have not made friends with the NCAA Tournament committees. Maryland men's basketball drew top overall seed Alabama, women's ball drew top overall seed South Carolina, and baseball now takes on top overall seed Wake Forest.
BREAKING: Belmont transfer guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie has committed to Maryland, he tells
@On3sports
.
The 6-1 sophomore says he chose the ‘Terps over Oklahoma, Florida, and Virginia. Averaged 17.2 PTS, 3.8 REB, and 4.2 AST this season.
Story:
Kevin Willard didn't hold back on his veterans after tonight's loss to Indiana.
"I don't mind a freshman going out there and missing... but we got some older guys right now that just keep doing stuff that you're like, 'what are we doing?'.
Harris-Smith continued:
"A lot of coaches would've quit seeing our record. Coach Willard, Coach Cox, they came in every day, giving us as much energy as we give them..."
"I hope everybody comes back next year because I would love to play for them."
Huge news for Maryland football as four-star safety Brandon Jacob (Orlando, FL) announces his commitment to Maryland. He's the Terps' highest-ranked recruit since Jaishawn Barham and Shaleak Knotts in 2022.
Chose Maryland over UCF, Miami, Texas A&M and others.
Maryland HC Kevin Willard was very complimentary of Julian Reese's leadership, especially ahead of OT:
"He was the guy really talking and just saying hey, let's go, we got five more minutes."
Called Reese a "heck of a leader".
Maryland football land its quarterback from the portal in former NC State QB MJ Morris. Will likely compete with Billy Edwards Jr. and Cam Edge for thr starting spot.
BREAKING: Former NC State QB MJ Morris has Committed to Maryland, he tells
@on3sports
The 6’2 205 QB will have 3 years of eligibility remaining
“The culture that they have up there is special, & I can’t wait to become a part of it.”
Diamond Miller’s came into Maryland as a five-star recruit. Four years later, she leaves her mark as one of the best Terps of the last 20 years. Her 1,706 points are 10th most in program history. Miller is expected to be a top-3 pick in the draft.
Abby Meyers was drafted No. 11 overall by Dallas Wings in the WNBA Draft. She thrived with the Terps in her final year of eligibility this past season, and skyrocketed up draft boards in recent weeks.
Outside of projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft Diamond Miller, Brinae Alexander, Faith Masonius and Lavender Briggs were the only seniors who had an extra year of eligibility left. All three plan to return next season.
HC Mike Locksley: "We'll win and lose with Taulia. I can tell you he's a competitor, and he's not happy in the locker room about the way we played, none of us are. But it's not one guy, it's all of us, including me.
The visiting press conference room is adjacent to Maryland's locker room and it was getting pretty electric in there.
Maryland has been projected to play in the Las Vegas Bowl, and I'll say that many players are hoping for a trip to the Sin City...
What in incredible 24 hours and change for Maryland basketball.
@TerpsWBB
takes down No. 7 Notre Dame at the buzzer and then Jahmir Young closes out a marquee victory tonight for
@TerrapinHoops
against No. 16 Illinois in front of an electric crowd at Xfinity. Wow.
News: Maryland women's basketball has landed its first commit through the portal. NC State senior guard Jakia Brown-Turner is joining the Terps for the 2023-24 season, she announced on instagram. She's on Oxon Hill, Maryland native.
I’m beyond thrilled to announce that this summer I'll be heading down to South Carolina to begin my professional career as a sports reporter
@ijindexjournal
!
Thank you to
@merrillcollege
and everyone else who's helped me get here!
It genuinely wasn't easy to put my emotions into words.
My time
@testudotimes
provided me with some of the best memories of my college tenure.
With that, my final byline: 🤝
@EmmettSiegel_
PS: Continue to respect all student journalist, now and forever
Locksley with one of the quotes of the year: I probably wouldn't be as fat as I am, [I'd] probably have more hair if I didn't deal with the stressors that go with 18 to 22 year olds controlling your your livelihood. But I love these kids man, I battle with them every single day."
DeShawn Harris-Smith has had his fair share of freshman struggles, but his poise and confidence has been tremendous of late. What a shot to give Maryland a huge seven-point lead.
Terps on the heels of a breakthrough victory.
Diamond Miller on her explosive second half in which she scored 18 of her 27 points:
“I was definitely pissed off. They were playing dirty…they were very aggressive towards me and I guess I just showed them what real aggression is.”
Breaking: Maryland defensive back Deonte Banks drafted 24th overall by the New York Giants.
He is the highest-selected Terp since Darnell Savage was taken No. 22 overall by the Green Bay Packers in 2019.
Diamond Miller said she's still processing seeing this tweet.
"The fact that he's in the NBA and he supports women's basketball is extremely huge. And we're just going to keep growing the game and people need to watch us because we all can ball and we all are talented."
After a few months of waiting, Maryland men's basketball lands its first commit of the 2024 cycle in the form of three-star guard Malachi Palmer (Mt. Zion Prep/Baltimore).
Ranked as the No. 2 player in the state of Maryland, per the 247Sports Composite.
Maryland football lands a commitment from Bowling Green transfer cornerback Jalen Huskey.
The junior was named to the All-MAC first team this past season.
Was initially a three-star prospect out of Quince Orchard HS in Gaithersburg.
Story coming soon, but a very impressive offseason continues for Kevin Willard. He still has two scholarships to play with, but a POTENTIAL starting lineup of below has promise.
Gillespie
DHS
Miguel
Reese
Queen
Maryland gets some much-needed help on the offensive line with a commitment from Purdue transfer center Josh Kaltenberger.
Appeared in every game for the Boilermakers this past season, started the final three. Has one year of eligibility left.
Maryland HC Brenda Frese on Brown-Turner, per release.
"We are thrilled to welcome home Jakia and her family. We actually recruited Jakia out of high school, so we knew her from back then. Jakia is a proven player and winner at our game's highest level."
Maryland women's basketball received a commitment from class of 2024 four-star recruit Breanna Williams (Billings Skyview HS, Montana).
The 6-foot-2 forward was named the 2023 Montana Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Maryland women's basketball HC Brenda Frese spoke on first impressions of freshman Riley Nelson, saying that Nelson has "separated herself from the rest of the [freshmen]."
"Highly competitive player"
Maryland women's basketball defeats Notre Dame 76-59 to advance to its first Elite Eight since 2014-15. Brenda Frese takes possibly her most unlikely roster in a decade to the regional final.
The Terps will face the winner of South Carolina/UCLA for a spot in the Final Four.
Maryland women’s basketball seniors Lavender Briggs and Faith Masonius announced that they plan on returning next season. They join Brinae Alexander in making that decision.
The Minnesota Lynx select Diamond Miller with the No. 2 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Miller is the highest Terp selected since Marissa Coleman in 2009.
Diamond Miller officially declared for the WNBA Draft, the league announced. A four-year starter, she twice earned first team All-Big Ten honors. She leaves Maryland as the 10th highest scorer in program history. Miller is projected to be a top-3 pick. Draft is set for April 10.
Class of 2024 OT Samir Camacho (Cy Falls HS/Houston, TX) announces his commitment to Maryland football.
Sixth OT to commit to the Terps in '24 class. He fielded offers from Duke, TCU and UTSA among others.
Maryland football lands its first four-star commit of the 2024 class in RB DeJuan Williams (St Frances Academy, Baltimore).
5-foot-10, 195 pound product is rated as the ninth overall prospect in state of MD.
NEWS: South Florida transfer Selton Miguel tells me he’s committed to Maryland.
Miguel began his career playing two seasons at Kansas State before spending the last two at South Florida.
He averaged 14.7PPG, 3.2RPG, 2.2APG and 1.2SPG this season.
With Maryland's loss today dropping it to 1-7 in one-possession games, I still don't think that stat is being discussed enough.
It's inconceivable for a team which has been so good at getting stops to come out on the wrong end of these close games every single time.
Breaking: With a 6-yard pass to Jeshaun Jones, Taulia Tagovailoa becomes the Big Ten's all-time passing yards leader, surpassing Curtis Painter's previous record of 11,163 yards.
Maryland WR Tyrese Chambers on the transition to College Park and coming back to his home state:
"It's been good, man...It's been fun. "It's a dream come true, man. It's been my dream school since I was a child. And it took me a couple of years to get here, but I'm finally here.
Moments after No. 3 Michigan escaped College Park with a 31-24 victory, hundreds of Wolverine fans stormed the field. Can't say I understand the behavior of their fanbase -- nor have I understood it for a very long time.
Brown-Turner was a top-15 recruit in 2019 and was heavily recruited by Brenda Frese. The Terps were in her final three choices, alongside NC State and West Virginia. Now, four years later, she returns to her home state.
Longtime Maryland priority recruit Mekhai White, a three-star wide receiver out of King George, VA, committed to the Terps earlier this evening.
He chose Maryland over Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia Tech among others.
With his Maryland career nearing a close, I chatted with Donta Scott about his recent strong play, what he hopes his legacy will be and more.
“Always gonna have people that hate, and that just kind of fuels the fire, to be honest."
Story coming soon, but a very impressive offseason continues for Kevin Willard. He still has two scholarships to play with, but a POTENTIAL starting lineup of below has promise.
Gillespie
DHS
Miguel
Reese
Queen
Locksley adds another DMV recruit, and another OL prospect, as three-star offensive tackle Ryan "Mountain" Howerton commits to Maryland football, becoming the Terps' 14th verbal commit in the class of 2024.
Per 247Sports, the Laurel native is the 18th best prospect in MD.
DeShawn Harris-Smith postgame comments:
"JY has been the perfect leader for me, I wouldn't want to play my freshman year with nobody else. He's a well-respected point guard around the country... but if you hang out with him off the floor, he acts like nobody knows him.
5-foot-9 point guard Kyndal Walker announced her commitment to Maryland women's basketball on IG Live this afternoon. The Bowie, Maryland native attends St. John’s College High School in D.C and is the No. 34 overall recruit in the nation.
Lavender Briggs, as expected, plans to use her extra year of eligibility and return to the Terps for the 2023-24 season, per
@EdwardLeeSun
. She joins Brinae Alexander, another transfer, to make this decision.
.
@TerpsWBB
senior shooting guard Lavender Briggs - who has averaged 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds off the bench - said she will return for her last year of eligibility.
“I do plan to come back,” she said. “I do plan to get my master’s and take my extra year and come back and play.”
"I love our crowd and I thought they were tremendous...they were a big X-factor for us.”- Maryland's Brenda Frese
"{The crowd} wasn't really a factor in our play...this is one of the smaller crowds that we've went against."- Iowa's Lisa Bluder
Take that as you wish...
Maryland became just the third team this season to hold Iowa at home to under 80 points.
The Hawkeyes' 67 points for is tied for its lowest total (Nov. 13 vs Oklahoma).
Maryland women's basketball moves up two spots to No. 5 in today's AP Top 25 Poll. The Terps came away with two ranked wins this past week against Iowa and Ohio State. Important to note that AP voting does not reflect the decisions of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
NEWS: Maryland wing Jamie Kaiser Jr. tells me he plans to enter the transfer portal.
Kaiser Jr. is a former 4⭐️ recruit who played just his freshman season at Maryland. Played his final season of high school at
@IMGABasketball
.
He averaged 4.4PPG and 2.0RPG this season.
Three-star offensive tackle Kahlil Stewart commits to Maryland football, becoming the Terps' second pledge in the 2025 class.
The Philadelphia native (St. Joseph's Prep School) is ranked as the No. 53 interior offensive lineman in his class, per the 247Sports Composite.
Three-star CB Larry Tarver Jr. commits to Maryland football. He's the Terps' 12th commit in the class of 2024. Was verbally committed to FIU.
He took an OV to College Park last week and had offers from Texas A&M and Louisville among others.
Frese on win
#600
:
I’ve been so fortunate to have the bulk of these wins here at Maryland, a place that’s been really special and really good to our family. But behind those 600 wins, I haven’t made a basket. I haven’t scored a point. It’s these players….
Super excited to announce that I've started my work as the Top Deputy Editor
@testudotimes
. A huge thanks to
@bendickson__
and
@soshtry
for helping me grow so much and offering this opportunity.
I can’t wait to continue working alongside a great journalist in
@EmmettSiegel_
Announcement: Sam Oshtry and Ben Dickson are stepping down as managing editor and deputy editor of Testudo Times. Emmett Siegel will take over as managing editor.
Oshtry and Dickson pen farewell and express their gratitude and appreciation below.