‘I need to be here’: Tylee Craft goes from wide receiver to assistant coach after cancer diagnosis
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Anna Katherine Clemmons
Mitch Mason sat in his mother’s hospital room in Tampa. It was June 11, 2024 — his birthday — and his phone buzzed with text messages. He’d flown to Florida from Chapel Hill, where he has served as UNC football’s team chaplain for 13 years.
“How are you holding up?” friends texted as Mason sat with his mother. She was unconscious and on a ventilator. And she was dying.
One player had sent a steady stream of messages throughout the day.
How you doin’, OG? UNC wide receiver Tylee Craft wrote.
Chap, I always got you, and you got me.
“That meant a little more, because I knew he was dealing with sickness,” Mason says.
Tylee was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer on March 14, 2022. He has undergone numerous treatments, but the cancer still spread through his body and brain. He has endured multiple ER stays. Arriving at UNC at a healthy 200 pounds at 6-foot-5, Tylee has lost more than 20 pounds, gained weight back, and lost it again.
“To be facing that, and yet to be more concerned with telling everyone else, ‘Keep fighting, I got you,'” Mason says. “That’s just Tylee.”
Tylee has refused to let cancer take over his life. He is enrolled in graduate courses toward his master’s in applied professional studies after graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science/sports administration. He wore a TyleeStrong T-shirt under his gown as he walked across the graduation stage.
Football is what brings Tylee joy. He shifted from active player to student coach this summer. He is at almost every meeting, workout and practice, sometimes walking directly to the facility from the hospital. He was elected to the team’s leadership council this season.
His diagnosis is one no one wishes for. And yet, it has given him a new purpose, a platform and the ability to make an impact he had never imagined.
Tylee first played football at age 7. Long and lean, he always seemed taller than everyone else, his mother, September Craft, says. Initially, his coach put him at quarterback. But he wanted to play receiver.
“I love catching passes, scoring touchdowns, running,” Tylee said. “Just having fun with my teammates, making memories.”
He totaled close to 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his last two high school seasons. He also excelled in the classroom, taking honors classes and graduating high school a semester early.
“Tylee was always a guy we could count on,” Sumter High School football coach Mark Barnes said. “[A] 4.0 GPA, an overachiever in every aspect. These are comments that we tend to embellish when people are going through hardships. But Tylee was that guy.”
Tylee and September visited Chapel Hill on a Friday in March during his junior year; that Monday morning, UNC wide receivers coach Lonnie Galloway called Tylee and offered him a scholarship. Two days later, he called Galloway and told him he wanted to be a Tar Heel.
“It was just a different feeling here,” September said. “Like we’d known each other for years.”
Tylee played in seven games in the 2020 season, primarily on special teams. He struggled with turf toe before fall camp and appeared in four games in 2021.
In December of 2021, Tylee returned home to Sumter for a few days before Christmas. He told his mom he’d been having a lot of back pain, which worsened over the next month. Tylee always smiled. He was easygoing, calm and steady. The only time September had seen him cry was after losing a playoff game in high school. But on a FaceTime call on March 9, he was crying.
Later that day, Tylee was riding in an elevator at the UNC football facility alongside Sally Brown, head coach Mack Brown’s wife. Suddenly, he doubled over in pain. Sally opened the elevator doors and called for help. Defensive line coach Tim Cross was standing in the hall and helped Sally lift Tylee. They rushed him to the ER.
Dr. Jared Weiss, the section chief of thoracic and head/neck oncology at UNC Chapel Hill Hospital, was not scheduled to be on call. But an oncology fellow asked him to come in and examine a young patient who had just arrived.
“What struck me most was how incredibly supported he was,” Weiss said. “I don’t think I’ve ever before or since seen a little ER space so packed with people.”
Five days later, Weiss told Tylee and September that Tylee had metastatic Stage 4 cancer in his lungs, liver and spine. He would need to start treatment immediately.
“The doctor said that if Tylee didn’t come into the hospital, he would’ve passed away in less than a month,” September said. “He was basically dying and he didn’t know it.”
The median lung cancer patient is 70 years old. Despite the stigma around lung cancers, many of those diagnosed are not regular smokers or, like Tylee, have never smoked. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), the five-year survival rate of metastatic lung cancer patients is about 18.6%.
Tylee took the semester off from school. His initial treatments were once every three weeks. Aside from a rash on his hands and feet, hiccups and fevers, Tylee says he has felt fine.
But each time he ran a fever, September had to rush Tylee to the hospital. He needed to stay for five days to ensure he didn’t have an infection. The hospital was still crowded due to COVID. Sometimes they had to wait 36 hours in the ER for a bed to open up. The beds were short, and Tylee was often uncomfortable.
After two treatments of four drugs (two chemotherapy and two immunotherapy), the cancer shrunk dramatically. But that summer, his cancer grew again. From August to December 2022, Tylee underwent a new type of chemotherapy. He focused on classes and football, attending every game he could. Though he wasn’t able to play, he still participated in drills when he felt well enough.
“You wouldn’t know to this day that he had cancer if you didn’t know,” Galloway said. “He carries himself greatly as far as, he comes to practice, he goes to meetings, he goes to get treatment, he comes back to practice. I’ll say, ‘You know, Tylee, you don’t have to be here.’ He’ll say, ‘Coach, I need to be here.'”
At one early-morning practice, Tylee stood on the sidelines, throwing up from his chemotherapy.
“Why don’t you head back to your apartment?” Mack Brown said. “I’ll get someone to drive you over there.”
“No. I need to be here, Coach,” Tylee told him.
His teammates knew he had cancer. But Tylee didn’t want it to be a focal point.
“He’ll have chemo at 6 a.m. and then be at practice,” wide receiver J.J. Jones said. “To see that was like, OK, his determination, his resilience — that spread throughout the team. He is such a motivational leader for everybody.”
Sally Brown and Tylee talked regularly. Tylee rarely asks for help, but sometimes, Sally says, he’ll send a subtle message. “If you happen to be near Cook-Out today, I’d love a Snickers milkshake,” he’ll text. “And I’ll just happen to be near there,” Sally Brown said, smiling.
Throughout 2023, Tylee underwent immunotherapy treatments. Initially, the results were positive. But by the fall of 2023, his cancer had grown again. Weiss found a clinical trial for a drug that sounded promising, but which had yet to receive FDA approval. Weiss and Tylee appealed to the company for use, and Weiss wrote an entire protocol for Tylee, who was the first patient to receive compassionate use of the drug. It, too, worked — for a time.
At each turn, he was calm, measured. He has not screamed or lashed out when scans show the cancer has spread. “Every patient is entitled to break down sometimes,” Weiss said. “To fall apart, to reconstruct. There’s nothing wrong with that — that’s human. But that’s not what Tylee did.”
In May of 2023, scans revealed the cancer had spread to his brain. That fall, Tylee took chemotherapy pills that had a higher chance of reaching the brain. Still, he was at practice, offering advice to the receivers when he didn’t feel well enough to play.
And then, he was asked to give another kind of advice. On Jan. 31, UNC tight end Cal Tierney underwent surgery for abnormal lymph nodes. Five days later, doctors diagnosed him with nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma. Tierney was shocked — his biopsies that fall had returned as normal.
He began four rounds of chemotherapy in late February. Before he began treatment, Tierney talked to Tylee. Brown said that in 36 years of head coaching, he’d never had an active player with cancer. Now, he had two. Tylee talked about what to expect in terms of side effects and offered to help in any way. “That gave me a big sense of security,” Tierney says. “Here’s a guy in our family, and some of the things he’s done, give or take, are what I’ll be going through.”
Tierney returned to his home in Charlotte for treatment. Scans on May 2 revealed the chemotherapy had worked and he was in remission.
“The biggest lesson I have learned from cancer and from Tylee is the silver lining,” Tierney said. “How much more opportunity can you find in what you’re going through? He’s the king of that, in how much he has made an impact on others. The easiest thing is to lay down and fall into despair. And that is the opposite of what he’s done.” Tylee finished a round of off-label chemotherapy over the summer, which shrunk the tumors in his body, but not his brain. The next step, Weiss says, is tumor-treating fields, where Tylee will wear a head covering to help control the cancer in his brain.
Like his prior treatment choices, which he has made in collaboration with Weiss, Tylee has repeatedly opted for non-standard therapies. Even if it means he is the first person to try this approach to cancer treatment.
“He’s making smart gambles, and they are paying off,” Weiss said. Or, in football vernacular, “he has connected Hail Marys at least three times.”
“And,” Weiss added, “that’s why he’s alive.”
Teammates said that once you know him well, Tylee is a jokester. “It’s like peeling back an onion one layer at a time once you get to the root of Tylee,” Jones said. “He’s just an amazing person.”
Tylee is introspective, his big, hazel eyes taking in what is happening around him. He loves movies, especially “Bad Boys.” He loves history and traveling. This past spring break, he visited Spain with his girlfriend.
But football remains his passion. Earlier this month, as the temperature hovered around 80 degrees at 10 a.m., the Tar Heels ran from the practice facility’s covered field onto the open-air turf. Players divided up by position group. Mack Brown wore a headset and spoke as he walked the field. “How can I get better today?” Brown encouraged his players to ask themselves.
As the receivers stood in one corner near an end zone, Tylee, dressed in shorts, a T-shirt, and a bucket hat, shadowed a catching drill. He talked with several receivers, motioning with his hands as he gave advice. He sometimes took a knee as the sun beat down. “I wish I was playing,” Tylee says, when asked what he is thinking as he watches games.
Brown walked over just before fourth-quarter drills. He put his arm around Tylee’s waist, smiling and talking.
“What I’ve told him is, we have so many young receivers, you be their coach,” Brown said. “We’re hoping he gets to play again, but I think after he gets cleared, he has to have a year to get his body back. So it’s a long road to play.”
September, who works as a deputy sheriff, frequently drives from Sumter to Chapel Hill. She and Tylee stay at the SECU Family House, an extended-stay home that provides housing, meals and transportation for UNC Hospital patients and family members dealing with serious illness. Mack and Sally Brown host a women’s football clinic each August, and they chose the SECU Family House as this year’s beneficiary. Both September and Tylee spoke at the Aug. 19 event, and several items were auctioned, including a framed jersey signed by Tylee. Sally said they hoped to bring in $30,000 total. They raised $93,000. (Tylee has also raised money for his own treatments through the sale of bracelets and T-shirts.)
Tylee is often asked to speak, whether to a group of young football players, a fellow cancer patient or in accepting an award. (He won the Disney Spirit Award in 2022, among others). “It’s just something I do,” Tylee said of speaking. “I wouldn’t say I like it. But I do it because I guess it makes [others] feel good.”
He has numerous tattoos which, he says, help tell his story.
One on his right shoulder reads, “Let Your Faith Be Bigger Than Your Fear.”
Mason, the team chaplain, met Tylee when the latter was a recruit. “The most soft-spoken and the biggest smile,” Mason said of his first impression.
He called Tylee “Cadillac” because “once he gets going, good Lord, he can go.” The two have remained close ever since. Some of his favorite moments, Mason says, have been praying together with September and Tylee. “No doctor has a timeline on what Tylee is going through — only God knows that,” September says. “It’s not up to us. And he is still fighting.”
Four years ago, Mason was diagnosed with idiopathic small fiber polyneuropathy, a rare disease where the body’s nerves break down. While the disease is not fatal, it affects his quality of life. On some days, Mason cannot walk or even move. He takes 20 medications daily and has infusions every 28 days.
In 2022, Mason was watching a baseball game on TV. As he watched the player standing in the batter’s box, he thought of Tylee. “Keep swinging,” he thought. Keep swinging has become a mantra for them both.
“But when I think about me, no, I think about what Tylee has to go through and his fight,” Mason said. “That is what gives me the encouragement to keep swinging.”
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Sean Allen
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Victoria Matiash
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Victoria Matiash
Fantasy Hockey
- ESPN.com Fantasy Contributor since 2010
- Part-time anchor at NEWSTALK1010
Another week, another No. 1 landing spot for the Winnipeg Jets in the ESPN NHL Power Rankings. But who finishes 2-32?
Plus, it’s another fantasy hockey takeover week, with Sean Allen and Victoria Matiash identifying one player per team who is off to a slow start (relative to his teammates or expectations) and advising fantasy managers whether to have patience or panic at this time.
And as a reminder, it’s not too late to join ESPN Fantasy Hockey. Sign up for free and start playing today!
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our master list here.
Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published Nov. 8. Points percentages are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 88.24%
Cole Perfetti, LW (28.9% rostered in ESPN Fantasy leagues): As difficult as it is to find fault with anything Jets-related these days, Perfetti isn’t quite meeting 2024-25 fantasy expectations yet. But the 22-year-old remains cemented on the Jets’ second scoring line and power play, and he has pitched in enough multipoint showings to merit another look in deeper leagues. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ FLA (Nov. 16), vs. FLA (Nov. 19)
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 73.33%
Brent Burns, D (69.5%): The writing had been on the wall, faintly sketched with a carpenter’s pencil, but now it’s been retraced in ink. Shayne Gostisbehere has the power play on lock, and Burns doesn’t put up the points without it now. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. OTT (Nov. 16), vs. STL (Nov. 17), @ PHI (Nov. 20), @ NJ (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 67.65%
Gustav Forsling, D (68.8%): Playoff heroics can inflate rostership numbers even this far into the future, but Forsling isn’t a must-have fantasy contributor. You can find a defenseman with a higher ceiling among your league’s free agents. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Nov. 16), @ WPG (Nov. 19), @ CHI (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 78.13%
Marc-Andre Fleury, G (51.8%): As long as Filip Gustavsson continues to perform dependably well, the veteran No. 2 isn’t going to play much. There are other lesser-rostered backups in the league — Jake Allen and Jonathan Quick come to mind — who offer more fantasy punch than Fleury. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. DAL (Nov. 16), @ STL (Nov. 19), @ EDM (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 70.00%
Matt Roy, D (45.6%): After a breakout fantasy campaign with the Kings last season, cut Roy some slack. He has had only a handful of games to get used to his new teammates, and the minutes are there to get the job done. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ COL (Nov. 15), @ VGK (Nov. 17), @ UTA (Nov. 18), vs. COL (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 70.00%
Mika Zibanejad, C (95.6%): Zibanejad has had slow starts before — 1.78 FPPG in 2021-22 and 1.93 FPPG last season — yet still finished over 2.00 FPPG. His current 1.58 FPPG isn’t alarming. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ SEA (Nov. 17), @ VAN (Nov. 19), @ CGY (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 68.75%
Brayden McNabb, D (52.3%): Returning to his selfless ways — highlighted by five blocked shots against the Ducks Wednesday — McNabb is already working back into his fantasy managers’ good graces. While hardly a prolific producer, the veteran should start pitching in a few more points, too. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ UTA (Nov. 15), vs. WSH (Nov. 17), @ TOR (Nov. 20), @ OTT (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 65.00%
Luke Hughes, D (39.1%): He did an admirable job filling in for an injured Dougie Hamilton as a rookie last season, but unless that situation arises again, it looks as though Hughes is out of the limelight for this campaign. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ TB (Nov. 16), vs. CAR (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 66.67%
Roope Hintz, C (79.8%): Some bad puck luck, illustrated by his 6.7% shooting percentage through six recent contests (career: 16.5%), is partially to blame for Hintz’s current skid. But the perennial 30-plus goal scorer is bound to get back on track soon, especially once Peter DeBoer inevitably juggles his lines again. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ MIN (Nov. 16), vs. ANA (Nov. 18), vs. SJ (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 63.33%
Filip Hronek, D (51.9%): He’s averaging approximately a single shot and blocked shot per game. Unlike last season, the compensatory scoring isn’t there to make up for those shortcomings. Hronek appears far more valuable to the Canucks as Quinn Hughes‘ defensive partner than to his fantasy managers. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Nov. 16), vs. NSH (Nov. 17), vs. NYR (Nov. 19)
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 58.33%
Quinton Byfield, RW (43.2%): The lack of a single power-play point is one concern, along with his removal from the top unit. Through the fantasy lens, so is Byfield’s third-line role. If all remains as is, we might be in for another season of inconsistent fantasy returns. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. DET (Nov. 16), vs. BUF (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 61.11%
Matthew Knies, LW (42.4%): He has been making hay while the sun shines, so to speak, as he gets first power-play unit access while Auston Matthews is out. The confidence boost should carry over to when Matthews returns, and they are linemates again. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. EDM (Nov. 16), vs. VGK (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 55.88%
Jeff Skinner, C (45.0%): Afforded the opportunity to compete alongside just about every Oiler up front, including two of the best centers in the biz, the veteran winger has nonetheless failed to offer much of a productive presence. Now Skinner appears relegated to Edmonton’s fourth line. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ TOR (Nov. 16), @ MTL (Nov. 18), @ OTT (Nov. 19), vs. MIN (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 56.67%
Jake Guentzel, LW (98.8%): Guentzel’s overall output is fantastic already, but with just two power-play points so far, he has yet to add his usual production with the man advantage. If he does, his already strong fantasy profile could get a big boost. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. NJ (Nov. 16), @ PIT (Nov. 19), @ CBJ (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 52.94%
Devon Toews, D (66.7%): While it has taken the defender time to warm up after a delayed start to 2024-25, Toews now appears back in his groove: blocking shots, contributing to the score sheet and skating more minutes than nearly everyone else. Cale Makar‘s partner hasn’t averaged 0.58 points per game throughout his career by accident. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. WSH (Nov. 15), @ PHI (Nov. 18), @ WSH (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 53.13%
Linus Ullmark, G (84.8%): The Senators are showing signs of competing, and we know Ullmark is capable of being among the best. Patience might already be paying off with some of his recent road outings against tough division rivals. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ CAR (Nov. 16), vs. EDM (Nov. 19), vs. VGK (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 55.88%
Nazem Kadri, C (78.4%): While no one is scoring much for the Flames these days, including their No. 1 center, this too shall pass. Perhaps it’ll play out like last season, when Kadri collected two points in October before erupting for 13 in November, then maintained that scoring pace for the duration of the season. Also, he shoots the puck a lot. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. NSH (Nov. 15), vs. NYI (Nov. 19), vs. NYR (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 50.00%
Charlie McAvoy, D (89.9%): The Bruins’ offense might be slower this season, but McAvoy’s 1.64 FPPG is still too low. Give him time. Not enough has changed to drop him far from his 2.29 FPPG average over the past three seasons. Verdict: Patience
Next seven days: vs. STL (Nov. 16), vs. CBJ (Nov. 18), vs. UTA (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 53.13%
Barrett Hayton, C (17.5%): According to analysis by Evolving Hockey, the third-line center (for now) should be scoring more goals in accordance with the quality of his shots. That offers some comfort in light of his current skid. While Hayton certainly needs to play more minutes and shoot on net more often, he doesn’t merit giving up entirely in deeper fantasy leagues. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. VGK (Nov. 15), vs. WSH (Nov. 18), @ BOS (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 52.94%
Brock Nelson, C (76.9%): The Isles’ collective offense isn’t weaker than it has been for several years. Nelson has averaged 2.03 FPPG across the past three seasons. He’ll come around. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ SEA (Nov. 16), @ CGY (Nov. 19), @ DET (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 50.00%
Patrick Kane, RW (66.3%): If the Red Wings’ power play were in the dumps, maybe we could preach patience for Kane. But it’s not, and it might be time to move on from Kane in fantasy. He is getting all the opportunities required and is just not producing. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ ANA (Nov. 15), @ LA (Nov. 16), @ SJ (Nov. 18), vs. NYI (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 50.00%
Dylan Cozens, C (49.3%): It is time to move off Cozens. He had that banner 2022-23 but is now matching the reduced fantasy production that lasted all of last season. Even an uptick in performance might not be enough to get to fantasy relevance from his current 1.41 FPPG. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ PHI (Nov. 16), @ LA (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 50.00%
Adam Larsson, D (60.5%): Despite the relative drought, the top-pair defenseman still blocks a sufficient number of shots to merit rostering in deeper standard leagues. Plus, he’ll soon fall back into his usual (however relatively modest) scoring groove. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: vs. NYI (Nov. 16), vs. NYR (Nov. 17), vs. NSH (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 44.12%
Jordan Binnington, G (55.1%): After winning the season opener against Seattle, the Blues’ No. 1 has yet to beat anyone outside of the Atlantic Division. Shouldering a 4-7-0 record, .887 save percentage and 3.26 goals-against average, Binnington has cost his fantasy managers a total net loss of 1.8 points. Yes, negative points. There are likely brighter days ahead for the banged-up Blues, but when? Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ BOS (Nov. 16), @ CAR (Nov. 17), vs. MIN (Nov. 19), vs. SJ (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 47.06%
Joel Farabee, LW (50.7%): Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Scott Laughton; Take your pick of Flyers who were just picking up some fantasy momentum in their career but have been buried on the depth chart by the new core group. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Nov. 16), vs. COL (Nov. 18), vs. CAR (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 38.24%
Teuvo Teravainen, RW (41.4%): The Blackhawks’ offseason acquisition has one goal and zero assists in his past 11 games, and he isn’t shooting with any consistency. Even back on a scoring line with Connor Bedard, Teravainen can’t be counted on to contribute regularly enough. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ VAN (Nov. 16), vs. ANA (Nov. 19), vs. FLA (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 41.67%
Erik Karlsson, D (94.1%): It’s been a season and a quarter now, so what we see from Karlsson as a Penguin might be what we get. He’s not the sole source of offense, so downgraded fantasy output is just the new normal. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ CBJ (Nov. 15), vs. SJ (Nov. 16), vs. TB (Nov. 19)
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 40.00%
Ivan Provorov, D (19.2%): No one on the Blue Jackets is underperforming in a big way, but even 20% rostership is too high for Provorov. If he’s not on the first pair, you can safely pretend he’s not there. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. PIT (Nov. 15), @ MTL (Nov. 16), @ BOS (Nov. 18), vs. TB (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 38.24%
Gustav Nyquist, RW (16.6%): Once replaced by Steven Stamkos on the Predators’ top line, Nyquist lost most of his fantasy charm. It’s no coincidence the winger was at his most productive when skating alongside Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: @ CGY (Nov. 15), @ VAN (Nov. 17), @ SEA (Nov. 20)
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 40.00%
Lukas Dostal, G (60.7%): The Ducks allow the most shots against (35.5 per game) while scoring the fewest goals (2.20 per game). Plus, a healthy John Gibson is back to share Anaheim’s crease. Dostal’s successful fantasy run was fun while it lasted. It’s time to move on. Verdict: Panic.
Next seven days: vs. DET (Nov. 15), @ DAL (Nov. 18), @ CHI (Nov. 19)
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 36.11%
William Eklund, LW (56.2%): The sophomore is playing a ton of minutes, pitching in assists and now skating on a scoring line with Mikael Granlund. Which is a good thing. Yes, we’d all like to see him shoot more. Verdict: Patience.
Next seven days: @ PIT (Nov. 16), vs. DET (Nov. 18), @ DAL (Nov. 20), @ STL (Nov. 21)
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 35.29%
Sam Montembeault, G (22.3%): The Habs don’t look like they’ll win enough for Monty to shine in redraft leagues, but if you drafted him for a keeper league, there are positive signs for the future. Verdict: Patience, at least for the long term.
Next seven days: vs. CBJ (Nov. 16), vs. EDM (Nov. 18)
LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.
Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.
Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.
Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.
Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.
Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.
He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.
Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.
Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.
A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.
Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.
Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.
Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.
Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.
The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.
Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.
O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.
Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.
In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”
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