From ‘beached whale’ to contender, inside Tulane’s turnaround
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
NEW ORLEANS — Considering that half-century in the college football netherworld, Tulane is amid what can only be considered a football renaissance. Spearheaded by former coach Willie Fritz and perpetuated by first-year coach Jon Sumrall, Tulane has won the American Athletic Conference (2022), beaten USC in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and is ranked No. 25 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Few could have projected Tulane’s place in the national conversation before the recent surge, as Tulane (8-2) looms as an improbable contender — along with No. 13 Boise State and No. 24 Army — for the CFP bid that goes to the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion.
“They were a beached whale for a lot of years and decades,” former Tulane athletic director Kevin White told ESPN. “The schizophrenia from the campus community was real, relative to college athletics. You’d put on a helmet and shoulder pads when you went to the board meetings.”
These days, the helmets and shoulder pads are saved for the games.
And Tulane has a coach in Sumrall, 42, who is considered to be one the most promising in the sport and embodies the institution’s grander ambitions that come with the taste of success.
And that puts Tulane in a compelling place as a university, as it’s seeing the benefits of recent football relevance and pondering the investments required to stay in the mix and, someday, position itself for a power conference.
“To be able to sustain success is really rewarding, I think, for everybody involved,” Sumrall said in his office last week. “Our players, our staff and the university as a whole, the challenges that come with mid-major football Group of 5 football if you will. Anytime right now you feel like a coach leaves, you’re like, ‘All right, this could go really bad.’ But we’re very fortunate to, things have stabilized.”
Tulane is undefeated in the AAC and a win at Navy (7-2) on Saturday (noon ET on ESPN2) would clinch a spot in the program’s third consecutive conference title game. Tulane beat UCF two years ago, lost to SMU last season and would play Army with a win Saturday.
That type of consistent success — as often happens at the mid-major level — has led to turnover. Athletic director Troy Dannen left for Washington (then soon again for Nebraska) after hiring Fritz in December 2015 and building the program with him. Fritz left for Houston after going 23-4 his final two seasons and beating USC in the Cotton Bowl following the 2022 season.
And Tulane has found itself institutionally trying to both sustain and maximize the success. It hired Huron Consulting, of which White is a senior adviser, to do what COO Patrick Norton calls a “basic diagnosis” of the athletic department.
“[Athletics is] really important to our brand,” Norton said. “Now, how do we capitalize on that? That’s still, I think, in some ways to be determined. I mean, this is fairly recent for us, success from the Cotton Bowl, which was really an amazing experience for the university. One that we hadn’t gone through in a very, very long time.”
One of the clearest signs of Tulane’s football aspirations came immediately after last season. In the wake of Fritz’s departure to Houston and in essentially athletic director David Harris’ first week on the job, they lured the hottest coach in the Sun Belt. Sumrall had won back-to-back league titles at Troy while going 23-4, and drew interest in the last cycle from Texas A&M and Mississippi State.
Sumrall agreed to a six-year deal that’s believed to be near the top of the AAC. For a place that lagged behind so far and for so long, Harris’ immediate aggression and commitment showed that Tulane didn’t want to drift off the map for another half-century.
“Jon has had a great impact on us,” Harris told ESPN. “I think his name and his success coming in the door gave what we were continuing to try to build here at Tulane, immediate credibility because people knew his background, his success, what he had been able to do at Troy, the connection that he had had here [as a former assistant].”
To remain in the conversation for the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion, Tulane will need to keep winning and get help from some of Boise State’s Mountain West foes. But it’s entirely viable, and a testament to the school’s ability to maintain through significant turnover.
Tulane’s place in the national conversation is a fitting dividend from it’s increased investment in football. It was an object of the desire of the Pac-12 and continued success could vault it into conversations as leagues remain in flux.
Norton said that the travel in the Pac-12 loomed as an issue for Tulane and the school didn’t see a certain financial benefit from a move.
“We were leaving something that is more certain to less certain,” Norton said, “and frankly, it’s not the Pac-12 that we always knew, that we grew up with that John Wooden and UCLA and USC. It just wasn’t the same. I’m not saying that these schools aren’t solid, very good schools, but it’s not the same. And it was different than what we wanted, and so I think the decision wasn’t that hard, but we listened.”
But being courted by a league is a sign of Tulane’s evolution and success in athletics. And Sumrall said he has felt the support.
“I think that the readiness and the commitment is real,” Sumrall said. “I think that the university is seeing what football can do for the university. It’s galvanized so many people and I think it’s created a lot of exposure, and I think that that only empowers the desire to maybe help it grow even further.”
Sumrall spent three as an assistant coach at Tulane from 2012-14. He loved the city, watched guys like Leonard Fournette and Odell Beckham Jr. play high school ball. He loved the culture of the city — his favorite steakhouse is Mr. John’s down on St. Charles Avenue, and he has dabbled with the alligator cheesecake at Jacques-Imo’s. He always thought the collision of local talent and the city’s uniqueness could yield big dividends for a program stuck in neutral so long.
“So to me, that mixture of things was something that stood out to me when I was here previously,” Sumrall said. “And then the moment that’s been created with the most recent success the last few years really showed, I think, that there was an opportunity to maybe capture some positive things that have happened.”
Sumrall’s final season as an assistant coach coincided with the move to Yulman Stadium on campus and to the AAC in 2014. That marked a move out of the SuperDome, a cavernous dark hole for Tulane games that Sumrall likened to “playing in a cave.”
Since he has returned, Sumrall has seen the team being on campus and the success under Fritz energize Tulane football in New Orleans. He complimented Dannen’s decision to bring back the Angry Wave logo — fitting for a quirky city like New Orleans — and said the excitement felt today can be linked to the campus hosting football games.
“Ten years ago when I was here, I don’t think anybody here gave a damn. The city didn’t care,” he said. “There was no connection. Now you feel like a real connection. So that part’s really cool.”
Sumrall values that connection. He and his wife, Ginny, live nearby and take frequent walks on campus. She joins him when he traverses campus on Thursdays and checks in on the players classes, something Sumrall likes to do as a way to connect with the players. His presence there also stresses the academic component, which is critical at Tulane.
The roster that Sumrall as assembled is a modern mosaic of what roster building looks like, as he brought in 58 new players, including 53 transfers. He also has benefited from holdovers at quarterback and tailback who’ve both emerged as stars.
Tailback Makhi Hughes leads the AAC in rushing yards with 1,209. He averages 5.7 yards per carry and has scored 13 rushing touchdowns and two more receiving.
Quarterback Darian Mensah has thrown for 2,059 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has completed 65.6% of his passes and has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the Group of 5.
Mensah has led a balanced offense under veteran coordinator Joe Craddock that is No. 4 nationally in scoring with 41.0 points per game. Tulane is also Top 20 in scoring defense and total defense under coordinator Greg Gasparato.
Sumrall’s teams at Troy had a knack for winning close games, as Sumrall joked they went a “modest 12-2” his first year there. So far at Tulane, his team has lost only to then-No. 15 Oklahoma and then-No. 17 Kansas State, and it has handled the rest of the competition. In Tulane’s eight wins, it has won by an average of more than 30 points.
As Tulane enters the finishing kick, the program will face the same micro conundrum that it faces in the macro as a university in athletics — retaining talent and spending enough money in order to remain competitive. That includes coaches, staff and players, in an era where the financial separation is distinct compared to the power leagues.
While there’s limited movement expected in Power 4 coaching this year, Sumrall’s 31-6 career record will make him coveted this year and beyond. Mensah, who has three years of eligibility left, has authored the type of season that already has quarterback-needy schools putting together bids.
The success for Tulane is real, but so is the annual challenge to maintain it. With the ambition and momentum Tulane has gathered comes the challenge of keeping it going.
“As you look at the next several years, and the changing landscape of college athletics, people feel that there’s really a place for Tulane within the college football landscape and just overall being a stronger athletics brand,” Harris said. “And so to be in this position is incredibly exciting. It’s a big responsibility because you want to be a part of keeping the trajectory going up and keeping the excitement going and keeping the momentum going.”
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Kiley McDaniel
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Kiley McDaniel
ESPN MLB Insider
- ESPN MLB Insider
- Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency.
- Has worked for three MLB teams.
Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’
Major League Baseball’s trade market is ever evolving, and to keep you updated, ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan have put together a list of potential trade candidates that will be updated regularly depending on their performance — and that of the teams which could be involved in potential deals leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.
Some of the players on the list are unlikely to be dealt but at least are being discussed in potential deals. Others might not be on the list now but will be added in the future should their team’s fortunes change. Either way, this will be the most up-to-date accounting of where MLB’s trade market stands.
Note: Players are ranked by value for their new team if traded, not likelihood of being dealt
Chance of trade: 10%
Bregman has been an elite big league hitter since he entered the league in 2016 but has leaned more into power this year, with his highest isolated power since 2019. Most of his underlying power indicators (barrel rate, maximum exit velo, average launch angle and hard hit rate) are at career highs. His $40 million salary — and the chance to opt into two more years at $40 million annually — significantly shortens the list of teams that would take on his deal.
Best fits: Chicago Cubs, Detroit, New York Yankees, New York Mets
Chance of trade: 25%
Duran had a huge breakout season in 2024, posting the seventh-best WAR in the majors at 6.7. He overperformed his underlying metrics, though — i.e., had some lucky outcomes — and those metrics have regressed a bit this year. Now he’s underperforming them — he has been unlucky — so his true talent is somewhere south of that star-level 6.7 figure but better than the roughly 2 WAR (commensurate with a solid regular) he’s on pace for this season.
Best fits: San Diego, Atlanta, Cleveland, Kansas City, San Francisco, Philadelphia
Chance of trade: 60%
Alcantara was arguably the best pitcher in baseball in 2022, winning the NL Cy Young unanimously. He was more solid than spectacular in 2023 and missed 2024 with Tommy John surgery. He has been tinkering this season to try to get his pitch mix and locations right in hopes of regaining his former glory. It is starting to look as though he is turning the corner to become a midrotation starter (or better?) once again as he has posted a 2.74 ERA in four June outings. The Marlins could hold on to him until the winter, when teams like Baltimore would be more inclined to acquire him and the final two years of his contract.
Best fits: Chicago Cubs, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Arizona, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego, Baltimore
Chance of trade: 20%
Peralta has been a steady presence for years, averaging 140 innings pitched with a 3.49 ERA over the past four seasons. He’s on track to do that again, with his heavily used fastball coming in at a career-high average velo of 94.9 mph this season. He has an ultra-cheap $8 million option for 2026.
Best fits: Boston, Houston, Toronto, St. Louis, Arizona, San Diego, Baltimore
Chance of trade: 50%
Suarez is in a contract year and, despite turning 34 years old before the trade deadline, is sitting near career highs in isolated power and wRC+ (which measures overall performance). His fielding metrics have declined in recent years, but he’s still an acceptable defender at third base. Even if the Diamondbacks don’t offload their free agents-to-be, Suarez could move because they have Jordan Lawlar raking in Triple-A and primed to take over at third.
Best fits: Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco
Chance of trade: 40%
Lugo has posted mid-3.00s or lower ERAs for five seasons despite having below-average fastball velocity and good-not-great strikeout rates. His ability to strand runners and limit hard contact comes in part due to his nine different pitches. With a Nathan Eovaldi-type contract awaiting Lugo in free agency, Kansas City could opt to move him, especially if Cole Ragans’ injured shoulder doesn’t improve.
Best fits: Chicago Cubs, Houston, Toronto, San Diego, Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Chance of trade: 30%
Gallen was excellent for the past three seasons but now, in a contract year, is posting career-worst numbers in almost every category. His stuff looks pretty similar, but he’s allowing much more damage when hitters make contact. Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said the team does not plan to deal away players at the deadline, but if Arizona doesn’t make a run, it could reap a huge return with all of its impending free agents.
Best fits: Toronto, San Diego, Houston, Chicago Cubs
8. Merrill Kelly, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Chance of trade: 30%
Kelly doesn’t have big raw stuff, posting the second-lowest average fastball velocity among pitchers with 90 innings pitched this season. His changeup is his best pitch by a wide margin, and he gets by with location and off-speed stuff. He was a stalwart in the Diamondbacks’ run to the 2023 World Series, striking out 28 in 24 innings with a 2.25 ERA.
Best fits: Toronto, Boston, St. Louis, Houston, Chicago Cubs
9. Josh Naylor, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Chance of trade: 30%
Naylor is batting over .300 this year as a lefty-hitting first baseman in a contract year on pace for about 20 homers. Naylor faces left-handed pitchers more often than the next player on the list but hasn’t been particularly good at it. His on-base skills and lack of strikeouts make him an especially attractive acquisition candidate for postseason contenders.
Best fits: Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Texas
Chance of trade: 85%
O’Hearn is having an out-of-nowhere career year, hitting over .300 (and with the underlying metrics to support that) along with being on pace for a career high in homers. He doesn’t face lefty pitchers much at all, and his splits suggest that he shouldn’t.
Best fits: Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, Texas
Chance of trade: 25%
Ozuna is a stone-cold DH, playing two games in the field in 2023 as his last regular-season experience defensively. Ozuna is also in a contract year, but his power numbers are down a notch from his standout .302 average and 39-homer performance last season. His on-base percentage remains among the highest of potential trade candidates. If anyone is moving from Atlanta, he’s the likeliest candidate, with free agency beckoning.
Best fits: San Diego, Seattle, Detroit, Kansas City, San Francisco, Cleveland, Boston
Chance of trade: 40%
Duran is one of the best relievers in the sport, thanks to his nasty stuff headlined by a fastball that averages 100.2 mph and a splinker that sits at 97.5 mph. He has two more years of team control after this season, so he’d demand a big trade package.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Arizona, Texas
Chance of trade: 20%
Clase was nearly unhittable last season, but his numbers have regressed this season. He has issued more walks and gotten fewer ground balls while allowing more damage on his cutter that averages 99.0 mph — in part due to more center-cut locations. Under contract for less than $30 million through 2028, he would bring a big return to Cleveland.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Arizona, Texas
Chance of trade: 15%
The Mountain is back from Tommy John surgery and looking like his former self. A dominant June — 8 innings, 1 hit, 3 walks, 12 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA — has seen him induce more popups than line drives allowed. He has another two years before free agency, and with the Orioles planning on contending between now and then, landing him will take more than most teams are willing to give.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Arizona, Texas
Chance of trade: 70%
Mullins is a 30-year-old center fielder in a contract year who contributes in a number of ways, but his power numbers are trending up this season and are at their best since 2021.
Best fits: Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York Mets
Chance of trade: 60%
McMahon is on pace to keep his four-year 20-homer streak alive, with above-average power, patience and third-base defense, but a more middling contact rate and baserunning value. He has two years and $32 million remaining on his contract after this season.
Best fits: New York Yankees, Detroit, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Seattle
Chance of trade: 60%
Fairbanks raised his slot a bit this year, and now his 97.1 mph fastball has more cutting action and his slurvy slider has more depth, with both pitches playing a notch better than they did last season. He has a club option for 2026 that, with escalators, should wind up in the $10 million range.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Arizona, Texas
Chance of trade: 35%
You have probably heard this story before, but Chapman is left-handed and his superpower is that he throws really hard (averages just under 100 mph) and throws that heater a lot (over 75% of the time). He’s 37 years old, and he’s still dominant.
Best fits: New York Mets, Philadelphia, Detroit
Chance of trade: 90%
Robert has been extremely unlucky with ball-in-play results this season, so that could turn around at any point. He remains a strong defender and baserunner. But the .185/.267/.305 line is unsightly, and his trade value has cratered over the past two seasons. He has a pair of $20 million-a-year club options that the acquiring team will be hesitant to exercise absent a turnaround.
Best fits: San Diego, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York Mets, San Francisco
Chance of trade: 45%
Ward comes with an additional year of team control after this season, and his underlying numbers suggest he is still largely the same hitter as last year, when he posted a .246 average and 25 homers.
Best fits: San Diego, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Seattle, San Francisco, Kansas City
Chance of trade: 30%
Arenado is around a career best in strikeout rate, and he’s still an above-average defender, but his power and patience are both trending down to around the worst of his career. He’s still a solid starter but no longer a star, and the team taking him on a deal would still have to pay him like one. Potentially complicating any deal: a full no-trade clause.
Best fits: New York Yankees, Detroit, Milwaukee, Seattle
Chance of trade: 40%
Severino tunnels his fastball/sinker/sweeper combo well to limit damage, but because he has a middling strikeout rate, his upside is limited to a No. 3/No. 4 starter. Teams are intrigued by his road numbers, which are exceptional: 0.93 ERA in 38.2 innings over six starts without a home run allowed. They are not so intrigued by his contract, which goes two more years at $47 million.
Best fits: Toronto, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore, New York Mets
23. Ryan Helsley, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
Chance of trade: 30%
Scouting report: Helsley had the fourth-best WAR among relievers last season and is in a contract year now but has been notably worse this season. His stuff and locations are pretty similar, but the main difference is his fastball is getting hit hard — with one byproduct being his spiking home run rate.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia, Arizona, New York Yankees, Detroit
Chance of trade: 30%
Mahle was thriving after returning from his 2023 Tommy John surgery, looking like a third or fourth starter despite a 2.34 ERA fueled by a very favorable stranded runner rate and BABIP. But he’s currently on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue. Should he return healthy, he’ll jump up this list.
Best fits: Toronto, San Diego, Boston, Chicago Cubs
25. Zach Eflin, SP, Baltimore Orioles
Chance of trade: 75%
Eflin is in a contract year, and his ERA has spiked from 3.59 last year to 5.46 this season, though his underlying numbers are still pretty solid. He’s more of an innings-eating No. 4 starter type now than he was during his breakout 2023 season, but there’s still some value to a contender.
Best fits: Houston, San Diego, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta
Chance of trade: 80%
Garcia averaged 30 homers in 2021 through 2024, but he has fallen off since his 2023 career year. It’s worth noting that per xwOBA, he has been the 17th-most unlucky hitter in the big leagues this year, and he has another year of team control, so some teams could see a trade as a good value opportunity.
Best fits: Philadelphia, Seattle, Cleveland, San Diego, San Francisco
27. Reid Detmers, RP, Los Angeles Angels
Chance of trade: 15%
The No. 10 pick in 2020 transitioned to relief this season and has found some success, similar to other highly drafted college lefties including A.J. Puk, Andrew Miller and Drew Pomeranz. He comes with three more years of control after this season and his velo is up 1.5 mph in the new role, so this might be where he fits long term, and trading him away could fetch a hefty return. Some teams still see Detmers as a starter.
Best fits: New York Mets, Arizona, Baltimore, St. Louis, Minnesota, New York Yankees
Chance of trade: 35%
If the Red Sox do punt on this year, Buehler will have plenty of suitors in spite of his mediocre numbers this season. His postseason bona fides are obvious, and his sinker and slider have both played this season despite his fastball and curveball getting tagged. Starter, reliever, whatever: October is Buehler’s time.
Best fits: Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Houston, Toronto, San Diego
Chance of trade: 65%
Martinez took the qualifying offer of $21.05 million and might have a bigger market this winter after pitching almost exclusively as a starter, though he’ll turn 35 years old later this season and looks like a fourth starter now.
Best fits: Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto
30. Erick Fedde, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
Chance of trade: 50%
Fedde’s strikeout and walk numbers have regressed from his breakout 2024 season (after coming back from a stint in the KBO), but he’s allowing less damage on batted balls to keep him in the rotation.
Best fits: San Diego, Toronto, Houston
Nos. 31-50
31. Andrew Heaney, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
32. Edward Cabrera, SP, Miami Marlins
33. Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers
34. Zack Littell, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
35. Tyler Anderson, SP, Los Angeles Angels
36. Ramon Urias, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
37. Jesus Sanchez, RF, Miami Marlins
38. Jake Bird, RP, Colorado Rockies
39. Luis Urias, 2B, Athletics
40. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
41. Kyle Finnegan, RP, Washington Nationals
42. Chris Martin, RP, Texas Rangers
43. Mike Soroka, SP, Washington Nationals
44. Tomoyuki Sugano, SP, Baltimore Orioles
45. Phil Maton, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
46. Emilio Pagan, RP, Cincinnati Reds
47. Yoan Moncada, 3B, Los Angeles Angels
48. Shelby Miller, RP, Arizona Diamondbacks
49. Dennis Santana, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates
50. Steven Matz, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Former All-Star pitcher Noah Syndergaard has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, the team confirmed Tuesday.
Syndergaard, 32, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023 when he appeared in 18 games split between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians. He has a career 3.71 ERA over the course of eight seasons, mostly with the New York Mets where he spent the first six years in the big leagues.
The latter half of his career has been plagued by injuries including a right elbow ailment which required Tommy John surgery in 2020 as well as lat and finger issues more recently.
Syndergaard finished fourth in rookie of the year voting for the Mets in 2015, helping them reach the World Series. He followed that up with an All-Star appearance in 2016 when he compiled a 2.60 ERA.
Post Tommy John surgery he bounced around his final couple of seasons in the big leagues, playing for the Angels, Phillies, Dodgers and Guardians before missing all of last year.
Syndergaard will report to the White Sox spring facility in Glendale, Arizona, before taking next steps.
After setting the loss record last season, Chicago has the second-worst record this year. Only the Rockies are worse. The White Sox are in the midst of a major rebuild, with three of their starters 25 years old or younger.
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