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Five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe committed to USC on Thursday, landing with the Trojans as the top-ranked member in coach Lincoln Riley’s 2026 recruiting class.

Pepe, who plays at Florida’s IMG Academy, is ESPN’s No. 3 offensive tackle and the 17th-ranked overall prospect in the cycle.

Originally from Long Beach, California, he picked USC over Florida, Georgia, Miami and Texas following an unofficial visit with the Trojans this past weekend. The 6-foot-7, 325-pound lineman is the younger brother of USC defensive tackle Kobe Pepe, a three-star recruit in the 2020 class who has appeared in 16 games over the past three seasons.

Pepe is USC’s sixth ESPN 300 pledge since March 1 and marks the program’s latest high-profile addition to an incoming recruiting class brimming with talent. The Trojans’ 12 ESPN 300 pledges are more than any other program nationally in the 2026 cycle and include nine prospects ranked among the country’s top 150 recruits in the class.

All told, USC enters late-spring with commitments from 24 prospects in the 2026 class. Prior to Pepe, three-star wide receiver Roderick Tezeno announced his pledge to the program on Wednesday.

Pepe has spent the past three seasons at IMG Academy, where he emerged as the program’s starting left tackle during his junior campaign last fall. An imposing presence on the offensive line, he projects as a skilled pass blocker with physical traits that make Pepe an intriguing prospect at the next level. He joins four-star offensive guard Esun Tafa (No. 224 overall) and three-star linemen Vlad Dyakonov and John Fifita as the top prospect in the Trojans’ incoming offensive line class.

Pepe is now the highest-ranked commit among the nation’s top offensive lineman in the 2026 cycle as fellow five-star offensive tackles Jackson Cantwell (No. 3 overall), Immanuel Iheanacho (No. 12) and Felix Ojo (No. 20) continue their recruitments this spring. Cantwell is set to announce his commitment on May 13 following visits to Oregon and Georgia.

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

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Sovereignty outduels Journalism to capture Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch to win the 151st Kentucky Derby in the slop on Saturday.

Trainer Bill Mott won his first Derby in 2019, also run on a sloppy track, when Country House was elevated to first after Maximum Security crossed the finish line first and was disqualified after a 22-minute delay.

This time, he knew right away.

Sovereignty won by 1½ lengths and snapped an 0-for-13 Derby skid for owner Godolphin, the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.

Sovereignty covered 1¼ miles in 2:02.31 and paid $17.96 to win at 7-1 odds.

Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.

Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth.

Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

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Zilisch to miss Xfinity race in Texas after wreck

FORT WORTH, Texas — Connor Zilisch, the 18-year-old driver already with two NASCAR Xfinity Series race wins, will miss Saturday’s race at Texas because of lower back injuries sustained in a last-lap wreck at Talladega.

Trackhouse Racing said Wednesday that its development driver will return as soon as possible to the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. The team didn’t provide any additional details about Zilisch’s injuries.

Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will drive the No. 88 in Texas. After that, the Xfinity Series has a two-week break before racing again May 24 at Charlotte.

Zilisch, sixth in points through the first 11 races, was driving for the win at Talladega Superspeedway when contact on the backstretch sent his car spinning, and head-on into inside wall.

Zilisch won in his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen last Sept. 14. He added another win this year at Austin, the same weekend that he made his Cup Series debut. He has six top-10 finishes in his 15 Xfinity races.

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

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23XI, Front Row ask judge to toss NASCAR claim

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The two teams suing NASCAR asked a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim in court Wednesday.

In a 20-page filing in district court in North Carolina, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports opposed NASCAR’s motion to amend its original counterclaim. The teams argued that the need to amend the counterclaim further demonstrates the weakness of NASCAR’s arguments, calling them an attempt by NASCAR to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.

NASCAR’s counterclaim singled out Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. Jordan is co-owner of 23XI Racing.

The legal battle began after more than two years of negotiations on new charter agreements — NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise model — and the 30-page filing contends that Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.

23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer a mere 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.

The charters were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season and twice have been extended. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and sued, alleging NASCAR and the France family that owns the stock car series are a monopoly.

NASCAR already has lost one round in court in which the two teams have been recognized as chartered organizations for the 2025 season as the legal dispute winds through the courts. NASCAR has also appealed a judge’s rejection of its motion to dismiss the case.

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