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More than a week into June, it’s now too late to be early in the 2025 MLB season.

Within bounds, teams are what they are in the standings, with Memorial Day traditionally serving as the key early-season checkpoint when clubs begin to take a hard look at where they are. As we do each season with our June Stock Watch, we are going to do the same, but our hard looks have another looming checkpoint in mind: the trade deadline.

As we take a snapshot of where all 30 teams are positioned, separating them into four categories — October locks looking to fill postseason holes, contenders making a postseason push, fringe clubs, and teams that should look to the future — we’ll focus on what each team needs to do to clarify its status by the time the clock strikes 6 p.m. ET July 31.

Jump to:

Arming for October
Positioning for a push
Not out of it … yet
Building for better days

Arming for October

Teams with high enough playoff probabilities that they’ll start considering possible postseason roster holes.

Win average: 99.6 (Last: 93.7, 4th)
In the playoffs: 99.3% (Last: 91.7%)
Champions: 15.6% (Last: 10.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: With the Tigers a near cinch to return to the postseason, we’re way past wondering if their breakout is real. The Tigers are a better than 50/50 proposition to land the American League’s top seed. Still, it’s not too early for Detroit to be thinking about an October bullpen that could use a big strikeout arm (or two) for its high-leverage mix. The Tigers’ bullpen has been very good, but ranks in the bottom five in strikeout, swing-and-miss and chase rates. Every team wants that for their bullpen, so the sooner the Tigers jump into the trade mix, the better. Ideally, they’d hit July 31 with as much of their heavy deadline lifting already done as the market will allow.


Win average: 98.2 (Last: 96.0, 2nd)
In the playoffs: 97.7% (Last: 88.6%)
Champions: 13.5% (Last: 10.5%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Assess center field. When the Mets acquired Jose Siri during the offseason, it seemed likely that Siri was a stopgap solution while New York waited on some of its outfield prospects to mature. Tyrone Taylor has logged the most time in center, but he’s best suited for a complementary role. Among the prospects, Drew Gilbert is in Triple-A, but hasn’t hit there so far. Thus, center is an obvious position of need for New York, which seems like a great landing spot for Luis Robert Jr.


Win average: 97.9 (Last: 104.5, 1st)
In the playoffs: 97.2% (Last: 98.8%)
Champions: 16.2% (Last: 28.5%)

What they need to do before the deadline: A Dodgers team we thought might challenge the all-time wins record has proved one old adage: You really can’t have too much pitching. With an IL list worthy of an All-Star roster, the Dodgers have leaned on their MLB-best offense to stay atop the National League West, but they’ll need some kind of consistency from their battered pitching staff if they want to repeat as champs once October arrives. The next few weeks are all about figuring which hurlers the Dodgers can, or can’t, count on when their real season starts, then filling in the gaps accordingly.


Win average: 97.33 (Last: 95.8, 3rd)
In the playoffs: 96.7% (Last: 92.7%)
Champions: 12.3% (Last: 7.8%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Chicago is on pace to average its most runs per game since 1930, the season the Cubs’ Hack Wilson set the all-time record with 191 RBIs. Even if some regression is inevitable on offense, the Cubs’ needs reside entirely on their below-average pitching staff. Lately, the bullpen has been terrific: Since the last Stock Watch, the Cubs have racked up seven saves and 19 holds with one blown save while putting up a second-ranked bullpen ERA (2.17). The rotation has ranked 20th in ERA (4.45) during that span, largely due to issues keeping the ball in the park. Some of that is a by-product of design — the Cubs’ starters pitch in the zone more than anyone — but adding to the rotation is a clear top priority for a club in the mix for the NL’s No. 1 seed.


Win average: 97.28 (Last: 90.8, 7th)
In the playoffs: 98.0% (Last: 84.5%)
Champions: 18.6% (Last: 9.3%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Is cloning Aaron Judge an option? No? First, note the Yankees’ title odds, which are the highest in this month’s Stock Watch. New York has a higher baseline rating than Detroit, giving the Yankees a narrow edge in all those simulated AL Championship Series meetings with the Tigers despite the road disadvantage. Also, the postseason paths of New York and Detroit are less laden with superteams than their NL brethren, so — voilà! — the Yankees’ title odds are looking good. To stay there: They need more pitching for sure, though the Yankees have done a great job of piecing things together so far. A more impactful pickup might come from a power bat for third base, with Arizona’s Eugenio Suarez leaping to mind as an ideal fit.

Positioning for a push

Teams with reasonable (or better) playoff probabilities looking to solidify a push for October.

Win average: 89.5 (Last: 86.8, 11th)
In the playoffs: 83.4% (Last: 66.6%)
Champions: 4.2% (Last: 3.7%)

What they need to do before the deadline: The Astros have pitched their way back onto their familiar perch atop the AL West, though that might say as much about their divisional foes as them. The expanding spate of rotation injuries will test Houston, but Spencer Arrighetti should be back in a few weeks. The offense is at its lowest ebb since the rebuilding days more than a decade ago. Houston will have to hope for positive regression in some cases — Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, Yordan Alvarez‘s health. That might be enough to keep Houston alive into October once again. Still, any kind of roster reconfiguring that gets Altuve out of left field might not be the worst idea.


Win average: 89.1 (Last: 89.7, 9th)
In the playoffs: 67.0% (Last: 59.7%)
Champions: 2.4% (Last: 2.5%)

What they need to do before the deadline: The Giants have clearly passed the Arizona Diamondbacks in the quest to become a third NL West playoff entrant. San Francisco has pitched the heck out of the ball, played good defense and gotten enough hitting to survive. The Giants need more on offense, but their hands are tied at two of their weakest-performing spots. At catcher, Patrick Bailey‘s defense makes him a fixture, while, at shortstop, it’s Willy Adames‘ contract and track record that will keep him on the field. The obvious area for a major upgrade: first base, where the Giants have already shuffled the mix by DFA’ing LaMonte Wade Jr. Big corner bats among likely off-loaders appear to be in short supply, so Buster Posey will have to get creative. That is, unless he simply decides that prospect Bryce Eldridge is ready to aid a pennant push right now. Eldridge’s early showing at Triple-A suggests that might be the case.


Win average: 88.6 (Last: 90.3, 8th)
In the playoffs: 65.0% (Last: 66.2%)
Champions: 3.0% (Last: 4.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Worry. The Phillies’ league-average offense has been carried by Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, even as Harper has struggled through wrist issues that have him back on the IL. The position group once again rates as one of baseball’s poorest defenses, so those guys — not just the star trio noted above — need to hit. If the offense can produce consistently — and soon, given the competitive environment in the NL — Dave Dombrowski can focus his trade resources on upgrading the Phillies’ leaky bullpen.


Win average: 88.4 (Last: 92.9, 5th)
In the playoffs: 62.0% (Last: 76.9%)
Champions: 1.9% (Last: 4.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: The Padres have rolled out a motley collection of non-producers in left field, which has yielded them an overall slash line of .200/.248/.286 with four homers at the position. Upgrade opportunity! Luis Robert Jr. might work if the Padres are convinced he has nowhere to go but up, as his .546 OPS is barely above that of the Padres’ left fielders. However A.J. Preller handles it, San Diego can’t leave this hole unfilled.


Win average: 87.2 (Last: 79.5, 17th)
In the playoffs: 68.8% (Last: 25.7%)
Champions: 2.9% (Last: 0.7%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Things have really ticked up for the Twins since the last Stock Watch. The good vibes have faded a bit recently because of two rotation injuries — shoulder maladies for Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews. Of course, Lopez’s injury is the more jarring, both for its impact and its severity. Now, rather than juggling the No. 5 rotation slot between Matthews, Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa, Woods Richardson and Festa have apparently ascended to the core group. Let’s face it: The Twins aren’t likely to make a splashy (hence, pricey) acquisition, but perhaps a lower-end rotation stabilizer might be doable.


Win average: 85.7 (Last: 76.8, 23rd)
In the playoffs: 42.1% (Last: 6.4%)
Champions: 1.1% (Last: 0.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Pick a lane. The Cardinals have exceeded their middling expectations and are well positioned to make a real push for the playoffs. Still, they are at best a 50/50 candidate to play into October. What does that mean for the kinda-sorta quick rebuild the Cardinals kinda-sorta entered into over the winter? If offloading, the Cardinals’ tradable contingent of pitchers — especially closer Ryan Helsley — would attract plenty of attention. Going into that mode becomes more difficult if St. Louis’ playoff odds keep going up. And even if that happens, does that then put St. Louis in the adding group?


Win average: 85.6 (Last: 78.8, tied for 20th)
In the playoffs: 56.9% (Last: 22.3%)
Champions: 2.0% (Last: 0.5%)

What they need to do before the deadline: The Rays’ Pythagorean winning percentage since the last Stock Watch (.651) is the best in baseball. The results show in these improved odds and Tampa Bay’s rising place in the AL East standings. This is a classically constructed Rays roster built on elite run prevention, depth and interchangeability. The biggest upgrades the Rays are likely to make would be injury returns: Shane McClanahan to the rotation and Ha-Seong Kim to the infield. You might add Jonny DeLuca to that list, though his recovery from a shoulder injury seems to be progressing slowly. Getting that trio on the field is Tampa Bay’s top priority. If the Rays are active at the deadline, it will be because they want to be, not because they need to be.


Win average: 84.8 (Last: 79.1, 19th)
In the playoffs: 34.5% (Last: 11.4%)
Champions: 0.9% (Last: 0.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: After a sluggish start, the Brewers are back to winning with a deep pitching staff and team defense. The rotation is fully stocked, and should the Brewers require another starter, they have fire-balling prospect Jacob Misiorowski waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Milwaukee’s offense has suffered from a general lack of power, making that a category to upgrade. The tricky part is where to add that power. The production on the left side of the infield has been lackluster, but those spots are held by young players (Caleb Durbin and Joey Ortiz) the Brewers might just want to leave alone. What the Brewers need is for any or all of these players to go on power tears: Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, William Contreras and Rhys Hoskins.


Win average: 84.5 (Last: 91.4, 6th)
In the playoffs: 51.1% (Last: 85.4%)
Champions: 1.9% (Last: 8.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Determine the real level of the offense. The Mariners’ roster was built around an elite rotation at the front of the pitching staff and an elite closer at the end of it. That closer — Andres Munoz — has held up his end of the bargain, but the rotation has scuffled with injuries and underperformance. Still, Jerry Dipoto and Dan Wilson have every reason to expect better from that group going forward, especially once Logan Gilbert returns from the IL. Seattle has stayed afloat thanks to an offense that has been surprisingly above average. Can it stay that way? If Dipoto can find production for first base and right field, this Mariners team has a real shot at a special second half.


Win average: 84.3 (Last: 79.4, 18th)
In the playoffs: 46.2% (Last: 25.0%)
Champions: 1.0% (Last: 0.6%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Decide what to do about Bo Bichette. The Jays have the look of a fence-straddler around the deadline, adding on the margins while trying to balance near- and long-term objectives. Bichette has been better than last season, but he hasn’t played so well that Toronto’s postseason hopes would be torpedoed by sending him away in advance of his looming free agency, preferably for pitching help. Toronto could fill Bichette’s spot from within, perhaps with a prospect like Leo Jimenez or Josh Kasevich, provided either or both are healthy soon. Down the line, the Jays could turn the position over to Arjun Nimmala. In other words, Toronto has options if an extension with Bichette isn’t worked out between now and the end of July.


Win average: 81.9 (Last: 82.9, 14th)
In the playoffs: 28.5% (Last: 40.9%)
Champions: 0.4% (Last: 0.9%)

What they need to do before the deadline: See where they stand. Yeah, that notion is a cop-out, but the Guardians’ direction at the deadline really might not be determined until the last day or two before July 31. Cleveland is well positioned for a wild-card push in the standings, but its run differential has been in the red all season. Last year’s powerhouse bullpen hasn’t carried the team as it did in 2024, the list of regressors headlined by star closer Emmanuel Clase. The Guardians seldom make a deadline splash, but given the wellspring of position prospects in their system, you could see them doing something for the rotation or the outfield. That is, if Cleveland’s place in the playoff pecking order justifies the aggression.


Win average: 81.3 (Last: 83.6, 13th)
In the playoffs: 25.7% (Last: 47.4%)
Champions: 0.5% (Last: 1.3%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Add offense. Someday, Jac Caglianone will draw a big league walk, but it’s hard telling when that will be. Longtime Royals fans might be reminded of the early career of Mark Quinn, whose swing-at-everything approach yielded tremendous early results — until they didn’t. Caglianone has a lot more upside than the Mighty Quinn, and doesn’t seem out of place in the majors less than a year after being drafted. But his approach is likely to mean up-and-down production for a while, and the Royals have more than one outfield slot that needs a lot of help. For that matter, they need to take a hard look at second baseman Michael Massey, a heretofore solid performer whose 2025 numbers are borderline catastrophic. You get the idea: The Royals, despite Jac’s arrival, need offense.

Not out of it … yet

Teams currently on the fringe of the playoff outlook but not yet certain to unload at the deadline.

Win average: 81.2 (Last: 87.1, 10th)
In the playoffs: 16.1% (Last: 44.2%)
Champions: 0.4% (Last: 1.7%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Score a lot of runs. An Arizona rotation that was already a major disappointment now has to cover for the season-ending loss of Corbin Burnes. And that unit has been a heck of a lot better than a bullpen that has a 6.15 ERA since the last Stock Watch. The Diamondbacks’ playoff probabilities have plummeted since we last convened, but they haven’t flatlined just yet. If Arizona is going to be in position to justify additions to the staff, it’ll be up to the hitters to get the team there. Outscoring teams en route to contention is a dicey proposition, but what other choice does Arizona have?


Win average: 80.0 (Last: 82.8, 15th)
In the playoffs: 20.3% (Last: 43.6%)
Champions: 0.5% (Last: 1.8%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Garrett Crochet has largely been a one-man show for Boston’s disappointing rotation, though the Red Sox can hope for better days ahead for Walker Buehler, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito. In the meantime, they’ve called up Roman Anthony, who didn’t look like someone who had much more to learn in the minors. The 497-foot shot Anthony hit last week might have landed in the Charles River had he been playing in Fenway. The Red Sox need to get hot soon if they want to be in position to add in July. Maybe Anthony will be the spark.


Win average: 79.8 (Last: 86.7, 12th)
In the playoffs: 12.6% (Last: 43.5%)
Champions: 0.4% (Last: 2.2%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Win games, and soon. It’s a terribly reductive prescription but the Braves have unraveled in a most untoward fashion since the last Stock Watch. That was when we stated that if Atlanta could just tread water until Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider returned, the Braves we expected to have this year still had time to show up. The Braves did in fact tread water until Acuna’s first game in the majors, which was May 23. Beginning with that game, Atlanta dropped 12 of 15. If the Braves are going to get off the mat, they’ll have to figure out the late innings, a problem for which closer Raisel Iglesias does not currently seem to be a solution. Without a quick and emphatic bounce-back, Atlanta might be positioning itself for the 2026 postseason, not this one.


Win average: 79.6 (Last: 81.9, 16th)
In the playoffs: 18.4% (Last: 38.1%)
Champions: 0.3% (Last: 1.1%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Collectively, but mostly Joc Pederson, the .513 OPS the Rangers have gotten from the DH spot is 70 points worse than every other team in the majors, even the ones on track to challenge the all-time loss record. The Rangers’ abysmal overall offense is not just the work of Pederson — no one can struggle badly enough to account for a team OPS+ of 84 — but his spot is the most glaringly in need of a runs-created infusion. The state of the AL in general, and the AL West in particular, means the Rangers can still make a run with any kind of offensive surge. It is crucial they assess whether it’s likely that Pederson (.131/.269/.238) will aid that cause. For what it’s worth, Pederson’s expected numbers, per Statcast, mark him as one of baseball’s more unlucky hitters, but even with average luck, he’d still be well below the big league standard at the dish.


Win average: 79.0 (Last: 78.8, tied for 20th)
In the playoffs: 8.4% (Last: 10.6%)
Champions: 0.2% (Last: 0.2%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Who has the fifth-best Pythagorean winning percentage in the NL? Well, it’s the Reds (.561). (Why else would we ask that question in this spot?) Despite the plus differential, Cincinnati has mostly hovered around .500 while vacillating between fourth and fifth place in the Central. For the Reds, the deadline question centers on how real the run differential might or might not be, because a team that wins at a .561 clip over the 96 games Cincinnati has remaining would land in the 86-87 win range. The current 6-seed in the NL (Philadelphia) is on pace to win 92. Therein lies the dilemma: The Reds’ record should be better, but it’s not, and the landscape in this year’s NL is rugged. The Reds have a few weeks to clarify their position.


Win average: 73.2 (Last: 66.8, 26th)
In the playoffs: 2.7% (Last: 0.9%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Latch on to recognizable veterans cut loose by other organizations. Wait — the Halos have been doing that since the end of last season, with LaMonte Wade Jr. serving as only the latest example. (Or did they add Ben Gamel last? It’s hard to keep track.) Give the Angels credit for trying to shore up their holes, but just as we noted during preseason, raising the floor doesn’t necessarily raise the ceiling. They don’t have nearly enough pitching and the offense is overly predicated on all-or-nothing hitters. The only thing keeping the Angels out of the group below is their approach to keep adding. Maybe they’ll click on the right combination before another season is lost.

Building for better days

Teams that should be favoring future value over present value with remaining in-season moves.

Win average: 72.4 (Last: 70.5, 25th)
In the playoffs: 0.7% (Last: 0.9%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: The Nationals aren’t likely to budge much in this pecking order one way or the other. They don’t have enough for a major push this season, but they’ve made enough progress that they won’t bottom out, either. They are trying to win on a game-by-game basis, if only to push their maturing core toward that kind of mindset in hopes of hitting a Tigers-like tipping point sometime soon. They will look for trade matches involving movable vets like Kyle Finnegan, Michael Soroka, Amed Rosario and Nathaniel Lowe. But the Nationals might also be in position to add a little salary if there is a bottom-destined team looking to move money.


Win average: 69.4 (Last: 75.7, 24th)
In the playoffs: 0.6% (Last: 11.7%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.2%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Get burn-your-face-off hot. The bleak outlook the Orioles had in the last Stock Watch has worsened, even though Baltimore has recently put together its best stretch of baseball this season, winning six straight and nine of 11. As you can see, the Orioles’ mathematical shot at the playoffs remains long, and it’s likely we’ll see them trying to set themselves up for 2026 at the trade deadline, as the Rays did last year. Perhaps it might be for the best that the Orioles look to that near future, play all of their young position players like Heston Kjerstad who have yet to find big league consistency, and live with the short-term results. And, for the love of Pete, figure out what’s wrong with Adley Rutschman. Barring a sudden, jarring hot streak, this season appears lost.


Win average: 67.2 (Last: 66.0, 27th)
In the playoffs: 0.1% (Last: 0.2%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: It stinks, but it’s probably wrong to prescribe any approach for the Pirates except to see what they can get back for veterans like Andrew Heaney, Tommy Pham (it wouldn’t be a deadline without a Pham trade) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. A team like the Nationals might pounce if the stingy Pirates look to move Ke’Bryan Hayes‘ contract. As for Paul Skenes, forget it. Don’t even think about it. If you are going to trade that guy, in his second year, just because you were too cheap to put a competitive offense behind him, why do you even have a team?


Win average: 64.3 (Last: 77.5, 22nd)
In the playoffs: 0.1% (Last: 16.1%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.2%)

What they need to do before the deadline: With even a modicum of pitching, the Athletics would be an intriguing second-half team thanks to one of the most watchable offenses in baseball. All they had to do was hang around break-even. Instead, the staff collapsed so thoroughly in both the rotation and the bullpen that the A’s have torpedoed their season before the middle of June. You should still watch, if only to catch the marvel that is Jacob Wilson at the plate. But the front office will likely be up to its usual task of moving around the fringes of deadline activity. This is another team that, going forward, would be a great fit if the Pirates unload Hayes.


Win average: 62.4 (Last: 63.6, 28th)
In the playoffs: 0.0% (Last: 0.1%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Get Sandy Alcantara close to right. This deadline is really about do they/don’t they with the former Cy Young winner. Alcantara’s stuff has rebounded well enough from his missed season, but his command has been slow to follow. At one time in evaluative circles, Alcantara’s unsightly 7.89 ERA might have taken too much air out of his trade value for the Marlins to move him now. But this is one offshoot of advance tracking: The outlook of a pitcher can change fast if his metrics spike or tank. A spike is what the Marlins need from Alcantara, or else they might as well hang onto him.


Win average: 58.2 (Last: 54.9, 29th)
In the playoffs: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Make a call on Luis Robert Jr. This season has really been a worst-case scenario for the White Sox when it comes to Robert. His numbers have been bad from the outset and somehow keep getting worse. Robert’s offseason work to improve his swing decisions have resulted in a career-best walk rate, but at the expense of just about everything else of value. His 21 stolen bases and good defense mean he can help a team, but his .546 OPS means they aren’t going to treat him as if his two $20 million club option years are worth anything. Right now, he’s a defense-and-speed short-term outfield pickup with a $2 million buyout. So should the White Sox unfurl the white flag and take what they can get? The answer is probably tied to how willing Chicago would be to pick up the first of those options in the absence of a deal. Otherwise, the vultures will be circling.


Win average: 40.8 (Last: 44.6, 30th)
In the playoffs: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)
Champions: 0.0% (Last: 0.0%)

What they need to do before the deadline: Get a clue. Here’s a tale of two teams: the Rockies and the Mets. New York goes up 8-0 early and cruises to a 13-5 win. OK, fine. Colorado is bad, and even good teams get blown out like that sometimes. Look deeper. The Mets used two pitchers in the game, letting combo pitcher Paul Blackburn ride the last four frames to save the bullpen even though New York had the next day off. The Rockies used five relievers to cover the six innings after starter Chase Dollander was, well, chased. The parade included Seth Halvorsen, Zach Agnos and Tyler Kinley — three of Colorado’s four highest-leverage relievers. Some of this was to shake off rust, but this is no way to deploy a relief staff. Halvorsen, the closer, was working for the first time in five days. The key reliever they didn’t use — Jake Bird — is probably the one they can get the best return for in a deadline swap.

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FSU freshman shot, in critical but stable condition

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FSU freshman shot, in critical but stable condition

Florida State freshman linebacker Ethan Pritchard was shot Sunday night and is hospitalized in critical but stable condition in intensive care at a Tallahassee-area hospital, the school said Monday.

According to the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, Pritchard was inside a vehicle outside an apartment building when the shooting happened Sunday night in Havana, Florida, which is about 16 miles from Tallahassee, near the Georgia state line. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

In its statement, Florida State said Pritchard was visiting family at the time he was shot.

“The Pritchard family is thankful for the support from so many people, as well as the care from first responders and medical professionals, and asks that their privacy be respected at this time,” the FSU statement said.

Pritchard, who is from Sanford, Florida, enrolled at Florida State in January but did not play in the Seminoles’ season-opening victory against Alabama.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Army player rescues man from burning vehicle

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Army player rescues man from burning vehicle

Army football player Larry Pickett Jr. rescued a man from a burning vehicle early Sunday morning.

Pickett, a second-year cadet at the service academy, was traveling with his family when they saw a crashed vehicle surrounded by downed power lines on Route 9W in Fort Montgomery, New York, about five miles south of Army’s West Point campus.

The Fort Montgomery Fire Department reported Sunday that the vehicle had collided with a utility pole, causing the power lines to fall to the ground.

Videos posted by his family to social media show Pickett and his father lifting the unidentified man from the vehicle and carrying him safely away from the crash scene just moments before the vehicle burst into flames.

The U.S. Military Academy said Sunday in a social media post that it is ” proud of the heroic actions” taken by Pickett and his father.

Army athletic director Tom Theodorakis added that Pickett and his father “exemplify the values we hold dear, stepping up in a moment of crisis to save a life.”

Larry Pickett Sr. told multiple media outlets that the family was returning to West Point late Saturday night after going out to dinner in New York City. A redshirt freshman from Raleigh, North Carolina, the younger Pickett ran toward the vehicle as soon as he saw the crash scene.

“There was no discussion. My son just jumped right into action,” the elder Pickett told Raleigh-based ABC11. “He mentioned his military training kicked in, and we pulled [the man] out. He took care of him on the side of the road until the police officers got there, and then the fire department got there shortly after.”

Pickett had just made his college football debut on Friday night, recording a tackle in the Black Knights’ 30-27 overtime upset loss to FCS opponent Tarleton State.

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‘It’s made for television’: How North Carolina has changed in nine months under Bill Belichick

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'It's made for television': How North Carolina has changed in nine months under Bill Belichick

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Just minutes before taking the stage at the ACC’s annual kickoff event at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown, Bill Belichick scrolled through his phone, reviewing his notes at a table in a dark service corridor as hotel employees stacked plates and glasses around. He had been shuffled through back hallways by conference and school staffers hoping to avoid the majority of the more than 800 media members gathered in an adjacent ballroom, all eager to photograph, question or simply glimpse college football’s biggest celebrity, but the spotlight awaited.

This is the new normal for North Carolina.

“It’s a little like the Deion [Sanders] thing at Colorado,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. “He grabs your attention. It’s made for television.”

The ballroom where Belichick addressed topics as banal as the modern use of the fullback remained packed for his session, the ACC having distributed nearly 40% more credentials than a year earlier. In a breakout room intended for a more informal Q&A, more than 200 reporters elbowed through the crowd to pose a question. Belichick spoke for more than 20 minutes, even cracking a few jokes.

One reporter asked what it was like sitting in living rooms with recruits during the spring.

“I haven’t done that,” Belichick quipped. “That would be a recruiting violation right now.”

For anyone who had lived through Belichick’s chaotic early days of recruiting and roster building, it might have felt like an inside joke. The start to this new era in Chapel Hill was marked by missteps, confusion, broken promises and “harsh” and “businesslike” decisions to nudge players out the door, all while a skeleton staff bereft of college experience struggled to keep up.

“It was very stressful,” said a former member of the staff. “Everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

It was a far cry from Belichick’s presentation at ACC media days this summer, where he appeared at ease in his new world — still far from his promise to bring a national championship to Chapel Hill but more aware of the pitfalls he’d face along the way.

When Belichick met with North Carolina’s team for the first time in December 2024, he delivered a mission statement for a program that has developed a reputation as a perennial underachiever. It was now being led by a man who had won 302 NFL games and six Super Bowls as a head coach. Things were about to change dramatically.

“We’re going to grind every single day,” he told the team, according to veteran quarterback Max Johnson. “It’s a process from January until the season starts.”

That process reaches its apex Monday night when UNC hosts TCU (8 p.m. on ESPN) in Belichick’s first game as a college head coach. It has been, according to more than two dozen sources including former assistants, current and former staffers, high school coaches, players, recruits and members of school administration who spoke with ESPN, at times enlightening and exhilarating, chaotic and tumultuous.

Belichick and his staff have had to adjust on the fly to the intricacies of NCAA recruiting rules, rebuild a roster and dodge scrutiny about the 73-year-old coach and his 24-year-old girlfriend. The promise Belichick didn’t offer to his team that first day, but the one that seems most likely to hold true, is that no part of this era would be boring.

“There’s things that we’re going to deal with that other schools aren’t,” Belichick said in his usual subdued tone. “That’s the way it goes.”


IF BELICHICK’S NFL résumé was a selling point to UNC fans, his status as a college newcomer quickly became uncomfortably apparent to numerous high school coaches, recruits and staffers who spoke to ESPN. They described the December and January recruiting push as a frenetic and disjointed process in which few people seemed to have a clear vision for the program’s direction.

In a quest to “go lean,” Belichick quickly cut ties with much of the previous staff — from assistant coaches to entry-level personnel who handled the basic operations of recruiting. When he was in the office, Belichick spent most of his time behind closed doors in a staff room with Tar Heels GM Mike Lombardi and newly hired personnel staffers Joe Anile and Andrew Blaylock, with one source involved in the process saying the Heels initially couldn’t do “traditional” visits because there were so few people for players to meet with. Another source at UNC said the decision to move on from the prior staff was understandable, but “you still need someone who knows how to book a flight or a hotel.” Multiple sources confirmed Belichick ultimately relented — at least temporarily — rehiring some analysts just to fill the void.

“A couple times they brought in good players and ignored them on their visit,” a source with direct knowledge of the situation said. “There were times that the kids would be waiting 30, 45 minutes or an hour and then all of a sudden, you’re not meeting with Coach Belichick anymore, and we’ll go back to the airport.”

Belichick and his top lieutenants were often flying blind when it came to NCAA rules and regulations, operating by a Silicon Valley-style “move fast and break things” approach, while public records obtained by ESPN show numerous reminders from compliance staff about recruiting quiet periods and NIL restrictions, along with a protracted debate about the boundaries of where coaches could meet with recruits on official visits.

“That’s probably the biggest thing they’ve had to learn, with what you can and can’t do,” another source who has worked with the program said. “They found out fast how many rules we’ve been dealing with over the past couple of years.”

Those initial months were a barrage of hasty evaluations and high-pressure sales pitches.

One recruit, who ultimately didn’t sign with UNC, recalled meeting Belichick for just a few minutes before being handed a contract and asked to sign.

“I kind of felt it was disrespectful to just put me in that situation after just meeting a coach,” the recruit said. “It was just crazy that you’d make a player sign a contract in front of a coach right after you just met him, and you haven’t even talked about numbers yet or anything about what I would get at that school.”

In-state recruit Jariel Cobb was planning a visit to an SEC school when he got a call from UNC, saying Belichick wanted to send a car to pick him up if he could visit campus immediately. When Cobb arrived in Chapel Hill with his mother, they were given the red-carpet treatment, with an array of people in UNC gear shaking hands and lauding the recruit’s skill set. Belichick met with Cobb, who had always dreamed of playing for his home-state Tar Heels but didn’t receive an offer from the prior staff. Belichick delivered a stern analysis: “I don’t know why in the hell they hadn’t offered you, but I looked at the film. I want you.”

“They treated us like celebrities,” Terri Cobb, Jariel’s mother, said. “Other schools had told him to think on it, but right out of the gate, Bill stood up and said, ‘You rocking and rolling with me or what?'”

Cobb signed, enrolled early and went through spring ball with the Tar Heels, calling it a positive experience, but his mother had noted that, during his initial conversations with Belichick, the coach had repeatedly mentioned two other players from Cobb’s high school he hoped would also come to UNC. In retrospect, she wonders if the Tar Heels’ interest in her son was aimed at getting an inside line to other players.

“They were flying through visitors,” the former member of the staff said. “It was unclear if Coach Belichick had evaluated the tape with how quickly they were bringing kids in.”

By the spring, with a full staff and enough time to better evaluate talent, North Carolina went into its second roster rebuild of the offseason. Overall, 39 players transferred out after Belichick’s arrival, including nearly two dozen after spring workouts. Cobb was among them. After just four months at his dream school, he was told he was unlikely to play and encouraged to transfer. It was, according to his mother, a similar story for many of his teammates. Cobb is now at Charlotte, which will play the Tar Heels in Week 2.

Meanwhile, UNC heavily recruited transfers during the spring portal window, which, according to numerous coaches across multiple Power 4 conferences, was described as the most bereft of talent since the portal era began in 2021. The Tar Heels added 23 players.

“There’s a little guesstimate there,” Belichick said. “You do the best you can to figure it out, but it’s a very inexact science.”

To find worthy additions in April and May, North Carolina was aggressive in identifying potential transfers. Five coaches told ESPN that they had been frustrated with North Carolina’s brazen efforts, led by Lombardi, to contact players directly prior to those players entering the portal, with at least one coach contacting Belichick to complain. Though tampering has become commonplace in college football, it’s often done through back-channels — current players talking to friends or former teammates, for example. North Carolina was “blatant” and “brazen,” according to one Power 4 coach. One player who spoke to ESPN said that he had been contacted by UNC in an effort to convince him to transfer, and he was warned not to inform anyone of the communication. If he did, he was told, he could lose his eligibility.

“I don’t think they’re doing anything that hasn’t been done [elsewhere],” one source said, “but I do think it’s such a drastic culture change from [former coach] Mack [Brown], so that it looks completely different to the people at UNC.”

While the style is different, so are the results. UNC already has nine blue-chip commitments for 2026 as Belichick has grown more comfortable with the recruiting process and focused on a national approach to talent acquisition.

“We’re in there with some good schools,” Belichick said, “and it’s good to be able to get kids coming to Carolina over some of the top schools in the country.”

After the rocky start, Belichick has used additional resources promised as part of his hiring to nearly double the recruiting support staff from what existed under Brown, yet it’s often Belichick who’s the linchpin to selling a player.

Belichick’s first time on the road recruiting was traveling to Rolesville High outside Raleigh, North Carolina, to visit brothers Zavion and Jayden Griffin-Haynes. Zavion had been committed to North Carolina under Brown, but decommitted after the coaching change. Jayden never received an offer under the previous staff.

Belichick stayed for nearly two hours, according to Zavion, and he broke down tape with the brothers, a key part of the coach’s sales pitch with high-level recruits.

“They stayed on me,” Zavion said. “They came to see me practice during spring ball. They made sure it was love from UNC and that really stood out to me. He wants me to be the face of the program, but he also said I have to work for it. He’s not just going to hand it to me, but I’m the guy he’s looking for in the program.”

Both brothers committed in June.

Weddington (N.C.) coach Andy Capone remembers Belichick visiting campus this spring to meet with recruit Thomas Davis Jr., and he was awestruck.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a lot of head coaches,” Capone said, “but I’ve only taken a picture with two of them: Nick Saban and Bill Belichick.”

What truly impressed Capone was Belichick’s pitch once the fanfare died down. Belichick described a detailed plan for UNC, spent time with three recruits, including Davis, and, from memory, recited plays he had watched on film from their games, relating each to plays run by some of the greats from Belichick’s past.

“He’d say, ‘This is how I used Lawrence Taylor or Mike Vrabel,'” Capone said. “It was really cool to let them see a perspective of how he sees players in his system.”

Capone said Belichick was honest with his recruits, and he pitched them on his long history of preparing players for the NFL.

Before Belichick departed, Davis, who ultimately committed to Notre Dame, asked the question that has been at the forefront of so many debates since the NFL legend arrived at Carolina. Was Belichick really planning to stay long in Chapel Hill?

“I wouldn’t have taken this job to go back to the NFL,” Belichick told him. “We’re going to win national championships here.”


VINAY PATEL WAS never a Belichick fan. The UNC board of trustees member applauded the hire for the Tar Heels, but he had seen enough of Belichick in the pros to assume he wouldn’t like the guy.

Still, Patel was curious, so he attended a welcome banquet held on campus this winter, hosted by Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson.

To his surprise, the event was friendly.

“I expected some pompous SOB, and he definitely wasn’t that,” Patel said. “And she’s not standoffish at all. We chatted, shook hands. She’s polite.”

A few months later, amid a media firestorm surrounding Belichick’s relationship with Hudson, who is nearly 50 years his junior, and her role in managing his personal brand, Patel remembers being perplexed by the seemingly ubiquitous outrage.

“I had a friend saying, ‘Can you believe this Jordon Hudson?’ — this and that,” Patel said. “And I’m just thinking, yes, but if you’d told me a year ago that UNC football was going to be a news story on a daily basis, I’d have thought you were nuts.”

If Patel favored an “all publicity is good publicity” approach, many members of the often staid and conservative UNC community saw it differently. In December, Belichick emailed UNC staff, insisting Hudson be copied on all communications. Hudson proceeded to inject her opinion on how the school’s PR staff operated, sometimes frustrating longtime employees. In one instance, she insisted Steve Belichick never be referred to as Bill’s son, and in a February email, asked to have public comments on UNC football social media sites censored, including one she said described her as “a predator.” UNC public relations replied that it “hid/erased one comment that had been posted about your personal life,” but did not find additional critical comments on UNC football’s Facebook page, according to documents obtained by ESPN in a public records request.

Bill Belichick was frustrated that the emails were shared, according to multiple sources, despite warnings from UNC staff that, as a public university, the athletics department was subject to open records requests.

“He didn’t like it at all, but he’s never worked at a public school,” a UNC source said. “[Hudson] would probably be more involved if we weren’t a public school.”

By the spring, Hudson’s involvement became routine public fodder. At UNC’s final spring practice, Hudson roiled the school’s old guard not only for being on the field, but for the way she was dressed. More attention followed, from a controversial appearance on “CBS Sunday Morning” to reports that Hudson had been banned from UNC’s football facility to suggestions in a New York Times story that a planned season of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” featuring North Carolina was scuttled due to her involvement.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that the decision to nix the project was ultimately Belichick’s, saying he felt the timing of the HBO show, which would film only during fall camp, wouldn’t showcase the team’s strengths. The school instead pivoted to another project that will air on Hulu and cover North Carolina’s entire season.

Amid the spring’s media frenzy, the school was flooded with complaints from fans, donors and even professors, calling Belichick’s relationship “shameless,” “a disgrace” and “a laughing stock,” with one alum writing, “We’ve always prided ourselves on being a class act, but this is the kind of unnecessary distraction that does more harm than good. If Bill walks, he walks.”

UNC brass, including chancellor Lee Roberts and athletic director Bubba Cunningham, declined to comment on “the private lives of any of our employees,” as Roberts explained, and inside the locker room, few players seemed bothered.

Numerous sources who spoke to ESPN suggested much of the Hudson drama was overblown. One UNC administrator said that Hudson’s initial involvement was simply to “fill a void” until new PR staff could be hired and said Hudson hasn’t been a part of football-related correspondence since early in the spring.

A “talking points” email distributed to PR personnel and Belichick ahead of the ACC’s spring meetings in May detailed Hudson’s role, noting “once staff was in place, after about a month, she was no longer copied on emails. She is not involved in the hiring of staff, recruiting of players, communications related to the program or the building of the program” but “continues to be involved from a scheduling perspective.” The memo also noted that “Jordon is playing an active role in the filming and production of a documentary about Coach Belichick’s first season of college football, so in that capacity, she may be seen on the sidelines of Carolina Football practices or games.”

Multiple sources who spoke to ESPN doubted Belichick had been aware of the outsized attention she generated online — “He’s always watching film, not scrolling through her Instagram” — and believed that after the CBS interview, he took steps to limit her exposure in relation to the football program.

“It’s almost like you’re shielded from it,” one source with knowledge of the program said. “You’re finding all this stuff on TMZ and different sites, but nobody really talked about it around the building. It was more of a big deal nationally than it was here.”


A SMALL ARMY of reporters shuffled aimlessly outside a padlocked gate that, in a few moments, would provide a brief glimpse of North Carolina’s fall camp on a weekday in mid-August. Access to outsiders has been severely restricted, and a pair of onlookers standing at a fourth-floor window in a nearby building had likely already gleaned more information about this Tar Heels team than the local media had all summer.

In the Belichick era, there are insiders and there are outsiders.

North Carolina has beefed up security. When one local reporter used binoculars to glimpse Hudson and other visitors at a UNC practice through a narrow window of the indoor practice facility, a guard immediately interrupted. The football building inside Kenan Stadium has been off limits to all nonessential football personnel, and the school installed facial recognition sensors to enter the facility. No UNC player was permitted to speak to the media for the first six months of Belichick’s tenure, and Belichick is also skipping a weekly radio show, typically a staple for college coaches, ceding the stage to Lombardi.

Belichick’s staff is filled with trusted confidants. Lombardi had been an advisor with the New England Patriots and even co-hosted Belichick’s podcast. Lombardi’s son, Matt, is UNC’s quarterbacks coach. Two of Belichick’s sons — Steve and Brian — coach on defense. One of his former players, Jamie Collins, is the inside linebackers coach. Several sources suggest senior staff members monitor outgoing communications from other staffers to curtail leaks about the inner workings of the program.

On the inside, however, the view of Belichick has been far different than the public persona he has projected for decades.

“They’ve been really easy and good to work with,” said Cunningham, who had initially been skeptical of the hire. “It’s a different model. They wanted to bring in their own coaches and personnel and recruiting people, people they’ve worked with previously. It’s a very personable staff.”

This winter, Belichick had pizza delivered to UNC fraternities and sororities ahead of the Heels’ men’s basketball game against Duke. He did the same for several of UNC’s winter and spring sports teams.

Belichick is a longtime lacrosse fan, and as he surveyed the football practice field during the spring — the same field where the lacrosse teams practice — he posed a question: Where are the lacrosse lines? Belichick was told that, if the football team practices that morning, the lacrosse field wouldn’t get painted.

“He said, ‘Paint the lines,’ and we got them,” UNC’s women’s lacrosse coach Jenny Levy said. “I think he’s diving into what college athletics is all about.”

Former UNC linebacker Jeff Schoettmer attended the school’s “Practice Like a Pro” day to conclude spring practice, and he watched Belichick mingle with recruits, transfers and their parents. At a banquet afterward, the coach met with former players and donors.

“It’s pretty incredible to see how easily he moves among different types of people,” Schoettmer said. “Him holding court with former players — it’s just like you see some of these extroverted coaches who’ll talk to anybody, but you don’t expect Bill to sit there and tell war stories with guys he’s never coached. But that’s how much love I think he has for North Carolina.”

Inside the football facility, Belichick thought Brown’s former office on the fourth floor of the football building was isolating, so he set up his own office on the second floor to be in the same space occupied by the players.

“I can’t coach the players if I’m not around them,” Belichick told ESPN. “I try to go in and out of meetings and be visible and present.”

Cunningham said he has been struck by how accessible Belichick is to the team, routinely sitting in film study sessions and breaking down plays.

In June, Belichick met with his quarterbacks each day for about an hour, a process that began during his tenure with the Patriots because, he said, “It’s important for the coach and the quarterback to be on the same page.”

Johnson, one of the few holdovers from Brown’s 2024 team, said the involvement of the coach in the small details of the game is unlike anything he had seen.

“We did something different every day,” Johnson said. “Everything is really detailed, and that’s what I’ve loved.”

If Belichick’s tenure has been marked by a steadfast devotion to those in his orbit at the expense of those on the outside, it has done little to temper enthusiasm around the program.

Donations are up, season tickets are sold out, and UNC has added new premium-seating options that will further expand its revenue opportunities. Rick Barakat, the athletics department’s new chief revenue officer, said UNC will exceed its all-time gross revenue record this year.

“The pitch has changed because the excitement’s never been higher,” Barakat said. “We’ve had bouts of success historically, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen Carolina football at the level it is right now in the national news cycle, and that trickles down into every conversation.”

Even entities in Belichick’s orbit seemed to bask in the glow of newfound attention. Phillips raved that Belichick “is great for the ACC and great for North Carolina.” One executive for the Charlotte 49ers referred to a sizable uptick in season ticket sales as “The Belichick Bump,” and AD Mike Hill was tasked with finding more seating capacity for the Week 2 game by bringing in “bleachers everywhere.” Charlotte’s initial advertising for the game focused on Belichick, a decision critiqued by the school’s chancellor, according to public records obtained by ESPN, for ignoring its own new coach, Tim Albin.

Many of North Carolina’s administrators who spoke to ESPN said the investment would be judged on wins and losses, but it’s also possible the spotlight could be a springboard to something else.

“You’re seeing a lot more people involved as far as helping out the program,” one of those sources said. “You can feel that UNC is embracing more on the football end. It’s been the talk of the last two years, but the push to get to the SEC, I think, was a major reason for this show of investment in football.”


UPON HIS HIRE, Belichick immediately pushed a new tagline for Tar Heels football. They would be “the 33rd NFL team,” and those early days included an influx of professional know-how, from Lombardi to former Patriots nutritionist Josh Grimes and Moses Cabrera, Belichick’s longtime strength and conditioning guru.

“Coach B comes in with a different mindset in terms of everything’s going to be at the highest level possible, no matter what he has to do to get there,” wide receiver Jordan Shipp said.

Belichick has delivered that message repeatedly, both inside the locker room and to the media, often saying players who “don’t want to work, they don’t want to be good. That’s OK, but if you’re like that, Carolina’s a bad place to be. It’s too important to the rest of us.”

Belichick retained Freddie Kitchens as the lone full-time position coach from the previous staff, in large part because of his NFL background. Kitchens spent 16 years in the NFL before moving on to college, including a stint as the Cleveland Browns head coach. Belichick has said all of the systems they are implementing — from offense to defense to special teams — are NFL-based.

“Fundamentals and techniques that go with them are based on that too, practice, structure, meeting, installation, teaching. There were some modifications we had to make, but basically it’s all the same,” Belichick said.

Belichick has gotten more used to recruiting as well. Those who interacted with him on the recruiting trail in January noticed a big difference in their exchanges six months later, describing him as “more personable.”

“He understands that he had to change his way of doing things, and he’s doing that, and he’s really adapting to this new culture,” said Rolesville (N.C.) coach Ranier Rackley, who has three players committed to UNC. “So that’s why he’s getting a lot of these guys because of that.”

Collins, who played for Belichick for parts of seven seasons during a 10-year NFL career, said he has seen a softening of the coach who, in the pros, was known for his all-business approach to relationships.

“The old Bill comes out, but we live in a different world now,” Collins said. “I’ve seen a different side of Bill coaching these guys.”

In June, Rackley brought a group of players to UNC’s 7-on-7 camp, and he took note of Belichick moving from one group to the next, watching as many teams and players as possible. There was a different energy to the experience, he said.

In all, nearly 4,000 kids showed up during UNC football camps that month. For Belichick, who has often downplayed the leap from the NFL to college, it was an eye-opening moment.

“Once you actually see it, it feels like Normandy,” Belichick told ESPN. “It’s like, ‘Here they come.'”

North Carolina hasn’t won an ACC title since 1980, but with Belichick on the sideline, there’s no lack of optimism in Chapel Hill.

“We’re here to win football games,” Shipp said. “He let us know that yeah, we’re going to have a spotlight. But that’s not what we’re worried about. We’re worried about winning games.”

For UNC, though, there’s more to the story. Belichick is a bona fide winner, but he’s also a show — occasionally controversial, often recalcitrant, sometimes funny — and for a program looking for attention, he has delivered.

“We want to be competitive in football,” Roberts said. “We want to be part of the national conversation. Carolina stands for excellence across the board, and we want to be excellent in football. I think we’re well on our way.”

What comes after that remains a mystery — one Belichick has fiercely protected throughout a long offseason. Now, the veil is lifted.

The new era of North Carolina football is here.

Michael Rothstein and Eli Lederman contributed to this story.

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