Miami AD: Should review CFP release schedule
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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
ORLANDO, Fla. — Miami athletics director Dan Radakovich said Sunday the College Football Playoff selection committee might need to revisit whether it releases a ranking the week of conference championship games.
Speaking to ESPN at a Pop-Tarts Bowl media event ahead of the Hurricanes’ matchup against Iowa State, Radakovich noted how difficult it was for his players in the days after the Dec. 3 rankings, which had Miami (10-2) behind Alabama (9-3) at No. 12 and on the outside looking in. The situation was compounded when committee chair Warde Manuel said teams that were not playing in conference title games were “locked in” and would not be reevaluated.
“It was a really, really difficult four or five days for the players, both at Alabama, at our place,” Radakovich said. “SMU loses, what are they in the middle of at that point in time? The NCAA basketball tournament, there’s some parallels to it, but you’re either going to be in or you’re going to be out when it’s all unveiled, right? Sometimes, that’s a better way.”
Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, the CFP executive director, said during a Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum panel last week in Las Vegas that he did not think six rankings were too many — echoing comments Manuel made after the final rankings release.
“I think it’s good for the game. I think it gives people a sense of how we see teams from that eighth week on,” Manuel said.
Radakovich, who served on the first CFP selection committee in 2014 while AD at Clemson, said he has talked to others about revising the rankings release schedule just for the penultimate week.
“They’ll do a ranking before Thanksgiving. You probably just let that stand, and then you have the championship games, and then the committee gets together that weekend and they make their final rankings,” Radakovich said. “Because if you’re close and you aren’t playing, you can’t do anything and if there are other people that you’ve played along the way that are playing, maybe that changes your strength of schedule, it changes some other things. So I think as you get closer to the end, I think that would just be a good idea to say, ‘Maybe we’ll just leave that one off to the side.'”
Radakovich said it was “unusual” that Manuel said teams were locked in after the penultimate rankings release but, “If that’s what they were looking at, that’s why I come back with, ‘Don’t do a ranking.'”
Miami finished No. 13 in the final ranking, behind Alabama and Big 12 champion Arizona State. The Hurricanes will play Iowa State on Dec. 28 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Fla., with a chance to get to 11 wins for the first time since 2003.
In addition to potentially revisiting the rankings release schedule, Radakovich said he is in favor of expanding the playoff to 16 teams, and that there needed to be further discussions with ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and others within the league on whether it makes sense to play without divisions.
“It needs to be something that we look at,” Radakovich said. “This is our first year we didn’t have divisions. Is it a really good idea? I don’t know. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But I think whether you have divisions or not, brands playing brands is very important. We can’t stay static. Jim and the people associated with the scheduling in the conference are looking to see if there’s other opportunities to make it better.”
Phillips said one key component as it relates to divisions is how the committee will value conference championship games moving forward. SMU (11-2) made it into the playoff ahead of Alabama and Miami despite losing in the ACC championship game to Clemson.
“We have data from one year, but will that be a criteria moving forward?” Phillips said. “Will it not be a criteria? Will the teams that play in a championship game have some kind of protection? I don’t want to read into that. I’d like to hear from the committee after it’s over, about what some of those conversations were, and I think I’m not the only one.”
Though the season ended in disappointment, Radakovich said the Hurricanes feel like they have something left to prove in their final game. That goes for quarterback Cam Ward, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting Saturday. Ward has given every indication he will play in the game.
“Our players, we talked about the leadership council, the young men who were on that have said, ‘We want to be able to play and finish this season, there’s still things to play for,” Radakovich said. “That 11th win hasn’t happened in a long time. They’re all disappointed we didn’t get the chance to play for a championship in the ACC so this could be an opportunity to do that.”
ESPN’s Heather Dinich contributed to this report.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
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