WR Murph, No. 2 uncommitted in ’25, picks S.C.
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
South Carolina beat in-state rivals Clemson and other finalists Colorado, Ole Miss and Tennessee to the pledge of four-star wide receiver Donovan Murph, the top remaining uncommitted skill position player in the 2025 class.
Murph announced his decision Thursday afternoon on ESPN2 during the 2025 Under Armour All-America Game in DeLand, Florida, leading the cast of top high school prospects who made verbal commitments at the annual high school football showcase.
A 6-foot-2 pass catcher from Columbia, South Carolina, Murph is the No. 182 prospect in the 2025 ESPN 300 and entered Thursday as the No. 2 uncommitted prospect in the 2025 cycle. With his pledge, Murph becomes the sixth ESPN 300 prospect to join a 2025 Gamecocks recruiting class that began Thursday at No. 23 in ESPN’s team rankings for the cycle.
“South Carolina was the school that stayed consistent with me,” Murph told ESPN. “All fall they were showing me love and letting me know they believed in my talent. That played a big role in my recruitment.”
Murph lands with South Carolina after catching 96 passes for 1,328 and 12 touchdowns in his final season at Irmo (South Carolina) High School, and joins a deep Gamecocks wide receiver class in the 2025 cycle. Along with Murph’s pledge, South Carolina holds signatures from fellow top-300 pass catchers Jordon Gidron (No. 129 overall), Malik Clark (No. 178) and Lex Cyrus (No. 292). Four-star wide receiver Brian Rowe and three-star pass catcher Jayden Sellers also signed with the program during last month’s early signing period.
Initially a member of the Class of 2026, Murph took unofficial visits to Ohio State, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama during the fall before announcing his intention to reclassify into the 2025 cycle on Oct. 1. Murph’s decision to enter college early attracted significant Power 4 interest in the final months of 2024, but ESPN’s No. 22 wide receiver prospect limited his official visits in November to South Carolina and Clemson before Murph returned for an unofficial visit with the Tigers on the final weekend of the college football regular season.
The pair of in-state powers battled hard for the No. 4 overall prospect in the state of South Carolina, and Murph pointed to the Gamecocks’ rising trajectory as a key factor in his decision. South Carolina reached nine wins for the first time since 2017 this fall, emerging as a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender behind breakout star quarterback LaNorris Sellers in coach Shane Beamer’s fourth season in charge of the program.
“I like the direction they’re heading in,” he said. “They’re trending up. They continue to get better and better. I think I can add to that and be a playmaker who makes an impact early.”
For the first time in the 17-year history of the Under Armour All-America Game, team rosters for the 2025 showcase event included high school juniors. Among the Class of 2026 prospect who made up roughly 30% of the player pool, several followed Murph with commitment announcements on Thursday, still 11 months from the 2026 early signing period.
The most high-profile of those decisions came from four-star defensive end JaReylan McCoy (No. 94 in the ESPN 300), who announced his pledge to LSU during the fourth quarter of the all-star game, picking the Tigers over USC, Tennessee and Alabama.
McCoy is ESPN’s No. 9 defensive end prospect in the 2026 cycle and has logged 140-plus tackles and 18.5 sacks in three seasons at Tupelo (Mississippi) High School, where he was a key member of a team that finished 14-0 team on its way to a Class 7A state title this fall.
McCoy now stands as the top-ranked prospect in a 2026 LSU recruiting class that holds pledges from three other top-300 pledges from in-state defenders Aiden Hall (No. 108 in the ESPN Junior 300), Jakai Anderson (No. 152) and Richard Anderson (No. 171).
McCoy told ESPN that he remains undecided on taking visits to other schools in 2025, but emphasized that the timing of his commitment was part of a plan to find a home early in the cycle in favor of a quieter recruiting process. While USC pushed hardest in the final days of McCoy’s recruitment, he credited Tigers defensive line coach Bo Davis and a handful of unofficial visits to the program as two elements that ultimately helped pull his commitment to LSU.
“I felt ready to lock in with somebody so I can play for my family in my senior year,” McCoy said. “It’s a new year — this was the right time to slow down my recruitment and the right time to pick my new family.”
Earlier Thursday, four-star 2026 wide receiver Carnell Warren (No. 203 in the ESPN Junior 300) announced his commitment to Virginia Tech, landing with the Hokies over Georgia Tech, Duke and Wake Forest.
The 6-foot-4 pass catcher from Bluffton, South Carolina, caught 58 passes for 846 yards and 14 touchdowns during his junior season this fall and joins four-star quarterback Peyton Falzone (No. 200 in the ESPN Junior 300) as the second member of Virginia Tech’s 2026 class. The pair of top-300 commits represent a strong start for the Hokies in the upcoming cycle, and Warren referenced his connections with coach Brent Pry and Virginia Tech assistants Fontel Mines and Stu Holt as prominent forces in his decision.
“The relationships I have there were important,” he said. “Everything that’s going on at Virginia Tech and the bond that I’ve built with them over the last couple of months was something I couldn’t break. I knew Virginia Tech as the place.”
Three-star 2026 cornerback J.J. Dunnigan of Manhattan, Kansas rounded out the series of 2026 pledges on Thursday with his commitment to Kansas over Kansas State, Nebraska, Stanford. The top-ranked member of the Jayhawks’ 2026 class, Dunningan wrapped an impressive week of practice performances in Orlando with a fourth-quarter interception in Thursday’s game.
The Cincinnati Reds on Monday acquired veteran infielder Gavin Lux from the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Los Angeles will receive a Competitive Balance Round A pick (around No. 37) and outfield prospect Mike Sirota in the deal for Lux, 27, who hit .251 last season with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs.
The Reds have been looking for infield help after they dealt second baseman Jonathan India to the Kansas City Royals in November. Cincinnati added veteran right-handed pitcher Brady Singer from the Royals in the India deal.
Lux played in 139 games for the Dodgers last season, and 129 the season before. In Los Angeles’ run to the World Series title last season, he had one home run and four RBIs in 12 games.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After some uncertainty, the Tampa Bay Rays now support a $55.7 million city plan to repair hurricane-shredded Tropicana Field in time for the 2026 season opener, while the team prepares to play this year at the New York Yankees‘ spring training home in nearby Tampa.
Matt Silverman, the Rays’ co-president, said in an email to the St. Petersburg chief administrator that the team wants to “clear up” any questions about its support for the reconstruction. The city must pay for the work under its current contract with the Rays.
“While we had been open to considering a scenario in which the city bought out of its obligation to rebuild the ballpark, the Rays support and expect the city to rebuild Tropicana Field in accordance with the terms of the current use agreement,” Silverman wrote.
Hurricane Milton tore the Trop’s fabric roof to pieces when it came ashore Oct. 9, causing water and other damage to interior parts of the now-exposed ballpark. Work has been ongoing to ensure no further damage is caused by weather but there had been questions about the full repair in part because it would eventually be torn down to make way for a new, $1.3 billion ballpark under current plans to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg another 30 years.
Time is of the essence, Silverman said in his Dec. 30 email to the city, which released it Monday. Even a partial 2026 season at Tropicana Field “would present massive logistical and revenue challenges for the team,” he wrote.
“It is therefore critical that the rebuild start in earnest as soon as possible” with a realistic construction schedule to be ready by Opening Day 2026, he added.
The city had no immediate comment on the email. Its own architect presented the repair proposal initially Dec. 12 but it has not yet been fully approved. Members of the city council have balked at the cost, especially with residents and businesses still recovering from Milton and Hurricane Helene before that.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has said that insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds should cover the bulk of the cost. Silverman said Major League Baseball has told the team it will hire its own adviser to monitor the repair work and timeline.
The planned new downtown Rays ballpark is part of a $6.5 billion project that will include affordable housing, a Black history museum, retail and office space, restaurants and bars. The project is known as the Historic Gas Plant District, which was once a thriving Black community displaced by the construction of the ballpark and an interstate highway.
The Rays are preparing to play 2025 home games at Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees’ 11,000-seat spring training location in Tampa. Once Tropicana Field is repaired, Silverman acknowledged the Rays are obligated to play there three more seasons under the contract with St. Petersburg.
“We look forward to a grand reopening,” Silverman said.
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