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PAGE 2B April 2026
Ole Miss women’s basketball head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has made a big splash for her first transfer portal signee of the 2026-27 season, inking Talaysia Cooper from Tennessee. Cooper is ranked as the fourth best transfer in the portal this off season, according to ESPN. This is the second season in a row in which McPhee-McCuin has secured a top-5 impact player in the transfer portal, signing 2026 SEC Newcomer of the Year in Cotie McMahon. The Turbeville, South Carolina, native led the Lady Volunteers last season in points (16.0), assists (3.6) and steals (2.7) per game, while also averaging 4.7 rebounds to earn All-SEC Second Team honors for the second consecutive year. In 2024-25, Cooper was named to the 2024-25 SEC All-Defensive Team, proving she will be a key asset to McPhee- McCuin’s defensive philosophy. Cooper is no stranger to being nationally recognized, earning spots on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 List, and six different preseason Watch Lists last year. During the 2024-25 season, Cooper was touted as a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist, and secured spots on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List, Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Midseason Watch List and the Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch List. During her redshirt junior year this past season, Cooper scored in double-digits in all but four of Tennessee’s 29 games, including a season-high 30-point performance against Ole Miss in Oxford. Additionally, she got her career-high in rebounds against Belmont this year, grabbing 14 boards to lead the Lady Volunteers to a victory. Ole Miss Women Inks Tennessee Transfer
Photo Courtesy of Auburn Athletics Auburn junior Jackson Koivun and the No. 1-ranked Auburn men’s golf team picked up their fourth wins of the season on Sunday, April 5, 2026 the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends Club. Koivun shot 12-under to reign supreme for the fourth time in six starts. He won by two, edging out Ole Miss’ Tom Fischer in a tight final-round duel. As a team, Auburn cruised to victory with a 26-under final tally. The Tigers nearest competitor was No. 11 Vanderbilt, which finished 17 shots behind Auburn. With the win, Auburn makes it seven consecutive tournaments finished in the top two and improves to 49-16-1 (.758) against top 25 opponents this season. The Tigers also successfully defended the Mason Rudolph title from a year ago. Vols Conclude 2025-26 Season Ranked #12 The University of Tennessee men's basketball team is No. 12 in the nation in the final polls of the 2025-26 season. Tennessee (25-12, 11-7 SEC) jumped 11 spots in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and 13 places in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, as released Tuesday afternoon. The Volunteers' leap comes after reaching the Elite Eight for the third year in a row. Seeded sixth, Tennessee defeated No. 11-seeded Miami (OH), 78-56, in the Round of 64, followed that with a 79-72 win over third-seeded Virginia and then a 76-62 triumph versus second-seeded Iowa State. It then fell to top-seeded Michigan, the eventual national champion, in the Midwest Regional Final. The No. 12 position in the AP Poll is the eighth-best in program history, with five of those eight marks coming in the last eight seasons (2018-2026) under the direction of head coach Rick Barnes. The Volunteers now own 13 all-time AP top-15 finishes, six of which are in the past nine years (2017-26) under Barnes. In addition, this is the fifth consecutive year Tennessee has capped the year with a top-20 spot in the AP Poll, with this the fourth top-12 position during that span. The Volunteers finished a program-best fifth in each of 2024-25, 2023-24 and 2021-22, as well as No. 20 in 2022-23. The No. 12 spot is the best of the year for Tennessee in both polls, eclipsing the No. 13 nod it received Dec. 1 from each outlet. This is the 110th time in the last 117 poll releases the Volunteers are in the AP top 25, a stretch that extends back to the 2020-21 preseason poll and includes six full campaigns. Tennessee has claimed an AP top-15 position in 75 of those weeks. Barnes has now led Tennessee to 150 total AP top-25 rankings across his 11-year tenure, all in the last nine seasons. That includes 76 weeks in the top 10, 38 in the top five and nine at No. 1 nationally. The Volunteers totaled 756 points in the AP Poll, an increase of 644 from its March 16 total before the NCAA Tournament. They racked up 390 points in the Coaches Poll, a 314-point improvement from the March 15 release. Tennessee is second-highest-ranked of six SEC teams in the year-end top 25 of both polls, joining ninth-ranked Florida, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 16 Alabama, No. 19/17 Vanderbilt and No. 22/24 Texas. Additionally, Kentucky received votes from both outlets, while Texas A&M and Auburn did so in the AP Poll. Additionally, Tennessee ended the year No. 11 in ESPN BPI, No. 12 on BartTorvik. com, No. 14 on KenPom.com, No. 14 on Haslametrics.com, No. 15 on EvanMiya.com and No. 18 in ESPN SOR. The KenPom ranking marked the program's fifth consecutive top-15 finish there. Along with making the Elite Eight for the third season in a row, Tennessee notched a fourth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and a fifth straight 25-win campaign. It also finished top-four in the SEC for the sixth time in a row and amassed a 4-1 record versus AP top-11 foes. Alabama Arts Trail on Broad May 8-9, 2026 in Downtown Gadsden The City of
DERBY DAY AT SOUTHERN HOUSING
s Tour Beautiful Homes s Mocktail Bar with Mint Juleps, Peach Tea, and More s Pick Your Horse and enter to win prizes s Dress up for our Best Hat Contest s One Day Only Specials Saturday, May 2, 2026 11 a.m - 3 p.m. 2019 State Road 136 Trenton, Georgia
Gadsden and the Alabama Visual Arts Network invite you to attend this inaugural event
RSVP 706-500-1033 Or Text 706-331-0145
This is not just an open house its an experience. Be sure to bring a friend and wear a cute hat! WHETHER YOU ARE READY TO BUY OR JUST DREAMING, COME SIP, STROLL, AND SEE WHAT HOMEOWNERSHIP COULD LOOK LIKE FOR YOU!
Learn More at Alartstrail.org
Downtowngadsden.com
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