Pitt adds linebacker from Florida as transfer
Pitt announced Wednesday that linebacker Kylan Johnson will join them as a graduate transfer from Florida. With a telecommunications degree in hand, he’ll be immediately eligible to play in 2019.
“Kylan is a really smart player with a great nose for the football,” coach Pat Narduzzi said in a news release. “He can play either outside linebacker position and is a great fit for our scheme.”
Johnson made nine starts and played 33 games with the Gators, in which he recorded 83 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack. The Dallas native was rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals coming out of Skyline High School.
More college football
The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, citing athletic parity, voted to oust St. Thomas, the largest school in the NCAA Division III league and the most successful in recent years in sports, saying the Tommies will be “involuntarily removed” in two years. St. Thomas, with an enrollment of 6,200, helped found the conference with six other schools in 1920.
College basketball
Juwan Howard, a former Michigan All-American and member of the famed Fab Five recruiting class, agreed to a five-year deal to become the program’s new head coach, replacing John Beilein, who took over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal will pay him $2 million in the first year.
College baseball
Brandon White and Paul McIntosh drove in four runs apiece and West Virginia (35-18) used a 17-hit attack to beat fifthseeded Kansas, 12-8, in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.
Pro basketball
Defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert and MVP finalists Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George were the leading vote-getters for the NBA’s All-Defensive first team. Boston’s Marcus Smart and Milwaukee’s Eric Bledsoe rounded out the first team.
Baseball
The Baltimore Orioles acquired former Pirates outfielder Keon Broxton from the New York Mets for $500,000 international bonus pool money. Broxton was batting .143 with New York in 34 games with no homers and two RBIs.
Auto racing
NASCAR announced the $2 billion purchase of International Speedway Corp., an aggressive move to gain control of key racetracks, such as Daytona, Talladega, Darlington and Homestead-Miami.
• Tony Stewart headlines a Joe Gibbs racing trio that was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The three-time Cup Series champion will be joined by car owner Joe Gibbs and former teammate Bobby Labonte. Driver Buddy Baker and mechanic Waddell Wilson were also voted in.