CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall today announced the acquisition of minor league RHP Mike Villani from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for RHP Alexis Díaz.

Villani, 22, made his professional debut with the Rookie-ACL Dodgers earlier this week, logging 2 perfect relief appearances. He was originally selected by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2024 first-year player draft from Long Beach State University (CA), the same school that produced current Reds farmhands Connor Burns and Graham Osman (both at A-Dayton).

As a senior at Long Beach State University in 2024, Villani tied for the Big West League lead with 10 saves, tied for 12th-most among all NCAA Division I pitchers. He was the first LBSU player selected by the Dodgers since 2016.

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WMDJ) – Floyd Central senior Jace Martin homered twice, driving in three runs as the Jaguars defeated Pike County Central 9-7 to advance in the 15^th Region Baseball Tournament Monday evening at Stonecrest Sports Park.

Senior Kolton Crum banged out a pair of hits and drove in the go-ahead runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 7-7 tie, sending Floyd Central to its first-ever win in 15^th region tournament play.

Martin notched the win in relief of senior starter Logan Moore. Martin surrendered four runs during the Hawks rally in the fifth inning yet struck out five in 2 2/3 innings of work.

Sophomore Mason Anderson struck out three of the four batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh to earn the save.

Martin started the game taking the first pitch from Pike Central starter Trevor Holbrook deep for a solo home run, part of a three-run first inning for the Jaguars. Anderson scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Crum. Moore would reach on a single and later score on an RBI single by freshman Barrett Williams, who enjoyed three hits on the night.

The Jaguars would plate four more runs in the top of the fourth inning. Williams started the inning with a single, followed by back-to-back base hits by freshmen Luke Gibson and Brance Pennington. Williams would score on Pennington’s hit followed by an error. Gibson scored on a passed ball. Martin would hit his second homer of the night, driving in Pennington, making it 7-2 Jaguars.

After tying the game at 7-7, Crum drove home junior Grant Jenkins and Anderson with a 2-RBI double, making the score 9-7.

The Jaguars (20-13) will face Johnson Central (27-7) in the semifinals of the 15^th Region Baseball Tournament scheduled for tonight (Tuesday, May 27^th) weather permitting.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) – New Floyd Central High School Principal Jeremy Hall has announced changes in leadership to both boys and girls basketball programs as a pair of veterans will lead each squad.

Veteran 16^th Region coach Matthew Perry has been selected to lead the Floyd Central boys basketball program, taking the place of Alan Joe Moore, who held the position for six seasons.

Perry has 25 seasons of head coaching experience, spending 23 seasons leading the Morgan County Cougars and most recently serving as boys head coach at Bath County the last two seasons. Perry has won 364 games, capturing seven district titles, four regional semifinal appearances and was a two-time region finalist. Perry led Morgan County to the school’s only 16^th region title in 2003-04, winning a school record 28 games against five losses. Perry also led the Cougars to the 16^th Region All “A” Classic title in 2016 and captured the 2A regional championship in 2019. Perry was a four-time EKC Coach of the Year and the 2004 All-Area Coach of the Year.

“I’m tremendously excited for this new chapter and I hope to be a positive change for many years to come. I’ve watched the program from a distance and realize the tradition and passion the community has for their sports programs,” Perry said. “I want to build on the past and establish a sense of pride that everyone can support.”

He takes over a Floyd Central Jaguars’ squad that returns a full roster of experience, poised to make a run at a regional title.

“I honestly believe Floyd Central is a diamond in the rough with unlimited potential with the right mindset and work ethic,” he said. “I’m extremely excited to meet the players and parents and start laying the foundation for success at Floyd Central.”

On the girls side, former head coach Justin Triplett-Hall returns to guide the Lady Jaguars.

Triplett-Hall was 58^th District Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018, KABC 15^th Region Coach of the Year in 2021 and 15^th Region Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year in 2019. Triplett-Hall is the fourth winningest coach in Floyd County girls basketball with 177 victories and won three 58^th District titles, one 2A regional championship and guided the Lady Jaguars to four consecutive 15^th region semifinal appearances.

"My family and I are excited to return to the sidelines for the Lady Jaguars and I'm looking forward to leading the girls once again," said Triplett-Hall.

Tyler Little has accepted a new position as Director of Gameday Management & Media for Floyd Central High School, assisting Athletic Directory Tony Isaac. 

The Lady Jaguars return all five starters from last year’s team and five of their top six scorers this fall as Floyd Central will go in search of their first-ever 15^th region championship.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team will host a second marquee opponent in exhibition action when the Georgetown Hoyas visit Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center on Oct. 30 as a part of the 2025-26 schedule.

A game time and television designation will be announced at a later date.

Newly adopted NCAA rules permitting Division I programs to play in the preseason enabled the teams to add this early-season marquee contest to their schedules. The game will not count towards official records or statistics. Kentucky is also welcoming Purdue in an exhibition contest at home on Oct. 24.

Georgetown is led by Ed Cooley who is in his third year at the helm of the program. The Hoyas went 9-23 in his first season and improved to 18-16 in year two. Junior Malik Mack who started all 32 games in which he appeared a season ago, is the Hoyas’ leading returning scorer at 12.9 points per game. He also drained a team-high 59 3-pointers and connected at a 35.5% rate.

Pope and the Wildcats are coming off the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019 and return Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison and Trent Noah who all contributed to a 24-12 season which featured wins over an NCAA-record-tying eight Associated Press Top 15 foes. Chandler shot 12 for 23 (52.2%) from distance over his final six games – all against NCAA Tournament teams. Garrison produced seven double-figure scoring efforts and shot 50.9% from the field in 17.3 minutes per game as a sophomore, while Noah’s breakthrough performance came in an 11-point effort in an upset of No. 5 Tennessee at home. 

Adding to UK’s firepower in 2025-26 is one of the highest-ranked transfer classes in the country. The Cats will add 2025 National Champion Denzel Aberdeen from Florida, a two-time NCAA Sweet 16 participant in Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer in Pitt’s Jaland Lowe, Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio who is a Lexington native and a part of the RedHawks who won 25 games in 2024-25, National Defensive Player of the Year late season finalist Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State and Kam Williams from Tulane who earned American Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team honors.

Aberdeen logged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 41.8% from the field, 35.0% from distance and 70.8% from the free-throw line in 2024-25. In his five starts this season, he averaged 14.4 points and shot 41.4% from 3-point range (12 for 29). Dioubate averaged 7.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game for the Crimson Tide in 2024-25. He scored double-figures in 13 outings and had five double-doubles. Lowe started all 31 games for Pitt and averaged a team-high 16.8 points per game to couple with 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Potter averaged 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest in two seasons at Miami. He shot 45.4 percent from the field and an impressive 39.8 percent from 3-point range. Quaintance started all 24 games in which he played with the Sun Devils, averaging 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.5 assists while shooting 52.5 percent from the field. Williams averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocks per game, while shooting 41.2% from distance in his lone season with the Green Wave. 

The Cats also three have first-year player signees in Andrija Jelavi?, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Johnson and Moreno were both members of Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit in April. Johnson averaged 20.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for Real Wild Energy in the Overtime Elite League. Moreno was named Mr. Kentucky Basketball after leading Great Crossing High School to its first state title in program history where he tallied 24 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in the championship victory. He was also a McDonald’s All-American selection. Jelavi? is one of the top European prospects who has averaged 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League.

Those interested in new season tickets are encouraged to enter the season-ticket lottery. Due to the extremely high renewal rate of men’s basketball season tickets, only a limited number of upper-level tickets are available each year through the lottery.

A limited number of new lower-level season tickets are available with a capital pledge commitment, as are memberships in Rupp Arena’s newest hospitality space, the Champions Club. For more information on premium options, please contact the K Fund Office at (859) 257-6300. 

High School Baseball 58^th District Tournament Monday, May 19th at Stonecrest:

Lawrence County (19-10) vs. Betsy Layne (11-17), 5:30 p.m.

Prestonsburg (10-19) vs. Floyd Central (18-12), 8 p.m.

Championship Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

High School Softball 58^th District Tournament Monday, May 19th at Stonecrest:

Lawrence County (19-7) vs. Betsy Layne (8-10), 6:00 p.m.

Prestonsburg (5-13) vs. Floyd Central (15-10), 8:00 p.m.

Championship Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s basketball team added some verticality to its 2025-26 roster with the signing of Reece Potter, a 7-foot-1 center who played his first two collegiate seasons at Miami (OH), it was announced by head coach Mark Pope on Thursday.

“Reece Potter is a Lexington Catholic legend,” Pope said. “He is a lengthy big who has a unique combination of mobility and skill. Reece can really pass, shoot and protect the rim and fits into what we do exceptionally well. Most importantly, he truly understands what it means to wear the Kentucky jersey.”

Potter is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and played high school basketball at Lexington Catholic where he was named the 2023 Lexington Player of the Year by the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a finalist for Mr. Kentucky Basketball.

In two seasons with the RedHawks, Potter averaged 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per contest. He shot 45.4 percent from the field and an impressive 39.8 percent from 3-point range. He made 11 starts during his freshman season in 2023-24 and appeared in 30 games this past year off the bench for a Miami team that went 25-9 overall and 14-4 in conference play, reaching the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game.

Potter scored in double figures six times during his sophomore season and 11 times for his college career. He had a career performance in a win over Sacred Heart in December, scoring 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting including 3 of 3 from deep. He had another stellar performance in the opening round of the MAC Tournament against Eastern Michigan, finishing with 15 points and a career-best eight rebounds along with two blocks to help the RedHawks to the victory.

In high school with Lexington Catholic, Potter was named the 11th Region’s Player of the Year as a senior, averaging 17.9 points and 8.7 rebounds for the District 43 champs, while serving as a team captain. Potter joins a long list of Lexingtonian UK basketball players to suit up for their hometown squad. He will become the 88th all-time Cat who hails from Lexington.

Potter becomes the seventh newcomer to join Kentucky this offseason joining Denzel Aberdeen, Mouhamed Dioubate, Andrija Jelavi?, Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Andrija Jelavi? (pronounced an-dree-ah yell-uh-vich), one of the top European prospects, has signed with the Kentucky men’s basketball program as announced by head coach Mark Pope on Monday. Jelavi?, a 6-foot-11 forward, averaged 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League.

“Andrija is a really skilled, athletic, mobile, veteran player who has been playing at a high level for the last two years,” Pope said. “He’s been mentored through the development program at Mega, which is one of the best development centers for great players in Europe. Andrija has a really unique combination of size, athleticism and skill that will translate seamlessly into our system.

“When we did our Zoom, you could see the emotion on his face of how much Kentucky means to him and that he cannot wait to wear a Kentucky jersey,” Pope said.

Hailing from Zagreb, Croatia, Jelavi? has spent the last two years with KK Mega Superbet. He previously suited up for OKK Beograd, KK Mega Leks U18 and KK Cedevita Olimpija Junior. A rangy big, he possesses a 7-foot-2 wingspan.

In 26 games this season, Jelavi? has made 13 starts and is shooting 50% from the field, while draining 24 3-pointers at a 32.0% clip. He has charted 192 total rebounds, including 41 on the offensive end. He has dished out 38 assists and generated 25 steals. His best outing was a 23-point performance where he was 9 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from behind the arc against KK Partizan in January. He also hauled in a season-high 14 boards in that game. Jelavic has amassed six double-doubles and averaged nearly 28 minutes per game.

Jelavi? saw action in 37 games for Mega Superbet in 2023-24 and started in every contest. He produced five double-double efforts, while reaching double-digit scoring in 21 games. For the year, he averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He connected on 49.8% from the floor and made 40 3s at a 31.0% clip. Jelavi? also shot 77.0% from the charity stripe.

In seven games at the U18 Euro Championship in 2022, Jelavi? averaged 11.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in seven outings.

Jelavi? is the second player from Croatia to suit up for the Wildcats, joining former Cat Zvonimir Ivisic. He is set to become the 21st all-time international player in program history.

EASTERN, Ky. (WMDJ) - Floyd Central High School will begin the process of searching for a new boys head basketball coach.

The school has announced that Alan Joe Moore will not be returning after six seasons at the helm.

Moore finished with a record of (74-94), one 58th District Tournament championship in 2024 and two appearances in the 15th Region Tournament. Last season, the Jaguars lost in the opening round of the district tournament yet were able to fight through the super-regional format to advance to the regional semifinals, finishing with a record of (12-19).

Applications will be accepted for the position immediately.