Infielder Sean Yamaguchi, who hit 14 home runs in the team’s 2026 campaign, announced that he is entering the transfer portal.

Yamaguchi batted a .310 average while hitting six doubles and 37 RBIs. He also had a slugging average of .595. 

The Hawaii native won Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2025, and was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team in 2026. 

“Thank you Nevada for bringing in this local boy,” the sophomore wrote on his announcement post via Instagram and X. 

They say time flies when you’re having fun… and for me, The Nevada Sagebrush finally made that the reality of my college experience.

My Sagebrush Journey

As a native Nevadan, my college application process was more typical than I’d like to admit. I always dreamed of getting out, moving to the east coast and starting the life my small hometown of Dayton, Nevada simply couldn’t offer me. After researching the cost of tuition at campuses I could potentially be calling home for the next four years, the University of Nevada, Reno became the only choice. 

Despite being slightly underwhelmed with my options, I toured UNR’s campus and instantly fell in love with it. I met the ever-compelling Paul Mitchell during a Nevada Bound tour who, when everyone else attending the tour seemed to have life figured out, told me it was okay, and even encouraged, that I didn’t know exactly who or what I was supposed to be. 

I quickly learned about campus media and made it my mission to become the Sagebrush’s executive editor at some point in my college career. Afterall, I was already the Editor-in-Chief of my high school’s school paper, so how hard could cracking into the Sagebrush be? Ha.

After arriving on campus and struggling to make a place for myself at the Sagebrush like I thought I would, student government seemed to be my destiny. Being a two-term senator for ASUN certainly provided me with some of the friends I needed coming into college as the strings between myself and my parents, who I now lived an hour away from, loosened. To the incredible Aween Ali:, we may not have run for the presidency like we dreamed of as interns together, but you gave me the courage to know when my time to pursue something more fulfilling had come. Thank you for never letting me settle.

Now, for the part those of you reading have likely waited for me to get on with: Becoming executive editor was always a goal, but not one I thought I would be able to make happen. Once the position opened, a few Sagebrush staff members encouraged me to apply, pushing me towards the position even though I had doubts about my ability to ensure the rest of the staff they could trust someone that came from the Sagebrush’s apparent rival, ASUN. For those that read our Arts and Entertainment articles, I think it’s safe to call this an enemies-to-lovers trope…

After a struggle to get on the agenda, I was granted an interview and was able to convince the panel why I was the next choice for the job. 

Over the last year, I haven’t been the perfect editor, and frankly, the Sagebrush has been hit with some tall hurdles. 

As the new executive editor, I had to hire an almost entirely fresh staff. Looking back now, I am proud of the team I helped build, but at the time, I was terrified of being the one to ruin a publication almost as old as the University itself. 

We also worked toward getting additional funding to keep the Sagebrush running, but have been continually pushed off by those we need to talk to in order to make the changes we seek. Talk about “keeping tradition alive.” Thanks, guys. 

And of course, the numerous lawsuits that have been threatened against the Sagebrush over the last year. Of course, freedom of the press is a powerful thing — Thankfully, no lawsuits ever came to fruition. 

Despite the constant pushback from seemingly every angle over the last year, my team is truly what made every hardship worth the pain. 

As someone who has always struggled to make friends; in my sorority, ASUN, and even back in high school, becoming the “boss” of several of my peers was daunting. How could I be a good leader and a friend? 

Little did I know, the team of editors I spent hours interviewing and hand-picking would become some of the most kind, fun and hardworking individuals I will likely ever meet in my life. 

From hangouts at “Bush HQ” to meetings that always went way longer than they should’ve and inevitably ended at sushi, Cane’s or Pub n’ Sub, the memories I made with each and every one of you has made me actually sad to leave Nevada behind. 

A thank you to my staff for reminding me there is good in the world, and that there’s no love like Sagebrush love.

To Riley Overstreet: Riley, you quickly became one of the most dedicated journalists on our team. You always pushed for ethical reporting and unique stories, and on top of it all you became such a wonderful mentor to our volunteers. Thank you for sticking it out when things got hard and for always pushing me to be better. 

To Alex Psak: Alex, thank you for always ensuring I was included. You really helped me step into the role of executive editor and realize the power that I had as a leader. I appreciate the reassurance more than you know.

To Olivia Spargur: Olivia, you are an incredible human. From laughing about your dad being a LinkedIn warrior to always being a true friend to me, even though you genuinely radiate coolness, you always made me feel like I was supposed to be there just like every one of you. You have the power to make everyone laugh, and I admire your sarcasm and genuine kindness. 

To Reese Gardner: Reese, thank you for always asking if I needed any support. Even on the days I pushed the offer away, just knowing I wasn’t alone made my job easier. 

To Siena Howard: Siena, from the day I met you in Model UN class, I always looked forward to being in the presence of your sunshine energy. You are such a great listener and observer, and always have a smile on your face. I am so proud of your progress this year. The Sagebrush would not be the high-quality publication it is today without your knowledge and hard work. 

To Jordan Katz: Jordan, you are by far the funniest person I’ve ever met. I don’t think I would want anyone else to watch me try to sit down and miss the couch entirely than you. You came through on my Zoom screen ready to roll, bedazzling me with a well-prepared interview and examples of the incredible work you had created. I was in awe of your work ethic and am in awe of something new about you every day. You always worked with my picky edits and created the graphics I envisioned to a tee. You are a star and I cannot wait to see where your hard work takes you at UNR and beyond. 

To Maddie Gomes: Maddie, you are such a light. Your silly dance moves and the work you put in each and every day are unparalleled. Even as an unpaid volunteer, you always showed up ready to work and help James lead the sports section to success. You are kind, genuine and so welcoming. I cannot imagine a better person to lead the sports section next year. 

To James Wolfgang Perez: James, you are the perfect candidate for executive editor. From day one, your ambition, ideas and willingness to teach others has shined, even when you mog toward me from across the meeting table. You are genuinely the life of the party, and I can’t wait to see what you do with the Sagebrush — it lies in good hands with you. 

It’s funny how my first published article with the Sagebrush will also be my last, but it won’t be the last the Sagebrush sees of me. 

Afterall, the love we all have for the Sagebrush runs deep. Once you’re a part of the Sagebrush, you’ll always be a member of one big happy family. 

After graduation, I will be moving to New York City to attend Columbia University in pursuit of an M.S. in journalism (and hopefully in pursuit of a lifelong career as a journalist in The Big Apple.) Moving out of Nevada and leaving my hometown behind has always been my goal, but the staff at the Sagebrush has given me a reason to think fondly of home. 

Kelsea Frobes is the outgoing executive editor of The Nevada Sagebrush and has served in the position since April 2025. The incoming executive editor for the Sagebrush will be former sports editor James Wolfgang Perez. 

Kelsea Frobes can be reached via Instagram @kelsea.frobes

(Maddie Gomes/The Nevada Sagebrush)

When Jack McKinzey suits up for a game, it isn’t the same as a typical student-athlete. He still wakes up early, eats a healthy breakfast and prepares himself mentally, but his uniform requires what he described as a second personality, a kind of acting and experimentation that other athletes don’t need when they pull on their jersey. That’s because McKinzey is Wolfie Jr. at the University of Nevada, Reno.

McKinzey has worked as Wolfie Jr. for the past three years, since he was a sophomore in college, but he began his career as a mascot well before that at Bishop Union High School in Bishop, California. For McKinzey, being a mascot allows him to have fun with a character, make people smile and support his university.

“You hop in there and you’re like, alright, I’m Wolfie,” McKinzey said. “It’s a whole process, but you just kind of learn how to fit into that new body. It’s really weird, but it’s what you have to do.”

One of the biggest reasons that he wanted to try out for the mascot program at UNR, however, was because of the hefty scholarship that Nevada mascots receive. All students who are Wolf Pack mascots receive a scholarship that provides them with full in-state tuition at the University. 

They also receive student-athlete privileges, such as having their books paid for, priority enrollment in classes and athlete breakfasts. The financial incentive was also extremely important for Kyla Segovia, a senior at UNR who has been playing Luna for the past three years.

“My freshman year, I had a really hard time adjusting to the change of coming to college, and I was actually crying to my RA about how I did not want to be here anymore, and they recommended that I try out,” Segovia said. “They mentioned that I would get my tuition paid for, which was an extreme benefit for me, just as me and my dad were already struggling to figure out how to pay for college.”

The Nevada Wolf Pack is the only team in the Mountain West Conference with three mascots —Alphie, Wolfie Jr. and Luna — representing a family or “pack” of wolves. All are meant to be descended from Wolfie Sr., the original mascot for Nevada from the 1920s. Alphie was introduced in 1999, Wolfie Jr. in 2007 and Luna in 2013. 

(Maddie Gomes/The Nevada Sagebrush)

The three mascots are typically portrayed by six students total, each of whom is on the full in-state tuition scholarship funded by the UNR Athletic Department.

This scholarship was first awarded to the mascots in 2020 after years of petitioning from Kim Anastassatos, the head of Nevada Spirit and the associate athletics director for special events, to award the mascots scholarships. It is now the biggest scholarship awarded under Nevada Spirit.

“For years I tried to get the mascots scholarships,” Anastassatos said. “It’s the biggest scholarship that Nevada Cheer has ever seen in decades.”

Just this past year, however, the requirements for the scholarship changed. The students must now make it through one academic year in the mascot program before they receive the full in-state waiver.

Although first-year mascots are still awarded student-athlete privileges, this change begs the question of why it is necessary, as well as whether it’s beneficial to the program.

“I very much think, you know, this is a good idea and it has its reasons for being implemented, but I do feel like it will hinder the program,” McKinzey said.

For many student-athletes, having a job outside of school can be nearly impossible, and the same can be said for the mascots. So, the scholarship privileges that they are awarded can become an almost necessary incentive for the time that the athletes put in. Breanne Burns, a junior and mascot at UNR, has faced a similar difficulty.

“Being on the team with everything, it makes it hard to hold a job or anything, just because it’s so busy,” Burns said.

Many of the mascots expressed the same ideas about their reliance on the scholarship, and McKinzey does not know whether it will be sustainable for the future of Nevada Spirit’s mascot program, since he believes that the biggest motivator to keep the mascots available and ready to perform is the financial incentive.

“If I would take myself and put myself in those shoes, I would have a pretty tough decision to make,” McKinzey said. “Would I consider it? Yes. Would I have taken that deal personally? Maybe not. It’s emotional, and, you know, not getting any scholarship for that, I very much would not have done it because it was a big part of why I did it.”

Segovia, however, does not think that this change will affect the program much. In fact, she believes that it will be beneficial to Nevada Spirit and the program as a whole. 

“I think that it’s just kind of been a way to hopefully hold people more accountable to keep people here for longer, knowing that after you complete a first full year and you come back that you will get the full tuition [scholarship],” Segovia said.

Anastassatos, who is the original petitioner for the scholarship, is also the one who decided to make the change. For her, it is not meant to punish the athletes or to cut down the budget, but to hold the mascots accountable academically.

“Each year there tended to be someone new on the team that would come to be on the team and then they would not get the grades to be able to stay on the team, yet they had gotten this scholarship,” Anastassatos said. “Because it is such a huge privilege that the University doesn’t have to give us, that they get to give us, I felt like I needed to be able to protect that.”

In previous years, there had been multiple mascots who would try out for the program only to drop out halfway through the year due to bad grades, leaving the other students to pick up the slack. Both McKinzey and Segovia themselves were originally replacements for mascots who had dropped out halfway through the academic year, and Burns has recently had to play Wolfie Jr. at some events due to a student dropping out after the fall semester.

“Every year I’ve been on the team, we’ve lost people halfway through the year,” Segovia said. “Typically that’s due to grades. That became a struggle for us because it meant we either had to find a new mascot or everybody else’s schedules became even more intense because we were picking up the slack.”

Mark Ubando, one of Nevada’s two mascot coaches, claimed that the most important aspect of choosing mascots isn’t the animation or engagement, since that can be taught, but the commitment that the athletes show in their interviews.

“I’d rather have someone that’s not as animated yet as opposed to someone that’s really animated that doesn’t have that time commitment,” Ubando said.

The students in the mascot program will still be on scholarship their first year, though it is smaller than the full in-state tuition that they can receive every year after. The students are eligible to receive $1,000 their first semester as a mascot and $2,500 in their second semester. For McKinzey, this does not adequately compensate the mascots for the amount of work that they put into the program.

“I get the justification for it, I really do, but I feel like there’s a better, case-by-case basis or even a semester option,” McKinzey said.

This re-structuring of the scholarship requirements came as a part of a series of recent changes to the program, including a different tryout structure that includes an information meeting in order to attract more students, and different graduation stoles for the graduating mascots. 

The stoles — which previously said “Student Athlete” — now say “Nevada Spirit”. Although there was some controversy within Nevada Spirit when the change was originally made in the spring of 2025, the current students who will be receiving the stoles have no problem with the change. In fact, they believe that it is for the better, since the mascots are officially a part of Nevada Spirit.

“I think that it’s a fun change and it kind of sets us apart from other athletes, since we do a lot of community service and a lot for the University,” said Segovia, who will be graduating this spring. “I personally view it as a special thing that the athletics department decided to do for us.”

Anastassatos is still planning to help the mascots financially. She hopes that they can someday be paid hourly for off-campus events, and she is looking into hiring a non-student to be a mascot for events that the students cannot attend. Although the current mascots might not see a day when these changes come to fruition, they still believe that it would be an amazing benefit for future mascots to have.

“I do hope they continue to make changes,” McKinzey said. “I would love to see this program grow.”

These changes have been talked about for a long time, though there are reasons as to why the mascots have not been able to receive hourly pay yet. These include difficulties of defining what an off-campus event might be, as well as what constitutes community service, finalizing a budget for the mascots, and scheduling, since many of the events come up on a week-to-week basis and the program is unable to have a monthly schedule.

“I think the biggest challenge is explaining that this is not just the athletic department’s mascot, but it’s the University’s mascot, it’s the city’s mascot, it’s Northern Nevada’s mascot,” Anastassatos said.

As of this May, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, no longer has a costumed mascot — a change initially made in 2021. Because of this change, the Nevada mascot program became the only Division I mascot program in the state.

“Now that UNLV doesn’t have a costumed mascot, the Nevada Wolf Pack is exclusive, so now they’re on demand more,” Ubando said.

This change, and the expected influx of aspiring mascots to Nevada, could change the way that the program is run, and has already increased the number of mascots in the program from the typical six students to seven just this past semester.

As for current and future changes to the program, there will continue to be a focus on time commitment and community service when the athletes are chosen, and no new changes to the scholarship requirements are expected to be made.

McKinzey, though skeptical of how the scholarship change will help the program, still encourages anyone wanting to join the mascot program to consider it, since there are more benefits than the financial incentive.

“Those that might think, ‘hey, I want to be a Nevada mascot maybe, and I’m interested in doing it,’ I think they should,” McKinzey said. “I got to do so many fun things and meet so many cool people.”

Ubando, who has been the mascot coach since 2007, and who was Alphie for UNR before that, agrees with McKinzey’s claim that the benefits of the program are numerous, and said that Nevada Spirit changed his life. He stated that he will continue to coach for as long as he can.

“Nevada Cheer, Kim, everything, they’ve really changed my life,” Ubando said. “It’s helped me become who I am now and I’m just very blessed. It not only helped me get to where I am now but there are a lot of moments where it kind of really saved me.”

Information about mascot applications can be found on the Nevada Cheerleading website.

The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Nevada, Reno produced their annual Spring Dance Concert during the last weekend of April in collaboration with a featured guest: CALI & CO Dance.

The show highlighted dance numbers choreographed by several faculty members at UNR: Cari Cunningham, Eve Allen Garza, Nate Hodges, Rosie Trump and guest artists Christine Cali and Sierra Taylor Cline.

Throughout the program, several themes and motifs were explored and portrayed with different choreography styles, music choices and costumes. Each element was selected with the intention to connect the message to the art medium. 

The seven dance performances incorporated various stylistic choices to reflect the individuality within each piece. The dancers expressed strength and fluidity as they moved across the stage, speaking with their body language rather than words.

One piece in particular, “an arrangement,” was choreographed by Cari Cunningham, an associate professor of dance at UNR and one of the show’s coordinators. The performance highlighted a film created at the Nevada Museum of Art exhibitions “Falling Fruit: Monument to Sharing” and “Fallen Fruit: Power of the Pollinators (And Other Living Things).”

Cunningham described her experience and inspiration behind incorporating a film into a live conversation with dancers. The piece displayed the film about flower farmers while utilizing living flowers and pieces of nature.

“This idea of the tangible and the intangible, and I wanted people to have that live experience of trying to put something so alive and theatrical and put it into a two dimensional form. I just thought, if I ever get the opportunity to have a live, ephemeral experience with this work, I need to seize it,” Cunningham said.

Though she recognized the effort she and other choreographers and directors put into the show, Cunningham reiterated that the praise should be focused on the dancers and students involved in the production. 

One of the dance numbers was a total of 25 minutes of movement that centered around perfectionism and how impactful it is on the human body. “Perfect. Response.” began with the “perfect” conversation and acknowledging its heavy hand on society, and the standards and behaviors it forces through a collective group of people. 

The dancers shifted the conversation in the “Response” part of the number. The second half focused on what would happen if people broke free from the strains of perfection and allowed themselves to breathe and exist as they are. 

After the intermission, the show continued to prompt interesting and sometimes difficult conversations. In a number titled “Flowers That Pick Themselves,” themes of self-harm were displayed in a way that brought attention to the experience, but refrained from glamorizing or “fixing” it. 

The Nevada Museum of Art made a second appearance in the piece “Line Continued,” choreographed by Rosie Trump and featuring a solo performance by Giselle Soto. The main piece of art portrayed in the film and dance accompaniment was “Untitled” by Carmen Herrera, produced in 1952.

Following shortly after, “Noise” commented on the modern technology landscape and how overwhelming the Information Age can become. This conversation is increasingly relevant as discussion of artificial intelligence and technological advances reach new heights. The dance reflected the anxiety such weight and demand for attention can cause to the average person, and by default, the collective.

Closing the show, a large group of dancers performed “On Display: Authenticity,” an upbeat ending to a soundtrack of different hit hip-hop artists like Kendrick Lamar, Doechii, SZA and more. This dynamic ending tied a show of intense conversations with varying themes in an engaging and exciting way.

The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the finale, expressing their appreciation and praise with thunderous applause as the dancers and crew came out for their last bows. The performance consisted of many interesting artistic elements and was put together by individuals that reflected the energy carried throughout the show.

Photo by @gabbyramos4

In Filipino culture, ball is life.

It lives in crowded backyards, neighborhood courts, television screens and family parties. But for many Filipino American athletes, loving the game has not always meant feeling like they belong in it. 

Before stepping on the court, Gabby Ramos was already being ruled out. As a Division 1 (D1) athlete for Nevada women’s basketball, there was pressure — not just to perform at a D1 level, but pressure to represent a community overlooked in basketball spaces.

“Nobody thought anything of Jeremy Lin until he proved that he belongs where he was,” Ramos said. “We are all starting a mile before the start line because of the way we look.”

Though basketball has become a cornerstone of Filipino culture, Asian American athletes continue navigating stereotypes surrounding athleticism, identity and leadership. Expectations praised in classrooms, obedience and academic excellence can follow athletes onto the court, influencing their game.

For players like Ramos and Myles Walker, a freshman on the Nevada men’s basketball team, it goes beyond performance. It is a question of belonging, visibility and proving that Filipino American athletes deserve space in a sport they remain unnoticed in.

Photo by @gabbyramos4

Basketball was Always Part of the Culture 

The Philippines remains one of the largest basketball markets in the world. NBA data shows Filipino fans generating more than 618 million views on their YouTube channel in 2023. 

According to surveys conducted across Asia by Rakuten, roughly three-quarters of Filipinos identify as basketball fans, making it the country’s most popular sport regardless of gender. The popularity persists despite the Philippines having one of the shortest average male populations globally, shown in a graphic by Visual Capitalist on Voronoi. 

However, that cultural love for the game does not always translate into belonging on the court in the United States. Ramos said she often felt underestimated before the game started because of how she looked. Walker, who described basketball culture as “very big” in his family, said many athletes that look like him still feel disregarded because of their size and background.

Dr. Claire Reclosado-Baclay, a Filipina American sports psychologist based in the Bay Area, said those stereotypes can shape how Asian American athletes see themselves and how others perceive them.

“There’s that nagging feeling of not being taken seriously, that we are not seen as athletes,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Starting Behind the Line

Even in a culture where basketball is treated almost as religion, Filipino American athletes find themselves balancing pride with the pressure to constantly prove they belong. Stepping onto the court often comes with assumptions regarding size, athleticism, IQ and identity even before tipoff.

Research published in The Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine in 2025 found Asian Americans make up about 7.2 percent of the U.S. population but account for less than 1 percent of NBA rosters. A separate 2025 study published in the International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research argued stereotypes surrounding the “model minority” frame Asian American athletes as no threat while lacking athletic ability.

“When they think of Asians and Filipinos, the stereotypical way folks look at Filipinos, it doesn’t fit what a basketball player is supposed to look like,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Those assumptions are familiar to Ramos. 

“When I was a kid, I was very scrawny,” Ramos said. “Nobody viewed me as a threat when I would walk into the gym.”

Walker, who stands at 5-foot-10, said the same preconceived notions became noticeable to him during recruiting. Despite breaking out as one of California’s top point guards in high school, several programs overlooked him because of his size. 

“Even my high school career, my junior and senior year, I was one of the best point guards in California, but a lot of schools didn’t offer me because of my size,” Walker said.

In men’s college basketball, height has been tied to recruiting expectations. Data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) analyzed national championship rosters and found the average height of D1 guards to be around 6-foot-3, several inches taller than Walker. 

Many Filipino athletes learn they must separate themselves through creativity and skill development as they are often physically underestimated from the start.

“A lot of Filipinos are smaller, so they have to find a way to stand out on the court,” Walker said.

The stereotypes exceeded physical appearance. For many Asian American athletes, academics and the “model minority” mindset added onto their list of expectations off the court. Filipino households often emphasize academics just as heavily as athletics.

Ramos viewed academics and athletics through the same competitive lens growing up.

“Getting an A, that’s winning,” Ramos said. “Getting a B or anything lower than that, you’re losing.” 

Filipino American athletes grow up expected to excel academically while simultaneously performing at a high level athletically.

“There is this dynamic of ‘you gotta get really, really good grades, but I also want you to be the best athlete out there,’” Reclosado-Baclay said. “There’s a lot of burnout at a young age.”

Reclosado-Baclay added that stereotypes surrounding Asian American athletes can also influence how coaches and recruiters evaluate talent, particularly when athletes do not fit traditional expectations tied to basketball culture. 

“A lot of times the leader is not a person of color, or if they are a person of color, not Asian,” Reclosado-Baclay said. “They will be overlooked purely because of bias. It has nothing to do with their talent.” 

Filipino American athletes face a constant mental struggle feeling underestimated, shaping their confidence and mentality while playing.

Photo by @gabbyramos4

The Weight of Representation

Sports psychologists in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology refer to this phenomenon as “stereotype threat,” a psychological response where individuals fear proving negative stereotypes tied to their identity. It can increase anxiety and self-doubt in performance-based environments, especially when athletes already feel underrepresented within their sport.

That burden intensified for Ramos during her freshman season at Nevada.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself…because if I didn’t, … I would lose everything I had worked so hard to gain,” Ramos said.

Her fear of failure eventually began affecting her mindset when approaching games.

“By putting that pressure on myself, I did myself a disservice because it really impacted the way I played,” Ramos said. “It made me overthink.”

Those responses are common among athletes juggling cultural expectations alongside athletic performance.

“Sometimes they’re distracted or they’re just not fully present because there’s so many other pressures that are there,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Asian American athletes also struggle with internalizing criticism when perfectionism and high achievement are stressed from a young age. This can become heavier in environments where athletes rarely see others who look like them.

“When they are on a team and they’re the only ones, it could be kind of lonely,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Researchers in the International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research have linked isolation and underrepresentation in sports spaces to lower confidence, increased stress and questions regarding connection among minority athletes.

 Studies on athlete mental health have also found that fear of judgment and cultural stigma surrounding emotional vulnerability can prevent athletes from seeking support early. 

“In the Filipino community, the Asian community, taking care of mental wellness is not always the top priority,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

It has now become a game of managing the emotional weight of representation while trying to play the game freely — whether or not they truly feel accepted within the sport.

Who Gets to Belong?

The weight eventually turns to athletes questioning their acceptance within basketball spaces where they are often criticized and overlooked from the beginning.

Visibility plays a major role in how athletes develop confidence and identity within sports environments.

“It’s harder when you don’t see people that look like you,” Reclosado-Baclay said. “It sends messages like, ‘Do I belong here? Am I able to do this?’”

Representation carries an emotional responsibility larger than basketball itself. As Ramos competed internationally for the Gilas Pilipinas Under-18 women’s national team, the experience deepened her ties to her Filipino identity while also exposing struggles surrounding cultural authenticity within marginalized communities. 

“There’s an added pressure because a community so small and so underrepresented… needs a greater voice,” Ramos said.

It can feel both empowering and emotionally demanding when athletes feel responsible for how an entire community is perceived within the sport. 

Spaces centered around Filipino and Asian American basketball culture can reinforce a sense of community. Walker recently participated with Ramos in the AMAZN HQ Asian All-Star game, an event highlighting Asian American D1 basketball commits.

Walker said representation matters because many Filipino athletes grow up without seeing people who look like them at higher levels of the sport.

“If they see me do it and I’m from the same background as them, it puts belief in them,” Walker said. 

Growing up, Walker said there were few Filipino athletes he could point to as proof of success in D1 basketball. For him, that visibility was more than individual accolades — it became a way to challenge stereotypes surrounding who is expected to make it big in basketball.

“Filipinos could hoop too,” Walker said.

Increasing representation alone is not enough. The larger challenge is creating environments where Filipino American athletes feel comfortable embracing their identity without being pressured to minimize parts of themselves to fit basketball culture.

Beyond Representation

Photo by @gabbyramos4

Changing the experience for Filipino and Asian American athletes begins with recognizing that performance is not only physical but also mental.

“To have athletics and your physical health be such a top priority and not address your mental wellness in the same way — that is hurting your game,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Mental health experts say culturally informed support systems and open conversations about identity can help athletes navigate pressures tied to performance and belonging. 

Reclosado-Baclay said many athletes grow up internalizing stereotypes and expectations without having spaces to openly discuss the emotional distress it creates. Athletes should feel encouraged to seek support both professionally and culturally instead of facing those difficulties alone. 

“If there are those resources, use them,” Reclosado-Baclay said. “But also, be in touch with that community.”

Reclosado-Baclay pointed to organizations like the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and Filipino-focused mental health affinity groups as examples of spaces where athletes can connect with culturally-informed providers, psychologists and performance coaches. 

“If it’s identity that we’re having a tough time with, then find the community that can support you in your identity,” Reclosado-Baclay said.

Ramos said athletes should not feel like they have to shrink parts of their identity to fit basketball culture.

“You try to fit into these predetermined boxes that everybody has, instead of creating your own box and representing whatever culture that it is,” Ramos said.

For her, representation means embracing her identity fully, even in spaces where Filipino American athletes are often ignored and undermined.

“I couldn’t change my culture or where I come from any more than I could change the color of my skin,” Ramos said. “It’s important to represent not only when it is convenient, when culture is celebrated, but to truly embody your heritage no matter what room you’re in.”

For generations, Filipino culture has embraced basketball as part of its identity. Yet, Filipino American athletes still walk into gyms where they are underestimated and judged by stereotypes surrounding what basketball players are supposed to look like, play like or become.

The question is no longer whether the love of basketball is enough for Filipino Americans to step through stereotypes, but why so many still have to prove they belong in it.

Dance group Second Nature competed in the K-pop Battles Dance competition at LVL UP Expo in Las Vegas on April 26. The group won fifth in ‘The Best in Show’ division for the highest level in creativity.

Second Nature is a K-pop cover dance group composed of students who attend the University of Nevada, Reno. They have performed at multiple events at UNR, such as the Night of All Nations and Lunar New Year Festival. This was the team’s first year competing in this event. Second Nature competed with a dance team composed of eight members.

The team competed with two K-pop songs, “Rising Sun” by TVXQ and “Armageddon” by Aespa. 

In an interview with a team member Paulane Tabug-os Tulop, a junior at the University studying computer science and engineering, she said she felt both excited and scared about performing.

“I’m so used to performing in front of college students at UNR, but now I have to perform in front of a much larger crowd,” Tulop said. 

She said she has had fun with Second Nature and was glad she was able to improve her dancing with the help of the team. 

The team practiced late into the night the Wednesday before the show, running through their routine multiple times while focusing on different components to improve their performance. 

Second Nature practiced together once a week for a month when the team members weren’t busy with school and other responsibilities, and members also practiced solo on their own time. 

Noheli Villegas, another team member and a junior at UNR majoring in marketing, said it was difficult preparing for the performances. 

“I had a harder time getting some of the movements down, sometimes my body would reject my brain telling it [what] to do,” said Villegas. 

Even though she was nervous about performing, Villegas said she was really excited as well. 

“I think it’s something fun and I think it’s brought us even more together as a group,” Villegas said. 

The group placed fifth overall in the competition. 

“Considering it was our first time competing and performing at LVL UP, I think we did really well,” Tulop said.  

Tulop also said the team had fun and was able to enjoy the experience of performing together at LVL UP, even though they didn’t win. 

“As friends, we wanted to have a new and exciting experience to make memories together,” Villegas said. 

19-year-old Waylon Parr, who studies business marketing at the University of Nevada, Reno, scripted and directed the short film.

Parr had a budget of $1,500 and filmed with an iPhone 15 Pro Max. He also edited the entire film on the app CapCut. The film collaborated with local musicians for the film’s soundtrack and local graphic designers for a lot of the film’s visuals.

Parr began writing the characters and story after graduating from Carson High School. Script writing began in September of 2025 and finished in January of this year. Filming followed, lasting only seven days; however, the editing process alone took three weeks to complete.

All of the proceeds earned at the film’s premiere will go to the Holland Project and the RennerVation Foundation. 

“The reason half the proceeds are going to the Holland Project is because I fully believe that artists are incredibly important, especially in this time and age. The reason I’m sending money to the RennerVation Foundation is because I just believe that youth is, like, the most important thing ever, that’s the future,” Parr said.

The cast and crew of the film is composed of current Carson High School students and alumni who now attend the University of Nevada, Reno.

“We weren’t doing it for the money, and we wanted to basically encourage younger people not to have an excuse to make something. Obviously there’s a lot of levels to that, and there’s exceptions, but the overall goal of this was that you can do anything with what you already have. I think a lot of teenagers look at what they don’t have,” Parr added.

20-year-old Selma Works, who majors in human development in family science at the University of Nevada, Reno, plays one of the characters in the film.

Works explained how the long and restless hours of shooting the film was overall very rewarding after getting to see the final product.

“I think it’s so cool that we’re able to get a community of people from Reno and Carson together and collaborate on this film together. It’s important for people to just go out and get started on something,” Works said.

Instagram: a15_may15

Tickets to Premiere:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/waylon-parrs-a15-movie-premiere-tickets-1986277524545

Image courtesy of Riley Savage. 

The “college experience” has long been a staple of modern culture; a time when young adults move away from home for the first time, begin specific studies and above all socialize. This, of course, can be viewed as one of, if not the most, formative times in a person’s life. Furthermore, people build habits and passions that play impactful roles in steering the direction of their young lives. In some cases, students may end up in careers they never intended to pursue.

That has proven to be incredibly true for Riley Savage and Graydon Weaver, two people whose friendship blossomed at the University of Cincinnati where they started their hypersuccessful YouTube channel HIVEMIND. Since its inception in 2018, their channel has exploded to nearly 500 thousand followers. In recent years they have also started three other channels: HIVEMIND UNLIMITED, HIVEMIND LIMITED and Hivemind Cheap Seats. 

“I started the idea for the project as like a capstone thing in graphic design school,” Savage said. “I was trying to essentially use what I had learned in graphic design to make an approach to making content that was segmented, where pieces would work kind of like as a whole. So it was like breaking content down, it was, like, about attention spans and stuff like that. But generally, it was supposed to be kind of music journalism in a certain way was the original approach, but doing it with, like, a little bit more of a fun twist, I guess.” 

In recent years, professional content creation has transitioned from the fringes of career options to something that has proven to be incredibly successful for a wide array of people. Content creation comes in many shapes and sizes, with TikTok and other short-form mediums becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

“I think as long as people are being authentic and not just hopping on trends it’s really cool,” Deepa Reddy, a third-year student majoring in biology at the University of Nevada, Reno said. “As long as you are still in touch with your humanity and having fun, it seems like a good thing to get into. You can also make some real money doing [content creation], which is definitely something that is pretty crazy… I’ve seen a few different people on campus doing content creation for their own channels and whatnot, and that seems pretty cool, as long as you’re still respectful of everyone else.”

Though the value of a four-year degree still remains vital to young adults getting into white-collar industries, it is no longer the only path for success. For many, a college degree signifies more than just an expanded knowledge on a certain topic. It’s a testament of one’s ability to work for and earn something.

“I got my degree. It was mostly like, I needed some agency for my parents,” Savage said. “I mean, they’re great, but I think they were like, ‘please get your degree because you want to be a YouTuber, and I don’t know what that is’… If it doesn’t work out, you have a degree. But it did take a long time to work out. So [my parents] were nervous there for a second, but here we are.”

Savage graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in graphic design, while Weaver never graduated — he dropped out of a local state school after transferring from Ohio Wesleyan University, though Weaver continued to live with his friends attending Cincinnati.

“I’m really grateful for what I learned. I stuck it out and, like, got that degree because I still use it every day,” Savage said. “I design all the thumbnails for the channel.
 I did all the branding. I designed our merch. I do a lot of graphic design work still, but it not being the primary focus is kind of exactly how I wanted it to go.”

What was once just a music page now has six people working on it, not including Weaver and Savage themselves. Since then, the channel has branched out to other genres of content, touching on sports, politics and other forms of entertainment. The page notably features a plethora of game show-like content, that mainly revolves around trivia-type material.

“The other aspect of it is COVID changed a lot. We couldn’t vlog or do podcasts during COVID,” Weaver said. “It was a lot of like, what can we do with just us quarantined sitting at a desk? We found that the game content and then eventually brackets and all that stuff was what got the best stuff out of us. We had the most fun doing [game content]. We did music videos for a long time and most of that team is still with us doing stuff.”

University is known to be a time for many new adventures, from undergraduate students’ infamous relationship with alcohol and substances, to a young adult’s first steps into a professional world. It was through these experiences where the channel’s striking name, HIVEMIND, was born.

“HIVEMIND is actually an inside joke name with our friends, where that was what we named a group chat after,” Weaver said. “A few of our friends were on psychedelics, and for some reason, the repeated phrase throughout that trip was, ‘we need to connect to the hivemind.’ And they kept saying this.
 I was sober. So I found this to be just very funny, so we just named our group chat HIVEMIND.”

For Savage and Weaver, what started as a college side project has turned into a full-time career. Their experience is a microcosm of a broader shift in what success can look like in today’s ever-changing world. While university still plays an important role in shaping skills and opportunities, the “college experience” has become less about staying on a set path — and more about discovering possibilities along the way.

Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District is set to elect a new congressional representative this November for the first time in 15 years. This comes following the surprise retirement of longtime Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), who announced he would not seek reelection to a would-be ninth term in the House of Representatives in February.

At the heart of this wide-open race sits the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Students at Nevada’s flagship university have been uniquely affected by the prospect of a new representative.

“I would hope that any representative, Democrat or Republican, would recognize the importance of a strong research university to Northern Nevada,” said Eric Nystrom, a professor of history at UNR who specializes in Nevada and the West. “I would have every expectation that they would think that, right? [UNR is] one of the things that makes their district, you know, good.”

The University has seen a decrease in federal funding for research projects since President Donald Trump resumed office last January. Twenty-three projects have been defunded totaling  over $35 million.

“The impacted projects span multiple disciplines and funding agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Education and the United States Agency for International Development,” UNR said in a previous statement about the funding cuts.

“Having somebody who understands the needs of the state, understands the capabilities that this university brings to solving the problems that the state encounters,” Nystrom said. “Those folks can be really valuable advocates for what we do here.”

The loss in research funding has not been the only thing impacting the University and its students, though; tuition has also continued to rise. The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) announced a 12% increase in tuition over the next three years to go along with a 5% increase over the last academic year.

The estimated costs for an in-state student for the whole 2025–2026 academic year were $23,009 to $29,409, which increased to $24,167 to $30,767 according to data from UNR. Out-of-state tuition is set to increase as well.

“I just don’t want to pay more than I already am. I mean, college is such a [financial] burden for so many of us, and an increase in tuition is only going to make things worse,” Caden Allard, a fourth-year student at UNR said. “I really hope whoever our new representative is can help lower tuition or at least make paying for it easier. You don’t get the sense that a lot of people are truly working to make college less expensive.”

The fallout of Amodei’s bombshell announcement has been nothing short of chaotic, with numerous candidates jumping into the race on both the political right and left. The most notable candidate running to fill the open seat is Republican James Settelmeyer, who secured the endorsement of both Amodei and Gov. Joe Lombardo following former federal Senate candidate Sam Brown’s decision to not run for the seat. Brown opted to remain in his Trump-appointed position in Washington D.C.

Settelmeyer is no stranger to legislative politics, serving as the Nevada State Senate minority leader from 2018-2022. As the minority leader in the State Senate, Settelmeyer led his party’s legislative fight against then Governor Steve Sisolak as well as the other Democrats in the Legislature. He represented Senate District 17 during his time in the Legislature, which covered parts of Carson City andDouglas County. Nevada’s second congressional seat has been held by a Republican since its creation in 1983.

“Republicans have an advantage in the district… I don’t know that any Republican nominee would feel comfortable [in the primary election],” Nystrom said. “Whoever the eventual nominees are, it’s going to be a hard-fought race. It’ll also be a hard-fought primary. That’s one of the things that I think will be rather interesting.”

The cost of education is not the only thing driving student’s interests in the upcoming election. The race has become personal for students on both sides of the aisle.

In fact, James Settelmeyer’s daughter, Sabrina Settelmeyer, is a third-year student studying psychology at UNR. She is also a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority chapter at the University.

“I hoped he would [run for congress],” Sabrina Settelmeyer said. “After he was termed out of the [State] Senate, he was like ‘I’ll give politics a break…’ I feel like that characterizes him a lot, you know, he’s not like that stereotypical, just keep going for the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. He’s not. Yeah, he’s not climbing politics. You know, he meets the needs that he sees in his community.” 

On the Democratic side of the aisle, one of the candidates is a UNR student herself. A progressive Democrat and student at the University, Morgan Wadsworth has been gaining attention throughout her party’s primary cycle. She is a sixth-generation Nevadan who is the first in her family to attend college. Her recent campaign events with other progressive candidates have left her with a surging social media presence in a competitive race for the Democratic nomination for the seat. The primary will take place on June 9.

“I think it’s cool how a student here can be running for Congress, and have some actual momentum behind them,” Allard said. “I guess I don’t know if she’ll win or anything, but I hope she sheds some light on what the University and the students that go here need in order to be successful. She comes off as someone who can really help the students here and that is what I want to see in my representative.”

While the district has only ever elected Republicans, UNR political science professor Ryan Baxter-King pointed out that the GOP’s advantage may not be as secure as it once was.

“2026 is going to be a midterm year… those tend to be better for the opposition party. So in this case, the Democrats,” Baxter-King said. “Trump is sort of historically unpopular, and given how nationalized our elections have become, that suggests that [Trump’s unpopularity] is likely going to be a train on the Republican candidate in November.”

Only time will tell whether Northern Nevada will buck its trend and elect a non-Republican, or if the GOP’s decades-long dominance over the district will continue. As the race for Congress in Northern Nevada continues to unfold, the ramifications for the future of the region and the University have yet to be realized. Nevadan voters are tasked with choosing a candidate who can best lead their district as it tackles new, emerging challenges in a modernized world.

On Saturday, May 9, the Pack faced off against the Grand Canyon University Antelopes for Game 8 of the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Softball Championship. The Pack ended up with no runs (0-3), giving the Lopes the win which pushed for a Game 9.

At the top of the first in Game 9, Nevada set a new Mountain West Championship record by scoring nine runs to give them the momentum at the start of the game. GCU was able to slowly claw their way back into the game, making a steady comeback and eventually tying the game 10-10 at the bottom of the seventh inning.

Ultimately, after trading strikes and outs, the Lopes completed a final push to take the game 11-10 in the ninth inning.

You can view photos from this two-game matchup below by The Nevada Sagebrush’s Misha Fajayan.