On the men’s side, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn is ranked No. 1, riding a nine-game winning streak to a 16-1 overall record and the top spot in the Southeastern Conference. Pearl, a former Maccabiah Games coach and the co-founder of the NCAA’s Jewish Coaches Association, is one of the more outspoken Jewish and pro-Israel coaches in all of college sports.

Duke, led by coach Jon Scheyer, clocks in at No. 3 on the men’s side, with a 15-2 record and an 11-game winning streak of their own. Scheyer, who played professionally in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv after winning the NCAA title as a Duke player in 2010, has drawn support from the university’s Jewish student body.

And at No. 5 in the men’s rankings is Florida, coached by Todd Golden. The Gators are also 15-2 and are coming off a tough one-point loss against Missouri on Tuesday. Golden is also an alum of Israel’s pro league, and he played for Pearl on the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 2009 Maccabiah Games. (Golden also remains under investigation for sexual misconduct following a bombshell report by Florida’s student newspaper in November.)

On the women’s side, Lindsay Gottlieb’s University of Southern California ranks No. 4 on the AP’s latest list. The Trojans have won 12 straight and at 16-1 are in second place in the Big Ten, behind rival UCLA, which the AP ranked No. 1. Gottlieb, who earned her 300th career coaching win earlier this season, is a member of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California.

March Madness should be fun for Jewish fans — and coaches — this year!

Halftime report

ONCE, TWICE, SOLD. Sotheby’s is auctioning a set of 500+ baseball cards that it touts as “the most complete Jewish baseball card collection in the world” — featuring every Jewish baseball player who has ever appeared in a game. The collection includes several rare cards and is estimated to fetch more than $500,000 when the auction begins on Jan. 25. Some Jewish baseball aficionados, however, have cast doubt about whether all the included players are Jewish — including the one whose card is the most valuable.

HOT CORNER. MLB Network is unveiling its annual preseason “Top 10 Right Now” lists for each position, and star third baseman Alex Bregman may be the only Jewish player to make the cut. Bregman — who remains one of the best free agents available this offseason — ranked third on the third basemen list, which was revealed Wednesday, jumping up two spots from last year. Second baseman Zack Gelof and pitcher Max Fried were both ranked last year as well, but the lists of second basemen and starting pitchers were both announced this week without them.

BACK IN STOCK. Team Israel alum Robert Stock signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox this week, giving the righty a chance to rejoin the team he pitched for in the shortened 2020 season. Stock, who has 55 career MLB appearances across parts of four seasons, spent 2024 as a starter in the Mexican League. He played for Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

TOUGH CHOICES. The U.K.’s Jewish Chronicle spoke with Oren Smadja, an Israeli judo medalist and coach who helped guide fellow Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik to his own bronze medal at the Paris Games. Smadja, who in 1992 became the first Israeli man to medal at an Olympics, lost his son Omer, a soldier who was killed in Gaza just weeks before the tournament, and chose to still go to Paris. “It was a very difficult decision and position to be in, with such pain, to leave my other son and daughter and wife behind to be in France for flag and for country,” Smadja told the JC. “But after Oct. 7 everybody, not just me, was sad and in shock. If we could bring home a medal, everybody in Israel might smile again and be proud.”

OWNING UP. Edmonton Oilers star Zach Hyman owned a lot of NHL defenses in 2023-2024, scoring a career-high 70 goals between the regular season and the playoffs. Now, that’s not the only thing the Jewish hockey star owns — Hyman and his family have purchased the Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League, one of the three junior leagues that compose the Canadian Hockey League. Hyman’s brother Spencer will run the team, but Zach and their father Stuart will also be involved, according to The Athletic.

HOMECOMING. Speaking of Jewish hockey stars, Andrew Cristall was traded last week from the Kelowna Rockets to the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League, another of the Canadian junior leagues. Cristall, who was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2023, became the Kelowna franchise leader (among players with 100 games) with a points-per-game average of 1.55, and ranks second all-time in both career points and assists. Cristall returned to Kelowna to face his former team on Wednesday, scoring two goals with two assists. Cristall leads the WHL with 72 points this season.

Jews in sports to watch this weekend

(all times ET)

🎾 IN TENNIS…

The Australian Open is underway in Melbourne, and there are a handful of Jewish players competing in the Grand Slam down under. Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina, who has spoken about her Jewish heritage, faces No. 4 Jasmine Paolini in the third round Saturday at 3 a.m. Sofia Kenin lost to American star Coco Gauff in singles and was eliminated in doubles last night. Denis Shapovalov, who was born in Tel Aviv to a Ukrainian Jewish mother, lost in the second round on Wednesday. Israeli Lina Glushko lost in the first round.

🏈 IN FOOTBALL…

The NFL Playoffs continue this weekend with the Divisional Round, and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Tight end Anthony Firkser remains on the Chiefs practice squad — he played in three regular season games for K.C. this year. He has three career playoff appearances, all with the Detroit Lions, now the NFC’s top seed, last season.

🏒 IN HOCKEY…

Jason Zucker and the Buffalo Sabres host the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7 p.m. Adam Fox and the New York Rangers host Jordan Harris and the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday at 4 p.m. Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks host Zach Hyman and the Edmonton Oilers Saturday at 10 p.m. The Canucks sent Max Sasson back to the AHL on Wednesday. Jack and Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils host the Washington Senators Sunday at 1 p.m. No Jewish players in the PWHL have games this weekend.

🏀 IN BASKETBALL…

Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Houston Rockets Saturday at 10 p.m. and the Chicago Bulls Sunday at 9 p.m. Domantas Sabonis, who is converting to Judaism, and the Sacramento Kings host Avdija’s old team, the Washington Wizards, Sunday at 9 p.m.

⚽ IN SOCCER…

Matt Turner and his Premier League team Crystal Palace face West Ham Saturday at 10 a.m. Turner made his second appearance of the season last Sunday, helping blank Stockport County 1-0. Manor Solomon and his Championship squad Leeds United host Sheffield Wednesday (yes, that’s the team’s name) at 7 a.m. on Sunday.

⛳ IN GOLF…

Daniel Berger, Max Greyserman, David Lipsky and Ben Silverman are all competing at the PGA Tour’s American Express tournament in La Quinta, California, this weekend.

Touchdown, Fried

In honor of the NFL playoffs, we conclude today with one of my all-time favorite highlights: Max Fried, then with the Atlanta Braves, striking out none other than Russell Wilson.

Wilson, of course, is better known for his football career, which includes a Super Bowl win and nine Pro Bowl selections as one of the best quarterbacks of this century. But Wilson was also drafted into MLB twice, in 2007 and 2010, and played briefly in the minors. In 2018, Wilson was traded to the New York Yankees, and on March 2 that year, he pinch-hit for (wait for it) Aaron Judge in a Spring Training game.

But Fried’s curveball was no match for the veteran QB.