Golden Nuggets: Alex Morgan Featured in FIFA 2016

Baseball

Inside the Lair: Cal Baseball Thriving Under Esquer's Leadership

By Jonathan Okanes, Cal Athletic Communications

BERKELEY - National rankings. NCAA Tournament berths. Record-setting crowds. Success in the classroom. Connections with the community.

To put it simply, the Cal baseball program is thriving. The Bears are preparing for the NCAA Regionals in College Station, Texas this weekend, following a memorable regular season. Cal has been entrenched in the national polls for most of the season and ended up tied for third place in the always-rugged Pac-12 Conference.

With Evans Diamond now equipped with lights, night games have increased attendance while afternoon games pack in crowds full of families with children who are afforded an intimate connection with players and coaches.

The man overseeing much of these successes is head coach David Esquer, now in his 16th year in Berkeley. He's about to guide the Bears through his fifth postseason appearance at Cal - including a berth in the College World Series in 2011. He's also created a program brimming with excitement and a connection to the community - resulting in a terrific atmosphere around Evans Diamond.

Four members of the baseball program earned All-Pac-12 honors; senior first baseman Chris Paul, sophomore third baseman Lucas Erceg, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Daulton Jeffries were selected to the first team, and junior outfielder Devin Pearson was an honorable mention selection.

Softball

Senior Cheyenne Cordes was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American as a second-team outfielder.

Congratulations to @CheycheyCordes, selected an @NFCAorg Second Team All-American Outfielder! pic.twitter.com/IEBmjXx624

— Cal Softball (@CalSoftball) May 27, 2015

"From the very beginning, I knew this team was special. We weren't just a team, we were a family. We had our ups and downs but we always battled. We had a great run and being able to play with my sisters for my first regionals meant the world to me." - @alleah_laxamana

A photo posted by Cal Softball (@calsoftball) on May 17, 2015 at 1:43pm PDT

Track & Field

Thirty Golden Bear athletes head to Austin, Texas, to compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field West Prelims.

Lacrosse

Cal Sports Quarterly: Traveling Down The Same Path

This feature originally appeared in the Spring edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to calbearbackers@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.

By Tim Miguel, Cal Athletic Communications

Kirsten Jensen and Molly Brady are literally and figuratively close to each other after graduating from Cal over a decade ago.

Having both attended and played lacrosse for the Golden Bears - Jensen '00 and Brady '05 - the pair (and cousins) pursued careers in the medical field with both landing in the Los Angeles area. Brady is in residency at the Los Angeles County Hospital in emergency medicine, while Jensen is an MD for obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA Medical Center.

"Kirsten has helped me more than I have helped her," Brady said. "She is five years older than me, so she was always around to give me advice about anything, and she really helped me when I was applying to residency. I also have to say that I didn't intentionally follow in her footsteps, but she made Cal, lacrosse, our sorority and eventually medicine seem so great. It was because I visited her at Cal in my junior year of high school that I learned how amazing Cal is. I have to thank her for a lot."

Sand Volleyball

Cal's newest athletics program, Sand Volleyball, continues to grow with the announcement of it's 2015 recruiting classof five student-athletes.

Football

NUMBER 65: First time on the #NFLTop100! @Ravens RB @JForsett pic.twitter.com/OQe16nSE4W

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) May 28, 2015

FIFA Women's World Cup

Alex Morgan Says She Expects Knee To Be "100 Percent" For World Cup

By Kate Fagan | May 27, 2015 ESPN.com

NEW YORK -- Alex Morgan said that she expects her knee to be "100 percent" for the upcoming World Cup.

The star forward addressed the media on Wednesday and said that the bone bruise in her left knee is improving.

"I've been doing a lot better," she said. "I'm still day-to-day. But there is no question in my mind that my knee will not be bothering me. I'll be 100 percent, and I'm looking forward to the World Cup and knowing that won't set me back at all."

Meanwhile, Morgan has made it into a video game!