It certainly wasn’t an ideal week in Cincinnati Pro sports, especially with the Reds struggles, including being walked off by the Cubs three nights IN A ROW. The college side of things brought championships and NCAA Regionals for 3/4 of the schools. Find it all here!
Pro Sports
Bengals: The Bengals rookie mini-camp went on this past week. Nothing notable is scheduled this week.
FCC: The Garys picked up a hard-earned point this past Saturday against Charlotte in a 2-2 draw. This was a slow game overall, with nearly no action for 35 minutes. Just after the 35th, Kevin Denkey punched in a goal to put FCC up 1-0. Shortly after, Evander continues his hot streak, netting a goal (43′) to put Cincy up 2-0 heading into the half. Charlottes staff apparently had a great halftime speech, because Idan Toklomati scored (51′) out of the gate. Just one mere minute after, Pep Biel put in yet another goal to even it at 2. From this point on, no goals were scored and Cincy walked out of Charlotte with a point.
Cincinnati has two key matchups this week.
5/13/2026 | FC Cincinnati vs Inter Miami | TQL Stadium
This will be a huge game for Cincy, as everyone knows what comes with facing Miami. This looks to be a revenge game for FCC after last year’s beat down in the playoffs. Miami have been a solid team this year, finding themselves at third in the standings. It’s pretty simple what must happen here, Messi must be contained at all times. If he gets any opportunity, Cincy is in trouble. For Cincy, they need to get Evander and Denkey as many opportunities as possible. This is a must-watch game in Cincinnati.
5/16/2026 | FC Cincinnati vs San Diego FC | Snapdragon Stadium
This is a game that should be won by FCC. San Diego has struggled so far this season, finding themselves at the near-bottom of the MLS standings. Cincy should put their focus on Marcus Ingvartsen, who has put up eight goals in 12 games. San Diego is a very balanced team, putting up 20 goals and allowing 20. The Garys have a real chance at picking up some major points this week.
Reds: The Reds went 2-5 this week, here is a recap of each game.
5/4/2026 | Cubs beat Reds 5-4 | Wrigley Field
Cincinnati was on a three game losing streak heading into this game. JJ Bleday and Ke’Bryan Hayes started the Reds off well, both hitting home runs to put them up 3-0. The Reds led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but Michael Conforto hit a walk off home run.
5/5/2026 | Cubs beat Reds 3-2 | Wrigley Field
JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe both went yard to put Cincy up 2-0. From that point on, the Reds put up no runs and were walked off in the 10th.
5/6/2026 | Cubs beat Reds 7-6 | Wrigley Field
The Cubs took a 4-2 lead into the ninth. The Reds then poured it on and took a 6-4 lead. It was looking like they were going to stop the skid. However, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run homer to force extras. Next, you guessed it, they walked the Reds off.
5/7/2026 | Cubs beat Reds 8-3 | Wrigley Field
The Cubs put up eight in the first four innings, and it was never a game after this.
5/8/2026 | Astros beat Reds 10-0 | Great American Ballpark
No words, embarrassing loss. Eighth one in a row.
After Friday night, the tide finally turned at GABP and the Reds salvaged the weekend.
5/9/2026 | Reds beat Astros 3-1 | Great American Ballpark
Chase Burns had a great start, going six innings while only allowing one run. The Redlegs put up all of their runs in the fifth, thanks to Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz.
5/10/2026 | Reds beat Astros 5-0 | Great American Ballpark
Andrew Abbott may have found his stride, throwing six scoreless innings. The Reds had a balanced attack on offense, highlighted by a two RBI double by JJ Bleday.
The Reds look to get back on track this week against the Nationals and Guardians, previews below.
5/12-5/14 | Reds vs Nationals | Great American Ballpark
The Nationals have been pretty “meh” so far this year. They sit at 19-22, which puts them at fourth in the crowded NL East. Washington is a solid hitting team, ranked third in the MLB in RBIs, with 203. They are also tied for second in stolen bases, with 41. Key players to focus on is CJ Abrams (tied first in MLB with 36 RBIs), and Nasim Nunez (Leads MLB with 17 stolen bases). This is a series for the Reds to get back on track and pick up some wins.
Goal: Three Wins
5/15-5/17 | Guardians vs Reds | Progressive Field
The coveted Ohio Cup is back for yet another battle. The Guardians are 21-21, and first in the AL Central. Cleveland is a strong pitching squad, as they are tied fourth in the MLB in saves (13), and second in strikeouts (385). They are also tied for second in stolen bases, with 41. Key players are Gavin Williams (tied 4th in MLB in wins and tied 3rd in strikeouts), Cade Smith (tied second in MLB in saves), and Jose Ramirez (second in stolen bases). This will be a tough rivalry series for the Reds.
Goal: Two Wins
College Sports
Cincinnati:
The Bearcats added Akai Fleming. He’ll bring athleticism, and significant long-term upside to the Bearcats! He averaged 10/3/1 last year as a freshman on a struggling Georgia Tech team. Towards the end of the year, he hit his stride and was able to consistently be one of the best players on the court. My full thoughts on Akai are here.
The Bearcats baseball team had a great week, going 3-1 with a 15-4 win over Oral Roberts before taking 2 from Kansas State in Manhattan this weekend. The Bearcats are the highest RPI team in the Big 12 currently, and there is a possibility they could host a regional. They do, however, need to continue this hot streak vs. Texas Tech this weekend at home.
Cincinnati Football announced a new home-and-home series with Michigan State in 2030/2031!
The Mens Golf team is headed to Texas for their regional appearance. This will take place May 18-20 in Austin!
Xavier:
The Muskies added Braden Appelhans from Drake. Braden spent his first 3 years with coach Pitino before spending his RS junior year at Drake. He’s a career 40% 3 point shooter, and will likely be more of a reserve player/out of the rotation.
Xavier baseball had a great week despite Michigan cancelling the Tuesday matchup. They swept Butler in Indianapolis and have officially qualified for the Big East tournament! The baseball team closes out the regular season this week with a home series with Creighton. They’ll also be playing one game on Thursday vs. Creighton at Great American Ballpark, following the Reds vs. Nationals game!
As mentioned last week, X’s women golf won the Big East. They are competing in the Louisville regional May 11-13! As of 11:30 EDT on 5/11, X’s women were 3 under par and in 2nd place. The mens golf team also won the Big East tournament! They are competing in the Corvallis Regional Starting 5/18 and continuing through 5/20!
NKU
No additions to the basketball roster this week. We’re still awaiting news on the assistant coaching opening, and keeping our eyes on the AD opening.
The focus of this week’s NKU content has to be the magical run the NKU women pulled off! They went up to Youngstown and won all 3 games they played in, beating Detroit Mercy 3-2, Green Bay 4-3, and Robert Morris 4-3 to take the trophy. Their reward for winning the Horizon is getting to face off with #7 ranked Tennessee on Friday 5/15 at 5:30 in the Knoxville regional!
NKU’s baseball team closed out the Horizon League slate this weekend, falling in 2/3 of the matchups with Horizon League power Wright State. They did get a walk off win vs. the Raiders on Friday evening. The Norse also defeated Miami (Hamilton) on Wednesday 12-0. They will now play @ Kentucky on Tuesday before heading down to Spartanburg, SC for a matchup with Elon and then 2 with USC Upstate to close out the year.
Miami (OH)
Miami’s basketball team didn’t have any additions. Be on the lookout this week for a roster breakdown and further analysis!
The RedHawk baseball team had an electric weekend, going 3-0 vs. UMass, including a walk-off win Sunday. Their Tuesday matchup with Ohio State was cancelled. They have Akron this weekend for 3 games before moving to the MAC tournament!
The Miami softball team played in the MAC tournament this week, however it was a quick exit for the squad as they went 0-2 on Wednesday, losing back to back to Western Michigan and Central Michigan.
The Miami golf team will follow Cincinnati down to Texas and be in the Texas regional from 5/18-5/20!
For each of the colleges we cover, we’re looking to add in some more women’s basketball content! I’ll have breakdowns of the different rosters next week. Also, I’ve heard the requests! Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, Dayton and Wright State will be on the way starting next week! This is a relatively large undertaking, so content will be high level at first as we ease in!
