Welcome into the Nati Report for the week of July 12-19, 2026! The All-Star break is done, as is the World Cup and the ensuing MLS break! The Reds promise to be sellers and FCC looks to make a playoff push! In the college world, massive lawsuits progress, while high school recruiting takes over! This week’s Nati Report is long, but packed with information!
Pro Sports:
Reds
It was an interesting week for the Reds, as they started with the All-Star break, and closed with a 2-1 series win against the Rockies.
To sum up the All-Star Game, it was mildly interesting at best. The American League won 4-0. Sal Stewart had two ABs, he was walked in the seventh, and grounded out in the ninth. Chase Burns did not pitch due to tightness in his right groin.
Denver
The Reds traveled to Colorado to start up the second half of the season this past weekend.
7/17 | Reds beat Rockies 7-2 | Coors Field
The Reds had a power-hitting parade on Friday. Sal Stewart ripped an RBI double in the first, showing why he was an All-Star. Jump to the sixth, Spencer Steer smacked a two-run homer. Shortly after, Eugenio Suarez added a solo shot of his own. The next inning, Sal Stewart added a run off via a sac-fly. Now in the eighth, Spencer Steer ripped another homer, both were over 400 feet. Elly De La Cruz capitalized the win with a solo homer of his own in the ninth.
7/18 | Rockies beat Reds 10-3 | Coors Field
Rhett Lowder was shelled early, letting up six runs in the opening two innings of the game. Jose Trevino ripped a solo homer to attempt to lead a rally, it went nowhere. Trevino did it again in the fifth, nothing else came out of it. Nathaniel Lowe added an RBI single in the seventh, but it was a lost cause at that point.
7/19 | Reds beat Rockies | Coors Field
The Reds had yet another power-hitting parade Sunday, headlined a five-run first inning. This was propelled by a Nathaniel Lowe three-run shot and a two-run bomb by Tyler Stephenson. Sal Stewart added a 456-foot three-run blast the next inning, to make it 8-1 early. Tyler Stephenson added his second homer of the game, making it 9-1 in the fifth. The Rockies attempted to rally back, making it 9-6. However, the gap was too much.
This week, the Reds travel to Seattle to match up with the 50-50 Mariners. This is a series that would be nice to steal on the road. After that, Cincy heads to St. Louis for a weekend series with the 51-47 Cardinals. This is a pivotal series due to the Reds’ past struggles in the NL Central.
Goal: 4-2 week
FCC
There was some notable news surrounding the Garys this week, as they prepare to return to MLS play.
-FC Cincinnati traded an international roster slot to the Chicago Fire in exchange for $350,000 in General Allocation Money for the 2026 season. GAM can be used in many situations to help the club succeed.
-FCC played a closed-doors scrimmage against Honduran Club CD Olimpia. Cincinnati dominated, winning 5-0.
-Star midfielder Evander is confirmed to represent FCC in the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge on July 28th.
-FC Cincinnati 2 fell 2-1 to Orlando City B at the NKU Soccer Stadium. First-teamers Kristian Fletcher and Ayoub Jabbari saw action in this game to ramp up their fitness.
This week, Cincinnati plays twice. They open the week at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday the 22nd. The Whitecaps are 10-2-2, and find themselves at the top of the Western Conference. This will be a massive test out of the break for Cincy.
On Saturday the 25th, FCC travels to Columbus for the renowned “Hell is Real” rivalry. These two have not played since FCC knocked Columbus out of last year’s MLS playoffs. The Crew have struggled this year and are 4-4-7, and they find themselves at 10th in the Eastern Conference.
Cincinnati is currently in the middle of the East (7th). The goal for this week should be to pick up four points: draw Vancouver and destroy their rivals in Columbus.
Bengals
The headliner of the week was the Bengals announcing the “theme games” for this season. The third annual “Open in Orange” game will take place on Sept. 13 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team also announced a “Stripe the Jungle” game for Dec. 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The “White Bengal” will return for a Sunday Night Football showdown with Pittsburgh on November 15th.
Analysts have recently said that they expect the Bengals to make another move in free agency. This would most likely bolster the LB or CB position.
Looking ahead, rookies report to training camp on the 25th, marking the official heat-up of the off-season.
College Sports
Apologies for the length of the college section this week! We had a ton to cover. I’ve collated a full list of offers from 2026 and beyond! There are absolutely players I may have missed, but this is from Verbal Commits, thought to be the most accurate tracking service for high school offers! I’ll be diving into different teams and trying to get a more specific look at players of interest for each team over the coming months!
Also: Is High School Recruiting Dead?
NKU
LJ Wells signed a professional contract with Belgium side Leuven Bears! Read all about it below.
We were lucky enough to catch up with Donovan Rakotonanahary this week and you can catch it here:
Finally, our recruiting spotlight looked at 2028 Wing Aaron Adams here:
Offer Tracker: NKU has officially offered the below recruits:
- Aaron Adams
- Abdul Rashid Issah
- Tyce Jarvis (cut his list to 2 on Sunday). More to come as he will be visiting this week!
Xavier
Quincy Olivari signed a professional contract with Dolomiti Energia Trento!
Josh Tyson is visiting this week, catch up on everything related to the 4* here:
Offer Tracker: Xavier has officially offered the below prospects:
- Marcus Boyd
- Jaydn Jenkins
- Josh Lindsay
- Korey Francis
- Tre Keith
- Brandon Mason Jr.
- Frashad Tisby
- Isaac Gonda
- Muhammad Manigat
- Chase Richardson
Cincinnati
Offer Tracker: these players have been offered since Calhoun took over:
- Mustafa Mohamed
- Marri Wesley
- Payton Jones
- Josh Tyson
- Caleb Ourigou
- Lewis Uvwo
- Kam Mercer (Committed)
- Chase Lumpkin
- Davis Cochran
- Peter Julius
- Jlon Lyons
- Tyran Frazier
- Antonio Pemberton
Louisville
TBT
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by Louisville:
- JJ Crawford
- Demarcus Henry
- Mason Grivna
- Aaron Webb
- Trevor Manhertz
- Lincoln Cosby
- Chase Lumpkin
- Abdullah Ahmed
- Ferlandes Wright
Kentucky
TBT
Offer Tracker: Kentucky has officially offered the below guys during this recruiting cycle:
- Ryan Hampton (committed)
- Chase Lunpkin
- Jordan Page
- Demarcus Henry
- Cayden Daughtry
- Darius Wabbington
- King Gibson
- Caleb Ourigou
- Yann Kamagate
- Lewis Uvwo
- Moussa Kamissoko
- Erick Dampier Jr.
- Liam Mitakaro
- Benjamin Berrouet
- JJ Crawford
Miami (OH)
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by the RedHawks:
- Ben Mirgon
- Brandon Hunter
- Ja’rye Brown
- Jaylen Gunther
- Justin Frison
- Landon Evans
- Tony Cornett
- Victor Aborowa
- Carson Scholl
- Connor Brown
- William Powers
- Dwight Gaines
- Jack Thelen
- Kingston Thomas
- Vincent Cronin (committed)
- Armani Byrd
- Thomas Cochran
- Shamari Scales
Wright State
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by WSU:
- Brandon Hunter
- Dwight Gaines
- Shamari Scales
- Landon Evans
- Harper Baker-Lands
Dayton
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by the Flyers:
- Jahari Miller
- Miguel Orbe
- Amarion Smith-Holley
- Brady Pettigrew
- Xavier Jones
- Dylan Zeigler
- Lleyton Leonard
- Aaron Britt Jr.
- Mustafa Mohamed
Ohio State
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by the Buckeyes:
- Jahari Miller
- C.J. Reef
- Dylan Zeigler
- Jaydn Jenkins
- Deng Ngor
- Cole Kelly
- Brady Pettigrew
- Tai Bell
- Mason Grivna
- Godson Okokoh
- Bryce Irby
Indiana
Offer Tracker: These players have been offered by the Hoosiers!
- Jeremy Jenkins Jr.,
- Jack Kohnen
- Josh Lindsay
- Colton Hiller
- Marcus Curry Jr.
- Gabe Nesmith
- Michai White
- King Gibson
- Chase Lumpkin
- Mason Grivna
- Tann Kamagate
- Brady Pettigrew
- Lewis Uvwo
- Marcus Boyd
- Draydne McDaniel
- Dylan Betts
- Logan Chastyk
- Keaton Murry
- Bama Touray
- Anthony Brown
- JJ Sati-Grier
- William Brunson
- Bob Da Silva
- Micah Mohler
Of note for IU, they are offering a wide variety of players across all years of high school right now, which is why their list is so long!