When Pitt men’s basketball head coach Jeff Capel accepted his job in 2018, he was widely labeled a home-run hire. For his first two seasons, he looked the part, which makes his tenure’s sudden turn for the worse all the more surprising and disappointing.

The duo of redshirt senior quarterback Kenny Pickett and sophomore receiver Jordan Addison may get the majority of the buzz, but they can’t do it alone. Senior staff writer Kyle Saxon argues it has been a team effort to reach the levels this offense has reached.

While working hard to revitalize the roster, Capel also expanded his staff with three new coaches joining the program.

The NCAA’s new policy allowing college athletes to profit off of their NIL has already dramatically altered the landscape of collegiate athletics. For Pitt athletes and college athletes in general, the rules opened a vast window of opportunity.

For the thousands of Panther fans at Heinz Field on a Pitt football gameday, there are rarely guarantees about what will happen on the field. But the Pitt faithful can always leave the stadium assured that there will be a great place for a post-game meal.

In front of the first near-full-capacity crowd at the stadium in well over a year, the Panthers handily defeated the Dukes 7-0. 

Brown’s duties will be made easier by the trust and respect that Pitt’s prominent alumni already have for Capel. The next step for Capel and Brown will be to build that same trust with the squad’s current roster.

Over the past year, several Panther teams reached unprecedented heights and are poised to find even more success in the coming season.

After an even more impressive regular season than the year prior, the Penguins sit exactly where they did just 10 months ago –– concerned, confused and eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Islanders, now for the third consecutive season. Their 4-2 first round series loss highlighted the two biggest concerns surrounding the team –– goaltending and age.

The emotions that typically accompany a loss in the national semifinal are shock, disappointment and heartbreak. But for Pitt men’s soccer, these feelings didn’t linger — instead, the notions of progress and optimism prevailed.