2025-2026 Pittsburgh Sports Predictions

For years, I've asked people to share predictions about teams and even elections. For example, before the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates season, I asked for predictions about the overall record of the team, the status of the team's manager (I hope that you're doing well, Derek Shelton!), and who would lead the team in home runs. This is a little different. Today, I asked people for predictions for multiple Pittsburgh-area teams in multiple sports for over a one-year period.

Here are our fabulous participants in these festivities:

Josh: Author of Josh’s World and the reason why I included Penn State questions here. (Bluesky)

Chris Carter: Steelers Reporter and host of North Shore Drive Podcast for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Host of Locked On Steelers too and regular on WPXI. Chris is everywhere and can always be found when there’s a score of 13-9. (Bluesky)

Matt Gajtka: Broadcaster and fitness coach among his multiple roles. (Twitter)

Chris Dokish: Covered Pitt for many years and may know the program better than anyone. (Twitter)

Saxboy: World-traveler, creator of amazing videos, and host of The Saxcast podcast. (Bluesky)

Sean: Founder of Sean’s Ramblings in 2005. Been doing this way too long! (Bluesky)

2025-2026 Steelers

Josh: 10-7. They miss the playoffs

Chris: 11-6, 2nd place AFC North, lose AFC championship game

Matt: 11-6 and they win a Wild Card playoff game, before falling in the Divisional round. I think Rodgers has one last solid season and Pittsburgh will be the beneficiary of it. They are not Super Bowl caliber, but we can finally stop talking about the playoff win drought. 

Chris D.: The defense should be excellent, and if it's not there's going to be a lot of explaining that they'll need to do. The offense, with Aaron Rodgers, should at least be average, which should improve them to 11-6, and maybe finally a first round win. Also, I think Payton Wilson is going to become a star this season.

Saxboy: 9–8, miss playoffs mid draft pick, rinse and repeat. 

Sean: Makes the playoff and win a first-round game.

2025-2026 Penguins

Josh: Yikes, I have not followed the off-season at all. I will say 44 wins, with a first round playoff win

Chris: Miss playoffs again

Matt: 87 points and a couple of wins out of the playoffs. This isn't truly a 'tanking' roster and Malkin gives it an extra boost with a final-season push. But, there's not enough here to put them in the top half of the NHL. At least one more year with the also-rans.

Chris D.: It's hard to say what's in store for them at the moment. They're finally starting to ramp up their rebuild, and if they do that by trading some of their better veterans, then they'll almost definitely have a worse season than this past year. As the roster looks now, they're not really bad, but they may get to that point if they make those trades.

Saxboy: Tank season successfully executed, high draft pick, draft 18 year old kid from Ontario

Sean: Finishes about 10 points out of the playoffs. Team trades Erik Karlsson during the season and Letang and/or Malkin retire after the season.

2025 Pitt Football

Josh: 6-6. Then a loss in a bowl game

Chris: 8-4 regular season, decent bowl game

Matt: 8-4 and they beat West Virginia as part of a 3-0 start. After that ...

Chris D.: They have two All-Americans in Desmond Reid and Kyle Louis, a returning offensive coordinator, the returning starting quarterback in Eli Holstein, who looked like an All-American at the beginning of the season, skill players that now fit the system, a veteran offensive line, and a potentially excellent defense. They flopped the last two seasons, but on paper, they should be a 9-win top 25 team. But it's hard to give them the benefit of the doubt because of how the last two seasons went. I don't predict records including a bowl because those are total crapshoots now, so I'll say an 8-4 regular season record. Anything less is a failure, and I'm not sure with all that they have that 8-4 wouldn't even be a little disappointing. The only other teams that have two All-Americans are elite programs. Like it usually works with Pitt, and especially Narduzzi, it will come down to how well the quarterback does.

Saxboy: 9-3, would love that. Holstein is gonna do his thing.

Sean: 8-4 and a bowl win at either the Go Bowling Military Bowl in DC or the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

2025 Penn State Football

Josh: 12-0, National Champs!

Chris: 10-2, College Football Playoffs make Final Four

Matt: One-loss national champions. Don't know much about college football, so why not.

Chris D.: On paper, there may not be a more talented team in the country, but James Franklin has a way of being out coached. Until he shows that he can coach better than his opponents, I have to assume that he'll come up short again.

Saxboy: 11-1, lose Natty 

Sean: Loses to Ohio State in conference play and then in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Makes Josh sad.

2025 Pitt Men’s Soccer

Josh: Ummm, they win the ACC

Chris: sweet 16

Matt: A trip to the NCAA tournament again, and a berth in the national quarterfinals.

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Makes the NCAA tournament but loses in the second round.

2025 Pitt Women’s Volleyball

Josh: Final Four

Chris: National championship loss

Matt: Another tourney trip, but this time they fall out before the final four.

Chris D.: The best program at Pitt over the last few years, but until they win a championship, they're going to be looked at always coming up short when it counts the most. That sounds harsh, but that's what comes with being No. 1 for most of the year, and also having the best player in the country in Olivia Babcock. Pitt needs a national championship again, and hopefully this is finally the year.

Sean: Not as good as last year. Loses in the national quarterfinals.

2025 Penn State Women’s Volleyball

Josh: Back-to-back National Champs!

Chris: Final Four loss

Matt: Another big year, even if it ends in the national semifinals.

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Trip to the championship, but not back-to-back titles.

2025-2026 Pitt Men’s Basketball

Josh: Slightly better than Penn State men's basketball

Chris: Bubble team just miss NCAA Tournament with 21 or so wins.

Matt: Let's call it a winning season, but a .500 season in the ACC and not enough to make the tourney.

Chris D.: Jeff Capel is very good at accumulating talent (from high school, the portal, and internationally), but I don't think he's a good enough coach for his team to be better than their talent. And the talent this year is not among the best in the ACC. I don't think they'll be bad, but I don't see a tournament run either. I would guess that they'll have somewhere around 16-18 wins. On the other hand, nobody thought a team of Nelly Cummings, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson, and Greg Elliott would make the tournament a year after the Panthers were 11-21. Probable starters Damarco Minor, Dishon Jackson, and Cam Corhen are solid, but not game changers, so if the team performs better than expected, they'll have to have big seasons from at least three of Beebah Cummings, Omari Witherspoon, Roman Siulepa, and Barry Dunning, Jr., but that may be asking a lot.

Saxboy: NCAA tournament berth by play in game. L in that

Sean: For no reason other than being a homer, the team makes the NCAA tournament and advances to the round of 32.

2026 Pirates

Josh: 74 wins

Chris: Losing record, no playoffs

Matt: 82-80. I figure they almost have to be better. It'll be another banner year for Skenes and we start to see some supplementation from the farm. I have a hard time saying they'll be legit playoff contenders, though, even in an era of three wild cards per league.

Chris D.: Not to be dramatic, but I honestly see no hope as long as Bob Nutting is the owner. They are both cheap and incompetent, and that's a deadly combination. They have the best pitcher in baseball, and the top prospect in the minors- one a superstar, and one on the verge of being a superstar- and there still feels like there's no hope because Nutting simply doesn't care if they win or not. He just wants the money.

Saxboy: I can’t

Sean: The team finally either trades for a good hitter or signs a free agent hitter under 32 and the team finishes over .500 and competes for a Wild Card spot.

Will any 2025-2026 Robert Morris or Duquesne men’s or women’s basketball team make the NCAA tournament?

Josh: Yes

Chris: No on RMU/Duquesne

Matt: I'll go ahead and say the RMU men's hoopsters make the tournament again. They've gotten in a nice groove in the Horizon League. 

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Not this season.

Will any player on any team win an award? (If yes, who and what?)

Josh: Skenes-Cy Young

Chris: Jalen Ramsey DPOY

Matt: Rodgers gets votes for Comeback Player of the Year, and a freshly-engaged Skenes wins the NL Cy Young in '26. Dan Muse gets some support for the Jack Adams.

Chris D.: I think Paul Skenes is pretty much guaranteed to be the National League Cy Young Award winner.

Saxboy: Bad decision of the year award: saxboybilly18 - for going to the Seattle-Kansas City-Minneapolis

Sean: Olivia Babcock wins national player of the year in volleyball. She’s Pittsburgh’s best athlete not named Skenes or Crosby!

Please share any other predictions here (ex. Steelers draft pick, coaches fired, etc.). 

Josh: Steelers trade up to get a QB in the first round. The Pirates do not sign any hitters, aside from their usual reclamation projects

Chris: Steelers pick LaNorris Sellers first round in 2026 NFL Draft

Matt: The Penguins have a few lottery balls in the hopper, but there's no Gavin McKenna lifeline coming their way!

Chris D.: The Steelers are going to get their next starting quarterback in the first round next year, even if they have to trade up to make sure they get the one they want. And it's going to be a very dramatic scene since it will happen in front of a huge throng of Pittsburghers. Don Kelly won't be retained. If Pitt basketball has a poor season, I would not be surprised, if the buyout isn't high, that they get rid of Jeff Capel. But it would take a really bad season and a very low buyout.

Sean: Snoop Dogg, Pat McAfee, and Bret Michaels will all have some role in the NFL draft in Pittsburgh.

Finally, will Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne get engaged before the end of the 2026 MLB season?

Josh: No, they get engaged at Taylor and Travis' wedding

Chris: No comment on Skenes/Dunne LOL

Seems like Matt answered this question above with a yes!
 
Chris D.: No. He's too busy dominating.
 
Sean: Yes!

Please feel free to give your own predictions in the comments section below, and we'll see how we did at the end of 2026!

Photos by the incredible Dave DiCello, the Pittsburgh Panthers website, Ethan Shulman of The Pitt News, and Roe Ethridge of GQ.

Did Former Penn State Basketball Coach Know About Sandusky?

In May of this year, Penn State men’s basketball coach Ed DeChellis made the stunning decision to leave his alma mater coming off of a NCAA Tournament appearance to go to the U.S. Naval Academy, a team that hasn’t made the tournament since 1987. At the time, the reasoning behind DeChellis leaving a Big Ten school for a position with a $200,000 annual pay cut was about respect, lack of job security and the overall unimportance of the Penn State basketball program.

Until DeChellis was hired, the Bryce Jordan Center sported little in the way of artwork or signage to signal it was the home of Penn State basketball, and only last season were the basketball staffs given significant office space.

Worse, this season the team was forced to move out of the Bryce Jordan Center and practice in the nearby intramural building, in a gym outfitted for volleyball and only retrofitted for basketball. This as the Nittany Lions were jockeying for position for an at-large bid. The reason? Bon Jovi needed the space for rehearsal, and the university was hosting a career fair.



Now, however, does anyone think that DeChellis may have left Penn State because he knew something was going to happen with Jerry Sandusky? Think about it for a second. Has there ever been a case where a Big 10 head coach voluntarily resigned to take the same position several steps lower on the college basketball ladder?

In my opinion, I find it extremely unlikely that DeChellis had any inside information or knowledge of the Sandusky case. Although I don’t really follow Penn State basketball closely (are there still any Crispin brothers on the team?), it sounds like DeChellis left for the reasons above.

After listening to the ridiculous (not in a good way) radio “interview” between Yahoo’s Ryan Lambert and former KDKA sportscaster John Steigerwald in which they threw out speculation that Alex Ovechkin took steroids and that Sidney Crosby is a vampire, I just thought I would share more internet speculation. Call me an irresponsible blogger typing in my basement. Plus, someone on the Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries mentioned the possible DeChellis-Sandusky link, so I’m weeks behind!

Oh, here are DeChellis’ thoughts on the current situation:

DeChellis said he'd reserve judgment on whether former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, charged with 40 counts of abuse, is guilty, or whether Paterno is being fairly criticized for not taking more action when allegations arose.

DeChellis pointed to Sandusky maintaining he's innocent in an NBC interview on Monday. DeChellis also referred to the Duke lacrosse rape case, when players were accused and then charges were dropped.

"I don't know who was right and who was wrong," DeChellis said. "I'm not to judge. I know that Joe has done a lot of great things in his career. He's affected a lot of young men in a positive way and done a lot for the university, and to see his tenure end this way, only time will tell what really went on."

Basically, to paraphrase Bon Jovi, DeChellis is saying that it's his life and it's now or never. He ain't gonna live forever. He just wants to live while he's alive.

For Your Sunday Viewing Pleasure

I don't have much to share today, but these links are definitely worth your time:

Cotter has the biggest Meeting People Is Easy ever! [One for the Other Thumb]

Your opinion of Nickelback may change. Well, probably not. [Carissa Jaded]

I don't understand the Ithaca College football team this year. They had three loses and were blown out against Springfield last week. This week, they crush previously undefeated Alfred 31-10 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. [Ithaca College Bombers]

In honor of Ohio State defeating the overrated Penn State (that amazing non-conference schedule is really paying dividends), enjoy Script Ohio by The Best Damn Band in the Land.



h/t Nichole

Randomness

A lot of thoughts pop into my head, and I'd like to share some of them with you. Alone, these thoughts probably make for a terrible blog post. Together, they hopefully make for a not as terrible blog post.

- Many restaurants sell boneless wings or chicken. Have you ever seen boneful wings or boneful chicken on a menu?

- According to the list of the most popular male baby names born in the U.S. in 2007, Sean finished #76 with 6,216. Jesus finished #77 with 6,203. Sean > Jesus!

- In Saturday's mail, we received not one, not two, but SIX grocery circulars for Safeway. Did the mail carrier have extras and just wanted to give us more or was Safeway's plan to give everyone multiple circulars?

- How many Bring It On movies have there been? There's a new one coming out on DVD this Tuesday. It seems like one or maybe even two would have been enough.

- Why are there massive wildfires in California every year?

- I follow the Pirates more than any other Pittsburgh sports team, but I write about them less than any other team. However, I'll try to make up for that by posting this amazing picture of Andrew McCutchen after hitting a game-winning home run last week.



You want more don't you? Well, how about a few links for your day:

- Art Rooney passed away twenty years ago. Behind the Steel Curtain has a nice tribute.

- Captain Easychord is quitting fantasy sports. Meanwhile, I'm preparing for my second, third and fourth fantasy football drafts. [Corsairs Affairs]

- Indiana University is moving its 2010 home game against Penn State from Bloomington, Indiana to FedEx Field just outside of Washington DC. That kind of takes away any type of home field advantage. [DCist]

- Look for a real-life R2D2 to be off the market if Steve won the MegaMillions on Friday. [Steve Is Alive]

Photo by Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Penn State's Terrible Schedule (or Reason #441 Why Penn State Should Play Pitt)

With the college football season about one month away, I figured that now
would be an appropriate time to write about the 2009 season. Specifically,
I'm writing about Penn State, who is considered to be one of the country's
top teams and a National Championship contender. Let me save everyone the
discussion now. If Penn State is undefeated several months from now, they do
not deserve to be ranked among the top few teams. May I present exhibit A to
the jury? (Yes, I'm playing a lawyer here today).

Penn State has 8 of its 12 games at home including its match against the
other Big 10 favorite, The Ohio State University. In fact, Penn State
doesn't leave State College until their fifth game of the season against
Illinois, and 6 of the team's first 7 games are at home.



Exhibit B: The non-conference schedule.

Penn State's first three games are against Akron (5-7 last season), Syracuse
(3-9) and Temple (5-7). In mid-October, they host Eastern Illinois (5-7), a
1-AA school in the Ohio Valley Conference. Is it even possible to schedule a
weaker non-conference schedule? I guess you can give Penn State credit for
scheduling a Big East team, except that Syracuse finished 2007 at 2-10; 2006
at 4-8; and 2005 at 1-10. Oh, they do have former Duke basketball player
Greg Paulus, so maybe that makes everything okay.

Exhibit C: The non-conference schedule of other top teams.

I know what you're thinking. Yes, Penn State is not facing the top
non-conference competition but they need to focus and prepare for the Big 10
season. Well, let's look at the non-conference schedule of other top
schools:

- USC travels to Columbus to face Ohio State
- Alabama meets Virginia Tech to start the season
- Florida ends the season against its rival Florida State
- Oklahoma begins the season with a home game against BYU, who went 10-2
last season, and later travels to Miami to take on the Hurricanes.
- While the non-conference schedule for Texas is similar to Penn State, at
least they play a road game at Wyoming.
- Finally, Utah, the team that ended the 2008 season at #2, plays at Oregon
and home against Louisville.

I think the title of this post shows where I stand. I am a University of Pittsburgh fan and really want Pitt and Penn State to start facing each other again. Pitt-Penn State used to be one of the best rivalries in college football, but it doesn't exist anymore. Joe Paterno has built an amazing football program and given so much to the university, and I know that this sounds mean, but they probably won't play Pitt again until he dies.



I'm not suggesting that Pitt is currently on the same level as Penn State, but they would be an upgrade over Temple and Eastern Illinois. To look at it from another perspective, if a team from the Big 12, SEC and Penn State all finish the season with one loss, Penn State won't be in the national title game. Based on their schedule, they shouldn't complain.


Update: I started writing this post last week and posted it Monday morning. I just noticed this afternoon that the Post-Gazette wrote a similar article about Penn State's schedule yesterday starting with this:

Penn State is poised to make a run at its second consecutive Big Ten Conference title this season.

But the Nittany Lions' soft non-conference schedule -- ranked second-worst among BCS schools by The Sporting News -- could make it hard for them to contend for the national championship.

We Are; Not Going to Win a National Championship This Year

Despite the Steelers' loss on Sunday, the weekend wasn't a total bust as the University of Pittburgh and Ithaca College football teams both won. In addition, as a Pitt fan, watching the Penn State football team lose on Saturday to the University of Iowa makes me extremely happy. You see, Penn State coach Joe Paterno is to blame for ending one of the greatest rivalries in college football: Pitt vs. Penn State. After 96 meetings between 1893 and 2000, the rivalry ended because Joe Paterno decided that he wanted the schools to play two games at Penn State for every game in Pittsburgh. Rightfully so, Pitt refused. Instead, Penn State chose to play Coastal Carolina, Syracuse and Temple in its non-conference schedule. So the fact that Penn State lost and will not win a national championship during Joe Paterno’s 104th season at State College seems fair to me.

In honor of his team’s accomplishments on Saturday, I encourage you to vote for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. It’s not just because of the win or the fact that he grew up in Western Pennsylvania (Upper St. Clair). Actually, that is enough for me. However, if you’re looking for more reasons, the NCAA recently released the 2008 Graduation Success Rate (“GSR”) for student-athletes. The GSR for Iowa’s football team is 75%, 8 points better than the national average, and is third in the Big Ten Conference behind only Northwestern (92%) and Penn State (78%). Plus, Ferentz has served as the honorary chair of the University of Iowa’s United Way campaign and, along with his wife, recently gave a $400,000 gift to the University’s College of Liberal Arts and University Children’s Hospital.

Did I mention that Ferentz's Iowa team defeated Penn State?