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.

Notes From Pitt-Georgetown

On Tuesday night, I attended probably my final Pitt-Georgetown game at the Verizon Center. Although Pitt may face Maryland in College Park next year when the teams overlap in the ACC for one season, unless George Washington, George Mason or American join the ACC, I may not see Pitt basketball in the DC area for many years. Therefore, let’s focus on the positive: Pitt-73 Georgetown-45

You can read all about the game on The Washington Post, ESPN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pitt Blather, Cardiac Hill, Casual Hoya and probably dozens of other places. Instead, I’m going to focus on some of the off the court stuff.

- A 9:00 game on a Tuesday night is a terrible time for a college basketball game, especially when the game takes place at an off-campus facility. I think I’ve attended five Pitt-Georgetown games at the Verizon Center, and this game had the smallest attendance by far.

- Speaking of the Verizon Center, what are the logistics for Georgetown students and staff getting from campus to the arena? It seems like there would always be traffic and it takes a significant effort to attend most games. How long does it take to get back to campus if you want to leave early? (For example, the student section cleared out with about 5-6 minutes left in the game.)

- Alexander Ovechkin was in attendance apparently waiting until the game was over so he could skate at the Verizon Center ice again. Unfortunately, Maria Kirilenko was not there. (There are much more provocative photos of Kirilenko on the internet, but this is a family-friendly blog - at least today - so enjoy this picture of the tennis star.)

- Washington Wizards rookie Bradley Beal was also in attendance. He is younger than just about every player on Pitt and Georgetown.

- At halftime, a female student hit a three-pointer to win free Lasik surgery. That may have been the loudest noise from the Georgetown crowd all night. After making the shot, the excited announcer screamed that "there was no doubt about it." I hope he had to pay royalties to Lanny Frattare.

- Living Social had an amazing deal where upper-deck tickets were only $12. Unfortunately, I'm now receiving three e-mails a day from Living Social.

- Being in the arena, I had no idea what happened at the end of the first half. I saw Tray Woodall lying on his back on the court and another Pitt player clearly fouled in what appeared to be just before the buzzer. Both teams went to the locker rooms while the refs looked at the video monitors for several minutes. I didn’t find out what happened until the day after the game.

- With about 5 minutes left in the first half, I noticed that Talib Zanna had no points. He scored 8 points over the next 4+ minutes. I need to notice stuff like this more often.

- Dante Taylor provided a huge spark (at least in my mind and based on this picture used on every website) for Pitt with an impressive dunk and then a bucket and a made foul shot fairly early in the game. I really feel like Taylor is going to play an important role in some Pitt victories at some point this season.

Always nice to celebrate a Pitt win in DC with plenty of Pitt fans! Go Pitt!

Happy Chanukah From The Houston Rockets (Friday Video)

Growing up in Pittsburgh, I never had a favorite NBA team. I loved watching Pitt college basketball (especially the Sean Miller, Demetreus Gore, Jason Matthews, Charles Smith & Jerome Lane days), but as far as the NBA, I only seem to remember seeing the Lakers-Celtics games and later the Detroit Bad Boys and Michael Jordan's Bulls. Therefore, I really don't have a favorite NBA team.

That changes today. Go Houston Rockets (simply for making this video)!

Random Ramblings

* In reading baby books, one important aspect of being an expectant father is prenatal communication. This specifically means talking to my future child (is this a proper term?). I haven’t truly done this because I feel ridiculous talking to my wife’s stomach. I’ve somewhat made an agreement with myself, which I may very well break, that I’m going to wait until I feel my child’s kick to start my conversations. At that point, I probably won’t shut up talking about my day, what it means to be a Steelers fan, the joys of California Tortilla, etc.

* For the first time since my junior year in college, I am growing a beard. I haven't shaved since Christmas Eve, and I have to admit that my beard looks good. It probably won't last long, but in the meantime, I look like a young Don Johnson!


(Don or Sean?)

* I learned last weekend that I’m pretty good at Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I dominated the vocals of Styx’s Renegade, Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar On Me and Muse’s Uprising.

* If you live in the DC area and have younger kids, I highly recommend attending the Frostival taking place at the Dulles Expo & Conference Center on December 30th through January 2nd.

* Pitt’s basketball team looked really good against soon-to-be formerly #4-ranked UConn on Monday night. I’m not sure if this is the year that Pitt finally reaches the Final Four, but at a minimum, they’ll get 25 wins and be fun to watch.

* When we first moved to Northern Virginia, we were friendly with a couple in which the wife worked on weekends as a meteorologist for a local news station. They moved to Boston several years ago, and I hadn't heard from them since. On Monday, I saw her on Good Morning America filling in for the regulary guy. Apparently, she's now a full-time meteorologist at an ABC affiliate in a major US city and big enough that GMA wanted her. Good for her! Nice person.

* Speaking of meteorologists, I don't expect the guy on the NBC station in Jacksonville to appear on GMA. The station interrupted Meet The Press to announce that there were flurries spotted in the Jacksonville area. He essentially said, "Although snow is not sticking, YOU SHOULD TOTALLY FREAK OUT BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A SNOW SIGHTING IN FLORIDA. PANIC PEOPLE! PANIC!" (or something like that.)

Ben Howland & Jamie Dixon

If you live in Western Pennsylvania or follow college basketball, here are a few things you are going to hear a lot over the next few days:

- UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland used to coach at Pitt.

- Pitt’s basketball coach, Jamie Dixon, was an assistant of Ben Howland.

- Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland are good friends.

- Ben Howland’s daughter, Meredith, attends Pitt and stayed with the Dixon family at some point.

- The Post-Gazette’s Shelly Anderson is a visionary (read the last two sentences).

- Jerome Bettis is from Detroit. Oops, that is a flashback from something I heard a lot last year.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh will meet in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt-Georgetown Notes

I could write about the specifics of today’s Pitt-Georgetown basketball game like how Pitt shot 31% (25% from three) and only 50% from the free throw line or how Georgetown forward Jeff Green played great the last few minutes. Instead, I feel like writing about the random things people could not see from watching the game on TV.

- I thought it was nice of the folks at the Verizon Center to show on the scoreboard the top five free throw shooters…for West Virginia.

- The scoreboard also showed Georgetown center Roy Hibbert as 7 feet 2 inches and weighing 178 pounds. There is no way someone who is 7’2” and playing Big East basketball is 178 pounds.

- The highlight of the day came during halftime. A doctor (at least I think he was a doctor) from Fairfax Hospital was part of a presentation about organ donations. At the end of his speech, he yelled GO PITT! The crowd was surprised because that really came out of no where. Naturally, the Pitt fans (including me) cheered. Moments later, when the doctor was coming off of the court, he got booed by the crowd, especially the Georgetown student section. How can you boo someone talking about organ donations? Well, I understand why. This guy must have been planning to say that for weeks if not months. He seemed to enjoy the booing too as he waved to the students on his way out.

Pitt Loses; Mike Tomlin To Blame

The 5th-ranked Pitt basketball team lost badly at home Monday night to Louisville 66-53. Pitt shot only 3 for 22 from three-point range and committed 19 turnovers. Don’t blame the great game plan and execution by Louisville or the mistakes listed above. Instead, you should blame new Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who was in attendance. Pitt is now 22-3 in games without Mike Tomlin (all three losses against ranked teams) and 0-1 (the loss against an unranked team) in games with Tomlin present. If Ken Whisenhunt was the Steelers coach and at the game, Pitt would have won!