The month of March might have come to a close, but the madness of the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament is marching into April with the Final Four in Phoenix rapidly approaching.

The remaining four teams — No. 1 UConn, No. 1 UCLA, No. 1 Texas and No. 1 South Carolina — have been powered to the Final Four by superstar talent. We’re talking about UConn’s Sarah Strong, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Texas’ Madison Booker and South Carolina’s Raven Johnson.

But the national title might come down to an unsung hero that steps up when the lights are the brightest. Here’s a look at a player from each team that must make an impact when it matters most for their team to hoist a trophy:

Agot Makeer, South Carolina

South Carolina is back in the Final Four for the sixth consecutive year, but the key to defeating the reigning champion UConn Huskies might come down to an 18-year-old freshman coming off the bench. Agot Makeer, a 6-foot guard from Canada, was limited to 5.8 points across 26 games this season after dealing with various injuries. But Makeer has made an impact during March Madness and quickly became “a vital piece to our success,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said.

Makeer scored double-digit points off the bench in four consecutive tournament games, including a career-high 18 points in No. 1 South Carolina’s Elite 8 rout of No. 3 TCU. She’s averaging 14.8 points in the tournament, nearly tripling her scoring average, while shooting an efficient 55.6% from the field. “I’m in a flow right now,” said Makeer, who only had three double-digit games all season heading into the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

It’s more than just her offense. Makeer uses her length and size to be a disruptive defender and is averaging nearly three steals in March Madness.

Blanca Quiñonez, UConn

UConn’s depth has been its strength all season long, with Sarah Strong confidently stating, “No other team has a bench like us.” Freshman Blanca Quiñonez has been the biggest X-factor coming off the bench. Quiñonez scored 20 points in UConn’s Elite 8 win over No. 6 Notre Dame, where she knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers in the win. The 6-foot-2 guard from Ecuador has reached double-digit scoring in four consecutive March Madness games and is shooting 9-of-19 (47.4%) from deep.

Quiñonez also grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, highlighting her ability to impact the game in many different ways. UConn has won 54 games in a row and will be pivotal to extend the win streak as defenses zero in on Sarah Stong and Azzi Fudd.

Angela Dugalić, UCLA

Angela Dugalić opted to come off the bench and the decision has paid dividends for both the Bruins and the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Sixth Player of the Year. Dugalić is a 6-foot-4 forward, but has the skillset of a guard. She creates instant mismatches, spreads the floor and brings a different level of intensity that “our team was really feeding off of,” head coach Cori Close said after UCLA’s Elite 8 comeback win over No. 3 Duke. Dugalić finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the win, making her third double-digit game in March Madness. She’s also posted two double-doubles in the Round of 64 and Sweet 16. UCLA is one win away from its first national championship appearance in program history.

Kyla Oldacre, Texas

“You win with guard play, but you win championships with guard play and size,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer. That statement is especially true heading into the Final Four. Schaefer will deploy Kyla Oldacre to contain UCLA’s 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts in the paint. Oldacre has come off the bench for Texas, but has averaged over twenty minutes through the tournament. The 6-foot-6 center is coming off a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in Texas’ Elite 8 blowout of No. 2 Michigan, her sixth double-double of the season.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

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The final cases have been made for the 2026 World Cup. Now, Mauricio Pochettino will have to decide.

The U.S. men’s national team made its closing arguments to Pochettino during the March window, which ended with a 5-2 loss to Belgium and a 2-0 reverse against Portugal.

Though the USMNT was ultimately humbled by two top-10 teams, there were some moments of optimism as several players boosted their stock. There were, of course, others who didn’t fare as well.

Now Pochettino will monitor form and fitness over the next two months, which will culminate in his World Cup roster being announced on May 26.

Below are the 26 players we see Pochettino naming for his World Cup roster:

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Goalkeepers: Matt Freese, Patrick Schulte, Matt Turner

In the mix: Chris Brady, Diego Kochen, Roman Celentano, Jonathan Klinsmann, Zack Steffen

Pochettino raised some eyebrows when he gave Turner the start against Belgium after Freese had started the previous 12 matches. Turner performed admirably, making a few strong saves, but wasn’t flawless — particularly on Belgium’s opener.

Though Pochettino declared there was an “open competition” at goalkeeper ahead of the Portugal game, he gave Freese the start and the New York City FC goalkeeper did well enough to presumably retain his place.

The battle for the third goalkeeper spot seems wide open, with Schulte, Celentano and Brady the most likely candidates.

Defenders: Max Arfsten, Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty

In the mix: Joe Scally, Kristoffer Lund, Tristan Blackmon, Walker Zimmerman, Noahkai Banks, John Tolkin

The USMNT back line is in way more flux than Pochettino would like this close to the World Cup. Only Richards seems assured of a starting role. Ream is still the favorite to start at left center back next to him (assuming Pochettino sticks with a back three), but is far from a sure thing at age 38 and after some uneven displays.

The right center back role is also up in the air. Miles Robinson may have entered March slightly ahead but couldn’t play because of injury. Freeman and McKenzie are also candidates.

The big question mark is Banks, who looks to have the quality to start for the USMNT right now — even at age 19. But after he turned down a March call-up and his potential first USMNT cap, it’s hard to see him on the World Cup squad right now.

Dest is another player in doubt due to an injury that has him on track to recover right around the time Pochettino will name his World Cup roster. Any setback would spell the end of his hopes and open the door for Scally to make the team.

Trusty may have played his way onto the squad with his display against Portugal. With so much uncertainty, the Celtic man could even be a candidate to displace Ream in the starting lineup.

Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Diego Luna, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman

In the mix: Yunus Musah, Cristian Roldan, Aidan Morris, Gianluca Busio, Jack McGlynn, Luca de la Torre, Sean Zawadzki, Timmy Tillman

There is fierce competition in central midfield, which will inevitably result in some deserving players missing out. Pochettino said last week he was “suffering two months in advance” when thinking about picking his midfield spots.

Adams, McKennie and Tillman seem like the only real locks here, and all three appear to be strong bets to start multiple games at the World Cup.

In defensive midfield, Tessmann looks like a safe bet due to his strong season at Lyon and his ability to play center back. It would be surprising, but not shocking, to see him play in the back line at the World Cup.

Behind him, Cardoso, Roldan and Berhalter may be in a battle for two spots. Cardoso played well against Belgium before departing due to a minor injury. If he stays fit and in form with Atlético Madrid, it’s hard to see him being left off — despite an unimpressive track record with the USMNT.

That leaves two Pochettino favorites, Roldan and Berhalter, fighting for one spot. There isn’t much to separate them, but we’ll give Berhalter the slight edge as he enjoyed more playing time in March and is a set-piece threat.

Behind Tillman, Reyna and Luna could both get the nod — or they could be battling for one spot at the No. 10.

Pochettino didn’t give Reyna much playing time in March but his presence on the roster, in the midst of a period with almost no club playing time, suggests he’s got an inside track on a World Cup spot if healthy.

Luna has endeared himself to Pochettino and even though he missed the March window with injury, the Real Salt Lake man should have just enough to make this squad.

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson, Patrick Agyemang, Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah

In the mix: Josh Sargent, Alex Zendejas, Haji Wright

Pulisic, Weah and Balogun are the three locks and most likely to form the team’s starting front line against Paraguay on June 12. Weah does have the ability to shift back and play as more of a wingback, but the Marseille man is more effective in an advanced role.

Behind that trio, it gets very tight. Pepi, Agyemang and Wright may be battling for two spots. Pochettino doesn’t appear to have much faith in Pepi, who has been prolific at the club level but — partially due to injury — has barely featured under the Argentine. Even a healthy Pepi barely saw the field in March, putting his World Cup spot in doubt.

Wright and Agyemang have both had excellent seasons in the Championship, but the former missed March camp with injury while the latter played in both games — scoring against Belgium. We would give Agyemang the slight edge here, as his large frame makes him the kind of late-game specialist the U.S. could utilize if chasing a goal.

The battle between Aaronson and Zendejas is also tight. Aaronson has failed to do much under Pochettino but is having a solid campaign at Leeds. Zendejas continues to shine at Club América but wasn’t called in for the March roster.

In the end we’ll give Aaronson the nod due to his inclusion over Zendejas in March. Another possible curveball here would be Wright making the squad over both of them due to his ability to play both as a striker and a winger.

USMNT World Cup roster projection

Goalkeepers (3): Matt Freese, Patrick Schulte, Matt Turner

Defenders (9): Max Arfsten, Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty

Midfielders (8): Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Diego Luna, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman

Forwards (6): Brenden Aaronson, Patrick Agyemang, Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah

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PHOENIX — Paige Bueckers returned to Team USA basketball camp on Wednesday, April 1, weeks after competing with the U.S. women’s national team at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

There was uncertainty of whether there would even be a 2026 WNBA season the last time Team USA gathered in early March, but players are “very excited” to have a new WNBA CBA in place as they practiced in Phoenix this weekend ahead of the Women’s NCAA Tournament Final Four.

“I think as players, we all wanted to play,” Bueckers said on Wednesday. “But there was a mix of standing on what we believed in and what we thought people before us have built for us to deserve and have to earned for us.”

Bueckers said revenue sharing and salary increases were the main priorities to her personally, in addition to housing provisions and retirement pay for the players that laid the groundwork before her.

“From the way that the game is expanded, we want our earnings to expand as well. So we’re really happy and excited with the way things turned out and we’re really, really glad that we stood on,” Bueckers said. “Looking forward to the future, that’s what we want for the next generation and the next classes coming up, that the game is considerably built and we get what we deserve from that.”

With the new WNBA CBA officially in place, the league’s 30th season can move forward with its condensed schedule ahead of the season tip-off on May 8. The expansion draft will be held on Friday, April 3, followed by the free agency window and WNBA draft.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu expects “some really big waves” in free agency, although it won’t be coming from her or Breanna Stewart. Ionescu said she plans to return to New York, stating she’s “where I’m supposed to be.” Stewart announced on a podcast that she’s also returning to the Liberty.

“I mean we’re in a really good spot because we have our core coming back and I feel like that’s something that we can kind of hang our hats on,” Ionescu said. “We obviously have a new coaching staff that’s coming in, which is going to be a lot of new change… Continuing to add new pieces is going to be really exciting as well to see how we can continue to get back to a championship team.”

As for other teams, Ionescu said she expects free agency to be “quick hitting” on the tight window.

“I think it’s going to be difficult because you’re kind of forcing players and teams to make decisions really quickly,” Ionescu said. “Obviously GMs and teams have been doing their homework ahead of time and understanding that they kind of had to prepare for a quick flip in a short amount of time with decisions being made in free agency being such a short window. But I do think we’re going to see a lot of change because I think people are not going to have as much time to sit and think and go talk to teams and visit.”

Ionescu knew a new CBA deal would be struck “at some point,” but noted she’s grateful it was sooner rather than later following “the best offseason of my career.”

“Very thankful from everyone that helped at all angles from the NBA side, (commissioner) Adam Silver to (WNBA commissioner) Cathy (Englebert) and her team to our side at the (WNBPA) players,” Ionescu added. “It really took a village and everyone collectively working towards a common goal, which is to have a season and to give the players what they deserve… I believe now we have a really amazing opportunity to lay down the foundation for the next generation of players to come in and get what they deserve.”

Ionescu said she’s feeling “really healthy” heading into the season.

“Just continuing to find ways that I can get better,” she said. :Obviously a new coaching staff is being able to get with Chris (DeMarco) a few times, work out, understand ways that I’m going to be positioned in the offense and how I can implement that into my training in the off season before we start helps as well. I’d say how much I’ve trained my ability to train, rehab, do everything. This off season has been kind of like none other, and so I’m excited to get out there and start.”

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

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• A 2017 FBI investigation into college basketball corruption led to the arrests and firings of several coaches.
• Many of the coaches implicated in the scandal have since returned to coaching, with several participating in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
• Former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson received a harsher penalty than others and is still effectively barred from college basketball.

On Sept. 26, 2017, the FBI and federal law enforcement authorities set off a massive explosion in college basketball that led to the arrests of several coaches and the eventual suspension or firing of several others.  

The list included then-USC assistant coach Tony Bland, who was arrested that day on bribery-related charges. The fallout from it also ensnared Louisville head coach Rick Pitino (fired in 2017), Arizona head coach Sen Miller (fired in 2021) Kansas head coach Bill Self (suspended in 2022), and LSU head coach Will Wade (fired in 2022).

But those coaches and several others since have been forgiven and even had a comeback party of sorts this month as active coaches in the NCAA Tournament. Wade also just got rehired as head coach at LSU, as if nothing ever happened, serving as a reminder about what really matters in college sports once all the FBI dust settles.

“Some had short exiles and punishments, but when you win, there’s always a spot,” said David Ridpath, a sports business professor at Ohio University.

These March Madness comeback stories (see list below) also raise other big concerns on the eve of the Final Four in Indianapolis, according to observers.

One is whether this crackdown had any lasting purpose or should have happened in the first place. Another relates to former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson, who’s still paying a price for it even after serving 90 days in federal prison.

“It is a continuing, profound injustice,” one of his advocates said recently.

What was illegal then is now generally legal

The FBI investigation and the NCAA rules enforcement cases that followed aimed to crack down on alleged bribes and illegal payments to recruits or their families, which now seems quaint. NCAA rules have since changed to legalize certain payments to players for their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), starting in 2021.

A sports apparel company such as Adidas now can legally pay players directly for their NIL, unlike back then, when an Adidas consultant testified at trial in 2018 that he provided illicit payments to the families of recruits, including recruits for Kansas and Louisville, two Adidas-sponsored schools. Both Louisville and Kansas got punished for it, even though they said they didn’t have knowledge of it.

Kansas spent $10 million over six years fighting the case, which alleged Kansas was using Adidas to entice recruits with money. An Adidas employee and consultant even went to prison for it.

This likely never would have happened under the current rule structure.

“Everything that’s happening (legally now with NIL) is just a microcosm of what’s always been happening,” Richardson told USA TODAY Sports on March 25. “Now we can put a name to it (NIL).”

Meanwhile, not everyone has been allowed to resume their careers like Bland, Pitino and others who took part in March Madness this month. Richardson is still effectively barred from college basketball under a 10-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, even after serving prison time and taking responsibility for the $20,000 bribe prosecutors said he took to steer players toward a certain agent and financial adviser once the players made it to the NBA.

That lingering punishment strikes some as just plain wrong

The Book Richardson case

Richardson, 53, is seeking a federal pardon even though he already served his prison sentence. A federal pardon would not erase the 10-year NCAA penalty that extends to 2030. But it would be a meaningful sign of forgiveness. The application for it was spearheaded by a group at New York University, including clinical professor David Hollander.

“It is a continuing, profound injustice Book Richardson remains under the professional restraint of a 10-year show-cause, given whatever other results you would like to observe have come from that FBI investigation,” Hollander told USA TODAY Sports on March 25. “Excessive isn’t strong enough of a word, because words don’t amount to a human being’s life. That’s what this is about. One person’s entire life has been lopsidedly hammered.”

Four coaches pleaded guilty in 2019 to similar bribery charges: Richardson, Bland, former Auburn assistant Chuck Person and former Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans. Richardson, Person and Evans are out of college basketball with 10-year show-cause penalties. Richardson and Evans both did prison time, not Person or Bland. Bland only got a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA and is back in college basketball on the staff at Kansas.

Under-the-table bribes like those back then since have been disincentivized and replaced by over-the-table business transactions. In addition to allowing players to earn money for their NIL, the NCAA also now allows them to hire agents to manage their NIL earnings while still in college.  

The timing isn’t lost on Richardson, who regrets taking the money and now works in Virginia at The St. James Performance Academy.

“I did 90 days in jail, and I got out in October of 2020,” Richardson said. “(Legalized) NIL happened in 2021.”

More recently, Richardson noticed all those familiar names involved in March Madness this month.

List of March Madness coaches who got punished in scandal

These coaches coached in NCAA Tournament this month after previously being caught in the quagmire stemming from the FBI investigation of 2017:

∎ Tony Bland, now at Kansas, made his first NCAA Tournament appearance since his arrest.

∎ Rick Pitino, now the head coach at St. John’s, recently made his first Sweet 16 appearance since his firing from Louisville.

∎ Will Wade of LSU was caught on an FBI wiretap talking about an “offer” and a “deal” for Javonte Smart, a top recruit who later signed with LSU before NIL was legalized. LSU fired Wade for cause in 2022 after the NCAA accused him of serious recruiting violations. The NCAA’s enforcement arm also hit him with a 10-game suspension and two-year show-cause penalty. He bounced back as coach at McNeese State, then NC State, which he led to the NCAA Tournament this month. He’s now back at LSU, where all has been forgiven. He recently told reporters he’s “trying to follow more rules this time.” He also received a hero’s welcome in Baton Rouge at his re-introductory news conference March 30.

“You never get second chances in life, but we get one here,” Wade said March 30.

∎ Kansas coach Bill Self was suspended four games in 2022 after fighting the Adidas-related allegations for years. He lost in the second round to Pitino and St. John’s on March 22.

∎ Head coach Sean Miller brought Texas to the NCAA Tournament this month after getting fired from Arizona in 2021 and then bouncing back at Xavier. Shortly before his firing, the NCAA charged Arizona with serious recruiting allegations stemming from the FBI case. An FBI wiretap caught Book Richardson telling an aspiring agent that Miller “bought” star player Deandre Ayton. Miller denied it.

∎ Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend was suspended four games along with Self in 2022 and was sitting right next to him in the game vs. St. John’s.

∎ Former Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy was back in the NCAA Tournament this month with Alabama after previously being punished with a two-year show-cause penalty stemming from the FBI investigation. He wasn’t charged with a crime but allegedly accepted payment from a business manager seeking to entice college athletes to sign with that person’s management company.

Richardson said he’s happy for these coaches.

“If they have the opportunity to get back and flourish, I’d love that same opportunity,” Richardson said. “I think I have a lot to give.”

Rick Pitino, Bill Self and the Adidas March Madness game

Amid the backdrop of the FBI case of 2017, a second-round game on March 22 in San Diego stands out in particular.

This was a matchup between two Hall of Fame coaches, nationally televised on CBS — Self and Kansas vs. Pitino at St. John’s. Before the game, Self took a seat next to assistant coach Townsend on his right and Bland down the row to his left.

All wore the Adidas “three stripes” logo on their sleeves. Their star freshman guard, Darryn Peterson, has been paid by Adidas, too, and is now allowed to do so openly, unlike players before 2021.

On the other side of the court, Pitino’s team also was outfitted in Adidas uniforms after reaching a sponsorship deal with the company last year.

Adidas-sponsored Peterson scored 21 points, but Adidas-sponsored St. John’s won the game with a buzzer-beating layup, 67-65.

In light of all of this, what impact did this FBI case really have?

This game came just a handful of years after Adidas representatives went to prison and some of those coaches were punished in a case involving alleged Adidas inducements to recruits.

‘It’s really time to free this man’

Richardson is still feeling the impact of it at least.

“I’ve been to hell and back,” he said.  And he never snitched on anybody, which could have helped him get a lighter sentence.

“It all could have been avoided if I just told what everyone thought I knew,” Richardson said.

The NCAA and U.S. Justice Department didn’t return messages seeking comment. Meanwhile, the contrast between Richardson and other active coaches hasn’t gone unnoticed in college basketball.

“I am very happy for my friends, Will Wade and Sean Miller,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said on social media recently. “Not being sarcastic. But I’ve had discussions with the NCAA about Book Richardson & it’s really time to free this man. His penalty is very, very, very unfair”

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

PHOENIX — OK, whoever wrote this Hollywood script has a merciless sense of humor.

Come on, this was supposed to be the first chapter of Justin Verlander’s glorious return, his first start in a Detroit Tigers uniform in 3,135 days, at the age of 43 years and 38 days.

Instead, it was a living nightmare Monday night for the future Hall of Famer and the oldest athlete in major North American team sports.

Final score: Arizona Diamondbacks 9, Tigers 6.

Verlander took the loss, and lasted just 3 ⅔ innings, giving up six hits, five earned runs and two walks with one strikeout.

It took Verlander 20 pitches to record his first out.

It was 2-0 after the first four batters.

It was 5-0 after the first 11 batters.

The Diamondbacks had a homer, triple, double and three singles by the third inning. All-Star outfielder Corbin Carroll had a triple, homer and four RBIs by the second inning, becoming only the second player to accomplish the feat in an entire game against Verlander, joining Denard Span.

The Diamondbacks scorched six balls over 100 mph the first two innings, and Verlander didn’t produce a single strikeout until the 15^th batter he faced. He recorded only six swings and misses in his 80-pitch outing.

“It sucks, not the way I obviously wanted it to go,” Verlander said, “which is disappointing for myself more than anybody else in the world. … You spend all spring training working on stuff, feel OK, and then the first game of the season felt like nothing was right. …

“They had way too many good swings on most of my pitches. I need to be better.”

It was a season debut that Verlander hopes to flush from his memory as quickly as possible, certainly before his next scheduled start Sunday, April 5, in a nationally televised game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Detroit’s Comerica Park.

Still, despite the ugliness, Verlander refused to give in. He finished his outing by retiring seven of the final nine batters he faced, leaving after 80 pitches. He stayed in the dugout for awhile after he was pulled from the game, standing next to Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, lamenting his performance.

“I got some outs, but I wouldn’t consider it progress,” Verlander said. “I think it was much of the same, to be honest.”

It’s premature, and perhaps foolish for anyone to start panicking over Verlander. It was just one start against one of the league’s finest hitting teams in Arizona. Verlander got off to a slow start last season for the San Francisco Giants, too, going 0-7 with a 4.70 ERA in the first half compared to 4-4 with a 2.99 ERA the second half.

“I don’t think what I did today is sustainable,” he said. “If that’s the way hitters are going to react against me, I need to be sharper than that.”

Verlander already has ideas swirling in his head before his next start, knowing he has three Cy Young awards and 266 victories for a reason. He wouldn’t have come back if he thought he’d be a detriment. He knows he can still be successful, and plans to prove it.

“Obviously, he’s thinking about some different things, pitch mechanics, or whatever it may be.” Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler said. “He’s a perfectionist, and he’s one of the best to ever do it. So it’s kind of cool to see the constant drive that he has. It’s cool that each game he’s trying to get better and get better.”

The Tigers’ confidence in Verlander refuses to wane, even after a spring in which he yielded a 6.75 ERA, giving up seven homers in 14 ⅔ innings. Tigers pitchers can’t stop raving about what he has meant to their staff, and are convinced vintage Verlander will surface again.

“It’s been a ton of fun to be with him,” two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal tells USA TODAY Sports. “Just his eagerness to want to get better and his preparation, not that I didn’t expect it, it’s just like to a level that I didn’t really know was possible.

“He’s invested in everything going on. That’s something I can easily pick up on and apply to my game the attention to detail he is on every single specific thing. It’s really impressive. He’s 43 years old and still locked in. He’s locked in for my bullpens. He’s locked in for the other guys’ bullpens. He’s locked in on days I pitch on what I’m doing.

“It’s really cool.”

The Tigers didn’t sign Verlander to a one-year, $13 million contract for sentimental purposes. They know he can be a solid No. 4 starter, replacing Reese Olson, who underwent labrum surgery. Yet, they also see the impact he makes behind the scenes, what he means to this passionate fanbase, and believe he can take them where they haven’t gone in 42 years:

The World Series championship.

“It definitely got me excited when I heard Justin was coming back here,” said Tigers closer Kenley Jansen, who’s just 23 saves shy of 500 and a ticket to Cooperstown. “He’s definitely a Detroit legend, a first ballot Hall of Famer. I can only imagine what it does for the fans.

“But for us, guys like me, my first year in Detroit, it’s definitely fired me up.”

Hinch vividly remembers Verlander walking through the Houston Astros clubhouse doors for the first time after being traded in 2017, in between games of a doubleheader, and just what his presence meant to the entire team.

Two months later, the Astros were celebrating their first World Series championship with Verlander going 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five regular-season starts, and 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA in the postseason.

“When he walked through the doors,” Hinch said, “is when I first felt the magnitude of what it was like to have Justin Verlander on your team, and how he raises everyone’s play around him. He’s been incredible ever since …

“He’s fit in extremely well with this club, the personality of this team and the preparation surrounding this team.”

While Verlander’s parents and family were at the game Monday, it will be a whole different vibe in his next start in Detroit. It’s a day Tigers fans have been anticipating since he signed, with Scott Harris, Tigers president of baseball operations, receiving more positive feedback than any move he made since joining the team.

“He’s been a huge boost,” Harris said. “In addition to what he can do on the field, off the field, the leadership and the wisdom that he shares with this young group is incredible. There are players asking him questions all the time about how he would approach certain situations. But the thing that I was struck by is how many of our players take notice of his work and how he approaches things.

“When he throws a bullpen, he is obsessed with every detail on every single pitch. That’s just a habit and a practice that has served him well in his career. He’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer because of the talent, but also like the way he approaches the game and how prepared he is. It’s already rubbing off on our young guys.”

Verlander, who made 380 starts for the Tigers before being traded Aug. 31, 2017, to the Astros, joins Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only pitchers in baseball history to make the first 380 starts of their career for one team, leave and start at least 175 games elsewhere, and then return to his original team.

It’s reminiscent of Hall of Famer Tom Seaver returning to the New York Mets after making 360 starts and leaving, and Hall of Famer Tom Glavine who returned to Atlanta after making 505 starts, departing as a free agent, and returning.

“I think the home start is really what will hit our guys because of the fan reaction,” Hinch said, “the Old English D being on his chest will hit a little bit different.”

Said Skubal: “That one Sunday is going to be pretty special. I know it’s scheduled to rain, but I expect 40,000. It’s going to be like a playoff environment.”

Maybe, the emotional return will bring back a vintage Verlander, too.

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino is insistent Iran will play at the World Cup despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“We have only one plan for this team. Iran has qualified for the World Cup, and will play in the tournament,” Infantino told Iranian media their 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Turkey on Tuesday. “Personally, I will do ​whatever I can to make sure everything is in order.”

Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup. Iran is scheduled to play their matches in Los Angeles and Seattle against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G.

However, Iran would prefer to relocate its matches to Mexico, citing the United States’ bombing campaign alongside the Israeli military across the region since Feb 28.

President Donald Trump’s recently said Iran would be welcome at the World Cup, while stating: “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

“We want them to play; they are going to play in the World Cup. There are no Plans B or C or D – Plan A is the only plan,” Infantino said in an appearance on Univision.

“We live in a complex geopolitical situation… but our work is to unite. We know it is a complicated situation, but we will work to be sure that Iran plays in this World Cup in the best conditions.”

While moving match venues may be out of the question, Infantino seemingly suggested Iran could hold its World Cup training sessions outside of the U.S.

“From now until the World Cup, I will do whatever I can to support the Iran national team,” Infantino told Iranian media. “If you want to organize a training camp or ⁠if ​there is any matter related to activities outside the ​country, whatever it is, I will help. Whenever you want, please stay in contact. I am at your service and ​will help with anything you need.”