6-23-26 roundup: Pro football, baseball, basketball, auto racing, soccer and rodeo, Legion baseball

By Richard Walker

Coming off its best season in 10 years, the Charlotte Hornets added talent to their roster with a pair of first round picks in Tuesday’s NBA Draft.

The Hornets selected Hannes Steinbach at No. 14 and Christian Anderson at No. 18.

Charlotte went 44-38 last season and won their first postseason game since they went 48-34 and made their last NBA playoff appearance.

Steinbach, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound native of Würzburg, Germany, averaged 18.5 points for Washington with a Big Ten-leading 11.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks in 34.6 minutes per game.

He started in all 30 appearances in his lone season in Seattle and was named All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Freshman as he led the conference in rebounds (353), ranked third in field goal percentage (57.7 FG%) and posted 22 double-doubles.

Steinbach is one of 14 freshmen in NCAA history to record 550 points and 350 rebounds in a season, joining DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Robert Parish among others.

Steinbach’s father, Burkhard, played for Würzburg in Bundesliga, Germany’s domestic professional basketball league, and coached Hannes in the youth ranks. Hannes played for Würzburg himself in 2024-25 and has represented Germany in international competition, helping win the country’s first U18 gold medal at 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.

Anderson, a 6-foot-3, 178-pound native of Atlanta, averaged 18.5 points for Texas Tech along with 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.5 steals in 38.4 minutes per game. He started all 33 games and was named All-Big 12 First Team, a Third-Team All-American and Big 12 Most Improved Player. He led the Big 12 in assists (244) and minutes per game (38.4) and logged a pair of 30-point games in his sophomore season.

His father, Christian Anderson Sr., played basketball at the College of Charleston and Virginia Union and had a 10-year professional career overseas.

Steinbach and Anderson, who both played on Germany’s 2025 19U FIBA World Cup team, will add their talents to a youthful roster stocked with promising players like guards LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and forward Kon Knueppel.

Ball, Miller and Knueppel became the first in NBA history to hit 200 3-pointers in the same season last season, which powered Charlotte from a 13-25 start to a 31-13 finish that gave them a No. 9 seed in the NBA Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

The Hornets’ hot streak also included a pair of double-digit wins over the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks. But their play-in tournament loss at Orlando means Charlotte has missed the postseason for a 10th straight year, a streak tied for the fifth-longest in league history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

Former Burns High and Cherryville Post 100 standout Chris Proctor on Tuesday was named Atlantic League of Professional Baseball player of the week.

A 2015 Burns High graduate who played at Duke and spent four years in the Detroit Tigers’ organization, Proctor is in his fourth year in the ALPB.

Last week, he hit .500 with 14 hits, nine runs and seven RBIs while helping the Gastonia Ghost Peppers sweep Staten Island in a six-game series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legion baseball

Area schedule/results:
x-non division games

Sunday, June 14
Rutherford County vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston) – Rutherford County 8-7, GBraves 5-1

Monday, June 15
Gastonia at Shelby – Shelby 11-2

Tuesday, June 16
Caldwell County at Shelby – Shelby 8-7
Gaston Braves at Hickory – GBraves 4-1
Gastonia at Rutherford County – Rutherford County 7-3
x-Union County at Cherryville – Cherryville 14-11

Wednesday, June 17
Cherryville at Gastonia – Cherryville 13-1 in 5
x-Greenville, S.C. at Shelby – Shelby 11-1 in 6
Hickory vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston) – GBraves 8-7

Thursday, June 18
Cherryville at Caldwell County – suspended with Cville leading 6-3 in bottom 5th
Gaston Braves at Gastonia – GBraves 7-1

Friday, June 19
Burke County at Cherryville – Cherryville 8-0
(North-South tournament at Shelby)
x-Asheville vs. Greenwood, S.C. – Greenwood 5-3
x-Greenwood, S.C. at Shelby – Shelby 7-6

Saturday, June 20
Caldwell County vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston) – Caldwell 7-3
(North-South tournament at Shelby)
x-Cherryville vs. Fort Mill, S.C. – Fort Mill 15-10
x-Asheville vs. Richland, S.C. – Asheville 6-3
x-Asheville vs. Florence, S.C. – Florence 2-1
x-Richland, S.C. at Shelby – Richland 7-6 in 9

Sunday, June 21
(North-South tournament at Shelby)
x-Cherryville vs. Richland, S.C. – Richland 5-3
x-Cherryville vs. Florence, S.C. – Florence 9-7
x-Florence, S.C. at Shelby – Florence 6-4

Monday, June 22
Shelby vs. Gaston Braves (at East Gaston) – Shelby 17-16

Tuesday, June 23
Asheville at Gastonia – Asheville 13-1 in 5, Gastonia 6-4

Cherryville at Rutherford County – Cherryville 11-0 in 5: Collin Chappel threw a three-hit shutout for Cherryville.

Shelby at Caldwell County – Shelby 15-11

Wednesday, June 24
Gastonia at Cherryville
Shelby at Asheville

Thursday, June 25
Gaston Braves at Asheville
Rutherford County at Shelby

Friday, June 26
Burke County at Shelby
Gaston Braves at Cherryville
Gastonia at Hickory

Saturday, June 27
Cherryville at Burke County

Sunday, June 28
Asheville at Cherryville
Gaston Braves at Burke County
Gastonia at Caldwell County
Hickory at Shelby

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

The 2026 Charlotte FC schedule:

(6-6-3 record)
Saturday, Feb. 21 at St. Louis (T 1-1)
Saturday, Feb. 28 at L.A. Galaxy (L 0-3)
Saturday, March 7 Austin (W 3-1)
Saturday, March 14 Miami (T 0-0)
Saturday, March 21 New York Red Bulls (W 6-1)
Saturday, Apr. 4 Philadelphia (W 2-1)
Saturday, Apr. 11 Nashville (L 1-2)
Saturday, Apr. 18 at New York (W 2-1)
Wednesday, Apr. 22 at Orlando (L 1-4)
Saturday, Apr. 25 at Nashville (L 2-4)
Saturday, May 2 at New England (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 9 Cincinnati (T 2-2)
Wednesday, May 13 New York (L 0-1)
Saturday, May 16 Toronto (W 3-1)
Saturday, May 23 New England (W 1-0)
Wednesday, July 22 Atlanta, 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 25 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 1 at Chicago, 8:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 15 Columbus, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Aug. 19 at Toronto, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 22 DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Aug. 29 at Atlanta, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 5 Houston, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Sept. 9 at Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 12 at Cincinnati, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 19 at DC, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Sept. 26 Chicago, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 10 Dallas, 7:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Columbus, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Philadelphia, 2:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 24 at Portland, 10:30 PM
Wednesday, Oct. 28 Montreal, 7:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 31 Orlando, 1:00 PM
Saturday, Nov. 7 at Miami, 4:00 PM

(U.S. Open Cup)
Wednesday, Apr. 15 Charlotte Independence (W 6-0)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex
Tuesday, Apr. 28 Atlanta United FC (L 0-2)
…at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex

 

 

 

 

 

Pro football

Here is the Panthers’ full 2026 schedule:

(preseason)
Aug. 6 – Arizona (at Canton, Ohio), 8 p.m.
Aug. 15 – at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Aug. 21 – at Jacksonville, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 – Houston, 7 p.m.
(regular season)
Sept. 13 – Chicago, 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 – at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 – at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 – Detroit, 8:20 p.m.
Oct. 8-12 – BYE week
Oct. 18 – at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Oct. 25 – Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29 – at Green Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 8 – Denver, 1 p.m.
Nov. 15 – at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 – Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Nov. 30 – at Tampa Bay, 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 6 – at Minnesota, 4:25 p.m.
Dec. 13 – New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 – Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Dec. 24-28 TBA – at Pittsburgh, TBA
Jan. 3 – Seattle, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9-10 TBA – Atlanta, TBA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro baseball

Rochester 10, Charlotte 9: A late Knights’ rally fell just short in the opener of a six-game home series. Charlotte trailed 10-2 after 6 1/2 innings before scoring four in the seventh and three more in the ninth. The second game is at 7:04 p.m. on Wednesday.

Here is the full Charlotte Knights’ 2026 schedule:

(42-34 record, 42-34 1st half, 0-0 2nd half)
-1st half
March 27-29 Durham 3-0 (W 19-2, W 2-1 in 11, W 4-3)
March 31-April 5 at Nashville 1-4 (L 3-7, W 9-3, L 0-4, L 6-7, ppd, L 5-7)
April 7-12 Memphis 3-3 (L 4-9, W 7-3, L 1-4, W 9-8 in 10, L 4-6, W 13-4)
April 14-19 at Jacksonville 2-4 (L 0-3, L 2-3, L 3-5, L 1-4, W 2-0, W 9-4)
April 21-26 Nashville 4-3 (L 1-5, W 9-4, W 3-2 in 10, W 11-9, L 5-12, W 16-6, L 1-5)
April 28-May 3 Gwinnett 3-3 (L 7-10, W 10-9, L 5-9, L 3-4, W 21-1, W 10-9)
May 5-10 at Jacksonville 3-3 (W 5-3, L 6-8, W 16-1, W 8-5, L 5-6, L 1-6)
May 12-17 Norfolk 3-3 (L 6-9, L 8-9, W 4-1, W 4-1, L 10-11, W 15-3)
May 19-24 at Gwinnett 4-2 (W 5-4, W 4-3, L 3-7, W 4-3 in 10, L 1-5, W 3-2)
May 26-31 Jacksonville 3-3 (W 4-0, susp, L 3-6, W 12-5, W 12-4, L 6-15, L 5-6)
June 2-7 at Durham 6-0 (W 6-1, W 18-7, W 11-6, W 4-3, W 7-5, W 12-5)
June 9-14 Oklahoma City 3-3 (L 3-6, L 1-10, W 9-8, W 12-7, L 7-11, W 4-3)
June 16-21 at Buffalo 4-2 (L 5-9, W 5-1, W 4-0, W 10-5, L 2-4, W 5-0)
June 23-25 Rochester 0-1 (L 9-10)
-2nd half
June 26-28 Rochester
June 30-July 5 at Memphis
July 7-12 Nashville
July 17-19 at Durham
July 21-26 Norfolk
July 28-August 2 at Nashville
August 4-9 Durham
August 11-16 at Rochester
August 18-23 at Scranton-WB
August 25-30 Memphis
September 1-6 at Gwinnett
September 8-13 Buffalo
September 15-20 at Norfolk

 

Here is the full Gastonia Ghost Peppers’ 2026 schedule:

(36-19 record, 36-19 1st half, 0-0 2nd half)
-1st half
April 21-23 at High Point 1-2 (W 3-1, L 5-6, L 0-5)
April 24-26 High Point 3-0 (W 4-3, W 18-8, W 9-2)
April 28-May 3 at York 4-2 (W 14-2, ppd, W 2-1, W 5-4, L 4-5, W 10-2, L 3-9)
May 5-10 Southern Maryland 1-5 (L 2-3, L 11-18, L 2-12, L 4-5, W 7-3, L 1-14)
May 12-17 at Long Island 3-3 (L 3-6, L 3-11, W 10-0, L 4-6, W 8-6, W 6-5)
May 19-20 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 9-4, W 6-2, W 9-6)
May 22-24 at Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 17-4, W 8-4, W 12-4)
May 26-28 at Lexington 3-0 (W 10-6, W 3-2, W 3-1)
May 29-31 Charleston, W.Va. 3-0 (W 6-3, W 10-7, W 9-2)
June 2-7 Lancaster 2-4 (W 11-2, L 1-3, W 14-3, L 3-4, L 8-9, L 5-17)
June 9-14 at Lexington 3-3 (L 13-15, L 6-8, W 7-5, L 9-10, W 7-1, W 12-8)
June 16-21 Staten Island 6-0 (W 10-4, W 9-6, W 26-3, W 11-4, W 12-3, W 13-8)
June 23-28 at Lexington 1-0 (W 4-3)
June 30-July 2 Lexington
-2nd half
July 3-5 Charleston, W.Va.
July 7-12 at Hagerstown
July 14-19 Lexington
July 21-26 at Charleston, W.Va.
July 28, 30-31-Aug. 2 Hagerstown
Aug. 4-6 Southern Maryland
Aug. 7-9 at Lexington
Aug. 11-16 at High Point
Aug. 18-23 Charleston, W.Va.
Aug. 25-30 at Southern Maryland
Sept. 1-6 High Point
Sept. 8-10 Lexington
Sept. 11-13 at High Point

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Auto racing

Here is the full 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule with race winners in parentheses:

Feb. 4 — Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium (Ryan Preece)
Feb. 15 — Daytona 500 (Tyler Reddick)
Feb. 22 — Atlanta (Reddick-2)
March 1 — Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas (Reddick-3)
March 8 — Phoenix (Ryan Blaney)
March 15 — Las Vegas (Denny Hamlin)
March 22 — Darlington, South Carolina (Reddick-4)
March 29 — Martinsville, Virginia (Chase Elliott)
April 5 — off weekend
April 12 — Bristol, Tennessee (Ty Gibbs)
April 19 — Kansas (Reddick-5)
April 26 — Talladega, Alabama (Carson Hocevar)
May 3 — Texas (Elliott-2)
May 10 — Watkins Glen, New York (Shane van Gisbergen)
May 17 — All-Star Race (Dover) (Hamlin-2)
May 24 — Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) (Daniel Suarez)
May 31 — Nashville, Tennessee (Hamlin-3)
June 7 — Michigan (Hamlin-4)
June 14 — Pocono in Long Pond, Pennsylvania (Hamlin-5)
June 21 — San Diego (Corey Heim)
June 28 — Sonoma, California
July 5 — Chicagoland
July 12 — Atlanta
July 19 — North Wilkesboro
July 26 — Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
Aug. 2 — off weekend
Aug. 9 — Iowa
Aug. 15 — Richmond, Virginia
Aug. 23 — New Hampshire
Aug. 29 — Daytona, Florida
Sept. 6 — Darlington
Sept. 13 — Gateway in Madison, Illinois
Sept. 19 — Bristol
Sept. 27 — Kansas
Oct. 4 — Las Vegas
Oct. 11 — Charlotte Roval
Oct. 18 — Phoenix
Oct. 25 — Talladega
Nov. 1 — Martinsville
Nov. 8 — Homestead, Florida

 

 

 

 

Rodeo

Professional Bull Riding Unleash the Beast tour schedule for Greensboro-based Carolina Cowboys:

Feb. 1 – Golden 1 Center Sacramento- Austin Gamblers (L 173.90-256.90)
Feb. 21 – Progressive PBR Jacksonville- Florida Freedom (L 158.70-169.25)
March 22 – Ram Trucks PBR Indianapolis- Nashville Stampede (W 88.70- 0.00)
(DNQ for playoffs)

Team Challenge playoff results
March 29 at Albuquerque: Semifinal- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 4 Florida Freedom 83.65-0.00)
April 17 at Billings: Semifinal- (No. 2 Austin Gamblers def. No. 3 Kansas City Outlaws 87.10-84.50)
April 26 at Tacoma: Championship- (No. 1 Missouri Thunder def. No. 2 Austin Gamblers 254.75-171.35)

Upcoming events:
Sept. 18-20 – Greensboro First Horizon Coliseum Complex

 

 

 

 

Golf

The Rutherford County Sports Hall Of Fame (RCSHOF), presented by Hardin’s Drug, in conjunction with Golf Sponsors Forest City Honda and Chick-fil-A of Forest City, is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 T. Max Champion Memorial Golf Tournament.

The tournament will be held on Friday, July 31 at the Apple Vally Golf Course in Lake Luke, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Registration fee is $100.00 per player or $400.00 for a team of four and covers the green fee, cart usage and lunch.

First prize for Gross and Net Winners is $600.00 per team. Other prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries. Proceeds from the event go to support the RCSHOF Scholarship Fund and registration deadline is July 21.

For information or to register, please visit the RCSHOF website: https://www.rcshof.org/ or call Randy Page at 828-429-7773.