The Boston Globe’s most popular high school sports stories in 2025

The calendar year has nearly run its course, and 2025 has hit its marks with memorable Pennsylvania sports stories.
From NFL championships, record-setting moments, seismic coaching changes, legendary acquisitions and enhanced dynasties, it’s a year worthy of looking back upon.
There’s an old saying in journalism: ‘Don’t bury the lead.’
In that vein, we’re going No. 1 through 10 as we look back on the top stories in Pa. sports from the past year:
1. Eagles win the Super Bowl
The Philadelphia Eagles were a force that could not be reckoned with in a dominant run to winning Super Bowl LIX. With the No. 1-ranked total defense and a supercharged offense with the acquisition of running back Saquon Barkley, the Lehigh Valley native and former Penn State star, the Eagles backed up a 14-3 regular season with a record-setting playoff rush, setting the NFL record for postseason points scored (145).
After postseason wins over Green Bay (22-10) and the LA Rams (28-22), the Eagles beat NFC East rival Washington in the NFC Championship, 55-23, to set up a rematch of Super Bowl LVII with the two-time reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Two years after their 38–35 defeat to Kansas City, the Eagles routed Kansas City 40–22. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP after scoring three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and setting the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 72.
Barkley solidified his place as Pa. royalty when he eclipsed Broncos great Terrell Davis’ record for most rushing yards in a season including playoffs (finishing with a total of 2,504 yards). Philadelphia’s defense amassed six sacks of three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. It was the Birds’ first Super Bowl win since 2018.
2. Penn State football collapse leads to firing of James Franklin
The Penn State football team had national championship visions entering the 2025 season following a 13-3 season and run to the College Football Playoff semifinals back in January.
The Nittany Lions opened the year ranked No. 2 in the country. The team began the year 3-0 with underwhelming victories over inferior opposition (Nevada, FIU, Villanova), leading into a season-defining visit from No. 6 Oregon for a White Out game on Sept. 27. A 30-24 double overtime loss to the Ducks where QB Drew Allar was intercepted on the final play was the first chink in the armor.
The chink turned into a massive gash in the following two weeks with a shocking loss against a winless UCLA team despite being 25.5-point favorites and a home loss to Northwestern again as a three-TD favorite, only worsened by the season-ending ankle injury of Allar. It was a grim Beaver Stadium scene postgame with fans’ ire directed squarely toward Franklin.
Three days later, Franklin was fired as Penn State head coach amid his 12th season. The Pa. native and East Stroudsburg alum went 104-45 in the PSU tenure, earning five year-end top 10 rankings but had built a reputation as a coach who couldn’t win the big game (4-21 vs. top 10 teams).
Longtime assistant Terry Smith assumed interim head coaching duties and navigated another three straight losses – the program’s first six-game losing streak in 21 years – before the team rallied and closed the year with three consecutive victories to earn bowl eligibility. The team closed on a high note, winning the Pinstripe Bowl over Clemson on Dec. 27.
Franklin landed on his feet, securing the head coaching job at Virginia Tech on Nov. 21.
3. Aaron Rodgers joins the Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished 10-7 and reached the NFL playoffs in 2024, yet the team cut ties with its top 2 quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, in the offseason.
That came after the Steelers expressed interest in 41-year-old, four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers back in March.
Rodgers was released by the New York Jets on March 21 after two poor seasons (6-12 overall record). Despite vocally pondering retirement, Rodgers worked out with new Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf on March 31, seemingly signaling the 10-time Pro Bowler joining the Black and Gold. Yet OTAs began May 27 and Rodgers was still not a Steeler.
Finally, on June 5, more than 80 days since the start of free agency and 70 days after he first visited the Steelers, Rodgers signed a one-year contract to play for Mike Tomlin and company.
Rodgers hasn’t played MVP level with his best years behind him, but has led the Steelers to the AFC North championship during a 9-6 campaign, all while playing through a left wrist fracture suffered in Week 11.
4. Penn State wrestling dynasty
Penn State wrestling’s excellence is indisputable. The Nittany Lions outdid themselves in the 2024-25 season by winning their fourth straight NCAA championship under head coach Cael Sanderson and 12th in the past 15 seasons.
Carter Starocci became the first five-time NCAA champion and Mitchell Mesenbrink also won a national title while freshman Josh Barr finished runner-up. Penn State recorded 177.0 team points, breaking its own record, and secured 10 All-Americans for the first time in school history, becoming only the second team in NCAA history to achieve the feat (Minnesota 2001).
The Nittany Lions’ greatness continues: they recently broke Oklahoma State’s record of consecutive dual wins and are winners of 77 straight, dating back to Feb. 2020.
5. Penn State football coaching search finally lands on Matt Campbell
When Penn State fired James Franklin on Oct. 12 following a stunning three-game losing streak, the Nittany Lions’ job was the top available vacancy. In the following two weeks, Florida fired Billy Napier and Brian Kelly was dismissed by LSU as other prime jobs opened.
The top candidates of Penn State’s initial search – Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko among them – didn’t yield a new coach, it earned those targets contract extensions.
All the while, the candidacy of interim head coach Terry Smith, the loyal associate head coach and former player, gained steam internally and with the fanbase.
The search heated up the final week of November when Penn State administration and BYU coach Kalani Sitake had mutual interest. But a full-court press from everyone in and around the BYU program – cookie magnates even – compelled the lifelong Cougar to remain in Provo.
National Signing Day came and went on Dec. 3 – Penn State signed just two players – without a coach in place.
Finally, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft turned his attention to Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.
In a long, drawn out process, it was a speedy courtship with the 46-year-old Campbell. Reports surfaced of mutual interest on Dec. 4, and by the evening on Friday, Dec. 5, Campbell was announced as the 17th Penn State head coach. The Massillon, Ohio native signed a eight-year, $70.5 million deal.
The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year long known as an overachiever in his 10 years at Iowa State appeared to be a natural fit in his introductory press conference on Dec. 8.
After 54 days, Penn State finally found its coach.
6. Phillies return to playoffs, flame out again
The 2025 season was a dose of deja vu for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies won a second straight NL East title behind a 96-66 record – second-best in MLB – behind the excellence of NL batting champion Trea Turner (.304 batting average), MVP-caliber slugger Kyle Schwarber (56 HRs, MLB-best 132 RBI) and Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sanchez (13-5, 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP).
Schwarber, one of only two Phillies (Zack Wheeler) selected to the All-Star Game, earned MVP honors by hitting three home runs in the tie-breaking home run derby, becoming the second Phillie ever to win ASG MVP (Johnny Callison, 1964).
But the Phillies ran into a buzzsaw in the postseason, losing the National League Division Series in four games to the eventual back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
7. Paul Skenes wins NL Cy Young
Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes backed up his NL Rookie of the Year debut in 2024 but becoming certified appointment viewing in 2025.
Skenes finished the season with a 1.97 ERA, the first sub-2.00 ERA for a starting pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2022. He became the fourth player in the live ball era (since 1920) to record an ERA that low in his age-23 season or younger, joining Dwight Gooden (1985), Vida Blue (1971), and Dean Chance (1964). He also set a new franchise record for most strikeouts for a right-handed pitcher with 216.
Skenes was unanimously chosen NL Cy Young, earning all 30 first-place votes.
Despite Skenes’ brilliance, he managed only a 10-10 record for NL Central last-place Pittsburgh (71-91).
8. Penn State men’s ice hockey reaches Frozen Four
Penn State’s ascent to national prominence took a major step when the Nittany Lions advanced to the Frozen Four for the first time.
No.12 ranked Penn State defeated No. 7 UConn, 3-2, on sophomore Matthew DiMarsico’s overtime game-winner in the Allentown Regional final on March 30.
It was an impressive turnaround after starting the year 0-9 in conference play as head coach Guy Gadowsky’s team finished 22-14-4 and finished the year ranked No. 5.
The upward trend has continued with the additions of NHL first-round draft pick Jackson Smith and projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft Gavin McKenna. The Nittany Lions closed 2025 with a 11-5 record and No. 9 NCAA ranking.
9. Micah Parsons traded to Packers
No. 9 on the list won’t immediately strike you as a Pa. sports story. But with Micah Parsons’ deep Pennsylvania ties as a Harrisburg native and former Penn State player, the biggest trade in recent NFL history deserves a spot on the top 10.
Parsons was drafted 12th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft. He more than lived up to billing, becoming a two-time All-Pro and three-time Defensive Player of the Year finalist in his four NFL seasons. He stood in rare company as one of only three defenders (Aaron Donald, Patrick Peterson) to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first four years.
Yet a prolonged contract dispute with the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones turned sour and Parsons requested a trade. A month later amid a preseason holdout, Parsons’ wish was granted.
On August 28, the Cowboys traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round draft picks. Immediately after being traded, Parsons agreed to a four-year, $188 million contract, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Parsons’ first year in Green Bay yielded 12.5 sacks in 14 games but ended prematurely when he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on Dec. 14 against the Broncos.
10. Honorable mention
Instead of a single entry at No. 10, let’s touch on some of the other most significant Pa. sports news of 2025:
Flyers legend Bernie Parent dies: The legendary goaltender who led the Flyers to two Stanley Cup championships (1974, 1975) and became a Hall of Fame inductee in 1984 died on Sept. 21 at age 80.
Hall of Famer and former Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg dies: The Chicago Cubs legend and 2005 Hall of Fame inductee who managed the Phillies – the team that drafted him – from 2013-15 died on July 28 at age 65 from cancer.
PSU women’s volleyball coach awarded ESPY: Katie Schumacher-Cawley received the prestigious 2025 Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPYS for overcoming a breast cancer diagnosis while leading her team to the 2024 NCAA National Championship.
Philadelphia awarded WNBA team: Philly was granted a WNBA franchise in June that will begin play in 2030, growing the league to 18 teams.