Sean Lynch
Sean Lynch shawn lin-ch
Sports Reporter, Phoenix

Sean Lynch expects to graduate in August 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism. Lynch interned with the Sun Devil Athletics Media Relations Department and has experience working numerous junior college national championships.

Latest from Sean Lynch

From Tempe to Auckland: Arizona State’s Gabi Rennie triumphs as New Zealand claims first World Cup win

TEMPE – Less than 700 miles away from her hometown of Christchurch, ASU forward Gabi Rennie ran onto the pitch in front of over 40,000 fans in the 94th minute to help the Football Ferns in its first senior World Cup victory.

Arizona State women's soccer forward Gabi Rennie celebrates her momentous debut and New Zealand's first win in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in front of a roaring home crowd of over 40,000 fans at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Arizona State coaches grapple with unregulated terrain of NIL and transfer portal

TEMPE – Before Name, Image and Likeness deals were OK'd by the NCAA in July 2022, Arizona State coaches focused more on recruiting and less on retaining. The transfer portal existed, but rules and regulations made its impact minimal over a long stretch of time.

Arizona State coaches Kenny Dillingham, left, Bobby Hurley, middle, and Willie Bloomquist face new offseason challenges due to NIL and the transfer portal in the evolving landscape of college athletics. (Illustration by Spencer Durose/Cronkite News)

Behind the scenes: Intricate planning and preparation required to host an NCAA national championship

TEMPE – Arizona State will be the host institution for its third National Championship event in a 10-month span by the time the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four is played in April. Hosting these tournaments is no easy task and often take years of preparation.

Phoenix will be at the center of men's college basketball in April 2024 when the Final Four is held at State Farm Stadium after years of planning. (File photo by Robert Crompton/Cronkite News)

ASU hockey set to join National Collegiate Hockey Conference in 2024-25

PHOENIX – For the first time since play began in 2013, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is expanding. Arizona State has been accepted as the ninth member of the Conference beginning with the 2024-2025 season.

The Arizona State hockey team is joining the National College Hockey Conference starting in the 2024-25 season. Five of the last seven national champions have been members of the NCHC, including Denver in 2022. (File photo by Travis Whittaker/Cronkite News)

Yarnell Hill Fire 10 years later: Lessons learned, lives remembered, community rebuilt

YARNELL – Ten years later, the story of Yarnell is one of loss but also survival. A Navajo heirloom emerging intact from the rubble. A burned, wounded cat seeking comfort from a stranger. And a firefighter, the lone survivor of the hotshots crew, trying to rebuild a life and answer a question that haunts him: “Why didn’t I die that day?”

A photo of all 20 Granite Mountain Hotshots posing in a human pyramid was turned into a statue at the Yarnell Hill Fire Memorial. (Photo by Sean Lynch/Cronkite News)

Douglas dynamo: Cochise’s JUCO basketball thrives under guidance of Jerry Carrillo

DOUGLAS – Located miles from the Mexican border in Southeastern Arizona, Cochise College men’s basketball has become a powerhouse under recently-inducted Jerry Carrillo, who has 629 wins with the school since he was hired in 1995.

Cochise men's basketball coach Jerry Carrillo started building his program into a powerhouse by recruiting students from New Mexico. Now international players seek out Cochise as a destination school for junior colleges. (Photo courtesy of Cochise College Athletics)

After success at GCU, ASU beach volleyball coach Kristen Rohr ready to elevate program

TEMPE – Wins and losses in the sand are the ultimate reflectors of job performance in beach volleyball. New ASU coach Kristen Rohr hopes to be known for the relationships she builds, too.

Arizona State beach volleyball coach Kristen Rohr transformed GCU from a start-up program to a championship contender. (Photo courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics)

Under ‘healthy pressure,’ ASU’s Preston Summerhays stars for hometown crowd at NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

SCOTTSDALE – ASU sophomore Preston Summerhays represented the only golfer in the 155-player field from Scottsdale, the home of Grayhawk Golf Club, and healthy pressure on himself to be the best he can be for the local fans.

On Monday, ASU sophomore golfer Preston Summerhayes extended the team's season with a 15-foot birdie putt in a playoff against Stanford. (Photo by Tommy Fernandez/SDA)

‘We’re going to bounce back’: ASU baseball optimistic despite dropping Pac-12 tournament opener

SCOTTSDALE – More than a month after losing 20-0 to the University of Arizona, the Sun Devils walked a season-high 10 batters in a 12-3 loss in the first game of the Pac-12 tournament at Scottsdale Stadium.

ASU baseball took a thumping Tuesday in a 12-3 loss to UArizona in the Pac-12 tournament opener at Scottsdale Stadium. (Photo by Joey Plishka/Cronkite News)

Balancing highs and lows: ASU baseball hopes to find rhythm in Pac-12 tournament

TEMPE – Arizona State baseball is focused on Pac-12 tournament play this week at Scottsdale Stadium. The Sun Devils will face Arizona and Oregon State in pool play on Tuesday and Thursday.