One and One Podcast

Niko Spezial played baseball at Wake Forest University from 2010-2013. Afterwards, he was drafted in the 19th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft by the Washington Nationals and played Minor League Baseball in the New York-Pennsylvania League and the Gulf Coasts League in 2013. He talks about growing up in Northern New Jersey, how he got into baseball, and his decision to attend Don Bosco Prep for high school. Niko details his great high school baseball career where he pitched for a program that was ranked number 1 in the country and won a National Championship. Then, he describes getting drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft, his decision to attend college, and the recruiting process that led him to choose Wake Forest. Niko discusses the coaches he committed to leaving two weeks before he got to campus, his decision to stay, what it was like playing for Head Coach Tom Walter, the competitive baseball in the  Atlantic Coast Conference, being a bullpen pitcher, and his highlights over his four years. Finally, he talks about getting drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2013, his time playing in the Minor Leagues, his decision to move on from baseball after 2013, and what he's been up to over the past ten years.

Danny Spond played football at the University of Notre Dame from 2010-2012. Prior to his Senior season, he had to medically retire from the sport due to debilitating migraines but he stayed on with the team for the 2013 season. Danny talks about growing up in Littleton, Colorado, getting into football at a young age, and being on a dominate Little League Football team as a kid. He describes what it was like to attend Columbine High School and how special the community is. He details his great Columbine Football career, how good of a program it is, playing many positions, and missing his final games as a senior due to a concussion. Then, he explains why he committed to Notre Dame, his transition to college football, what it was like the first time he put on a jersey, and the team's trying first two seasons. He details his first experiences with migraines prior to the 2012 season, getting cleared to play, and starting every game he played in as Notre Dame went undefeated in the regular season and played for the National Championship. Danny then discusses how the migraines came back prior to his senior season, how debilitating they were, his guess at what caused them,  and the very hard decision to medically retire from the sport of football. Finally, he talks about his student coach position for the 2013 season, working with the linebackers, traveling to his home state of Colorado for a game against Air Force, still being a big fan of Notre Dame football today, and his great life with his wife and three children.

Steph Cruz played volleyball at Fairfield University from 2009-2012 and currently has her purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. She talks about growing up in Midland Park, NJ, getting into sports through her late father, her great high school career at Immaculate Heart Academy, and what it was like to play through her senior season as her father passed away. She describes her recruiting process, why she chose Fairfield, her transition from high school to college volleyball, and playing in the MAAC. Steph discusses her career at Fairfield, learning to be a great role player and teammate, winning a MAAC Conference Tournament, and playing in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Then, she talks about moving down to South Carolina a few years after college, how she got involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, earning her purple belt, the intense training schedule, teaching classes, and her goal of continuing to compete throughout her life.

Erin Dunston is the Assistant Athletic Director of Football Recruiting & Events at Ohio State University. Prior to that, she was the Director of On Campus Recruiting at Ohio State (2021-Feb. 2024), the Director of On Campus Recruiting at the University of Kansas (2019-2021), the Athletics Administration Associate at Purdue University (2018-2019), and a Graduate Assistant in Football Operations at Louisiana State University (2016-2017). She talks about growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, attending the University of Delaware for undergrad,  how she got started working in football while at grad school at LSU, and what it was like working for Head Coaches Les Miles and Ed Orgeron in the SEC. Then, Erin discusses her position at Purdue where she worked mainly with the football and men's basketball programs on many different projects, how the opportunity at Kansas came to be, getting to work with Les Miles again, what the position of Director of On Campus Recruiting entails (it's a lot!), and recruiting through the pandemic. She describes how the opportunity at Ohio State came up, what it's like to work in the Big Ten at one of the very best college football programs in the nation, working with Head Coach Ryan Day, all the work that goes into recruiting at the national level, what is it like to be a woman in a male dominated field, helping other women get into the field, and the relationship she has with the players. Erin also chats about the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry in the Dunston household as her younger sister Jillian played on the Michigan Women's Basketball team and now is an Assistant Coach for the program.

Ryan Henry played softball at Villanova University from 2019-2023 where she was a First Team All Big East Player, a part of 2 Big East Championship Teams, and made 2 NCAA Tournament appearances She talks about growing up in Ramsey, NJ, how she got into softball, her great Ramsey High School career where she was an All State player, originally committing to play in college at Fordham, and how she switched to Villanova. Ryan discusses being diagnosed with diabetes just a few short months into college, how that diagnosis led to studying theater and performing arts, not being completely happy her first 2 years at the school, and the Covid break being able to give her a reset. Then, she details her great 2021 and 2022 seasons where Villanova won back-to-back Big East Championships (the first 2 in school history), played in 2 NCAA Tournaments, her decision to come back for a 5th season, and the 2023 season where they came up just short of another Big East Title. Finally, she discusses what she's been up to since graduation, her desire to work in theater/film, and directing her first production "Delivery Boy" this past month.

Michelle Cruz played volleyball at Providence College from 2013-2016 and holds the school record for career digs. She talks about growing up in Midland Park, NJ, how her late father got her and her sister Stephanie involved in volleyball and other sports at a young age, and the position of libero. She details her excellent high school career at Immaculate Heart Academy where she won 4 straight state championships, was First Team All State, and broke the record for career digs. Then, she describes the unique story that led her to Providence College, the transition from high school to college volleyball, majoring in Computer Science, and playing for Head Coach Margot Royer-Johnson. Michelle discusses her great career at Providence where she played in every single game, switched from the America East Conference to the Big East Conference after Freshman year, led the team in digs each season, and was featured in a documentary entitled "Girls Who Code"  Finally, she talks about what she's up to these days which includes preparing to become a mother, working in computer science, and still keeping in touch with many of her former teammates.

Kennedy Martin played basketball at Truman State University, a Division II school in Kirksville, MO,  from 2014-2018. She talks about being from Iowa but moving to Southern Illinois as a kid, her connection to the University of Iowa Women's Basketball Team which includes her younger sister Kate Martin as a current member of the team and her aunt Jan Jensen on the coaching staff, growing up going to the Iowa Women's Basketball camp every summer, and her experience at the Final Four last year. Kennedy describes her great three-sport career at Edwardsville High School, the phenomenal basketball program the school has that develops a ton of girls who go on to play in college, her recruiting process, and why she chose Truman State. Then, she discusses the transition to college basketball, how much she loved her team, highlights over the four years, her embracing her role on the team, being able to travel abroad, and writing for the school newspaper.  Kennedy details a moving article she wrote prior to her Senior season discussing the different basketball paths her and her sister Kate took, what she's learned from it, and what she hoped to teach Kate. Finally, she talks about what she is up to now, which includes playing in a basketball league with men, being a new mother to her young son, and watching every Iowa game.

Kristina Lynch played soccer at Florida State University from 2018-2021 where she was a member of 2 National Championship teams before transferring to the University of Notre Dame from 2022-2023 to finish her college career. She talks about growing up in Granger, Indiana, being a Notre Dame fan as a kid, how she got into soccer, and winning the NFL Punt Pass and Kick competition in 2010 and 2021. Kristina discusses her decorated career at Penn High School where she was the Gatorade Player of the year for the state of Indiana, a First-Team All American, and won 2 State Championships. Then, she describes her recruiting process, why she chose Florida State, the transition to college soccer, and the competition in the Atlantic Coast Conference. She details her career at FSU, which included winning 2 National Championships, going to 3 Final Fours, dealing with an ACL tear and recovery, and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Kristina talks about her decision to use the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted due to Covid, why she chose to transfer back home to Notre Dame, how special it is to be at the same school as her younger brother (Ryan plays baseball for Notre Dame), an ankle injury that led her to redshirt in 2022, the highlights of this past 2023 season, and her exciting plans for the future. 

Lexi Weger is the Graduate Assistant Coach for the University of North Carolina Women's Basketball program. Prior to that, she played basketball at Princeton University from 2018-2023 where she won 4 Ivy League Regular Season Championships,  3 Ivy League Tournaments, and played in 3 NCAA Tournaments. She talks about growing up in Alexandria, VA, going to Episcopal High School where she boarded all 4 years, her outstanding high school career there, the recruiting process, and why she chose Princeton. Then, she discusses the transition to college basketball, the success of the Princeton program, Coach Courtney Banghart leaving after her freshman year, and current Coach Carla Berube taking over. Lexi describes the great 2020 team and what could have been had the NCAA Tournament happened, her decision to take a gap year, and what she did for that year.  She talks about several internships she's taken, her final two seasons at Princeton where they won a game as the lower seed in the NCAA Tournament both years, and  how she realized she wanted to get into coaching. Finally, Lexi shares how she ended up at UNC, what it's like being back with Courtney Banghart, and her duties as the Graduate Assistant.

Kate Blasi is a registered yoga teacher, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and owner of Seaquence LLC.  She talks about growing up in Bergen County, New Jersey, in an athletic family, playing many sports as a kid, and when and how she got into yoga. Kate discusses what she loves about yoga, her favorite kinds to do, why it has become a more popular form of exercise, and how she stayed connected to yoga during Covid. Then, she details becoming a registered yoga teacher in 2021 and all that it entailed, balancing teaching several yoga classes a week while working a full time job and having a family, using yoga techniques as a BCBA to help neurodivergent children, and also using yoga techniques on her toddler aged daughter to help calm her down. Finally, she describes her new business, Sequence, which is designed to support women through all stages of motherhood- from pregnancy through parenting using yoga-infused techniques.

Jenna Giacone is the Assistant Coach and Director of Scouting & Player Development for the University of Illinois Women's Basketball Team.  Prior to that, she played basketball at the University of Dayton from 2016-2022 and was on the training camp roster for the Seattle Storm in 2022. She talks about growing up in Delmar, New York, in a very athletic family, playing basketball with her sister Gabby, who is only 15 months older than her, her great career atBethlehem Central High School, and the recruiting process that led her to choose Dayton. Jenna discusses her coach leaving before her Freshman season began, her reaction to Head Coach Shauna Green getting the job, their relationship, and the foot injury that led her to miss a lot of her Freshman season and her entire Sophomore season. She details her career highlights at Dayton which include winning the A-10, playing in the NCAA Tournament, being First Team A-10 and winning Most Improved Player, and the importance of coming back for a 6th season in 2022. Jenna also talks about how she "randomly" wrote a children's book "Gabby's Got Game", going through the details of how it started, what it is about, getting a publisher, and the great reception it's gotten. Finally, Jenna shares her experience with the Seattle Storm, knowing she wanted to be a coach from a young age, how the opportunity at Illinois came up, her roles on the staff, and looking ahead to the 2024 season.

Ka'lia Johnson played basketball at Duke University from 2011-2015, professionally in Europe for a year, has coached at a number of women's college basketball programs, and was recently named an Assistant Coach at Towson University. She talks about being an army brat as a kid before settling in the Richmond, Virginia area, and getting into basketball through her athletic family. She discusses her great high school career at Thomas Dale High School, becoming a Duke fan in middle school, and committing to her dream school as a Sophomore. Ka'lia details the transition to college and becoming great friends with the rest of her class (nicknamed EJAK). She also details her career highlights at Duke which included two Elite 8 appearances, an ACC Tournament Championship, playing with so many great players, staying ready when her number was called, recording a triple-double, and a senior night victory by 1 point over UNC. She describes her season playing professionally overseas in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, how she got into coaching, her coaching highlights so far in her career, and her new role with Towson.

Tania Davis is the Director of Player Development for the University of Iowa Women's Basketball Team. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha from 2021-2023, a Graduate Assistant at Clemson University from 2019-2021, and played at the University of Iowa from 2015-2019. She talks about growing up in Flint, Michigan, getting into basketball at a young age, her great career at Goodrich High School where the team went 100-8 in her 4 years, and the recruiting process that led her to choose Iowa. Tania discusses what it was like to play for Head Coach Lisa Bluder, being able to play right away, tearing her ACLs in back-to-back seasons her Sophomore and Junior year, the hard work she put in to get back, and realizing that she wanted to be a coach while she had to watch from the sidelines. She details the great season Iowa had in 2019 where they won the Big Ten Tournament and went to the Elite 8 and what it meant to her to be a 1,000 point scorer. Then, she talks about becoming a Graduate Assistant at Clemson, her duties in that role, her time as an Assistant Coach at Omaha, her reaction to getting the call to come back to Iowa, her role as Director of Player Development, and her excitement for the 2024 season.

Taylor Wright played baseball at Brown University from 2012-2015 and pitched in the Minor Leagues from 2019-2021. He talks about what it's like having former Villanova Basketball Coach Jay Wright as his father, his involvement with the program, and playing 3 sports growing up. He discusses his great high school career at  Episcopal Academy where he played football, basketball, and baseball, his recruiting process for baseball, and why he chose Brown. Taylor then details attempting to play 2 sports at Brown, competition in Ivy League Baseball, adjusting to coming out of the bullpen to pitch, and highlights during his college career. He describes why he didn't try to play professionally right after college, what he was doing for 3 years, and what led him to finally give pro baseball a shot. Taylor speaks about his time in the Minor Leagues on the Evansville Otters and Somerset Patriots, coaching JV Basketball at Episcopal Academy in the offseason, becoming a teacher at Episcopal after the 2021 baseball season, and recently being named the Head Coach of the Varsity Basketball team.

Maddie Plank is a current player on the Davidson College Women's Basketball Team. Prior to joining Davidson in 2022, she played at Princeton University from 2019-2022.  She talks about growing up as the oldest of four in Briarcliff Manor, New York, being passionate about basketball from a young age, great high school success, and the recruiting process that led her to Princeton. Maddie discusses getting injured her Freshman year and missing the season, Covid-19 cancelling the remainder of the 2020 season, and her decision to take a gap year in 2021. She details her adventurous cross-country cycling trip with Princeton Men's Basketball player Charlie Bagin, which included going East Coast to West Coast, stopping at cool sights along the way, meeting interesting people, and becoming best friends. Maddie talks about getting back to campus in 2022, the success Princeton had in the Ivy League and their run in the NCAA Tournament. Then, she explains her difficult decision to transfer after the season, why she chose Davidson, winning the gold medal in the 2022 Maccabiah Games and her experience in Israel as a Jewish American, this past season at Davidson, and her hopes for the upcoming 2024 season.

Dylan Geissert is the Associate Head Coach for the North Dakota State University Women's Basketball Team. Prior to being named Associate Head Coach, he worked as an Assistant Coach at NDSU from 2019-2023 and a Graduate Student Manager at the University of Kansas from 2017-2019. He graduated from Emporia State University in 2016 where he was a Student Assistant Coach and Male Practice Player for the Women's Basketball Team. Dylan talks about growing up in Herington, Kansas, playing 3 sports, and having an appreciation for women's sports because his mom is a great athlete. He discusses his intention to play baseball at Emporia State before an injury made him retire from the sport, how he got involved with the women's basketball team, the dominance that Emporia State has in Division II Women's Basketball, going from a Male Practice Player to a Student Assistant Coach, working for Head Coach Jory Collins, and making the 2015 Final Four. Dylan then details the opportunity to be the Graduate Manager for Kansas, going from a D2 school to a D1 school, working in the Big 12 Conference, and what his role entailed. He explains why he chose to move to Fargo, ND, when Jory Collins got the Head Coaching job at NDSU, his time as Assistant Coach, recruiting, coaching through the pandemic, building NDSU back up, and being named Associate Head Coach this past May.

Julia Cunningham played basketball at Princeton University from 2018-2023 where she was a part of 4 Ivy League Regular Season Championships and 3 Ivy League Tournament Titles. She talks about growing up in Watchung, NJ, getting into basketball a bit late, her great career at Watchung Hills High School where she is the All-Time Leading Scorer to this day, and the recruiting process that led her to Princeton. Julia describes the transition to Division I Basketball, playing right away as a Freshman, her Head Coach Courtney Banghart leaving after her first year, and how she liked Current Head Coach Carla Berube. Then, she discusses a promising 26-1 season being cancelled due to COVID-19, her decision to take a gap year in 2021 when the Ivy League cancelled all sports, what she did that year, and her excitement to get back on the court in 2022. Julia goes over the dominance of Princeton Basketball in the Ivy League, the upset wins they had in the 2022 & 2023 NCAA Tournament, and her future plans now that she has graduated.

Stephen Perretta is the Assistant Coach for the Iona College Women's Basketball Team. Prior to that, he was an Assistant Coach for the Fairleigh Dickinson Women's Basketball Team from 2021-2023. He graduated from Villanova University in 2021 where he spent time as a Male Practice Plater for the women's program and is the son of former Villanova Women's Basketball Coach Harry Perretta. Stephen talks about growing up around the Villanova program, what it was like to have a Division 1 basketball coach as a father, his own basketball playing career, and wanting to be a coach at a young age. He describes his time as a student at Villanova, his involvement as a practice player, other jobs he did around the athletic program, and watching his father coach his last season at Villanova. Stephen discusses how he got a Graduate Assistant position for FDU, getting promoted to an Assistant Coach one year later, all of the hype around FDU Basketball during the 2023 NCAA Tournament, following Head Coach Angelika Szumilo to Iona College in the off season, and his excitement for the 2024 season.

On today's brief episode, the host, Bridget,  explains why the podcast had to go on hiatus. However, there is great news. It's coming back!

Peter Lipari wrestled at Rutgers University from 2015-2019, Rider University in 2020, and Arizona State University in 2021. He talks about growing up in Byram Township, New Jersey, how he got into wrestling, and his first two years at Lenape Valley High School where he placed in the state. Peter discusses his family's move during his Junior year, transferring to Bergen Catholic High School, a nationally ranked program, the competition in the wrestling room, his excellent final 2 years there, and how it prepared him for college. He details his recruiting process, how he always wanted to attend Rutgers, and ultimately committing there before he was granted a scholarship (that was eventually granted). Peter chats about his first few seasons at Rutgers where he redshirted and got injured, the hard work he kept putting in, and the outstanding Redshirt Junior season in 2019 where he was the starter at 141 lbs.  and was an NCAA Tournament Qualifier. Then, he discusses transferring to Rider for his Redshirt Senior season, his highlights, and how it was cut short due to COVID-19. Lastly, he talks about using his 6th year of eligibility to wrestle at Arizona State, how he liked living out there, the odd 2021 season with so many pandemic rules, getting a job as an MMA agent once he was done wrestling, recently moving back to New Jersey, and his excitement for his career ahead.