MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia coach Mark Kellogg has made a huge impression in his first three seasons at a major college. All that’s missing is a deep run in the women's NCAA Tournament.
No. 4 seed West Virginia (27-6) is a tournament host for the first time since 1992. A win over No. 13 seed Miami (Ohio ) (28-6) in the first round on Saturday night would tie the Mountaineers’ best three-year stretch in program history with 78 wins.
Since Kellogg arrived from Stephen F. Austin in 2023, West Virginia has lost only five times at home.
“I think our kids, to their credit, have earned the right to play here,” Kellogg said. “Super excited about that.”
The hard part will be moving on. In 16 previous NCAA appearances, the Mountaineers have never won more than once, bowing out in the second round under Kellogg the past two seasons.
West Virginia comes in on a six-game winning streak, taking down TCU to win the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 2017.
“Our best basketball is yet to come,” West Virginia guard Sydney Shaw said.
The opener of the Morgantown region Saturday pits No. 5 seed Kentucky (23-10) against No. 12 James Madison (26-8). The first-round winners will meet on Monday.
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks, whose team hosted the first two rounds in the NCAAs last year, said there's some added stress of being a host school because of expectations to win, while visiting teams can play freely because “they have nothing to lose.”
Kellogg wasn't taking the bait, saying he hasn't felt the pressure.
"That’s a veteran coach, I think, just trying to plant a seed, potentially,“ Kellogg said.
Shaw sees it differently, too.
“Every time I put my head on my pillow, I go to sleep with a smile on my face, giggling myself to sleep because I’m so excited,” Shaw said. “It’s a big deal to not have to pack your bags, honestly. You get to sleep in your own bed. So I’m grateful for that.”
Brooks graduated from James Madison in 1992. He went 337-122 and led the Dukes to six NCAA berths over 14 seasons, leaving in 2016 as the school’s winningest coach. He’ll watch his former school from the other sideline on Saturday.
“It’s 10 years removed and I’m obviously proud as an alum of everything that’s happened to James Madison,” Brooks said. “But tomorrow it will be another game.”
Before coming to Kentucky two years ago, Brooks spent eight seasons at Virginia Tech. The Hokies lost to James Madison in the 2019 National Invitation Tournament. Brooks led Virginia Tech to the Final Four in 2023 before losing to eventual national champion LSU.
Sean O'Regan was Brooks' longtime assistant at James Madison and took over for his former boss in 2016. The Dukes won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and are in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four seasons.
Miami’s men’s basketball team captured most of the attention on campus back in Oxford, Ohio, finishing as the nation's only unbeaten team during the regular season at 31-0, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and winning its First Four game over SMU on Wednesday.
Not to be outdone, the women’s team set a program record for wins that included their first Mid-American Conference tournament title since 2008.
If the RedHawks leave Morgantown with a trip secured to the Sweet 16, they’ll likely stop somewhere for ice cream — a road-trip tradition under third-year coach Glenn Box, who like Kellogg is in his first major-college head coaching job.
“I’m willing to give them whatever they want after they win,” Box said. “Winning should be fun.”
West Virginia isn't known for putting on shooting clinics, instead relying on its full-court pressure defense to create scoring opportunities.
The Mountaineers force 22 turnovers per game, led by Big 12 steals leader and defensive player of the year Jordan Harrison. West Virginia's 18.2-point scoring margin is the 13th highest among teams in the NCAA field. In three meetings with TCU this season, West Virginia held the Horned Frogs to their two lowest point totals of the season.
Shaw remembers when she arrived at West Virginia a year ago and learned the rigors of playing against her own defense.
“It was rough. I was struggling out there,” Shaw said. "So I can only imagine (the challenge for) a team that’s never seen it.”
Miami averages nearly 16 turnovers but has its own defensive prowess. Both teams are limiting opponents to under 59 points per game.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
South Carolina guard Ta'niya Latson drives to the basket past Kentucky center Clara Strack during second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks reacts during second half of an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Greenville, S.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
NEW YORK (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been designated a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as federal prosecutors in New York probe his alleged ties to drug traffickers, according to people familiar with the matter and records seen by The Associated Press.
DEA records show Petro has surfaced in multiple investigations dating to 2022, many based on interviews with confidential informants. The alleged crimes the DEA has investigated include his possible dealings with Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, a scheme to leverage his “total peace” plan to benefit prominent traffickers who contributed to his presidential campaign. The records also suggest the use of law enforcement to smuggle cocaine and fentanyl through Colombian ports.
The “priority target” label is reserved for suspects DEA deems to have a “significant impact” on the drug trade.
In recent months, prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan have been questioning drug traffickers about their ties to Petro and specifically about allegations the Colombian president’s representatives solicited bribes to block their extradition to the United States, according to a person with knowledge of the inquiry who wasn't authorized to discuss the ongoing inquiry and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The person said it wasn’t clear whether federal prosecutors have implicated Petro in any crime.
The investigation is focusing at least in part on allegations that representatives of Petro solicited bribes from drug traffickers at the Colombian jail La Picota in exchange for a promise that they not be extradited to the U.S., one of the people said.
A spokesperson for the Colombian presidency declined to comment on the ongoing investigations into Petro or the subsequent legal proceedings.
Petro has consistently denied allegations of drug trafficking, particularly after Trump labeled him an “illegal drug leader” and the Treasury Department sanctioned him in late 2025 for alleged ties to the trade without offering evidence. Petro maintains that, while his administration aggressively targets major cartels, it remains focused on a more lenient, social-based approach for peasant farmers who cultivate coca leaf.
The federal inquiry was reported earlier Friday by The New York Times.
Petro came under scrutiny through the course of drug trafficking investigations by New York authorities that led them to identify him as a subject, according to another person familiar with the matter.
The inquiries into Petro are in the early stages, and it is not clear whether they will result in charges, this person said, adding the White House has had no role in the investigations.
Petro, a former rebel leader, soared into office promising to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and reallocate state resources to addressing entrenched poverty.
A leftist politician known for winding sometimes incoherent speeches, he has regularly criticized the Trump administration over its support for Israel, bombing of drug boats in the Caribbean and likened the White House migration crackdown to “Nazi” tactics.
After one such outburst, at a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, Trump retaliated by revoking Petro’s U.S. visa. He also briefly slapped high tariffs on Colombia over Petro’s refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.
But more recently the two have shown signs of getting along. After a meeting at the White House in February, Trump described Petro as “terrific.”
Colombian authorities have for years been investigating members of Petro’s family for possible criminal acts.
His son, Nicolás Petro, was charged in 2023 with soliciting illegal campaign contributions from a convicted drug trafficker to fund a lavish lifestyle of expensive cars and homes. The younger Petro has pleaded not guilty and his father has said none of the money was used to fund his campaign.
The president’s brother, Juan Fernando Petro, has also been implicated in secret negotiations that allegedly took place with imprisoned drug traffickers to shield them from extradition to the U.S. in exchange for their disarmament.
Politics in Colombia have long been tainted by cocaine, of which it is the world’s largest supplier. In the 1980s, drug lord Pablo Escobar was elected to the country’s Congress with the support of one of Colombia’s most traditional parties. A decade later, his rivals from the Cali cartel flooded the presidential campaign of Ernesto Samper with illegal donations.
The now defunct urban guerrilla group Petro belonged to, the 19th of April Movement, has long been suspected of taking money from Escobar’s Medellin cartels as part of its deadly siege of the Supreme Court in 1985. Petro did not participate in the attack, which left several guerrillas and around half the high court’s magistrates dead. Leaders of the group have always denied any links to the cartel.
Durkin Richer reported from Washington. Goodman reported from Miami. Mike Sisak contributed from New York and Astrid Suárez from Bogotá, Colombia.
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro shows the ballots before voting in legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks after voting during legislative elections in Bogota, Colombia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
