Every year is a busy one in Maine sports. Between all the high school, college and minor league pro teams, something is always going on. When I started in this business 25 years ago, friends would ask if things quieted down when the school seasons ended. Now they know better.

It’s always a hustle from one thing to the next, with stories often jumping out in front of you with little to no warning. In 2024, it seemed like that happened more often than usual. In coming up with this list of the 10 biggest sports stories to hit Maine in 2024, I was struck by how diverse the list I compiled (with help from colleagues Steve Craig and Drew Bonifant, and sports editor Bill Stewart) was. We have high school stories, college stories and pro sports stories.

These are presented in no particular order, other than the order I jotted them down. Feel free to rank them 1 to 10 with your friends, or add a few you feel I left off.

Cooper Flagg is averaging 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in 12 games as a freshman at Duke University.  Darryl Webb/Associated Press

Cooper Flagg made his collegiate debut for Duke. We’ve anticipated this since 2022, when Flagg and his twin brother Ace led Nokomis to the Class A state championship. At the time a lot of people couldn’t wait to anoint Flagg the best ever from the state of Maine. It’s foolish to declare a freshman in high school the best-ever anything (except perhaps the best-ever freshman), but Flagg easily evolved from the biggest ball of potential we’ve seen to a kinetic matchup nightmare for all of college basketball. In the first 12 games of his stopover at Duke on the way to the NBA, Flagg led the Blue Devils in scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounds (8.6 rebounds per game). Forget Maine, the entire basketball world can’t wait to see what he does next.

The Lisbon High football hazing investigation. What students described as horseplay was deemed a “culture of hazing and roughhousing” by lawyers hired by Lisbon school officials in the wake of incidents that saw the Greyhounds forfeit their final four games and dismiss seven athletes from the football team. While Androscoggin County District Attorney Neil McLean elected not to pursue charges involving an incident from August, everyone involved in Lisbon High athletics, from administration to every athlete, should not take that as a sign that all is well. That’s obviously not the case, and to wish the underlying issues away is ignoring the problem and inviting it to return.

Ben Barr has returned the University of Maine men’s hockey team into a national power. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The University of Maine men’s hockey team made it back to the national spotlight. When he was hired to coach the Black Bears in 2021, Ben Barr said one of his goals was to make the team a college hockey power again. In his third season, Barr did just that. Maine won 23 games last season, the most since the 2011-12 season. The Black Bears reached the NCAA tournament, also for the first time since 2012. This season the Black Bears are again among the top teams in the nation. At the holiday break, Maine is 12-2-2 and ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com poll.

Longtime University of Southern Maine baseball coach Ed Flaherty retired. Is Ed Flaherty the best college coach in state history? He’s certainly on the list. Flaherty retired at the end of the 2024 season, leaving the Huskies with more than 1,100 wins, eight College World Series appearances, and national championships in 1991 and 1997. Under Flaherty the Huskies were one of the top baseball programs in Division III for decades. Flaherty’s real legacy, however, is the relationships he built. That was evidenced by the dozens of alumni who came out to celebrate his career before a doubleheader against Castleton on April 27.

Roman Anthony, right, and Marcelo Mayer watch batting practice earlier this season at Hadlock Field. Anthony and Mayer were two of the top Red Sox prospects to spend most of the season with the Portland Sea Dogs. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The top Boston Red Sox prospects spend much of the season with the Sea Dogs. Every season the Sea Dogs have a prospect Red Sox Nation can’t wait to see play. Every season the Red Sox have a player that makes Maine fans reminisce about the times they saw him do his thing at Hadlock Field. This past summer the biggest prospects in the organization called Portland home for more than half the season. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel started the season as the top three prospects in the Red Sox minor league system, according to MLB Pipeline. In mid-August they were all promoted to Triple-A Worcester. Soon after, Kristian Campbell, another top prospect who joined the Sea Dogs in June, was promoted to Worcester. There’s a good chance all four could reach the big leagues next season. If Teel does, it will be in Chicago. He was recently traded to the White Sox in the deal that brought left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet to Boston.

Faith Chepkoech celebrates as she crosses the finish line at the Beach to Beacon 10K road race in Cape Elizabeth on Aug. 3. Chepkoech was stripped of her elite women’s race title for violating World Athletics Anti-Doping rules. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Beach to Beacon winner stripped of win. On the morning of Aug. 3, Faith Chepkoech was all smiles while crossing the finish line of the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth’s Fort Williams Park, winning the women’s race in just over 32 minutes. In late September, Chepkoech was stripped of her title after admitting to violating anti-doping rules. In a urine sample provided July 26, about a week before the Beach to Beacon, Chepkoech tested positive for recombinant erythropoietin, EPO, a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells. Chepkoech was told by race organizers to return the $10,000 prize money and runner-up Edna Klipagat was declared the winner. The incident was a close-to-home reminder that despite the best intentions and stringent testing, cheating will continue.

The Hearts of Pine start building a professional soccer team. You can say this about the crew in charge of the Hearts of Pine, the pro soccer team that will make its debut at Portland’s Fitzpatrick Stadium this spring: They know how to build anticipation. From the unveiling of the team name in late April, to the hiring of a coach, to showcasing the team’s uniform, to a recent tryout for Maine residents, the club has drummed up excitement for when the team finally takes the pitch this spring. In October, the Sports Business Journal named Portland the top minor league market in the nation. The Hearts of Pine will be a strong addition. The team’s first home game is scheduled for Sunday, May 4, against One Knoxville SC.

Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham was selected with the 26th pick in the WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Mackenzie Holmes drafted by WNBA’s Seattle Storm. A Gorham native, Holmes completed her standout basketball career at Indiana University this spring. In April she fulfilled a longtime dream when she was selected by Seattle in the third round of the WNBA draft. Knee surgery in May meant Holmes never took the court for the Storm this past season, but she rehabbed with the full intent of joining the team in 2025. In August, while being honored by the Sea Dogs during their “Women in Sports Night” with her own bobblehead, the 6-foot-3 Holmes said her rehab was going well, and she was on track to resume playing in January. Holmes averaged 19.8 points and 6.7 rebounds during the 2023-24 season, helping the Hoosiers reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. She is the second Mainer to be selected in the WNBA draft, joining Cindy Blodgett, who was taken sixth overall by the Cleveland Rockers in 1998.

Yarmouth boys soccer coach Mike Hagerty announced this year that he was retiring after 27 seasons with the program. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Yarmouth boys soccer coach Mike Hagerty retires. After winning his 13th state championship with the Yarmouth boys soccer team last fall and 14th state title overall, Hagerty called it a career this spring. He left the Clippers with 344 career wins. Including his three seasons as girls soccer coach at Deering, Hagerty’s record is 371-72-58. His final game was a 7-0 win over John Bapst in the 2023 Class B state final, the team’s fourth straight state championship. Like any top-notch coach, Hagerty said the relationships he built with players will be remembered more than the wins.

Falmouth boys basketball coach Dave Halligan earned win No. 600. Halligan said after his milestone victory on Dec. 17 that 600 wins just means he’s been around a long time — ignoring that you don’t get to stick around a long time unless you’re really good at what you do. With that 70-65 win over Westbrook, Halligan became just the third Maine high school basketball coach to reach 600 wins. Halligan is the only coach in Maine history to win at least 500 games in two sports. He won his 500th game at Falmouth’s boys soccer coach in 2022.