☕️ S&C Daily — We Don't Do Anything Easy

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UConn head coach Dan Hurley added Justin McClelland as director of men's basketball strength and conditioning for 2026-27, alongside new assistant coach Mike Pegues. A Naugatuck, Conn. native, McClelland returns home after three seasons at Villanova, where he built individual strength and nutrition plans for each player. Earlier stops include Clemson, East Carolina and Florida. Hurley said McClelland's "experience preparing athletes at the highest level in the best leagues in the country will have a huge impact."

In a Dodgers Nation exclusive, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Travis Smith - now in his 14th season with LA - broke down his hand in Roki Sasaki's surge. Sasaki has posted a 1.48 ERA over his last four starts with his velocity back to triple digits, including 10 strikeouts across seven shutout innings against the Angels.

Smith, who's been by Sasaki's side since he arrived from Japan, credits steadily added training load: Sasaki has gained 10 pounds of strength since his rookie season. A Chicago native and former Taylor University football player, Smith also joined Team USA's staff for the 2026 WBC.

Saints offensive guard Cesar Ruiz told Muscle & Fitness he spent six or seven hours with Claude and "it basically coded an app for me" - a custom nutrition tool built around his body. It organizes his meals, recipes, macros and portions, tracks his weight and body composition, and syncs with his Whoop to pull in sleep scores. Ruiz frames AI as an extension of his training, not a replacement: "I use AI more for the numbers, the structure, and putting everything into one system."

After Week 2 of OTAs, the Saints hosted 51 New Orleans Police Department recruits for a training session run by Director of Sports Performance Ted Rath. The session lasted just under two hours and mirrored what the players go through - and Rath didn't dial it back. "We don't do anything easy. We go full in," he said. He put the recruits' work next to his roster's: "Chase Young is doing the same stuff that these guys just did."

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