Benjamin Berfield

Sports Editor

Benjamin Berfield ‘27 is a Strategic Communications major with a minor in Sport Management. Berfield currently serves as the Sports Editor for Elon News Network. In addition, he has an ongoing sports blog where he’s written over 140 online pieces. He especially enjoys sports storytelling, along with interviewing athletes and coaches. You can find his best work on his portfolio.

Recent Articles

SPORTS 3/11/26 9:58pm

Elon softball falls to No. 11 Virginia Tech

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University softball team could not keep up with Virginia Tech in a 14-2 loss March 11. Elon was coming off a weekend sweep against North Carolina A&T, but could not sustain its momentum against the Hokies, losing its 16th game of the season.

SPORTS 2/13/26 11:52pm

Southeast Alamance High School remains undefeated with senior night win

By Benjamin Berfield

The Southeast Alamance High School girl’s basketball team kept its undefeated season alive with a 54-44 victory over the Eastern Alamance Eagles on Senior Night. The teams entered the game having won 22 and 17 games, respectively. Throughout the first three quarters, the Eagles managed to keep pace with Southeast Alamance until the Stallions used a 12-6 fourth quarter to pull away.

SPORTS 2/7/26 4:59pm

Turnovers, 3-pointers lead to third straight loss for Elon

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University men’s basketball team lost 82-77 to Drexel University in what is now their fifth loss in the last six games. Elon never led and now falls to a 5-7 record in the Coastal Athletic Association. Drexel, who entered the game last in conference scoring, put up 82 points in front of an energetic crowd that saw a season high 2,021 people in attendance.

SPORTS 1/31/26 4:46pm

2nd half rally comes up short against Stony Brook

By Benjamin Berfield

For much of the first half and early in the second, Stony Brook seemed to have an answer for every comeback attempt by Elon. The men’s basketball team trailed by double digits for the majority of the game, and despite clawing their way back, it wasn’t enough as Stony Brook held on for a 72-68 win. 

SPORTS 1/8/26 11:56am

Western Alamance football coach shares lessons from 34-year tenure

By Benjamin Berfield

After Jeff Snuffer retired from coaching the Western Alamance Warriors football team for 16 seasons, he described his biggest accomplishment was less about wins but rather about the connections among his players. “I wanted to impact people the way I was impacted,” Snuffer said. “I love working with coaches but you don’t get into this business for the approval of adults. If you’re a teacher or a head coach, you should be doing it for the people learning from you.”

SPORTS 12/8/25 12:41pm

Elon University punter outlines path for NFL Draft

By Benjamin Berfield

Elon University redshirt senior punter Jeff Yurk announced on Nov. 28 that he was declaring for the NFL Draft, but he said the decision was brewing for almost a year. Yurk said he knew there was an opportunity to declare for the draft with the season he had. Entering his final season, he said if he was going to make a decision, this would be the time to do so. “I knew all along after having a good year last season,” Yurk said. “Since I was running out of eligibility this season, I felt that it was a good idea to declare for the draft.”

SPORTS 12/1/25 6:37pm

Elon University women’s basketball transfer center hopes to bounce back after season-ending surgery

By Benjamin Berfield

Graduate center Quinzia Fulmore had nothing but painful memories of last season. After a productive start to last season as a transfer addition for the Memphis University women’s basketball team, she suffered a foot injury that sidelined her for the rest of the year. Fulmore said she had never been injured before and was sick of not being on the court. “It was painful,” Fulmore said. “Just a nerve-wracking feeling that I couldn’t finish the year out and had to sit and watch.”

SPORTS 11/28/25 7:00pm

Elon University punter declares for NFL Draft

By Benjamin Berfield

Elon University punter Jeff Yurk has declared for the NFL Draft following his redshirt senior season. Yurk announced his decision on his Instagram account Nov. 28. Yurk has totaled 9,645 yards punting throughout his collegiate career at Elon. During his freshman season in 2021, Yurk played all 11 games. The following year, Yurk was named to the third team all Coastal Athletic Association. Yurk’s performance in 2022 helped the Phoenix qualify for the Football Championship Subdivision playoff. During the last two years, Yurk also led the conference in punt yards per game at around 48 yards.

SPORTS 11/26/25 11:06am

Women’s soccer team reaches its goals with CAA championship win

By Benjamin Berfield

In just two years, Elon University’s women’s soccer team has transformed from a three-win team in 2023 to Coastal Athletic Association champions, winning Nov. 9 against Stony Brook in a 1-1 match that came down to penalty kicks, where Elon prevailed 6-5. Their turnaround not only earned an NCAA Division I Tournament berth against Duke University, but it also came as a rewarding accomplishment for everyone who spent the last two years changing the team’s fortunes. “I’m so proud of how far this group of players have come because there were a lot of players on that team,” head coach Neil Payne said.

SPORTS 11/20/25 11:28pm

Elon men’s soccer falls to UNCG in penalty kicks

By Benjamin Berfield

In a thrilling, hard fought, matchup between the Elon University men’s soccer team and UNCG Spartans, one team had to lose and that was the Phoenix. Elon was defeated in penalty kicks 4-3, ending any chance of advancing in the NCAA Division I Tournament. head coach Marc Reeves said he could not be more proud of what his team accomplished. “I’m proud of our group,” Reeves said. “You can only win three trophies in a season – regular season, tournament championship and NCAA National Championship. To have two of them sit in our locker room is an incredible achievement by the boys.”

SPORTS 11/15/25 10:37am

Transfer additions get accustomed to Elon men’s basketball team

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University men’s basketball team may be trying to replicate last year’s 17-16 record, but they will have to achieve that feat with an entirely different roster. This offseason, the team lost nine players to the transfer portal. Some of the notable departures included TJ and TK Simpkins, along with Nick Dorn, among other contributors. To compensate for the losses, the Phoenix added eight new transfers before the season.  Half of their additions from the portal are graduate students, as forwards Chandler Cuthrell, Kacper Klaczek and Bryson Spell, along with guard Ja’Juan Carr, all provide a ton of experience.

SPORTS 11/14/25 11:20pm

Elon women’s soccer falls to Duke, dream season ends in shutout

By Benjamin Berfield

Elon’s dreams of extending their season following their Coastal Athletic Association championship were denied against Duke in the first round of the NCAA Division I Tournament. The Blue Devils shut out the Phoenix 3-0 with three goals. “We went up against a good team, but I’m really proud of the way we performed all season,” head coach Neil Payne said. “It wasn’t about tonight, it was about the entire season. I couldn’t be more happy with our response over the last month and postseason play.”

SPORTS 11/14/25 2:10pm

Elon women’s basketball team aims to take next step after last year’s improvement

By Benjamin Berfield

There is plenty of anticipation for the Elon University women’s basketball team heading into the 2025-26 season. After going from 11-21 in 2024 to 15-15 in 2025, the Phoenix is looking to take another significant step this year. In the CAA’s preseason power rankings, Elon is projected to finish fifth, which is their highest spot since the 2022-2023 season. Elon also boasts plenty of experienced players such as seniors Laila Anderson and Ruby Willard along with redshirt senior guard Kamryn Doty.

SPORTS 11/13/25 9:51am

Elon men’s basketball seeks to maintain standards despite new roster

By Benjamin Berfield

Chemistry has been a core emphasis for the Elon University men’s basketball team. They’ve stressed building camaraderie over the offseason and into training camp with the 2025-26 season now underway. “We’ve been working hard since June,” Men's head basketball coach Billy Taylor said. “The eight weeks we had in the summertime of workouts and then our preseason have all been building to this moment.” The team will look much different compared to last year’s roster, which went 17-16 for the program’s first winning season since 2016-17. This past offseason, Elon lost nine players to the transfer portal.

SPORTS 11/8/25 7:30pm

Football loses fourth straight game, quarterback leaves with injury

By Benjamin Berfield

In their first game out of the bye week, the Elon University football team couldn’t snap their losing streak as they lost 34-20 to Rhode Island University. The defeat marks Elon’s fourth straight loss after starting the season 4-2. It is the second straight season in which they failed to finish with a winning record. Rhode Island scored on its first four possessions of the game and remained in control for the rest of the game. They outgained Elon 442-225 in total yards while Rhode Island redshirt junior quarterback Devin Farrell threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns. It was Rhode Island’s fourth straight win to move to 8-2 on the year. 

SPORTS 11/7/25 8:03am

Elon women’s basketball loses to UNC Chapel Hill, star sophomore leaves with injury

By Benjamin Berfield

A tall task for the Elon University women’s basketball team against No. 11 ranked University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill became even more challenging early in the second quarter. Four minutes into the second quarter, sophomore guard Jayda Angel awkwardly fell down while coming to a jump stop on a drive to the basket. The reigning Coastal Athletic Association Rookie of the Year and First Team All CAA preseason nominee, lay on the court for an extended period of time before having to be carried off. At the time, Elon was down 22-18 and had appeared to gain some offensive momentum with two early 3-pointers. 

SPORTS 11/5/25 11:26pm

Transfer additions guide Elon men’s basketball to dominant opening victory

By Benjamin Berfield

The newest transfer additions for the Elon University men’s basketball team wasted no time making an impact in their debuts for the Phoenix. Sophomore guard Bryson Cokley, graduate student guard Ja’Juan Carr and junior guard Randall Pettus II, Elon won its season opener 99-51 against Belmont Abbey College. Head coach Billy Taylor said he views the transfer portal as a great opportunity to grant players the chance to impact the game in different ways. “The hard part about the transfer portal is you lose really good kids that you recruit but it also presents opportunities for new young people,” Taylor said. 

SPORTS 11/2/25 12:28pm

Elon men’s soccer wraps up regular season in 1-0 thriller

By Benjamin Berfield

The final regular season game for the Elon University men’s soccer team ended in a slugfest against William & Mary. For the first 70 minutes, it appeared as if Elon would notch a tie for the seventh time this year. But with the No. 1 spot in the CAA South Division on the line, a goal by junior forward Jordin Wilson helped grind out a 1-0 win to advance to 7-2-6. Elon will rest for a week before hosting the winner between University of North Carolina Wilmington and Campbell University on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.

SPORTS 10/25/25 11:27pm

Elon volleyball swept in close three sets

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University volleyball team lost its fourth straight home game with a 3-0 loss against North Carolina A&T University. Elon fought in most of its sets, losing by two points in each of the first two sets before falling by five in the third. They now fall to 5-16 on the year. Graduate student outside hitter Simrin Carlsen said N.C. A&T was very efficient on offense and managed to utilize all of their players’ strengths. “We were rotating super quickly, so there weren’t a lot of times where we were able to get runs that lasted more than a couple of points,” Carlsen said.

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LIFESTYLE 03/20/2026 9:00am
Elon University staff member pursues chaplaincy through Duke Divinity School

Kenneth Brown Jr., assistant director of first-generation student support services at Elon University, is continuing his journey toward becoming a chaplain. Though Brown can’t pinpoint the specific moment he decided to become a chaplain, he said the discovery of this passion was more like pulling the strings from various areas of his life together as he explored what made him “come alive.”

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