Local Sports News: June 5, 2024

Four Indiana University Men’s Track and Field Athletes compete at the NCAA Championships
The Hoosiers earned four men’s entries to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that start today and continue through Saturday in Eugene, Ore. Sean Mockler (Hammer), Tyler Carrel (Pole Vault), Camden Marshall (800m) and Skylar Stidam (10k) will compete on the national stage after finishing in the top-12 in the East Region. Trio of Hoosiers Mockler, Marshall and Stidam hold the school record in their respective events.

A native of Corydon, Ind., Marshall set the school record at the East First Rounds, running a time of 1:45.48 in the 800-meter finals to punch his first ticket to outdoor nationals. Stidam will race in the 10,000 meters after he qualified for his first outdoor championships. He finished fifth in the event at the NCAA East First Round, clocking a time of 29:14.79. Earlier this season, he set the 10k school record with a time of 28:32.41. Carrel qualified for his second-straight national championship meet and the third time of his career (2021, 23, 24). He finished 12th at the NCAA East First Round clearing a bar of 5.32m/17-5.5 to earn his second bid to the NCAA Championships. Mockler holds the school record in the hammer throw of 68.82m/225-9 which ranks fifth. He finished seventh at the NCAA East First Round with a mark of 66.66m/218-8. A native of Thurles, Ireland, Mocker earned Second Team All-American honors in 2022 in his first appearance in the Hammer at the Outdoor Championships.  

Thirteen Indiana University Athletic Programs earn Perfect APR Scores Indiana University students who compete in intercollegiate athletics continue to excel in the classroom according to the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) data released Tuesday.  Thirteen of IU’s 22 programs earned perfect 1,000 APR scores for the 2022-23 academic year.  The 13 IU programs that earned a perfect APR score for the 2022-23 academic year are Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Cross Country, Field Hockey, Women’s Golf, Softball, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Track and Field, and Volleyball.   As a department, IU’s combined single-year APR score was 991, and all of IU’s 22 programs easily met the required four-year average of 930 to be eligible for NCAA Championship competition during the 2024-25 season.

“We are extremely proud of all of our programs for continuing to perform at an extremely high level in the classroom, and today’s APR announcement is the latest example of our success in this critical area,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson. “Earning an Indiana University degree is the ultimate goal for our student-athletes. Today’s news is a recognition of not only the great work our students are putting in, but also the commitment that our coaching and support staffs make to supporting our students academically.”

The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship.  The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance. 

Noting The APR – The most recent APR scores are based on a multi-year formula of scores from the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 academic years.

To compete in 2023-24 NCAA championships, teams must earn a 930 four-year average APR. • The goal of the NCAA’s academic performance program is improvement, not punishment. Not only does the program ensure accountability for student-athletes, teams and institutions, but it also provides fairness by considering individual circumstances.

Indiana University Football lands Florida Running Back Sean Cuono for 2025
Indiana picked up a commitment from class of 2025 running back Sean Cuono on Monday. The Clearwater Central Catholic H.S. product (Clearwater, Fla.) announced his decision on his X page. He was coming off an official visit to Bloomington over the weekend.  Cuono also visited IU earlier in the year. A 3-star running back, Cuono is the No. 52 running back in the 2025 class based on the On3 Industry Average.

The 5-foot-11 and 195-pound Cuono rushed for 1,024 yards and eight touchdowns on 145 carries as a junior in 2023.  He added 12 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. Cuono also had Power Four offers from Kansas State, Auburn, South Carolina, Minnesota, West Virginia, Virginia, Vanderbilt and Boston College. He’s the 10th pledge and the first Running Back in IU’s 2025 class, which ranks No. 39 in the nation and No. 13 in-conference, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Caitlin Clark Named the WNBA Rookie of the Month for May
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark was named the WNBA Rookie of the Month for May, the league announced today. Clark is the third player in franchise history to receive Rookie of the Month honors joining Aliyah Boston (May, June and August 2023) and Natalie Achonwa (June 2015). Through the first month of regular season games, Clark led all 2024 rookies in scoring (17.6 ppg), field goals made (46), 3-point field goals made (24), free throws made (42), assists (6.6 apg) and minutes played (33.0 mpg). Among all players in May, Clark was tied for first in the WNBA with Diana Taurasi in 3-point field goals made, second in assists (59) and tied for second in free throws made.

Clark became the third player in WNBA history, joining Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu, with 100+ points, 30+ rebounds and 30+ assists in her first six career games. On May 28, Clark’s first 30-point scoring effort against the Los Angeles Sparks was the 27th time a Fever player scored more than 30 points in a regular season game. Clark’s 20 points in the regular season opener on May 14 at the Connecticut Sun was the second most points by a Fever rookie in a debut game, behind only Tamika Catchings. Clark distributed five or more assists in eight straight games in May and her current streak is at 10 games of recording at least five assists. The Fever play at the Washington Mystics on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Friday’s game will be broadcast on ION.

Taylor Track and Field Collects Eight All-American Awards
The Taylor Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field teams recently wrapped up their seasons, with the women finishing 14th and the men 54th at the NAIA National Championships. The Trojans logged eight NAIA All-American awards from seven student-athletes over five events at the three-day event. Ahna Neideck, Mollie Gamble, Noel VanderWall, Emily Johnson, Abby Mays, and Olivia Jeanette all raced to All-American honors, with VanderWall collecting a pair of All-American awards. Josh Forbes was the lone All-American on the men’s side after earning the honors in pole vault. In order to receive NAIA All-American recognition, an athlete or relay must advance to the finals at the NAIA National Championships and record a top-eight finish.

Former Indiana University Assistant Coach Tim Buckley joins the University of Cincinnati Men’s Basketball Program
Cincinnati men’s basketball head coach Wes Miller has announced the hiring of veteran coach Tim Buckley to fill out his 2024-25 assistant coaching staff. “I’m excited to welcome Tim Buckley to our staff,” Miller said. “He brings a wealth of experience that is unique in college basketball. He has experience working with great players and great coaches as a high major assistant, and he’s been a part of very successful teams. On top of that, he’s been a head coach and has spent time recently in the NBA.”

Buckley, previously at South Carolina for two years, spent 10 years as a head coach at Ball State (2000-06) and NCAA Division III Rockford in Illinois (1989-93). He has more than 35 years of coaching experience overall with recent assistant stops at South Carolina, UNLV, Indiana, Marquette and Iowa. While at Ball State, he helped lead the team to upset wins over No. 3 Kansas and No. 4 UCLA during the 2001 Maui Invitational. Buckley boasts familiarity with the Bearcats, as he previously worked with coaches Jake Thelen and Drew Adams at Indiana, as well as with Adams when he was a walk-on under Steve Alford at Iowa.

This past season, South Carolina posted its greatest single-season turnaround in school history at 26-8, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. The 26 victories tied the 2016-17 Final Four team for the most wins in program history. South Carolina allowed just 66.4 points per game during the regular season in 2023-24, which led the SEC, and was one of just four teams in the SEC to rank in the top-50 of adjusted efficiency on offense and defense via KenPom. Prior to his Columbia stint, he was an assistant at UNLV from 2019-22, first under current Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger, then remained for the 2021-22 season with Kevin Kruger. UNLV had its best of the three seasons in 2019-20, finishing in a tie for second in the Mountain West Conference, its best finish in 12 seasons.  The Rebels’ marquee win was at No. 4 San Diego State, their highest ranked true road win in 29 years.

During the summer of 2020, Buckley was named one of the top assistant coaches in the Mountain West by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Buckley served as a scout with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves for two years (2017-19) before returning to coaching with the Runnin’ Rebels. Prior to his time in the league, he worked as assistant and associate head coach under Tom Crean and Indiana for nine seasons (2008-17). He was on staff for the entire Crean tenure in Bloomington, helping the Hoosiers to a 166-135 record (.551) including a 138-69 mark (.667) the last six seasons there. While at IU, Buckley was a part of two Big Ten titles (2013, 2016), four NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the Sweet Sixteen. He helped coach three All-Americans in Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell.

Buckley had assistant coaching stops at Marquette (2007-08) under Crean and at Iowa (2006-07) under Alford. His collegiate coaching career began at NCAA Division II Bemidji State. Buckley played collegiately at Waubonsee Community College in Illinois before finishing at Bemidji State where he would earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Buckley and his wife Shannon, married in 1994, have one daughter, Meredith. 


Follow us on Facebook

Image result for Facebook button

For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson