Local Sports News: July 9, 2024

Indiana University Swimmer Ching Hwee Gan to Represent Singapore at the Olympics in Paris
Indiana Swimming and Diving Senior Ching Hwee Gan will be one of five swimmers to represent Singapore at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Singapore Aquatics announced on Monday. Gan received an Olympics Consideration Time (OCT) invitation based on her best time in the 1,500-meter freestyle, swimming a national record 16:10.61 in June. She also posted an OCT in the 800-meter freestyle, setting another national record in 8:34.01, and will get to compete in the second individual event. Gan will also participate in the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay. Gan has medaled in the 1,650-yard freestyle event at each of the last two NCAA Championships and was the Big Ten Champion in the event in February, helping the women’s team earn its first conference team title since 2019.

Indiana University Football Lands Cornerback Seaonta Stewart for 2025
Indiana Football beat several high major programs on Monday for a commitment from Seaonta Stewart. Out of Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, Stewart is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound athlete who projects to play cornerback or safety at the college level. Stewart is the 19th commit in Indiana’s 2025 recruiting class, which is now ranked No. 45 nationally by the 247Sports Composite. He’s a three-star recruit ranked No. 682 in the nation, No. 53 among athletes and No. 27 in Ohio. That makes Stewart the third-highest ranked recruit in Indiana’s 2025 class, behind safety Byron Baldwin and cornerback Jaylen Bell.

Stewart took an official visit to Bloomington on June 21 and picked Indiana over offers from Akron, Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Temple, Tennessee, Toledo, Virginia and West Virginia. He also visited Oklahoma, Purdue and West Virginia this spring. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti this offseason hired Rod Ojong to coach cornerbacks and Ola Adams as the safeties and defensive backs coach.

Former Indiana University Baseball Pitcher Tanner Gordon makes his Major League Baseball debut with Colorado Rockies
Tnner Gordon, who pitched for Indiana in 2019, made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon as the starting pitcher in the series finale against the Kansas City Royals. He threw 6.1 innings with four strikeouts in his first career appearance. 62 of his 78 pitches (79.5%) went for strikes. He’s the latest in a long line of Hoosiers to feature in the big leagues and the second from IU’s 2019 Big Ten title team (Andrew Saalfrank) to get the call to the Major League ranks. All-time, he’s the 35th athlete to play for IU and make an MLB appearance. Odie Porter (1902) was an IU student but never featured on the baseball team in Bloomington.

During head coach Jeff Mercer’s first year in 2019, Gordon served as the Saturday started and pitched to a 6-6 record with a 3.81 earned run average in 16 starts. He threw 87.1 innings and struck out 90 batters while walking just 19. His most memorable performance in Bloomington was a dominant seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance in a 13-1 win over Iowa at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers featured a dominant rotation in 2019 including big leaguers Gordon and Saalfrank and one of the best players in program history, Pauly Milto. All three pitchers were selected in that year’s MLB Draft with Gordon going in the 6th round (187th overall) to the Atlanta Braves. He was dealt to the Rockies at last year’s trade deadline and has pitched in Triple-A (Albuquerque) since. In the last 10 years, 12 different Hoosiers have made their MLB debut. The last eight players to reach the big leagues have all been pitchers. Tim Herrin (Cleveland) has been superb for the Guardians this year with a 3-0 record and a 1.54 earned run average over 40 games. Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia) is also on an active MLB roster while Matt Gorski (Pittsburgh) and Scott Effross (New York, AL) play in Triple-A.

Kel’el Ware posts Double-Double for the Miami Heat in the California Classic Summer League
Kel’el Ware is off to a good start with the Miami Heat in NBA Summer League action. After scoring 12 points in his debut on Saturday, Ware led the Heat on Sunday with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 102-86 win over the Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. The 7-foot center made 12-of-21 attempts from the field but went 2-for-5 from the free throw line and missed both 3-point attempts. He also added three assists and a block in over 29 minutes. “This game I really wanted to show my offensive side more,” Ware said postgame. “I feel like the more I get comfortable, it’s going to be way better than it was today.”

Miami’s next summer league game is scheduled for tomorrow at 6pm Bloomington Time against the Los Angeles Lakers on ESPN2 and ESPN-plus. Miami drafted Ware with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Indiana, where he played one season under coach Mike Woodson. As a Hoosier, Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. “Kel’el is a three-and-D center,” said Adam Simon, the Miami Heat Vice President of Basketball Operations and Assistant General Manager. “It is not easy to find 7-footers that can play out on the perimeter offensively and also be able to defend with his ability to shot-block and defend the post. For us, that was very appealing. He’s gonna give us versatility on both ends and his skill set fits us. The things he does well are things that coach (Spoelstra) is going to be able to use. I think it’s a great fit — be able to block shots, defend the rim, shoot threes, he’s got a great touch in the post. I think his skill set will be great to play with Bam and as well as when Bam’s off the court.”

Now Ware joins a roster headlined by All-NBA guard Jimmy Butler and All-Star center Bam Adebayo. The Heat went 46-36, finished eighth in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Ware will wear No. 7 for the Heat. Ware inked a four-year deal worth $22,512,733 million, with $9,542,760 guaranteed at signing, according to Spotrac. He is set to make $4,655,040 during his rookie season and $4,887,720 during his second season, both guaranteed. Entering Ware’s third season in 2026-27, Miami has a club option worth $5,120,400. The Heat have another club option before Ware’s fourth season 2027-28, which is worth $7,849,573. The club option deadline is Oct. 31 both years. If Ware stays with the Heat for four seasons, he will become a restricted free agent ahead of the 2028-29 season.

Indiana Fever’s Kristy Wallace to Represent her native Australia at the Paris Olympics
Basketball Australia announced Indiana Fever Guard Kristy Wallace has been selected to represent Australia at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. Wallace joins Natalie Achonwa (Canada – 2016), Tully Bevilaqua (Australia – 2008), Tamika Catchings (USA – 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and Kara Wolters (USA – 2000) as the only Fever players selected to play in the Olympics. From 2018-22, Wallace played with the Canberra Capitals and Southside Flyers in the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) and the Melbourne Tigers in the Melbourne Basketball Association (MBA). Wallace’s extensive experience representing Australia most recently was in the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup helping the Opals take home bronze.

Wallace made her WNBA debut in 2022 after being drafted by the Atlanta Dream in the 2018 WNBA Draft with the 16th overall pick. She was traded from the Dream to the Fever ahead of the 2023 regular season. In 2024, Wallace has started 15 games and is averaging 5.2 points per game, 2.1 assists per game and 2.1 rebounds per game. Hailing from Loganholme, Queensland, Wallace played college basketball at Baylor University from 2014-18. Wallace ended her career ranked third in all-time assists (525), fourth in three-point field goal attempts (413) and fifth in three-point field goals made (158).

Indy Eleven Women’s Soccer playoff run ends with a loss at Detroit
Indy Eleven fell, 3-1, to Detroit City FC on Sunday afternoon in the USL W League Central Conference Final to close out the 2024 season. Indy Eleven took the early lead as they did in the conference semifinal when Maisie Whitsett scored her first of the season in the seventh minute of action off an assist from Abby Unkraut, her first of the season as well. The equalizer for the home team came by way of an Emily Pagett goal in the 20th minute, and Detroit City went on to take the lead when Sophia Romine scored one minute into stoppage time of the first frame. The lone tally of the second half was an insurance goal for Detroit from Kayla Addison in the 75th minute.

With the loss, Indy wraps up the 2024 USL W League season. The Girls in Blue won their third straight division title in 2024, topping the Valley Division for the second consecutive season following a Great Lakes Division title in 2022. Indy posted a 7-1-2 regular season record, which included five shutouts and a goal differential of +25 en route to the crown. Captain Ella Rogers and newcomer Amelia White earned W League Team of the Month accolades for their play this season, while Natalie Mitchell led the team with seven goals. Mitchell also led the squad with four assists. In goal, 2023 second team all-league selection Nona Reason had three of Indy’s five shutouts in only four appearances. Fifteen different players scored goals in 2024, with 15 different players registering assists.

Indiana State University Track and Field star Erin Reese qualifies for Paris Olympics
Former Indiana State All-American Erin Reese officially booked her spot on the United States Olympic Team for Paris 2024. Reese will represent Team USA in the hammer throw, qualifying through the world rankings quota after Sunday’s final rankings were released. She put herself in position to make her first Olympic Team through a third-place finish at the US Olympic Trials. Following the Olympic Trials, Reese put down a season-best mark at the Jack Brow Memorial Open in Kelowna, British Columbia. Her mark of 72.10m (236-06) gave her a first-place finish at the meet and, ultimately, earned her the necessary world rankings points needed to earn one of the 32 Olympic hammer throw spots.
 
In her third-place finish at the Olympic Trials, Reese put together her best throw of finals when it mattered most. Her last attempt went 71.21m (233-07) to vault her into the top three and earn bronze. She finished higher than four athletes ranked in the top 25 in the world in the event, including two of the top three ranked hammer throwers in the world. Reese showed steady improvement throughout the 2024 season, with her best marks all coming in her most recent meets. Her top four results came at the Jack Brow Memorial Open (72.10m/236-06), the Billy Hayes Invitational (71.46m/234-05), the Sycamore Open (71.42m/234-04) and the US Olympic Trials (71.21m/233-07), all meets which took place within the last 70 days. Reese becomes the third current or former Indiana State student-athlete to earn an Olympic spot for Paris 2024. Former Sycamore All-American thrower Mary Theisen-Lappen will represent Team USA in weightlifting, while current Sycamore swimming and diving student-athlete Chloe Farro will represent Aruba in the 50m freestyle.

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