Curt Cignetti and Five Indiana University Football Players Tabbed All-B1G by Associated Press The Associated Press announced its All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday and five Indiana football student-athletes found their names on the list. Head coach Curt Cignetti was also named the outlets Big Ten Coach of the Year. The Hoosiers saw the defensive trio of Aiden Fisher, Mikail Kamara and D’Angelo Ponds all garner first-team honors, while Kurtis Rourke and Elijah Sarratt were both second-team selections.
Curt Cignetti –Hayes-Schembechler Big Ten Coach of the Year (coaches)– Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media)– Associated Press Big Ten Coach of the Year–
Earned fourth-career coach of the year award from the respective conference office … engineered an eight-game improvement from Indiana’s 2023 to 2024 seasons and currently sits tied for the second-best improvement by a first-year head coach since at least 1996 … First-ever Division I head coach to start 8-0 or better in consecutive seasons at different institutions (James Madison, 10-0 – 2023; Indiana, 11-1 – 2024) … The 11 victories in 2024 are the most in program history and mark the first double-digit win season in Hoosier history … Eight Big Ten wins are the most by an IU team since joining the conference in 1900 … Only Indiana head coach to start a season at least 4-0 and joined the select group of Big Ten coaches that started their Big Ten tenures with 10-0 overall records in the AP Poll Era (since 1936): Ryan Day (Ohio State, 2018-19), Urban Meyer (Ohio State, 2012), Earle Bruce (Ohio State, 1979), Bennie Oosterbaan (Michigan, 1948-49) and Carroll Widdoes (Ohio State, 1944-45).
DEFENSE
Aiden Fisher, LB –All-B1G First Team (Coaches & Media) –Associated Press All-Big Ten First Team
Led the team and ranked third in the Big Ten in total tackles at 108 stops on the season … Started all 12 games and chipped in eight-plus tackles in eight games on the season, with four double-digit tackle games … Had 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks … Broke up three passes.
Mikail Kamara, DL-All-B1G First Team (Coaches & Media)– Associated Press All-Big Ten First Team
Finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy … Ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten in sacks (10.0) and tackles for loss (15.0) … Started all 12 games … Totaled 44 total tackles with multiple tackles in 11 of 12 games … Season sack total ranks tied for No. 5 on the IU single-season charts with Adewale Ogunleye (10.0; 1997) … Posted the first double-digit sacks by a Hoosier since Jammie Kirlew in 2008 (10.5) … Posted a tackle for loss in nine of 12 games in 2024 and 30 of 35 career games … Forced two fumbles and recovered three fumbles … Finished atop the Big Ten and No. 2 in the Power 4 in total pressures (64) per Pro Football Focus.
D’Angelo Ponds, DB- All-B1G First Team (Coaches & Media)– Associated Press All-Big Ten First Team
Graded as the No. 3 coverage cornerback in the Big Ten per Pro Football Focus (84.7) … Appeared in all 12 games with 11 starts … Totaled 53 tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss … Grabbed two interceptions and broke up nine passes … Returned one interception or a touchdown … Blocked a punt at Michigan State that ended in a safety.
OFFENSE
Kurtis Rourke, QB- All-B1G Second Team (Coaches & Media)– Associated Press All-Big Ten Second Team
Finalist for the Manning Award … Led the nation in passing efficiency (181.4) and is No. 2 in the Big Ten in touchdown passes (27) and fewest interceptions (4) … Started 11 games … Three-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week … Semifinalist for the Maxwell, Walter Camp Award and Davey O’Brien Award … Only Big Ten quarterback since 2000 to throw for 250 yards and at least 3 touchdown passes in their first three conference road games … Threw program-record-tying six touchdown passes against Purdue … Season passing total of 2,827 yards sits No. 7 on the single-season list at IU … Tied for No. 2 on single-season passing touchdowns list … Highest-graded passer (92.9) in the Big Ten per Pro Football Focus.
Elijah Sarratt, WR –All-B1G Third Team (Coaches & Media)– Associated Press All-Big Ten Second Team
Finished No. 5 in the Big Ten in receiving yards (890) and No. 8 in receiving touchdowns (8) … Started all 12 games … Caught 49 passes on the season with 37 going for a first down or touchdown … Season receiving yardage total ranks No. 12 in IU history and season touchdown receptions are tied for No. 10 on IU’s single-season list … Owns a reception in all 37 career games played.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Goalkeeper JT Harms Elevates to Academic All-America First Team College Sports Communicators has selected Indiana senior goalkeeper JT Harms to its Academic All-America first team via announcement on Tuesday. Harms earns Academica All-America honors for the second consecutive season following his second-team selection a year ago. The fifth-year athlete has recorded a 3.99 grade-point average as a sport marketing and management major. Harms has worn the captain’s armband each of his last two seasons, leading the program in the classroom and on the field. In 2024, Harms received second-team All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive season as Indiana defended its shared Big Ten regular season championship. Harms is a three-time Big Ten Champion at IU and helped the 2022 team reach the NCAA College Cup final. In 63 games, Harms and the Hoosiers held opponents to 61 goals, 0.97 goals against average.
AVCA Midwest All-Region Nods for Indiana University Volleyball’s Camryn Haworth and Ramsey Gary Senior setter Camryn Haworth and sophomore libero Ramsey Gary were selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Midwest All-Region team, as announced by the organization on Tuesday morning. One of 10 regions across the United States, the Midwest region features teams from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia. The Hoosiers were previously in the Northeast region before the AVCA redesigned the groupings as a result of the newest wave of conference realignment. This year is the first in program history that IU has multiple selections to the 14-player All-Region first team. Haworth makes her second-consecutive appearance on the First Team All-Region list. She was an Honorable Mention selection as well as a sophomore in 2022.
Gary, IU’s All-Big Ten libero, makes her debut on the First Team All-Region list. As a freshman in 2023, she was one of two Honorable Mention selections for the Hoosiers. She was the only libero to make the First Team All-Region list and one of four underclassmen. Haworth wrapped up a spectacular career for the Hoosiers in 2024, finishing the season with 1,061 assists (10.10 per set), 234 digs (2.23 per set), 90 kills, 50 blocks and 49 aces. She broke the program’s all-time aces record (213) and finished with the most assists (3,923) in the rally-scoring era for IU. Gary, a native of Pendleton, Indiana, was rock solid in the defense for the Hoosiers once again. She was third in the Big Ten with 4.06 digs per set and racked up 438 digs in total on the season. She is a back-to-back All-Big Ten selection to open her career and is set to be one of the premier returning liberos in the country next season. All 140 members of the respective 10 AVCA All-Region teams will advance to be considered for All-American honors in 2024. Last season, Haworth was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American, the fourth player overall to earn honors in program history. The AVCA will announce the full list on Wednesday, Dec. 18th.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Players Tommy Mihalic and Jansen Miller to Attend adidas MLS College Showcase Major League Soccer on Tuesday announced its 44 invitees for the 2024 adidas MLS College Showcase, which will take place from December 11-14 in San Diego, California. The list features Indiana men’s soccer senior forward Tommy Mihalic and defender Jansen Miller. The four-day talent evaluation event will give technical staffs from each MLS club an opportunity to scout top collegiate prospects in the nation ahead of MLS SuperDraft 2025, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. ET. Mihalic recorded 10 goals and five assists as a senior and earned the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Award. Over his career, Mihalic compiled 24 goals, eight assists and 56 points. Miller tallied a goal and four assists from his center-back position as a fifth-year senior. Over three seasons at IU, the Hoosiers held opponents to 51 goals in his 50 games played.
Indiana University Baseball announces 2025 Season Schedule Seventh-year head coach Jeff Mercer and the Indiana Baseball program announced the 2025 schedule. IU is set to play a traditional 56-game slate, beginning Friday, February 14th against UNLV in Surprise, Ariz. With the Big Ten adding four west coast schools to the conference, the league expanded its schedule to a 30-game, 10-series slate. Big Ten play will now begin on the first weekend of March and last through the final week of the regular season. “Annually, we work to build a schedule that challenges and prepares us to compete at the top of the conference and for postseason play. We believe we have done that again this year,” Mercer said. “With the addition of the four west coast universities, we have added tremendous competition as well as expanded our conference schedule from 24 to 30 games. We look forward to competing this spring and having a successful season.”
The traditional non-conference series during the 11-week league period will remain in place given the odd number of programs in the Big Ten. IU’s off weekend – from conference play – in the regular season comes at the beginning of May with the Hoosiers set to travel to Abilene Christian (May 2-4). IU’s first three non-conference weekends will take the team to Arizona, North Carolina and Florida. The Hoosiers will open at the College Baseball Classic in Surprise, Ariz. with games against UNLV (2), Xavier and national powerhouse Oregon State. The second weekend of the season will send IU to the USA Baseball facilities in Cary, N.C. to play Fordham, Xavier and Big Ten foe Northwestern. IU’s game against the Wildcats will be considered a non-conference contest in the official league standings. On the final week of February, IU will head to DeLand, Fla. for two games against host Stetson and two neutral site contests with Mount St. Mary’s.
On the schedule at Bart Kaufman Field includes Big Ten series against Ohio State (March 12-14), USC (March 28-30), Michigan State (April 4-6), Maryland (April 18-20) and Purdue (May 9-11). The Hoosiers will host 23 games in Bloomington including eight midweek games. Louisville (April 1) is the premier home game on the schedule, but IU will also host NCAA Tournament teams from 2024 in Northern Kentucky (March 4), Evansville (March 18) and Indiana State (April 8). IU will also return to Victory Field to host Ball State (April 23). Road weekends in league play take Mercer and company to Penn State (March 7-9), UCLA (March 21-23), Illinois (April 11-13), Iowa (April 25-27) and Michigan (May 15-17). In addition to its road series at Abilene Christian, IU will play midweeks away at Indiana State (March 11), Evansville (April 29) and Cincinnati (March 13). IU is boosted by the return of All-American outfielder Devin Taylor. Junior shortstop Tyler Cerny, sophomore second baseman Jasen Oliver and junior third baseman Josh Pyne all return in the field while senior left-hander Ryan Kraft leads the way in a new look lineup on the mound.
2025 Schedule Breakdown:
Overall
Home Games: 23
Away Games: 23
Neutral Games: 10
Big Ten
Home Opponents: Ohio State, USC, Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue
Away Opponents: Penn State, UCLA, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan
Notes
Season Opener: Indiana vs. UNLV (Feb. 14, 2025); Surprise, Ariz.
Home Opener: Indiana vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Feb. 19, 2025)
Big Ten Opener: Indiana at Penn State (March 7, 2025)
Opponents
2024 NCAA Tournament Teams: Oregon State, Stetson, Northern Kentucky, Evansville, Indiana State, Illinois
Caitlin Clark named TIME’s Athlete of the Year Caitlin Clark is already a sports icon, but TIME made sure to remove any doubt. The publication named the Indiana Fever star its 2024 Athlete of the Year. The Fever made Clark the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She propelled the team to a 20-20 record and a playoff berth, the franchise’s first since 2016. While the Fever lost to Connecticut in the first round, Clark’s impact on the sports world was undeniable. Her games consistently drew large crowds (home and away) while also getting a record number of people to watch WNBA games on TV. Sher appeared in the most-watched WNBA games on ABC, CBS, ESPN and ESPN2 as the league attracted record viewership and attendance. When the Fever and Washington Mystics faced off in their season finale, the game drew 20,711 fans, the largest crowd ever to witness a WNBA game.
“I’ve been able to captivate so many people that have never watched women’s sports, let alone women’s basketball, and turn them into fans,” Clark told TIME in its lengthy writeup. She chose the word “historic” to describe her whirlwind year, which took her from the NCAA championship game in April to the WNBA playoffs in September. Her time the spotlight also made her a lightning rod for controversy, and that was not of her choosing. “I tell people I feel like the most controversial person,” Clark told TIME. “But I am not. It’s just because of all the storylines that surround me. I literally try to live and treat everybody in the same exact respectful, kind way. It just confuses me at times.”
Her pro career didn’t start off on a great note. She committed 10 turnovers in her Fever debut, and the team sputtered to a 1-8 start. But Clark kept grinding, and so did her teammates. By June, the Fever were playing consistently better basketball and finding some wins. When the season resumed in August following the monthlong Olympic break, they won seven of eight games. It followed Clark’s snub from the Olympic team. Now, Clark and her teammates are preparing for the next season. They’ll open on May 17, 2025, against the Chicago Sky.