
University of California Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Transfers to Indiana University Indiana will have brothers in their quarterback room next year. And IU almost certainly has their starting QB for the 2025 season. According to multiple reports, Fernando Mendoza has committed to the Hoosiers. He’ll join his brother, freshman quarterback Alberto Mendoza in Bloomington next month. ESPN’s Pete Thamel appeared to be the first to break the news. Mendoza was one of the top overall players available in the portal. He also considered Missouri, Georgia, UCLA, and others. He took visits to at least IU, Missouri and Georgia over the past couple weeks.
While leading Cal to a 6-6 season, the 6-foot-5 and 225-pound Mendoza was 265-of-386 (68.7%) passing for 3,004 yards, with 16 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He rushed for 105 yards and two scores. Mendoza finished second in the ACC in completion percentage, third in passing yards per game, sixth in yards and efficiency, and eighth in touchdown passes. He missed the last game of the season due to an illness. As a freshman in 2023, Mendoza was a Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honorable mention selection of the Pac-12 coaches. He played in nine games that season including starts in each of Cal’s final eight contests. He completed 153-of-243 passes (63.0%) for 1,708 yards with 14 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions for a 132.8 rating. The 21-year-old Mendoza has two years of eligibility remaining.
Indiana University Football adds Appalachian State Wide Receiver Makai Jackson from the Transfer Portal Indiana made a major addition to their wide receiver room on Christmas Eve. Appalachian State wideout Makai Jackson has signed with the Hoosiers for 2025 according to multiple reports. As a junior for the Mountaineers in 2024, Jackson finished with 46 catches for 745 yards and five touchdowns. He earned third-team All-Sun Belt Conference. In two seasons with Appalachian State, Makai Jackson amassed 73 catches for 1,163 yards and seven touchdowns. He also ran five times for 90 yards and a score. He had five catches for 49 yards against Curt Cignetti and James Madison in 2023. A product of Levittown, Pa., Jackson also contributed on special teams, with nine kick returns for 165 yards and two punts for 24 yards.
Jackson was a teammate of Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt in 2022 at Saint Francis. That season he recorded 85 catches for 991 yards and nine touchdowns. Added 13 rushes for 44 yards and three kickoff returns for 90 yards and one touchdown. The 6-foot and 200-pound Jackson has one-year of eligibility remaining. Indiana’s receiver room is developing into a strength of the 2025 team. Jackson will join returning veterans Sarratt, Omar Cooper, Jr., and E.J. Williams. They’ll be catching balls from new quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who announced his commitment to IU earlier on Wednesday.
Monroe County Girls High School Basketball Teams compete in Holiday Tournaments The Post Christmas season is one of the best times of the year for High School Basketball fans as there all are many holiday tournaments around the State of Indiana as teams from all-over Indiana and other states get to play some extra games against teams they have played against or teams that are from another part of the state that you not play otherwise because of the distance and makes for some compelling matchups to see where your team stacks up. Three of the four Monroe County Girls Basketball teams will travel to various tournaments around the State of Indiana to see where they stack up as gear up for the final month of the regular season.
Bloomington North will face Lafayette Jeff at Noon today in the Bloom Bank Classic at Lebanon HS. The Cougars will face either Perry Merdian or Lebanon who play at 10 am this morning in the second game this afternoon at 4 or 6pm depending on results. On the other side of the bracket Lowell will face Greenfield-Central at 4 pm and Evansville North faces Mooresville 6pm. On Friday a 9am those four teams will be a second game followed by the 7th place game at 1pm, 5th place game and 3rd place games will take place at 2:30pm and the Championship Game is 4:30 pm. Bloomington North is 6-6 on the season under second year head coach Kiley Jarrett but comes into the tournament with three straight losses and just one win in the last five games. The Cougars average 45.5 points on Offense and give up 42.2 points on defense.
Bloomington South will face Tri West on Friday at Noon in the Rascals Fun Zone Holiday Invitational at Whiteland HS. Anderson and Whiteland will face off at 10 am with the consolation game at 4pm and the Championship Game at 6 pm. The Panthers are 11-1 on the season for Larry Winters who is in his 26th season at Bloomington South. The Panthers come in with a seven-game winning streak after Evansville North beat Bloomington South 54-52 in overtime November 30, on the Panthers home court.
Edgewood will battle Mount Vernon (Posey) on Friday at 12:30 pm in the Orleans Tournament as Eastern Greene and Orleans face off at 11am. The Consolation Game is scheduled for 6pm with the Championship Game at 7:30pm. Edgewood is 9-3 on the season but they have dropped two of their last three games and will be without Madi Bland for the rest of the season after she suffered an ACL Injury. The Mustangs average 52.8 points on offense and give up 39.6 points on defense which is nothing new under 17-year head coach Gary Sims.
Lighthouse Christian has some time off for the holiday break as the Lady Lions played in the Southern Roads Conference Tournament on December 14, and will return to action on January 3, at Columbus Christian. The Lady Lions have not won a game this season and are averaging 25 points on offense and giving up 59.3 points on defense through 11 games for sixth year head coach Brian Brown.
Monroe County Boys High School Basketball Teams compete in Holiday Tournaments The Post Christmas season is one of the best times of the year for High School Basketball fans as there all are many holiday tournaments around the State of Indiana as teams from all-over Indiana and other states get to play some extra games against teams they have played against or teams that are from another part of the state that you not play otherwise because of the distance and makes for some compelling matchups to see where your team stacks up. Three of the four Monroe County Boys High School Basketball teams will travel to various tournaments around the State of Indiana to see where they stack up as gear up for next two months of Regular Season as teams are one third of the way through the season.
Edgewood faces Northview at 11:30 am this morning at the First Financial Bank Wabash Valley Classic at Terre Haute North High School. The Wabash Valley Classic is one of the best holiday tournaments with 16 teams with 28 games in four days. The Tournament starts at 10 am this morning, tomorrow and Saturday with 12 hours of non-stop basketball and will have four games on Monday with the Championship game scheduled for 8pm. Edgewood will face Cloverdale or South Vermillion on Friday at 10 am if the Mustangs lose and 1 pm should the Mustangs win. The other teams in the field are Bloomfield, Linton, Parke Heritage Terre Haute South, Shakamak, West Vigo, Sullivan, Terre Haute South, Greencastle along with Marshall, Casey-Westfield and Robinson from Illinois. The Mustangs are 4-2 on the season for Matt Wadsworth is in 6th season at Edgewood who are averaging 62.5 points on offense and giving up 53.5 points on defense.
Bloomington South will travel to Lawrenceburg for the 12 team Ray Furney Holiday Classic that will be held at Lawrenceburg High School and Greendale Middle School starting Friday and continuing on Saturday. The Panthers will kickoff Pool C play at Greendale Middle School against Newport Central Catholic from Kentucky at 9am and Whiteland at 1 pm at Lawrenceburg. On Saturday the Panthers will matchup with a team from Pool D depending on results as Gainesville HS from Florida, Jennings County and Guerin Catholic are the potential teams for the third game. On the other side in Pool A is New Palestine, Lawrenceburg and Castle as Pool B has Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Silver Creek and Beech Grove which will be the potential opponents for the Panthers fourth game of the Tournament depending on results. Bloomington South is 3-3 on the season for Hall of Fame Coach J.R. Holmes who is the all-time winningest coach in Indiana High School History with 914 wins in 55 seasons. The Panthers are averaging 67.3 points and giving up 60.3 points on defense.
Lighthouse Christian will face Mooresville Christian at Noon today in the first round of the Christmas at the Tank Holiday Tournament at Eminence HS. The Lions will play a second game at 3pm against Indiana Math Science in Pool B Play. Pool A will have Riverton Parke, Eminence and Seven Oaks. On Friday the fifth-place game will start at Noon followed by the 3rd place game at 4 pm and the Championship Game at 8pm. The Lions are 1-3 on the season under second year head coach John Winders as they are averaging 61.3 points on offense and giving up 63.8 points on defense.
Bloomington North is 1-5 on the season after a 58-42 win at Franklin Last Saturday. The Cougars are averaging 48.8 points and giving up 56.7 points for head coach Jason Speer who is in his 8th season in charge of the Cougars. Bloomington North will be action on January 2, when they face Fort Wayne Wayne in the first game of the Fishers Tournament.
Caitlin Clark named the 2024 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year Caitlin Clark raised the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both the college ranks and the WNBA, and Tuesday she was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her impact on and off the court. After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark was the top pick in the WNBA draft as expected and went on to win rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers tuned in to follow her journey. Clark’s exploits were far reaching, casting a light on other women’s sports leagues along the way. A group of 74 sports journalists from The Associated Press and its members voted on the award. Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was second with 25 and boxer Imane Khelif was third, getting four votes.
Clark is only the fourth women’s basketball player to be honored as the female athlete of the year since it was first presented in 1931, joining Sheryl Swoopes (1993), Rebecca Lobo (1995) and Candace Parker (2008, 2021). “I grew up a fan of Candace Parker and the people who came before me and to be honored in this way, is super special and I’m thankful,” Clark said in a phone interview. “It was a great year for women’s basketball and women’s sports.” Shohei Ohtani won the AP Male Athlete of the Year on Monday for the third time. Clark broke the NCAA Division I career scoring record for both men and women finishing her career with 3,951 points while guiding Iowa to its second consecutive national championship game. After her Hawkeyes lost t0 South Carolina for the title, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley took the mic during her team’s celebration and said, “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport.”
For all the success Clark has had and the attention she has brought to women’s basketball, she is often the centerpiece of debates and online toxicity towards her and other players in the league. For her part, Clark has disavowed the toxic discourse. Lobo also has been impressed with the way the 22-year-old Clark has handled the pressure and attention that has come her way. “I would say she’s navigated it almost flawlessly. she hasn’t had an big missteps or misspeaks at a time you’re under constant scrutiny,” Lobo said. “She’s seemed to say and do all the right things. That’s just incredible at a time when it’s constant attention and scrutiny. She has not done anything to tarnish this sort of mild persona she has.”
As Clark handled the praise — and the backlash — during the heat of competition, it was hard for her to appreciate just what she was able accomplish over the past year. But after having time to reflect on the whirlwind tour, she appreciates those who were there alongside her for the ride. “I’m thankful for the people I got to do it with,” Clark said. “A year ago, I was still in the early part of my senior year in college. … How fast things change, and now I can see how great a college season it was.” Iowa sold out all of its games at home and on the road with Clark as the main attraction. That momentum continued into the pros. Her No. 22 jersey was prevalent wherever she played during her rookie season and will be retired at Iowa. “You’d be remiss not to acknowledge how crazy her fan base is and the eyes she gets with everything she does,” said Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was often spotted courtside at Clark’s Indiana Fever games. “It’s a different type of popularity; she’s one of the most popular athletes in the world. It’s not just women’s sports anymore. “It’s really cool to see, and she just handles it with such grace.”
Clark said she enjoys spending time with fans at games, usually taking a few minutes before and after games to sign autographs. “For me it’s still really fun,” she said. “Whether it’s 15 seconds or 10 seconds or 5 seconds can be very impactful in a young girl and young boys life. Seeing the fans going crazy an hour before tipoff, I never take that for granted. That’s super cool and I never want that to go away.” After a slow start to her WNBA career, Clark eventually found her stride there too. She set the single-game assist record with 19 and also had 337 assists on the season to break that mark as well. Clark, known for her logo-distance 3-pointers, was the fastest player to reach 100 3’s when she did it in 34 games which helped Indiana reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Lobo, who won the AP female athlete of the year award after lifting UConn to its first national championship, was on the court for launch of the WNBA two years later. The ESPN analyst sees Clark’s ascension as something different. “She’s brought unprecedented attention both in the building, but also viewership to the sport that was worthy of it but didn’t have it yet,” Lobo said. “There’s never been anything like this. “That timeframe from 1995-97 was a baby step in the progression of it all. This is a giant leap forward. I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s more attention then the sports ever had.”
The numbers have been record breaking when Clark is part of a broadcast: — TV viewership in the WNBA was up 300% thanks in large part to Clark with ABC, CBS, ION, ESPN, and ESPN2 all having record viewers when Fever games were on. The NCAA women’s championship game outdrew the men on TV for the first time in the sport’s 42-year history with 18.9 million viewers tuning it to watch the event. It was the second most watched women’s sporting event outside of the Olympics in the history of U.S. television. The 2024 WNBA draft was the most-watched in league history with 2.4 million viewers. Clark credits the community of women athletes for the popularity increase of women’s sports, saying “we” did this or “we” did that when asked about it. “It’s fascinating, you don’t always appreciate how many people 18 million is,” Clark said. “You see that number against a college football game or the Masters or whatever it is as far as the biggest sporting events in our country, and it puts it in perspective. We outdrew the men’s Final Four.”
Indianapolis Colts Running Back Jonathan Taylor voted the Week 16 Fed Ex Ground Player of the Week Following Jonathan Taylor’s Week 16 performance against the Tennessee Titans, the running back was voted the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week. In the Colts’ 38-30 win, Taylor rushed for 218 yards on 29 carries (7.5 yards/attempt) and had three touchdowns, including 65- and 70-yard scores. In doing so, Taylor became the only player other than the Philadelphia Eagles’ Saquon Barkley to have multiple rushing touchdowns of 65 or more yards in a game this season. With his performance on Sunday, Taylor registered the third-most rushing yards in a single game in Colts history and is one of two players (Edgerrin James) in franchise history to rush for over 200 yards in a single game. Taylor is also one of three players in team history to have multiple games with at least three rushing touchdowns. For the 2024-25 NFL regular season, FedEx is once again working with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) to make donations of $2,000 in the name of the winning players ($4,000 total) to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country. Over the course of the entire season, select HBCUs will receive grants totaling more than $100,000 to support needs-based scholarships through the 2025-26 school year.