Indiana University Men’s Basketball lands Sam Houston State Transfer Lamar Wilkerson One of the best shooters in the 2025 transfer portal cycle is coming to Indiana. Sam Houston transfer guard Lamar Wilkerson has committed to the Hoosiers after visiting Bloomington this weekend. “Indiana felt like home,” Wilkerson said in an interview on the Field of 68 immediately after his announcement. “I’m ready to bring Hoosier basketball back.” The 6-foot-5 Wilkerson picked IU over Kentucky, Auburn and Ole Miss. He also visited Kentucky after IU, giving new Hoosier’s head coach Darian DeVries a massive portal win over Mark Pope and the Wildcats. Indiana and Wilkerson will face Kentucky in Lexington in December. A product of Ashdown, Ark., Wilkerson is coming off his senior season during which he averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He was the best three-point shooter in Conference USA, shooting 44.5% from beyond the arc, which ranked seventh nationally. He averaged 3.4 made threes per game, which ranked sixth nationally, on 7.7 attempts. He totaled 109 made threes, which ranked 13th nationally. For his three year Division-I career, Wilkerson has scored 1,340 points (14.3 ppg). He has shot 45.3% from the field including 40.3% from three on 511 attempts (5.4 attempts per game). He also played one season of junior college. Wilkerson is the fourth transfer addition to IU coach Darian DeVries’ developing roster. He joins Tucker DeVries (West Virginia), Conor Enright (DePaul) and Reed Bailey (Davidson). Wilkerson has one season of eligibility remaining.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball goes without a WNBA Draft Selection for the First Time in Four Years For the first time in four years, Indiana women’s basketball was shut out at the WNBA Draft. The Hoosiers didn’t have any players selected in Monday’s WNBA draft, the first time since 2021 without an IU player getting selected. Sydney Parrish had expressed desire to continue playing professionally, but did not get chosen. Chloe Moore-McNeil and Karoline Striplin were also eligible. Parrish averaged 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game this past season. The Hoosiers had players selected in three straight WNBA Drafts prior to this year. Ali Patberg was taken in the third round by the Indiana Fever in 2022, Grace Berger went to the Fever in the 2023 first round, and Mackenzie Holmes was picked by the Seattle Storm in the third round in 2024.
Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball Center Oumar Ballo to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Former Indiana center Oumar Ballo will be playing in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) in Virginia later this week. The PIT is a four-day, 12-game tournament that is comprised of 64 seniors split into teams. It is the ‘unofficial’ start of the pre-NBA Draft process. Scouts from every NBA team will be in attendance. Ballo played in 31 games — with 29 starts — for Indiana in his only season in Bloomington. He averaged 13.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. He also shot 62.3 percent from the floor. He had five 20+ point games and 13 double-doubles. Before Indiana, Oumar Ballo played three seasons with Arizona where he averaged 11.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game. Ballo was a two-time All-Pac 12 performer. Ballo originally committed to Gonzaga out of high school and played 24 games for the Zags, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds off the bench. Oumar Ballo is the only Indiana player in the event. Ballo’s team is the Portsmouth Partnership, and their first game is this evening at 9:00 pm. His team also has Great Osobor (Washington), David N’Guessan (Kansas State), Matthew Cleveland (Miami), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee), Zeke Mayo (Kansas), August’s Marciullionis (Saint Mary’s) and Ace Baldwin (Penn State). The PIT starts Today and runs through Saturday.
Former Indiana University Women’s Basketball Player Juliana LaMendola Headed to Grand Canyon University in Arizona Former Indiana guard Julianna LaMendola announced her next destination in her college basketball journey on Tuesday. LaMendola announced via her Instagram account that she will play for Grand Canyon University in the Phoenix area. LaMendola heads to the Antelopes as they are poised to move up in the college basketball pecking order. Currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, Grand Canyon is moving up to the Mountain West Conference starting with the 2026-27 season. LaMendola will have two years of eligibility left after she spent two seasons with the Hoosiers as a reserve guard. The Coppell, Texas native played in 60 career games for the Hoosiers, starting five of them. She averaged 2.1 points and two rebounds during her career. All five starts came during the 2025 season and they came when Sydney Parrish was out of the lineup. During that stretch, LaMendola achieved her career high of 10 points against Bellarmine on Dec. 15. She also had a career-high 11 rebounds in a game against North Carolina at Battle 4 Atlantis. A bigger guard at 6-foot-1, LaMendola wasn’t able to crack the rotation. She had Parrish, Yarden Garzon ahead of her throughout her Indiana career. LeMendola is the fourth former Hoosier to find her new basketball home. Yarden Garzon (Maryland), Sharnecce Currie-Jelks (Murray State) and Lilly Meister (Kansas) all previously announced their future schools. Henna Sandvik and Lexus Bargesser have yet to announce their new schools. Indiana has added Zania Socka-Nguemen, a 6-3 transfer forward from UCLA. Guards Chloe Spreen (Alabama) and Phoenix Stotijn (Arkansas) have also committed to the Hoosiers.
Indiana Fever Select Three Players in the WNBA Draft Just one year after the Indiana Fever selected Caitlin Clark first overall in the Fever added three players to the roster during the 2025 WNBA draft on Monday night. The Fever picked forward Makayla Timpson at No. 19 overall and guard Bree Hall at No. 20 overall in the second round, followed by forward Yvonne Ejim at No. 33 overall in the third round. “I’m so excited (with the draft results),” Amber Cox, COO and general manager of the Indiana Fever, said in a release. “Obviously picking in the second and third round, you have to be prepared for multiple scenarios.” Makayla Timpson, a forward from Florida State University, set single-season program records in rebounds, blocks, and double-doubles during her collegiate career. She was the only NCAA player to average at least 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks per game in her senior season. Bree Hall, a guard from the University of South Carolina, contributed to the Gamecocks’ four consecutive Final Four appearances and won national championships in 2022 and 2024. Hall is known for her defensive prowess, having played in 147 games, the most of any four-year player in program history. Yvonne Ejim, a forward from Gonzaga University, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in both 2024 and 2025. She averaged 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game, shooting 55.1 percent from the field. University of Connecticut superstar guard Paige Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings in Monday night’s WNBA draft.
Braden Smith announces his return to Purdue University Men’s Basketball for his Senior Season Braden Smith is running it back. The Purdue guard announced via social media on Monday that he will return to West Lafayette for his senior season with the Boilermakers. “Running it back one last time,” Smith wrote. “Purdue has given me everything: Memories, challenges, growth and a family. There’s still more to prove, more to accomplish, and more moments to create with my brothers. Much love to my guys and Boiler Nation. Let’s make this next year unforgettable.” Can you hear that deep sigh of relief coming out of West Lafayette? Although it was expected that Smith would return to Purdue for the 2024-25 season, his announcement makes it official that he’ll be back in the black and gold for one more year. Smith is coming off a remarkable year in 2024-25. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, received the Bob Cousy Award (best point guard in college basketball) and was a finalist for the Naismith National Player of the Year award. Smith’s return automatically makes Purdue the favorite to win the Big Ten and a contender to win college basketball’s national championship in 2026. He averaged 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. The junior helped Purdue to a 24-12 record and a trip to the Sweet 16. Clearly, though, Smith is looking to accomplish even more in his senior season at Purdue.