Sectional Baseball Tournament Kicks off Tonight The Road to Victory Field beings this evening as the IHSAA State Baseball Tournament starts tonight with Sectional Play all around the State of Indiana as teams battle looking to become one of four State Champions at the end of the season and lift the State Championship Trophy at Victory Field in Indianapolis in Mid-June.
In Class 4A at Terre Haute North Bloomington North and Bloomington South will kick off the sectional with a city battle at 6 PM with the winner facing Terre Haute South in the second semifinal tomorrow night at 7:30 PM. Terre Haute North and Martinsville will battle in the first semifinal tomorrow night at 5:30 PM with the Championship game scheduled for Monday June 2, at 6 PM. Bloomington North is 13-10 and Bloomington South is 17-6 on the season and won the Conference Indiana Championship with a 4-1 record. Terre Haute South finished the regular season with a 15-11 record. Terre Haute North is 15-8 and Martinsville has a rough season with a 0-19 record. It’s been since 2016 that Bloomington South has won a sectional baseball title and 2013 for Bloomington North.
In Class 3A at Cascade Edgewood will face Indianapolis Washington in the Sectional Opener at 5:30 PM with Northview and Cascade to follow at 7:30 PM. The winners will face off in the Semifinal on Monday June 2, 10 AM with Owen Valley and Speedway facing off at Noon in the Second Semifinal with the winners squaring off for the Sectional Championship at 6 PM that evening. Edgewood is 11-8 and looking for its first sectional title since 2021 while Indianapolis Washington comes in with 0-6 record. Northview is 9-10 and Cascade is 18-4 while on the other side of the bracket Speedway comes in with a 6-15-1 record and Owen Valley comes in with a 9-7 record.
Taylor Minnick Tabbed First Team All-American by D1Softball Indiana senior Taylor Minnick was named a First Team All-American by D1Softball on Tuesday. Minnick was recognized for the outstanding honor after a historic senior season. She hit .484 at the plate with 76 hits, 26 doubles, three triples, 18 home runs and 71 RBI. She also charted a 1.019 slugging percentage and a .592 on-base percentage. She helped lead the program to its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in program history. This is Minnick’s second All-American honor this season, also being named a First Team honoree by Softball America. In her career, this is her third, landing on the NFCA’s Third Team All-American list in 2023. In addition to her All-America nods this season, she was named First Team All-Big Ten and NFCA All-Region First Team for the Great Lakes Region. Minnick broke a slew of program records in her senior campaign. Season batting average: .484, Career batting average: .390, Season doubles: 26, Career doubles: 61, Career home runs: 45, Season Slugging Percentage: 1.019, Season RBI: 71 and Career RBI: 204.
Kenny Johnson Returns to Indiana University as Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Indiana head men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries announced the addition of assistant coach Kenny Johnson to his staff on Tuesday. “Kenny has been a difference making on the recruiting trail throughout his entire career,” DeVries said. “He has been able to attract the highest levels of talent wherever he has been. His track record of putting players in the NBA, specifically lottery picks, speaks for itself.” Johnson spent the 2024-25 season as an assistant coach for Ed Cooley at Georgetown. The Hoyas won 18 games, including league victories over Creighton and Xavier, and advanced to the semifinals of the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament. Georgetown brought in the 17th ranked recruiting class in the country in the offseason, according to 247Sports.
Prior to his stint on the Hilltop, Johnson spent two seasons (2022-24) as an assistant coach at Rhode Island under Archie Miller. He spent a pair of seasons (2020-22) as head coach and athletic director at National Christian Academy, a nationally ranked program in Fort Washington, Md. Before jumping to the prep ranks, he spent a couple seasons (2018-20) as an assistant coach at LaSalle on the staff of head coach Ashley Howard. Johnson served as an assistant coach (2014-16) and associate head coach (2016-17) at Louisville under Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino. The Cardinals went 75-26 overall and 36-18 in the ACC during his three-year run. U of L reached the NCAA Tournament twice, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2015.
During his first stint with the Hoosiers (2012-14), Johnson was an assistant coach under head coach Tom Crean. Indiana went 46-22 overall and 21-15 in the Big Ten. IU won the Big Ten Championship and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament during the 2012-13 season. The Hoosiers brought in top 20 recruiting classes in each of his two seasons in Bloomington. The Oxon Hill, Md., native began his college coaching career as an assistant coach at Towson (2011-12) under head coach Pat Skerry. Johnson helped the Tigers put together a top five Mid-Major recruiting class. He began his coaching career in 2002 as the associate head coach at Eleanor Roosevelt High School while eventually becoming the associate head coach at St. Paul VI Catholic High School for four years (2007-11).
While a high school coach, Johnson also served more than six years as a director and head of travel and logistics for the nationally recognized Nike Team Takeover AAU organization and was the head coach of its 16 and underage group during that stint. The program produced more than 53 Division I players and four future NBA players during that time. He has coached numerous NBA players including NBA All-Stars Victor Oladipo and Donovan Mitchell, 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell, All-Rookie selection Cody Zeller, and long-time NBA veterans Josh Hart, Jerami Grant, Terry Rozier, Noah Vonleh, Damion Lee, and Jordan Nwora.
Johnson attended Oxon Hill High School where his playing career was cut short due to several knee injuries in his second year of varsity basketball. As a senior at Oxon Hill in 1994, he was named Science and Technology Student of the Year. He earned his Bachelor of Science in cell, molecular biology and genetics in 1999 at Maryland, where he was a Benjamin Banneker Scholarship recipient. He worked as a protein chemist/molecular biologist at Human Genome Sciences in Rockville, Md., after graduation. Johnson is married to his wife, Montoya, and has three sons, Amare, Mekai and Kash, and one daughter Akylah.
2026 Indianapolis 500 Ticket Renewal and Ticket Upgrades are now available Alex Palou has been crowned the Indianapolis 500 winner; fans have scrambled out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leaving more than a mess for cleanup, but the party never stops for the Speedway. After this year’s sold-out grandstand, the IMS has opened up ticket renewal for 2026. The deadline to renew is Monday, June 16. IMS says now is the best time to grab your ticket for 2026 and consider an upgrade, since prices will increase once tickets go on sale this fall. Those who do renew will have priority for ticket upgrades and will have access to presale offers.
But that’s not the only announcement today, the IMS revealed the official logo for the 2026 Indianapolis 500. To honor Memorial Day, the logo has a “patriotic flair to celebrate the nation’s military,” IMS says. “The Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend has always been a special time to honor the brave men and women who sacrifice so much to serve and protect the United States,” NTT IndyCar and IMS President Doug Boles said. “The logo reminds our fans as they race to renew or request seat upgrades by the June 16 deadline of the various ways, we celebrate these men and women and the 250th birthday of our nation.”
If you decide to renew your tickets, you’ll also have the opportunity to buy a handful of Month of May merchandise including Parking (including ADA parking) and camping passes. Month of May practice and qualification day tickets. Bronze and Silver Badges. Indianapolis 500 Victory Celebration presented by Gainbridge tickets. Miller Lite Carb Day tickets and concert upgrades. Coors Light Snake Pit wristbands.
Record Breaking Purse of $20.3 Million for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500 purse reached a record-breaking $20,283,000 for the 109th running of the race on Sunday, with first-time winner Álex Palou earning $3.8 million. This year’s purse marks the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500, continuing a trend of increasing payouts over the past four years. The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $596,500, surpassing last year’s average of $543,000. In 2024, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $18,456,000, with the winner earning $4.3 million, which included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for back-to-back wins. In 2023, the purse was $17,021,500, and the winner earned $3.7 million. In 2022, the purse was $16,000,200, with the winner taking home $3.1 million. Prior to 2022, the largest purse was $14.4 million in 2008. Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing was named Rookie of the Year, earning a $50,000 bonus and a total prize of $327,300. The purse awards were to be presented Monday evening at the Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.
Marcus Ericsson, Kyle Kirkwood and Callum Ilott Penalized for Unapproved Car Modifications During the Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 500 runner-up Marcus Ericsson was penalized to the rear of the 33-car field along with Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood on Monday after their cars were found to have unapproved modifications in the post-race inspection that could have helped their aerodynamic efficiency. Ericsson finished second to Alex Palou on Sunday when he was unable to make a winning pass in the closing laps. He now will be credited with a 31st-place finish while Kirkwood, who had finished sixth, has been relegated to 32nd. “We are in receipt of the Indianapolis 500 Post-Race Notice as provided by IndyCar,” Andretti Global said in a statement. “We are taking the necessary time to assess the information, and we will be requesting a full review with IndyCar.”
IndyCar said the modifications made by Andretti Global were to the Energy Management System covers provided by Dallara, the company that provides the chassis for the series. The rulebook states that those parts must be used as supplied. Ericsson and Kirkwood had to forfeit their prize money and championship points from their original finish and instead will receive the money and points for their penalized finish. Each of the cars also was fined $100,000 and the competition managers for the teams have been suspended for the upcoming race on the streets of Detroit. It was an incredibly costly swing for Andretti as the Indy 500 purse this year was a record $20,283,000, with winner Palou set to receive $3.8 million. Ericsson will receive $610,500 for finishing 31st when he could have earned up to a $1 million in second.
Kirkwood initially was credited with a sixth place finish but once dropped to 32nd received $607,500. “We had a great race, we came across the line in sixth,” Kirkwood said. “We’ll go through the (review) process, and this team is built on sportsmanship, they are built on integrity, and we’ll try to do everything right in the future.” The disqualifications changed the podium finishing order, with David Malukas of A.J. Foyt Racing moving up to second and Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren moving up to third. For the Foyt team, combined with Santino Ferrucci’s adjusted fifth-place finish, it marked the best Indy 500 finish in 25 years for the team.
The No. 90 car of Callum Ilott also failed post-race technical inspection after it failed to meet the minimum endplate height and location specification. Prema Racing was handed the same penalties as Andretti Global, which means rather than 12th, Ilott will be credited with finishing last in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” “Oh,” Ilott posted on social media after learning of the penalty. His payout was decreased to $155,300. “I was at brunch, and it was ruined.” Ilott’s teammate at Prema, rookie Robert Shwartzman, was named top rookie of the race after becoming the first rookie to win the pole since 1983. Ilott joked he was almost late to the awards ceremony because he was searching for Shwartzman for a loan to pay the IndyCar fine. Prema said in a statement that Ilott’s front wing endplate did not meet minimum height and passed technical inspection multiple times.
“The issue didn’t lead to any performance gain, the car ended up being non-compliant with the rules at the end of the race, so the team accepts full responsibility,” Prema said. “The team is currently investigating the root of the problem. We look forward to implementing the needed procedures to ensure improved control and avoid these kinds of issues in the future.” Doug Boles, the president of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said at the annual Monday night awards ceremony that Ericsson, Kirkwood and Ilott were all given the opportunity to skip the event but showed anyway. “To a man, Marcus, Kyle and Callum, all said, ‘We would not miss an opportunity to come to the victory banquet for the greatest race on earth,’” Boles said. “And that tells you the character of the drivers who are in the cars in the IndyCar Series.”