The Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Honors its 15th Class Tonight at the Monroe Convention Center Since 2011 the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet has been a summer staple on the calendar in Bloomington and Monroe County and this evening 12 more will be inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame at the Monroe Convention Center in Downtown Bloomington. The 12-member class includes 6 Athletes, 2 Coaches, 2 Contributors and 2 Pioneers that predate 1950. The meet and greet which is open to the public will start the evening from 5-6 followed by a reception dinner and the ceremony. 9 of 12 Inductees will be in attendance with other three who are no longer living being represented by their families.
It will be a Special Night for Lance and Ted Fox who will be the first father and son to be inducted together. Ted Fox won the State Championship in the Pole Vault for Bloomington HS in 1944 and coached for 30 years at Bedford North Lawrence HS. His son Lance graduated in from Bloomington South in 1976 setting the school Pole Vault Record on his way to the Sectional Title and was a two time Big Ten Champion at Indiana University. Ted Fox passed away in 2004 but will looking down on his son as they enter the Hall of Fame together. Bob Snoddy was University High School’s only Track and Field State Champion winning the 120 Yard Hurdles and 220 Yard Hurdles at the 1947 State Track and Field Championships. Snoddy passed away in 2014 at age 86 and his son Rob will be there accepting on his behalf.
Wayne Nichols who coached Football and Track at University and Bloomington North taught Physical Education for 58 years working for every Monroe County School at some point. Nichols passed away in 2022, his Wife Janet of 59 years will accept on his behalf as they will have 56 Family Members in attendance to celebrate his induction. Current Bloomington South Cross Country and Track Coach Larry Williams will be inducted as a Coach. Jim Murphy who was a four ports star at Eastern Greene HS and the longtime president of CFC Properties will be inducted as contributor. Shelby Wilson who and Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 in Rome in Wrestling has been a mentor, coach and speaker inspiring young up and coming wrestlers for many years in the area will be inducted as contributor.
Ronnie Schneider will become this first Scholar Athlete Award Winner to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Schneider won three individual State Singles Titles in Tennis and was named a 2013 Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award Winner for Bloomington South. Alex Guyton was a 2008 Indiana Girls Basketball All-Star for Bloomington North and won three Big Ten Regular Season Championships at Purdue and became an assistant coach after her playing career was up at both the High School and College levels. Jonathan Holmes currently an assistant coach at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio was a 1999 Indiana Boys Basketball All-Star at Bloomington South and started for four years for his Father J.R. who was inducted into the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 and is the all-time winningest boys’ basketball coach in the State of Indiana.
Sarah Thompson (Figg) who was a two-sport standout at Edgewood in Basketball and Softball started 4 years in both sports earning all-conference honors in both sports all four years and won 5 Sectional Championships with 3 in Basketball and 2 in Softball owns several school records in both sports that still stand since graduating in 2004. Andy Anderson was an Indiana Baseball All-Star for Edgewood in 2000 and went on to Ball State University to start as pitcher for four years. Anderson was a 4 Year letter winner in Basketball and was an all-conference selection his Senior season.
In Early June the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame held its annual Scholar Athlete Award Ceremony in which one female and one male athlete from Bloomington North, Bloomington South and Edgewood were honored with a $1,000 Scholarship. Sofie Garcia is a two-sport standout in Gymnastics and Track and Field along with Swimmer Jay Stewart represent Bloomington North. Grace Stringer a Track and Cross-Country standout along with Swimmer David Kovacs represent Bloomington South. Wrestler Ayrica DeHart and Cross Country and Track Standout Jackson Klinger represent Edgewood. The Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame will have 159 Inductees after tonight’s ceremony. The Hall of Fame has awarded $78,000 dollars in Scholarships to 84 athletes from the three Monroe County public high schools and all the plaques hang in Fountain Square Mall in Downtown Bloomington.
No Timetable set for Caitlin Clark’s Return Following a July 15 injury to her right groin, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark underwent further medical evaluations earlier this week. The team can confirm that no additional injuries or damage were discovered through the evaluations. Clark will continue working with the Fever medical team on her recovery and rehabilitation, with the priority on her long-term health and well-being. There is no timetable available for Clark’s return, and no additional details will be provided at this time. Any further updates will be shared as they become available.
Indiana University Football Picked to Finish 5th in the Big Ten by Athlon Sports and 9th by Lindy’s Sports Two long-standing college football preview magazines are now available on newsstands and one is much higher than the other when it comes to IU football’s outlook for the 2025 season. The Hoosiers are coming off of an 11-2 campaign that ended with the program’s first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. IU is projected to finish 5th in the Big Ten, according to the Athlon Sports 2025 College Football Preview and is projected to finish 9th in the conference, according to Lindy’s Sports College Football National 2025 Preview.
The Hoosiers are ranked No. 16 nationally in the preseason by Athlon Sports. The full projected order of finish in the Big Ten, according to Athlon Sports, is as follows: Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, USC, Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA, Northwestern, Maryland and Purdue. And the complete projected order of finish in the Big Ten, according to Lindy’s, is as follows: Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois, Nebraska, USC, Washington, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, UCLA, Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern and Purdue.
The Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten team includes wide receiver Elijah Sarratt on the first team offense. Defensive lineman Mikail Kamara, linebacker Aiden Fisher and defensive back D’Angelo Ponds are on the preseason Big Ten first team defense. Sarratt was named preseason All-America second team offense by Athlon and Kamara was named preseason second team All-America defense. Fisher was named preseason third team All-America defense. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is considered the 5th-best incoming transfer in the league, according to Athlon.
The Lindy’s preseason All-Big Ten teams include offensive lineman Carter Smith on the first team offense, Sarratt on the second team offense and center Pat Coogan on the third team offense. On the defensive side, Kamara was named to the first team defense and Ponds was named to the second team defense. Lindy’s named Mendoza as the 4th-most impactful transfer nationally: “With 4,712 yards passing in 19 starts, he offers the Hoosiers continued production as they try to stay nationally prominent.” Lindy’s ranked Indiana 31st in its preseason national rankings. In its national positional rankings, Mendoza is the No. 18 quarterback, Sarratt is the No. 7 wide receiver, Smith the No. 7 tackle and Kamara the No. 9 defensive end, according to Lindy’s.
Indianapolis Indians take down the Toledo Mudhens for the Second Straight Night A seven-run fifth inning carried the Indianapolis Indians to a 9-6 win over the Toledo Mud Hens on Wednesday night at Victory Field. It tied their single-inning season high in runs, also scoring seven in the seventh inning on June 6 at Memphis. After Toledo (12-11, 51-47) plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-1 lead, the Indians (16-7, 58-39) stormed back with seven runs in the bottom half. 12 Indians batters came to the plate in the inning. After Alika Williams grounded out, Indy strung together three consecutive singles to load the bases with Shawn Ross, Tsung-Che Cheng and Ronny Simon reaching, respectively. Ji Hwan Bae drove home the first run of the rally with an RBI walk to cut the deficit to 4-2. Nick Solak then cleared the bases with a go-ahead, three-run double.
When Woo-Suk Go replaced starting pitcher Devin Smeltzer (L, 0-1) after Solak’s double, Billy Cook deposited Go’s first pitch into the center field shrubbery for a 415-foot, two-run homer. Cam Devanney then struck out for the second out, but the Indians mighty rally was not finished. Jared Triolo walked, Williams singled, and Ross doubled home Triolo for an 8-4 advantage to conclude the game-winning flurry. Indianapolis opened the scoring the first inning on an RBI single by Solak that scored Bae, after he had walked and stole second base. The game remained 1-0 until the fifth inning when the Mud Hens plated four runs, capped by Jace Jung’s two-run homer. The Indians punched right back with seven runs to follow.
Toledo began chipping away, scoring a run in the sixth and seventh innings to cut the Indians lead to 8-6. Cook put things to rest with an insurance run in the eighth inning for a 9-6 lead, smacking an RBI single up the middle for his third hit of the day. RHP Sean Sullivan started the Indians bullpen game, tossing 3.0 shutout frames, with six Indy pitchers combining for the win. Colin Holderman (W, 1-1) allowed one run, tossing 1.1 innings in relief with two walks and three strikeouts. Smeltzer allowed six runs on eight hits across 4.1 innings for Toledo. Solak extended his on-base streak to 30 games, the longest by an Indians batter since Keon Broxton’s 34-game run from July 3-Aug. 11, 2015. Cook homered in three straight for the first time since June 14-16, 2024, with Norfolk. All nine Indians position players reached base safely in the contest and eight of them collected one-plus hit.
Indiana Fever Guard Sophie Cunningham Says the WNBA Fined Her $500 for her Video Posted on TikToc Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham says she’s been fined by the WNBA. On July 17, Cunningham took to her TikTok account to call out “some refs.” The TikTok post has the popular Sabrina Carpenter song “Manchild” playing in the background, and Cunningham lip-syncs the words “stupid,” “slow” and “useless.” On Wednesday, Cunningham used her X account to say that she got fined $500 for the TikTok. She wrote, “idk why this is funny to me… like ok you got it bud! Cause there’s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now.” This would not be the first time this season Cunningham has been fined.
In a game earlier in the season, when the Fever were playing the Connecticut Sun, tensions flared after Caitlin Clark appeared to be poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon. Cunningham got involved later in the game when she took Sheldon to the floor on a hard foul. Cunningham was fined by the WNBA for her role in the scuffle. Fever head coach Stephanie White voiced her concerns about the officials following the game. “Call the fouls that are actually happening on the floor,” White said. “And consistently call the fouls that are actually on the floor. And not just if someone swings and misses. Consistently call the fouls.”
Greenfield, Indiana Native Kyle Gibson Announces his Retirement from Major League Baseball Kyle Gibson, a longtime big-league pitcher and hometown product of Greenfield-Central High School, has officially called it a career after 13 seasons in Major League Baseball. Gibson, 37, announced his retirement during an episode of the “Serving It Up” podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow former MLB players Lance Lynn and Matt Holliday. The decision marks the end of a professional journey that began in central Indiana and carried him to ballparks across the country—including a World Series appearance and an All-Star nod. “It’s been a lot of fun to be around the family a lot more,” Gibson said on the podcast. “I’ve been so blessed to play this game for as long as I have, but it just felt like the right time.”
A 2006 graduate of Greenfield-Central, Gibson starred at the University of Missouri before being drafted 22nd overall in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He made his debut with the Twins in 2013 and spent seven seasons in Minnesota, quickly establishing himself as one of the state’s most accomplished baseball exports. In all, the right-hander pitched for six major league teams: Minnesota, Texas, Philadelphia, Baltimore, St. Louis, and briefly with the Orioles again in 2025.
Gibson’s final MLB season came in 2024 with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA over 30 starts. He didn’t re-sign with the club and remained a free agent until late spring 2025, when Baltimore brought him back. But in four starts, he struggled, going 0-3 with a 16.78 ERA before being released. Still looking for another shot, Gibson signed a minor-league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. In Triple-A Durham, he posted dominant numbers—allowing just one earned run in 17 1/3 innings. Despite a strong showing, a major-league opportunity never came. “My time in Tampa was great. I felt like my stuff was back to where it needed to be,” Gibson said. “But they didn’t have a spot, and I didn’t hear much from other teams. That gave me time to talk with my wife Elizabeth and the kids, and we decided it was time.”
Gibson lives with his family near St. Louis, but his Indiana roots have remained central to his story. Known for giving back to his hometown and often visiting during the offseason, he remains a proud Greenfield native. His major-league resume includes a 112-111 career record with a 4.60 ERA, 1,520 strikeouts, and nearly 1,900 innings pitched. In 2021, while with Texas, Gibson posted a league-best 1.98 ERA in the first half and earned his only All-Star selection before being traded to Philadelphia. He later helped the Phillies reach the 2022 World Series. In 2023 with Baltimore, he notched a career-high 15 wins and led all of MLB with 33 starts. When asked about his future, Gibson emphasized family and staying close to home. “I’d like to do something nearby,” he said. “Watching our four kids grow up is something I don’t want to miss. One of my grandfathers told me, ‘If you miss that, you miss everything in life.’ That really stuck with me.”