Two Indiana University Men’s Basketball Players dealing with Injuries ahead of the upcoming Trip to Puerto Rico Put Indiana guard Jason Drake in the questionable category for the team’s upcoming trip to Puerto Rico. Nick Dorn’s status seems more certain — he’s unlikely to play. “Timeline on both of them is a little up in the air so we’ll see where that leads,” IU coach Darian DeVries said on Wednesday. “We’re obviously hopeful that they’ll both be back in a relatively good timeline. But I anticipate with Nick especially that (his timeline for a return) will be something more in the fall.”
A transfer from Drexel, the 6-foot Drake started all 33 games a year ago and averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 26.2 minutes per game. Dorn transferred during the offseason from Elon. As a sophomore there he started all 25 games played and was one of six NCAA Division I men’s basketball players to average at least 15.0 points per game, make 70 3-pointers, and make 90 free throws while playing less than 1,000 minutes. He averaged 15.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per game.
Meanwhile, DeVries is not sure whether recent international additions Aleksa Ristic and Andrej Acimovic will be available in Puerto Rico. “They’re going to be tired when they get here,” DeVries said. “We should have one of them maybe in the next day or two and then we’ll get him acclimated as quickly as possible. If that means he gets the opportunity to play in Puerto Rico, great. But the last thing we want to do is put him in a position where he’s just not ready.” If all four players are unavailable, IU will only have nine scholarship players available. Indiana plays games in Puerto Rico Aug. 6-11 in connection with their foreign tour.
Four Indiana University Football Players land on the Preseason Nagurski and Outland Trophy Watch Lists With award season in full swing; the Indiana football program landed four student-athletes on a pair of national watch lists. Redshirt-junior Carter Smith was named to the Outland Trophy Watch List, while the defensive trio of Aiden Fisher, Mikail Kamara and D’Angelo Ponds were each selected to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. On the Nagurski list, Indiana owns two of the three returning Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) All-Americans in 2025. The Hoosiers join Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oregon, and Texas as the only teams with three-or-more players on the preseason list.
Smith earned honorable mention All-Big Ten last season from the conference media panel and was an anchor for an offensive line that was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2024. He has started 25-straight games at left tackle since the start of the 2023 season and is the third-highest graded returning offensive tackle in the Big Ten entering 2025. The first-ever first-team All-America pick at linebacker in program history in 2024, Fisher is back after his 118-tackle season that ranks No. 16 on the single season charts. The first-team All-Big Ten pick last season anchored a defense that led the nation in rushing defense. Along with his 118 stops, he added 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four pass breakups.
A 2024 finalist and preseason nominee for the Lott IMPACT Trophy and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award las season, Kamara was a second-team All-America pick by The Athletic and first Indiana defensive lineman since Greg Middleton (first team) in 2007 to earn All-America status. The first-team All-Big Ten selection led the FBS in total pressures (73) and graded as the No. 4 edge rusher in the Big Ten and No. 15 in Power 4 (86.7) per Pro Football Focus a season ago. A second-team All-America pick by six outlets in 2024, Ponds was a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a true sophomore. Rated the top cornerback in the Big Ten and No. 9 in Power 4 (84.2) per Pro Football Focus he picked off three passes, broke up nine more passes and ended the season with 55 tackles (35 solo).
The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw “Bronko” Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame. The Outland Trophy, celebrating its 80th year, is the third-oldest major college football award. Created in 1946 when Dr. John Outland presented the FWAA with a financial contribution to initiate the award, the Outland Trophy has been given to the best interior lineman in college football ever since Dr. Outland, an All-American at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1890s, eventually took up practice in Kansas City, Missouri. An avid outdoorsman, Dr. Outland believed linemen did not get the credit they deserved and wanted an award to recognize them. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy are members of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. The NCFAA’s 25 awards have honored more than 900 recipients since 1935.
Two Bloomington Natives to Compete in the United States Outdoor Track and Field Para Championships Not one, but two former St. Charles students are headed to the USATF Para National Championships in Eugene, Oregon that get underway later today and continue through Saturday. They’ll be speeding around the track in completely different ways, however. Bloomington South senior Violet Hall has had a busy summer on the basketball court with a team looking to compete for a state title this season. She’s also extended her track season to a couple of key summer events in the paralympic arena. Earlier this Month Hall who was born without her lower right arm competed in the Hartford Nationals para event at Grand Rapids, Michigan and posted a 13.18 in the 100, 26.45 in the 200 and a 1:01.72 in the 400 to take the top spots in the 17-19 (U20) T46 category. She has qualified for the nationals for the first time, doing so in all three races. It caps quite a junior year in which she started for a sectional and regional basketball champion and performed at the IHSAA state finals (in four events) for the first time, earning a medal with the 1,600 relay that broke the school record.
The same event will see former Bloomington resident Evan Correll, who qualified for five wheelchair races: 100, 400, 800, 1,500 and 5,000. His family moved to Iowa during his high school years, where he was able to compete for state championships. He currently races for the University of Illinois, winning last year’s NCAA 100-meter title and regularly competes in races as long as marathons. He currently has made the ‘A’ standard in the 5,000 and will look to add others in pursuit of a spot on the national team for the World Championships, which run September 26-October 5 in New Delhi, India. Athletes have to meet the world championship standards to be included on the team.
Jaynie Halterman Named Taylor University’s Female Athlete of the Year Jaynie Halterman was honored Tuesday as Taylor’s Female Athlete of the Year, after claiming four individual NAIA National Championships during her historic freshman season with the TU cross country and track programs. “In all my years of coaching, I have never seen an athlete go undefeated and win four national titles in one year,” remarked TU women’s cross country head coach Quinn White. “Jaynie’s accomplishments are so special, yet her humility, team-focus, and her perspective are just as special. Jaynie uses her talent with joy, and she loves challenges. She is patient and strategic. Most importantly, Jaynie honors the Lord as she uses the gifts she has been given.”
Halterman helped the Taylor cross country and track program secure a second-place team finish at NAIA Nationals in cross country, while taking fifth in indoor track and sixth in outdoor track. Those team finishes led to TU being named the USTFCCCA NAIA Program of the Year for the first time in school history. Prior to the success at those National Championships, Halterman led Taylor to its 12th-straight Crossroads League Cross Country Championship. Halterman completed her rookie season by finishing first in every finals race she competed in, which resulted in her winning NAIA National Championships in cross country, the indoor 5,000-meters and the outdoor 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters. Along the way, Halterman set six new Taylor school records, four Crossroads League Championship records and two NAIA National Championship records, while also winning four individual CL Championships.
Those record-setting performances led to a pile of accolades for Halterman, who was named the NAIA National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, the USTFCCCA NAIA Cross Country National Runner of the Year and the USTFCCCA NAIA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Additionally, Halterman was a three-time USTFCCCA NAIA Runner of the Week, a two-time NAIA Runner of the Week and a seven-time Crossroads League Athlete of the Week. The Taylor Female Athlete of the Year Award is designed to recognize TU’s top female student-athlete among freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors based on athletic accomplishments throughout the 2024-2025 year. Athletes are nominated for the award by their head coach and voted on by members of the TU Athletics Department.
Gabel Pentecost Honored as Taylor University’s Top Male Athlete for 2024-2025 Two weeks after being selected in the sixth round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, Gabel Pentecost was named the 2024-2025 Taylor Male Athlete of the Year. “We are thrilled to see Gabel recognized with this tremendous honor,” said TU pitching coach Justin Barber. “While his accomplishments on the field were impressive, what stands out most about Gabel is the kind of person and teammate he showed himself to be every day. He was an integral part of our team on and off the diamond for the past three years, and we wish Gabel all the best as he begins his professional baseball career with the Houston Astros.”
Pentecost helped power Taylor to a 47-11 record and a sweep of the regular season and tournament titles in the Crossroads League, marking TU’s fourth-straight season with at least 40 wins and a CL crown. The junior ace posted a 12-2 record in 80 innings on the bump for TU, touting a 3.04 earned-run average, a 1.05 WHIP and 116 strikeouts to just 21 walks. In addition to setting Taylor’s single-season records for wins and strikeouts, Pentecost ranked sixth in the NAIA in each statistic, while ending third for the fewest walks issued per inning pitched. Those numbers paved the way for Pentecost being named a Third-Team NAIA All-American and the Crossroads League Pitcher of the Year.
The Taylor Male Athlete of the Year Award is designed to recognize TU’s top male student-athlete among freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors based on athletic accomplishments throughout the 2024-2025 year. Athletes are nominated for the award by their head coach and voted on by members of the TU Athletics Department.
Indianapolis Indians take the Series Opener over the Iowa Cubs on the Road A four-run seventh inning propelled the Indianapolis Indians to a 5-3 comeback win over the Iowa Cubs in Tuesday night’s series opener at Principal Park in Des Moines. Down by a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, Cam Devanney worked a lead-off walk, Nick Yorke doubled and Jared Triolo followed with an RBI single to load the bases against Porter Hodge (L, 0-3).
Following a pitching change, Ronny Simon jumped on the first pitch from Tom Cosgrove and ripped a go-ahead, two-run double to center field. Nick Solak capped the inning’s scoring with an RBI single, giving the Indians (20-8, 62-40) a two-run advantage late in the contest. The Indians and I-Cubs traded solo homers in the second frame off the bats of Devanney and Jonathon Long to knot the game at one a piece until the sixth inning when Moisés Ballesteros singled home Chase Strumpf. Iowa (12-16, 51-51) then loaded the bases on a double by Owen Caissie and a walk to Carlos Pérez before a throwing error by Devanney brought in a run, but the threat ended there. Johan Oviedo, who had his rehab assignment transferred to Indianapolis from Double-A Altoona today, tossed 5.0 innings, surrendering one run on two hits with five punchouts. Dauri Moreta (W, 3-0), Colin Holderman and Cam Sanders (S,2) combined for 3.1shutout innings in relief, fanning four batters without yielding a hit.