Indiana University Running Back Roman Hemby Named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List With four standout collegiate seasons already under his belt, Indiana football running back Roman Hemby was named to the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, annually presented to the nation’s most outstanding college running back. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name ten semifinalists in November, and three finalists will be announced in November. The recipient of the 2025 Doak Walker Award will be announced live on The Home Depot College Football Awards on December 12, 2024.
A two-time All-Big Ten pick over his four seasons at Maryland, Hemby appeared in 41 career games with 38 consecutive starts to cap his Terps career. The Edgewood, Maryland, native owns 3,352 career all-purpose yards (2,347 rushing, 921 receiving, 84 kickoff return) and has scored 27 career touchdowns (22 rushing, 5 receiving). He has seven career 100-yard rushing games and five career multi-touchdown games. On top of his prowess carrying the football, Hemby has a reception in 26-straight games entering 2025.
Honoring the legends of sports for 36 years, the PwC SMU Athletic Forum celebrates outstanding success in athletics. Based in Dallas, the series features major figures from a variety of sports. The PwC SMU Athletic Forum includes four events and the prestigious Doak Walker Award Presentation Banquet. The Doak Walker Award is a member 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 950 recipients since 1935. Visit NCFAA.org for more information.
Indiana University Women’s Soccer Host Cincinnati in a Preseason Exhibition Indiana women’s soccer is set to host their first of two exhibition games when they host Cincinnati this afternoon at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The match is set to start at 1 pm. The Hoosiers host their first of two exhibition games before starting the regular season on Aug. 14 against Youngstown State. Indiana returns four returning starters from last season, including Juniors Kennedy Neighbors and Piper Coffield, along with seniors Natasha Kim and Olivia Rush. The quartet combined for seven (25%) of the 28 goals scored last season. IU will feature 11 seniors on their roster. Along with Kim and Rush, seniors include Olivia Albert, Arianna Rose, Sarah Sirdah, Marisa Grzesiak, Olivia Smith, Abbey Iler, Dani Jacobson, Sally Rainey, and Jenna Chatterton. Head coach Josh Rife will take field for the first time as head coach with the program after seven seasons as the head coach at Ball State with a record of 49-38-21.
Cincinnati is one of the newest members of the Big 12 conference, starting their third season in the conference. They finished the 2024 season with a 6-9-4 record and 2-7-3 in conference play. After falling in the first round of the Big-12 Tournament, the Bearcats look to get back on the field before the start of the 2025 season. Head Coch Erica Demers is 10-17-11 at Cincinnati and 60-55-30 overall. Indiana will play its second and final exhibition on Saturday afternoon when they host Notre Dame at 1 pm at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer Kicks off the 2025 Season with its First Practice Indiana men’s soccer trained Tuesday morning for the first time since the spring semester, opening its 2025 preseason. IU brought in six transfers and four freshmen after seven 2024 starters moved on to professional soccer opportunities. Head coach Todd Yeagley spoke to media on his new team. “The culture will have a very similar feel to it in the confines of the locker room and the team,” he said. “[There are] just a couple different personalities, (and we’re) maybe a little better at certain things this year than we were. That’s not unique. Every team will look a little different. “I think we found some new strengths with this team.”
Indiana comes into the fall as the No. 11-ranked program nationally according to the United Soccer Coaches poll, reflecting its 10th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 last season. The Hoosiers open their regular season with five consecutive home matches, including a top-15 matchup with No. 9 Clemson in the season opener on August 21. IU will host exhibition matches against Louisville (Aug. 11) and Clemson (Aug. 16) in the buildup. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Indiana University Football Ranked 19th in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll Curt Cignetti’s first Indiana team was predicted to finish No. 18 in the Big Ten ahead of the 2024 campaign. In year two his Hoosiers are predicted to be the No. 19 in the country according to the preseason coaches top 25 released on Monday. Even that is probably being perceived as a sign of disrespect in Bloomington. IU is joined from the Big Ten in the first national rankings by Ohio State (2), Penn State (3), Oregon (7), Illinois (12) and Michigan (14). Indiana was also predicted to finish sixth in the Big Ten by the media two weeks ago. Indiana is coming off an 11-2 season and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Their only losses on the season came against the two teams that played in the national title game. And both of those games were played on the road. The Hoosiers play three of the ranked Big Ten teams in 2025, with their games against Penn State and Oregon on the road. Their week four game hosting Illinois has sold out.
Also receiving votes from the Big Ten are USC, Iowa, Nebraska, Washington and Minnesota. IU plays at Iowa among that group. Cignetti is one of the voters on the panel of coaches. The ranking comes with a dose of caution. Indiana was last ranked before a season in 2021, and they finished that year 2-10, starting a three-year collapse that led to the Cignetti era. The Hoosiers were No. 17 in the 2021 preseason polls but lost to Iowa in the opener and never returned to the rankings. The Hoosiers returned to the national polls in 2024, soaring to as high as No. 5.
Here is the full preseason coaches poll: 1. Texas 2. Ohio State 3. Penn State 4. Georgia 5. Notre Dame 6. Clemson 7. Oregon 8. Alabama 9. LSU 10. Miami 11. Arizona State 12. Illinois 13. South Carolina 14. Michigan 15. Ole Miss 16. SMU 17. Florida 18. Tennessee 19. Indiana 20. Kansas State T21. Texas A&M T21. Iowa State 23. BYU 24. Texas Tech 25. Boise State
Others Receiving Votes
Oklahoma 221; Missouri 142; Louisville 126; USC 116; Utah 86; Baylor 76; Auburn 50; Iowa 49; Memphis 34; Army West Point 33; Tulane 31; Georgia Tech 27; TCU 24; Nebraska 19; Syracuse 16; Washington 15; Navy 14; Arkansas 14; Duke 12; Colorado 12; Minnesota 11; UNLV 8; Florida State 8; Kansas 6; Vanderbilt 3; Buffalo 1;
Aliyah Boston wins the Week 9 WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week Award Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 9 of the 2025 WNBA season, it was announced Tuesday. The selection marks Boston’s third Player of the Week award of her career and the first of this season. This past week the Fever earned wins over the Phoenix Mercury, Dallas Wings and Seattle Storm, during which Boston posted three-consecutive double-doubles, averaging 16.7 points per game and 11.7 rebounds per game. Boston’s 35 total rebounds and 28 defensive rebounds were both tied for the most across the entire WNBA during the week. Additionally, Boston’s three double-doubles are tied for the most across the WNBA during week nine.
Against the Mercury, Boston scored 22 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter which is the second-most in a single quarter by a single player in Fever franchise history. Boston recorded 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the win over Dallas, and 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Seattle. Boston currently holds the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the league this season with 54.7 percent and her 242 rebounds are the second most. Additionally, Boston leads all centers in the WNBA with 109 assists. With her selection, Boston joins Tamika Catchings, Caitlin Clark, Katie Douglas and Kelsey Mitchell as the only Fever players to win three or more Player of the Week Awards.
Taylor University Names Steve Toon as New Head Coach of Golf Programs Taylor University Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Kyle Gould, announced on Tuesday that Steve Toon had been hired as the new head coach for the TU men’s and women’s golf programs. “After a long search, we are very thankful to be bringing Steve Toon to Taylor to take over as our men’s and women’s golf coach,” said Gould. “His successful experience at Heritage Christian High School, coupled with his desire to lead our golf program in line with our mission to be discipleship-focused while pursuing excellence in competition made him a perfect fit for the job. We look forward to supporting him as he begins working with our student-athletes.”
Toon comes to Taylor from Heritage Christian High School, where he spent the past seven years leading the Eagles on the links. In that time, his squads posted a head-to-head win-loss record of 985-385 and had 10 combined regional appearances. “The Lord has blessed me with this wonderful opportunity here at Taylor,” stated Toon. “I am extremely excited to lead the Trojan golf programs. There is no reason we cannot continue to give glory to Jesus and have a winning program.” As the HCHS head men’s coach from 2019 through 2025, Toon guided the Eagles to a trio of Indianapolis City Championships and six IHSAA State Tournament Regionals appearances.
After also taking over the reins of the women’s program at Heritage Christian in 2020, Toon led his teams to Indianapolis City Championships in four-of-six years, two sectional titles and four regional appearances. Those successes led to him being named the Indianapolis High School Women’s Golf Coach of the Year in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Prior to beginning his coaching career, Toon had over 30 years of experience as a consultant-account executive in the medical field. Toon graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in management marketing.