Bloomington South Boys Basketball Coach J.R. Holmes picks up his 800th Career win in Charge of the Panthers J.R. Holmes picked up his 800th win as Bloomington South Boys Basketball Coach as the Panthers held off the Bloomfield Cardinals 55-53 Tuesday Night at Bloomington South on the very court that is named after him. Holmes has coached the Panthers for 44 years and has a record of 800-268 and an overall record of 943-386 in 56 years overall and is the all-time winningest coach in Indiana High School Boys Basketball History.
The Panthers have won 22 Sectionals, 9 Regionals, 2 Semi State and 2 State Championship under Holmes. Bloomington South won two sectional Titles in 1973 and 1978 before Holmes arrived at South in 1982. Holmes made the Panthers one of the top programs in the State of Indiana year in a year out. The Panthers won the Class 4A State Championship in 2009 and 2011. Holmes has only had three losing seasons at Bloomington South as the Panthers finished 8-13 in 1982-83, 1992-93 and 1994-95 and have not had a losing season since. He has coached two Indiana Mr. Basketballs Jordan Hulls in 2009 and Anthony Leal in 2020 as he has produced 9 Indiana All-Stars.
Holmes coached at Tunnelton and Mitchell High Schools in his native Lawrence County and earned 16 varsity letters at Needmore High School which is now a part of Bedford North Lawrence. This year’s Panthers team is 14-5 overall averaging 60.2 points and allowing 52.6 per game. The Panthers are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Southport at 7:30 PM and Friday at Columbus North. If the Panthers win these two games, they will be Conference Indiana Champions and would finish 5-0 and claim the Final Conference Indiana Championship as the conference will dissolve after the 2025-26 School Year. The Panthers have not won a sectional title since 2021. The Sectional will be at Martinsville HS this year and will be a 5-team sectional that includes Bloomington North, Martinsville Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
Indiana University Women’s Basketball Begins Two Game LA Trip at USC Indiana opens its west coast trip on Tonight at USC. Tipoff at Galen Center is slated for 10 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. USC is on a four-game win streak including a pair on the road at Northwestern and Illinois last week. Freshman guard Jazzy Davidson is having an impressive rookie campaign and leads the Trojans with 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and was named this week’s Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Three others add double figures including senior guard Kara Dunn (15.9 ppg.) while senior guard Londynn Jones and sophomore guard Kennedy Smith add 10.8 ppg. each. USC leads the All-time Series 2-0. USC beat Indiana twice last season 73-66 in Bloomington on January 19, and 84-79 in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals on March 7, 2025, in Indianapolis.
Senior guard Shay Ciezki earned her third Big Ten Player of the Week honor on Monday (Feb. 9) as she was named the co-player of the week with UCLA’s Kiki Rice. In a pair of wins last week she averaged 30.0 points, 10.5 rebounds shooting 57.9 percent from the floor, 46.2 percent from the 3-point line and 83.3 percent at the free throw line. Ciezki scored team-highs with 31 points and a career-high five steals at Wisconsin and nearly had a triple double against Purdue with 29 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and eight assists. Indiana picked up its third win-in-a-row with a 74-59 victory over Purdue on Sunday behind Ciezki’s near triple double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Junior forward Edessa Noyan recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Ciezki continues to be one of the nation’s best scorers. She is the Big Ten’s leading scorer (and fourth nationally) with 24.0 points per game also ranks second in the nation in scoring (602 points). Ciezki is now ninth in a single season in points scored and is nine points away from becoming IU’s 34th member of the 1,000-point club. For her career, Ciezki has scored 1,748 points. She is part of the elusive 50/40/90 club, as she shoots 54.4 percent from the floor, 46.6 percent from the 3-point line and 90.7 percent at the free throw line. Indiana stays in LA to face No. 2/2 UCLA on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Bloomington South’s Hadley Laughlin Heading Back to the State Finals Bloomington South’s Hadley Laughlin finished second with a score of 421.55 in the Girls Diving Regional at the Jasper High School Natatorium Tuesday Night. Laughlin advances to the State Diving Finals on Saturday Morning at 9 AM at the Indiana University Natatorium on the Campus on Indiana University-Indianapolis. Laughlin won the Regional Title last year with a score of 419.65 was looking to repeat as champion but New Albany’s Cali Kurer denied Laughlin that chance for a repeat and won the Regional Title with a score of 422.95. The top eight advanced to the State Finals as Marissa Schaefer of Tecumseh, Mackenzie Preston of Mooresville, Gabriella Ludwig of Borden, Julian Ott of Franklin, Sophia Lannan of Evansville Reitz and Cecilia Hale of Indian Creek are heading to state along with Kurer and Laughlin.
Bloomington South’s Lucinda Miksza finished 9th with a score of 316.65 and misses the State Finals for the second straight year after she finished 12th in the regional a year ago with a score of 303.50. Celica Merkel finished 10th with a score of 321.00. 20 divers competed with 11 dives each and 7 Judges. The Divers finished in the top four of the Franklin, East Central, Floyd Central, Jasper and Evansville North Sectionals to advance to this regional. 32 divers from around the State of Indiana will compete at the State Finals as the will be joined by the top eight from the Homestead, Mishawaka and Plainfield Regionals. There will be three rounds of diving with the top 20 advancing from the prelims to the Semifinals and then the top 16 will advance to the finals. There will be 5 dives in the prelims, 3 in the semifinals and 3 in the finals.
Nine Indiana University Football Players Invited to the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis The NFL released the list of players invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday. A total of 319 prospects has been invited to attend this year’s event, including nine players from the 2025 IU football team. The Combine will take place in Indianapolis from February 23 through March 2. Fernando Mendoza, QB, Roman Hemby, RB, Omar Cooper, Jr., WR, Elijah Sarratt, WR, Riley Nowakowski, TE, Pat Coogan, C, Aiden Fisher, LB, Louis Moore, S and D’Angelo Ponds, CB
A committee of professional NFL talent evaluators coordinates the process for selecting which prospects will attend the Combine. An invite is typically a clear signal a player is expected to be drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent. Nine invitees are likely a program record for Indiana. The Combine dates back to the 1970s.
After winning the Heisman Trophy and leading IU to a 16-0 national championship season, Mendoza is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft. Mendoza has already stated he does not plan to throw at the Combine. Sarratt, Cooper, Jr. and Ponds have all received second round projections at various outlets. All of the other five players could be drafted in the later rounds. A player not invited to the Combine can still be drafted or signed as a free agent. Mikail Kamara and Devan Boykin are two more players to watch. Indiana is expected to hold its own scouting event in Bloomington for NFL representatives on April 1. Tune in for live coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine beginning Feb. 26 on NFL Network and NFL+.
Caitlin Clark, Alliyah Boston and Stephanie White all a part of the United States Women’s National Basketball Team Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the U.S. women’s basketball World Cup qualifying roster that will play next month in Puerto Rico. The two young stars headline the 12-player team that has a mix of veterans and youth. Clark and Reese have helped the rise of women’s basketball over the past few years, starting with their memorable meeting in the NCAA championship game in 2023 that LSU won. They’ll be joined by 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard won the 3×3 bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Games. Also making their national team debut will be Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Aliyah Boston, who played for the U.S. at the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2024, rounds out the squad.
Clark only played in 13 WNBA games last season while dealing with a host of injuries. She participated in a USA camp in December and said she was healthy. Three-time Olympic and world champion Breanna Stewart will train with the team in Miami on March 7-8 but won’t play in the tournament. U.S. Olympic coach Kara Lawson will lead the team in San Juan for the first part of the tournament before returning to Duke to prepare the Blue Devils for the NCAA Tournament. She’ll be assisted by Natalie Nakase, Nate Tibbets and Stephanie White. The trio were court coaches at that U.S. training camp in December. The U.S. will face Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain in the tournament. The Americans have already qualified for the World Cup in Berlin from Sept. 4-13. The Americans are looking for a fifth consecutive World Cup championship.
Indiana University Field Hockey charts 19 NFHCA National Academic Squad Honorees The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) announced its 2025 National Academic Squad honorees across collegiate field hockey. There were 19 Indiana Field Hockey student-athletes selected for the prestigious honor. This is the fifth consecutive year where Indiana had 10 more student-athletes who made the list. To qualify for the achievement, a student-athlete must record a 3.5 or higher GPA through the fall er semester of the current academic year. Indiana’s 19 honorees are listed below in alphabetical order by last name. Celia Arroyo Cabezudo | Forward | Santander, Spain Javia Baeza | Midfield | Shaker Heights, Ohio Lily Freeman | Back | Barnet, England Inés Garcia Prado | Midfield | Madrid, Spain Charlotte Glasper | Forward/ Midfield | Shaker Heights, Ohio Mijntje Hagen | Forward | Zeist, Netherlands Kai Killian | Goalkeeper | Hummelstown, Pa. Kate Longo | Back | Charlotte, N.C. Cecilia Maixner | Back | Ann Arbor, Mich. Sydney Meltzer | Midfield | San Diego, Calif. Elen Nicholls | Back | Cardiff, Wales Kiki Oomens | Forward/ Midfield | Breda, Netherlands Morgan Qualls | Back | Randallstown, Md. Theresa Ricci | Forward/ Midfield | Garnet Valley, Pa. Hannah Riddle | Back/ Middle | Louisville, Ky. Georgia Rottinghaus | Midfield | Pittsburgh, Pa. Keke Sluiter | Midfield | Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands Molly Stutte | Forward/ Midfield | St. Louis, Mo. Ava Winner | Forward | Lutherville, Md.
Indiana University Women’s Soccer Announces 2026 Spring Schedule Indiana women’s soccer head coach Josh Rife has announced the 2026 spring schedule. The schedule features a seven-on-seven event featuring in-state competition at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers will travel for three road matches over a two-week span. They will start with an exhibition in Louisville, Ky. against Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 29. They will then have in-state matchups the following week at Purdue Fort Wayne (April 3) and at Southern Indiana (April 11). Indiana will close their spring slate hosting Butler on Sunday, April 19.
Indiana Women’s Soccer 2026 Spring Schedule
| February 28 | Butler, Evansville, IU Indy | Bloomington, Ind. |
| March 29 | At Vanderbilt | Louisville, Ky. |
| April 3 | At Purdue Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, Ind. |
| April 11 | At Southern Indiana | Evansville, Ind. |
| April 19 | Vs. Butler | Bloomington, Ind. |