Three Indiana University Women’s Swimmers lead Three Medal Thursday at the NCAA Championships Indiana’s freshman swimmer trio earned their first NCAA medals Thursday night to keep IU among the top teams through two days at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. Liberty Clark took silver in the 200-yard freestyle, and Alex Shackell collected the bronze medal in the 100-yard butterfly. To end the night, Clark, Shackell and classmate Grace Hoeper made up three of IU’s bronze-medal 200-yard freestyle relay. Indiana sits seventh – five points out of fifth place and 49 points in front of eighth. Clark and the champion swimmer, Virginia sophomore Anna Moesch, became the first women to hit 1:39 in the 200 free twice. The Indiana freshman followed up her 17-18 National Age Group record 1:39.70 – that led off Wednesday’s 800 free relay – with a 1:39.88, placing second behind Moesch’s 1:39.23.
Clark picked off her second 17-18 NAG record of the week with her 200-yard freestyle leadoff, a 21.27 to beat Simone Manuel’s 21.32 from 2015. The split kickstarted a third place finish, Indiana’s best-ever placing in the event, as well as a program record 1:25.67. Senior Kristina Paegle followed with a 21.00, Hoeper went 22.05 and Shackell anchored in 21.35. Indiana’s time of 1:25.67 marked a program record, 53 tenths quicker than the time set at the Big Ten Championships last month. Like Clark, Shackell was a two-medal winner on Thursday. The freshman lowered her program record in the 100-yard butterfly to 49.82 in the final to capture bronze and was one of three swimmers under 50 seconds. Junior Miranda Grana joined Shackell on the podium, placing eighth with a 51.11. Shackell leads the team with four All-American honors this week, having contributed to all three relays.
“Fantastic evening for the Hoosiers,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “I am so proud of this very young team. Liberty Clark is one of only two people ever to go under 1:40 twice and gave us a fantastic relay leadoff. Alex Shackell was outstanding in the 100 butterfly. I couldn’t imagine a better way to end the evening with a third place in the 200 freestyle relay!” Diving got started Thursday and earned crucial points from junior Ella Roselli’s 12th place finish in the morning. “The girls fought hard today,” IU head diving coach Drew Johansen said. “Ella had her best finish at this meet today. She was frustrated she didn’t get that ‘A’ final but also understands the improvement was there. We’re looking forward to going higher tomorrow.”
Indiana University’s Jacob Moran Advances to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships After a tough Session I, Indiana Wrestling had a much better showing in Session II with five Hoosiers picking up a win and four of them still being alive in the tournament after the conclusion of day one. No. 14 Jacob Moran highlighted the day for Indiana at Rocket Arena, as he won his Round of 16 match to earn his spot in the quarterfinals. Moran defeated No. 3 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) by major decision, 10-2. He used two first period takedowns to take a commanding 6-1 lead and never looked back from there. The win avenged two earlier losses this season to Bouzakis, one coming in the dual at Ohio State and the other was the 3rd Place match in the Big Ten Championships. The run to the quarterfinal’s marks Moran’s first career quarterfinals appearance at NCAAs. It is also the second-straight season, as well as the third out of the last four years, a Hoosier has advanced to the quarterfinals at nationals.
Moran’s big upset sparked a successful run for the Hoosiers that was immediately followed by No. 33 Sam Goin winning his second preliminary round match in tiebreakers. Then, No. 29 Bryce Lowery (157) and No. 26 Tyler Lillard (165) each picked up pins over No. 13 Derek Raike (Ohio) and No. 23 Chris Earnest (Kent State) to move on in the wrestlebacks and help boost the team score. Continuing the wins by bonus-point fashion, No. 14 Gabe Sollars picked up a win by tech fall over No. 33 Karson Tompkins (Air Force), 15-0 (3:27) to advance. No. 26 Derek Gilcher and No. 33 Sam Goin would both drop their second match of the day to end their 2026 NCAA Tournament. After day one, Indiana is tied for 18th place with 10.5 team points. The four remaining Hoosiers will resume competition today in Session III at noon and Session IV will be that night at 8 p.m.
Shay Ciezki Named a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American Regional Finalist Indiana women’s basketball senior guard Shay Ciezki has been named a 2026 WBCA Coaches All-American regional finalist, announced by the organization on Thursday. All region finalists will now move on to WBCA Coaches All-American voting, with results announced later this month. In one of the most impressive single seasons in IU women’s basketball history, Ciezki averaged 228 points per game and scored 708 points while knocking down 79 3-pointers She finished second in a single season in school history while setting the school record for points per game in a single season. She is the second player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball to average a 50/40/90 while scoring 20+ or more (Eva Hodges, William & Mary 2019). The Buffalo, N.Y. native shot 52.6 percent from the floor, 44.6 percent from the 3-point line and 90.8 percent at the free throw line. She scored in double figures in 30 of 31 games played in her senior season, scoring 20 points or more 23 time and had seven 30-point games. She became the fastest player to 1,000 points in IU history in 2025-26, hitting the career mark in her 60th game played for the program. She sits 30th all-time in scoring (1,097). Ciezki was named the Big Ten Player of the Week twice which led to All-Big Ten honors in 2025-26. She earned a place on the first team from the league’s media and second team from the league’s coaches.
Indiana University Baseball Pitcher Jackson Bregman to miss the Remainder of the 2026 Season Senior right-handed pitcher Jackson Bergman will miss the rest of the 2026 campaign with a season-ending elbow injury. The Ohio native will undergo surgery in the coming weeks. He plans to file for a medical hardship waiver and return for the 2027 season in Bloomington. Bergman was a weekend starter for the first three weeks of the season. In his three starts, the 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher held a 4.50 ERA over 14 innings of work. He allowed just seven earned runs and picked up nine combined strikeouts in appearances against North Carolina, Notre Dame and Western Kentucky.
Indiana University Softball Travels to Maryland and Hosts Oregon After two weeks of home Big Ten series play, the Hoosiers will hit the road for its first away series in Big Ten play this weekend (March 20-22). Indiana is set for a three-game set with Maryland in College Park. Following the series, Indiana will have a quick turnaround as it will take on No. 16 Oregon on Monday (March 23) at Andy Mohr Field in a non-conference matchup. Indiana enters the weekend with a 22-6 record and a 4-2 mark in the Big Ten. Maryland is 13-14 with a 1-5 conference record. Oregon is 21-7 and is 3-0 in the Big Ten.
Indiana’s Aly VanBrandt earned Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time this season and the second time in the last three weeks. From March 10-15, VanBrandt hit .625 (10-for-16) with four home runs and two doubles. She totaled 11 RBI and nine runs scored. Against Loyola Chicago, she hit three home runs and had seven RBI. Avery Parker and VanBrandt each have 10 home runs on the season thus far. Parker needs one home run to tie and two home runs to break the program’s career record of 45. Indiana is back on the road again after eight-straight games at home which included their first two Big Ten series of the year. The Hoosiers went 6-2 in that stretch, going 2-1 against Minnesota and Rutgers while winning both midweek games against Loyola Chicago and IU Indy. Against Portland State in the Littlewood Invitational (Feb. 12), VanBrandt hit for the cycle as part of a 5-for-5 day where she also totaled two home runs.
Indiana had a 3-1 showing in their last four games, taking a 2-1 series victory over Rutgers and a 6-3 midweek win over IU Indy on Wednesday (March 18). Alli Gavin hit her fifth career home run in the win over the Jaguars. It was her first home run since the Elon & UNCG Tournament weekend when Gavin hit her first four home runs of her career. In the Rutgers series, Indiana scored plenty of runs, recording at least six runs in each game and putting up double digit runs in two of the three games. Madalyn Strader also had a strong weekend for the Hoosiers, hitting .571 at the plate and hitting a double and home run with four home runs. Taylor Hess pitched well for the Hoosiers in the Friday (March 13) win. She went 4.1 innings while only allowing one run and two hits while picking up the win.
Maryland comes into the weekend at 13-14 and an 11-7 win in 10 innings over George Washington yesterday (March 18). The Terrapins were swept by No. 21 Washington last weekend. In Maryland’s first conference weekend, they took one of three games at home versus Rutgers. The Terrapins are 7-2 in games at Maryland Softball Stadium, which includes a 4-0 showing in the Terrapin Invitational with wins over Syracuse, Providence, Fairfield and UMBC. Oregon is nationally ranked by all major outlets and is ranked as high as No. 16 after a 21-7 start to the season with a 3-0 Big Ten record. The Ducks have ranked wins No. 21 Liberty, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 13 South Carolina and No. 20 Duke. In their first weekend of Big Ten play, they swept Penn State in Eugene.
Indiana leads the all-time series with Maryland, 19-7 and have won seven straight against the Terrapins. Last year, Indiana swept them in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are 2-4 all time against Oregon and this will be the third-straight year facing them. Last season, Oregon swept the series for the first meeting as conference foes.
Bloomington North Graduate Maureen Hirt leads Denison University to the Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship Game History continues to be written for No. 8 Denison women’s basketball who is coached by Bloomington North Graduate Maureen Hirt. With an 82–61 victory over No. 4 Wisconsin–Oshkosh, the Big Red punched their ticket to the NCAA National Championship, while also setting a new program record for most wins in a season, surpassing the 28–1 mark from 2010–11. Denison dominated from the opening tip, never letting up, and extended their remarkable postseason run on the sport’s biggest stage.
In the First Quarter Denison came out firing, opening the game on a 6–0 run before Wisconsin–Oshkosh could get on the board. The Big Red’s defense set the tone early, holding the Titans to just two points through the first seven minutes of play. Denison kept its foot on the gas as Ada Taute knocked down a three-pointer to extend the lead to 20–2, forcing an Oshkosh timeout. The Big Red closed the quarter in complete control, taking a commanding 22–7 advantage into the second. In the Second Quarter: Denison stormed out of the gate in the quarter with a 10–2 run, fueled by two three-pointers from Brooke Toigo to stretch the Big Red lead to 23. Wisconsin–Oshkosh attempted to respond, but Denison had an answer every time, maintaining the 23-point cushion and heading into halftime in control, 42–19.
In the Third Quarter: Wisconsin–Oshkosh opened the quarter on a 7–2 run, but Denison kept the margin around 20. Brooke Toigo steadied the Big Red with a runner, followed by a layup from Abby Cooch to halt the momentum. Anelly Mad-Toingué, Violet Mitchell, and Molly Dorighi then helped Denison close strong, carrying a 59–39 lead into the final quarter. In the Fourth Quarter: In the final frame, Wisconsin–Oshkosh and the Big Red traded baskets, but Adelyn Moore and Abby Cooch each knocked down a three-pointer with under five minutes remaining to keep the lead at 21, 72–51. From there, Denison cruised through the closing minutes to secure an 82–61 victory.
Brooke Toigo and Abby Cooch led the Big Red in scoring with 13 points each, while Adelyn Moore added 11 points off the bench. Ada Taute added 12 points and nine rebounds in a strong all-around performance. Anelly Mad-Toingué contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Violet Mitchell scored nine points, and Molly Dorighi added eight points while going a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. Denison shot 50.0% from the field (30-60), 50.0% from three-point range (9-18), and 61.9% from the free throw line (13-21). The Big Red out-rebounded Wisconsin–Oshkosh 45–32 and recorded eight steals and four blocks. Denison maintained a consistent lead throughout the game, never allowing the Titans to get closer than 16 points in the second half. With the win, Denison improves to 29–2, tying the program record for most wins in a single season (28–1, 2010–11). The victory also secures the Big Red a spot in the NCAA National Championship for the first time in program history. Up Next for the Big Red Denison plays in the National Title Game this Saturday, March 21 against undefeated University of Scranton at 4 pm
2026 Indiana High School Girls Basketball All-Star Team Announced The high school basketball Indiana Girls’ All-Stars have been announced. Indiana Miss Basketball Gracyn Gilliard (Center Grove) and McDonald’s All-American Lola Lampley (Lawrence Central) headline the roster. The full list includes Gracyn Gilliard, Center Grove, Lola Lampley, Lawrence Central, Kennedy Holman, Hamilton Southeastern, Mollie Ernstes, Jennings County, Lilli Barnes, Valparaiso, Vanessa Rosswurm, Norwell, Joslyn Bricker, Warsaw, Brooke Zartman, Warsaw, Myah Epps, Homestead, Laniah Wills, Lapel, Brooklynn Renn, Silver Creek, Komari Booker, Pike and Laniah Davis, Marquette Catholic. The Indiana Girls’ All-Stars will play the Kentucky Girls’ All-Stars on Saturday, June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.