Gigi Battle’s Near Triple Double Leads DME Academy to the Chipotle Nationals Girls Basketball Tournament Championship Indiana University Women’s Basketball Signee Gigi Battle scored 22 points,10 rebounds and dished out 9 assists in 30 minutes and was named the tournament’s most valuable player as she DME Academy from Daytona Beach Florida to a 68-49 win over the Bullis School from Potomac, Maryland Saturday Morning in the Chipotle Nationals Girls High School Basketball Tournament at Hamilton Southeastern HS in Fishers. Battle set the tone to start the game, scoring the first six points of the game as DME led by as many as 21 points and led the entire 32 minutes to lift the Chipotle Nationals Trophy for the first time in program history in just their second appearance in this tournament. Battle went 8-13 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 4-5 from the free throw line. “The way I approached the game knowing it was my last high school game and for a championship was to be aggressive and took one play at a time and stay focus and get to the right places” Gigi Battle said after the game.
DME led 20-14 after the first quarter and Bullis kept fighting throughout the game as both teams scored 14 points in the second quarter as DME led 34-28 at halftime. Battle had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half. The second half was led by 6-4 USC Bound Sara Okeke scored 14 of her 20 points to put the game away as DME ends the season with a 25-4 record and becomes the sixth different Florida School to win the Chipotle Nationals Girls Championship since tournament began in 2009. DME outscored Bullis 34-21 in the second half and joins Dr. Phillips from Orlando who won in 2011 and 2013. Miami Country Day in 2015 and 2017. Ribault from Jacksonville in 2016, Montverde Academy won three in a row from 2022-2024 and IMG Academy won in 2025 to give the State of Florida its 10th Chipotle Nationals Title and fifth in a row.
Bullis ends the season with a 29-7 record and made their first Chipotle Nationals tournament appearance gets 11 points apiece from Fordham Commit Adora Nwude and 6-2 Junior Ivanna Waston-Manyacka who only had 3 rebounds. Bullis dominated their first two games in the tournament leading start to finish but struggled to hit shots as the start and DME put the pressure on from the start of the game. Bullis was looking to become the fourth different Maryland team to win the tournament joining Seton Keough who won in 2009, Riverdale Baptist who won in 2012 and 2014 and New Hope Academy 2019 as Florida and Maryland have combined for 14 of the 17 Tournament titles on the girl’s side with the others from three different teams in the three states including the Peddie School from New Jersey in 2010. Central Valley from Washington in 2018 and Westlake from Georgia in 2019.
For Gigi Battle it is a storybook ending to her high school career as she got to play four games in the State of Indiana in her senior season and win all four of them. DME came to Bloomington in January to play her future teammate Ashlinn James who was named Kentucky Miss Basketball for Assumption High School from Louisville Kentucky. Battle will become teammates with Hamilton Southeastern Graduate and 2025 Indiana Miss Basketball Maya Makalusky once she arrives in Bloomington and Battle embraced the moment by getting a picture in front Makalusky’s framed Jersey that is on the wall in the hallway right by the gym along with Sydney Parrish who won Miss Basketball in 2020 and played for the Hoosiers and now is a Big Ten Network Women’s Basketball Analyst.
“It’s so exciting when I realized that this is where they both played it’s a blessing to be here and be able to play in the same gym as them and seeing them on the walls throughout the school and knowing these were going to be my last high school games and now its full circle” Battle Said. Battle and Makalusky will become teammates next season and she looks forward to seeing Sydney Parrish when she comes back to campus but Battle will have the next couple months to finish out the school year in Florida and then will start her College Career in Bloomington in June and she cannot wait to get started and become an Indiana Hoosier and Makalusky along with fellow Freshman Zoe Jackson who arrived in Bloomington in January were in attendance Saturday to see Battle win the MVP and Championship as showed to Hoosier Nation the last three days the future is bright Indiana University Women’s Basketball.
Indiana University Signee Vaughn Karvala and CIA Bella Vista win the Chipotle Nationals Boys Championship Indiana University Signee Vaughn Karvala scored 5 points, pulled down 3 rebounds and a steal in 23 minutes as CIA Bella Vista from Phoenix, Arizona took down Montverde Academy from Florida 69-65 in the Chipotle Nationals Boys Basketball Tournament Championship Game Saturday Afternoon at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers. Karvala went 2-9 from the field and 1-7 from three-point range but it was West Viginia bound Miles Sadler who led the way with 23 points. Seven Footers Paul Osaryui and Amadou Seini combined for 28 points and 18 rebounds and Lyris Robinson added 10 rebounds as the Bears won the Tournament for the first time and the first for a team from the State of Arizona. The Bears lost in the Quarterfinals of last year’s tournament to Brewster Academy from New Hampshire and end this season with a 26-4 record.
Montverde Academy has won seven Chipotle Nationals Titles in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024 and finish runners up for the fourth time along with 2010, 2012 and 2017. The Eagles have been in this tournament for 15 of the 17 years since 2009 with no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Montverde has been a staple in Boys High School Basketball and there first two games of this tournament came down to the wire to make the championship game. Kent State bound Dhani Miller scored 24 points, Junior Oneal Delancy added 17 points and UCLA Bound Joe Philon scored 10 points for the Eagles who end their season with a 23-7 record. There were 1 tie and 6 lead changes as Montverde led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter. CIA Bella Vista outscored Montverde 26-6 in the second quarter to lead 36-19 at halftime. Montverde outscored CIA Bella Vista 28-16 in the third quarter as CIA Bella Vista led 52-47 going into the fourth quarter. Montverde outscored CIA Bella Vista 18-17 in the fourth quarter.
CIA Bella Vista becomes the 9th team to win the Chipotle Nationals Boys Title. Besides Montverde winning the title the other teams to win are Findlay Prep from Nevada who won three titles in 2009 2010 2012. Montrose Christian from Maryland in 2011. Oak Hill Academy from Virginia in 2016. La Lumiere from La Porte Indiana in 2017. IMG Academy from Florida in 2019, Link Academy from Missouri in 2023 and Columbus from Miami Florida 2025.
This Tournament started as ESPN Rise National HS Invitational from 2009-13 and was played at the Hanley Center Bethesda Maryland on the campus of Georgetown Prep in 2009 and returned in 2011 through 2013 and Coppin State PE Center in Baltimore Maryland in 2010. It became the Dicks Nationals from 2014-17 and moved to Father John Savage Gym at Christ the King High School in New York City with the Championship Games held at Madison Square Garden. In 2018 it became the GIECO Nationals staying at Christ the King High School and stayed there until 2019. After the tournament was canceled in 2020. It moved to the Suncoast Credit Union Arena Ft Myers Florida 2021-23 and remained the GIECO Nationals. In 2024 it was renamed the Chipotle Nationals and moved to Indiana where Brownsburg High Hosted in 2024 and now it’s been at Hamilton Southeastern HS the last two years and fans are hoping that remains in Indiana for years to come.
Indianapolis Making History with a Historic Championship Tripleheader at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Today Leave it to the city of Indianapolis to not only host the men’s basketball Final Four, but to make history at the same time. “For the sport itself, it’s a celebration,” NCAA Vice President of Men’s Basketball JoAn Scott said. For the first time ever, a city will crown a DI, DII, DIII and NIT champion on the same weekend. That city, of course, is the Circle City. “Having brought ‘the bubble’ to Indianapolis, we thought, ‘What if we brought all our championships to Indianapolis?'” Scott said. “Five years ago, when we were here, we played basketball, and we were celebrating basketball, but we weren’t so much celebrating a lot of other things. Especially for even our NCAA staff, it’s a time to really celebrate what we do in the city where we live.”
The DII, DIII and NIT champions will be crowned Sunday, April 5 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. A ticket for one game gets fans into the other two. Fans can come and go between games with just one ticket. The DII Championship is scheduled for 1 PM followed by the DII Championship Game at 4:30 PM and the NIT Championship Game starts at 8 PM. The Division I championship will be played Monday night, April 6 inside Lucas Oil Stadium at 8:50 PM.
Scott said it’s not often this many championship weekends happen at the same time and place. In fact, the last time the DI, DII and DIII champions lined up was 2013, according to Scott. This year, Scott said the NCAA is ready for a successful weekend in its home city. “Just the Hoosier hospitality, we knew it would be a great experience for all the teams,” Scott said. “The DI championship is going to be broadcast in 227 countries. I think that shows international, as well as national, that Indianapolis knows how to run sporting events.”
Indiana University Football Freshman Kevontay Hugan is Back on the Team One of Indiana football’s highest-rated class of 2026 recruits appears to be back with the team. 4-star edge rusher Kevontay Hugan was not on the team’s online roster for a period of time this spring, but he’s currently listed by the program. The 6-foot-1 and 227-pound Hugan is an edge rusher competing in a crowded position room this spring. Hugan was listed as a top-200 recruit nationally by 247Sports (No. 180) and a national top-50 defensive line prospect by all three recruiting services: ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals/On3. Indiana flipped Hugan from Louisville last summer. The Hoosiers continued their spring workouts with practice No. 5 on Saturday.
Indiana University Baseball Shuts Out Rutgers in Series Opener at Bart Kaufman Field The Indiana Baseball team (11-18, 4-9 B1G) put up one of the best performances of the head coach Jeff Mercer era on Friday evening. A dominant display from graduate student Tony Neubeck on the mound and a variety of two-out hitting helped spark an 11-0 (F/7) run-rule victory over Rutgers (15-14, 4-6 B1G) to start the month of April.
Neubeck (W, 3-3) was in command from the jump. He forced early contact to collect outs in quick succession while mixing all of his pitches for strikes. He allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings while striking out eight batters. Over his last five starts, he has 39 strikeouts to just seven walks. In all three Big Ten appearances at Bart Kaufman Field, Neubeck has produced a quality start on a Friday. His offense helped alleviate some stress off his plate with six runs in the first four innings. Home runs from sophomore first baseman Jake Hanley (two-run), sophomore third baseman Will Moore (three-run) and sophomore outfielder Hogan Denny (two-run) was more than enough for the veteran southpaw.
All nine players in IU’s order produced a hit. Denny finished just a triple short of the cycle after hitting a ball to the warning track in his final at-bat. Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Vogel needed just 11 pitches to close out the final inning of work. It was his seventh-straight scoreless outing and helped finish off IU’s first shutout win of the year. The win was the first shutout of a Big Ten team since blanking Iowa, 5-0, in last year’s Big Ten Tournament (May 22, 2025). IU has won all three Friday games at home in conference play this season.
Event Winner Closes Day One of Weekend for Indiana University Track and Field The Indiana track and field team closed the first day of the Battle on the Bayou on Friday with multiple personal best and an event winner. Kailen Kramer started the day in the women’s pole vault. Her mark of 4-meters was good for an eighth-place finish, moving her to ninth on the IU all-time outdoor record list. In the men’s pole vault, Tyler Carrel set a new personal best (5.55m/18-2.5) to finish second overall. Lukas Brauc was one of XX Hoosiers to compete in their first outdoor meet in the cream and crimson. Brauc earned a 10th-place finish with his height of 5m/16-4.75 After advancing to the finals, Alex Smith finished eighth in the long jump with his distance of 7.24m/23-9.
Kai Snell saw a personal best time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. She finished with a time of 1:00.87 to finish 10th. John Colquitt (52.19) and Tyler Tarter (52.71) saw top-100 Division I times in the men’s competition to finish 10th and 11th, respectively. Aliyah Johnson continued the personal best streak, running a 23.93 in the women’s 200-meter dash. Day one from the Bayou closed with the men’s and women’s 1,500-meter runs. Michaela Quinn (8th) saw a top-10 finish when she set a personal best time of 4:23.26. Camden Marshall closed toe night with a first place finish in the men’s 1,500-meter.
Indiana University Softball Hoosiers Fall Short in Westwood Against UCLA Despite leading through five innings, Indiana lost in a 5-4 battle at No. 9 UCLA on Friday night in Easton Stadium. A 3-run UCLA bomb in the sixth inning proved to be the difference and propelled the Bruins’ comeback. With the loss, Indiana is now 27-8 on the season and 7-3 in the Big Ten. Indiana’s defense set the tone early, as it ended the first inning with a 6-4-3 double play to keep the score at 0-0. After a scoreless first two innings, Aly VanBrandt broke the tie with a double to left field to score Jada Ellison and Cassidy Kettleman and put IU up 2-0. Megan Grant and the Bruins countered in the bottom of the inning as she doubled to help bring home one run and make it a 2-1 game.
Alex Cooper doubled to left center and scored Alli Gavin to give Indiana an insurance run in the top of the fifth. After a bases loaded walk to score one for UCLA and cut the lead down to 3-2, Brooke Mannon struck out Bri Alejandre and pitched to a groundout to escape the jam and keep the lead. Rylee Slimp hit a 3-run home run over the right center wall to put UCLA up 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Indiana was able to score one run on the game’s final play, before the double play concluded the action. Tonight’s game was the first regular season contest as conference opponents between both softball programs. Indiana used four pitchers tonight and each allowed no more than two runs. Taylor Hess threw three-straight strikeouts spanning from the third to fourth innings. Six different Hoosiers registered a hit.