Indiana University Athletics Celebrates their 106 Spring Graduates The Indiana Department of Intercollegiate Athletics honored 106 student-athletes Saturday upon commencement from Indiana University. “Commencement is always one of the most significant days on our IU Athletics calendar, marking a truly special milestone for our graduating senior student-athletes and their families,” said IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson. “This group has been exemplary in every sense, representing Indiana University with the highest level of integrity and passion – not only in competition but also in the classroom. We are incredibly proud of all they have achieved as Hoosiers, and we look forward to seeing the immense impact they will undoubtedly make in the next chapter of their lives.”
Indiana Student-Athletes Eligible for Graduation in May 2026 Baseball-Joe Cilea, Anthony Gubitosi, Pete Haas, Aiden Stewart and Jacob Vogel. Men’s Basketball-Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey, Conor Enright and Jordan Rayford. Women’s Basketball-Shay Ciezki and Jerni Kiaku. Field Hockey-Kylie Dawson, Kate Longo, Ceci Maixner, Anna Mozeleski, Elen Nicholls and Emma Thompson. Football-Jonathan Brady, Omar Cooper Jr., Miles Cross, Drew Evans, Aiden Fisher, Jack Greer, Mark Langston, Mitch McCarthy, Elijah Sarratt, Jamari Sharpe
Jeff Utzinger, Jackson Wasserstrom, Grant Wilson and Kellan Wyatt. Men’s Golf-Ethan Chelf. Women’s Golf-Madison Dabagia and Maddie May. Rowing-Molly Boutwell, Emily Bowden, Frances McCorkle, Kaylee Mulligan, Kristina Nojé, Caroline Schrieber and Evelyn Tabor. Men’s Soccer-Luka Bezerra, Holden Brown, Cooper Johnsen, Noah Joseph, Breckin Minzey and Seth Stewart. Women’s Soccer-Olivia Albert, Marisa Grzesiak, Abbie Iler, Natasha Kim, Arianna Rose, Olivia Rush and Olivia Smith. Softball-Ellie Goins, Cassidy Kettleman and Avery Parker. Men’s Swimming and Diving-Collin McKenzie, Drew Reiter and Kai van Westering. Women’s Swimming and Diving-Mya DeWitt, Katie Forrester, Lily Hann, MacKenna Lieske, Kristina Paegle and Chiok Sze Yeo. Men’s Tennis-Michael Andre, Luc Boulier, Jip van Assendelft and Facundo Yunis. Women’s Tennis-Nicole Tedodosescu. Men’s Track and Field/Cross Country-Tyler Carrel, Nico Colchico, Abe Eckman, Garrett Hicks, Andrew Mangum, Camden Marshall, Novo Onovwerosuoke
Cole Raymond, Tamer Saleh, Nate Satterfield, Alex Smith, Hunter Smith and Daquan Tate. Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country-Makayla Hunter, Kelly Moran, Claire Overfelt, Ryann Parrish, Kylee Poulton, Taylor Schoonveld, Kai Snell and Katelyn Winton. Volleyball-Madi Sell, Jessia Smith and Avry Tatum. Water Polo-Savannah Batchel, Louisa Downes, Jasmine Higgs, Grace Klingler and Nicole Tyner. Wrestling-Blaine Fraizer, Magnus Kuokkanen, Tyler Lillard, Henry Porter and Cole Rhemrev
Indiana University Baseball Drops Second Straight Game at Purdue Even with a four-run lead in the ninth inning, the Indiana Baseball team (21-29, 7-19) couldn’t escape struggles late in the game. A blown lead in the final frame, the second time IU has lost a big advantage in the final third of the game this weekend, was the deciding factor in a 5-4 loss to Purdue (34-15, 17-9) on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Field. The Hoosiers dropped game 1 Friday Night 11-9 after leading 9-2 after 6 innings.
Sophomore southpaw Brayton Thomas turned in one of the best performances of his young career. He worked 5.1 scoreless innings to get the game to the sixth inning. Thomas allowed just three free passes and collected a pair of strikeouts while navigating a veteran Purdue lineup. Graduate student Reagan Rivera was spectacular to advance the game to the ninth inning. Playing small ball hasn’t been the forte of the IU program but head coach Jeff Mercer pulled it out on Saturday afternoon.
A series of bunts in the fourth inning allowed sophomore second baseman Landen Fry to hand the Hoosiers a 2-0 lead. IU got insurance in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Will Moore and an RBI single from sophomore shortstop Cooper Malamazian. Again, finding all 27 outs has been a challenge that has continuously escaped the IU program this season. A collection of walks and timely hits from the Purdue lineup brought up some familiar nightmares on Saturday in West Lafayette. Brandon Rogers’ three-run double, placed perfectly down the first base line, provided the final knock in a series victory for the hosts.
Kaelon Black Signs His Rookie Contract with the San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday announced they have signed six of the team’s eight 2026 draft picks to four-year deals, along with seven undrafted rookie free agents. Former Indiana University Running Back Kaelon Black is one of those draft picks who signed their contract. Black becomes the third of the eight Hoosiers selected in April’s NFL Draft to Sign their Rookie Contract joining D’Angelo Ponds of the New York Jets and Pat Coogan of Tennessee Titans.
Black was the second of two third-round draft picks (90th overall) selected by the 49ers in this year’s draft out of Indiana. Appeared in 56 games (16 starts) over 6 seasons at Indiana (2024-25) and James Madison (2020-23) and registered 496 carries for 2,595 yds. and 17 TDs on the ground to go along with 55 receptions. for 528 yds. and 6 TDs through the air. In 2025 at Indiana, appeared in all 16 games and tallied 187 carries for 1,039 yds. and 10 TDs while adding 4 receptions. for 36 yds. through the air. In 2024, appeared in all 13 games and recorded 46 carries for 251 yds. and 2 TDs on the ground to go along with 4 receptions. for 6 yds. through the air. In 2023 at James Madison, appeared in 13 games (12 starts) and tallied 142 carries for 637 yds. and 1 TD with 27 receptions. for 254 yds. and 4 TDs through the air. In 2022, appeared in 9 games (1 start) and recorded 69 carries for 333 yds. and 3 TDs on the ground to go along with 17 receptions. for 177 yds. and 2 TDs through the air. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, appeared in 3 games (2 starts) and tallied 27 carries for 165 yds. on the ground and added 3 receptions. for 55 yds. Redshirted in 2020 after appearing in 2 games and registering 25 carries for 170 yds. and 1 TD. Born 10/17/01 in Virginia Beach, VA.
Christian Lundgaard wins Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard won the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is Lundgaard’s first win in the Sonsio Grand Prix and his second career IndyCar win. “It feels pretty awesome,” Lundgaard said. “In many ways it’s been a lot of unfinished business around the Indianapolis Road course.”
“Again, we’re fighting for a championship, but we’re also fighting for a 500 that’s coming up in a few weeks, so it’s the right way to start the month,” Lundgaard added. “But I just feel so pleased to have that rock removed, that piece of concrete from my shoulders from having been good around here in the past.” After the win, Lundgaard moved up to fourth in the IndyCar Series standings. Lundgaard’s previous best finish in the Sonsio Grand Prix was third. His win snaps Alex Palou’s three year run as the winner of the race.
David Malukas finished in second and Graham Rahal finished third. Josef Newgarden and Palou rounded out the top five. “It was just a matter of time,” Malukas said. “Lundgaard was so quick, and we were using push to pass to keep up with him. So, I already knew, like, 40 laps before he actually got the move done. I’m like, it’s going to happen. We’re trying. But maybe we keep pushing, maybe something will happen in our favor. But I think we ran out of luck. But hey, we’ll take it. This has been a fantastic weekend. Best result so far this season and to match my best result in IndyCar at Indy GP (Grand Prix) at a road course, that’s a good feeling for me.”
Malukas led for 27 laps on Saturday. Lundgaard passed Malukas for the lead in Lap 68 (out of 85 total laps). “Everybody works hard and it was nice to be rewarded,” Rahal said. “We got a little luck today, but at the same time, we were up there at the start and made a good move at the start. Stay out and stay clean and from there, honestly held position.” Next up for the drivers is the first practice session for the Indianapolis 500 on Tuesday.
Catlin Clark Sets a WNBA Record as the Indiana Fever Fall in the Season Opener to the Dallas Wings In the third quarter of the Fever’s 2026 season opener, Caitlin Clark became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points, 250 rebounds, and 250 assists. Clark scored 10 points in the third quarter alone in the Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings to reach the milestone. Clark ended with 20 points in the Fever’s 107-104 loss against the Dallas Wings on Saturday. Clark also becomes only the 8th player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points within 54 career games. Former Fever star and Hall-of-Famer Tamika Catchings also scored her 1,000th point in her 54th game with the Fever.
The Fever erased a nine-point deficit coming out of halftime and had a chance to tie the game on the final possession. With 1.3 seconds to play and the Fever down three, Kelsey Mitchell missed a 31-foot three-point attempt at the buzzer, sealing the loss. Fever stars Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston all scored at least 20 points in the loss. Kelsey Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points. Despite a close loss, Mitchell was pleased with the fan support and how the Fever competed. “I’m excited about where our group is going,” Mitchell said. “Like I told CC (Caitlin Clark) and AB (Aliyah Boston), I’m going to rock and roll with them for as long as we’re going to do this. We’re going to keep getting better. I think the chemistry is there. I think the atmosphere and the fans, I don’t know how much they realize, they keep us in the game. We piggyback off our fans in a lot of situations.”
Caitlin Clark also shared how beneficial a tightly contested game can be for the Fever this early in the season. “It was a great test,” Clark said. “It was a great game. Our locker room was positive afterwards. We’re not going to hang our heads; we’re going to move forward. A lot to be proud of and a lot to learn from, too.” Indiana committed 14 turnovers on Saturday and shot just 29.2 percent from three in the narrow loss. Caitlin Clark scored 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting, and Aliyah Boston scored 23 points on 11-for-22 shooting. As a team, Indiana shot 51.9 percent from the floor. The Wings shot it well on Saturday. Dallas shot 59.1 percent from the field and connected on 12 three-pointers.
Fever head coach Stephanie White said her team gave Dallas too many opportunities. “We’ve got to be more disciplined,” White said. “Over-rotated, coverage breakdowns, hanging around, and not going for offensive boards gave up a lot in transition, fouling shooters. We’ve got to be better. All detail-oriented things. The good thing is, it’s all correctable.” The Fever’s next game is on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, May 13th.
Ball State University Men’s Volleyball Falls to UC Irvine in the National Semifinals Fourth-ranked Ball State saw its run to a national title come to an end Saturday evening, suffering a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19) setback to UC Irvine in the semifinals of the National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. After dropping the opening set 25-19, the Cardinals (26-5) were able to even the match with a 25-23 victory in the second stanza. Unfortunately, the Anteaters (21-8) took a thrilling third frame 27-25, before winning the fourth 25-19. “I’m super proud of our guys,” head coach Mike Iandolo stated. “We achieved something that has only been done for the third time since 2000 for our program, so these guys have a lot to be proud of.”
In his final match for Ball State, senior Patrick Rogers led all players with 20 kills and finished the match hitting .304 (20-6-46). He also collected seven digs and a service ace. Will Patterson was second on the squad with nine kills, while hitting .533 (9-1-15) and collecting a match-high eight total blocks. Ball State captured 13.5 blocks in total, it’s 10th match this season hitting the double-digit mark, aided by Ryan Louis and Wil Basiliio who had five each. The pair also combined for 11 kills, with Louis totaling six while Basilio recorded five. Andrej Jokanovic led a quartet of UC Irvine attackers with 18 kills, while William D’Arcy and Shane Aitken tied for match-high honors with 10 digs apiece. The Anteaters’ backcourt effort, which included 48 digs, helped limit the Cardinals’ NCAA-leading offense fo a .234 rate of success in the match. “We walk out of here with our heads high,” Iandolo stated. “We kept fighting, we held confidence within each other and played through until the end. We’ll be back, and our guys have set the stage for that.”
Top-Ranked Taylor University Hosts NAIA Baseball Opening Round, Eyes Return to Lewiston Top-ranked Taylor (49-5) hosts the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round beginning today at Winterholter Field, entering as the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight year and as host for the fifth consecutive season. TU’s opener is set for 6 p.m. against the winner of Mount Mercy and Shawnee State, with the bracket champion advancing to the 69th annual Avista NAIA World Series at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho, beginning May 22. TU arrives to the national tournament atop the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — a position it has held since April 1 — and as the regular-season and tournament champion of the Crossroads League for a third-straight season. The 49 wins are a program record, eclipsing the previous mark of 47, and TU’s 33 conference victories are also the most in school history. A 24-game winning streak earlier this season tied the program standard, and the Trojans collected their 1,700th all-time victory along the way.
The Opening Round appearance is the program’s fifth straight, as well as the sixth in eight seasons and 11th overall. TU is 11-18 all-time in the NAIA Opening Round. Six of those 11 wins have come over the past four years at Winterholter Field, leading to a trip to the NAIA World Series in 2023. Statistically, the Trojans rank among the nation’s leaders in nearly every offensive category. TU leads the NAIA in on-base percentage (.477) and runs per game (11.5), ranks fourth in batting average (.353), slugging percentage (.595), walks (334) and extra-base hits (227), and has scored a program-record 598 runs — the third-highest total in the country. The Trojans have reached double digits in scoring 31 times. The pitching staff complements that production with 467 strikeouts and a 10.41 K/9 rate, both fifth nationally.
That offense is built on a lineup that produced seven of TU’s 11 All-Crossroads League selections this week, a program-tying total. Senior outfielder Brayden Manning leads the league with a .426 average, ranks second in RBIs (72) and runs scored (78), and earned a third consecutive first-team all-conference selection. The two-time CL Player of the Week now stands second in TU history with 296 career hits. First baseman Jordan Malott — a third-time first-team all-conference honoree — leads the Crossroads League in both RBIs (81) and on-base percentage (.531), pairing a .389 average with 15 home runs and a .754 slugging mark. Senior third baseman Fletcher Roemmich anchors the leadoff spot at .371 with 10 home runs and 79 runs scored to tie a TU single-season record. He reached base safely in all but one game – a streak that included 61 consecutive games across the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Three more All-CL honorees fill out the Trojan lineup. Senior Brennan Frickel earned a first-team selection with a .388/.518/.667 slash line across 50 games — including a .453 average in 33 conference contests. Senior shortstop Ben Kennedy, the 2025 CL Gold Glove winner, is hitting a career-best .373 with nine home runs and 51 RBIs and now stands at 198 hits, 26 home runs and 160 RBIs across 209 career games. Junior outfielder Luke Sutter carries a 26-game on-base streak into the national tourney while slashing .361/.474/.589 with nine home runs. The Trojan rotation is fronted by three first-team All-CL arms. Brody Fine is 8-0 with 83 strikeouts in 15 starts at a 12.7 K/9 rate. Wes Hunt is 6-0 with a 3.42 ERA over 50 innings — in which he has not surrendered a home run. Out of the bullpen, Nathan Frady is 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA and 45 strikeouts against just 11 walks in 44 innings. Head coach Kyle Gould was named Crossroads League Coach of the Year for the third year in a row and the ninth time across his 22 seasons and has now pushed his career mark to 786 wins.
The four teams joining TU in the Upland Bracket all played for conference tournament championships in May. No. 17 Abraham Baldwin (39-15) enters the bracket as the No. 2 seed and Southern States Athletic Conference tournament runner-up. The Stallions, in their second NAIA season after moving up from the NJCAA in 2024, won 13 consecutive games before falling to Loyola in the SSAC final. Shortstop Quinten Rawls anchors the lineup at .380 with 22 doubles, nine home runs and 18 stolen bases on 19 attempts, while right-handers Kade Haywood and Reigh Jordan have eight wins apiece atop the rotation. ABAC hits .319 as a team (28th in NAIA) and ranks 12th nationally in doubles (115), averaging 7.8 runs per game. Head coach Blake Williams is 77-31 across his two seasons leading the program, which is making its second consecutive Opening Round appearance and brings a 3-2 all-time mark.
Indiana Tech (41-15) holds the No. 3 seed and arrives as the bracket’s hottest team, having won 19 of its last 21 before falling to Madonna in the WHAC championship. The Warriors are powered by a pair of home run threats: Garrett Rainey is hitting .378 with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs, while Jack Ferguson has 22 home runs, 63 RBIs and a .360 average at the plate. Behind those bats, Tech ranks third nationally in sacrifice hits and seventh in hit-by-pitches (121), manufacturing 506 runs (10th in NAIA) at 9.04 per game. Kip McWilliams is in his 19th season leading the program, where he has compiled a 663-394-2 record and a 23-22 mark across 13 Opening Round appearances. TU has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two programs dating to 2005, though they haven’t met since a 2021 doubleheader at Winterholter Field.
Mount Mercy (38-13) wears the No. 4 seed and arrives after it captured the Heart of America Athletic Conference title after a second-place regular-season finish. The Mustangs average 8.2 runs per game and feature six players hitting .309 or better, with senior Lane Spieker (.314, 13 HR, 48 RBI) the headline left-handed power threat, junior Christian Graves leading the team with 19 home runs and 49 RBIs, and right-hander Jack Turgasen (7-4, 3.15 ERA) anchoring the staff. Twelfth-year head coach Jack Dahm (331-241-1 at Mount Mercy) has guided the Mustangs to their third Opening Round appearance and second straight, and the program enters at 2-4 all-time at this stage.
Shawnee State (32-18) rounds out the bracket as the No. 5 seed out of the River States Conference, returning to the NAIA Opening Round for the first time since 2011 after finishing as the RSC tournament runner-up. Diego Mendoza (.374, 13 HR, 66 RBI) and Jace Parnin (.379, 10 HR, 48 RBI) lead an offense that ranks 25th nationally in batting average (.320), 23rd in slugging percentage and 21st in home runs (66) at 8.4 runs per game, with right-hander Ricardo Medrano arriving undefeated at 8-0 with a 3.99 ERA. Third-year head coach Rob Ehlers (87-55) leads a Bears program making its sixth Opening Round appearance and bringing an 8-11 all-time mark at this stage. The only previous meeting between TU and Shawnee State came on Opening Day 2016, when the Trojans scored three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win in Emerson, Georgia.
Admission to the NAIA Opening Round at Winterholter Field will be free for all fans across the four-day event. Every game in the bracket will also be streamed at no cost on Urban Edge Network, with broadcasts produced by ISC Sports Network. The double-elimination format runs through Thursday, May 14, with the bracket winner earning a trip to Lewiston.
Upland Bracket Schedule All Times Eastern Today, May 11 Game 1 (11 a.m.) — No. 4 Mount Mercy vs. No. 5 Shawnee State Game 2 (2:30 p.m.) — No. 2 Abraham Baldwin vs. No. 3 Indiana Tech Game 3 (6 p.m.) — No. 1 Taylor vs. Game 1 winner
Tuesday, May 12 Game 4 (11 a.m.) — Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser Game 5 (2:30 p.m.) —Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner Game 6 (6 p.m.) — Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser
Wednesday, May 13 Game 7 (1 p.m.) — Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 winner Game 8 (4:30 p.m.) — Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner
Thursday, May 14 Game 9 (12 p.m., if necessary) — Championship