Indiana University Football Celebrates Its 2025 National Championship at the White House The celebrations continue for the national champion Indiana Hoosiers. IU was honored at the White House Monday afternoon as President Donald Trump introduced them to a crowd of supporters and media on the South Lawn. Trump marveled at the Hoosiers undefeated season and emphasized how impressive the turnaround from only three wins in 2023 to a perfect 16-0 national championship season two years later. He especially congratulated head coach Curt Cignetti on his orchestration of the comeback. “I’m really honored to be with this guy,” Trump said, referring to Cignetti. “It’s not like he inherited a great program. He inherited something that was less than great, and he made it into something that has probably never been done, at this level, never been done before. Congratulations, Coach.”
Trump shook Cignetti’s hand before yielding the microphone to the Hoosiers head coach, who immediately led the crowd in a Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers chant. “To me it’s a simple message: Prepare the right way every single day to a high standard, and anything is possible in life,” Cignetti said a part of his speech on the South Lawn. “The only limitations are those between your ears, and you can’t have any of those either. So, go IU!” Cignetti then presented the president with a special IU jersey with the number 47 and Trump on the name plate, plus gave him a commemorative national championship football. The president then showed the team around the Oval Office.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza was not in attendance, as he prepares for his first season in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders. Trump said Mendoza called him to express his condolences for missing the big moment. “If (Mendoza) was not here for other reasons like he didn’t like Trump or he didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t have even mentioned him,” Trump said during his speech. “But he’s a great guy actually and he is actually a big fan of what we’re doing for our country.” Wide receiver Charlie Baker and defensive back Jamari Sharpe both spoke during the event, as well.
Indiana University Women’s Golf Ties for 10th on Day 1 of the NCAA Regional Indiana University Women’s Golf is tied for 10th after the first round of the NCAA Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville Kentucky on Monday. The Hoosiers had a team score of 292 for+4 over par. Houston and Ole Miss are tied for first with a team score of 282 which -6 under par. Arkansas and Xavier are tied for third with 284 -4 under par. Auburn and Virginia Tech are tied for fifth at 286 -2 under par. For the Hoosiers Individually Sheridan Clancy tied for fourth with a 68. Maddie May tied for 36th with a 73. Madison Dabagia tied for 42nd with a 74. Saia Rampersaud tied for 52nd with a 77 and Katie Poots is 60th with a 78. Kajsalotta Svarar of Ole Miss, Namani Nakashima of Kansas State and Isabella Johnson of Middle Tennessee State all shot a 67 which is 5 under par to lead the individual leaderboard after first round. The top five teams and the top low Individual not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad California May 22-27th.
Indiana University Basketball Class of 2027 commit Chase Branham to participate in Team USA training camp USA Basketball announced 35 athletes expected to participate in the 2026 Men’s U18 National Team training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 12 of them will represent Team USA next month. Training camp participants will represent the graduating classes of 2026, 2027 and 2028. Athletes attending camp are selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee. IU class of 2027 commit Chase Branham is one of the players invited to the camp. This is Branham’s second recent involvement with Team USA activities. He participated in the 2026 USA Men’s Junior National Team April minicamp in Indianapolis. As a high school junior, Branham led Logan-Rogersville H.S. to the Missouri Class 4A state title. He averaged 21.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, while shooting 41% from 3-point range.
The training camp begins Thursday, May 21, with the 12-member team expected to be announced before the team departs for the 2026 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup, scheduled for June 1-7 in Leon, Mexico. The class of 2026 invites include Davion Adkins, Tarris Bouie, Bruce Branch III, Quentin Coleman, Sam Funches, Caleb Gaskins, Bryson Howard, Josh Irving, Jasiah Jervis, Taylen Kinney, Colben Landrew, Dhani Miller, Dylan Mingo, Bo Ogden, Baba Oladotun, Ethan Taylor, Kevin Thomas and Anthony Thompson. From the class of 2027 are Scottie Adkinson, Reese Alston, Dawson Battie, Chase Branham, Jalen Davis, Jaxson Davis, Demarcus Henry, Ahmad Hudson, Jaydn Jenkins, Malachi Jordan, Moussa Kamissoko, J’Lon Lyons, Kevin Savage III, Davion Thompson, Josh Tyson and Darius Wabbington.
Training camp will be led by 2026 USA Men’s U18 National Team head coach Anthony Grant (University of Dayton) and assistant coaches Matt Langel (Colgate University) and Nate Oats (University of Alabama). Assisting as court coaches during the opening phase of training camp will be Dennis Gates (University of Missouri), Greg Kampe (Oakland Univ – MI), Dusty May (University of Michigan) and Ritchie McKay (Liberty University).
Indy 500 qualifying expanded to add Final 15 round on Sunday Qualifying format for the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 is changing. IndyCar announced Monday that it’s adding an additional qualifying round on Sunday called the Final 15. This will replace the traditional last chance qualifying round, which would bump the slowest car out of the field of 33, since there are only 33 entries in this year’s field. Instead, all teams will have qualifying runs on Saturday to try to advance to Sunday. Cars ranked 10-15 will then compete in the Final 15 round beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday to fight for the final three spots in the Top 12 round. Teams not making it will then earn positions 13-15.
The rest of the Sunday’s schedule remains the same. The newly determined Top 12 cars will then fight for a spot in the Fast Six. Top 12 will run at 5 p.m. with the Fast Six scheduled at 6:35 p.m. The fastest car from that group will then earn this year’s coveted pole position. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is the defending Indy 500 champion after a historic year in the IndyCar Series last year, while Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard returns to the IMS oval with the momentum of Saturday’s Sonsio Grand Prix win on the IMS road course. Practice for the 110th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will be from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Qualifying begins Saturday at 11 a.m.
No. 1 Taylor University Baseball Reaches 50 Wins, Launches Four Home Runs in 6-1 NAIA Opening Round Victory For the fifth straight season, the NAIA national tournament returned to Winterholter Field carrying the weight of expectation and unfinished business. After back-to-back Opening Round exits despite record-setting seasons, No. 1 Taylor began writing the next chapter Monday night. The Trojans (50-5), who are the top seed in the Upland Bracket for the second straight year, launched four home runs and beat fifth-seeded Shawnee State 6-1, commencing tournament play with a victory for the fourth straight year. They are now the first 50-win team in program history.
Fletcher Roemmich set the tone, lifting a deep drive over the opposite-field wall in right for a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, and as he touched the plate, his 80th run of the season made him the program’s single-season runs leader. Two innings later, Ben Kennedy, who has homered in back-to-back games, followed up a Nate Simpson single with a two-run blast to left-center on a full-count offer. The lead was quickly 3-0 in favor of the Purple & Gray. Sam Gladd connected on another long ball in the fourth frame. His two-run blast to center came off the bat at 105 mph and traveled 413 feet for the loudest moment of the afternoon and pushed TU in front, 5-0.
Brayden Manning capped the home-run barrage with a solo shot to left in the seventh, his career-best 13th of the season and his 40th as a Trojan. Manning has now hit safely in 14 straight games. He also stands at 297 career hits, second on Taylor’s all-time list. Starter Lane Lewis worked 4.2 shutout innings before turning the game over to Nathan Frady. The sophomore righty scattered five hits, walked no one, struck out four and retired the leadoff batter in five consecutive frames. Frady (5-1) took it from there. The junior right-hander worked 4.1 innings of one-run, no-walk relief and generated 11 groundball outs.
Shawnee State’s lone run came in the eighth, when Jack Amis scored on a Zach Gaspar RBI single after reaching on an error. The Bears entered the day riding a 65-game streak of not being shut out, and the streak survived. TU outhit the Bears 12-9, with hits coming from nine different Trojans. Monday’s four home runs pushed the program’s season total to 90, two swings shy of the school record of 92 set in 2023. The team’s run total crossed 600 and sits at 604 — already a program record and still climbing. Roemmich (2-for-5), Kennedy (2-for-4) and Kaden Wu (2-for-3) each posted a pair of knocks for multi-hit efforts. Jordan Malott, Brennan Frickel and Quinn Kunkel each also notched a base hit, with the freshman Kunkel delivering a pinch-hit liner in his NAIA tournament debut.
For Shawnee State (33-19), Diego Mendoza and Mason Reid each had two hits, and Gaspar drove in the lone run. Owen Elsey (5-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits in 3.2 innings, surrendering three of TU’s four home runs. The Bears, out of the River States Conference, were making their first NAIA Opening Round appearance since 2011 and had reached the Taylor matchup by beating No. 4 seed Mount Mercy in Monday’s opener. They drop to the elimination side of the bracket.
Eleanor Schuitema Heads to Nationals, Taylor University Women’s Golf Ranked No. 23 in Final Poll Despite being dropped to No. 23 in the final NAIA Top-25 Women’s Golf Poll of the season and failing to receive an at-large bid to NAIA Nationals, Taylor will be represented at the event by Eleanor Schuitema, who was selected to compete as an individual. The Trojans slipped from No. 18 to No. 23 in the final poll, following a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Crossroads League Championships and fell just shy of garnering one-of-13 available at-large bids into the 30-team field.
Schuitema did receive one-of-three available individual at-large bids to compete at the NAIA National Championships however and will make her second trip to Nationals in as many seasons with the Trojans. Schuitema finished 99th at the NAIA National Championships one year ago, helping Taylor finish 23rd in the team standings. The sophomore was Taylor’s top finisher in four-of-eight team events this season, claiming medalist honors three times and carding a trio of rounds this season of par-or-better. Schuitema will begin her time at the NAIA National Championships on May 19 at the Eagle Crest Golf Club in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Schuitema will tee off at 3:00 pm on May 19 and at 9:30 am on May 20, with the post-cut tee-times on May 21 and 22 yet to be determined.
Taylor’s Ben Kennedy and Alec Hershberger Sweep Crossroads League Baseball Weekly Honors No. 1 Taylor swept the Crossroads League Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week awards, with Ben Kennedy and Alec Hershberger earning the respective honors on Monday afternoon. Kennedy helped the TU past Indiana Wesleyan in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship with a home run, four runs batted in, and one walk. Kennedy also was a perfect six-for-six in the field during the title-clinching game. Hershberger picked up the win on the mound for TU during its 12-11 win over Indiana Wesleyan in the title game. The junior lefty fanned five without issuing a walk over his 3.1 innings of work. The recognition marks the 12th CL weekly baseball honor earned by a Trojan this season. Taylor Athletics has now garnered 61 Crossroads League, WHAC and MSFA Player-of-the-Week awards and six NAIA National Athlete-of-the-Week honors during the 2025-26 campaign. No. 1 Taylor opened the NAIA Opening Round on Monday evening as the top overall seed in the Upland Bracket.