Indiana University Football and Former Hoosier OG Anunoby up for ESPY Awards IU Athletics will be prominent at the 2026 ESPY Awards. The 2025 national championship football squad is up for Best Team, while quarterback Fernando Mendoza is up for Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Men’s College Athlete. Former IU basketball player OG Anunoby’s game-winning Game 4 tip-in at the NBA Finals is also up for Best Play. IU football completed the first 16-0 season since 1894. Under the direction of head coach Curt Cignetti, their national title game win over Miami marked one of the most dramatic turnarounds in sports history. Indiana went 9-27 from 2021-23, and then 27-2 from 2024-25. On his way to winning the Heisman Trophy, Mendoza improved across the board in 2025. He threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns. Anunoby averaged 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.4 steals and 1.0 assists in the NBA Finals while shooting 52.5% overall and 50% from three. He hit the game-winning shot as part of a 33-point effort in Game Four. Fans can vote on the ESPYs here.
The ESPN awards show began in 1993. At the ESPYs, top celebrities from sports and entertainment will come together to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major athletic achievements, reliving unforgettable moments, and saluting the leading performers and performances. The ESPYS help to raise awareness and funds for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the charity founded by ESPN and the late basketball coach Jim Valvano at the first ESPYS. The 2026 ESPYS will broadcast live Wednesday, July 15 at 8pm ET / 7pm CT on ABC and the ESPN App. The program will be hosted by comedian, actor, writer and producer Marcello Hernández. This year marks The ESPYS return to New York City, where the show will air live from the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
THE 2026 ESPYS NOMINATIONS: BEST ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS-Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks, Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF, Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers and Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams. BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS-Hilary Knight, Hockey, Nelly Korda, Golf, Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing and A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces. BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE-Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, Alysa Liu, Figure Skating, Drake Maye, New England Patriots and Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football. BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE-Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns –broke the NFL single-season sack record, Megan Grant, UCLA Softball–broke the NCAA single-season softball home run record, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Cross-Country Skier–first athlete to win six golds at Winter Games and Sabastian Sawe, Long-Distance Runner–first to finish a marathon in under two hours. BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE-Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks, Aerin Frankel, USA Women’s Hockey, Connor Hellebuyck, USA Men’s Hockey and Teagan Kavan, Texas Longhorns Softball. BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE-Anthony Kim, Golf, Savy King, Angel City FC, Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers and Kyndal Stowers, Texas A&M Volleyball. BEST PLAY-Golden Goal for Gold! –Olympic Women’s Hockey, Golden Goal for Gold! –Olympic Men’s Hockey, UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins’ buzzer-beating 3–NCAA Men’s March Madness, OG Anunoby’s Tip-In–NBA Finals and Caleb Williams Game Tying TD vs. Rams–NFL. BEST TEAM-Las Vegas Aces, WNBA, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football, Carolina Hurricanes, NHL, New York Knicks, NBA, Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball, Seattle Seahawks, NFL, Team USA Men’s Hockey and Team USA Women’s Hockey. BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE-Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball–hit three grand slams in a single game, tying a record set 50 years ago, Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat–scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150–129 win against the Washington Wizards, recording the second-highest single-game total in NBA history, Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball–broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a game and Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers–pitched six scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs. BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS-Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball, Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling and Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer. BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS-Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball, Lauren Betts, UCLA Basketball, Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse and Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics. BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY-Jake Adicoff, Para Nordic-Skiing, Declan Farmer, Para Hockey, Oksana Masters, Para Cross-Country Skiing and Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing. BEST NFL PLAYER-Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns, Drake Maye, New England Patriots, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks and Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams. BEST MLB PLAYER-Aaron Judge, New York Yankees, Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners and Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates. BEST NHL PLAYER-Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche and Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers. BEST NBA PLAYER-Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder, Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets and Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs. BEST WNBA PLAYER-Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx, Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream, Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury and A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces. BEST DRIVER-Kimi Antonelli, F1, Lando Norris, F1, Alex Palou, IndyCar and Tyler Reddick, NASCAR. BEST FIGHTER-Terence Crawford, Boxing, Gabriela Fundora, Boxing, Justin Gaethje, MMA and Claressa Shields, Boxing BEST SOCCER PLAYER-Temwa Chawinga, KC Current, Ousmane Dembélé, PSG/France, Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF and Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona. BEST GOLFER-Nelly Korda, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jeeno Thitikul. BEST TENNIS PLAYER-Carlos Alcaraz, Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner.
Indiana Fever set fire to the Los Angeles Sparks even without Caitlin Clark The Indiana Fever were on fire Saturday night against the Los Angeles Sparks — and they did it without superstar Caitlin Clark, who was out with a back injury. The Fever took advantage of the Sparks missing stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, who were sidelined with lower body injuries. Indiana built a 20-point lead by the time the halftime buzzer sounded. They didn’t let up after the break, outscoring the Sparks by 11 in the third to help secure the 111-87 victory. All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell once again led the way for the Fever. Her 26 points was a game high. Three more Fever players hit double figures. Aliyah Boston finished with 17, going 5-of-6 from the floor. Tyasha Harris put up 16 as she was Clark’s replacement in the starting lineup, and Monique Billings continued her strong play with 15 points. The 111 points scored by Indiana are the most for the Fever in a regulation game this season. The milestone is eclipsed only by the 114-106 overtime win against the Chicago Sky two weeks prior.
Fever head coach Stephanie White addressed Clark’s latest injury during practice on Friday, saying the team is being extremely cautious with their superstar’s health. “We want her to be healthy, physically, mentally and emotionally, all the things,” White said. “I think it’s important to remember, again, when you’ve gone through injury and the traumatic aspect of injury, especially that she had last year, it’s ups and downs, physically, mentally, emotionally, and making sure that she’s 100% ready to go is the most important thing. Her taking care of that is priority for us.” White added that the timing of the injury is helpful since the team won’t play another game before heading to Las Vegas for next Sunday’s matchup against the Aces. “Obviously it’s a good time because we have all week next week,” White said. “So, we’ll take this opportunity just to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens. It’s the same thing, long term health and wellness is the most important thing.” The Fever tip off against Las Vegas at 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 5.
Former Indiana University Basketball Big Man Sam Alexis Has Signed a Summer League deal with Oklahoma City Former IU basketball big man Sam Alexis will get a closer look from Oklahoma City during the NBA Summer League. Alexis signed a deal with the franchise to play over a slate of games that runs July 4 to July 16. He’ll be joined by fellow former Hoosier Lamar Wilkerson, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City hosted Alexis for a workout before the NBA Draft. Alexis spent one season with Indiana and etched his name in the program record book. His 68.7 field goal percentage is the best single season ever by an IU player on 100 or more attempts. After transferring in from Florida, Alexis played in all 32 games and started the final 23 for the Hoosiers. He averaged 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game. Alexis also made a personal best 72.5% (50-of-69) from the free throw line, had a team-best 50 dunks, posted 13 games with 10-plus points, and eight games with at least eight rebounds. Joining Alexis and Wilkerson from the 2025-26 team in NBA Summer League action next month will be Tucker DeVries, who signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Boston.
Indiana University Basketball Class of 2027 commit Chase Branham headed to National Prep School Class of 2027 top-30 guard Chase Branham is coming to Indiana a year early. But he’s not headed to Bloomington. After announcing his commitment to IU in September and leading his high school to a state title, the 6-foot-4 Branham will spend his senior year at national prep school powerhouse La Lumiere in La Porte, Ind. La Lumiere plays in the national EYBL Scholastic League, which will give Branham the opportunity to practice and play games against elite talent. The Lakers run a modern offense that led the EYBL Scholastic in points per possession, 3-point attempt rate, 3-pointers made, and total threes attempted. IU coach Darian DeVries has connections to La Lumiere. He was on the staff at Creighton when La Lumiere assistant Brian Tonino was there as a manager. In the average of the national rankings, Branham is a 4-star, the No. 29 overall player in the 2027 class, and the No. 5 shooting guard. Branham led Logan-Rogersville H.S. (Rogersville, Missouri) (29-3) to its first state championship since 1982. He averaged 21.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per contest.
Four Indiana University Football Players are Ranked in PFF’s top 10 returners at their position IU football offensive tackle Carter Smith highlights the program’s top returning players in 2026. The Big Ten’s 2025 offensive lineman of the year was named by Pro Football Focus as the top returning offensive tackle in the nation. Three other Hoosiers are among the top-10 returners at their respective positions according to PFF. They are summarized below. Included are some interesting data points about each player highlighting their elite production thus far. Note: PFF hasn’t published such information for defensive backs or linebackers.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE-1. Carter Smith, Indiana- “Smith is entering his fourth year as Indiana’s starting left tackle and is the only returning tackle in the FBS who posted top-10 grades as both a pass blocker and run blocker in 2025.” OFFENSIVE GUARD-9. Drew Evans, Indiana- “He has performed admirably in pass protection, tallying an 81.5 PFF pass-blocking grade since 2024 with zero sacks allowed on 656 career pass-blocking snaps. Evans wrapped up 2025 as one of the 20 most valuable guards in America, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. ” WIDE RECEIVER -8. Charlie Becker, Indiana- “The sophomore’s 90.0 PFF grade from Week 11 on was the highest in the country by 2.5 points, while his 522 receiving yards in that stretch were third. Becker’s 3.41 yards per route run on the season were second to only Jeremiah Smith in the Power Four, while his 89.1 PFF grade was third in the nation to Makai Lemon and Smith.” INTERIOR DL-6. Tyrique Tucker, Indiana- “His seven sacks this season were tied for the most in the Power Four, while his 85.6 PFF run-defense grade over the last two years is the highest of anyone on this list. Tucker is the fifth-most valuable Power Four interior defender from the 2025 season that’s returning to school, according to PFF’s WAA metric.”
Bloomington North and Bloomington South Finalize Coaching Staffs Ahead of the 2026 Football Season Bloomington North football coach Andy Harding has his new staff put together, and it includes several familiar faces. Jason Hankins is back as defensive coordinator, while Reece Lozano also returns, but has been elevated to offensive coordinator. Brad Engel returns as defensive line coach, and Paul Prather will coach defensive backs, with Sam Werczynski taking the head coaching job at Paoli. New names include former Ft. Wayne area standout Ebon Person, who will work with defensive ends. Former Brown County head coach Colton Sample is the new offensive line coach/JV head coach. Two former Edgewood standouts are on staff: Kyle Goble, who will also work with the O-line and is the freshman head coach, and Quintin Fortier, the wide receivers coach. Former Cougar Nate Hankins will assist with the D-line.
At South, the Panthers will have a new offensive coordinator, with Mo Moriarity not returning; they hired former Cougar coach Jesse Spurgeon as the new OC. Kenny Davis has moved back to Alabama, so head coach Gabe Johnson, who runs the defense, will pick up coaching safeties. Strength coach Thomas Henderson will work with receivers. There are two new freshman coaches in Jason Gardner, a member of South’s 1993 state championship team, who is on board after retiring from a career in the Air Force, and Isaac Cruz, a former standout at Ft. Wayne Snider. It gives the Panthers six at the freshman level to work with an incoming group of 35.
Indianapolis Indians Walk Off the Scranton RailRiders in the Ninth José Urquidy and Brendan Beck stunned both clubs in a late-night pitchers’ duel, but the Indianapolis Indians ran away with the victory after scoring three runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 4-3, in walk-off fashion on Saturday night at Victory Field. Down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, Shawn Ross delivered a bases-loaded, two-RBI single to knot the game up, 3-3. Dominic Fletcher, whose bat has not cooled off all of June, singled to left field to load the bases once again, setting the stage for Termarr Johnson. The 22-year-old drew the walk-off walk to send the RailRiders (3-2, 40-39) home for the night. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre struck first and fast, launching Urquidy’s second pitch out of the park for a 1-0 lead. After the first-inning solo shot, Urquidy did not allow a hit for the rest of his outing. He struck out five and walked two RailRiders. It was Urquidy’s first time this season, across both Indianapolis (2-3, 33-47) and the Pittsburgh Pirates, that he walked more than one batter in a game.
Brendan Beck went a bit further than Urquidy and pumped through 7.0 innings but gave up four more hits than his opposition. The Indians finally got to Beck in his last frame and tied the contest up at one run apiece after stringing together two singles, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. After both starting pitchers had passed the baton to the bullpen, Marco Luciano broke the tie game with a 402-foot two-run home run off Jaden Woods in the eighth inning. Beau Burrows (W, 4-1) threw a perfect ninth inning to earn the win. Eric Reyzelman (L, 0-1) took the loss, allowing four out of the five batters he faced in the ninth inning to reach base. All three ninth-inning runs were charged to Reyzelman.