Indiana University Baseball Head Coach Jeff Mercer Completes his Coaching Staff for the 2027 Season The Indiana baseball program will have two new faces in the clubhouse for the 2027 campaign as head coach Jeff Mercer announced a pair of young assistant coaches to complete his coaching staff. Matt Morrow and Sean Mullen will join the Hoosiers’ staff this fall following stops at Kentucky and Omaha respectively. Morrow, a former player under Mercer at Wright State, comes to Bloomington after spending time at Kentucky as the Director of Offensive Development in 2026. He will be a full-time assistant coach with the Hoosiers and directly help with hitting and infield defense. Morrow will coach the first base box during games while fellow assistant coach Zach Weatherford continues third base duties. Mullen, an 11th round MLB Draft Pick in 2021, joins the staff with loads of collegiate and professional pitching experience. After wrapping up his playing career, Mullen served as the Director of Pitching Development for Omaha during the 2026 season. He will be an assistant coach and work directly with pitchers and catchers in Bloomington.
Matt Morrow – Assistant Coach/Hitting & Infield
A four-year letterwinner for the Raiders, Morrow played in 224 games with 214 starts during a brilliant playing career. He recorded 242 hits and scored 201 runs while sporting a career .415 on-base percentage. Morrow was a Freshman All-American in 2015 and a three-time First Team All-Horizon League selection. He advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 under the guidance of Jeff Mercer. “We are thrilled to have Matt join our staff. He was a great player at Wright State for me and has developed into an excellent young coach,” Mercer said. “He has experience recruiting junior college and transfer portal players. With his infield development skills and his competitive relatability to our players, Matt will transition seamlessly into our program.”
Following his time in college, Morrow played two seasons of professional baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization after signing as an undrafted free agent. His collegiate coaching tenure began as a volunteer assistant at Illinois-Chicago. He made additional stops at Wabash Valley (2023-24), St. Louis (2025) and Kentucky (2026). “Born and raised in Indiana, I couldn’t be more to join the staff in Bloomington,” Morrow said. “I am excited to be reunited with a group of coaches that I know and trust. I’m ready to work and do whatever it takes to help the program win.” Morrow will work directly with IU’s infielders and assist with offensive efforts alongside Mercer and Zach Weatherford. Morrow was a four-year starter at second base for the Raiders and sported a career .981 fielding percentage. He will coach the first base box during games.
Sean Mullen – Assistant Coach/Pitching & Catching
Mullen had one of the best individual seasons on the mound during the tenure of legendary UCLA skipper John Savage. In 2021, Mullen went 9-1 with a 3.39 ERA before being picked in the 11th round of the MLB Draft by Tampa Bay. He was also a draft pick out of high school by the Colorado Rockies. “We’re excited to have Sean join the program. He had a terrific playing career at UCLA as well as in the Tampa Bay organization,” Mercer said. “He will assist our pitchers and lead our catchers. His experience with the NewtForce mound, biomechanic evaluations and training modifications will be invaluable to our staff.”
He pitched two seasons in the Rays’ organization, making 30 appearances for High-A Bowling Green in 2022. Mullen also made a brief pit stop in Independent League baseball with the Lincoln Saltdogs in 2025. He transitioned into coaching as the Director of Pitcher Development for Omaha. “I’m extremely thankful to Coach Mercer for allowing me to join the Hoosier family and be a part of the Indiana baseball program,” Mullen said. “I’m excited to be in Bloomington and work with really talented coaches and players towards one common goal.” Mullen will assist pitching coach Matt Myers with the day-to-day efforts of IU’s pitching staff and bullpen. He will also have a hand in developing the group of catchers and work with all operations of the program.
Everyone is talking about the Indiana Hoosiers Football Team We’ve reached the pinnacle of talking season, and lots of people are talking about Indiana football. As we’ve shared throughout the offseason, most national commentators and computer models are not picking the Hoosiers to repeat as national champions in 2026. But don’t count ESPN’s Pete Thamel among the IU doubters. “I’m just going to spoiler alert everything here,” Thamel said on the College GameDay Podcast. “I said this when we did way-too-early, whatever, in January after the year. I’m taking Indiana. Until they prove otherwise, I am taking Indiana. “That’s not that I think Ohio State’s gonna be bad, or anyone else is gonna be bad. But I am all in on Indiana.”
On the same podcast, ESPN’s Rece Davis said he think Penn State football can be the next Indiana. You read that right. The team with the seventh-most all-time wins can aspire to be the program with the second-most all-time losses. The college football world has truly flipped upside-down. “If you are of the belief that maybe there is someone who will make an Indiana-like unexpected run, certainly not a program that has been in the depths of despair for generations as Indiana had been prior to Curt Cignetti’s arrival, but one who might follow the blueprint that Indiana established for a very quick turnaround,” Davis said. “I submit to you the Penn State Nittany ‘Clones.” Davis called them the clones because new PSU head coach Matt Campbell brought 24 players with him from Iowa State — significantly more than the 13 Curt Cignetti brought to IU from James Madison.
Speaking of Penn State, remember Pat Kraft? Along with Scott Dolson, he was widely viewed as one of two finalists to replace IU AD Fred Glass. Instead, the former IU football player ended up becoming the AD at Penn State. Kraft was asked recently about the resources Penn State is directing towards the men’s basketball program. “Are we in the top? No, we’re not spending $20 million on a basketball roster,” Kraft said on the Nittany Dispatch podcast. “And I gotta be honest, I don’t know if there will ever be a point where we would spend $20 million on a basketball roster. It’s not a good investment. Let’s just call it what it is.” How do we think Kraft’s philosophy would have been greeted in Bloomington? What if IU took that same approach for football before it hired Cignetti?
Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti was asked Tuesday his impressions of Dolson and Cignetti. Here’s his full quote: “You sort of saw it right away in the start of that first season when the winning started, and I think there was skepticism about lots of things around Indiana and their first year when they went to Notre Dame, they lost to a team that made the final, and I think that somehow that season was sort of looked at in a way that wasn’t respectful in terms of how good that football team was.
“You saw them double down and come out and do what they did last year, going through a difficult schedule and an incredible postseason run and the way they played and dominated across most of the games they played. “Look, I mean, I think everybody will tell you in the Big Ten all the people that get to work with Scott (Dolson), he’s tremendous to work with. He’s collaborative. He cares deeply about the entire league. He fights hard for Indiana.
“I think Cig is unique in terms of what his focus is. I think obviously the decision to bring Cig into the league has been something that you just can’t imagine this when this hire was made and the success. We’re obviously really extremely happy for the way it’s worked out there and the quality of players and the program and the reaction. “More importantly, the reaction from the fans and just what that is now on a Saturday at Indiana. It’s just absolutely great.”
Darian DeVries: Indiana Men’s Basketball “got a lot out of” Peru trip Indiana men’s basketball’s summer trip to Peru went as expected in some ways but didn’t in others. The Hoosiers participated in the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru and captured the gold medal on Monday. They were rarely, if at all, seriously challenged by opposition in the tournament. Monday’s 43-point victory for the championship was IU’s closest game of the tournament. Even without SMU transfer center Samet Yigitoglu available, that level of dominance was expected against countries with far less infrastructure for college basketball. But Indiana expected to have six games in Peru — three in the group stage of the tournament, with three knockout games. But a team withdrew from the field late, leaving IU with only four games. That allowed the program to do more non-basketball activities and sightseeing. Head coach Darian DeVries enjoyed that, but the trip wasn’t as basketball-centric as he’d envisioned going in.
“It did allow us to do a lot more things, you know, outside, outside of the basketball. got to do a little bit more exploring. So that was fun,” DeVries said. “One of the things I know we learned was the traffic laws here are optional, so that was… We spent a lot of time on the bus in traffic jams, I think.” Still, the Hoosiers have plenty of positives to take away from Peru. Even with two fewer games than anticipated, this was still a lot more game action than most other teams across the NCAA will get this summer. It’s difficult to know just how much that will help the team this fall, but it certainly can’t hurt. Indiana had some defensive miscues throughout these games, but this was a good opportunity to continue working out kinks against other teams as this group learns to play together. Additionally, the freshman class of Vaughn Karvala, Prince-Alexander Moody, and Trevor Manhertz all showed good things — a big positive going forward, for both short-term and long-term outlooks.
“I loved how hard our guys played all week. I thought that we got a lot out of that. I thought our transition game was really good. I liked how we got out of the blocks, so to speak. And then I loved our offensive rebounding,” DeVries said. “I thought we had a very clear mindset. I thought there was great carryover from practices, and (focus on) what we’ve emphasized, and taking that to the game floor.” Both the players and coaches will go into an extended break upon return to the U.S., until the fall semester starts in August. Official practices can resume in late September, with several exhibition games on deck in October.
Indiana Fever take down the Seattle Storm 105-95 in a Road Win The Indiana Fever (18-10) earned a season sweep over the Seattle Storm with a 105-95 win on Tuesday night, setting WNBA history with their 12th 100+ point scoring game of the season and fourth consecutive of such games. Caitlin Clark led the Fever with 32 points, followed by 28 points from Kelsey Mitchell and a double-double from Monique Billings to take the victory. Outscoring the Storm 37-20, the Fever took a 17-point lead in the first quarter, led by 11 points in three minutes from Sophie Cunningham, in addition to nine from Clark and eight from Billings. Following an injury to Aliyah Boston, the Storm went on a run, cutting into what was a 20-point lead for the Fever, but Indiana was able to grit it out for the remainer of the quarter to remain in front 58-47 at the halftime break. The Storm outscored the Fever 25-18 in the third quarter, but 16 points from Clark helped Indiana maintain its lead heading into the final 10 minutes. With 18 points from Mitchell in the fourth quarter, the Fever reestablished their double-digit lead, securing the road victory.
Caitlin Clark recorded her ninth 30+ point scoring game of her career with 32 points scored, one away from tying Tamika Catchings (10) for the second most in franchise history. The game marked Clark’s fourth 30+ game of the season, tied with Kelsey Mitchell and Breanna Stewart for the third most in the league this season. Caitlin Clark’s 30+ points and 5+ assists mark the ninth of her career. All other Indiana Fever players across the history of the franchise have eight combined. Kelsey Mitchell recorded her 12th consecutive 20+ point scoring game with 28 points scored, marking the third longest streak in league history, tied with Arike Ogunbowale and Breanna Stewart, one shy of the second most held by Diana Taurasi.
With four three-pointers made, Kelsey Mitchell surpassed 75 three-pointers made in a single season for the fifth season in her career, tied for the second most in WNBA history. Kelsey Mitchell also extended her WNBA record for most consecutive games with at least three 3PM to 12 games, totaling four three-pointers made on the night. Monique Billings earned her second double-double of the season, finishing the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell’s 18 points scored in the fourth quarter are good for the second most in a single quarter in franchise history, one shy of the franchise record of 19 points set by Mitchell herself on May 20, 2022 against Connecticut.
The Indiana Fever recorded their 12th 100+ point scoring game of the 2026 season, setting a new WNBA record for most of such games in a single season. The previous record of 11 games was set by the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, a record which took them 40 games to do, the Fever did so in 28 games. Additionally, the Fever surpassed 100+ points scored for the fourth consecutive game, setting a new record most consecutive games with 100+ points scored. The Fever’s 37 points scored in the first quarter are tied for the third most points in a single quarter in franchise history, three shy of the record of 40 points set on September 1, 2026, against the New York Liberty.
Enmanuel Valdez’s Ninth Inning Knock Lifts the Indianapolis Indians Over the Louisville Bats Enmanuel Valdez hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the top of the ninth inning to push the Indianapolis Indians to a 5-4 win on Tuesday night at Louisville Slugger Field. With the Indians (18-10, 49-54) trailing, 4-2, in the final frame, Dominic Fletcher and Derek Berg opened with back-to-back walks. Joshua Palacios grounded into a double play with Fletcher advancing to third. On 0-2 with the game in the balance, Termarr Johnson cut the deficit to one with an RBI single into right field. Mitch Jebb then walked on a 3-2 pitch to put the tying run in scoring position. Jebb’s walk was the end of Hunter Parks’ (L, 2-2) outing as Trevor Kuncl entered from the Louisville (9-19, 48-53) bullpen.
A wild pitch from Kuncl moved both runners into scoring position as Ronny Simon drew ball four later in the at-bat to load the bases. Valdez entered a 3-2 count and laced a line drive into left center for two runs and the lead. Indy struck first with an RBI double from Jack Brannigan in the fourth inning as the Bats countered with all four of their runs in the fifth, capped by Héctor Rodríguez’s 25th home run of the campaign. Duce Gourson drove in the Indians’ second run with a single in the sixth. Noah Davis tossed 5.0 innings for Indy as he allowed the four Bats runs. CD Pelham followed with 2.0 scoreless innings and Derek Diamond (W, 3-0) recorded the next three outs unscathed. Beau Burrows (S, 8) stranded Rodríguez at third with a strikeout of Michael Chavis to conclude the contest.
Indianapolis Colts Defensive Tackle DeForest Buckner cleared for training camp after neck surgery After more than six months of the NFL offseason, the Colts reported back to Grand Park Tuesday for the first day of Training Camp. One player looking for a bounce-back season is the Colts’ seventh-year defensive tackle, DeForest Buckner. The two-time All-Pro defensive lineman missed the most games of his career last season, sidelined by a neck injury he suffered in Week 9 against the Steelers. Buckner missed seven of the last eight games of the season and received neck surgery on New Year’s Eve, the same week of the Colts’ final game of the season.
Several months later, 32-year-old Buckner says he has been cleared to return to the playing field for the start of Training Camp. “It feels like graduation day,” Buckner said. “From where I started on New Year’s Eve, not being able to do a whole lot after surgery, just pretty much being in bed not being able to move around. I couldn’t even pick my kids up. I couldn’t pick anything up heavier than 10 pounds for the first couple of weeks.” Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard said Buckner is cleared for Training Camp and is in a “good frame of mind,” noting the veteran defensive tackle is ready to get going. Ballard said the team will “work him back slowly,” adding that Buckner, now entering his 11th NFL season, will be ramped up day by day throughout camp.
Buckner posted a career‑low 47 tackles last season and finished with four sacks, the second‑lowest total of his NFL career. After rehabbing from neck surgery, Buckner says ramping up physically throughout camp might still come with a few bumps in the road, but he feels much better than how he once did. “Slowly ramping it up throughout training camp,” Buckner said. “I think the majority of it is going to be the mental part. Physically, I feel great. The doctor said there have been guys around the league who’ve had the surgery and felt better afterward. I truly believe you can feel better physically, which is great, but it’s the mental part, getting past that block of trusting yourself and trusting that everything’s fine.” Buckner shared how joyous it felt to hear he was cleared after spending several months trying to feel like himself again. “Joy, relief, all the hard work that I’ve put in over the last seven months in recovery and getting back to this point,” Buckner said. “It was just a big sigh of relief.” The Colts will continue training camp until August 20th.
IndyCar Releases New Race Car that will debut in 2028 IndyCar announced a new chassis and powertrain package coming to the series in 2028. The car has been created to provide faster race times and improved raceability. The car looks to feature more wheel-to-wheel action, while also creating the “safest car yet.” The new car will weigh around 100 pounds less than the current car. The car has new front and rear wings, geared for style and efficiency. It also has aerodynamic architecture that was made to optimize the wake and improve passing opportunities.
The power for the new car will be provided by 2.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6 internal combustion engines, which can produce up to 760 horsepower. The driver cockpit will be able to accommodate a greater range of driver heights and better internal airflow and cooling. “Seeing the car for the first time made me even more excited about where INDYCAR is going,” Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou said in a news release. “The design is super cool and feels like a proper next step for the series while still looking like an INDYCAR SERIES car. I think the fans are going to love it, and as a driver I cannot wait to get behind the wheel. The most important thing is that we keep the close, fun racing that makes INDYCAR special, and from what I’ve seen, we’re heading in a really good direction.”
“There is a ‘wow’ factor,” 2026 Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist said in a news release. “The first thing that struck me is that it has more room in the cockpit and will fit differently-sized drivers, which is really good. Secondly, it definitely has the INDYCAR DNA, which was a worry for me that it wouldn’t look like an INDYCAR SERIES car. This definitely does. It also has an aggressive look with an integrated aeroscreen and a car that addresses a lot of little tweaks that drivers have asked for. Dallara has delivered on almost everything. I’m super excited for the future.”