Indiana University Softball announces 2023 schedule Indiana softball head coach Shonda Santon has announced the Hoosiers upcoming 2023 opponents facing 21 opponents who were ranked in the 100 RPI last season and 13 teams who made it to the NCAA Regionals. “We will be challenged early and often,” Stanton said. “Excited to compete in the NFCA leadoff classic with all they do to grow our sport and then follow that up with an invite to the TaxAct Clearwater tournament is a special honor. Our schedule will prime us for Big Ten and post season play. Team 50 is a special group, and we are excited to hit the field.”
The Hoosiers will begin the season starting with the first two weekends of action in Clearwater, Fla. Indiana will face Prairie View A&M, Pittsburgh, Auburn and Howard at the NFCA Leadoff Classic from Feb. 10-12. IU is one of 16 teams selected to compete in the ESPN’s TaxAct Clearwater Invitational on Feb. 16-19 where they will face top opponents in Louisiana, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Alabama and Arizona. Indiana will also participate in a tournament hosted by UNC Greensboro during the third week of play facing opponents in UCONN, Delaware and UNC Greensboro. The Hoosiers will host their first games in the Hoosier Classic on March 3-5, with four teams in Wisconsin, IUPUI, Wisconsin Green Bay and Purdue Ft. Wayne.
Indiana heads south to Nashville where the Hoosiers will play in a tournament at Lipscomb on March 10-12. IU will play two midweek games against Western Kentucky on March 13 in Bowling Green and head back to Nashville for a game with Belmont on March 14. The first Big Ten homestand at Andy Mohr Field will begin with a series against Maryland on March 24-26. Indiana will face in-state rival Purdue in a double-header on March 28 before hosting Butler on March 29 in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will host Ohio State on March 31-April 2 in its next series before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn. On April 7-9 for a series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Hoosiers will return home to host Louisville on the April 11 before traveling to South Bend, Ind. for a game against Notre Dame. Indiana will host Nebraska at Andy Mohr Field on April 14-16. The Hoosiers will close out the regular season with three Big Ten matchups. IU will head to Piscataway, N.J. for a series against Rutgers on April 21-23 and Ann Arbor, Michigan to close out the end of the month (April 28-30). The regular season ends on the weekend of May 5-7 against Michigan State in the last Big Ten series. Check IUHoosiers.com for the latest game times, live stats, and live streaming info.
IU Football’s Jaylin Lucas receives two more All-American honors The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and USA Today are the latest outlet to honor true freshman Jaylin Lucas with All-American honors, as the USA Today placed him as a first teamer at return specialist and the AFCA named him to its all-purpose second team. The only freshman on either of the 52-person All-America squads and was one of eight underclassmen on the AFCA organizations list. Lucas is the first Hoosier to earn All-America honors from the AFCA or the USA Today since Tevin Coleman in 2014. The last Indiana kick returner to garner All-America status was Marcus Thigpen during the 2006 season. He is the first IU return specialist to earn All-Big Ten honors and the first true freshman to win the Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year (both began in 2015).
Along with two All-American honors this week, USA Today, Walter Camp, Pro Football Focus and CBSSports.com each named him a first-team All-American and the AFCA tabbed him second team. The Athletic named him as a first-team Freshman All-American. A full list of honors and awards can be found at the bottom of this release. With two return touchdowns, Lucas is No. 2 on both the IU single season and career charts after one season on campus. He trails Thigpen (2005-08), who returned all three of his career kickoffs for scores during the 2006 campaign. His two kickoff return touchdowns rank tied for No. 7 among active FBS student-athletes, as well.
With 591 kickoff return yards, Lucas finished No. 12 in a single season in program history and led the Big Ten in the category. His 28.1 yards per return rank No. 4 nationally. He added 271 yards rushing and 82 yards receiving to total 994 all-purpose yards on the season to lead the team. That total is the most in a season by an IU player since Whop Philyor (1,094) in 2019. The Houma, Louisiana, native is the first Hoosier since Coleman in 2014 with three 70-yard scoring plays in a single season. Both of his kickoff return scores covered 80-plus yards and he added a 71-yard rushing touchdown in the season finale versus Purdue as part of his first career 100-yard rushing game.
2022 Postseason Honors
Aaron Casey – Third-team All-Big Ten (Pro Football Focus), honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G media).
James Evans– Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).
Cam Jones–Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).
Jaylin Lucas– All-America (AFCA, 2nd; CBS Sports, 1st; Pro Football Focus, 1st; Walter Camp, 1st; USA Today, 1st), Freshman All-America (The Athletic, 1st), Big Ten’s Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year, first-team All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media, Pro Football Focus, Associated Press).
Tiawan Mullen –Honorable mention All-Big Ten (B1G coaches & media).
Former Indiana University Women’s Basketball player Tyra (Buss) Davison leads her Lithuanian team to victory Former Indiana University Women’s Basketball player Tyra (Buss) Davison led her Lithuanian team Aistes to an 81-65 win in a Lithuania pro basketball league game Thursday in Kaunas Lithuania. Davidson scored 22 points, 4 assists, 4 steals and a rebound with her parents Kelly and Tim Buss in the stands watching her play as a professional for the first time. Tyra along with her husband former Wisconsin basketball player Brad Davison is enjoying their first season of playing overseas after Brad graduated in the spring from the University of Wisconsin. The couple got married July 2, of this year and Brad signed a contract one month later with BC Nevezis in Kedaninai Lithuania which is a small town 32 miles North of Kaunas in the central part of the country. Tyra plays in the city of Kaunas and signed with her team after the couple arrived in the country earlier in the fall.
Tyra is Indiana University Women’s Basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 2, 364 points and led the Hoosiers to the 2016 NCAA Tournament and the 2018 WNIT Championship. She spent four months in Greece after graduation with a pro team but returned to Bloomington as personal trainer and be a basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network. She was an assistant coach the University of Evansville and joined Milwaukee as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. Brad started 157 of 161 games from 2017-22 and averaged 11.3 points per game and holds the school record for career three pointers made. His in-laws will see him play before they comeback to Tyra’s hometown of Mount Carmel, Illinois.
Three finalists named for the 2022 Indiana Mr. Football Award And then there were three. The finalists for the 2022 IndyStar Mr. Football award are Andrean running back/linebacker Drayk Bowen, Center Grove running back Micah Coyle and Evansville Mater Dei quarterback Mason Wunderlich. The Mr. Football finalists are in the running for the award for the state’s top high school senior football player, as voted by the Indiana Football Coaches Association. The Mr. Football winner will be announced by IndyStar in coming days. The three finalists were voted Mr. Football position award winners by the IFCA last week. Coyle’s inclusion gives Center Grove a finalist for the third consecutive year. Carson Steele was named Mr. Football in 2020 and the Trojans’ Caden Curry was runner-up last year to Gibson Southern quarterback Brady Allen. A Mr. Football from Andrean or Evansville Mater Dei would be the first for either school. Here is a closer look at the three finalists:
Drayk Bowen RB/LB Andrean-The 6-2, 230-pound Notre Dame recruit piled up 144 tackles, four caused fumbles, two interceptions, 19 tackles for loss and five sacks as a senior to lead Andrean to the Class 2A state finals, where the Fighting 59ers lost 20-10 to Evansville Mater Dei. On offense, Bowen rushed for 1,784 yards and 26 touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 228 yards and three TDs. Bowen finished his career with 379 tackles, including 54 for a loss, and 16 sacks. He caused 10 fumbles, blocked four punts, blocked three field goals, intercepted six passes and ran for 2,969 yards and 49 TDs.
Micah Coyle RB-Center Grove-The 5-11, 185-pound Coyle became the primary running back for the Class 6A state champions as a senior, rushing for 2,072 yards and 22 touchdowns for the 12-2 Trojans. Coyle, who also caught seven passes for 111 yards and a TD, ran for 918 yards and 11 TDs in five tournament games as a senior. He rushed for 631 yards and 10 TDs in his junior season. In Center Grove’s 35-9 state championship win over Carroll (Fort Wayne), Coyle ran for 131 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
Mason Wunderlich QB-Evansville Mater Dei-Wunderlich led Mater Dei to the Class 2A state championship a year after losing to Andrean in the state finals. He finished his career with 7,735 passing yards and 78 passing touchdowns. As a senior, the 6-5 Wunderlich completed 65.3% of his passes for 2,911 yards and 29 TDs and rushed for 382 yards and nine TDs. In the 20-10 win over Andrean in the state finals, Wunderlich passed for 124 yards and two TDs.
Indianapolis Colts player Shaquille Leonard receives 2022 Ed Block Courage Award Shaquille Leonard’s arduous season has not gone unnoticed. The Indianapolis Colts’ All-Pro linebacker was chosen by his teammates to receive the 2022 Ed Block Courage Award. The annual award recognizes courageous play by an individual. Leonard is one of 32 NFL players who earned the accolade. Those chosen are traditionally honored at a banquet in Baltimore.
Leonard has seen his fifth NFL season derailed by injuries. He underwent back surgery in June to address discs that were impacting nerves and causing pain and a lack of strength in his leg. His recovery caused him to miss the first three games of the season. The four-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler made his season debut in Week 4, only to suffer a concussion and broken nose during a brutal blow to the face. He missed the next three games as he recovered. The 27-year-old returned for games against Washington and New England, where he played limited snaps. Still, things weren’t quite right. He experienced a setback in practice and told the media “the nerve still isn’t firing in my calf.” Leonard was placed on injured reserve in November and underwent another back surgery.
Despite his daunting personal challenges, Leonard has sustained an unwavering focus on improving the lives of others. His work off the field earned him the Colts’ nomination for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Leonard’s community efforts include A $38,484 donation to renovate Hilltop Park in his hometown of Lake View, South Carolina, Hosted a football camp for 200 kids at the park, A $56,500 donation to improve the football field at Lake View High School, A backpack giveaway that benefited about 380 students at Lake View Elementary and A $3,511 donation towards Coats for Kids and provided $3,500 in Thanksgiving turkeys for his hometown
Leonard and his wife, Kayla, also launched the Maniac Foundation in 2020. The mission of the foundation is to transform communities through education, wellness programs, servicing families in need and other charitable causes. The Maniac Foundation provided over $100,000 in grants, educational materials and resources to the Lake View and Indianapolis communities in its first year. At their inaugural event, they raised over $680,000, which went directly to programs and initiatives throughout Lake View and Indianapolis. In addition to those tremendous efforts, Leonard is also an outspoken advocate of “Kicking the Stigma,” an Irsay family initiative that works to raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the shame and stigma too often associated with these illnesses. Leonard shares his own mental health experiences in videos, PSAs and roundtable discussions, and launched a mental health hotline through the Maniac Foundation in April of 2022.
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