Trayce Jackson-Davis named Nasmith Trophy Finalist
Indiana Senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was among four players selected as a finalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, the Atlanta Trip-off Club announced Tuesday. The award is given annually to the Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year. He joins Zach Edey (Purdue), Drew Timme (Gonzaga), and Jalen Wilson (Kansas) as the men’s finalists. The women’s finalists, Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech), and Maddy Siegrist (Villanova), were also named in the release. Scott May (1976) and Calbert Cheaney (1993) are the only Hoosiers to be named the Naismith Player of the Year in program history.
Jackson-Davis, a consensus All-American, averaged career bests in points (20.9), rebounds (10.8), assists (4.0), and blocked shots (2.9) in his fourth and final season on campus. His scoring average marked the highest for a Hoosier since Eric Gordon (20.9 points per game in 2007-08), his rebounding figure was the highest since Steve Downing (15.1 in 1972-73), and his block number was the most since Dean Garrett (3.4 in 1987-88). TJD finished the season second among all major conference players in points per game, fourth in rebounds per contest, and third in blocked shots. During the two-game Hoosier run in the NCAA Tournament, the All-Big Ten First Team performer averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 5.0 blocks per game. He posted the first ever 20-point, 10-rebound, 5-assist, 5-block game in NCAA Tournament history in the Indiana win over Kent State in the opening round.
Jackson-Davis finished his collegiate career as the program’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,143) and blocked shots (270), third on the all-time scoring list (2,258), and third in double-doubles (50). He has been named a Karl Malone Award Finalist, to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Late Season Watch List, the John R. Wooden Men’s National Ballot, and the Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist list. TJD was also a unanimous choice for the All-Big Ten First Team by the coaches, media, and Associated Press while also collecting All-Big Ten Defensive Team accolades.
The 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year announcement will take place on Sunday, April 2 at the Naismith Awards Brunch presented by Frost Bank during the Final Four in Houston. The event will be held at the Ballroom at Bayou Place. Fans will once again be able to support their favorite finalist through the Naismith Awards Fan Vote presented by Jersey Mike’s, which runs Tuesday, March 21 through Tuesday, March 28 at naismithfanvote.com. The fan vote will account for five percent of the overall final vote. Fans may also visit the @MarchMadness Twitter page to vote for their favorite men’s player.
Indiana University Men’s Swimming & Diving competes at NCAA Championships
Repeat Big Ten Champion Indiana men’s swimming and diving is ready to compete on the national stage. This week, the No. 6-ranked Hoosiers will look to build on their momentum with 13 qualified student-athletes and all five relays competing at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships inside the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. The action kicks off Tonight and runs through Saturday. Streaming is available via the ESPN Plus digital platform. The 200-yard medley relay and 800-yard freestyle relay will be contested tonight, kicking off the meet. IU is the No. 13 seed in the medley relay after swimming a 1:23.52 at the Big Ten Championships and taking bronze. The program record is a second faster, set at the 2022 conference meet in 1:22.51. IU’s 800 freestyle relay is ranked No. 6 in the country after winning gold at Big Ten’s in 6:10.80.
Thursday is the first full day with a preliminary session beginning at 10 a.m. CT. Sophomore Luke Barr gets the individual swims started in the 200 IM (1:43.14) leading into the 50 free, where the Hoosiers have four swimmers. Senior Van Mathias leads the group as the No. 13 seed with a 19.00 that won the Big Ten title, followed by junior Gavin Wright (19.26) and sophomores Finn Brooks (19.39) and Rafael Miroslaw (19.46). Day two also marks the first day of diving. Four Indiana divers qualified for all three events, beginning with the 1-meter springboard on Thursday. Sophomore Carson Tyler was the Big Ten Champion in the event as redshirt senior Andrew Capobianco earned silver, sophomore Quinn Henninger also reached the podium in sixth and freshman Maxwell Weinrich earned max points from the consolation final in ninth. IU is the No. 12 seed in Thursday’s final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay. Mathias, Wight, Brooks and Miroslaw won the Big Ten title in the event with a 1:16.29, about nine tenths short of the program record set in 2019.
Junior Tomer Frankel, Brooks and senior Brendan Burns start IU’s day Friday in the 100 fly. Frankel finished fifth at the 2022 national meet with a career-best 44.38 while Burns was ninth in 44.54. This season at Big Ten’s, Frankel (44.66) and Brooks (44.38) earned silver and bronze, respectively. Next up in the 200 free, Miroslaw owns the No. 10 time in the country coming in with a 1:32.10 set at Big Ten’s and owns a career-best 1:31.89 from a 2022 conference meet relay split. The 100-yard breaststroke is Indiana’s most loaded event with five athletes competing. Mathias (51.32) and sophomore Josh Matheny (51.50) are the Nos. 11 and 13 seeds backed up by junior Jassen Yep (52.05), Barr (52.68) and junior Maxwell Reich (52.84).
Burns will swim his second event Friday in the 100 back, in which he is seeded No. 4 with a 44.65. A year ago, he was the runner-up in the event with a program record 44.15, faster than the top-seeded swimmer in this year’s meet. Capobianco will try for his third NCAA title on the 3-meter springboard after medaling three times and earning four first-team All-America honors in the event this far in his career. IU’s 400 medley relay quartet of Burns, Matheny, Frankel and Miroslaw approached the program record (2:59.70) in 2022 while capturing silver at the national championships with a 3:00.76. The same four earned gold at this year’s conference meet in 3:01.53. The relay will certainly challenge for the national title as the No. 4 seed coming in.
The final individual swimming event highlights IU’s final day as Burns defends his 2023 NCAA title in the 200-yard butterfly. He enters the week as the No. 2 seed after winning his fourth straight Big Ten 200 fly title in 1:39.51, though he swam a program record 1:38.71 to win the national title last year. Leading into the 200 fly, Indiana has four athletes seeded in both the 100 free and 200 breast. Mathias leads the way in the 100 free as the No. 8 seed (41.58), followed by Miroslaw (42.38), Wight (42.75) and Brooks (43.07). Matheny is 11th in the 200 breast (1:51.23), with Yep (1:52.33), Reich (1:52.35) and Barr (1:54.37) behind. IU’s four divers will close things out in the platform diving event. At Big Tens, Tyler, Henninger, Capobianco and Weinrich finished first, second, third and fifth in a dominant performance. The meet will conclude with the 400-yard freestyle relay, IU’s third top-10 relay. Mathias, Wight, Frankel and Miroslaw wrapped up IU’s Big Ten title with a victory in the event, going 2:47.11. That time is just a second off the program record.
Five Indiana University Swimmers & Divers named Academic All Americans
Indiana swimming and diving fifth-year senior Andrew Capobianco was named the Division-I Academic All-America Team Member of the Year as well as one of five of IU’s Academic All-Americans announced this week by the College Sports Communicators (CSC). The Academic All-America program celebrates the combination of athletic and academic achievement. Nominated student-athletes have a cumulative GPA above 3.50 and are a starter or important reserve for their team.
Now in his fifth season at Indiana, Capobianco has earned a 3.58 cumulative GPA as an exercise science major, is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and third-team Academic All-American in 2019. On the boards, Capobianco is a two-time 3-meter diving champion, four-time NCAA medalist, 10-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Diver of the Year, three-time Big Ten Diver of the Championships, five-time Big Ten champion and four-time Big Ten team champion. A tribute to his leadership, Capobianco was named IU’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner during the conference meet this season. Now, Capobianco is the top Academic All-American in Division I. He joins four teammates on Academic All-America teams. Sophomore Josh Matheny is a second-team selection for the men, earning a 3.77 GPA thus far as an economics major. Matheny is a two-time All-American coming into his second NCAA Championships this week, was a national runner-up in the 400-medley relay last year and has helped IU to Big Ten team titles in each of his first two seasons.
Three Hoosiers made the women’s Academic All-America teams, the most in the Big Ten. Junior Anne Fowler and senior Noelle Peplowski were picked for the first team, while sophomore Ching Hwee Gan earned a third-team selection. At last week’s NCAA Championships, Fowler earned her first NCAA medal with a runner-up performance on the 3-meter springboard. Fowler won Big Ten Championships on 1-meter and 3-meter and reached the podium on platform as well to be named the Big Ten Diver of the Championships. The Burke, Virginia, native is a three-time All-American and three-time Big Ten Champion and owns a 3.99 GPA while studying health care management and policy. Peplowski is an 11-time All-American after finishing up her final NCAA meet last week. The fifth-year senior finished fifth in the 200-yard breaststroke, a career-high finish in her final collegiate swim. Academically, Peplowski has earned as 3.88 GPA as a sports marketing and management major. Ching Hwee Gan earned a spot on the team with a 4.00 GPA in nutrition science. The sophomore had a glowing performance at the NCAA Championships last week as IU’s top scorer and a first-team All-American in all four events she swam. Gan earned a silver medal finish in her final swim of the meet, the 1,650-yard freestyle, despite coming in as the No. 8-seeded swimmer in the event.
Ben Davis Boys Basketball Head Coach Don Carlisle named coach of the Indiana All-Stars
Don Carlisle will coach the boys Indiana All-Stars in June, an honor he does not take lightly. “It means so much to me because my peers choose it,” Carlisle told the Indianapolis Star. “It’s probably an easy choice when you are undefeated, but I think there’s things myself and my staff bring that is unique in the state. It’s good to be recognized. I’m humbled and appreciative.” Carlisle, in his fifth season at Ben Davis with a 96-41 record, leads the Class 4A top-ranked Giants (31-0) into the Class 4A state finals Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against Kokomo. He is 142-66 overall in eight seasons, starting with three years at Arlington.
Carlisle will be assisted by Frankton coach Brent Brobston and Evansville Bosse coach Shane Burkhart. Brobston is 239-136 in 15 seasons at Frankton with a Class 2A state championship in 2017 and Burkhart is 250-132 in 15 seasons at Bosse with two 3A state finals appearances. The Indiana All-Stars roster will be announced following the season. The All-Stars will play a girls-boys doubleheader against the Kentucky All-Stars June 9 in Owensboro, Ky., and June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Carlisle is a 1997 Ben Davis graduate who played on two state championship teams for coach Steve Witty before going on to be a standout player at IUPUI.
Ball State Women’s Basketball falls at Memphis in WNIT Second Round
The Ball State women’s basketball team suffered a tough 79-62 loss to Memphis Monday night in Elma Roane Fieldhouse in the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. It seemed like déjà vu at the start of tonight’s contest, with the Cardinals (26-9) falling behind 26-10 to Memphis (22-10) after the first quarter of play. BSU trailed 23-12 after the opening quarter of action in last Thursday’s opening round WNIT win over Belmont.
Like last week, Ball State would warm up in the second quarter of play, putting together a 23-12 run to cut the Tigers’ advantage to seven (39-32) at intermission. The big play of the half was a buzzer-beating three by freshman Hana Muhl, her third of the season, to give BSU the momentum heading into the locker-room. Graduate senior Thelma Dis Agustdottir also helped the Cardinals’ charge in the second frame with a pair of 3-point baskets. Those two threes were all she needed to become the program’s all-time 3-point leader, passing current associate head coach and former Cardinal Audrey Spencer. Agustsdottir finished her career with 325 3-point baskets, including three against Memphis. After the break, the Cardinals continued to fight and drew within four at the 6:17 mark of the third after a jumper from senior Anna Clephane. Ball State would keep within seven, at 62-55, after another jumper from Clephane with 8:21 left in the fourth. However, Memphis would pick up the pace and their defensive play, outscoring the Cardinals 17-7 the rest of the way.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals put together a historic year by tying program record for wins in a season (26), along with fighting for the Mid-American Conference regular season title throughout league play, finishing tied for second in the MAC standings. Ball State also made its eighth WNIT appearance under 11th-year head coach Brady Sallee and 11th overall (all since 2002). Tonight’s contest also marked the fourth second round WNIT game under Sallee (2013, 2016, 2018 & 2023).
Overall, Clephane led the Cardinals with 15 points and finished the season ranked 14th on BSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,330 career points. Agustsdottir finished second tonight in scoring with 11 points. She ends her record-breaking career as the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (325), tied for 3-pointers in a single game (9) and 3-pointers in a single season (107). She also finished her career ranked fifth all-time in scoring with 1,680 points.
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