Indiana University Men’s Basketball lands five-star recruit Mackenize Mgbako After weeks of anticipation, Mackenzie Mgbako is officially a Hoosier. The five-star recruit committed to Indiana on Friday night. Mgbako is a McDonald’s All-American and the No. 9 player in the class of 2023, per the ESPN Top 100. The 6-foot-8 forward out of Roselle Catholic in New Jersey was originally committed to Duke, but he requested a release from his National Letter of Intent on April 11, re-opening his recruitment. Now, he joins Indiana’s 2023 recruiting class, alongside four-star guards Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton. Bringing positional versatility and 3-point shooting prowess, Mgbako is just what Indiana needed this offseason. With one available scholarship for the 2023-24 season, Indiana’s roster currently consists of Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Malik Reneau, CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks, Kel’el Ware, Anthony Walker, Payton Sparks, Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton.
Landing Mgbako could turn out to be one of the biggest recruiting wins of the Mike Woodson era at Indiana. Not only is Mgbako Indiana’s highest-ranked high school recruit since Romeo Langford in 2018, he’s the second-highest ranked recruit in Indiana basketball history, per the 247Sports rankings. A lot can change by next summer, but Mgbako is already projected to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Mgbako’s commitment was especially important after the Hoosiers lost starters Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Race Thompson and Miller Kopp from last year’s team, along with bench contributors Tamar Bates and Jordan Geronimo. Woodson replenished the front court with transfer forwards Kel’el Ware (Oregon), Anthony Walker (Miami) and Payton Sparks (Ball State), but the Hoosiers still had apparent holes at shooting guard and small forward.
Indiana University Football gets 3rd commitment for the Class of 2024
Ohio-based wide receiver Javier Etheridge committed to Indiana on Saturday. The 5-foot-11 and 160-pound athlete announced the decision at a ceremony at his school, Cincinnati Mount Healthy. Etheridge is a 3-star according to the 247Sports Composite, and the No. 120 overall athlete in the country. He chose the Hoosiers over a top six that also included Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Etheridge played both offense and defense in 2022. As a wideout he caught 41 passes for 678 yards and scored seven touchdowns. On defense, Etheridge had 50 tackles, four pass break-ups, a forced a fumble and a sack. The Hoosiers offered Etheridge in March and he visited Bloomington in April for the Spring Football Saturday. Etheridge projects as a slot receiver for Indiana. Etheridge is Indiana’s third commit in the 2024 class.
Indiana University Softball falls to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game
Top-seeded Northwestern scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh as No. 2 seed Indiana fell, 2-1, in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Saturday at Eichelberger Field in Champaign Illinois. The Hoosiers (42-16) struck first in the third, as freshman utility Cassidy Ketteleman reached on a Wildcat error to start the inning. Sophomore outfielder Kinsey Mitchell singled to left center before a Brooke Benson SAC bunt advanced the runners in to scoring position. Junior utility Cora Bassett’s fielder’s choice brought Kettleman around and gave Indiana a 1-0 lead. Sophomore outfielder Taylor Minnick and Kettleman each had singles in the fourth and fifth respectively, as sophomore pitcher Briana Copeland went three up, three down in the fourth and fifth innings.
Northwestern (38-11) left one on in the sixth off a leadoff walk. Sophomore utility Sarah Stone kicked off the seventh inning with a double down the left field line, but the Hoosiers went down in order headed to the bottom of the seventh. The bats came alive for NU in the bottom of the frame, starting off with back-to-back singles. After Copeland gave up a walk, the wild pitch on ball four sent runners in to scoring position for the Wildcats to capitalize and tie the game at 1-1. Five-hole hitter Maeve Nelson singled to the right field fence as another crossed the plate to end the game. Bassett, Minnick, Stone and Copeland were named to the All-Big Ten Tournament Team.
Indiana recorded 17 hits including three doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI in the Big Ten Tournament. Four Hoosiers recorded hits against the Wildcats and one RBI.
No. 2 Indiana hit three home runs in their, 5-3, victory over No. 3 Minnesota (37-17) to punch their ticket to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game at Eichelberger Field on Friday afternoon. Redshirt junior Cora Bassett hits a leadoff double to put the Hoosiers in scoring position before sophomore Taylor Minnick hit a home run deep over the center field wall for the lead. Minnesota cut the lead with an RBI single, 2-1. In the bottom of the second, freshman Cassidy Kettleman slaps one into the right-side gap to reach base as she beats out the throw. Junior Brook Benson hit an RBI single into left field to send the runner home, 3-1.
In the bottom of the third, sophomore Sarah Stone hit her second home run of the tournament over the left field wall to put Indiana up. Minnesota added two runs in the top of the fourth to cut the lead to one, 4-3. Sophomore Brianna Copeland provided the insurance as she launched a rocket over the left field wall to put Indiana up, 5-3, in the bottom of the sixth. The Hoosiers finished the game with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh to punch their ticket to the title game. Team 50 has hit six homers in the Big Ten Tournament with three in their quarterfinal victory over Penn State. Indiana improved to 42-15 on the season and extended their win streak to 11.
Bassett hit her 15th double on the season. Copeland and Minnick went yard for their 13th time while Stone hit her ninth bomb of the season. The Hoosiers went yard three times against the Gophers for a season total of 78 home runs on the season. Pitcher Heather Johnson shutdown the Minnesota offense allowing no hits or runs for her 15th win on the mound this season and IU outhit the Gophers 8-4.
Indiana University Baseball sweeps Purdue in final home weekend series
Indiana University Baseball took care of Purdue in a three-game series over the weekend at Bart Kaufman Field. The Hoosiers won Friday Night 26-11, Saturday afternoon 15-3 and 10-2 Sunday Afternoon. The Hoosiers 38-14 have their final regular season home game Tomorrow Night hosting the Evansville Purple Aces at 6pm and the game televised on the Big Ten Network. Indiana is 15-6 in the Big Ten and plays its final regular season series at Michigan State Thursday through Saturday. Indiana and Maryland are tied for 15-6 first in the Big Ten. Maryland who swept Indiana in a three-game series earlier this season travels to Penn State Thursday through Saturday.
Just three scoring innings was enough to career the Indiana baseball team to a third straight double-digit run output and a 10-2 victory over Purdue on Sunday. The Hoosiers never trailed in a series that saw 51 runs put on the scoreboard on the weekend, the most runs scored by either side of the matchup in series history. The Hoosiers had held the top mark with 45 runs scored in a four-game series in 1999 but bettered that mark with 51 over three games in 2023. Three runs in the second inning for Indiana to build an early lead, before Purdue (23-27, 10-11 B1G) got a pair of runs back in the top of the third inning. Four runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth was all the Hoosiers would need, as the pitching staff held the Boilermakers scoreless the rest of the way.
A three-hit day from sophomore Josh Pyne included a home run, two runs scored and a career-high five RBIs. Redshirt junior Bobby Whalen also posted a three-hit day, as he scored twice, and drove in one RBI with a fourth inning double. Freshman Tyler Cerny had a pair of hits and one RBI, while sophomore Brock Tibbitts was on base three times with a single and two hit-by-pitch. Four different Hoosier pitchers combined to strikeout 12 batters and limit Purdue to just three hits all singles in the game. Senior Ty Bothwell (4-1) made the start and fired three innings of two-run, two-hit work to earn the win on the mound. Redshirt senior Carig Yoho allowed one hit over three scoreless frames with five strikeouts, senior Ben Seiler struck out one in a clean inning of work and freshman Connor Foley fired the last two innings scoreless with four strikeouts and one walk. Connor Caskenette led the Purdue offense with one hit and two RBIs in the game. Ty Gill and Evan Albrecht each posted base hits, as well. Kyle Iwinski (2-5) took the loss with nine runs allowed on eight hits over three innings of work. Aaron Suval went the rest of the way and allowed one run on three hits in five innings.
The sixth winning weekend in conference play was clinched with a 15-3 victory over Purdue on Saturday. The Hoosiers piled up 16 hits and the pitching staff allowed just three runs and struck out eight in the victory. The first nine runs came from the Indiana dugout as it plated one run in the first and second inning, four in the third inning and three in the fourth. After Purdue trimmed the lead with three runs in the fifth inning, the Hoosiers scored one in the sixth and five in the eighth inning. Freshman Brayden Risedorph made the start and pitched into the fifth inning. He logged four innings of work and allowed one run on three hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Sophomore Ryan Kraft 6-1) allowed two runs on five hits over five innings of relief work. He walked two batters and struck out four.
Six Hoosiers collected multi-hit games, led by a four-hit game from sophomore Brock Tibbitts. He hit his 10th home run of the season, doubled, and drove in two RBIs for his 18th multi-RBI game of the season. The trio of seniors Phillip Glasser and Hunter Jessee and sophomore Josh Pyne all drove in three RBIs in the game. Freshman Tyler Cerny reached double digits in home runs with his 10th of the season in the eighth inning. Along with Tibbitts and Cerny, Jessee and Glasser also hit home run in the game as part of a 10 extra base hit game. Sophomore Carter Mathison was on base five times, with two hits, two walks and one hit-by-pitch. He scored three runs and drove in two RBIs. Jake Parr and Paul Toetz each chipped in two hits for Purdue, while Couper Cornblum drove in a pair of RBIs in the game. Jonathan Blackwell (5-5) threw 3 1/3 innings in a start and allowed eight runs on seven hits in the loss. He walked four and struck out two.
You have to go all the way back to 1897. Yes, 126 years ago. That was the last (and only) time the Indiana baseball program scored 20-plus runs against Purdue before its 26-11 victory on at Bart Kaufman Field to open its seventh Big Ten series of the season. On May 6, 1897, Indiana won a 21-11 decision over Purdue, but the 2023 edition surpassed that total and set a series record for either team with 26 runs on 25 hits to earn its 13th Big Ten victory of the season. All time, the 26 runs scored ranks tied for No. 11 in program history and tie for the most runs ever scored in a Big Ten game for Indiana (26; Michigan, 2010).
Indiana would score in six innings and never look back after a four-run first inning that included a leadoff home run from senior Phillip Glasser after four in the first inning, IU added six in the fourth, four in the fifth, eight in the sixth, three in the seventh and one in the eighth. Purdue (got one run in the third, scored two in the fifth and sixth innings and capped its scoring with six in the seventh inning. The leadoff home run from Glasser was the first since Tyler Doanes started the game at Clemson in 2022 with a solo home run. Glasser tied the single game program record with six runs scored, which marks the third time in IU history a Hoosier has crossed the plate six times Jay Brant- Shawnee State, 2005; Brian Harris– IU-Southeast, 1997) and the first time it was done in a Big Ten contest at IU. His six runs scored tie the Big Ten record for runs scored in a game, which has been done on two other occasions. Bill Hess of Ohio State scored six times versus Northwestern in 1962 and Reid Roper of Illinois equaled the mark versus Rutgers in 2015. In all, seven Hoosiers accounted for eight home runs, led by senior Hunter Jessee’s two home run night. Both home runs came in the same inning. The occurrence has happed many times according to the NCAA record books, most recently by East Carolina’s Bryson Worrell and Auburn’s Cole Foster, who both did so in the NCAA Regional round for their schools.
In all, seven Indiana starters collected multiple hits and eight reached base multiple times in the game. All nine starters drove in at least one RBI and scored at least one run. Glasser, Jessee and sophomore Josh Pyne led the way with four-hit nights Senior Peter Serruto redshirt junior Bobby Whalen and sophomore Brock Tibbitts all boasted three hit games. Jessee led the way with six RBIs, Pyne added four runs batted in and the trio of Tibbitts, Whalen and freshman Devin Taylor all chipped in three RBIs. Sophomore Luke Sinnard (6-2) picked up the win with six innings of work and five runs – four earned – allowed on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out nine to earn the win. Purdue scored 11 runs on nine hits with Jake Jarvis going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Jake Parr had a pair of hits, scored two runs, and drove in two RBIs in the game, as well. Khal Stephen (7-3) allowed 10 runs on 11 hits over 3 2/3 innings in the start. He struck out four and did not walk a batter in the loss.
Indiana University Wrestling adds transfer Roman Rogotzke
Indiana head coach Angel Escobedo has announced the addition of transfer Roman Rogotzke to the Hoosiers. Rogotzke joins the team after two years at South Dakota State. He will be a redshirt sophomore in the 2023-24 season. As a redshirt freshman this past season, Rogotzke compiled a 17-8 record while wrestling at 184 lbs. He primarily wrestled in tournaments, winning both the Worthington and Don Parker Opens, while taking third place at the Last Chance Open and fourth place at the Bison Open, Of his 17 wins, he posted nine bonus-point victories, including seven pins and two wins by major decision.
He made his first collegiate dual appearance against Augustana on Nov. 18, 2022, when he beat Cade Mueller in a 3-1 decision. In 2021-22, during his redshirt season with the Jackrabbits, he went 8-2 in open tournaments. In his final year with South Dakota State, the team went 12-4 in the dual season with a 14th place finish at NCAAs and sixth place at the Big 12 Championships. The Stillwater, Minn. native attended Stillwater High School where he won two individual state titles and posted a 223-54 record. He won state at 182 lbs. as a junior and 195 lbs. as a senior. Of his 223 wins, 158 of them were pins, which ranks eighth in Minnesota state history. He was a five-time state qualifier and conference honoree.
Follow us on Facebook
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson