Local Sports Headlines: June 1, 2023

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Local-Sports.png

Four Indiana University Football game times announced
The Big Ten Conference has announced times and television networks on Wednesday for the first three weekends of the 2023 season along with the time for the Indiana football homecoming game. The conference office announced the following for the Hoosiers:

The 2023 season marks the first season with new broadcast partners to distribute the conference’s television broadcasts. Games will be distributed to fans across broadcast, cable and direct-to-consumer platforms on CBS, FOX and NBC, along with the Big Ten Network and FS1. NBCUniversal’s direct-to-consumer platform, Peacock, will also carry Big Ten games for the first time. All games televised on NBC will also be available for streaming on Peacock. Games exclusive to Peacock will only be available on that platform.

Indiana University Men’s Basketball player Kel’el Ware invited to the USA Under 19 Training Camp
USA Basketball today announced the 35 athletes expected to participate in the 2023 USA U19 Men’s National Team Training Camp at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Camp begins June 11 with the 12-member team to be announced before departing for the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup Championship, scheduled for June 24-July 2 in Debrecen, Hungary. Included in that list is IU sophomore center Kel’el Ware who is joining the Hoosiers after spending his freshman season at Oregon. He represented USA Basketball winning a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Tijuana, Mexico. In six games, he averaged 15.7 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 67.2% from the field in 19.4 minutes per game. He also had 11 blocked shots.

He played for the 2022 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team that defeated the World Select Team 102-80 in the 23rd Nike Hoop Summit and came off the bench to score 11 points on four-of-five shooting from the field and also grabbed five rebounds. At Oregon, the North Little Rock, Arkansas native played 35 games and started four as a freshman for the Ducks. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes of action per game and led the team in blocked shots with 45. His best game of the year was an 18-point, nine-board effort against eventual national champion, UConn. He also had nine rebounds against Michigan State.

Athletes attending training camp were selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens, born on or after January 1, 2004. Nearly half of the athletes have prior USA Basketball experience. Ten invitees have won a gold medal as a member of a USA Basketball junior national team. Supporting as court coaches during trials will be Jonas Hayes (Georgia State University), Kevin Kruger (UNLV), TJ Otzelberger (Iowa State University) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame).

The United States will square off with Lebanon, Madagascar and Slovenia in pool play. The U.S. will face off against Lebanon and Madagascar for the first time at a 2023 FIBA Men’s U19 World Cup. The U.S. own a 2-0 record against Slovenia at the U19 World Cup. The United States has won the competition eight times, including three of the last four competitions in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Three Indiana University Softball Players earn NFCA All-American honors
A Trio of Indiana softball players collected All-American honors after the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) released their All- American teams on Wednesday evening. Freshman second baseman Taryn Kern was named a Second-Team All-American with sophomore duo pitcher Brianna Copeland and designated player Taylor Minnick earning Third Team All-America nods. “This announcement shows the strength of our team with two thirds of our lineup representing All-Region honors and now a third being selected as All-Americans,” head coach Shonda Stanton said. “It’s a tremendous honor for Brianna, Taryn and Taylor who put up game-changing individual performances propelling Team 50 to a record-breaking season.” The three honorees represent the most All-American selections in a season for the Hoosiers. This marks six All-Americans under Coach Stanton, who mentored three during her time at Marshall in Morgan Zerkle, Jordan Dixon and Rachel Folden who was a four-time All-American. In addition, Indiana is one of three schools, including Tennessee and Washington, to have three All-American selections.

Kern led the Hoosier’s offense with a .404 batting average, 63 hits, 13 doubles, 23 home runs, tied for second most in the nation, and 68 RBI. Kern boasted an impressive 1.520 OPS along with 45 walks and 23 hit by pitches reaching base in 57 out of 62 games with a 47-game streak. The All-American second baseman was on top of the leaderboard for Big Ten in eight offensive categories: slugging percentage (.942), home runs (23), RBI (68), walks (45), hit by pitch (23), runs scored (68), on base percentage (.578) and OPS (1.520). The San Jose, California, native was named Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year, in addition to being named to the All-Big Ten First Team and Freshmen Team. Kern a finalist for the NFCA Freshman of the Year was also named to the USA Top 25 watchlist. Taryn finished her rookie season breaking four single season records in runs scored, home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage.

Copeland, one of the best two-way players in the country, posted a 22-4 record in the circle with 28 starts in 47 appearances recording 148 strikeouts. The Pelham, Ala., native threw her first career no-hitter, propelling her to a 15-game win streak. Copeland blasted 14 home runs with a .318 batting average driving in 48 runs and swiping 13 bags on the season. Brianna’s performance led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten Championship game and earned herself a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team. The two-way player rounded out her accolades being named to the NFCA All-Region First Team and garnered Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.

Minnick earns Third Team All-American honors after boasting a .390 batting average with 14 doubles, 12 homeruns and 62 hits in 61 games. She plated an impressive 55 runs posting a .717 slugging percentage, .522 on base percentage leading to a 1.239 OPS. One of the toughest to strikeout in the nation, the All-American slugger struck out a mere 11 times in 205 plate appearances reaching base in 50 games with a 36-game streak. The Bloomington, Ind., native and Edgewood HS Graduate ranked top-four in the Big Ten in six offensive categories: batting average (.390), slugging percentage (.717), on base percentage (.522), OPS (1.239), RBI (55) and walks (36). Minnick earned All-Big Ten First Team honors, was named to the 2023 Big Ten All-Tournament Team and was selected to the NFCA All-Region First Team.

Indiana University Women’s Basketball Names Graduate Managers for the 2023-24 season
Indiana women’s basketball has announced the addition of graduate managers, Hannah Barber, Madison Green and Isaiah Specks, for the 2023-24 season. Barber is a five-year letter winner from the University of Alabama where she played in 151 games for the Crimson Tide. She started in all 64 games of her last two seasons in Tuscaloosa and helped the program to three postseason berths including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2023. The Homewood, Ala. native was the 2023 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year as she earned degrees from Alabama in exercise science and marketing (master’s). She is a four-time SEC Honor Roll honoree, earned a spot on the Dean’s List and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. In her extra year of eligibility in 2022-23, Barber helped her team to a 20-11 overall record and was third on the team with 8.0 points per game and a team-high 84 assists. She was second in the SEC and 25^th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio and scored in double figures 10 times while shooting an SEC-best 47.2 percent.

Green was a four-year letterwinner at James Madison University from 2018-22 where she played in 109 games and made 49 starts. The Winchester, Va. native started in 27 games as a senior while leading the dukes in steals that season (38). She averaged 5.3 points per game during her four seasons and averaged 22.0 minutes per outing. She spent the 2022-23 season as a student assistant with JMU, where the team went 26-8 overall while earning a share of the Sun Belt regular season title and secured the league’s auto bid with a tournament championship win. They appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016. Green earned a bachelor’s in justice studies from JMU.

Specks spent two years (2020-22) at Houghton College as assistant coach on the men’s side while also serving as the NCAA Ethnic Minorities & Women’s Intern. He has spent this past year as the Director of Business Development for Shoot360 Houston. He also served a one-year stint at Trinity University where he served as an assistant coach for the nationally ranked women’s basketball program. With the Tigers, he was responsible for individual player development, defensive statistics, and player efficiencies. Specks helped to guide the team to a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship appearance before receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Division III Championship tournament. On the court, Specks made 98 career appearances at Trinity with 16 starts. As a forward, he had 817 total points and pulled down 286 rebounds. Specks also tallied 124 assists and 55 steals throughout his career. The Pearland, Texas native graduated from Trinity with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish.

Bloomington Speedway revises Racing Schedule to comply with Monroe County Ordinance
The Bloomington Speedway has revised its schedule so that it can comply with the Monroe County Ordinance that racing must be completed by 11pm on Friday Nights. There is neighborhood north of the track and Monroe County Government Officials have expressed their concerns about the noise coming from the track and have imposed a curfew. Many Drivers, Race Crews and Fans are not happy with the decision and there is a petition that is opposing the new rules. The Bloomington Speedway has been racing on Friday Nights since 1923. The Updated Schedule is posted on the Racetrack’s Facebook Page.

Here is an updated schedule for the next 2 races: Friday, June 2nd – Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, and 305 Racesavers Hot Laps 6pm and Racing 7pm. Friday, June 9th – USAC INDIANA MIDGET WEEK – Sprints and USAC Midgets Schedule revisions were required to insure the 11pm stop time being imposed by the county. Additional schedule adjustments are as follows: June 16th – Huntley Memorial – 410 non-wing sprints, 305 Racesavers, Hornets, and Fireworks. June 23rd – Hornet make-up feature from 5/5 will be ran – Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, and Hornets. July 14th – 305s will run make-up feature from 5/5 – Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, and 305 Racesavers and August 11th – Sprints, 305 Racesavers, Hornets, IMCA Modlites.

Indiana Fever lose to the Connecticut Sun
The Indiana Fever (1-3) fell to the Connecticut Sun, 81-78, on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. Indiana was led in scoring by rookie center Aliyah Boston, who recorded a career-high 20 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor. Boston has now scored in double figures in each of her first four games. Fever forward NaLyssa Smith picked up her third-consecutive double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds on the night. She now owns sole possession of fifth place all-time in double-doubles recorded in franchise history with 11, surpassing Tammy Sutton-Brown with 10. Kelsey Mitchell also tacked on 19 points for Indiana, going 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc. Former Indiana University Player Grace Berger scored 2 points in six minutes and had an assist. Berger has shown her ball handling skills at the next level as she fooled defense on a uncontested drive to the bucket.

Indiana came out strong after winning the opening tipoff, going 6-of-10 from the floor to start the first quarter. Though Indiana’s sole lead of the quarter was held for only 52 seconds, Indiana was able to keep within reach of the early Sun lead. Connecticut (4-1) shot 9-of-21 from the floor in the first quarter and maintained an eight-point lead going into the second quarter, 22-14. The Fever established its presence on both ends of the court to start off the second quarter with a 16-6 scoring run and held the Sun to only two points in the first six minutes of the quarter. Boston’s six points and Mitchell’s five points helped Indiana on the offensive end as the Fever outscored the Sun, 20-16, in the quarter, but still trailed the Sun by four points going into halftime, 38-34.

To start the second half, Fever center Queen Egbo provided support off the bench as she pitched in two of her team-high three blocks on the defensive end. Mitchell found her rhythm in the third quarter as well as she added 10 points, going 3-of-3 from the floor in the interval. Indiana trailed 79-69 with 1:40 remaining in the game and started to chip away late at the Sun lead. After four made free throws from Smith, the first 3-point field goal in Boston’s career and another bucket inside from Boston, Indiana cut the deficit to 79-78 with 13 seconds remaining. After two made free-throws from Connecticut, a last-second attempt from Lexie Hull missed to seal the win for the Sun.

For Connecticut, Tiffany Hayes led the Sun in scoring with a season-high 22 points, going 3-of-4 from the three-point arc. With Alyssa Thomas recording 13 points and 17 rebounds, and Brionna Jones recording 19 points and 11 rebounds, Connecticut’s veteran frontline guided the Sun to victory. The Fever return to action at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces. Sunday’s 4pm tip will broadcast on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page as well as CBS Sports Network.

Follow us on Facebook

For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson