Indiana University Softball announces 2024 season schedule
The Indiana Softball program has announced its 2024 season schedule. The Hoosiers will be tested early and often throughout the 2024 campaign, featuring eight teams who reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament, including three Super Regional squads. Indiana will open the season for the second year in a row at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. They’ll play against Oregon, Clemson, Kansas, Army and North Carolina Central from Feb. 8-11. Team 51 will stay in warm climates in the following two weekends as it will compete in the Troy Invitational from Feb. 16-18 in Troy, Ala., and the Hillenbrand Invitational from Feb. 23-25 in Tucson, Ariz. The Troy Invitational will pit Indiana against Florida A&M, Troy and Gardner-Webb throughout the weekend. The Hillenbrand Invitational includes games against Marshall, Drake, Central Michigan and tournament host Arizona.
After being on the road throughout February, the Hoosiers will play ten games in a row in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will host two tournaments at Andy Mohr Field in the Hoosier Classic (March 1-3) and the Indiana Invite (March 8-10). Indiana will face Bowling Green and Valparaiso in the Hoosier Classic, while the Indiana Invite field will have Oakland, Dayton, IUPUI and Howard. A home midweek game against Western Kentucky on March 5 will be sandwiched in between both tournaments. Prior to the start of the conference slate, the team will make a trip back to the Sunshine State. The Hoosiers will play at FAU on March 13 and at Florida on March 15-17 with games against Mercer and Florida in Gainesville.
From there, Indiana will head into Big Ten play, starting with a road trip to Penn State from March 22-24. In addition to Penn State, the team’s road conference series include Michigan State (April 5-7), Iowa (April 19-21) and at Northwestern (May 3-5). The team’s home series in Big Ten play are Michigan (March 29-31), Minnesota (April 12-14) and Wisconsin (April 26-28). The Hoosiers will also be at home for a midweek doubleheader against Purdue on April 2. Throughout Big Ten play, the Hoosiers will have three midweek non-conference games, as well. These feature a road trip to Louisville (March 26), a home matchup with Notre Dame (April 16) and an away contest at Butler (April 24). The Big Ten Tournament will take place from May 8-11 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Indiana University Men’s Soccer players named All-North Region by the United Soccer Coaches Association
United Soccer Coaches announced its All-North Regions teams Tuesday, featuring a Hoosier from every third of the pitch. Senior defender and captain Joey Maher and junior forward Samuel Sarver earned first-team honors. Junior midfielder Patrick McDonald landed on the second team. All three players earned first-team All-Big Ten selections earlier this season.
Maher was one of two captains for IU this fall while leading the backline. Indiana ranks tied-for ninth nationally with nine clean sheets and No. 11 in goals against average, with an 0.777 mark. He added two goals and an assist. Maher will attend the adidas MLS College Showcase this week with fellow IU defender Hugo Bacharach. Sarver was IU’s leading producer offensively, collecting career-highs in goals (8), assists (6) and points (22). In a nine-game split between October 7 and November 12, Sarver totaled nine goal contributions (five goals, four assists) in nine games as the Hoosiers went 8-1 and rallied to win the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. With 52 points in his career, Sarver became IU’s first junior to reach 50 points since Nikita Kitlov in 2012. McDonald appeared in all but one match, missing only the game against Division-III Trine. The junior tallied three goals and five assists, both career highs. In the NCAA Tournament, McDonald recorded two assists at Wake Forest and scored a game-tying goal at Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.
Indiana University Volleyball lands three on the AVCA Northeast Region Team
Junior Setter Camryn Haworth, already a two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree, earned AVCA Northeast All-Region honors for the first time in her career, as announced on Tuesday morning. Freshman libero Ramsey Gary and graduate student middle blocker Kaley Rammelsberg earned Northeast All-Region Honorable Mention accolades for the first time in their careers. The AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) announced its All-Region honors ahead of the start of the NCAA Regionals on Thursday. Coaches in each of the respective 10 regions nominated and voted on 14-player all-region teams with additional athletes receiving Honorable Mention recognition. In a region that features notable volleyball powerhouses Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue, the Hoosiers had three players earn All-Region honors, either First Team or Honorable Mention, for the first time since the award was reformatted in 2002.
Haworth was tabbed AVCA Northeast Honorable Mention last season but collects top honors in the region for the first time in her career. The junior setter, who also was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2023, produced 1,247 assists (No. 1 in Big Ten), 73 service aces (No. 1 in Big Ten and NCAA) and 261 digs. She averaged 10.22 assists per set and recorded a career-high 58 helpers against Minnesota in November. She is the first player to earn All-Region honors from the AVCA since Ashley Benson in 2010. Benson (2009-10), Erica Short (2008) and Melissa Brewer (2002) are the only other players to be honored with All-Region distinction since the award was reformatted in 2002 to include just an All-Region and Honorable Mention All-Region team.
Gary, IU’s freshman libero, had one of the best defensive seasons in program history. The Second Team All-Big Ten and unanimous All-Freshman team selection broke IU’s all-time single season digs record with 530 and averaged 4.34 digs per set while helping to hold opposing offenses to a .187 clip across the season. Rammelsberg was a dominant offensive force for IU in 2023, hitting .365 (top-5 in the Big Ten) while producing 281 kills across 114 sets. She tallied 110 blocks and finishes her IU career second in program history in hitting percentage (.329).
Haworth, along with all 140 players who earned All-Region honors from the AVCA, will receive consideration from the organization for All-American honors (First Team, Second Team, Third Team and Honorable Mention). All-American teams will be announced on December 13th ahead of the NCAA Final Four in Tampa, Fla. Only three Hoosiers (Benson, Short and Karen Dunham) have ever earned All-American honors.
Two Indiana University Men’s Soccer players invited to the Major League Soccer College Showcase
Indiana men’s soccer senior defenders Hugo Bacharach and Joey Maher will participate starting today and running through Saturday in the adidas MLS College Showcase in Phoenix, Major League Soccer announced Tuesday. Bacharach and Maher are two of 44 invitees to the showcase. The four-day event will give technical staffs from every MLS club an opportunity to scout top collegiate prospects in the nation ahead of MLS SuperDraft 2024 presented by adidas, which will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 19 and feature an expanded eligible player pool. Both Hoosiers earned All-Big Ten accolades this season, with Bacharach earning second-team honors and Maher receiving first-team laurels.
Maher was one of two captains for IU this fall while leading the backline. Indiana ranks tied-for ninth nationally with nine clean sheets and No. 11 in goals against average, with an 0.777 mark. A four-year starter, Maher has helped the Hoosiers rank top-11 nationally in clean sheets in each season of his collegiate career and in 85 career appearances – 83 starts – he has helped IU keep 40 clean sheets. In his first season as a Hoosier, Bacharach was instrumental in IU’s long run in the NCAA Tournament. After starting the season at center-back, he was moved into a defensive midfield role starting October 7 at Penn State. Including that match, IU won 12 of its last 14 matches. In that span, Bacharach scored four goals and contributed four assists.
Indiana University Football players Jordan Shaw and Jordan Grier enter the transfer portal
Indiana University Football Defensive Backs Jordan Shaw and Jordan Grier are the first two players to enter the transfer portal since new head coach Curt Cignetti took over the program last Friday. 22 Indiana University Football Players in total have now entered the transfer portal since Tom Allen was fired on November 26. It’s important to note that players can enter the portal and still return to Indiana. Entering the portal gives players the opportunity to talk with other schools, as well as the new staff at Indiana, and decide from there. The first transfer portal window is open until Jan. 2, 2024, and the second transfer portal window stretches from April 16 to April 30. These windows are strictly in regards to when players are allowed to enter the portal. There is no deadline to decide on a new school.
Shaw played in four games as a true freshman in 2023. He made nine tackles and broke up one pass during Indiana’s win over Wisconsin. Shaw was Indiana’s top-ranked recruit in the class of 2022, and he played in the All-American Bowl. He was originally committed to Colorado out of St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in California. Grier played 29 games since the 2021 season and made 34 total tackles. Grier’s role increased toward the end of the 2023 season when Noah Pierre was injured. He joined the Hoosiers as a three-star recruit from Ellenwood, Ga.
Indiana University Field Hockey’s Emma Thompson named the December Scholar Athlete of the Month
Indiana Field Hockey sophomore Emma Thompson has been named IU’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Month for December. Thompson has excelled both in the classroom and on the field throughout the semester to earn this distinction. The sophomore back from Auckland, New Zealand is majoring in Media. Thompson played in 18 games this past season as a primary playmaker on the team’s backline defense. She scored one goal, a game-winner in overtime against Kent State (Oct. 29).
For more local news . . . Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson