Indiana Fever Hosting WNBA Draft Party this evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
The Indiana Fever are hosting a free event for fans during the 2024 WNBA Draft this evening as all signs point to the team selecting Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick. The Fever Draft Party starts at 5:30 p.m. on Bicentennial Unity Plaza, where fans can get food and beverages, and then move inside at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch the livestream on the giant scoreboard.
Click here to get free complimentary tickets. Each person must complete a photo waiver as well. Complimentary parking will be available in the Virginia Avenue garage directly across from Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Here’s the full schedule for the Fever Draft Party: 5:30 p.m. – Bicentennial Unity Plaza Party 6:30 p.m. – Gainbridge Fieldhouse doors open 7 p.m. – Draft pre-show 7:30 p.m. – Draft livestream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
The 2024 WNBA Draft begins at 7:30pm on ESPN. Along with the top pick, the Fever will have the 15th and 27th picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft. For the first time in franchise history, 36 of the team’s 40 games will be televised. Any remaining single-game tickets will go on sale today. Clark announced her intention to enter the WNBA draft Feb. 29, and while the Fever haven’t directly said they’ll draft her with their No. 1 overall pick, all signs point to Clark coming to Indy. The Fever began promoting season ticket packages moments after Clark’s announcement. A week later, Clark signed an endorsement deal with Gainbridge, the namesake of the Fever’s home arena.
There are three rounds with 36 total picks and 12 in Each Round. Indiana’s Mackenize Holmes and Sara Scalia are projected to be selected although Holmes has announced that she will have knee surgery next month and will miss the 2024 WNBA Season and get ready for 2025. With that announcement being made its unclear if a team will draft Holmes knowing that she will not be available this season. ESPN Mock Draft has Holmes going in the second round and Scalia going in the third round both to the Connecticut Sun. Holmes is the 16th best player available and Scalia the 24th according to the ESPN rankings for this year’s WNBA Draft Class.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball lands Washington State Transfer Myles Rice
Washington State transfer guard Myles Rice has committed to Indiana. The new broke during Rice’s official visit to Bloomington. He made the announcement on his Instagram page. The 6-foot-3 and 180-pound Rice averaged 14.8 points per game and led the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 16 years. Rice added 3.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. His shooting splits were 43.9 percent overall including 27.5 percent from three, and 81.1 percent from the stripe. Rice currently lives in Atlanta and has ties to IU assistant coach Yasir Rosemond. He should have three years of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-3- and 180-pound Rice was named to the 2024 Kyle Macy National Freshman All-America Team. Rice, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, became the first Cougar since Klay Thompson was named an honorable mention in the 2009 All-Freshman Team and the 12th player in WSU history to earn All-America honors. Rice rewrote the school freshman record book, breaking the single-game scoring, single-season scoring, single-season steals, single-season assists, single-season field goals, and single-season free throw percentage records. Rice became the first player in WSU men’s basketball history to be named the Conference Freshman of the Year. Seven times Rice was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, becoming the first player in Conference history to win 4-straight weekly awards, while tying Evan Mobley for most Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards in League history.
The historic season, when Rice scored in double figures 27 times, helped the Cougars to a record-tying 14 League wins and a 20-win regular season for the first time since 2007-08. WSU earned its highest AP Top 25 ranking since March 2008 and spent five weeks nationally ranked. In addition to his Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors, Rice was also named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Thirteen times Rice dished out five or more assists and grabbed multiple steals in 16 games. You might have heard of Rice because of his battle with cancer. He medically redshirted the 2022-23 season while receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The class of 2021 product also redshirted the 2021-22 campaign.
Indiana University Football lands Florida Linebacker Travares Daniels for the Class of 2025
Indiana has picked up a commitment from class of 2025 linebacker Travares Daniels on Friday afternoon. He announced the news on his social media accounts. The development comes after Daniels visited Indiana multiple times over the last few months. The 6-foot-1, and 200-pound linebacker from St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) is graded as a 3-star by ESPN. He finished his junior season with 70 tackles, seven tackles for loss, five passes defensed, and four sacks.
The Hoosiers offered Daniels in mid-January, and his recruitment was led by defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bryant Haines. “This new coaching staff knows how to win,” Daniels told national 247Sports analyst Brian Dohn. “I have amazing relationships with numerous coaches on the staff, but ultimately, I love coach Haines’ defensive scheme. I believe he is a great linebacker coach.” Daniels also claimed offers from Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Maryland, West Virginia, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Tennessee, and other programs. Daniels is IU’s fifth commit in the 2025 class.
Indiana University Running Back Trent Howland re-entering the Transfer Portal
Trent Howland’s offseason adventure is set for another chapter. The running back posted on social media Friday that he’s re-entering the transfer portal next week, when the spring window opens. Howland first ventured into the portal after last season concluded and IU replaced head coach Tom Allen with Curt Cignetti. The Redshirt Junior initially committed to Minnesota, but he changed his mind and announced his return to IU the next week.
Howland led the Hoosiers last season with 354 rushing yards on 75 carries with two touchdowns. He added three receptions for 22 yards in the passing game. Howland played in 11 of Indiana’s 12 games, with two starts. Indiana revamped its running back room in the offseason, with three players leaving and four coming in. Josh Henderson and Christian Turner declared for the NFL Draft, and Jaylin Lucas transferred to Florida State. Cignetti and his staff brought Redshirt Senior Ty Son Lawton and Redshirt Junior Kaelon Black with them from James Madison, and also brought in Redshirt Junior Elijah Green from North Carolina and Senior Justice Ellison from Wake Forest. Cignetti recently said he likes the team’s depth at running back and mentioned the four transfer portal additions, but not Howland.
Former Iowa Men’s Basketball Forward Patrick McCaffery Transfers to Butler University
Former Iowa men’s basketball player Patrick McCaffery has committed to Butler. In a post on Instagram, McCaffery confirmed his commitment to the Bulldogs. The 24-year-old played five seasons at the University of Iowa. He appeared in 123 games during that stretch, racking up 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. McCaffery is the son of Iowa’s coach, Fran McCaffery. Patrick’s brother, Connor McCaffery, is a member of the Indiana Pacers’ staff. Fran started coaching at Iowa in 2010. According to his profile on Iowa Athletics’ website, Fran McCaffery has amassed more than 500 career wins as a college coach. Patrick McCaffery entered the transfer portal late last month. He is one of two notable Hawkeyes that has entered the portal this offseason.
Indianapolis native Tony Perkins entered the transfer portal in March. Perkins played four seasons at Iowa, averaging 9.3 points and 3.2 rebounds across 126 games played. In an Instagram post, Perkins narrowed his list of potential suitors to six. Indiana University was among those schools. IU (19-14 overall, 10-10 conference) Iowa (19-15, 10-10) and Butler (18-15, 9-11) all missed the NCAA Tournament last season. The Hawkeyes and Bulldogs both appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Indy Fuel close out the Regular Season with a Home Sellout Crowd and Win over the Kalamazoo Wings
The Fuel hosted the Kalamazoo Wings for the final regular season game ever at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. With a sellout crowd of 6,327 fans in attendance, the Fuel played into a thrilling overtime period where Jon Martin came away with the winning goal to make it 3-2.
Indy started off with heavy possession, quickly garnering more shots on goal than the K-Wings. At 6:37, Kalamazoo’s Erik Bradford took a tripping penalty, giving the Fuel an early power play. While the K-Wings killed off the penalty, just as time expired, Ryan Gagnier scored to put the Fuel ahead on a shot from Ross MacDougall. Cam Hausinger claimed the goal’s other assist. Just two minutes later, Gagnier scored his second goal of the period with the help of Brett Bulmer and Andrew Perrott. Michael Joyaux scored from the blueline for Kalamazoo at 14:29, to make it 2-1. At 16:33, Zach Jordan sat for high sticking, which put the Fuel on the penalty kill and they were able to kill off the penalty. Josh Passolt took a tripping penalty at 19:21 to give the Fuel a power play that would last into the second period.
Just 31 seconds into the second frame, Kale Howarth took a hooking penalty, however the Fuel killed it off. At 3:52, Kalamazoo’s Collin Adams scored to tie the game 2-2. Things got progressively chippier, but no more penalties were called, nor goals scored in the second period. In a back-and-forth period, both teams had a lot of good chances, but the goaltenders stood strong on each end and neither team scored nor took a penalty. Indy had the edge, outshooting Kalamazoo 10-3 in the third period but for the second night in a row, the Fuel went to overtime.
Both teams had a few great chances in the first half of the 3-on-3 overtime period. With 3:33 to go, Jordan took a hooking penalty, giving Kalamazoo a 4-on-3 advantage. The Fuel killed off the penalty and gained momentum as time ticked down on the overtime period. At 6:22, Jon Martin stuffed the puck in the net for his 23rd goal of the season, with the help of Seamus Malone and Nick Grima to win the game and close out the regular season on a win streak. The Indy Fuel are back in action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum for the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs starting April 19, 2024 for Do317 Night. Tickets are available HERE.
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