Indiana University Athletics honors 2024 Spring Graduates
The Indiana Department of Athletics celebrated spring commencement on Friday as 104 student-athletes participated in graduation ceremonies. “This is a special time of year and a special day for our graduating Class of 2024,” said IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson. “There is a lot that we want to see our student-athletes accomplish during their time on campus, and the number one goal is to see them earn their Indiana University degree. I hope these graduates, their families and their loved ones take the time to soak in this special accomplishment. Congratulations!”
Baseball
Matt Bohnert
Ty Bothwell
Drew Buhr
Morgan Colopy
Seti Manase
Carter Mathison
Jack Moffitt
Sam Murrison
Ty Rybarzcyk
Men’s Basketball
Trey Galloway
Women’s Basketball
Chloe Moore-McNeil
Field Hockey
Jemima Cookson
Taylor Etling
Football
Philip Blidi
Bryson Bonds
Lanell Carr
Andison Coby
Sam Daugstrup
Connor Hole
Kobee Minor
Darryl Minor
Roman Purcell
Zach Scott
Xavier Trueblood
EJ Williams
Men’s Golf
Eric Berggren
Noah Gillard
Women’s Golf
Dominika Brudova
Rowing
Madeline Anderson
Abbey Armstrong
Jessica Bastos
Sophie Bowden
Ara Cowper
Anya Hardwick
Chloe Jacobi
Piper Maaka
Aidan McIntyre
Megan Mills
Niamh Monk
Katherine Nelson
Paige Ohrvall
Sofia Sperduto
Avery Thorpe
Lili Toledano
Isabel Velasquez
Men’s Soccer
Austin Himebaugh
Lukas Hummel
Women’s Soccer
Anna Bennett
Sofia Black
Zoe Tiger
Softball
Aaliyah Andrews
Brooke Benson
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Warren Briggs
Brendan Burns
Tristan DeWitt
Tomer Frankel
Logan Graham
Joseph Radde
Maxwell Reich
Armando Vegas
Gavin Wight
Jassen Yep
Women’s Swimming and Diving
Elizabeth Broshears
Anne Fowler
Anna Freed
Ella Ristic
Ashley Turak
Men’s Tennis
Michael Andre
Nishanth Basavareddy
Carson Haskins
Jagger Saylor
Ilya Tiraspolsky
Women’s Tennis
Lene Mari
Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country
Micah Camble
Keelan Grant
Austin Haskett
Antonio Laidler
Parker Raymond
Grayson Rolen
Skylar Stidam
Nathan Stone
Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country
Phoebe Bates
Shanna Esters
Paola Fernandez-Sola
Jessica Mercier
Maddie Russin
Morgan Snow
Volleyball
Morgan Geddes
Grae Gosnell
Elle Hillers
Savannah Kjolhede
Water Polo
Haley Hunter
Kiki Mein
Sophie Wazzan
Kallie White
Wrestling
Nico Bolivar
Clayton Fielden
Brayton Lee
Jacob Moran
Nick South
DJ Washington
Nicholas Willham
Michael Spangler
Jacob Bullock
Indiana University Football lands two more Transfers from James Madison
Cornerback D’Angelo Ponds has committed to Indiana football out of the transfer portal, the sophomore announced on social media Saturday. The West Park, Fla. native comes to Bloomington after a stellar freshman season at James Madison. He was named to several freshman All-American teams and was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection. Ponds finished third in the conference and tied for 11th in the nation with 15 passes defended last season — more than any Big Ten player. He added two interceptions and 51 combined tackles, including two tackles for loss. Ponds is the 12th JMU player to follow head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff to Indiana, and the second player in the spring window. He’s the first DB of that group. But IU was not a shoo-in to land Ponds. After entering the transfer portal in late April, he heard from a long list of schools, including Arizona, Auburn, Illinois, Miami, Tennessee, and USC. On3 ranked Ponds as the top available player in the transfer portal as of May 1. 247Sports Composite rated Ponds a 3-star prospect from Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla. in the class of 2023. Ponds joins an IU cornerback room that just saw potential starter Kobee Minor enter the transfer portal in late April.
James Madison transfer return man and running back Solomon Vanhorse announced he has committed to IU while on a visit to Bloomington Saturday. Vanhorse had spent his entire career in Harrisonburg, joining the program in 2018. The 5-foot-8 and 183-pound Vanhorse was featured in the JMU spring game before he entered the portal. An Alpharetta, Ga. product, Vanhorse was supposed to finish his eligibility last season, but he appeared in just one game before suffering a season-ending injury and gaining a medical waiver from the NCAA. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Vanhorse rushed for a career-high 382 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 133 receiving yards and a touchdown catch that year. In the years that followed, Vanhorse saw limited roles in both the run and pass game while also serving as a kick returner. Vanhorse finished his career at JMU with 599 rushing yards, 590 passing yards and 14 total scores. His father Sean played college football at Howard and spent seven years in the NFL (6th round pick – 1990) with the Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings.
Former Indiana University Center Kel’el Ware gets invite to the NBA Draft Combine
To the surprise of no one, former Indiana center Kel’el Ware received an invite to the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. The event will take place from May 12-19 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago. The NBA Draft has expanded to a two-night format that features the first round on Wednesday, June 26 and the second round on Thursday, June 27. The first round will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., home of the Brooklyn Nets. The second round will take place at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York. Ware should be the third IU player to be drafted in the last two years. But it isn’t clear which night he’ll be selected. Going into the Combine, he is generally projected to be drafted in the back half of the first round to the early part of the second round. Indiana had two players drafted in 2023, Jalen Hood-Schifino in the first round, and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the second. Ware was one of six players from the Big Ten who received a Combine invite. He’ll be joined there by Cam Christie (Minnesota), Zach Edey (Purdue), Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), Payton Sandfort (Iowa), and Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois).
Indy Eleven gets 3 points with a road win at Monterey Bay FC
Elliot Collier scored the match winner in the 88th minute to send Indy Eleven to a 1-0 victory over USL Championship Western Conference opponent Monterey Bay F.C. on Saturday evening at Cardinale Stadium in Monterey, California. With the win, Indy Eleven improves to 3-4-2 on the 2024 season, while Monterey Bay falls to 4-3-2. The tally was the first for Elliot Collier this season, but second overall as part of Indy Eleven having scored one in his previous stint in 2018. In a back and forth first half, Indy outshot Monterey Bay 9-5 with five coming from Jack Blake and three from Augi Williams. The home team had the minor edge in possession at 50.7% and had two shots on frame to Indy’s one. Indy finished with the 16-7 advantage in shots, with four coming on target. Bake finished with a season-high seven shots, while Williams had four and Douglas Martinez added a pair. Hunter Sulte picked up the first clean sheet of the season for Indy, registering three saves. Indy is unbeaten in its last three USL Championships matches, posting a 2-0-1 record, and is unbeaten in four overall with U.S. Open Cup matches. The nine straight games with a goal is the longest in the run of USL Championship competition since the 2022 season. The Boys in Blue step out of USL Championship action Wednesday when they host San Antonio FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Kick is slated for 7pm at The Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl on the campus of Butler University.
Caitlin Clark Scores 21 Points in her Indiana Fever Preseason Debut in Dallas
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark and Forward NaLyssa Smith led Indiana with 21 and 20 points each as the Fever dropped the 2024 preseason opener at the Dallas Wings, 79-76, on Friday night. Clark’s 21 points and five made 3-point field goals both set franchise records for rookie preseason debuts, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Her final 3-point attempt did not fall at the buzzer in an attempt to send the game to overtime. Smith ended her night converting 10-of-13 from the free throw line. In the first quarter, Clark led the Fever with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, including making her first two attempts from beyond the arc in an Indiana Fever uniform.
Fever Guard Erica Wheeler had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a team-high four assists to go along with four rebounds. Center Aliyah Boston began her second season with Indiana with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds. Center Temi Fagbenle led Indiana in bench scoring with five points to go along with three rebounds. Former IU Women’s Basketball player Grace Berger scored 2 points in 13 minutes going 1-4 from the field, a rebound, an assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls. For Dallas, guard Jaelyn Brown led the Wings with 21 points, while center Teaira McCowan finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Guard Arike Ogunbowale started the preseason with 19 points on 9-of-24 shooting and hit the game winner with seconds remaining in the game. The Fever close out the preseason schedule against the Atlanta Dream on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7pm. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the WNBA App and on WNBA League Pass.
Indiana Pacers Advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2014
The Indiana Pacers are going to the second round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 10 years! Indiana beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-98 Thursday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to win the team’s first playoff series since 2014. The team will play the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs starting tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Pacers were able to finish the Bucks off in six games with a home win. They were led by bench players Obi Toppin with 21 points and T.J. McConnell with 20 points. Two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton finished the game with 17 points, 10 assists and six rebounds while Pascal Siakam recorded a total of 19 points and seven rebounds. Indiana finished the season with an 8-3 record against the Bucks as it handed Milwaukee its second consecutive exit in the first round of the NBA playoffs. For Milwaukee, Damian Lillard returned following an Achilles injury and ended the game with 28 points. Bobby Portis Jr. added 20 more points for the Bucks alongside 15 rebounds while Brook Lopez also posted 20 points.
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