Author: Mike Schumann

Mr. June is scorching hot in August. Former IU baseball star Kyle Schwarber hit three home runs on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. Overall he went 4-for-4 with seven RBIs in Wednesday night’s 9-4 Philadelphia victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He hit his 42nd career leadoff home run in the first inning, a two-run double in the fifth, a three-run homer in the sixth and a solo homer in the ninth.  The home runs went out to left, right and centerfield, respectively. Schwarber’s three homers and seven RBIs on Wednesday both tied career highs. He is batting .261…

IU football coach Curt Cignetti said at Big Ten Media Day he sleeps better at night knowing he has a veteran quarterback like Kurtis Rourke. And with Rourke’s career resume, it’s easy to see why. The Canadian quarterback appeared in 36 games with 33 starts over five seasons at Ohio (2019-23).  He earned Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-MAC as a junior, and added second-team All-MAC as a senior. The 6-foot-5 Rourke has amassed 8,479 career all-purpose yards and accounted for 61 touchdowns (50 passing, 11 rushing).  He has completed 638-of-963 passes for 7,651 yards passing…

IU men’s soccer is expected to remain one of the nation’s best in 2024. Indiana is ranked No. 7 in the preseason NCAA United Soccer Coaches Top-25. The Hoosiers are just one of two teams from the 18-team Big Ten ranked in the top-25, or even receiving votes.  And the Hoosiers are the top team in the league by a meaningful margin.  UCLA is ranked No. 21. The program opened its 2024 preseason Wednesday morning with its first training session.  Head coach Todd Yeagley is kicking off his 15th season in that role. The Hoosiers are coming off an Elite…

A monster season at James Madison has IU wideout Elijah Sarratt on the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list. Sarratt, who transferred to Indiana in January to follow head coach Curt Cignetti and his staff, was named first-team all-Sun Belt Conference after catching a team-high 82 passes for 1,191 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore in 2023.  Over the Dukes’ final six games, Sarratt had over 100 receiving yards in five contests. The 6-foot-2 and 209-pound Sarratt transferred to JMU after spending one season at Saint Francis (2022) where he had 42 receptions for 700 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. The…

Indiana’s Solomon Vanhorse is on the national Comeback Player of the Year watchlist, it was announced on Wednesday by the College Sports Communicators in association with The Associated Press (AP) and the Fiesta Bowl Organization. The 5-foot-8 and 185-pound Vanhorse announced his transfer to IU in May.  He is listed by Indiana as a running back, but he has extensive experience on special teams in the return game as well. Vanhorse has appeared in 37 career games with nine starts over six seasons at James Madison (2018-23).  He redshirted his initial collegiate season, and missed the majority of the 2022 and…

Six wins. For Indiana football that has seemingly always been the line of demarcation. Get to six, everyone is at least content for now.  Get more than that, and they’re ecstatic. And if they miss the mark, well, just another season of IU football.  Maybe next year. To get six wins in 2024, IU will need at least three conference wins.  But three is the total number of conference wins they achieved in the last three seasons, combined. And still, six wins would be a disappointment to new head coach Curt Cignetti.  With only six regular season wins he would…

Of all the transfers who followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison during the offseason, there’s probably no one who is likely to make a major contribution flying further under the radar than Jailin Walker. One major reason, Walker suffered a torn shoulder labrum that impacted his 2023 season, and he missed all of Indiana’s spring practice sessions. But the 6-foot-1 and 218-pound senior linebacker is back to full strength and on the field at Indiana’s fall camp. And Walker has quickly reminded everyone why he has started 20 games over the last two seasons, earning All-Sun Belt honors each time.…

Is college basketball transitioning away from the walk-on? How each team will handle anticipated 15-player roster caps beginning in 2025 remains to be seen. Right now, Indiana does not list any walk-ons on their roster for the upcoming season.  But several have been with the program for summer workouts. This will likely be the last season of 13 scholarship players and unlimited walk-ons, and it appears the Hoosiers could go with five walk-ons for 2024-25 like they did a season ago. A byproduct of Indiana playing close games a year ago against bad teams was the walk-ons were never able…

For our final nonconference opponent preview, we take a look at the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. The game will tip on Friday, Dec. 6 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The time and television details have not yet been announced. Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 preseason projections slot Miami as the No. 240 overall team.  Torvik likes the Redhawk defensive outlook better than the offense, projecting them to land in the No. 203 and No. 253 spots in adjusted efficiency, respectively. Redhawks head coach Travis Steele has Indiana ties.  He is a Danville, Ind. native, went to Butler, and served as an…

National recruiting outlet On3 has updated their rankings for the high school basketball class of 2025 following the July live periods. Here is where they ranked the eight players we believe Indiana is still in legitimate contention to land.  We’ve added a quick note on where things stand with Indiana for each player. Players are shown in On3’s ranking order. 3 – Nate Ament, 5-star, SF/PF Ament’s ascent has reached the top five.  He has the blue bloodiest of blue bloods recruitments.  Indiana has shown heavy interest and is fighting for a seat at the table.  Look for a list…