Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU is playing rare July exhibition basketball games in Peru as part of its foreign tour. This was not the only major story in the world of Hoosier basketball this week, as additional big games for the pre-Big Ten schedule were learned.

Also, the current Indiana football squad added another top recruit and is preparing for its upcoming fall season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by women’s basketball adding a staff member.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Dominates First Three Peru Games To Advance To Championship Of FISU American Games

• Basketball Adds More Top Games To Schedule For Before Big Ten Play

• Football Bags Another Top Recruit

• Football Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Basketball Adds Staff Member

Banner #1: IU Dominates First Three Peru Games To Advance To Championship Of FISU American Games

IU normally is months away from playing competitive basketball games in July. However, this summer is an exception, as the Hoosiers, representing the USA, are part of the FISU American Games in Peru.

Showing off their entirely remade team, the Hoosiers have dominated lesser competition, winning three games so far by wide margins to advance to the tournament finals. They started the event by rolling over the tournament hosts 115-36 in pool play and followed that up by blasting the US Virgin Islands 120-63 to win the group.

IU did not let up in the semi-finals on Saturday in the knockout round, dominating Chile 107-40 to advance to the championship game. Here they will have a rematch with the same US Virgin Islands squad they faced earlier in the week.

After their opening tournament victory, Indiana got a surprise addition to their team in Sam Alexis, who was a contributor on last year’s IU squad to replace the ineligible Samet Yigitoglu, who is the projected big man for this coming season. However, since Yigitoglu does not have American citizenship, he is ineligible to represent the USA as a member of the Hoosiers.

Indiana head coach Darien DeVries spoke after the opening win over Peru. Also, highlights were posted after each victory by Inside the Hall as the games are being streamed on YouTube. Finally, updated stats can be viewed here.

Banner #2: Basketball Adds More Top Games To Schedule For Before Big Ten Play

Two more premium games were learned about for IU before the Big Ten schedule begins. One will count against Indiana’s record and represent their fourth serious test against a P5 opponent this fall when they take on John Calipari and Arkansas on Nov. 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York. This contest joins the already announced games against Syracuse (Nov. 9), Kentucky (Nov. 20), and Missouri (Dec. 18) as the biggest challenges before conference play that will count towards the squad’s final record.

However, the exhibition schedule will provide quite the tune-up as the NCAA now allows three scrimmage games before actual preseason play begins. The Hoosiers are taking full advantage of this as they announced a road game at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Oct. 11 against Butler.

This matchup is the third such exhibition matchup, joining already known games against North Carolina (Oct. 18) and Western Kentucky (Oct. 25) in Evansville. Also, Indiana’s state capital will apparently serve as an unofficial second home for the Hoosiers in 2026-2027 as they will play no less than five games in Indianapolis and potentially more.

The game against the Bulldogs on Butler’s campus joins the contest against the Tar Heels and Orange in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Big Ten Tournament will also take place next spring. Meanwhile, the matchup with the Wildcats will be in Lucas Oil Stadium on Nov. 20.

Banner #3: Football Bags Another Top Recruit

The final big news in Hoosier land this week was on the football field and involved recruiting. Fresh off their commitment from elite WR Monshun Sales, IU Coach Curt Cignetti struck big again.

This time the announcement came for a 2028 prospect and is for the most important position on the gridiron. The pledge came from elite QB target Lukas Prock, who ranks in the top-100 nationally for his class and chose Indiana over Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. His ESPN ranking at No. 87 in the class trails only Sales in terms of where that number stands for the Hoosiers all-time when it comes to recruiting.

Banner #4: Football Season Preview

Once again, the football program at IU is expecting big things this fall. This is after coming off their national championship last winter.

Indeed, most expect little drop-off as Indiana ranks near the top of college football again heading into the fall. As a result, Inside the Hall continued previewing each position for the squad separately. This week looked at the offensive tackles, interior offensive line, and tight ends,

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Basketball Adds Staff Member

• Women’s Basketball added a staff member in Sammy Smith, who will be the Team and Recruitment Analyst.

• Field Hockey signed a future recruit.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU played a rare July exhibition basketball game in Bloomington as it prepares for its foreign tour. This was not the only major story in the world of Hoosier sports this week, as Football got a commit from the highest-ranked recruit in program history.

Also, the current Indiana basketball squad is preparing for its upcoming summer tour and a football season preview. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by baseball having a player drafted by the MLB.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Beats Canada As Team USA In Exhibition Game In Bloomington

• Monshun Sales Commits To Indiana Football As Highest Ranked Recruit In Program History

• Basketball Prep For Upcoming Peru Trip

• Football Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball’s Bergman Drafted By MLB

Banner #1: IU Beats Canada As Team USA In Exhibition Game In Bloomington

IU normally is months away from playing competitive basketball games in Assembly Hall in July. However, this summer is an exception, as the Hoosiers, representing the USA, played Canada this week.

Showing off their entirely remade team, the Hoosiers won in a rout 98-64, in preparation for the FISU American Games in Peru. Aiden Sherell especially stood out with 16 points in the contest.

Afterwards, Indiana head coach Darien DeVries spoke, and Inside the Hall had a photo gallery, players’ stats, and highlights from the victory. Also, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways.

Banner #2: Monshun Sales Commits To Indiana Football As Highest Ranked Recruit In Program History

The other big news in Hoosier land this week was on the football field and involved recruiting. Fresh off their national championship, IU showed they will likely be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

This is because Indiana landed a commit from the highest-ranked prospect in program history. This player is WR Monshun Sales, who plays in-state for Lawrence North and is ranked in the top-15 nationally.

Sales pledged to the Hoosiers on the Pat McAfee show on Friday and in doing so became the first 5-star player ever to pick IU. Lawrence North was also the high school of recent NFL draftee Omar Cooper and current Indiana WR Davion Chandler.

Banner #3: Basketball Prep For Upcoming Peru Trip

With the exhibition contest now over, IU continues to prepare for its trip to Peru. Practice continues for these games, and while incoming transfer Samet Yigitoglu will be unable to play during the trip as a non-American (he did play in the game this last week, though), the Hoosiers nonetheless expect big things from him during this upcoming season. Also, incoming freshman Trevor Manhertz is expected to contribute.

The games themselves start this week. They will run July 20-Aug 1 with Indiana representing the USA squad.

Banner #4: Football Season Preview

Once again, the football program at IU is expecting big things this fall. This is after coming off their national championship last winter.

Indeed, most expect little drop-off as Indiana ranks near the top of college football again heading into the fall. As a result, Inside the Hall continued previewing each position for the squad separately. This week looked at the linebackers, defensive tackles, and defensive ends.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, USBWA Hall of Famer Rick Bozich joined to discuss the Hoosiers’ exhibition victory.

Also, The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball’s Bergman Drafted By MLB

• IU baseball pitcher Jackson Bergman was drafted in the 18th round of the MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox.

• Soccer’s Palmer Ault was given a deal to play professional soccer in the US.

• Volleyball had an athlete compete at the U22 European Championships as part of Team Serbia, and her squad took home the silver medal. Also, the program announced which players will represent IU at Big Ten Media Day.

• Wrestling had a player earn the silver medal at the U-20 Pan American Championships.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU added a solid non-conference opponent to its home slate. While it is not necessarily a brand name, it is nonetheless a solid challenge from a regional foe of comparable strength.

Also, the current Indiana squad is preparing for its upcoming summer tour, a football season preview, and former Hoosiers are taking their shot at the NBA by competing in the Summer League. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by women’s golf adding a staff member.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds Power Five Non-Conference Opponent To Home Slate

• Hoosiers Practice For Upcoming Peru Trip

• Football Season Preview

• Former IU Basketball Players’ Summer League Performances

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Golf Adds Staff Member

Banner #1: IU Adds Power Five Non-Conference Opponent To Home Slate

Indiana fans have been clamoring for a non-conference home game in Assembly Hall against high-level competition. This was especially true following the announcement of the Syracuse and Kentucky matchups taking place in Indianapolis, nearby but on a neutral court nonetheless.

Now, it was reported this week by Jon Rothstein that IU will play a Power Five squad in Assembly Hall on December 18 before Big Ten play begins. While it won’t be the elite brand name of the Orange or the Wildcats, it will still be solid competition.

This opponent is Missouri, which is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and is ranked inside the top-40 for next year according to Bart Torvik. There will be no return match in Columbia in the future, according to the report, and the teams will meet for the first time in 22 years.

Banner #2: Hoosiers Practice For Upcoming Peru Trip

IU continues to prepare for its summer trip to Peru as part of the FISU American Games it will compete in. Also, this week it was revealed which uniforms the Hoosiers will wear for the event as Team USA.

Practice continues for these games, and Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell is looking forward to competing. Sherell was made available to the media at practice this week, as were a couple of other players, including incoming freshman Trevor Manhertz and SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu. Also, head coach Darian DeVries spoke with Andy Katz.

Banner #3: Football Season Preview

Once again, the football program at IU is expecting big things this fall. This is after coming off their national championship last winter, which featured star QB Fernando Mendoza honored by the Big Ten as the male athlete of the year.

Indeed, ESPN expects little drop-off as they rank Indiana sixth nationally heading into the fall in their FPI Rankings. As a result, Inside the Hall began previewing each position for the squad separately. This week looked at special teams, cornerbacks, and safeties.

Banner #4: Former IU Basketball Players’ Summer League Performances

While no one from last year’s Hoosiers squad was drafted into the NBA, a few recent IU players will get their chance to earn their way into the pros through a tougher avenue. Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey, Tucker DeVries, Luke Goode, and Lamar Wilkerson got a chance in the NBA’s Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Thunder, respectively.

With the league now underway, these players are now officially competing, and it has been a struggle for these guys to see the court, with Goode the most successful. Goode made his debut in the second game the Lakers played in, scoring three points and then nine points in the subsequent game. He also got into a contest late on Saturday night, but his final point total was not available at the time of 6-Banners’ publication.

Also, Wilkerson put up two points off the bench in his debut in his squad’s first game but has not appeared since. Meanwhile, Alexis did make his first appearance against the Jazz and scored a couple of points. Finally, DeVries and Bailey have yet to see action at all as of this publication.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Golf Adds Staff Member

• Women’s Golf added an assistant coach to its staff.

• Baseball star Hogan Denny made the USA Collegiate National Team.

• Volleyball had a player make the U22 European Championships.

• Former IU soccer star Daniel Munie made the MLS All-Star roster.

• Field hockey signed a couple of recruits for the future.

• Track and Field will have athletes in summer competition.

• Finally, a couple of Hoosiers received the conference’s Sportsmanship Award.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

Former Hoosiers are taking their shot at the NBA by competing in the Summer League. Also, players already with their foot firmly in the league for several years inked deals for next season.

Also, the current Indiana squad is preparing for their upcoming summer tour, a season preview, and athletic director Scott Dolson speaks out. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by baseball losing a staff member to the pros.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Former Hoosiers In NBA

• Hoosiers Practice For Upcoming Trip

• Season Preview

• Scott Dolson Speaks On Big Ten Network

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Loses Staff Member To Pros

Banner #1: Former Hoosiers In NBA

While no one from last year’s Hoosiers squad was drafted into the NBA, a few recent IU players will get their chance to earn their way into the pros through a tougher avenue. Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey, Tucker DeVries, Luke Goode, and Lamar Wilkerson all inked deals to play in the NBA’s Summer League with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Thunder, respectively.

As for former Indiana players already in the league, two were confirmed to be returning to the same squads they played on last year. Thomas Bryant resigned to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers while Trayce Jackson-Davis had his team option picked up by the Toronto Raptors.

Banner #2: Hoosiers Practice For Upcoming Trip

IU continues to prepare for its summer trip to Peru as part of the FISU American games it will compete in. Before that, though, they will play an exhibition game in Assembly Hall against Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf of Canada on July 15 at 7 pm, and plenty of tickets remain.

Practice continues for these games, and rising sophomore Trent Sisley was made available to the media after one of the recent sessions. Sisley will be a key to next season’s team as the only returning player from last year’s rotation.

Banner #3: Season Preview

Once the real season begins, Indiana is expected to be much improved due to the addition of an elite transfer portal class. Bart Torvik has IU at No. 27 in the nation, which is seventh in the Big Ten, and ESPN has them in a similar spot.

If these rankings come to fruition, the Hoosiers will comfortably make a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022-2023. Indeed, Joe Lunardi has them as a seven seed in his early bracketology from mid-June.

Banner #4: Scott Dolson Speaks On Big Ten Network

The state of IU athletics was discussed by the person at the top. Athletic director Scott Dolson spoke with Rick Pizzo of the Big Ten Network recently. The conversation, as expected, focused on the football and men’s basketball programs.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman joined Alex Bozich to discuss a recent book he wrote about the football program’s rise as well as the state of the basketball program.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Loses Staff Member To Pros

• Baseball announced the departure of staff member Denton Sagerman to the pros.

• Volleyball announced its captains for the upcoming fall.

• Softball had a player named to the TC Colorado College All-Star Team.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

Another game was announced for the upcoming fall. While it is just an exhibition contest, it will take place in Evansville.

Also, a former IU manager is headed to the NBA, former Hoosiers have received Exhibit 10 deals, and Inside the Hall continued a series previewing each Big Ten team. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by women’s soccer announcing its schedule.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers To Play Western Kentucky In Exhibition Game In Evansville

• Former IU Manager Dusty May Leaves Michigan For NBA Job

• Former Hoosiers Sign Exhibit 10 Deals With NBA Teams

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview And Hoosier Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Announces Schedule

Banner #1: Hoosiers To Play Western Kentucky In Exhibition Game In Evansville

While it will not count towards their record, a couple of tune-up exhibition matchups were announced this week. One is against Western Kentucky in Evansville. It will be on Sunday, October 25, at 4 pm in the Ford Center.

The other will be in a few weeks in Assembly Hall as the team prepares for their upcoming trip to Peru. Indiana will face Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf from Canada on July 15 at 7pm.

These join the previously announced exhibition contest against fellow blueblood North Carolina, which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 18, in Indy. Other known dates for IU’s 2026-27 schedule that do count include Eastern Illinois on November 2 at Assembly Hall, Bellarmine on November 5 at Assembly Hall, Syracuse on November 9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Kentucky on November 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium and Bowling Green on November 27 at Assembly Hall.

Banner #2: Former IU Manager Dusty May Leaves Michigan For NBA Job

A major story in the Big Ten this week has IU ties. Recent national title winner Michigan lost its coach to the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

Dusty May, who is also a former manager for the Hoosiers, has moved on to the pros. It leaves the Wolverines in a bit of a conundrum after May was thought to be one of the upcoming elites of the league in his position. Assistant coach Mike Boynton (who struggled at Oklahoma State previously) will have to try to hold the squad together as an interim coach before Michigan decides what to do permanently.

Banner #3: Former Hoosiers Sign Exhibit 10 Deals With NBA Teams

No Hoosiers were drafted in last week’s NBA draft. However, two recent former IU players, in Tucker Devries and Lamar Wilkerson, were given Exhibit 10 deals afterward. Devries’ deal is with Boston while Wilkerson’s is with Oklahoma City. An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, non-guaranteed NBA training camp deal for the minimum salary. It allows teams to bring a player to camp, retain their G League rights, and offers players a special bonus if they are waived and remain with the team’s G League affiliate.

Banner #4: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview And Hoosier Season Preview

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected in the very top of the field previewed in Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State.

As for IU, they are expected to be much improved this upcoming fall. This follows offseason roster changes that saw the Hoosiers bring in an elite transfer portal class that includes Markus Burton, Jaeden Mustaf, and several others, as well as the return of Trent Sisley. Indiana also brings in a solid freshman class that will compete for playing time right away that includes Prince-Alexander Moody, as well as Vaughn Karvala.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Women’s Soccer Announces Schedule

• Women’s soccer announced its upcoming schedule.

• Baseball announced its conference schedule for next spring as well as an early-season tournament it will compete in.

• Softball signed a transfer for next year.

• Finally, former IU women’s basketball star Shay Ciezki made her WNBA debut here in Indiana this week against the Fever, hitting a late three-pointer.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

A third game in Indianapolis was announced for the upcoming fall. While it is just an exhibition contest, it will take place against a blueblood.

Also, Inside the Hall continued a series previewing each Big Ten team, Indiana’s season projections, and women’s basketball added a couple of recruits. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by baseball, giving head coach Jeff Mercer an unannounced extension back in 2023.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers To Play North Carolina In Exhibition Game In Indianapolis

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

• Season Projections

• Women’s Basketball Adds Recruits

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-IU Baseball Coach Jeff Mercer Received Unannounced Extension in 2023

Banner #1: Hoosiers To Play North Carolina In Exhibition Game In Indianapolis

Two premium non-conference games for IU in Indianapolis were previously announced previously for the upcoming year: Syracuse on Nov. 9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Kentucky on Nov. 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Now a third game in Indianapolis and the second at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was made public this week.

While it will not count towards their record, a tune-up exhibition matchup against fellow blueblood North Carolina will take place on Sunday, Oct. 18. Plenty of tickets for this contest are available at this link directly through the venue. While a time has not been announced yet, it will presumably be late in the afternoon after the Indianapolis Colts’ 1 pm home game against the Tennessee Titans down the street.

This showdown wraps up a huge weekend for Indiana athletics, coming one day after the gargantuan Hoosier football vs. Ohio State matchup on Saturday in Bloomington. IU football is expected to be in the running for a second straight Big Ten and national championship, with the Buckeyes arguably their main challenger to these thrones once again.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected in the top half of the field previewed in USC, IU, UCLA, Ohio State, and Nebraska.

Banner #3: Season Projections

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall. This follows offseason roster changes that saw the Hoosiers bring in an elite transfer portal class that includes Markus Burton, Darren Harris, and several other highly sought-after players. Projections rank Indiana relatively highly heading into 2026-2027, both in the Big Ten and nationally. Joe Lunardi’s early bracketology has IU safely back in the NCAA Tournament field as a seven seed after the roster overhaul.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Adds Recruits

While the IU women are in offseason mode, that does not stop them from recruiting. While it is not big names or anyone with much information on them, the team did round out their roster for 2026-207 by adding two international prospects this week.

While not in as comfortable a position as the men to return to the NCAA Tournament, they are nonetheless in decent shape to do so, assuming health and the expansion to 76 teams. This optimism is due to the return of starters Maya Makalusky, Zania Socka-Nguemen, and Lenee Beaumont, as well as the addition of the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history (no. 8 overall), which features the first two players ever ranked inside the top-30 nationally to come to Indiana straight out of high school.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-IU Baseball Coach Jeff Mercer Received Unannounced Extension in 2023

• Baseball gave head coach Jeff Mercer an unannounced extension following an elite year in 2023 that runs through 2028, as I reported this week. The last publicly known information about the expiration of his contract was after this season, but that is not the case, given this new data. The squad has struggled since that 2023 spring and has made the NCAA Tournament in just two out of the last seven campaigns. Meanwhile, a former program legend was elected to the Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame.

• Softball had two players finish in the top-100 nationally.

• Field Hockey announced its fall schedule.

• Men’s Tennis had a couple of its athletes attempting to qualify for the US Open but ultimately failed to do so.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

One former Hoosier won a title. Not only is OG Anunoby an NBA Champion again, but he was a major player in getting his team over the finish line this time.

Also, Inside the Hall launched a series previewing each Big Ten team, Indiana’s season projections, and women’s basketball got a commitment from a recruit. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by volleyball announcing its fall schedule.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Former Hoosier OG Anunoby Hits Game Winner In NBA Finals As He Celebrates NBA Championship

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

• Season Projections

• Women’s Basketball Adds Recruit

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Fall Schedule

Banner #1: Former Hoosier OG Anunoby Hits Game Winner In NBA Finals As He Celebrates NBA Championship

While the number of former Hoosier basketball players currently thriving in the NBA is limited, there is one particular exception. This exception is New York Knicks starter OG Anunoby, who was instrumental in his squad’s championship run this week.

Anunoby averaged over 16 points per game in the regular season, which he has upped to over 20 in the playoffs. It could be argued that, outside of superstar Jalen Brunson, Anunoby was the Knicks’ best player in the postseason.

This duo’s play was superb as New York tore through the playoffs, and the reason the franchise’s first banner since 1972 will hang from the rafters. Anunoby himself had the game winner on an offensive rebound this week to help finish off a comeback from 29 points down on Wednesday while scoring 33 points individually. The Knicks concluded their title chase on Saturday as Anunoby hit the game-clinching free throw. He was also interviewed on the ABC broadcast after the buzzer sounded as his squad celebrated.

As Anunoby thrives in the NBA, it is easy to forget his roots began at IU, where he was discovered by former head coach Tom Crean at a camp while scouting Juwan Morgan, being overlooked by the recruiting world. Anunoby then played under Crean for two seasons from 2015-2017 and came on in Big Ten play to help the Hoosiers win the league title his freshman season.

He then missed most of his sophomore year with injury. However, he had shown enough to be drafted by the Toronto Raptors, where his squad won a title despite him being sidelined by appendicitis. Eventually, he joined the Knicks, where he has thrived after developing a three-point shot, despite periodic injuries sidelining him at times.

With his title in New York, he joins Isiah Thomas as the only former Hoosier to win multiple NBA Championships. Anunoby just completed his ninth season in the league, where his career is far from over.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected in the middle of the field previewed in Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, and Purdue.

Banner #3: Season Projections

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall following the offseason roster changes. Projections have Indiana projected relatively highly heading into 2026-2027, both in the Big Ten and nationally. This is after adding a much-improved front court and several top-end transfers that rank very highly.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Adds Recruit

While the IU women are in offseason mode, that does not stop them from recruiting. While it is not a big name or anyone with much information on them, the team did add an international prospect this week in Camille Pangonis for 2027.

The squad also found out who their home and away opponents will be for conference play this season. The 18-game slate features the permanently protected double-play with Purdue and a flip of venues with everyone else from last season.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Dylan Burkhardt again joined Alex Bozich to discuss the upcoming Big Ten season.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Fall Schedule

• Volleyball announced its fall schedule.

• Baseball revealed where its players will play in the upcoming summer leagues.

• Track and Field finished tied for 35th at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships.

• Field hockey announced a signing and named an associate head coach.

• Women’s tennis promoted a staff member to associate head coach.

• Finally, the Hoosiers had 150 student-athletes honored for their academics by the Big Ten.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The recently former Hoosiers are taking their shot at the NBA. While they might face an uphill battle, workouts with pro franchises nonetheless took place.

Also, Inside the Hall launched a series previewing each Big Ten team, Indiana’s season projections, and the beginning of preparing for a summer trip to Peru for the Hoosiers. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by men’s soccer announcing its fall schedule.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Former Hoosiers Workout For NBA Teams

• Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

• Season Projections

• IU To Begin Workouts For Peru Trip

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

Banner #1: Former Hoosiers Workout For NBA Teams

While no recent former Hoosiers are necessarily projected to be drafted, that doesn’t mean teams are not interested in trying them out. Between Summer League contracts, G-League contracts, and two-way deals, the ways into the NBA can go beyond draft night, even if the odds are longer.

This week, both Lamar Wilkerson and Sam Alexis got workouts with NBA teams. This duo was joined by Tucker DeVries, who also showed off his skills for the pros.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Big Ten Team Preview

Inside the Hall started a series looking at all the Big Ten squads in detail. This week saw teams projected near the back of the field previewed in Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern, and Washington.

Banner #3: Season Projections

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall following the offseason roster changes. Projections have Indiana projected relatively highly heading into 2026-2027, both in the Big Ten and nationally.

This has fans relatively optimistic for the fall. Inside the Hall will provide coverage throughout the season with two new student reporters, Ian Plaskoff and Zach Horwitz.

Banner #4: IU To Begin Workouts For Peru Trip

Many teams are in offseason mode. However, the Hoosiers are in a different spot with competition relatively soon. This is because Indiana will compete this summer as Team USA in Peru as part of the FISU American Games. IU is already working out and preparing for this event.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Dylan Burkhardt joined Alex Bozich to discuss the upcoming Big Ten season.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Men’s Soccer Announces 2026 Fall Schedule

• Men’s soccer announced its upcoming fall schedule.

• Women’s basketball added an assistant coach.

• Volleyball competed on its exhibition foreign tour.

• Softball had its coaches named as the regional coaching staff of the year.

• Swimming and diving will compete in the First College Swimming League Season.

• Wrestling had five Hoosiers earn All-American status at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

• Field hockey announced a signing.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The non-conference schedule for IU has continued to take shape for the upcoming fall. It was confirmed this week that the Hoosiers’ matchups with Kentucky and Syracuse in Indianapolis are official.

Also, Inside the Hall continued its series on next season’s roster, an Indiana season preview, and the annual event at Huber’s Winery took place. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by football announcing times for its early matchups.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Non-Conference Schedule Update

• Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

• Season Preview

• Annual Huber’s Winery Event

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

Banner #1: Non-Conference Schedule Update

The non-conference schedule has continued to take shape for the upcoming fall for IU. The Hoosiers were already scheduled to play Kentucky in Indianapolis.

However, a change to the date was necessary for the contest from Saturday, December 27, to Friday, Nov 20, with tickets available here. This is due to the fact that the Indianapolis Colts have primary tenancy over Lucas Oil Stadium, where the matchup will take place.

The Colts host the Cincinnati Bengals that same December weekend with a TBA date. The NFL’s late-season scheduling rules dictate that this game could take place on either Saturday or Sunday. The league’s strict flexible scheduling procedures do not allow franchises to block out dates or request exemptions for stadium conflicts during December. It is likely Indiana and Kentucky knew this risk when choosing the original date and anticipated that a change might be necessary.

Meanwhile, IU's high-profile clash against Syracuse on Monday, November 9, was confirmed in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, June 4.

It should also be noted that this game faces no risk of a conflict with the Indiana Pacers once the NBA releases its schedule. Under NBA scheduling rules, franchises are explicitly allowed to block out specific dates for secondary arena events, meaning this date should be set in stone.

Other known matchups for IU this coming season are with Eastern Illinois (November 2), Bellarmine (November 5), and Bowling Green (November 27) coming to Bloomington. Other potential games will be announced later this summer, which should include a home game with a power opponent and potentially more neutral-site contests.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

Inside the Hall continued a series looking at the incoming transfer players in detail. This week saw Bryce Lindsay and Justin Monden looked at.

Banner #3: Season Preview

IU is expected to be much improved this upcoming fall after the roster changes this offseason. Bart Torvik’s updated rankings have Indiana at No. 26 overall heading into 2026-2027, which would put them safely back in the NCAA Tournament. Torvik’s rankings appear to match consensus, as most other publications have the Hoosiers ranked in a similar spot somewhere in the 20’s.

Banner #4: Annual Huber’s Winery Event

IU held its annual event at Huber’s Winery this week. Indiana coach Darian DeVries was among the speakers, as was the Football coach of the defending national champion Hoosiers, Curt Cignetti.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, the Des Moines Register’s Tyler Tachman joined the program to discuss Iowa’s Elite Eight run.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Football Sets Kickoff Times For First Five Games

• Football announced kickoff times for its first five contests.

• Track and field had 19 athletes qualify for the NCAA East Regional, with five advancing to the National Championship.

• Women’s Golf had Sheridan Clancy competing as an individual at the NCAA Championships, where she placed in the top-30 overall.

• Volleyball competed on its exhibition foreign tour.

• Swimming and diving added an assistant coach to its staff.

• Wrestling will have 15 of its athletes competing at the U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals.

• Men’s tennis has a couple of its athletes attempting to make the US Open later this summer for the doubles competition. The team also announced a signing for next season.

• Women’s tennis also announced a signing for next season.

• Field hockey announced a signing as well.

• Softball had several of its players earn Academic All-District.

• Water Polo had several of its athletes earn academic honors.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU may be participating in an elite non-conference tournament in 2027. It was reported this week that the Hoosiers could possibly be part of the Diamond Cup, which will feature many of the top teams in college basketball.

Also, Inside the Hall started a series looking at next season’s roster, Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, and a special event celebrated IU Athletics. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which were led by volleyball announcing a foreign tour.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Could Add Elite Non-Conference Tourney For 2027

• Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked Highly

• Victory And Vision Event Takes Place In Carmel

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Foreign Tour

Banner #1: IU Could Add Elite Non-Conference Tourney For 2027

As the 2026-2027 schedule has started to take shape, an event further down the road for 2027-2028 was reported as a possibility. This preseason tournament would be called the Diamond Cup.

This Diamond Cup could feature some of the top teams in college basketball, along with IU, including Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, and UConn. Any final announcement on this could come later this summer, and games would be on neutral sites.

It should be noted that the Hoosiers are already scheduled to play Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan in 2027-2028. As a result, it is likely Indiana would be matched up with any of the other four squads should this event come to fruition.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s Transfer Portal Player Spotlight

Inside the Hall started a series looking at the incoming transfer players in detail. This week saw Jaeden Mustaf, Darren Harris, Markus Burton, Samet Yigitoglu, and Aiden Sherrell looked at.

Banner #3: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked Highly

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in for 2026-2027. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

Most of them are projected relatively highly by the RSCI (Recruiting Services Consensus Index), though. Vaughn Karvala comes in the highest at no. 57 nationally, while the more recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in just behind at. no. 72, and Prince-Alexander Moody did not make the final top-100 ranking.

Banner #4: Victory And Vision Event Takes Place In Carmel

IU held an event in Carmel recently at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts. The gathering titled “Victory and Vision” sold out all 1,600 seats in the Payne & Mencias Palladium. Hoosier Coach Darian DeVries was among the speakers and spoke on a variety of topics.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, CrimsonCast’s Galen Clavio discussed IU’s busy spring in basketball.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Announces Foreign Tour

• Volleyball announced an immanent foreign tour with exhibition matches in multiple countries.

• Rowing finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships.

• Track and field also competed at the Big Ten Championships and had 19 athletes qualify for the NCAA East Regional.

• Baseball had three players named to the All-Big Ten Team.

• Water Polo had four All-Americans.

• Swimming and diving announced that Luke Ryan was promoted to associate head coach.

• Field hockey announced a signing.

• Wrestling also signed someone.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU continues to close in on a full roster for next season. For the second straight week, a new commitment has pledged to the Hoosiers, marking the 12th player to join the squad for next year.

Additionally, Big Ten opponents were announced, all of Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, and the Hoosiers once again had strong attendance. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports in action, which were led by baseball and softball having their seasons end.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds 12th Scholarship Player To Roster

• Big Ten Opponents Announced For Next Season

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-100

• Hoosiers Lead Big Ten In Attendance

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball and Softball Seasons Come To An End

Banner #1: IU Adds 12th Scholarship Player To Roster

IU reportedly added its 12th scholarship player for this coming fall. The Hoosiers have their roster nearing completion and are now filling the last few spots on it.

The addition this week is Justin Monden, a six-foot senior guard, who previously played at Maryland East Shore. Here, he averaged 6 points and 1.2 rebounds for them.

Indiana is not the only squad in the Big Ten that has nearly completed filling out its roster. Nearly every conference foe has also done so.

Banner #2: Big Ten Opponents Announced For Next Season

Speaking of conference foes, IU had its schedule breakdown finalized for Big Ten play. The Hoosiers caught a break with how it lays out as they draw Northwestern and Maryland for double plays to go along with the guaranteed home and home series yearly with Purdue.

Also, when it comes to single plays, Indiana avoids having to go to league powers Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, or Los Angeles, drawing all these squads only at home, along with Ohio State and Rutgers. When it comes to road games, the only tougher venues the Hoosiers will have to visit are Nebraska and Wisconsin. Otherwise, it’s trips to somewhat easier places in Iowa, Minnesota, the Pacific Northwest, and Penn State.

Banner #3: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-100

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in to go with eight transfers (including Monden) and the return of Trent Sisley so far. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

However, all of them are projected relatively highly by 247Sports despite not necessarily being blue chippers, as the class ranks no. 21 nationally. Vaughn Karvala comes in the highest at no. 64 nationally, while the more recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in just behind at. no. 69, and at no. 86 is Prince-Alexander Moodie.

Banner #4: Hoosiers Lead Big Ten In Attendance

While IU generally announces tickets sold when it comes to final attendance, they nonetheless come in very highly nationally in total numbers. With nearly all seats accounted for via season tickets and student sales, Indiana is able to announce sellouts for all the games when school is in session. The only games coming in at less than that are over holiday breaks when the entire student section has to be sold to the general public.

While the total number of people who actually show up at the games appears much lower due to the above, the Hoosiers led the Big Ten in attendance at an average of 15,677 tickets sold per game. This was also good for ninth nationally.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy discusses the Hoosiers portal class.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Also, when it comes to the Hoosiers making media appearances recently, incoming point guard Markus Burton appeared nationally on the Field of 68. Also, ITH put together a highlight package for the recently committed Clemens Sokolov.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Baseball and Softball Seasons Come To An End

• Baseball had arguably its worst season in many years come to an end with a series win over Illinois after Purdue closed out a sweep of IU. Assembly Call was on site against the Illini and Boilers, and wrote about how the talent of the last few years has not matched the results, and whether a player development first model is compatible in college.

• Softball was selected to the Knoxville Regional, going 1-2 overall, beating Northern Kentucky but falling twice to Virginia to close their season. It was another successful one as Shonda Stanton’s squad finished 43-16 overall and made the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.

• Women’s golf closed its season by placing eighth at the NCAA’s Simpsonville Regional. However, junior Sheridan Clancy performed strongly here, coming in as the runner-up of the tournament, and will compete as an individual at the NCAA Championships as a result.

• Men’s soccer added an elite forward from the transfer portal for this coming fall.

• Field hockey announced an addition for next season.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU continues to close in on a full roster for next season. After a couple of weeks without a new commitment, the Hoosiers finally received a pledge from the 11th player to their squad for next year.

Additionally, all of Indiana’s freshmen are highly ranked, the rest of IU’s outgoing transfers have found new homes, and we look ahead to next season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball, awaiting its NCAA Tourney selection later today.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds 11th Scholarship Player To Roster

• All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-150

• Rest Of IU Transfers Find New Home

• 2026-2027 Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Awaits NCAA Tournament Selection

Banner #1: IU Adds 11th Scholarship Player To Roster

While not the splash moves of previous portal additions, IU reportedly added its 11th scholarship player for this coming fall. The Hoosiers already have their primary big men for next season, but they seemingly added a backup here to compete for rotation minutes off the bench.

This addition comes in the form of 19-year-old Clemens Sokolov, who previously played in Europe for Wuerzburg in Germany’s ProB league. Here, he averaged 6.4 points and 5 rebounds for this squad.

Banner #2: All Three IU Incoming Freshmen Ranked In Top-150

The Hoosiers have three freshmen coming in to go with seven transfers (including Sokolov) and the return of Trent Sisley so far. How much this trio of newcomers can contribute remains to be seen.

However, all of them are projected relatively highly by On3/Rivals despite not necessarily being blue chippers as the class ranks no. 20 nationally. The recently signed Trevor Manhertz comes in highest at no. 78 while Vaughn Karvala slides in just behind him at no. 81. Meanwhile, Prince-Alexander Moodie rounds out at no. 101.

Banner #3: Rest Of IU Transfers Find New Home

Jason Drake, Jasai Miles, Josh Harris, Nick Dorn, Andrej Acimovic, and Aleksa Ristic all left IU this offseason and entered the transfer portal. Now all of them have new destinations.

After Harris, Ristic, Drake, and Dorn announced their new schools last week, Miles and Acimovic made there’s known in the last few days. Miles will head to Loyola Marymount while Acimovic will move to Missouri State.

Banner #4: 2026-2027 Season Preview

Projections continue to be high for the Hoosiers next season after their massive transfer portal overhaul. Bart Torvik has the Hoosiers at no. 25 nationally. With the expectations, IU coach Darian Devries spoke to the media about the upcoming year as well as several other topics.

Before the regular season can start, though, Indiana announced another foreign tour over the summer with exhibition games. This time, though, they will represent the USA as a whole in the FISU American Games from July 20 to Aug 1.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Awaits NCAA Tournament Selection

• Softball knocked off Illinois to close its regular season before taking out Washington in the Big Ten Tournament. However, elite Nebraska was too much for them in the semifinals. With that said, at 42-14 and an RPI in the 30’s, IU is expected to hear its name called tonight for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.

• Baseball had arguably its worst week of a bad season. They lost a series to lowly Northwestern and twice blew a late lead to arch-rival Purdue, as their year is all but over with only one more series left.

• Men’s golf finished 16th at the Big Ten Championships.

• Track and field hosted the Billy Hayes Invitational.

• Women’s basketball will compete in a tournament next November in Fort Myers, Florida, against Georgia Tech and Mississippi State. Also, two former Hoosiers made WNBA rosters.

• Volleyball revealed its opponents in conference play for next fall.

• Men’s Soccer alumni will compete in the TST for the fourth straight year.

• Finally, many IU athletes were amongst the students who graduated this weekend.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

A controversial change to the NCAA Tournament appears to be close to implementation for next season. Also, the students are moving closer to the court at Assembly Hall.

Additionally, some of IU’s outgoing transfers have found new homes, and we look ahead to next season. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to play well.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• NCAA Tournament Could Be Expanding To 76 Teams

• IU Students Moving Closing To Court In Assembly Hall

• Several IU Transfers Find New Home

• 2026-2027 Season Preview

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Hits 40 Wins

Banner #1: NCAA Tournament Could Be Expanding To 76 Teams

While not yet official, the NCAA appears ready to finalize an expansion of March Madness for both men’s and women’s basketball. Based on reports, the NCAA Tournament will controversially expand from 68 to 76 teams and go from a ‘First Four’ to a ‘First 12’.

Under the proposal, 24 teams would compete on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, a second site besides Dayton could be added out west.

The Hoosiers have made the NCAA Tournament just twice in the last decade, in 2022 and 2023. However, IU has been among the first teams out frequently. Under this proposed expansion, Indiana likely would have been invited to participate in 2019, 2024, and 2025.

Banner #2: IU Students Moving Closing To Court In Assembly Hall

Through the mid-2000’s, IU’s student section included the bleachers behind the north and south baskets at Assembly Hall. However, a change at this point gave the north basket seats to the general public as premium seating.

For several seasons after students lost these close seats, a ‘stand up old people chant’ was done at times when the opponent shot free throws. However, this quickly faded away as newer generations of students were unaware that these seats once were part of their section.

Now, roughly 20 years later, those north side bleachers behind the basket are being included in the student section again. This will double the student seating on the court area from 600 back to roughly 1,200.

Where the 600 premium season ticket holders previously in these seats are moving to has not yet been announced. However, having more students near the court should improve the Assembly Hall atmosphere and make them more visible to the television cameras.

Banner #3: Several IU Transfers Find New Home

Jason Drake, Jasai Miles, Josh Harris, Nick Dorn, Andrej Acimovic, and Aleksa Ristic all left IU this offseason and entered the transfer portal. Now four of them have announced new destinations.

Harris is moving to Florida Atlantic, Ristic will head to Belmont, and Drake will go to Temple. However, the biggest move announced was that of Dorn late in the week. Dorn will head to Miami (FL), where former Hoosier Malik Reneau had a breakout season in 2025-2026.

Banner #4: 2026-2027 Season Preview

While the NCAA Tournament may be expanding (see above), early projections say IU should be safely in March Madness this time and has high expectations. ESPN projects the Hoosiers at no. 25 for 2026-2027, and several other publications have Indiana in a similar spot.

Several other Big Ten schools project highly as well. However, IU could be amongst the most improved after their elite haul in the transfer portal.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Inside the Hall’s own Josh Pos joined to discuss potential NCAA Tourney expansion.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Hits 40 Wins

• Softball had another huge week, taking a series from Michigan, and knocking off Evansville, and Illinois to reach 40 wins as they cruise towards a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth.

• Baseball fell to Iowa, recovered to beat Louisville, and has split its first two with Northwestern.

• Women’s golf finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and was selected to the NCAA Tournament.

• Track and field competed at the Jesse Owens Classic.

• Rowing won the Dale England Cup for the ninth straight year.

• Wrestling had four Hoosiers place at the U.S. Open.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

Football takes center stage this week with the conclusion of spring ball and a record number of IU players being drafted. Turning to basketball, yet another non-conference opponent was announced, and Indiana is projected in the NCAA Tournament after their massive portal haul.

Additionally, the women’s basketball team added important players from the portal. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to play well.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Spring Practice Concludes For Football As Record Number Of Hoosiers Drafted

• Eastern Illinois Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

• IU Projected As NCAA Tournament Team After Portal Overhaul

• Women’s Basketball Adds Key Players In Transfer Portal

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Play

Banner #1: Spring Practice Concludes For Football As Record Number Of Hoosiers Drafted

Spring football came to a close for the defending national champion Hoosiers with the annual scrimmage as Curt Cignetti’s third version of his squad gets set for this fall. However, the biggest part of the practice was not what occurred on the field, but instead what happened at the same time about 400 miles to the east in Pennsylvania.

This is where the NFL Draft took place, and the IU had QB Fernando Mendoza taken with the number one pick overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. Mendoza was not the only player taken in the first round that night, as WR Omar Cooper went no. 30 to the New York Jets.

The run of Indiana players did not stop in subsequent days, as CB DeAngelo Ponds also went to the Jets and RB Kaelon Black was taken by the San Francisco 49ers on Friday. The final day of the draft doubled that number to eight total.

The four to hear their names called on Saturday were WR Elijah Sarratt to the Baltimore Ravens, TE Riley Nowakowski to the Pittsburgh Steelers, C Pat Coogan to the Tennessee Titans, and LB Aiden Fisher to the Houston Texans. The eight players drafted were the most Hoosiers ever taken in a single year.

Also, six undrafted guys signed free agent contracts, including RB Roman Hemby and WR EJ Williams joining Mendoza in Las Vegas, DE Mikail Kamara joining Black in San Francisco, and S Devan Boykin joining Nowakowski in Pittsburgh. Finally, S Louis Moore inked a deal with the Miami Dolphins, and LS Mark Langston with the Buffalo Bills.

Banner #2: Eastern Illinois Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

As IU filled in its roster this week, another non-conference matchup was announced. The Hoosiers will reportedly host Eastern Illinois on November 2 in their season opener.

The Panthers finished last season 13-20 overall and ranked No. 324 in KenPom. Indiana has won all three previous meetings, most recently in 2024.

This game becomes the fifth piece of the puzzle for the pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule. It joins previously announced contests against Bellarmine, Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Syracuse.

Banner #3: IU Projected As NCAA Tournament Team After Portal Overhaul

After seemingly hitting a grand slam in the transfer portal last week, the projections for next season appear to be much brighter now. The six committed prospects from last week (Markus Burton, Darren Harris, Bryce Lindsay, Jaeden Mustaf, Aiden Sherrell, Samet Yigitoglu) all come in relatively highly in the national rankings and is also amongst the best portal classes in the country.

This infusion of talent moved Indiana into the projected top-25 for 2026-2027. How it plays out on the court remains to be seen, but the Hoosiers are certainly expected to end their three-year NCAA Tourney drought and comfortably make March Madness.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Adds Key Players In Transfer Portal

The IU men were not alone in making a splash in the portal. The Indiana women also made significant additions here.

It was not the entire roster overhaul of their male counterparts. This is due to the fact that the women return three starters and bring in the sixth-ranked high school class in the country.

As a result, the portal is more about filling in around the edges for them. After adding Iowa State’s Alisa Williams the day the portal opened, and Nebraska’s Jess Petrie later, two more key additions were added this week.

These players coming to Bloomington for 2026-2027 both have extensive starting five experience for power five squads in positions of need. One is knock-down shooter Kenzie Hare from Iowa State, while the other is USC PG and defensive specialist Malia Samuels. Also, season tickets are now on sale for next year.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Play

• Softball had another solid week, knocking off Valparaiso and traditional power Michigan as they continue to cruise towards a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth. They did, however, fall to the Wolverines as well as a solid Iowa squad.

• Baseball beat Ball State and Abilene Christian out of conference. However, they lost a series at home to Iowa and are now in serious danger of missing the Big Ten Tourney for the first time in 15 years.

• Men’s tennis fell to Michigan but still qualified for the conference tournament, where they defeated Oregon before falling to Michigan State.

• Men’s golf finished 12th at the Hoosier Collegiate Invitational.

• Track and field competed at the Clark Woods Invite.

• Rowing competed at the Big Ten Invite.

• Wrestling has 10 Hoosiers competing at the U.S. Open.

• Finally, the annual Little 500 saw the Black Key Bulls win for the third straight year in the men’s race, and Alpha Chi Omega take the women’s race.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The roster for next season, which was in its early stages of taking shape last week, is now nearly full and built with high quality players. Also, a non-conference opponent was learned.

Additionally, the women added an important player from the portal, and spring football continues. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing to win.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Has Massive Transfer Portal Week To Build Contender

• Bowling Green Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

• Women Add Key Player In Transfer Portal As Well

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Winning Ways

Banner #1: IU Has Massive Transfer Portal Week To Build Contender

The Hoosiers seemingly hit a grand slam in the transfer portal this week. IU had four top players visit campus last weekend who were transferring. These prospects were Georgia Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf, Duke’s Darren Harris, Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, and Alabama’s Aiden Sherrell.

Not only did Indiana coach Darien DeVries get all four of these players to commit to play in Bloomington next year. He also managed to reel in SMU’s Samet Yigitoglu and Villanova’s Bryce Lindsay before they made it to campus for a visit.

While IU has gotten top players in the portal in previous years, this time it appears to be well constructed, where the needs fit the profile. The biggest of these is Burton, who is a former Indiana Mr. Basketball and gives the Hoosiers a dynamic point guard who is an elite scorer and can run the offense at a high level. This is something the team has not had since Yogi Ferrell’s time in Bloomington.

In Lindsay, IU gets a top three-point shooter for its backcourt, which is critical in Devries’ system. Meanwhile, Yigitoglu is one of the tallest players in program history, and Sherrell complements him as another big man. However, unlike past renditions of Indiana teams using double post players, Sherrell is a stretch four who can step out and shoot threes and should prevent the lane from getting overly clogged.

Whether Mustaf or Harris gets the final starting spot remains to be seen, but both can drive to the basket and knock down shots from deep. Either way, Indiana now has six players coming from high-level programs, and all but Harris averaged double figures at their previous stop. They will join the returning Trent Sisley (Andrej Acimovic has now entered the portal as well) and the four new freshmen in what is the presumed meat and potatoes of the 2026-2027 roster.

This infusion of talent moved Indiana into the top-15 of offseason projections. How it plays out on the court remains to be seen, but this season has both football and basketball with the top transfer classes in the country at IU, per On3 Sports.

Banner #2: Bowling Green Added to Hoosiers’ 2026-2027 Schedule

As IU filled in its roster this week, another non-conference matchup was announced. The Hoosiers will host Bowling Green on either November 27 or 28.

The Falcons finished last season 18-14 overall and ranked No. 144 in KenPom. Indiana has won all three previous meetings, but the teams have not met since 1998.

Also, this game becomes the fourth piece of the puzzle for the pre-Big Ten portion of the schedule. Its joins previously announced contests against Bellarmine, Kentucky, and Syracuse.

Banner #3: Women Add Key Player In Transfer Portal As Well

The IU men were not alone in making a splash in the portal this week. The Indiana women also made a significant addition here.

It was not the multi-player overhaul of their male counterparts. This is due to the fact that the women return three starters and bring in the sixth-ranked high school class in the country.

As a result, the portal is more about filling in around the edges for them. After adding Iowa State’s Alisa Williams the day the portal opened, the squad made a more noteworthy addition this week. This player committing is Nebraska’s Jess Petrie. She averaged double figures for the Cornhuskers last year and is the most impactful get from the portal since Shay Ciezki two years ago.

Speaking of Ciezki, she had a big moment as well this week. She was signed to a training camp contract by the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury after going undrafted during Monday’s draft.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football continues for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich is joined by IU Film Room creator and Greenwood Christian Academy head coach Tony Adragna to discuss Indiana’s transfer portal additions.

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Winning Ways

• Softball continued to dominate, completing a sweep of arch-rival Purdue and rolling past Notre Dame. They also have taken a series from Iowa this weekend, but fell to elite Louisville in a nail-biter during the midweek.

• Baseball had mixed results this week, defeating Indiana State as well as Evansville but falling to Maryland. They have also split their first two with Abilene Christian in this weekend’s series.

• Men’s tennis defeated Nebraska but fell to Michigan State.

• Women’s tennis fell to UCLA as well as USC.

• Water Polo lost to Arizona State to close their season,

• Women’s golf finished sixth in the Buckeye Invitational.

• Men’s golf finished 13th at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate.

• Track and field competed in multiple different invitationals this weekend.

• Wrestling signed a recruit.

• Finally, the Big Ten is adding a conference tournament for volleyball for the first time next fall.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

The roster for next season is in the very early stages of taking shape. Whether it’s outgoing or incoming players, some clarity emerged this week.

Additionally, Michigan won the national championship to end the Big Ten’s title drought, and spring football continues. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball taking a series from arch-rival Purdue.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers Look To Add Players Via Transfer Portal

• IU Loses Several More Players to Portal

• Michigan Wins National Championship To End Big Ten’s Title Drought

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Wins Series Against Arch-Rival Purdue

Banner #1: Hoosiers Look To Add Players Via Transfer Portal

While IU has not added anyone from the transfer portal yet, this weekend features visits to campus as the Hoosiers try to lock down signature players. The biggest of these by far is Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, who will be in Bloomington today for a visit.

Houston was thought to be Indiana’s biggest competition for Burton. However, the Cougars took a commitment from a top-level point guard on Saturday, giving IU a potential clear runway to land their top target.

Besides this, a couple of other prospects were in Bloomington this weekend including Duke’s Darren Harris and Georgia Tech’s Jaeden Mustaf. Other potential targets are South Alabama’s Adam Olsen, Tulane’s Rowan Brumbaugh, and Alabama’s Aiden Sherell, amongst others.

Banner #2: IU Loses Several More Players to Portal

IU had seven players eligible to return, but only two of them will it appears. Trent Sisley and Andrej Acimovic will likely be back wearing Cream and Crimson next fall.

Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, Aleksa Ristic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris all had eligibility to return. However, all five of these guys have announced they will instead enter their names in the transfer portal and depart Bloomington.

Joinging Sisley and Acimovic on the 2026-2027 roster are three incoming freshmen. These players are Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody.

Banner #3: Michigan Wins National Championship To End Big Ten’s Title Drought

The Big Ten continued its year of winning national titles. This is because Michigan and former IU manager Dusty May ended the conference’s long national title drought in men’s basketball by defeating Connecticut to cut down the nets.

In women’s basketball, UCLA dominated South Carolina for the championship. This ended a similar title drought for the league.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football continues for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Wins Series Against Arch-Rival Purdue

• Softball took a series from arch-rival Purdue this weekend. This was after defeating Butler and losing to UCLA.

• Baseball defeated Ball State and Rutgers and has split its first two with Maryland in its weekend series.

• Water Polo lost to UCLA but beat San Jose State.

• Women’s tennis lost to Maryland and beat Penn State.

• Men’s tennis to Northwestern as well as Wisconsin.

• Rowing lost to Texas.

• Track and Field competed in the Crimson Tide Invitational.

• Wrestling signed a recruit.

• Finally, women’s basketball added its first player from the transfer portal.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU announced another signature non-conference game in Indianapolis for next fall. This matchup was learned as the roster for next season is in the very early stages of taking shape.

Additionally, the NCAA Tournament results and spring football has begun. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by baseball getting back in the win column.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds Non-Conference Matchup With Syracuse In Indy

• Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Spring Practice Continues For Football

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Baseball Ends Long Losing Streak

Banner #1: IU Adds Non-Conference Matchup With Syracuse In Indy

As IU looks to next season, a major piece of the non-conference schedule was learned this week. It was already known that the Hoosiers would face Kentucky in their state’s capital city in December.

While that matchup will be in Lucas Oil stadium with a truly neutral atmosphere, Indiana will have a de facto home game against Syracuse at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 9. The contest is a rematch of the 1987 NCAA Championship, which is IU’s last title to date, as well as the 2013 Sweet 16, when the Orange knocked out an elite Hoosier team when they were a one seed.

Syracuse will be coached by Gerry McNamara, who is a program legend but will be debuting next season following recent struggles since Jim Boeheim’s retirement. The Orange are coming off a 15-17 season and have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

Banner #2: Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

The Hoosiers will look to build a stronger roster that can better compete in the Big Ten in 2026-2027 under second-year head coach Darian DeVries. IU has seven players eligible to return, but only three of them (Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, and Trent Sisley) saw time in the rotation this season. Of these, Sisley announced this week he will be back in Bloomington for his sophomore season, while the other two’s plans remain unclear at this moment.

Of the remaining guys with eligibility, Aleksa Ristic was the only other guy with eligibility to see minutes last season, and it was only very sparingly. The other three bodies who can return to the program were injured or redshirting in Andrej Acimovic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris. Other than Drake, who announced this week that he will enter his name in the transfer portal, what happens with these remaining guys remains to be seen.

The other three players who will definitely be on the roster besides Sisley are incoming freshman Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody. Given the losses of their top rotational guys, IU will almost certainly need to fill several spots via the transfer portal with immediate impact guys. The Hoosiers are from alone here, however, and the portal opens this Tuesday officially.

Turning to the women’s side, there is a lot more clarity for Indiana here. While the Hoosiers have lost several players to the portal, including promising freshman Nevaeh Caffey, the return of three starters was confirmed. This includes Maya Makalusky, Zania Socka-Nguemen, and Lenee Beaumont, who are all key pieces going forward.

The program also brings in an elite recruiting class that includes what were the two highest-ranked recruits in program history until this week. This is because IU just received a commitment from an ever higher ranked prospect for 2027 in Finley Parker. Outgoing star Shay Ciezki also hinted at a strong portal class for the team for next season.

Banner #3: NCAA Tourney Results

The NCAA Tournament continued with the Final Four. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual.

However, with that said, there have still been some great games. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it (outside of a brief cameo from Sam Alexis later on), the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and six of them made the Sweet 16, with four on to the Elite 8, and two the Final Four.

The Final Four teams from the conference were Michigan and Illinois. While the Illini were knocked out by Connecticut, the Wolverines dominated Arizona. The two winners will play for the national championship in a game that could have Indiana fans wondering what might have been in an alternate universe.

This is because the Huskies have Hoosier native Braylon Mullins playing a key role, and IU was a finalist for his services. Also, Michigan is coached by former Indiana manager Dusty May.

The Big Ten will look to end long national title droughts in both men’s and women’s basketball in the next couple of days, though. UCLA will face South Carolina for the women’s championship this afternoon, while the Wolverines will take on Connecticut tomorrow night.

Banner #4: Spring Practice Continues For Football

Spring football is just beginning for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Several players and coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after a practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Alex Bozich was joined by Rick Bozich to discuss previous Final Fours.

The Back Home Network has many shows also. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

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And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Baseball finally ended a long losing streak by dominating Rutgers on Friday Night. However, in between that, Nebraska finished a sweep of IU, while the Hoosiers also fell to Evansville and the Scarlet Knights with late collapses. In non-game news, one of Indiana’s games at Northwestern next month was moved to Wrigley Field.

• Women’s tennis beat Rutgers but fell to Nebraska.

• Softball gave elite UCLA a scare before losing twice.

• Men’s tennis lost to top-flight Illinois.

• Water Polo fell to elite Arizona State and Michigan.

• Women’s golf finished third at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

• Men’s golf competed at the Butler Spring Invitational.

• Track and Field competed in the Battle of the Bayou.

• Rowing took part in the Ohio State Regatta.

• Volleyball will take part in the newly created Big Ten vs. SEC Challenge. The program also put season tickets on sale for next fall.

• Finally, women’s basketball assistant coach Rhett Wierzba received an honor.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU introduced a new assistant coach in hopes of a better future. Meanwhile, the NCAA Tourney continues without them, as has happened most of the time in the last decade, with the Big Ten thriving.

Additionally, a look the roster’s current standing for Indiana and spring football begins. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• IU Adds Assistant Coach To Staff

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

• Spring Football Practice Begins

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: IU Adds Assistant Coach To Staff

As IU looks to next season, its bench of assistants is now fully staffed to help build a roster. Louisville assistant Thomas Carr (no relation to new staff member Ryan Carr) will head across the river to Indiana to fill the final spot on the staff that was one short in 2025-2026.

Carr will join Drew Adams, Rod Clark, Kenny Johnson, and Nick Norton as the assistant coaches for 2026-2027. He was an assistant with Pat Kelsey at College of Charleston before following him to be with the Cardinals.

Banner #2: NCAA Tourney Results

The Hoosiers’ season has been over for a couple of weeks after once again failing to secure a spot in March Madness. This was the third straight year and eighth time in 10 seasons IU has found itself in this position.

However, with or without Indiana, the NCAA Tournament continues. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual and no mid-majors in the tournament’s second weekend.

However, with that said, there have still been some great games. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it, the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and six of them made the Sweet 16, with four on to the Elite 8.

Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, and Purdue all made the second weekend, with all but Michigan State and Nebraska advancing. The Illini have already made the Final Four in Indianapolis, and the Wolverines will look to join them today with a matchup against Tennessee. However, the Boilermakers fell to Arizona who will play in Indy as well. The winner of Duke vs. UConn will take the final spot.

Banner #3: Where The Hoosiers Roster Is At

After the late-season collapse, the Hoosiers will look to build a stronger roster that can better compete in the Big Ten in 2026-2027 under second-year head coach Darian DeVries. IU has seven players eligible to return, but only three of them (Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles, and Trent Sisley) saw time in the rotation this season.

Aleksa Ristic was the only other guy with eligibility to see minutes last season, and it was only very sparingly. The other three bodies who can return to Bloomington were injured or redshirting in Andrej Acimovic, Jason Drake, and Josh Harris.

How many of these seven will elect to actually suit up for Indiana remains to be seen. The three players who will definitely be on the roster, though, are incoming freshman Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, and Prince-Alexander Moody.

However, given the losses of their top rotational guys, IU will almost certainly need to fill several spots via the transfer portal with immediate impact guys to have any chance to return to March Madness. The Hoosiers are from alone here, however.

Given the nature of college basketball, almost everyone has to use the portal to compete, including many in the Big Ten. It opens after the National Championship game.

Banner #4: Spring Football Practice Begins

While basketball season has ended, spring football is just beginning for IU. The Hoosiers are back on the field practicing now and looking to defend their national championship. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti spoke with the media after a practice this week.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, IU Film Room’s Tony Adragna discussed what IU needs to do in the transfer portal.

The Back Home Network has many shows also. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. They went 3-1 this week, completing a sweep of Maryland and sweeping Detroit Mercy, which included a no-hitter, while falling to elite Oregon. At 27-7, their RPI sits in the top 60, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Swimming and Diving saw the men finish third nationally at the NCAA Championships.

• Men’s tennis had a huge week, defeating Penn State and rival Purdue.

• Women’s tennis fell to Illinois but upset ranked Iowa.

• Baseball seemed to be gaining momentum, but then lost all four games this week to Minnesota and Indiana State, as well as both contests at Nebraska. Sitting at just 10-16, a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems most likely barring a huge turnaround.

• Water Polo fell to Stanford.

• Track and Field competed in the Raleigh Relays.

• Wrestling signed a player for next year.

• Finally, several former IU baseball players made opening day rosters in the MLB.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU’s basketball season is over, but the NCAA Tourney continues without them, as has happened most of the time in the last decade. With the Hoosiers’ year coming to a close, Inside the Hall had a series wrapping up each player’s campaign.

Additionally, despite the lack of success, Indiana is still one of the most popular college basketball programs, and a look at how its former players did. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• NCAA Tourney Results

• Inside the Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series

• IU Amongst Ten Most Popular College Basketball Programs

• How Former Indiana Players Did This Season

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: NCAA Tourney Results

The Hoosiers’ season is over after once again failing to secure a spot in March Madness as expected. This was the third straight year and eighth time in 10 seasons IU has found itself in this position.

However, with or without Indiana, the NCAA Tournament continues. With NIL seemingly widening the gap between mid-major and power five teams, the competition has featured fewer upsets than usual.

However, with that said, there have still been some thrilling results. Despite the Hoosiers not being a part of it, the Big Ten sent nine teams to the dance, and two of the most exciting games happened early on Thursday involving them. The first was Ohio State losing a nailbiter to TCU, and the other was Wisconsin getting knocked off late in a thriller against High Point, which was the only true ‘Cinderella’ to win in the first round.

However, after these two disappointments, it has been all roses for the conference, with Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State all winning two games to advance to the Sweet 16. Finally, Nebraska seemingly completed its identity swap with IU late on Saturday night to also advance to the second weekend in a terrific blow-for-blow matchup with Vanderbilt. With the Cornhuskers success, the transformation from history to them being a ‘basketball school’ now and Indiana a ‘football school’ seems complete for the moment.

Purdue, UCLA, and Iowa will look to join these four other league programs in the Sweet 16 with games today. In other notable results, Duke nearly became the rare victim of a loss as a one seed in the first round but survived Siena. Meanwhile, their arch-rival, North Carolina, had a complete meltdown against VCU with inexcusable late turnovers. In another blueblood thriller, Kentucky hit a half-court prayer to force overtime and eventually knock off Santa Clara.

The only mid-major squad still with a chance at the Sweet 16 is Utah State, which has a very tall task against top-seeded Arizona today. Lastly, to emphasize the mostly ‘chalk’ results of this year’s tourney so far, budget-rich Texas is the only double-digit seed to advance to the second weekend at this point.

Banner #2: Inside the Hall’s That’s A Wrap Series

With the season now over for IU, Inside the Hall did a series breaking down each of the team’s rotation players in detail. They looked at Trent Sisley, Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey, Conor Enright, Sam Alexis, Tucker DeVries, and Lamar Wilkerson.

Banner #3: IU Amongst Ten Most Popular College Basketball Programs

Despite the struggles, the popularity of IU’s basketball program has seemingly not faded. Using multiple factors, Nielsen ranked the Hoosiers the eighth most popular team in college basketball. Michigan was fourth, Illinois seventh, and Ohio State ninth, as the other Big Ten programs to crack the top-10, with Duke taking the top spot.

Banner #4: How Former Indiana Players Did This Season

11 former Hoosiers competed on other college basketball teams this year. These players were Kaleb Banks (DePaul), Kanaan Carlyle (Florida Atlantic), Gabe Cupps (Ohio State), Logan Duncomb (Winthrop), CJ Gunn (DePaul), Dallas James (Morgan State), Mackenzie Mgbako (Texas A&M), Jakai Newton (Georgia State), Malik Reneau (Miami [FL]) Myles Rice (Maryland), and Bryson Tucker (Washington).

Carlyle, Duncomb, Gunn, and Reneau were by far the most successful, averaging double figures. Team-wise, Cupps, Mgbako, and Reneau made it to March Madness, with Reneau the only one remaining as his Hurricanes look to upset Purdue today.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

Inside the Hall’s Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Crimson Cast’s Scott Caulfield crossed over from the Back Home Network to discuss IU missing the NCAA Tourney again.

The Back Home Network itself has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. After losing to Rutgers, they swept the rest of their results this week, knocking off IU Indy and taking two from Maryland to open that series. At 24-6, their RPI sits around 60, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Baseball had its best week of the spring to date (outside of some unfortunate injury news), knocking off SEC power Vanderbilt on the road and taking two from Minnesota to open that series. Their RPI improved into the top 70 after sitting well outside the top 100 last week. However, sitting at just 10-12, a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems most likely barring a huge turnaround in the second half of the season. Also, the Big Ten announced a new format for the sport’s conference tourney in late May.

• Water Polo beat Pomona-Pitzer and San Jose State but lost to UC San Diego and Cal.

• Women’s tennis beat Minnesota but lost to Northwestern.

• Men’s tennis beat Washington but lost to Ohio State.

• Swimming and Diving saw the women finish seventh nationally at the NCAA Championships.

• Wrestling finished 21st at the NCAA Championships.

• Women’s golf finished fourth at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.

• Men’s golf finished tied for 12th at the Schenkel Invitational.

• Rowing concluded its opening weekend at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational.

• Finally, football will show off its national championship trophy with a tour around Indiana. As a result of the sports success, Scott Dolson was honored as the athletic director of the year by NACDA, and coach Curt Cignetti will drive the pace car at the Indy 500.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment

Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.

IU lost to Northwestern again in the conference tourney, very likely ending their season. As their NCAA Tournament chances are nearly zero, the Hoosiers will head into the offseason looking to build a stronger roster to get back to March Madness in 2026-2027.

Additionally, Lamar Wilkerson was honored by the Big Ten as a bright spot for the year and women’s basketball is on to the offseason as well. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the Hoosier sports in action, which was led by softball continuing its strong start to 2026.

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers’ Season Likely Ends With Another Loss To NW

• NCAA Bracketology

• Wilkerson Honored By Big Ten

• Women’s Basketball Looks To Next Season As Several Enter Transfer Portal

• Weekly Shows

• Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

Banner #1: Hoosiers’ Season Likely Ends With Another Loss To NW

The Hoosiers headed to the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, needing wins to stay alive in their quest for March Madness. Instead, Northwestern stopped IU dead in its tracks in a game that played out nearly identically to Indiana’s loss in Bloomington to the Wildcats a couple of weeks earlier.

IU came out of the gate firing and took a solid lead early. However, the second half was another dead performance for the Hoosiers, and in the end, NW pulled away for a 74-61 victory and their seventh straight win over Indiana.

Afterwards, IU coach Darian DeVries spoke, Ryan Corazza wrote a Minute After and Film Session, Alex Bozich penned Five Takeaways, and Quinn Richards and Josh Pos put together columns about the struggles to close the season.

Banner #2: NCAA Bracketology

By finishing 18-14 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers are almost certainly on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble now. This means they will head into the offseason losers of six of seven games.

With that said, the conference is well-positioned to potentially end its long streak of not winning a national title. The league will send nine teams to the Big Dance, with Michigan and a couple of others being amongst the favorites to cut down the nets.

While IU sat 17-8 in early February and appeared cruising towards March Madness, water found its level to preseason projections, and the team ran out of answers down the stretch. As a result, they will head into the offseason needing to use the transfer portal again to try to fully rebuild into a better squad for 2026-2027, which opens April 7.

Indiana has made the tournament just twice in the last decade, and DeVries and new executive director Ryan Carr will be tasked with trying to improve a flawed roster. They did not create this decade of malaise, but will nonetheless be tasked with building a roster that needs a Big Ten-level point guard and post player, which it lacked this year. Fans are rightfully impatient as recent times have not matched the historic highs this program expects, and supporters have to hope the trio of incoming freshmen and newcomers can turn things around.

Banner #3: Wilkerson Honored By Big Ten

Despite the struggles, the one bright spot was outgoing senior Lamar Wilkerson. He was the one player with a complete skill set and easily able to hold his own in a grueling Big Ten. As a result, the conference honored him on the all-league team.

Banner #4: Women’s Basketball Suffers Season-Ending Loss To Buckeyes In Big Ten Tourney

Women’s basketball’s season is also over. Unlike the men, who have struggled mightily to find their way into March Madness, the women have been a fixture there. While they closed the year strong, winning seven of ten, they will still miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 20017-2018. However, before their long streak in the Big Dance, they made the WNIT multiple times, including winning it once.

While the squad could go back to this secondary competition again, they apparently are declining to do so. As a result, they will not participate in postseason play for the first time since 2014-2015, which was the inaugural season of current coach Teri Moren’s tenure.

While Indiana will not be playing, the Big Ten has an excellent chance to end its long drought of not cutting down the nets. A dozen teams will be headed to March Madness from the league, with UCLA and a couple of others in prime position to claim the trophy.

However, with the men also seemingly declining any form of postseason play, it will be the first time the month of March will not see postseason play for either gender at IU since 2010-2011. The women, however, have a very bright future with the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history and the presumed return of program stalwart Lenee Beaumont and freshmen Maya Makalusky and Nevaeh Caffey, who came on strong in February. They will need to add depth around the edges with three players at the back of the roster entering the transfer portal.

Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel

Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.

The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both

Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.

Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?

Get 20% off at Homefield now

Banner #5: Weekly Shows

The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.

Refer a friend

Do you enjoy The Assembly Call? Please consider sharing our work with other IU fans in your life who you think would appreciate it.

Plus, you get perks (see here) when people sign up using your link.

Refer a friend

Gift subscriptions

And if you want to get generous, consider gifting a premium subscription to the extra special IU fans in your life.

We promise we’ll make it worth their while — and your hard-earned money!

Give a gift subscription

Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Softball Continues Strong Start To Season

• Softball continued its hot start to the season. They knocked off Minnesota last week to take that series and have won the first two over Rutgers this weekend, as well as a midweek game against Loyola Chicago. Their RPI sits around 60 in the NCAA’s first reveal, which is well within range for a fourth straight NCAA Tourney appearance.

• Baseball lost a conference series to woeful Washington. While they did beat Wright State in the midweek, their offense has been ice cold in conference play so far, as they have lost the first two to Oregon as well. They sit well outside the top-100 in the RPI, and a second straight year of missing the NCAA Tourney seems likely barring something unforeseen.

• Wrestling finished tenth at the Big Ten Championships, which is their highest since 2012. They will send six athletes to the NCAA Championships.

• Water Polo beat Princeton but fell to Long Beach State.

• Women’s tennis lost to Wisconsin.

• Men’s tennis fell to USC and Oregon.

• Track and field competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

• Rowing opened its season at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invitational.

• Swimming and diving had many athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships on the women’s side.

• Football saw coach Curt Cignetti and QB Fernando Mendoza receive more postseason honors.

• Finally, IU announced that former athletic director Clarence Doninger passed away.

Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.

Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.

Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor

The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Leave a comment