[6BS] Hoosiers' Offseason Taking Shape
Michigan Wins National Championship To End Big Ten's Title Drought
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?
Banner #5: Weekly Shows
The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air many times this week with programming.
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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.
In a world where size seems to once again matter, I’m disappointed to see that none of the named portal targets fit that bill.