Indiana high school basketball player rankings: Top 20 in-state prospects in Class of 2027
Good luck finding a player who can get coast-to-coast faster than the 6-1 Gardner Jr., the son of 1999 Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner of North Central. He led Fishers in scoring and assists as a sophomore, averaging 14.5 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds for a team that nearly won a second consecutive state title, coming up one point short to Jeffersonville in the Class 4A championship to finish 30-1. Gardner's offer list includes Cincinnati, Creighton, DePaul, Indiana, IU Indy, Morehead State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Texas and UNLV. Gardner, ranked No. 25 in the country by 247Sports, already has 653 career points with two seasons to go.
The 7-foot Hill is a tantalizing talent who shot up to No. 49 in the country in the latest 247Sports national rankings for the 2027 class. Hill, who averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocked shots as a sophomore for Pike, has offers from Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville, Purdue, Syracuse and TCU. It will be interesting to see how long Hill keeps his recruitment open. The Boilermakers seem to have been ahead of the rest of the field up to this point.
Top Indiana seniors: Top 25 in-state prospects in Class of 2026
The more I watch the 6-3 point guard play, the more I like his game. Miller led Pike in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 17 games. He shot from the perimeter at a high rate (42.2% from 3-point line) and connected on 80% from the free-throw line. Miller was offered in June by Appalachian State, Oklahoma State and Toledo. Before his sophomore year at Pike, he was offered by Alabama and Radford.
The 6-3 combo guard was outstanding at the Charlie Hughes Shootout with his Plainfield team, going for 32, 31 and 27 points in games against South Bend St. Joseph, Silver Creek and Cathedral. Baker-Lands averaged 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds as a sophomore, helping the Quakers to a 16-8 season. Baker-Lands has offers from Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Tulane. I would expect plenty more for Baker-Lands if he continues to play like he did in June.
If you don't like the way the 5-10 Zachary plays, I don't think we can be friends. His confidence and knowledge gives him an edge on opponents nearly every time he takes the court. Zachary averaged 11.2 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore, shooting an outstanding 49.7% from the 3-point line (82-for-165). Zachary and Gardner are a combined 59-2 in two seasons at Fishers with a 4A state title and runner-up. Has offers from Ball State, Cal-State Bakersfield, Eastern Illinois, Kent State, Nevada and Toledo.
The 6-7 Welker is a name to watch in the coming year. I liked how he played in the Futures Game, going for 13 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. Welker averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a sophomore for the 22-6 Class 4A regional champions. He shot 42% from the 3-point line. He has offers so far from Indiana Tech and Saint Francis.
The 6-3 King was one of the standouts of the Charlie Hughes Shootout for defending Class 3A state champion South Bend St. Joseph, which will be moving up to 4A this season. King was second on the team in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 34.8% from the 3-point line (57-for-164). King has Division I interest.
The 6-3 Cross proved to be one of the state's top sophomores last season as he averaged 16.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game for the Class 4A Cougars, who finished 7-17. Cross shot 38.6% from the 3-point line (49-for-127). He picked up offers in June from Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. Cross and Levi Lindeman will give the Cougars a tough 2027 combo.
Elite passer. The 6-3 point guard is one of the best passers on this list — or any list. Hunter averaged 9.4 points, 7.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds as a sophomore for a Silver Creek team that finished 22-5 and should go into next season as one of the top contenders in Class 3A. Hunter did not shoot a lot from the perimeter but was beyond productive when he did, going 19-for-35 from the 3-point line.
The 6-6 Lampley can make it look so easy. As a freshman at Tindley, he averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He played in just a few games at Lawrence Central last year before leaving the team and eventually transferring to Pike. He picked up an offer from Rutgers prior to his sophomore season. Lampley definitely has the potential to have a breakout junior season.
The 6-11 McKinney has a chance to be a breakout player in this class for the upcoming season. McKinney averaged 5.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots as a sophomore for Class 3A Brebeuf, which finished 14-9. McKinney played well at the Top 100 Underclass Showcase.
The 6-7 Vise was one of the players who stepped his game up during Mt. Vernon's run to the Class 4A regional championship in a 21-6 season. Vise was 23-for-31 from the field during the tournament. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the season and shot 65% from the field, including 8-for-18 from the 3-point line.
The 6-3 guard averaged 5.1 points per game as a sophomore for Warren Central, shooting 38% from the 3-point line. Craig transferred to Lawrence Central in June. Craig is a long, physical guard who is capable of being a good defender for the Bears. He had 15 points and four assists in the Futures Game.
The 6-7 Bolden had a big sophomore season as he averaged 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots for a Class 2A team that finished 18-7. He shot 77% from the field and improved his free-throw shooting to 67%. It will be interesting to see how Bolden continues to improve and expand his game.
The 6-10 Vandegriff averaged 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 20 games as a sophomore for the Shamrocks. Like a lot of interior players at this age, Vandegriff's best basketball is still ahead of him. Vandegriff can get up and down the floor and block shots and rebound. He has also a nice touch when he gets the ball around the basket.
The 6-3 Grissom had one of the best sophomore seasons in Central Indiana, averaging 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game for the 23-5 Golden Eagles, a Class 3A sectional champion. Grissom is definitely capable of shooting better from the 3-point line (28.1% last season). He led his team with 18 points in the Futures Game (3-for-6 from 3-point line).
The 6-2 Hogue is coming off a season that saw him average 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. An area of improvement will be his outside shooting (27.5% last season). I really liked Hogue's game when I saw him at the Futures Game. He went for 14 points, four assists and four rebounds, tossing a nice alley-oop to Isaiah Hill of Pike.
The 6-5 Lindeman had an outstanding performance at the Charlie Hughes Shootout. The son of former IU player Todd Lindeman and younger brother of Luke, a senior last year for Bloomington North, averaged 9.9 points and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore. Lindeman shot 31% from the 3-point line last season.
The 6-6 Miamba is definitely talented enough to go much higher on this list. He is long and athletic and has the potential to be an outstanding defender. Miamba transferred to the Class 3A state champions from Penn after a sophomore season that saw him average 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He shot 29.6% (24-for-81) from the 3-point line.
The 6-4 Bellamy transferred from North Central to Lawrence Central going into his junior season. The two-year varsity player averaged 7.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game last season for the Panthers, who won the Marion County tournament. In two seasons, he has shot 33.8% (23-for-68) from the 3-point line.
∎ Brody Baker, Harrison (West Lafayette): The 6-1 guard, a transfer from McCutcheon, was one of the top scoring guards in the state last season (20.2 ppg, 3.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists). Had 12 points in the Futures Game.
∎ Brandon Day, Brownsburg: The 6-4 Day played well at the Charlie Hughes Shootout and has a chance to be a difference-maker for the Bulldogs as a junior. He played mostly junior varsity as a sophomore.
∎ Chase Devine, Bremen: The 6-2 shooting guard tied Bremen's single-season scoring record as he averaged 22.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals as a sophomore. Shot 34.7% from the 3-point line for the Class 2A Lions.
∎ Kyle Edwards, Whiteland: The 6-4 Edwards is the younger brother of UIndy commit Ethan Edwards, a senior last season for the sectional champion Warriors. Kyle Edwards averaged 7.4 points and 3.2 rebounds as a sophomore, shooting 33.3% (23-for-69) from the 3-point line.
∎ Jackson Gordon, Brownsburg: The 6-9 Gordon, the younger brother of girls Indiana All-Star and Purdue commit Avery Gordon, will be a name to watch for Brownsburg. Played in 10 varsity games last season as a sophomore. Nice touch around the basket.
∎ Joshua Henderson, University: The 6-6 Henderson, the son of former IU player Alan Henderson, returned from injury to help the Trailblazers to the Class 2A state finals, averaging 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 16 games.
∎ A.J. Jones, Crispus Attucks: The 5-8 Jones is one of the quickest players in the class. He averaged 5.7 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 rebounds as a sophomore.
∎ Kendrick Martin, Liberty Christian: The 6-3 Martin averaged 15.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore. Had 12 points and five rebounds in the Futures Game in June.
∎ Ryan Miller, Tri-West: The 6-1 Miller knows how to play. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals as a sophomore, shooting 38.3% (54-for-141) from the 3-point line.
∎ Carter Murans, Guerin Catholic: The 6-7 Murans averaged 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds as a sophomore, shooting 10-for-31 from the 3-point line. Older brother Dylan is going into his second season at Army.
∎ Vince Nover, Carmel: The 6-4 Nover looks like a good candidate for a breakout season after his performance at the Charlie Hughes Shootout. Nover played in 11 games last year for Carmel on the varsity team.
∎ Griffin Ott-Large, LaPorte: The 6-1 Ott-Large was one of the highest-scoring sophomores in the state, averaging 16.9 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds. He shot 33.7% from the 3-point line.
∎ Trey Page, Sheridan: The 6-1 Page averaged 16.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.8 assists per game for the 16-6 Blackhawks. Page shot 38.6% from the 3-point line (71-for-184).
∎ DaKori Parker, South Bend Washington: The 5-10 Parker can really go. Strong and explosive player who averaged 14.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals as a sophomore. Shot 36% from 3-point line.
∎ Kamdon Partenheimer, Forest Park: The 6-7 Partenheimer is a versatile player who averaged 11.4 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore for a 19-7 team that won a Class 2A regional title. Shot 34% from the 3-point line.
∎ Ketron Paschall, Fort Wayne Snider: The 6-5 Paschall is a strong interior presence on both ends of the floor. Paschall was impressive at the Charlie Hughes Shootout. He was one of the top rebounding sophomores in the state, averaging 8.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots. He shot 64% from the field.
∎ Landon Reed, Floyd Central: The 6-3 Reed was one of the highest-scoring sophomores in the state, averaging 16.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the 5-19 Highlanders. Reed shot 34.4% from the 3-point line.
∎ Griffyn Robisch, Park Tudor: The 6-6 Robisch is definitely capable of making a jump into the top-20. Has a lot of upside. Averaged about 4 points and 4 rebounds per game as a sophomore, shooting 34% from 3.
∎ Austin Schlabach, Westview: I was really impressed with the 6-1 guard at the Charlie Hughes Shootout. Can shoot it from the perimeter and a good athlete. Averaged 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists for an 18-8 Class 2A team.
∎ Branden Sharpe, Brownsburg/Kaleb Elkins, Warren Central: I put these two here because both will be football players in college but are also dazzling talents in basketball. The 6-1 Sharpe, a wide receiver, averaged 4.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals as a sophomore. The 6-3 Elkins, a safety, averaged 9.5 points as a sophomore.
∎ Nash Sigmund, Decatur Central: The 6-1 Sigmund is one of the best shooters in the class. He averaged 9.8 points and 1.7 rebounds as a sophomore, shooting 36% (58-for-161) from the 3-point line. Sigmund lit it up at the Charlie Hughes Shootout.
∎ Klinton South, Center Grove: The 6-1 South is a physical guard who played a major role last year for the 11-12 Trojans, averaging 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds on 40% shooting from the 3-point line.
∎ Bles'sed Thomas, Crispus Attucks: The 6-foot guard transferred from Tech to Crispus Attucks after a sophomore season that saw him average 13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Thomas shot 38% (22-for-58) from the 3-point line.
∎ Jace Tonagel, Oak Hill: The 5-11 guard, the son of Indiana Wesleyan coach Greg Tonagel, averaged 19.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game as a sophomore for 17-7 Oak Hill. Tonagel already has 823 career points.
∎ Michael Woods, Hammond Morton: The 6-foot guard averaged 15.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a sophomore for a 7-17 team. Woods shot 38.8% (31-for-80) from the 3-point line.
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New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
How Notre Dame became a more durable national title contender for college football's new era
Editor's note: This article is part of the Program Builders series, focusing on the behind-the-scenes executives and people fueling the future growth of their sports. SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Six months after Notre Dame played for a national championship, Pete Bevacqua turned the floor over to Marcus Freeman. The athletic director greenlit the head coach to ask for anything he wanted. Flanked by deputy athletic director Ron Powlus and general manager Mike Martin at a sitdown in mid-July, Bevacqua wanted to know how the football program could make national title runs more frequently than once per decade. He wanted to know what Notre Dame required to win it all for the first time in 37 years, the longest gap between titles in school history. Advertisement But what could Freeman want? Notre Dame's indoor practice facility has been here barely longer than he has. Its stadium renovations aren't quite a decade old. Shields Hall, the future 150,000-square-foot home of the football operations center, will open next year. Notre Dame just re-signed with NBC at a dollar figure high enough to keep the program independent yet competitive with power-conference foes pulling in north of $50 million per year. Freeman already has an eight-figure contract extension of his own. And the College Football Playoff keeps rewriting its rules in Notre Dame's favor, giving it access to a first-round bye and potentially better at-large odds if the field expands. 'We have what we need,' Bevacqua said. 'Are you gonna play in the national championship game every year? No. Unfortunately, there's too many good teams. But we're gonna keep knocking on that door. 'We have to win national championships in football.' Bevacqua opens meetings by talking about Notre Dame winning a national title, which last happened before he was a freshman student from Connecticut. To administrators, donors and trustees, that's no small change in messaging for a program that has historically gotten in its own way. Ten years ago, school president Rev. John Jenkins was profiled in the New York Times, stating Notre Dame would opt out of big-time college football if the sport moved toward a pay-for-play model. As Jenkins spoke, bulldozers were already working on the $400 million renovation to Notre Dame Stadium, dubbed the Campus Crossroads Project. Notre Dame was slow in adopting pathways for players to enroll a semester early because the administration was concerned about the practice's impact on freshman orientation. Now the school is comfortable changing its academic calendar to accommodate the College Football Playoff. Advertisement Former athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Notre Dame would never have taken its football and gone home, but the school was right to attempt to lead the sport away from its current state of barely regulated name, image and likeness money. It failed. But it was worth a try. 'Wherever the bar moved to, we were gonna move,' Swarbrick said. 'You advocate for the position you'd like to see occur, but in the background you're always saying we're not gonna let Notre Dame football fail.' Yet avoiding failure is not the same thing as winning a national title. There's catching lightning in a bottle for one season, and then there's pouring the foundation on something more durable. That starts with Notre Dame's holy trinity of football buildings: a renovated stadium, an indoor practice facility and a new operations center. Two of those projects are done, and the third could be by the time Notre Dame opens Freeman's fifth season as head coach at Lambeau Field against Wisconsin in 2026. They are all part of the reason Notre Dame believes it can now produce College Football Playoff runs in perpetuity. It might seem like Notre Dame has everything to hold its reservation at college football's adult table for the long run — acknowledging that every coach wants more NIL funding. But faith in where Notre Dame football is headed doesn't require a Hail Mary anymore, and every little bit still helps. The Mendoza College of Business sits off the southwest corner of Notre Dame Stadium and is under construction, like much of the campus. Overhead, the building is shaped like a capital H. When it's done, it will look more like a capital A. Considering the school's profile around Notre Dame, the alphabetical metaphor probably fits. Namesake Tom Mendoza is an ardent supporter of the football program and helped start Notre Dame's NIL collective with Brady Quinn. Business remains one of the most popular majors, both around the campus and within the football team. When the school started a sports analytics program four years ago, it did so with athletes' schedules in mind. Then the faculty made sure the football staff knew about it. When Freeman took the head coaching job, one of his early meetings was a fireside chat with Mendoza College dean Martijn Cremers. But Cremers didn't come to the football facility to talk in front of the team. Freeman went to the business school to talk in front of the student body. Advertisement 'If you went in a laboratory and designed the perfect coach for Notre Dame, it would be Marcus Freeman,' Bevacqua said. 'He's become not just the football coach at Notre Dame, he's become such a part of this university and this campus.' The path by which Notre Dame positioned itself to keep competing for championships didn't start in the business school, but it can be explained there. Among the theories taught and employed at Mendoza is the Flywheel Effect, popularized in the book 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins. Without knowing it, Notre Dame football has made this theory an operating principle. As Collins describes it, imagine a massive wheel mounted on an axle. The job is to get this heavy wheel to spin at a high speed. One push won't do it. Not two. Not 10. Maybe not 100. But once the wheel spins with force, it creates its own momentum. It won't be stopped by minor obstructions (i.e. injuries, staff turnover, even losses). There's no way to know which push was most important in the flywheel reaching this self-sustaining velocity. It's just obvious when it does. The Notre Dame football flywheel is spinning, both inside the program and beyond its walls. As Freeman has grown into the job, the admissions office has become more of a partner with the football program, both in high school recruiting and the transfer portal. Irish coordinator salaries have almost tripled in the past six years. NIL is no longer a roadblock to player acquisition or retention; in general, the Irish don't lose talent they want to keep and rarely miss on portal targets they're desperate to sign. When Freeman needed a new strength coach a year ago, Notre Dame funded an NFL hire. When injuries rocked the Irish roster last season, the program didn't seem to miss a beat. When Bevacqua extended Freeman last December, days before the first-round game against Indiana, he paid him like a coach expected to make the national title game. When Freeman needed a new running backs coach last winter, he pulled Penn State's Ja'Juan Seider, the only position coach in college football with a group better than the Irish. When Notre Dame football needs resources, it doesn't go wanting. Some of this started under Brian Kelly, who professionalized the program to the point it could take a chance on a first-time head coach. Swarbrick got Notre Dame into the right rooms in the construction of the College Football Playoff. Bevacqua got it on the right golf courses, counting Donald Trump, Roger Goodell and Greg Sankey as playing partners this summer. When Notre Dame needed to meet the school's 100-75 fundraising rule for Shields Hall — before breaking ground on a large capital project, 100 percent of the money must be committed and 75 percent must be in hand — the development office went into warp drive before the end of Jenkins' presidential term on June 1, 2024. Dirt moved with six weeks to spare. Advertisement Freeman didn't start this wheel spinning, but he helped it achieve inexorable momentum last winter by beating Georgia and Penn State in a seven-day span. The Sugar Bowl was Notre Dame's first major bowl win in 31 years. The Orange Bowl felt like something bigger, the program's most significant win since the 1993 Game of the Century against Florida State. 'The Georgia win changed everything,' said Mendoza, who watched the Orange Bowl alongside Tony Rice, Notre Dame's last national championship-winning quarterback, and Tim Brown, its last Heisman Trophy winner. 'Notre Dame used to think it could win. Maybe it knew it could win. Now it expects to win. Marcus can sell playing for a national championship and everything else that comes with it at Notre Dame. The kids feel it. The players we're attracting feel it.' Freeman stood at the 50-yard line on a Saturday night in mid-June as Notre Dame hosted 21 official visitors. A dozen of the recruits were already committed. Nine were still up for grabs. Before Freeman talked, the players and their parents — a group that included NFL alumni Larry Fitzgerald, Thomas Davis and Jermichael Finley — watched a video on the stadium's screen showing the parents of former players, including Riley Leonard's, talking about the Notre Dame experience. Within a month, eight of the uncommitted prospects had picked Notre Dame. By the end of summer, the Irish had landed 11 of the 12 uncommitted prospects they'd hosted for official visits, including two 247Composite five-stars in cornerback Khary Adams and tight end Ian Premer. The biggest reasons why Notre Dame believes it can keep knocking on the CFP door are still in high school. With 27 commitments for 2026, Freeman is on track to sign the program's highest-rated recruiting class in 13 years. The Irish are yet to suffer a decommitment after watching 18 walk over the previous three cycles. 'You go into the semifinals game and you're losing starters, putting backups in,' Freeman said, 'but if you don't have the depth that you can put somebody in and get the job done, then all of a sudden that becomes a hole and it becomes a deficiency and you lose.' Advertisement Notre Dame could have fumbled away the goodwill of last season when general manager Chad Bowden left for USC in February. From the start of the CFP to the start of spring practice, Notre Dame landed two commitments, both on the offensive line, hardly a position that requires a recruiting full-court press. Notre Dame also lost presumptive recruiting director Caleb Davis to San Diego State. When Freeman tabbed Mike Martin from the Detroit Lions to become general manager — after an aggressive pursuit of James Blanchard from Texas Tech — he rebooted the recruiting operation alongside new director of recruiting Carter Auman, who graduated from Notre Dame during Freeman's first offseason as head coach. Organization picked up. For all Bowden's energy, he had a habit of giving little warning of what he needed and when he needed it. That start-up approach, move fast and break stuff, had worked. It also felt like the Irish were due for something new. After last season, the program was no longer a startup. It wanted to be a Fortune 500 company. So it had to act like one. There are no leprechaun costumes or gold boomboxes anymore. There's talk of branding and generational wealth, ideas floated about how Notre Dame can become business partners with its players. When Martin sets up calls for professors, alumni or former players with prospects, he produces one-page overviews that include other schools in play, GPA, and parents' professions. They arrive in advance. There's even a text chain for prospects' moms. The entire operation feels buttoned up. 'It's getting the talent,' Bevacqua said. 'Fingers crossed, knock on wood, we are firing on all cylinders right now with recruiting.' And National Signing Day is still four months away. Televisions line the second floor of Notre Dame's indoor practice facility, a gathering space that overlooks the field below. During the second week of August camp, the screens replay Notre Dame's run through the CFP, with highlights of wins against Indiana, Georgia and Penn State. Everyone knows how it all ended against Ohio State. The longest season in school history still lingers around here, as much as Freeman would prefer it didn't. Advertisement 'They're valuable lessons that you learn from last year, but I continue to remind them: 2024 has nothing to do with this 2025 team,' Freeman said. 'Yes, let's utilize the lessons. Let's utilize some of those good and bad things that we learned from last year, but you do that no matter what the previous experience was. They understand that. 'We try to stop talking about that '24 year.' Good luck with that. The last time Notre Dame made the national championship game, the hangover was harsh. So was the realization the Irish weren't as close to the mountaintop as they appeared before kickoff of that 42-14 loss to Alabama. Kelly interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles, starting quarterback Everett Golson got suspended after spring practice and the program was out of the title chase by late September. Notre Dame ended that season against Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Ohio State game felt different. So did everything leading up to it. But when it came for Notre Dame's title shot, the team on the other sideline still had the most talent. 'I would point to depth as the No. 1 difference now,' Swarbrick said. 'Our first D-line was really good that year. Alabama's third D-line was really good. It was all the difference in the world. 'Sport always exposes your weaknesses. If your nutrition program isn't right, if your strength conditioning program isn't right, If recruiting doesn't produce the quality of player and the depth, it always gets exposed. And I think the program is as solid across the board as any time in my memory.' Notre Dame will begin its difficult encore at No. 10 Miami on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. It will have the national stage to itself, with a first-time starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator. The Irish added five potential starters in the transfer portal. Behind the practice fields, Shields Hall continues to go up, windows added, bricks laid. The facility stretches an entire block. Advertisement For the first time in a long time, Notre Dame enters a season where winning a national title doesn't feel like a rote talking point. The Irish are betting favorites to return to the CFP and win double-digit games. If they get there, Freeman can lean into last season's experiences. So can his roster. Whether he wants to talk about it in August or not. 'To win a national championship in any sport, you gotta be good; we're good,' Bevacqua said. 'You gotta stay healthy. And no matter how good you are, you're gonna have to get lucky a couple of times. But I really feel we're positioned to keep knocking on that door. 'There is no secret, no doubt, no hesitation that we want to win national championships in football.' The wheel keeps spinning. Program Builders is part of a partnership with Range Rover Sport. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
No. 20 Indiana Hoosiers are chasing another historical season in 2nd season under Curt Cignetti
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Indiana Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti is starting anew this season with a familiar playbook. His new starting quarterback has experience and an all-conference resume. He's plugged other holes thanks to the transfer portal. He might even challenge Google to update his bio: Cignetti still wins. While it took 11 wins and a historical first season in Bloomington, Indiana, to prove himself to a national audience, the Associated Press Coach of the Year isn't talking about an encore or his team's No. 20 preseason ranking. He'd rather rewrite Indiana's record books again. 'That's the main reason I came here,' new quarterback Fernando Mendoza said in the spring. 'He's an offensive mind, he holds everyone to a high standard, his program always wins and those are two things I want — to be held to a high standard and win.' For Cignetti, this is standard operating procedure. He helped two transfers each earn conference player of the year honors in his last two seasons at James Madison then used another, Kurtis Rourke, to deliver the most successful season in Indiana history. Rourke a second team all-Big Ten pick, was drafted in April. Mendoza might be the best of the bunch, though. Last season at Cal, he completed 68.7% of his throws and had the ninth 3,000-yard season in school history while his TD total increased from 14 to 16 and his interceptions dropped from 10 to six, putting him squarely in the mix to be a first-round pick. His younger brother, Alberto, is a backup quarterback. Now the Hoosiers need Cignetti and Mendoza to show they can continue to win as they chase a Big Ten title and a playoff spot for the second straight year. 'This year's team has a lot of nice pieces, I would use that term pieces,' Cignetti said in July. 'Now we've got to mold this group into a team. I like a lot of the parts. We've got to get them all thinking alike, all buying into the team vision.' Standing pat In an era where player movement is the norm, Indiana is the only Big Ten team with three first-team all-Big Ten players back — linebacker Aiden Fisher, defensive end Mikail Kamara and receiver Elijah Sarratt. All three followed Cignetti from James Madison. 'Once I got over the hump of realizing I can play here, I can ball here, it was just a mental game,' said Kamara, whose 10 sacks ranked fourth in the league. 'Once we played Maryland, Nebraska, I was like, 'All right, I can do this.'' Line 'em up Indiana's offensive line is experienced, too. Starters Carter Smith and Drew Smith, who missed the final four games of 2024 with a torn Achilles tendon, are back at left tackle and left guard. Former starter Kahlil Benson also returns after spending last year at Colorado. Cignetti even found a replacement for graduated center Mike Katic — Pat Coogan, a 13-game starter on Notre Dame's CFP runner-up team. 'I can't say I imagined my career going this way,' Coogan said. 'But I'm glad it did because I'm super glad to be here.' The schedule Cignetti canceled a future home-and-home series with Virginia. Why? He wants to follow the SEC's scheduling model by playing more non-power conference teams. Scheduling critics won't like Indiana's early schedule — Aug. 30 against Old Dominion followed by Kennesaw State and Indiana State on Sept. 12. Avoiding No. 3 Ohio State and No. 14 Michigan also makes the Big Ten looks manageable. Indiana visits Iowa in September, No. 7 Oregon in October and No. 2 Penn State in November. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: and
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
New Purdue coach Barry Odom tries to make school's big investment pay off with dramatic turnaround
Three years after playing for a Big Ten title, the Purdue Boilermakers are starting over. They hope to snap the FBS' second-longest losing streak at 11, want to prove last season's 1-11 mark was the aberration and are counting on a new coaching staff and a flurry of transfers to quickly restore the luster to the Cradle of Quarterbacks. It's quite a responsibility for new coach Barry Odom but he says he is already seeing progress. 'The habits are starting to show up,' he said early in summer camp. 'We're not making the same mistake two days in a row. We're seeing some physicality at the line of scrimmage, both sides, and that's good to see.' Odom knows the signs after putting UNLV's moribund program on the national map with the first back-to-back bowls in school history. This job seems equally daunting following a forgettable season. Purdue had the two worst losses in school history and was the only Power Four school with fewer than two wins. Before hiring Odom, athletic director Mike Bobinski promised to invest fully in the new pay-for-play college world and Odom has made it pay off. While some mainstays left, most notably All-American safety Dillon Thieneman, lOdom added an FBS-high 51 transfers and has 82 new players. Other programs have successfully navigated massive transitions and now Odom is trying to help Purdue join the list. 'The whole locker room, even with the fresh set of guys, we've all come together fast,' said running back Devin Mockobee, the Boilermakers' only returning starter. 'I think we're just a solid unit of guys, not just a bunch of individuals trying to play by themselves. So we talk about expectations, the expectation is to win.' Mock 4 Mockobee arrived on campus as a walk-on and earned his scholarship after breaking Purdue's freshman rushing record. Now Mockobee is chasing the Boilermakers career mark. He enters this season needing 534 yards to become the fourth 3,000-yard rusher in school history and 1,170 yards to surpass Mike Alstott (3,635) for No. 1 'It's about grit,' Mockobee said. 'It's about getting that extra yard when other guys aren't going to fight for it and doing that on a consistent basis.' Five for the show Five players were competing for the starting quarterback job including Odom's son Gary, a true freshman. Three transfers — Evans Chuba of Washington State, Malachi Singleton of Arkansas and Bennett Meredith of Arizona State — took snaps in spring practice. Ryan Browne made two starts last year and rejoined the mix this summer after playing spring ball at North Carolina. Odom said his decision ahead of the Aug. 30 season opener against Ball State would be based on several factors. 'We want to take care of the ball, move the ball, execute on third downs, score points,' he said. 'We want to play with mental strain, extra effort, toughness and competitiveness.' COVID hangover One lesson Odom took out of the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of training players to perform at multiple positions. Back then, the defensive coordinator did it out of necessity because of the uncertainty who might be available. Since then, Odom continued cross-training players because he thought it made those players better. The schedule Schedule-makers didn't make it any easier this year for Purdue than last year. The Boilermakers open league play by hosting Southern Cal in Week 3. They visit No. 6 Notre Dame in Week 4 and after a manageable October have four brutal November games — trips to No. 14 Michigan and Washington sandwiched around a home game against No. 3 Ohio State. They also host No. 20 Indiana in the traditional season finale. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
