WINS BIG IN SPRING

Baseball

Indiana State baseball completed one of the most successful seasons in program history in the spring of 2023. The Sycamores swept the MVC regular season and tournament championships in advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time overall and third in the last four tournaments.

ISU hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time after being awarded the No. 14 national seed by the NCAA. The Sycamores lived up to the billing as ISU topped Wright State and Iowa (twice) on the way to winning just the second NCAA Regional in program history and first since 1986. The Sycamores advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time since the tournament format changed back in 1999. ISU’s postseason run came to an end against TCU at the Fort Worth Super Regional, but the Sycamores left their mark on college baseball in 2023.

Indiana State finished the regular season ranked in all six major NCAA baseball polls and posted a top-10 RPI for a majority of the year. With a mantra of playing anyone, any time, any place, ISU was the only team in the NCAA RPI top-15 to boast more than 20 road wins on the year. The Sycamores finished the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the nation winning 34 of their last 38 games and did not lose a non-conference game since March 21 with wins over Indiana, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Purdue, and Ball State during the stretch.

Eleven Indiana State athletes were honored on the MVC postseason All-Conference team including MVC Pitcher of the Year Connor Fenlong and Defensive Player of the Year Grant Magill. Head Coach Mitch Hannahs was also voted as the league’s Dan Callahan Coach of the Year by his peers around the league.

(continued on page 24)

Track & Field

Indiana State added another chapter to its storied track and field history, as the Sycamores won the MVC Men’s Outdoor Championship for the second straight year and 12th time in program history.

Kevin Krutsch (high jump), Brett Norton (shot put) and Shomari Rogers-Walton (triple jump) all won individual titles for the Trees, who accumulated 186 points, while Angela Martin was named the MVC Coach of the Year. ISU also earned its first No. 1 regional ranking in program history and was in the top five in the region for nearly the entire season.

Krutsch, Trevor Thompson and Lawrence Mitchell swept the high jump podium, while Norton and Wyatt Puff went 1-2 in the shot put. As a team, Indiana State collected 16 allconference honors on the men’s side, earned six all-conference honors on the women’s side and placed third in the women’s team standings with 115 points.

The Sycamores also shined on the big stage, earning 15 entries into the NCAA East First Round. Will Staggs (pole vault) and Ryann Porter (triple jump) were named Honorable Mention All-Americans after top-20 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships. Staggs and Porter also were stellar in the classroom and earned the MVC’s Elite 17 Awards, which go to athletes with the highest GPA and finishes at the conference championships.