UCLA is days away from starting its second season in the Big Ten. After capturing seven Big Ten championships during their first year in the conference, the Bruins will look to build upon their inaugural year. Prior to the start of UCLA’s second Big Ten campaign, Daily Bruin Sports will preview football, basketball and other top programs from each school.
Football
2024 record: 11-2, 8-1 Big Ten, College Football Playoff appearance
Coach: Curt Cignetti
Player to Watch: Fernando Mendoza
Indiana has never boasted a particularly good football program.
The squad has not won a Big Ten title since 1967, and the Hoosiers hold the record for the most losses in college football history.
And they had never notched more than nine wins in a single season.
That is, until Curt Cignetti became Indiana football’s head coach prior to the 2024 season.
Cignetti revitalized a program that finished 3-9 in the regular season with just one conference win two years ago. In his first season at the helm, he guided the squad to an 11-2 finish and helped clinch a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Indiana featured a top-tier defense, allowing just 256.3 yards per contest – good for second in the FBS. The squad had an efficient offense as well, with Heisman trophy candidate Kurtis Rourke throwing for 3,042 yards while orchestrating an offense that scored 41.3 points per game, which ranked second in the nation.
Can the Hoosiers replicate their historic 2024 performance? They certainly have a chance.
Coach Curt Cignetti stands with his hands on his hips. (Courtesy of Indiana Athletics)
Indiana sits at No. 22 in the AP Poll after a pair of non-conference wins, defeating Old Dominion 27-14 before rolling past Kennesaw State 56-9 in week two.
But it is still early in the season, and the Hoosiers have much to prove before postseason opportunities arise
Rourke was drafted by the 49ers in the offseason, leaving California transfer Fernando Mendoza to take the reins of the offense. The signal caller has nabbed 438 passing yards and four touchdowns with a 64.3 completion percentage thus far this season.
His primary target is wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, who has recorded 141 receiving yards and a trio of touchdowns. The run-heavy offense has spread carries among Roman Hemby, Lee Beebe Jr. and Kaelon Black, who have rushed for 175, 163 and 149 yards, respectively.
Although Indiana lost co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri to UCLA, the program retained offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan, who was integral to the Hoosier’s 2024 offensive dominance.
The defense has held up thus far, holding opposing squads to 11.5 points and 292.5 yards per contest so far. Defensive back Louis Moore is leading defensive coordinator Bryant Haines’ unit, posting 14 tackles and two interceptions across two games.
But Cignetti has positioned Indiana for a new era of success, whether or not the program musters a playoff run during the 2025 campaign.
Men’s Basketball
2024 record: 19-13, 10-10 Big Ten, Big Ten Tournament appearance
Coach: Darian DeVries
Player to Watch: Tucker DeVries
One would be hard-pressed to find a team facing more offseason turnover than Indiana men’s basketball.
The Hoosiers parted ways with coach Mike Woodson after finishing ninth in the Big Ten and missing the March Madness tournament for the second straight year.
And the entire roster followed him out the door.
Darian DeVries arrived as the new head coach after a 19-13 campaign at West Virginia. Before that, he spent six years at Drake and logged a trio of NCAA tournament appearances.
But Darian DeVries faced the task of rebuilding the entire roster from scratch, since the Hoosiers only returned a pair of walk-ons.
A familiar face followed Darian DeVries to the Hoosiers – his son, Tucker DeVries. The forward has played under his father at every stop, posting career averages of 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest.
And although Tucker DeVries has battled various injuries throughout his career – including an upper body injury that sidelined him for a majority of the 2024-25 campaign – he could be a key weapon for the novel squad.
Forward Tucker DeVries shoots the ball. (Courtesy of Indiana Athletics)
Forward Trent Sisley was the sole freshman recruit that returned to Bloomington. Sisley was a top-100 national recruit in the 2024 Class after netting 1,715 points at Heritage Hills High School.
The Santa Claus, Indiana, local is joined by the No. 10 transfer class in the nation, which forward Reed Bailey and guard Lamar Wilkerson headline. Bailey hailed from Davidson, where he recorded 18.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season, and Wilkerson arrived from Sam Houston State, where he averaged 20.5 points and 4 rebounds per game.
It is hard to predict whether Indiana can climb to the top of the Big Ten in 2025 with so much roster turnover. But given Darian DeVries’ track record of sparking quick turnarounds at both West Virginia and Drake, his rebuilt roster could spark change in Bloomington to reinstate Indiana’s “blue blood” status.
Women’s Basketball
2024 record: 20-13, 10-8 Big Ten, NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance
Coach: Teri Moren
Player to Watch: Shay Ciezki
Quality basketball is a staple in the Big Ten.
But the Hoosiers are on a quest to prove that they belong among the conference’s top contenders.
Coach Teri Moren has helmed the squad for the past 11 years, cementing her status as the program’s winningest coach. Moren has helped lead Indiana to three Sweet Sixteen appearances, one Elite Eight showing and 10 straight 20-plus-win campaigns throughout her coaching stint.
But the Hoosiers posted middling conference stats across the board despite the squad’s solid record and March Madness run. They netted 69.9 points per game and forfeited 64.2 points per contest, good for 13th and eighth in the Big Ten, respectively.
The Hoosiers averaged 7.8 three-pointers per game – the second-best mark in the Big Ten – helping offset their 16th-place finish in overall field goals, posting just 24.9 per contest.
Guard Yarden Garzon, who led the conference with 2.7 3-pointers per game and accumulated 88 perimeter field goals throughout the 2024-2025 campaign, spearheaded this effort. She also led the squad with 14.4 points per game, which solidified her place as the Hoosiers’ offensive cornerstone.
Guard Shay Ciezki dribbles the ball. (Courtesy of Indiana Athletics)
But Garzon transferred to Maryland, and guard Sydney Parrish – who led the crew with 5.5 rebounds per contest and posted 11.6 points per game – graduated, leaving Moren’s squad with important gaps to fill.
Returning guard Shay Ciezki took a sizable offensive role with the Hoosiers last season, recording 11.8 points and 2.8 assists per contest. She is joined by backcourt partner Lenée Beaumont, who will return to the court after missing last season due to a knee injury. Beaumont notched marginal production during her freshman campaign, when she notched 91 points and 16 assists across 30 appearances.
Guard Jerni Kiaku, who averaged 13.2 points per outing at Duquesne last season, headlines Indiana’s transfer class.The Hoosiers also nabbed a pair of four-star freshmen in forward Maya Makalusky and guard Nevaeh Caffey, both of whom could make an immediate impact.
The 2025-2026 campaign ahead will likely test Indiana’s ability to replace experience with fresh talent.