Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt continues to list Indiana as one of the teams secure in hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional and lists the Hoosiers as one of the teams that are on the bubble but just out in hopes of gaining one of the eight national seeds, which bring with them the right to host both the regional and super regional rounds. Fitt says Louisville would now be the last team to take one of those eight, but that the Hoosiers could leap frog the Cardinals if they stumble in the Big East Tournament and the Hoosiers win it.

Regular season champion Indiana was well-represented on the All-Big Ten teams, released Tuesday afternoon. Redshirt sophomore Aaron Slegers was named Pitcher of the Year and Tracy Smith was named Coach of the Year. Catcher Kyle Schwarber and third baseman Dustin DeMuth and outfielder Scott Donley were all All-Big Ten first team picks. First baseman Sam Travis and pitchers Joey DeNato and Scott Effross were All-Big Ten second team picks. Shortstop Michael Basil and closer Ryan Halstead were named to the third team. Effross, starting pitcher Will Coursen-Carr and second baseman Nick Ramos were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. The Big Ten release follows.

PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big Ten announced on Tuesday the 2013 baseball individual award winners and All-Conference teams. Illinois’ Justin Parr was named Player of the Year and Kevin Duchene earned Freshman of the Year honors, while Indiana’s Aaron Slegers was tabbed Pitcher of the Year and Tracy Smith took home Coach of the Year laurels.

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Indiana senior shortstop Michael Basil, instrumental throughout the weekend series at Ohio State that secured IU its first outright Big Ten baseball title since 1932, was named Monday afternoon as the conference’s baseball Player of the Week.

Cincinnati native Basil returned to his home state to burn the Buckeyes by batting .500 over the three gmes, with four doubles and five RBI. His slugging percentage was .900. And he hit in the clutch, driving in the first Hoosier run and scoring the second as the Hoosiers rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the seventh to force extra innings Friday, then laid down the squeeze bunt in the 10th that scored the winning run. Basil then got IU’s 8-1 victory Saturday started with a two-run double in the first.

Basil also played superior defense as short, including a leaping back-handed snag of a line drive Friday.

It was IU’s fifth Player of the Week honor this season, recorded by four different players. Basil joins  Sam Travis (Feb. 18, Apr. 1), Kyle Schwarber (March 11) and Dustin DeMuth (May 13) as honorees.

Indiana football hosts Navy this fall and will include a freshman lineman who ultimately opted to be a Hoosier rather than a Midshipman.

Nate Hoff, a Solon (Ohio) High School graduate who attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Rhode Island this year, will matriculate at IU this fall with four full years of eligibility. A four-year starter at Solon who played in the Ohio North-South Classic all-star game, the 6-foot-2, 320-pound Hoff was also a wrestling standout and excels in the weight room.

Hoff is eligible to play right away, has five years to play four college seasons,  and can play on either side of the line. He recorded 24 tackles-for-loss as a Sol0n senior defensive tackle and, at offensive guard, blocked at an 84 percent efficiency rate with 77 pancakes. He also recorded 21 TFLs as a junior. Hoosier graduate assistant Ryan Stanchek coached Hoff in 2010.

As a Solon junior, Hoff finished fifth in the heavyweight division at the Ohio state championships. He also lettered in track. In the weight room, he sports a bench press of 475 pounds and a squat of 600.

FROM DUSTIN’S STORY FOR SUNDAY’S PAPER
The dog pile that ensued after Sam Travis caught Nick Ramos’ throw for the final out of Indiana’s 8-1 win over Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, apparently didn’t lead to a madhouse locker room afterward.

According to Indiana coach Tracy Smith, that was one of the most impressive things about what was one of the most meaningful victories in IU history.

The 17th-ranked Hoosiers took Indiana’s first outright Big Ten championship since 1932 mostly in stride, recognizing that there is still so much left for them to achieve. Next week, they get a shot at the Big Ten Tournament title and, regardless of what happens in that event, the Hoosiers will get a bid in the NCAA Tournament. Saturday’s win also makes it even more likely they will host one of the 16 regionals.

“I think it speaks a lot to their mind set,” IU coach Tracy Smith said. “We’re not satisfied. We knew we could do it. We’re glad it’s out of the way, but we’re not going absolutely crazy. … Guys are like ‘OK, check. We got that one.’ It’s cool. I’m very, very impressed. They honestly feel like they have a lot left to accomplish.”

Still, this, for them, is big. On the list of 10 goals the Hoosiers compiled at the beginning of the season, winning a Big Ten title was No. 1. And whether it led to a wild celebration or not, Smith is thrilled that whatever the Hoosiers accomplish or don’t accomplish in the postseason, they will be able to call themselves Big Ten champions.

First they forced extras, then they made history.

The Hoosiers scored twice in the ninth inning before a five-run 10th — highlighted by a grand slam by Nick Ramos — propelled Indiana to a 7-2 victory over Ohio State.

The win clinched at least a share of the Big Ten title for the Hoosiers, who can win the conference outright with a win in Saturday’s rubber match in Columbus. It’s the first Big Ten title for IU since 1949.
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The defending national champion Indiana University men’s soccer team will kick off the 2013 season with a bang, hosting perennial top 25 foes SMU and UCLA in the IU Classic on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.

The Hoosiers formally announced the 2013 schedule on Friday, one that includes 11 home matches and 12 against teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season.

“The strength of our 2013 opponents will allow us to measure up against other nationally recognized programs as we strive to build a championship-caliber squad,” IU coach Todd Yeagley said in a release. “Our returners are hungry for more success, and we are excited to add our talented newcomers to our program.”

Other notable matches include a visit to former Hoosier Mike Getman, whose UAB squad will host Indiana on Sept. 6, the Big Ten opener when Ohio State visits Armstrong Stadium on Sept. 29, a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament game at Notre Dame on Oct. 2 and a visit to Bloomington by Louisville, the former school of IU transfer midfielder Dylan Mares.

Here’s the full schedule:

Aug. 22 – Marquette* – 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 24 – UNC* – TBA
Aug. 30 – SMU^ – 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 1 – UCLA^ – 2 p.m.
Sept. 6 – at UAB – 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 8 – WEST VIRGINIA – 8 p.m.
Sept. 13 – CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD – 8 p.m.
Sept. 15 – UC IRVINE – 1 p.m.
Sept. 20 – BROWN – 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 25 – at Butler – 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 29 – OHIO STATE# – 2 p.m.
Oct. 2 – at Notre Dame – 7 p.m.
Oct. 6 – PENN STATE# – 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 11 – at Wisconsin# – 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 15 – LOUISVILLE – 7 p.m.
Oct. 18 – at VCU – 7 p.m.
Oct. 23 – EVANSVILLE – 7 p.m.
Oct. 26 – at Michigan# – 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 – MICHIGAN STATE# – 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 – at Northwestern# – 8 p.m.
Nov. 13-17 – Big Ten Tournament (Columbus, Ohio)
Nov. 21 – NCAA Tournament First Round
Nov. 24 – NCAA Tournament Second Round
Dec. 1 – NCAA Tournament Third Round
Dec. 6 – NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
Dec. 13-15 – NCAA College Cup (Philadelphia, Pa.)
*Preseason National Soccer Festival (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
^ adidas/IU Credit Union Classic (Bloomington, Ind.)
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