Purdue Sports Update Jan. 27

WBB Heads to Illinois after falling to USC

he Purdue women’s basketball team will hit the road for the final time in January when it heads to Illinois on Monday night for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Mike Hall and Shimmy Miller on the call.

The radio broadcast can be heard on the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM and Purdue Stretch Internet.

GAME INFORMATION  
Purdue (7-12, 0-8) at Illinois (14-5, 4-4)
Monday, Jan. 27
Time: 8:30 PM ET
TV/Stream: BTN
Radio: 95.3 BOB FM
Audio: Purdue Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Purduestats.com

LAST TIME OUT
After leading No. 4 USC 16-15 following the first quarter on Wednesday night at Mackey Arena, the Boilermakers could not keep pace in the final 30 minutes, falling 79-37. Purdue was led by Kendall Puryear’s 10 points.

NOTES
• Purdue and Illinois will square off for the 85th time on Monday night. The Boilermakers lead the all-time series 66-18.
• The Boilermakers have won 21 of the last 23 matchups, including the last five straight.
• Purdue defeated Illinois on Dec. 2, 1975, 78-74 in overtime in the first game in Boilermaker history 50 seasons ago.
• The Boilermakers have the second hardest NET strength of schedule in the country, behind South Carolina.
• Purdue has faced ninth ranked opponents this season, tied for most in the nation with South Carolina. 
• After facing five ranked teams in the last seven games, the Boilermakers are set to meet their eighth straight opponent in the top 50 of the NET, a trend that is set to continue on Thursday at Mackey Arena against Nebraska. 
• Purdue and Michigan have both faced five top-10 teams this season, second in the country only to South Carolina’s six.
• All of Purdue’s losses have been in Quad 1 or 2.
Squaring off with its ninth ranked opponent of the season, the most in the nation, the women’s basketball team fell 79-37 to No. 4 USC on Wednesday night in Mackey Arena.

Freshman Kendall Puryear finished with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. It was her seventh game in double figures this season. McKenna Layden grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for her third straight game of seven boards or more.

Purdue (7-12, 0-8) shot 30.6% from the field and dished out nine assists on 15 made field goals with a trio coming from Layden.

USC placed three players in double figures, led by Avery Howell’s 18 points on four 3-pointers and 6-of-6 at the line. The Trojans shot at a 43.5% clip and went 11-of-13 from behind the arc.  USC All-American JuJu Watkins finished with 16 points.

Purdue held a 16-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Destini Lombard connected twice from behind the arc as Purdue hit four of its first five shots. Defensively, the Boilermakers held the Trojans to 2-of-11 to start and forced five turnovers in the frame.

After shooting 58.3% from the field and hitting 2-of-3 from three, the Boilermakers went 8-of-37 from the floor without a triple over the next three quarters.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will head to Illinois on Monday for an 8:30 PM ET tip. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

5 Purdue Wrestlers Named in Initial Coaches’ Rankings

Five Purdue wrestlers earned spots in the first edition of the NCAA coaches’ rankings for the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships released on Thursday.

• No. 1 Matt Ramos – 125 pounds
• No. 5 Joey Blaze – 157 pounds
• No. 23 Brody Baumann – 174 pounds
• No. 27 Greyson Clark – 141 pounds
• No. 29 Ben Vanadia – 197 pounds

Redshirt senior Matt Ramos leads the pack with the No. 1 ranking at 125 pounds, marking his first appearance in the top spot of an initial coaches’ poll.

It is the third time in Ramos’ career that he has appeared in the top five of the initial rankings. He started out at No. 2 last season and No. 4 in 2023.

Wrestling in his second collegiate season, Joey Blaze checks in at No. 5 (157 lbs) for his first career top-five ranking by any outlet. The sophomore has impressed in his first 16 matches this year with a 13-3 record, including a perfect 8-0 dual record.

The coaches also think highly of redshirt sophomore Brody Baumann, who notched a personal-best No. 23 ranking (174 lbs) after attaining a 14-5 record as one of the team’s highest scorers.

Sophomore Greyson Clark earned the No. 27 slot not long after taking down the No. 10 wrestler in the nation, Chris Cannon, in the Northwestern dual on January 10.

Ben Vanadia currently holds the No. 29 ranking with a 13-7 record in his redshirt-junior season. He has beaten two wrestlers listed ahead of him, including No. 26 Wolfgang Frable (Army) and No. 28 Carson Floyd (Appalachian State).

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 16 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the eight conferences. In recent seasons, a total of three coaches’ polls were released periodically before the NCAA tournament began in March.

The coaches’ ranking is one of several criteria that will be evaluated by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee during the at-large selection and seeding process along with head-to-head competition, quality wins, Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), conference tournament placement, results versus common opponents and win percentage.

Boilers Earn 3 Victories on Final Day of Split Competition

Indoor Track & Field took three victories on Saturday at the Crossroads of America Invitational to conclude the weekend.

Payne Turney and Nerius White both took victories in the women’s and men’s 5000m, while the 4x400m relay team of Antoine Spencer, Brett Otterbacher, Cameron Miller and Connor Czajkowski also earned the win.

Purdue took nine total top three finishes on Saturday between the Crossroads of America Invitational and Fighting Illini Challenge & Combined Events.  

Men’s Notes
• Praise Aniamaka set a new indoor personal best and NCAA Division I No. 6 in the triple jump with a mark of 16.14m (52-11.50) in Illinois. It was Aniamaka’s season debut and the mark came in his first jump. He placed second at Saturday’s meet.
• The 4x400m team ran 3:08.97 and defeated both UCLA (3:11.52) and Michigan (3:11.56) in the final heat. The team was led by Miller’s 46.26 split followed by Otterbacher’s 46.59.
• White had a personal best 14:21.96 in the 5000m for the first indoor victory of his career. He won the race by 7.76 seconds and led for the final 2000m. Jason Polydoris (14:37.08) took third in the event.
• Jasiah Rogers earned a runner-up finish in the 60m finals (6.79). He has two runner-up places in three finals runs to open the indoor season.
• Andreas Hantson finished third in the heptathlon with 5,531 points that moved him from third to second in program history. His weekend was highlighted by winning the heptathlon high jump (2.09m / 6-10.25) and 1000m (2:41.18).

Women’s Notes
• Turney had a personal-best 16:43.01 to earn her 5000m win. It was the fastest time by a Boilermaker in the event since 2019.
• Alexia Smith’s indoor personal best time of 53.82 was good for a runner-up finish. She is the eighth runner in program history to go sub-54 in an indoor 400m.
• Nia Wilson was the 60m runner-up in 7.42. She has a runner-up finish in all-three 60m finals she has run this season.

Volleyball Welcomes Mattie Casale to 2025 Freshman Class

The volleyball program rounded out its 2025 freshman class with the signing of Mattie Casale, a defensive specialist out of Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Casale joins Purdue as the No. 1 defensive specialist/libero in the state of Florida by PrepDig.com and as a national finalist for libero of the year in 2023 by Volleyball Recruiter.

Casale will wear the #19 jersey and will join the Boilermakers this summer.

Purdue’s loaded freshman class includes 2024 Under Armour Next MVP Isabelle Bardin (setter), the No. 1 player in the state of Indiana Addy Tindall (outside hitter), 2024 Nike All-Star Team selection Morgan Williams (middle blocker) and Casale, the No. 1 defensive specialist in the state of Florida.

DS | 5’7″ | Wesley Chapel, Fla. | Carrollwood Day

• No. 1 defensive specialist/libero in the state of Florida for the 2025 class, according to PrepDig.com
• National finalist for libero of the year in 2023
• Helped guide her team to a Class 3A state championship title as a junior
• Guided Carrollwood Day to a Nike Tournament of Champions runner-up finish in 2024
• 4x District Champion
• 2x Regional Champion (freshman and junior seasons)
• 2023 AAU Nationals 18U Open attendee
• Named captain as a freshman, and held the position all four years of play at Carrollwood Day
• Nationally-ranked among the top 120 players, regardless of position by PrepDig.com in 2023
• 2024 Under Armour Next Invite-Only Showcase attendee in 2024, w
• Registered a career-high six aces vs. Seffner Christian as a senior
• Averaged 7.0 digs per set in Carrollwood Day’s win vs. John Paull II in September 2025
• As a junior, posted 345 digs during her state-championship season run

Women’s Golf Begins Spring with Match in the Desert

After three months off, Purdue Women’s Golf returns to tournament action. Starting the spring, the Boilermakers travel west to Gold Canyon, Arizona for the Match in the Desert at Superstition Mountain Country Club (Jan. 27). Unlike the normal, 54-hole (three rounds) format for most events, the Match in the Desert is just one round of 18 holes with no room for error.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 27: Tee times beginning at 11 a.m. ET

Purdue Falls in Road Opener

Suffering its first loss of the season, the women’s tennis team fell at Kentucky, 1-6. With the result, the Boilermakers move to a 2-1 record on the season while the Wildcats improve to 3-0.

Freshman Ece Gencer picked up Purdue’s lone with at the No. 5 singles position to improve to a 2-1 record this spring and an 11-4 record overall for the 2024-25 year. Gencer, ranked No. 82 in the nation, took the win in super tiebreak fashion. The match included a tiebreak win in Set 1 with a 7-6 (6) win, falling 2-6 in Set 2 and ultimately winning the match with a 10-4 score in Set 3.

In total, three singles courts went to tie breakers in Set 1, joined by Juana Larranaga at the No. 4 singles position and Tara Katarina Milic at the No. 6 singles position. Each fell in the first set, 6-7 (5). Larranaga went on to force another tiebreaker in Set 2, but was unable to close it out.

The Boilermakers will return to Schwartz Tennis Center next Saturday at 2 p.m. ET to take on Brown. Admission is free.

Boilermakers Improve to 3-0

Boilermakers Drop Both Sides of Dual with IU on Senior Day

Sophie McAfee, Masy Folcik, Kate Mouser and Campbell Scofield all won events for Swimming & Diving but it was not enough on Senior Day as the Boilermakers dropped both sides of their final co-ed dual meet of the home season Saturday vs. Indiana.

Team Scores
Women: #6 Indiana 189, Purdue 111
Men: #2 Indiana 236, Purdue 64

The Purdue women suffered their first dual meet loss of the season, snapping a five-meet win streak.

McAfee was victorious in 1-meter diving in her final home meet as a Boilermaker. She teamed with Daryn Wright, who won on platform Friday evening, to give the Purdue women a sweep of the diving events at the dual.

Folcik (100 breast, 1:00.83) and Scofield (200 fly, 1:58.21) won their events with NCAA provisional qualifying times (B Cuts). Folcik’s time doubled as a team season best in the event.

Abby Marcukaitis also posted a pair of B Cuts while finishing as the runner-up in both backstroke events.

Mouser rallied for a thrilling victory in the 500 freestyle, closing the race with three straight sub-29-second 50 splits to out touch IU’s Katie Carson by .29 hundredths. Mouser trailed Carson by 1.39 seconds at the 350-yard mark of the race before posting splits of 28.71, 28.13 and 27.49 to claim the victory.

Charles Lee in the 200 breast (2:00.40), Pat Broderick in the 500 free (4:29.99) and both of the Purdue men’s top relay teams all posted personal season-best times Saturday. But victories were tough to come by for the Boilermakers after Jordan Rzepka won on platform Friday evening.

Kathryn Ackerman moved into 13th place in program history with a team season-best time of 2:00.50 as the runner-up in the 200 IM. Ackerman and Folcik are both fifth-year student-athletes finishing out their collegiate careers this winter. They’ll have the option to compete at home again the weekend of March 1-2 at the women’s Boiler-Make-It NCAA Last Chance meet, but Saturday represented their final dual meets at the Burke Aquatic Center.

The Purdue women opened the meet with a season-best time in the 200 medley relay (1:39.27). Marcukaitis, Folcik, Hannah Hill and Lara Phipps also moved into seventh place in program history in the process.

The Boilermakers are back in action next weekend for the annual Big Ten Triple Duals vs. Minnesota and Northwestern. The Gophers are hosting the two-day meet in Minneapolis this year. Action begins Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

Baseball’s Fan Fest Set for Sunday, Feb. 9 in Mollenkopf

Baseball’s free and all ages Preseason Fan Fest is back inside the Mollenkopf Athletic Center as an afternoon event on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Fan Fest date is set for Sunday, Feb. 9 from 2-4 p.m. ET. Super Bowl kickoff time is 6:30.

This year marks the seventh time the Boilermakers are hosting the event, which debuted in February 2018. It annually features skill stations, games, photo opportunities and autographs along with a chance to interact with the Purdue players and coaches.

Players will be assisting with skill stations and other indoor activities for children. Players will also be signing autographs and taking photos with attendees. Purdue Pete is also expected to be in attendance. Plus there is plenty of indoor space for kids to roam and run.

Skill stations include multiple batting cages and BP areas, bullpen mounds and opportunities to play catch with the Boilermakers. There are multiple stations geared toward different age groups of children.

Free parking will be available in the “F Lot” located east of Mollenkopf and north of Mackey Arena.

In the fall, Purdue’s well-received Halloween Bash at Alexander Field is also a free all-ages community event, featuring on-field trick-or-treating following a costume scrimmage. Attendees received a voucher for a free game ticket for the 2025 season.

The Boilermakers are also hosting their annual First Pitch Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. at the Ross-Ade Stadium Pavilion. The event is once again sold out, but opportunities to support the program by funding the dinner of a student-athlete remain available. Alum and longtime big leaguer Nick Wittgren, Purdue’s all-time leader in saves, is the featured speaker.

Season tickets at Alexander Field are on sale now – both renewals and new general admission packages. A full list of promotions and special events at Alexander will be announced in early March.

Purdue opens its new season with a four-game series vs. Stephen F. Austin at a Triple-A ballpark in the Houston area. Friday, Feb. 14 is the national opening day for college baseball. The Boilermakers’ home opener is set for Wednesday, March 12 and there are six home weekends at Alexander Field. UCLA, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Michigan are among the teams to visit Alexander this spring.