Purdue Sports Update July 24

TONY MILLER NAMED TRACK & FIELD AND CROSS COUNTRY HEAD COACH

Tony Miller has been named head coach of the Purdue track & field and cross country program, Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Bobinski announced on Wednesday.

Miller was an associate head coach for the Boilermakers in 2023-24 and brings nearly 20 years of coaching experience to his new role as head coach. Previously, he was at Louisville for four seasons where he was recognized as the 2022-23 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year indoors.

“Tony Miller‘s coaching credentials and record of accomplishments through his previous work at Louisville, SMU and North Texas are truly exceptional,” said Bobinski. “After witnessing his impact as an assistant to retiring coach Norbert Elliott this past year, we’re excited for the leadership Tony will provide as head coach to Purdue’s track & field and cross country programs. His experience in guiding student-athletes to the pinnacle of the sport, running and competing on the national stage at NCAA Championships, will serve our Boilermaker student-athletes well as we continue to elevate our programs.”

In his first year in West Lafayette as Associate Head Coach, Miller helped guide the Boilermakers to seven All-America honors and a trio of individual outdoor Big Ten titles. His sprinters broke three school records, one that had stood for 52 years and another for 20 years. Miller helped both the men’s and women’s teams to improvements in the Big Ten outdoor standings from a season ago, including a six-place rise for the men, moving the Boilermakers into the top half of the conference.

Miller takes the reigns from Elliott, who announced his retirement on June 20 following a 35-year coaching career that included 12 seasons at Purdue, the last six as head coach.

Last season, Miller primarily worked with the Boilermaker sprinters and hurdlers and served as recruiting coordinator. Under Miller’s coaching, graduate student Cameron Miller had one of the best seasons in school history, breaking both 200-meter records en route to two All-America accolades, first team indoors and second team outdoors.

Under Coach Miller’s tutelage in 2023-24, the Boilermakers also broke an eight-year-old record in the men’s 4×400 relay. His sprinters achieved numerous other record-book times along with top-eight podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships.

Miller arrived at Purdue after serving as an assistant coach at Louisville. In 2022-23, he helped guide two athletes and three relays to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and two individuals qualified for the indoor national championships.

Miller is a 1996 graduate of Baylor University with a bachelor degree in business administration-marketing. He received a U.S. Track & Field Level II coaching certification in 2006.

CHICOINE, MEYERS AND SHONDELL TO ATTEND BIG TEN MEDIA DAY

Head coach Dave Shondell, Chloe Chicoine and Lourdes Myers will attend the Big Ten Volleyball Media Day in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday, August 6.

The Big Ten Media Days will feature all 18 programs over two days at the Big Ten Network Studios. Joining Purdue on Day 2 (8/6) will be Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

Chicoine’s freshman season was the most accomplished start by a Boilermaker in program history, not only receiving the highest-ever AVCA All-America honor by a Purdue newcomer (Third Team) but was also named AVCA Northwest Region Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten and a unanimous Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection. The outside hitter concluded her freshman season with 478 kills, 3.82 kills per set and 2.26 digs per set and joins Hudson and alum Debbie McDonald as the only freshmen to produce over three kills per set or 400 kills in a single season.

Myers enters her final season after a breakout junior year in which she averaged a team-leading .333 hitting %. Competing in every match last year, Myers produced 110 total blocks (.98 per set),164 kills and was one of four players on the team to surpass 200 points in 2023. The middle blocker set a Purdue record in the 3-1 win vs. No. 16 Penn State, becoming the only Boilermaker to hit .818% in a five-set match (9-0-11). Moreover, her performance tied as the fourth-highest overall hitting % by a Boilermaker in a match, regardless of the number of sets played.

Purdue is coming off a third-place Big Ten finish and a No. 13 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) final ranking after finishing with a 23-9 (15-5 Big Ten) record and an NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance, all while Shondell coached one of the youngest squads in the team’s history. Eva Hudson (Second Team), Chicoine (Third Team) and Raven Colvin (Honorable Mention) received All-America accolades while the team brought in a program-record tying six Big Ten postseason honors, including two unanimous selections in Hudson and Chicoine.

Shondell, who signed a four-year contract extension in January, enters his 22nd season at the helm of Purdue volleyball. The program’s momentum has skyrocketed under his guidance, seeing 12 wins vs. top-5 opponents since 2011 and 107 consecutive weeks in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, the longest active streak among all Purdue teams.

Purdue’s 2024 season will begin at home with the Stacey Clark Classic on Friday, August 30 vs. K-State and will face six non-conference matchups vs. 2023 NCAA tournament teams before Big Ten action begins on Wednesday, September 25 vs. Penn State at home.

SHONDELL ADDS TRANSFER RAVEN GRAY

The Art and Connie Euler women’s volleyball head coach Dave Shondell announced the addition of Winston-Salem State transfer Raven Gray for the upcoming 2024 season. Gray will compete for Purdue as an outside hitter/right side and will wear #8.

Selected by USA Volleyball as being among the top collegiate players in the nation, Gray was a U.S. Women’s National Team Open Program attendee in February alongside Eva Hudson and Lourdès Myers. She was one of three Division II outside hitters, opposites or right-side players to receive the invitation.

“I’m very pleased to have Raven join our program for her final year of eligibility,” Shondell said. “Raven is a very powerful athlete who truly competes. In my conversations with Raven, I have learned that she has tremendous family values, high expectations for herself, and is an awesome student-athlete. She is a valuable addition to our crew of pin attackers and has the versatility to play on either pin.”

Transferring to Purdue from Winston-Salem State, she received First Team All-Conference last year after leading the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in both points (335.5) and kills (292). She produced nine 15+ kill performances and seven double-doubles last season, including a 25-kill, 22-dig showing to set a career-high 29.5 points versus Virginia Union (10/1).

The Purdue volleyball season will begin Friday, August 30 at home vs. K-State in the Stacey Clark Classic. A total of 12 matches between Big Ten and non-conference play will come against opponents ranked or receiving votes in the 2023 AVCA final poll, including up to seven versus top-15 opponents, contingent on non-conference tournament results.Purdue returns three AVCA All-America honorees in Second Team All-American Eva Hudson, Third Team All-American Chloe Chicoine and Honorable Mention Raven Colvin. The Boilermakers produced a 23-8 record last season, including a 15-5 record in Big Ten play, taking down Penn State twice, Minnesota twice and Wisconsin on their way to a third-place finish in the Big Ten standings and an NCAA Regional Final appearance. In addition to selling out the entire home slate, Purdue went 11-5 against teams ranked or receiving votes in the latest poll with one of the youngest and most talented teams in program history.

LOVELADY JOINS BASEBALL AS ASSISTANT COACH

A three-time conference coach of the year with 349 career victories and head coaching experience at UCF and Wright State, Greg Lovelady is joining Purdue Baseball as an assistant coach.

Head coach Greg Goff has announced Lovelady as the newest addition to the coaching staff, saying Lovelady will take a lead role with the program’s hitters and catchers. Lovelady is the second new hire of the summer after alum Barrett Serrato (hitting/infield defense) returned to campus this month. They’ll team up Goff, Josh Newman (pitching coach), John Madia (player development/alumni relations) and Hunter Roberts (operations) to form Purdue’s staff for the 2024-25 school year.

In 10 seasons as a head coach – seven at UCF (2017-23) and three at Wright State (2014-16) – Lovelady’s teams never finished with a sub-.500 overall record, winning at least 30 games in all but the abbreviated 2020 campaign (15-3 and ranked No. 12 when the season was shut down). He led WSU to four Horizon League titles (two regular season, two tournament) and two NCAA Regional appearances.

In his first season at UCF, the Knights won 40 games and the American Athletic Conference title, earning an at-large bid for a Regional. UCF was among the first four teams omitted from the 64-team field the following two years.

Lovelady has coached 55 MLB Draft picks during his 22-year coaching career. UCF had 10 players drafted in the first 10 rounds, including seven in the first five rounds, from 2017 to 2023. He spent 12 seasons total at Wright State, including seven as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator while coaching hitters, catchers and pitchers as needed. He also has coaching experience in the USA Baseball system.

As a player at the University of Miami, Lovelady helped the Hurricanes win the College World Series in 1999 and 2001. The four-year letterwinner was a fan favorite and served as a team captain as a senior in 2001. He started all four games in Omaha as a sophomore in 1999 and the final three games two years later while closing out his college career as an NCAA champion. Lovelady started his coaching career in Coral Gables and helped Miami go to Omaha two more times as an assistant from 2002-04. The Hurricanes were an NCAA Super Regional qualifier in all seven seasons he was in the dugout.

During his 22 seasons as a coach, Lovelady’s team have won 30 games 20 times and qualified for the NCAA Tournament nine times. As a head coach, he has compiled a 349-204 overall record (.631) and 152-86 mark (.639) in conference play.

Lovelady was the ABCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 2016 after leading Wright State to a school record 46 wins and the No. 3 seed at the NCAA Regional in Louisville. He was also the AAC Coach of the Year in 2017 and Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2016.

At Miami, Lovelady received the Arnold Novins Award as a senior, an honor bestowed upon the program’s most popular player as voted by the fans. He batted .318 with 14 extra-base hits and 36 RBI in 42 games during the 1999 national championship season.

With Lovelady behind the plate, the Hurricanes went 7-0 in Omaha during their championship runs. He worked with a pitching staff that surrendered only 12 runs while racking up 37 strikeouts vs. 27 hits allowed in 36 College World Series Innings in 1999. Two years later, the Hurricanes’ staff gave up only eight runs over three games with Lovelady behind the plate in Omaha. His two-run double was the difference in a 4-3 win vs. USC in a second-round win in 2001. The dean’s list student-athlete graduated with a degree in finance in 2001.

Lovelady signed with the Florida Marlins in the summer of 2001 and played for the Utica Blue Sox of the New York-Penn League before opting to begin his coaching career at Miami during the 2001-02 school year.

Greg and Lindsay Lovelady are the parents of two sons – Noah and Gavin.

GOMEZ QUALIFIES FOR PARALYMPICS WITH TEAM USA

Incoming Purdue track & field senior Joel Gomez was named to the U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team on Sunday and will compete at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Gomez earned his second Paralympic berth when he won gold in the 1,500m T13 event at the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials on July 20 in Miramar, Florida. Gomez was victorious in 3:55.29 and punched his ticket to Paris in the 1,500m T13, the same event he raced in at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.

Gomez joins a pair of Boilermaker track & field alums who have qualified to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, as Chukwuebuka Enekwechiearned his spot in the shot put for Nigeria on June 17 and Devynne Charlton qualified in the 100m hurdles for the Bahamas on June 27. Charlton and Enekwechi each are now two-time Olympic qualifiers, having both competed in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

At Saturday’s trials in Florida, Gomez’s 3:55.29 was victorious by nearly 24 seconds, and he bested the standard time by two seconds.

From Encinitas, California, Gomez placed 10th in the 1,500m T13 and 11th in the 400m T13 for Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. Earlier this year, he was seventh in the 1,500m T13 at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships on May 20, and he won the same event at the 2024 U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships on March 16.

In his first season for the Boilermakers as a junior in 2023-24, Gomez competed in six meets. His best finish came at the venerable Texas Relays from March 28-29, where he was fourth in the 1,500m in a season-best 3:52.10. Gomez also helped the distance medley relay finish eighth. He made his Purdue debut at the Windy City Invite from February 9-10 and ran in the 800m and 4×400 relay.

Gomez is majoring in civil engineering at Purdue and is expected to graduate in May, 2025.

PURDUE WBB TO HOST NOTRE DAME ON NOV. 10

The Purdue women’s basketball will welcome Notre Dame to Mackey Arena on Nov. 10 for the first meeting between the two programs in West Lafayette since 2011, head coach Katie Gearlds announced today.

The matchup is the return leg of a home-and-home series that restarted last year after a decade hiatus in the regular season.

Start time and television assignments will be announced later.

The Nov. 10 contest with the Fighting Irish marks the fourth non-conference game announced by the Boilermakers. Purdue will face Middle Tennessee (Nov. 28) and South Carolina (Nov. 30) in the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off over Thanksgiving. The Boilermakers will host Kentucky on Dec. 14 at Mackey Arena.

Purdue enters the fourth year under head coach Katie Gearlds. The Boilermakers have reached the postseason in each of her first three seasons back home at her alma mater. The roster featuring seven returners and seven newcomers will get an early preseason test with a 10-day tour of Portugal and Spain in August.

SWIMMERS HERWIG, SIERRA RECIPIENTS OF BIG TEN POSTGRAD SCHOLARSHIPS

Swimmers Michaela Herwig and Evie Sierra – multi-year Academic All-Big Ten honorees that earned their degrees in May – have been selected as Purdue Athletics’ recipients of the annual Big Ten postgraduate scholarships for the 2023-24 school year.

They will each receive a $7,500 scholarship for their continuing education. They plan to remain in the Big Ten for their postgraduate studies, with Sierra staying on as a graduate student at Purdue and Herwig returning to her home state to enroll in a graduate program at the University of Illinois.

Sierra graduated with a 3.80 grade-point average while earning her bachelor’s in animal sciences, a field of study she’ll continue with as a graduate student in the College of Agriculture at Purdue. The South Bend native competed primarily in the butterfly events for the Boilermakers. She was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar as a sophomore and senior.

Herwig graduated with a 3.56 GPA while earning her bachelor’s in speech, language and hearing sciences. The Geneva, Illinois, native plans to study Speech-Language Pathology in Urbana-Champaign. As a swimmer, she competed in the butterfly, backstroke and freestyle events, winning four medals as a freshman at the 2021 America East Conference Championship while competing for New Hampshire. She transferred to Purdue for the 2021-22 school year.

Both Boilermakers earned Academic All-Big Ten honors every year they were eligible to be recognized.

BOILERMAKERS WIN 16 EVENTS AT LONG COURSE SWIMFEST

Sixteen event victories, headlined by three apiece from distance standouts Reagan Mattice and Pat Broderick, highlighted the annual Indiana Senior State Long Course Championships – dubbed SwimFest this year – for the Purdue Swimmers.

At the July 11-14 summer showcase, held primarily at the IU Natatorium in Downtown Indianapolis, Boilermakers combined for 29 medalist finishes, most while competing for Boilermaker Aquatics. In turn, Boilermaker Aquatics placed third in the men’s team scoring and fourth in the combined scoring across both genders.

Broderick paired his sweep of the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle with another victory in the 400 IM. He also won the B final of the 400 free while logging 4,100 meters of live racing across his events.

Mattice swept the 400, 800 and 1500 free while also finishing second to teammate Caitlin Hurley in the 200 free. Mattice and Hurley went 1-2 in the 400 and 800 free as well, helping the Boilermakers produce the top three finishers in both races.

On the men’s side, Andy Kelly and Dylan Burau teamed up for 1-2 finishes in both backstroke events, making Kelly another multi-event winner for Purdue. They were also part of Boilermaker Aquatics’ victory in the 400 medley relay, a quartet that also featured individual event winners Cooper Callahan (200 IM) and Luke Fortner (200 breast).

CASKENETTE DRAFTED BY MIAMI MARLINS

An All-Big Ten performer, league leader in RBI and Buster Posey Award semifinalist, Purdue Baseball’s Connor Caskenette has now added MLB Draft pick to his senior season honor roll after the catcher was selected in the 12th round Tuesday.

Caskenette was selected with the 19th pick in the 12th round and 364th overall. He’s the fifth Boilermaker since 2006 to be drafted by the Marlins. Pitchers Jay Buente (drafted in 2006, MLB debut in 2010) and Nick Wittgren (drafted in 2012, MLB debut in 2016) both reached the big leagues with the Marlins.

Caskenette was a two-year starter at catcher for Purdue, playing in 99 games and making 91 starts after arriving on campus in the fall of 2022 as a junior college transfer from Cochise College in Arizona. He started 46 of the 48 Big Ten games in his two seasons, including all 24 as a third-team All-Big Ten honoree as a senior

Miami’s five draft picks of Boilermakers are tied with Arizona for the most ever by any MLB franchise. And it was the Diamondbacks that last drafted a Purdue catcher, selecting Nick Dalesandro in the 10th round after his All-Big Ten season for the Boilermakers’ 2018 NCAA Regional team.

While Dalesandro (2016-18) was Purdue’s last catcher to be drafted, Caskenette’s Canadian countryman and predecessor behind the plate Zac Fascia (2019-21) is also currently playing pro ball in the Cleveland Guardians system. Fascia signed with Cleveland after the draft in 2021 (the first year it was reduced to 20 rounds) after he had previously been drafted in the summer of 2018.

Caskenette is in line to officially earn his bachelor’s degree in sociology next month. He joins Davis Pratt as players on the 2024 team to already move on to pro ball. Pratt signed with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association in June, becoming teammates with Dalesandro. Players not selected in the draft this week are now eligible to sign with organizations as free agents.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAMER MARK HERRMANN NAMED NEW RADIO ANALYST FOR PURDUE FOOTBALL

Boilermaker legend and College Football Hall of Famer Mark Herrmann was tabbed as the new color analyst for Purdue football games on the Boilermaker Sports Network, Learfield, the media and technology company powering college athletics, and Purdue Sports Properties announced Monday afternoon (July 15). Herrmann joins the Voice of the Boilermakers, Tim Newton, in the radio booth following the retirement of Purdue Football alum Pete Quinn, who spent 32 seasons in the announcing chair calling Boilermaker games on the gridiron.

Herrmann has experience on the Boilermaker Sports Network, having filled in as an analyst and sideline reporter several times over the past few seasons. He also serves as the director of leadership and alumni engagement for the John Purdue Club.

 “I am extremely excited to join the Boilermaker Sports Network this fall,” said Herrmann. “It is an opportunity to be a part of a great team that is passionate about bringing the best coverage and insight into the Purdue football broadcast every week. I am hoping to add my personal touch as a former player, announcer and fan. It promises to be a fun-filled, challenging schedule and I can’t wait for the opening game on August 31.”

During his time on the field, Herrmann was a unanimous First Team All-American and the Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 1980. Herrmann was the first college quarterback to throw for 8,000 yards and then continued raising the bar by becoming the first to reach 9,000 yards in college football history. He finished his career with 9,946 yards, along with (at the time) a school-record 71 touchdown passes. He is one of only three Boilermaker quarterbacks to have started three (or more) consecutive bowl games as well as the only one to have won three, earning MVP honors in the 1978 Peach, 1979 Bluebonnet and 1980 Liberty bowls.

Herrmann continued his career in the NFL, playing for 11 seasons that included stops with the Denver Broncos (1981-82), Baltimore Colts (1983), Indianapolis Colts (1984, 1990-92), San Diego Chargers (1985-87), Los Angeles Rams (1988-89) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1994-69). He was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.