Purdue Sports Update: Smith, TKR honored

Consensus first-team All-American Braden Smith and first-team All-Big Ten performer Trey Kaufman-Renn were named to the CBS Sports All-America teams, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Smith is joined by Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Auburn’s Johni Broome, Texas Tech’s J.T. Toppin and Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., on the first team, while Kaufman-Renn was joined by Villanova’s Eric Dixon, Houston’s L.J. Cryer, St. John’s R.J. Luis and Tennessee’s Zakai Ziegler.  

Purdue was the only team with two players mentioned on the three teams. Of the 15 players listed, only six could return in the 2025-26 season (Flagg, Smith, Toppin, P.J. Haggerty, Luis, Kaufman-Renn), although Flagg is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Smith has previously been named a first-team All American by the four entities that make up consensus honors – The Sporting News, The Associated Press, the USBWA and the NABC, as well as one of four finalists for the Naismith Award. Kaufman-Renn was an honorable mention by the Associated Press.

The CBS Sports All-America team is not one of the four entities used for All-America status, therefore Kaufman-Renn is not officially an All-American.

The Boilermakers finished with a 24-12 overall record and reached the Sweet 16. Next year’s Boilermaker squad is expected to be ranked high when the “way-too-early” top-25 polls come out next week.

Four Wrestlers Honored

— The National Wrestling Coaches Association announced its annual list of Scholar All-Americans on Wednesday. Four Purdue wrestlers earned the honor for 2024-25, pushing the total number of award winners to 33 under head coach Tony Ersland.

Redshirt-sophomore Brody Baumann, sophomore Joey Blaze, redshirt-junior Hayden Filipovich and redshirt-senior Matt Ramos are the latest Boilermakers to receive the prestigious award for excellence on the mat and in the classroom.

Ramos earned his fourth Scholar All-American nod to become just the third four-time honoree in Purdue history, joining Max Lyon (2019-22) and Parker Filius (2020-23).

After a fourth-place podium finish at the 2025 NCAA Championships, Ramos is also the first Boilermaker to ever win multiple All-American and Scholar All-American honors.

Filipovich earned Scholar All-American status for a third time after making his NCAA tournament debut as a heavyweight in March. He joins an elite list of Boilermakers as the 10th three-time honoree in school history.

Baumann and Blaze each earned their second consecutive Scholar All-American awards after competing on the national stage in Philadelphia. Baumann picked up his first career victory at the NCAA Championships, where Blaze became Purdue’s youngest national finalist since at least 1950.

NCAA wrestlers had to meet at least one of the following four criteria points to achieve NWCA Scholar All-American status.

• Top 8 at NCAAs and 3.0 GPA
• National Qualifier and 3.2 GPA
• Conference Qualifier and 3.5 GPA
• At least 15 matches with a 60% win record and 3.5 GPA

In his 11 seasons at the helm, Coach Ersland has now accounted for 33 of Purdue’s 57 NWCA Scholar All-America award winners in addition to three of the four overall team honors. This year’s team awards will be announced at a later date.

Women’s Golf Wins Coach Mo Classic; Kiel Earns Medalist Honors

Led by medalist Natasha Kiel, who earned her third individual victory of the season, Women’s Golf captured the Coach Mo Classic at St. Johns Golf and Country Club. The Boilermakers (+13) led wire-to-wire all three rounds, besting 15 other teams and claiming a four-shot victory over runner-up Charleston (+17).

The victory, Purdue’s second of the year, marks the first time the Boilermakers have won multiple tournaments in consecutive seasons since a six-year stretch from the fall of 2005 to the spring of 2011. The Boilermakers also won for the fifth time under Zack Byrd, who is in his third season as head coach.

The Boilermakers paced the field in birdies (38), par-3 scoring (+3) and par-4 scoring (+27) as well as eagles (2) thanks to a pair of aces from Kiel and Samantha Brown on the first day of tournament play.

Following Charleston, Purdue was 16 shots clear of third-place Charlotte (+29). Western Kentucky and Daytona State tied for fourth at 34-over to round out the tournament’s Top 5.

Kiel, the No. 50 ranked player in the country, became just the fourth Boilermaker in program history to win three times in a single season, joining Maria Hernandez (6; 2008-09), Paula Reto (4; 2012-13) and Aurora Kan (3; 2013-14). The New Hope, Pennsylvania, native started the season with a victory at the Boilermaker Classic before sharing medalist honors at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational to end the fall.

Kiel (-3) finished one shot ahead of Western Kentucky’s Sydney Hackett, moving to 3-under after a clutch birdie at the par-3 17th, the same hole she aced during Monday’s first round. Similar to the team, she led the field in par-3 scoring (-3) and par-4 scoring (-1), the only golfer in the 90-player field to play the par 4s under par throughout the tournament. Kiel’s 11 birdies over 54 holes ranked second in the field to go along with her opening round hole-in-one.

Momo Sugiyama (+5) tied for eighth to crack the Top 10 for the fourth time this season and the 12th time in her career.

Joining Kiel and Sugiyama in the Top 10 was fellow senior Jocelyn Bruch, who tied for 10th at 6-over. Bruch’s 73 (+1) was Purdue’s best score in the final round. She made 11 birdies over three rounds to match Kiel and rank second in the field.

Brown (+8) tied for 16th, the best finish for the freshman Boilermaker this year. Classmates Michaela Headlee (+10) and Lauren Timpf (+11) placed 22nd and 24th, respectively, while competing as individuals.

Looking to keep the momentum going from their victory, the Boilermakers return home this weekend. Serving as the final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships, Purdue welcomes teams back to West Lafayette for the Boilermaker Spring Classic. The tournament will take place on the Ackerman-Allen course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (April 6-7).

Baseball Ends Homestand on Skid

Albert Choi hit a game-opening home run on a night when Purdue racked up 13 hits, but the game turned on a two-out, three-run homer in the fifth inning as UCLA went on take the series opener 8-5 Friday at Alexander Field.

The Bruins (20-5, 8-2 Big Ten) scored their first five runs on homers – none bigger than Roman Martin’s three-run blast with two outs in the top of the fifth. But it was a two-out, two-run single from AJ Salgado in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be one of the biggest hits of the night. Salgado delivered with the bases loaded and Purdue closer Avery Cook on the mound.

The clutch single loomed even larger when the Boilermakers (20-5, 3-4 Big Ten) put runners on second and third to bring the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Purdue stranded two runners on base in three of the final four innings.

On a Saturday in which it faced deficits of 5-0, 7-5, 12-7 and 13-9, Purdue still managed to put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth before a game-tying rally came up short in a 13-12 loss to No. 24 UCLA at Alexander Field.

It was Purdue’s fourth consecutive Big Ten game that played out as a high-scoring battle with a bevy of momentum swings. Those four games have featured a combined 74 runs. The Boilermakers’ 12 runs Saturday were the most in a loss since an April 2013 defeat at Illinois (17-12).

Purdue (20-6, 3-5 Big Ten) trailed 13-9 entering the ninth inning but quickly loaded the bases as the first three batters reached safely against UCLA closer Justin Lee. Brandon Rogers delivered a two-single to center field to chase Lee and bring the go-ahead run to the plate.

While the Boilermakers (20-7, 3-6 Big Ten) lost consecutive games this weekend for the first time this season, they’ve also dropped six of their last seven games in Big Ten play dating back to March 9. Since sweeping Michigan State at Alexander the weekend of April 12-14 last season, Purdue has lost 10 of its last 12 home games in Big Ten play.

The finale of Baseball’s season-long 12-game homestand at Alexander Field – won by Northern Illinois 2-1 Tuesday – featured the lowest-scoring contest at the ballpark since the final day of the 2021 campaign.

The Boilermakers (20-8) went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position while stranding 10 runners on base. They were held to fewer than three runs for the first time this season and limited to a single tally for the first time since a home loss on March 15 of last season.

The last game at Alexander to feature a combined three runs or fewer was Minnesota’s 2-1 win in game 1 of a doubleheader on May 30, 2021.

All three runs Tuesday were scored on extra-base hits – a pair of solo home runs and NIU’s RBI double in the seventh inning that plated a runner from first base. JP Gauthier delivered both big hits for the Huskies (10-19), homering to lead off the second inning and driving in both runs that allowed the visitors to hold the lead for the final eight innings.

Purdue returns to action Friday when it opens a three-game series at Washington in the program’s first-ever trip to Seattle. First pitch is slated for 10 p.m. ET.

Softball Gets One in Lincoln

The Boilers (17-15, 2-6 Big Ten) fell to No. 20 Nebraska (25-8, 5-1 Big Ten) 13-1 in five innings on Saturday afternoon.

Julia Gossett and Kylie Franks earned the only two hits of the game, both infield singles. The Boilers used three pitchers throughout the game against the Huskers.

Purdue (17-16, 2-7 Big Ten) took a 6-0 loss to No. 20 Nebraska (26-8, 6-1 Big Ten) on Sunday night in Lincoln. A tightly-contest pitcher’s duel through five, the Huskers plated five runs in the sixth to seal the victory.

Julia Gossett picked up seven strikeouts on the day, while Sage Scarmardo and Khloe Banks earned the only two hits of the game for Purdue.

The Boilers (18-16, 3-7 Big Ten) took down No. 20 Nebraska to the tune of 12 hits (26-9, 6-2 Big Ten) and six runs. Purdue defeated the Huskers to earn their first ranked win since defeating No. 21 Northwestern in 2024.

Julia Gossett pitched three scoreless innings in relief, while Moriah Polar went 4-for-4.

The Boilers will host Minnesota for a three-game series at Bittinger Stadium from Apr. 4-6. The series is the Big Ten home opener for Purdue in the 2025 season.

Springfield Wins Bronze, Rzepka Completes All-America Trifecta

Freshman Kaden Springfield shined in his first championship final at the NCAA Championships, claiming bronze in platform diving to account for Men’s Swimming & Diving’s best finish at the national championship meet since 2022.

Springfield improved on his list total on the tower by 32.55 points while moving up from eighth in the prelim to third overall for a medalist finish. He joined an elite list of Boilermakers to medal at NCAAs as a freshman.

Seniors Jordan Rzepka and Brady Samuels also finished strong in their final days of NCAA competition for Purdue. Rzepka was sixth on platform for his third top-nine showing of the week, completing an All-America trifecta. Samuels broke 42 seconds in the 100 freestyle for the second time in his career, improving on his second-fastest time (41.92) in team history.

With seven scoring finishes for the week adding up to 62 points, the Boilermakers placed 17th in the team scoring at the national championship meet. They finished top 20 for the sixth time since 2015 and top 25 for the 16th time since 2005.

The Purdue men and women both finished top 20 at NCAAs Championships for the first time since 2021. The women were 18th with 53 points last week at NCAAs.

Rzepka still managed to earn All-America honors – with three top-10 showings – in all three diving events, achieving the feat for his career with Friday’s finish on 3-meter. He is Purdue’s seventh male diver to achieve the feat in a single year and the first since 2022. Over his four seasons, Rzepka was a six-time All-American, the most honors by a Boilermaker since Steele Johnson’s nine from 2015-18.

Springfield joined David Colturi (2008), David Boudia (2009), Johnson (2015) and Tyler Downs (2022) as Purdue men to medal at NCAAs as freshmen. All five won a medal on the tower during their first years at NCAAs.

Turney Shatters 5000m Outdoor School Record at Raleigh Relays

Payne Turney shattered the Outdoor Track & Field 5000m record by over 20 seconds to lead the Boilermakers at the Raleigh Relays.

Women’s Notes
• Turney set a new 5000m record in 15:57.78 to break the previous record by 20.05 seconds. The previous standard of 16:17.83 was set by Emma Benner in 2017. The record-setting time was also 11.9 seconds faster than Benner’s indoor record of 16:09.68. The graduate student has now started the outdoor season with personal bests in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m. 
• Julia Economou started Purdue’s day with a personal best in the 1500m (4:29.36).
• Emma Squires ran the third-fastest 3000m steeplechase of her career in 10:29.62.

Next Up
Purdue returns to action April 4-5 at the Pepsi Florida Relays.

Women’s Tennis Splits In PNW

The No. 56 women’s tennis team fell in its west coast opener at No. 20 Washington, 1-4, Friday evening. With the result, the Boilermakers move to a 9-4 record (3-3 Big Ten) while Huskies, a team ranked third in the Big Ten standings, improve to 10-1 (5-1 Big Ten).

The gutsy win came down to the final court, clinched by freshman Ida Clement’s third set tiebreak victory’s 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) vs. Oregon’s Karin Young. The Boilermaker came from behind in the tiebreak, evening the game 6-6 before going on to win the final two points.

The Boilermakers reached their 10th win of the season with the win, improving to 10-4 (4-3 Big Ten) while the Ducks fall to 8-9 (1-7 Big Ten).

After falling in the doubles point, Purdue went on a tear in singles, with dominant performances by No. 1 position’s Gallardo Guevara, No. 3’s Fatima Gutierrez and No. 5’s Ece Gencer leading to a 3-1 lead. Oregon fought its way back into the match, taking the next two courts to tie the match, 3-3.

Gutierrez continued her momentum into singles, coming out to a quick 3-0 start vs. Tilde Jagar. The Boilermaker went on to take the match, 6-2, 6-3 for her third win in the last four matches.

No. 56 Purdue returns to West Lafayette next weekend for a pair of matches at Schwartz Tennis Center. First, Purdue will host No. 73 Michigan State on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in Purdue’s Wimbledon Day, which will feature fanny pack and hair bow giveaways and free strawberries and cream for fans in attendance. Fans also are encouraged to come dressed in Wimbledon attire. Then on Sunday, Purdue will take on No. 3 Michigan at Noon ET.

Men’s Tennis Falls On Road

The No. 52 men’s tennis team fell short at No. 39 Nebraska, 1-4, on Friday (March 28) evening. The Boilermakers took the doubles point, but a strong singles showing by the Huskers led to a four-point run to clinch the dual.

With the result, Purdue moves to 9-7 (1-6 Big Ten) while Nebraska improves to 11-6 (4-3 Big Ten).

With the result, Purdue falls to 9-8 (1-7 Big Ten) while Wisconsin improves to 9-7 (3-5 Big Ten).

Purdue returns to action this weekend at Schwartz Tennis Center to host Indiana on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Promotions for the event include Wimbledon Day, with fans encouraged to dress in Wimbledon attire, free strawberries and cream while supplies last and a Purdue tennis keychain giveaway.