Purdue Sports Update: Jan. 19

Women’s Hoops Lose at USC, 83-57

The Boilermakers dropped their West Coast opener at USC on Sunday afternoon, 83-57.

Tara Daye posted her team-leading 13th game in double figures, leading the Boilermakers in scoring with 21 points, one shy of her career high. Daye posted her fifth double-double of the year, adding 10 rebounds, two assists and three steals.

Kiki Smith finished in double figures for the first time in three games and the 10th time this season, going for 15 points with a season-high three 3-pointers.

Avery Gordon matched her career high with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and six rebounds. The freshman added one block, one steal and an assist.

For the game, Purdue (10-8, 2-5) shot 37% from the field and dished out 15 assists on 20 made field goals, led by a season-high seven from Madison Layden-Zay. The Boilermakers won the rebounding battle 35-33 but managed six points on 11 second chance opportunities. Purdue shot 6-of-16 from distance.

USC (11-7, 3-4) was 46.9% from the floor and 7-of-20 from distance. The Women of Troy had three players finish in double figures, led by Kara Dunn’s 25 points.

UP NEXT
Purdue will close out the West Coast trip on Wednesday night with a 10 p.m. ET tip at No. 3 UCLA on B1G+.

Women’s Tennis

The Purdue women’s tennis team secured a 4-3 victory versus Illinois State to remain undefeated over the opening weekend play.

Purdue fell in doubles but fought back winning the following three singles matches. The team’s victory came down Fatima Gutierrez’s court at the No. 2 position, where she dominated in the third set to propel the Boilermakers to victory behind a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 score.

Up next, Purdue will remain home next weekend and will kick off the weekend Saturday at noon against Xavier.

Wrestling Drops Decision at Rutgers, 24-9; Beats Maryland

Purdue Wrestling fell 24-9 at Rutgers to close an extensive road stretch on Sunday afternoon.

The Scarlet Knights (7-4, 1-2 B1G), ranked No. 16 in the dual rankings and No. 21 in tournament rankings, took seven of 10 matches in Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The shorthanded Boilermakers (8-3, 1-2 B1G) wrestled hard against a Rutgers squad boasting nine ranked stars, picking up two ranked victories and three match wins total.

Blake Boarman (133 lbs) shook off a tough stretch and got back to his normal game with a 4-1 win in sudden-victory over No. 26 Dylan Shawver.

The redshirt senior from Evansville, Ind., was neck-and-neck after three periods before exploding into a double-leg for the match-winning takedown.

Purdue sailed to a 28-11 victory at No. 18 Maryland on Friday night.

The Boilermakers won seven of 10 matches, including five for bonus points, taking down the Terrapins (4-4, 0-3 B1G) in their home gym of Schanwald Pavilion at XFINITY Center.

The two teams went back-and-forth through the first six matches, alternating match wins until Purdue clutched up to dominate the last four contests for a runaway rout.

The Boilers were short-handed, wrestling without two of their top stars in No. 4 Joey Blaze (165 lbs) and Greyson Clark (141). Both hope to be back for the start of a four-dual homestand next Friday against Michigan State.

Track Teams being competition

The Track & Field’s Seamus Malaski won the shot put at the Corky Classic and Katherine Valentine won the 800m at the Hoosier Horsepower Classic to lead Purdue on Saturday.

The Boilermakers totaled five top 10 finishes in program history on Saturday to accompany six top 10 marks on Friday.

Men’s Notes
• Seamus Malaski won the Corky Classic shot put with a personal best throw of 19.10m (62-08.00) and entered Purdue’s rankings at No. 5. It’s the furthest throw indoors by a Boilermaker since 2019.
• Hugh Jacobsmeyer ran 1:49.80 in the 800m to finish third at the Hoosier Horsepower Classic. He became just the third Boilermaker to go sub-1:50 indoors and the first since Kenny White ran 1:49.71 in 1994.
• The 4x400m relay team of Jax Coleman, Zyan Greene, Zach Mylenek and Samuel Vessat ran 3:07.38A to finish fourth at the Corky Classic. The time entered Purdue’s ranking at No. 5 and the converted time of 3:07.82 ranks seventh in the NCAA.
• Bode Gilkerson jumped an indoor personal best 2.18m (7-01.75) in the high jump and finished third. The jump improved his program ranking to sixth and tied his outdoor personal best.

Women’s Notes
• Katherine Valentine earned the Hoosier Horsepower Classic 800m victory (2:14.11) in her first collegiate indoor race.
• The women’s 4x400m team of Alexia Smith, Caliyah Wallace, Ashley Odiase and Gia Clay ran 3:37.10 to finish fifth at the Corky Classic and take over the final spot in Purdue’s top 10.
• Ashley Odiase finished eighth in the 200m (23.95A) and entered Purdue’s rankings at No. 10 after her first 200m as a Boilermaker.
• Jubilee Felder cleared 1.71m (5-07.25) in the high jump to finish sixth. She cleared one more bar than her collegiate debut last weekend.

Next Up
Purdue brings the team back together for the Crossroads of America Invitational (Jan. 23-24) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Softball earns five preseason nods

Softball America and D1 Softball announced their preseason honors this week, with five Boilers earning nods, including three freshmen, earning their first-career awards.

Returning players Julia Gossett and Moriah Polar earned spots on both lists, while freshmen Anna Moore made Softball America’s watch list, Kendyl Rainey earned a spot on D1 Softball’s, and Brianna Fontenot made an appearance on both.

During the 2025 season, both Gossett and Polar turned heads, both earning spots on the NFCA All-Region team. 

Gossett was also tabbed All-Big Ten Tournament team after going 4-for-5 with four home runs in the Big Ten Tournament, tying the tournament record. She was also named Co-Big Ten Pitcher of the Week during the season, the first Purdue pitcher to earn the honor in seven years. 

After her stellar 2025 campaign on both sides of the ball, Gossett was named the No. 100 preseason player in the country in both the Softball America and the D1 Softball rankings. She also earned the No. 6 two-way player in the country honor in both polls as well.

Polar was the only Boiler to earn All-Big Ten honors during the 2025 season, landing a spot on the second-team after batting .444 on the season with 68 hits, and earning a spot on Softball America’s position rankings in back-to-back months. Polar had to sit out the Big Ten Tournament due to injury, but is back to make a full return for the 2026 season.

During 2025, she eclipsed 100 career-hits with 19 multi-hit games, three of which she went 4-for-4. On the other side of the ball, Polar held a team-leading .981 fielding percentage with 102 putouts, two assists, and just two errors in all of the games she played.

Polar was tabbed the No. 26 outfielder in the country in Softball America’s preseason outfield rankings, and the No. 24 outfielder in the country according to D1 Softball’s own rankings.

In addition to the success of the returners, three rookies found their names in the preseason honors, with Moore, Rainey, and Fontenot each earning nods. 

Moore and Fontenot earned spots on the D100 Freshman watch list from D1 Softball, while D1 Softball’s Freshmen to Watch List included Fontenot and Rainey. 

Fontenot, a native of Louisiana, is a three-time All State honoree, a four-time All District pitcher, a 2024 PGF tournament finalist, and a SWLA honoree. 

Moore, a native of Indiana, is a 2025 State Champion, a two-time captain, three-time All City selection, and a 2024 First-Team All State selection. 

Rainey, a native of Indiana, is an All-Conference honoree, a varsity captain, an IHSA State Track and Field qualifier, and a school record holder in the 4×200. 

All three freshmen bring different skill sets to the Boilers, and are ready to make their mark alongside the rest of the 2026 squad.

Purdue is set to open the 2026 season of Feb. 6 in Las Vegas against Cal Baptist.