Jaraan Cornell, the star of South Bend Clay’s 1994 boys basketball state championship team and a Purdue men’s basketball standout, is set to be posthumously inducted to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame March 18, 2026. He will be one of 17 inductees in the Class of 2026.
Cornell’s time at South Bend Clay is perhaps most well-known for his buzzer-beating 3-pointer that sent the 1994 state championship game against Valparaiso to overtime, after which the Colonials emerged 93-88 victors. Cornell scored a team-high 30 points in the game as a sophomore.
He was previously awarded a silver medal by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Clay’s 1994 state title. In his senior season as a Colonial, Cornell was named an Indiana All-Star while finishing third in Mr. Basketball voting.
At Purdue, Cornell finished his four seasons as a Boilermaker as the program’s all-time leader for 3-pointers made. That record has since been broken, but Cornell remains in fourth place on that leaderboard. Cornell was a Third Team All-Big Ten honoree his sophomore and junior seasons at Purdue.
The Boilermakers made NCAA Tournament appearances each year Cornell was on the team, including an Elite Eight run in his senior season.
Cornell later became the Clay girls basketball head coach for two seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15. Cornell unexpectedly died of natural causes on June 6, 2025, at the age of 48.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@gannett.com or follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Late Jaraan Cornell set for Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame induction
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
