It was another eventful year for Ball State athletics.
The 2025-26 academic year saw a variety of challenges, successes and new heights for the Cardinals athletic programs. Some teams improved, while others declined. Some teams began new head coaching eras, while others saw eras come to an end. Multiple teams won conference championships, and several student-athletes earned all-MAC honors.
Here’s a look at Ball State’s 2025-26 year in review with report card-style grades for the Cardinals’ top teams:
Ball State athletics 2025-26 report card
Fall sports
Women’s volleyball: A. Ball State volleyball dominated the MAC, winning the conference’s regular season title with a 17-1 record. Four Cardinals earned all-MAC first-team honors, Carson Tyler (now at Marquette) was named MAC Player of the Year, Lindsey Green and Reese Axness were named Setters of the Year, and coach Kelli Miller Phillips won MAC Coach of the Year for the third time. The only thing preventing this team from an A+ grade was an upset loss to Toledo in the MAC Tournament semifinals.
Football: C-. The 2025 Ball State football season marked the beginning of the Mike Uremovich era. The Cardinals finished 4-8 overall with a 2-6 record in MAC play in Coach U’s first year — an improvement upon 2024’s 3-9 finish but still not particularly good. A clutch win over Ohio in the MAC opener and a 12-sack breakout season by Nathan Voorhis were the highlights of the season. Ball State had another active offseason in the transfer portal and has made strides in its in-state recruiting, so year two for Uremovich should be more telling as to whether he has the Cardinals trending up or not.
Winter sports
Men’s basketball: F. It was a rough season for the Cardinals on the court, as they finished 12-19 with a 7-11 MAC record, missing the conference tournament for the third year in a row. Another poor showing led to the firing of Michael Lewis as head coach after four seasons. Ball State has since hired Chris Capko to lead the program, and his first transfer portal class drew praise from national media as one of the top mid-major transfer classes of the offseason. Time will tell if things are truly looking up for this team as it embarks on a new era.
Women’s basketball: A. Despite losing the entire starting lineup from the 2024-25 team that swept the MAC regular season and tournament titles, Ball State women’s basketball maintained its status as the class of the conference. The Cardinals went 26-7 overall and split the conference regular season title with a 16-2 MAC record. Seniors Bree Salenbien and Tessa Towers earned all-MAC first-team honors, while freshman phenom Aniss Tagayi received all-MAC freshman and defensive team honors. Like women’s volleyball, though, an upset loss to Toledo in the MAC Tournament semifinals prevented this squad from earning an A+.
WBIT Selection Committee: F-. As one of the best mid-major teams in women’s college basketball that just missed out on an NCAA berth, there was no reason for Ball State to be excluded from the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. Months later, that decision remains a head-scratcher, and the WBIT committee gets a rare F-minus for it.
Spring sports
Baseball/softball: C. The diamond sports both took a step back in 2026 after successful 2025 seasons. After going 33-18 a year ago, Ball State softball finished 23-25 and missed the conference tournament with a 10-17 MAC record. Meanwhile, Ball State baseball finished 25-30, failing to win 30 games for the first time since head coach Rich Maloney returned in 2013, and went 0-2 at the MAC Tournament. Neither team was bad, but neither lived up to the standards they’ve set in recent years.
Men’s volleyball: A+. Ball State men’s volleyball put together one of the finest seasons of any athletic program in school history. The Cardinals went 26-5 and 13-3 in conference play with an impressive 17-1 record at home. They won the regular season and conference tournament titles for the Men’s Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) and earned a top-four national seed in the NCAA Tournament, where a thrilling victory over Pepperdine clinched an NCAA regional title and a Final Four spot for the Cardinals. Head coach Mike Iandolo was named AVCA National Coach of the Year, and five Cardinals received all-MIVA honors, including National Player of the Year finalist Patrick Rogers.
Other highlights
Gymnastics had another strong year, going 13-8 and placing 39th nationally with a team NQS of 195.293 per Road to Nationals. The Cardinals were represented at an NCAA Regional for the ninth year in a row as they sent five individual gymnasts to the Lexington Regional — Mary Rose Bellan, Delaney McMahon, Zoe Middleton, Ava Molina and Ashley Szymanski.
Swimming and diving enjoyed success for both the men’s and women’s teams under head coach J. Agnew, who was named the MAC Coach of the Year. The women’s team placed top-three at the MAC Championships for the first time since 1998, and senior Peyton Kelly was named the conference’s Most Outstanding Swimmer. Meanwhile, the men’s team finished fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference and saw Ryan Farmer earn a nod as the league’s freshman diver of the year.
Four different teams finished fourth in the MAC. Andy Stoots led women’s soccer to a 10-7-3 finish in his first season at the helm with senior Addie Chester earning MAC Forward of the Year honors. Gene Orlando, another first-year head coach, led the men’s tennis team to a 10-12 record with senior Jacks Lancaster earning first-team all-MAC honors.
Outdoor track and field was another fourth-place finisher, highlighted by senior Kenli Nettles winning a second-consecutive MAC heptathlon title and earning second-team All-American in the NCAA heptathlon. Women’s golf also finished fourth in the MAC and posted the lowest single-season stroke average in program history at 299.24. Men’s golf also set a program record for lowest team score with a -27 at the 2025 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ball State athletics report card for the 2025-26 seasons
Reporting by Cade Hampton, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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By Cade Hampton, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
