by The end of the year 2025 is upon us, and with that, most of us take the time to look back on our journey. When it comes to Ball State sports, there were multiple things that stood out. From championships to personal bests to the capping of careers, the Cardinals notable achievements in multiple areas.
With that, here are our top 10 Ball State sports’ moments from the year.
No. 10 – Hill throws down a game-winning dunk for Ball State men’s basketball
In only one season with Ball State men’s basketball, Jermahri Hill laid down a play that found itself on ESPN while spreading virally throughout social media.
The Cardinals were tied with Eastern Michigan 84-84 Tuesday, Feb. 11. After grabbing an inbounds pass, Hill took the ball down coast-to-coast and only had his eyes on one prize: the goal. As he cut into the paint, the guard launched himself for a game-winning, posterizing slam dunk with seconds to spare.
It was a play that stood out amongst the entire 2024-25 Ball State men’s basketball season, and it was a moment that took the Mid-American Conference (MAC) by storm.
No. 9 – Ball State soccer wins MAC Tournament game on a penalty kick
After a 10-6-2 regular season record with a 7-4-1 MAC mark, Ball State soccer punched its ticket into the MAC Tournament as the league’s No. 4 seed.
In the first round, Ball State faced No. 5 Kent State. However, the two faced each other for 110 minutes, including two overtime periods. The match came down to penalty kicks. Multiple Cardinals converted their kicks to give them the lead, and sophomore defender Joey Zeeman converted on the game-winner.
A few minutes later, sophomore goalkeeper Kate Pallante completed a save to win the game and send Ball State to the next round. After being bombarded by Ball State teammates, it became one of the biggest highlights of the Ball State athletic season.
No. 8 – Maloney makes history with Ball State baseball
Ball State baseball head coach Rich Maloney is no stranger to success. In his 30-year head coaching career, he has the most wins as Ball State’s commander-in-chief (683-424-2), has been named the MAC head coach of the year four times and has had multiple players play professional baseball.
But with a 13-10 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Tuesday, March 11, the Cardinals gave their coach another achievement.
He became just the 10th active Division I head baseball coach to earn 1,000 wins. He is the 69th head coach in the history of college baseball to reach the mark, while being just the 50th to reach it solely as a Division 1 coach.
No. 7 – Chester maintains success for Ball State soccer
Addie Chester is pretty familiar with playing good soccer in Delaware County. While attending Delta High School, she scored 201 career goals for the Eagles. In the 2024 season with Ball State, the then junior started all 18 games and hit 10 goals with eight assists.
But her positive fortune continued in the 2025 season as the senior recorded 11 goals, with four of those being game-winners. Chester and former Cardinals Avery Fenchel are the only two Ball State players in program history to have multiple double-digit goal campaigns.
Chester was voted the MAC Player of the Week four times, and to cap it off, was awarded the conference’s Forward of the Year award.
No. 6 – Rogers’ concludes achievement-filled career with Ball State track and field
Jenelle Rogers is a name that the Ball State track and field program will probably remember forever. After being a three-time All-American, a seven-time conference champion, a two-time MAC MVP awards and an Academic-All MAC representative, she once again delivered at the end of the 2025 indoor season.
She found the podium one last time as a Cardinal Friday, March 14, as she earned her fourth All-American award at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
No. 5 – Ball State athletics wins MAC’s Cartwright award
There might not be a better way to say Ball State sports had a solid season than this achievement. The MAC announced Aug. 28 that the Cardinals’ athletic program won the Carol A. Cartwright Award for the 2024-25 campaign.
The award is given to the MAC program based on academics, athletics and citizenship. It is voted on by a committee that includes representation from all 13 schools. It was the first time Ball State had ever won the award, and it came after the university set multiple new records.
Some of those included the first time all programs had a GPA higher than 3.0, four teams had a perfect 4.0 GPA and a 93 percent graduation rate amongst student-athletes.
No. 4 – Driscoll wins MAC individual title for Ball State women’s golf
Ball State women’s golf only had two individual MAC champions in its history. But 2025 changed that as senior Jasmine Driscoll took home the individual title in this year’s MAC Championship.
Over 54 holes, Driscoll was +2, which allowed her to take the title with a one-shot victory. Her score is the lowest in program history for the event.
This solidified an opportunity to play in the NCAA Regionals. Her efforts also helped Ball State capture fifth place as a team in the league finale.
No. 3 – Richards ends legendary career as Ball State men’s tennis head coach
The accolades speak for themselves when it comes to Bill Richards.
The winningest men’s tennis head coach in MAC history (243-88), an overall record of 669-482, a combined 38 MAC regular season and tournament championships, 17 undefeated seasons and eight NCAA Tournament visits. But on June 30, Ball State athletics announced that Richards was retiring after holding the position for 53 years.
In a statement from Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell, he honored Richards for the way he led the program on and off the court.
“His remarkable career exemplifies the model of excellence for which Ball State is known, and his leadership has made a positive impact on generations of student-athletes,” Mitchell said.
No. 2 – A regular season to remember for Ball State women’s volleyball
Ball State women’s volleyball came into the 2025 campaign with adversity. The Cardinals would be without multiple key athletes for the entire season. But the absence of these players did not stop the team’s efforts.
The Cardinals won 10-straight MAC games to begin the conference season and went on to win the league with a 17-1 record. It was the program’s third-best MAC mark ever, and the success was honored with multiple awards at the end of the year.
Head coach Kelli Miller Phillips was named the MAC Coach of the Year while sophomore Carson Tyler — who led the Cardinals and the MAC with 4.22 kills per set — was given the league’s Player of the Year title. She was the first Ball State player to achieve this since 1999.
But there was more. Junior Lindsey Green and freshman Reese Axness were named the MAC Setters of the Year, while four Cardinals, including Tyler, were named to the First Team All-MAC.
Although Ball State fell in the semi-final round of the MAC Tournament, the 2025 season was a program year, no matter how you look at it.
No. 1 – Ball State women’s basketball crosses the finish line with MAC Championships
Brady Sallee told the media he would keep ‘knocking on the door’ until the Cardinals won the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. He said this after the program ended its season early in the 2024 event.
But after posting a 23-7 overall record and winning the regular season conference title behind a 15-2 MAC record, the Cardinals found themselves at the door once more. This time, it swung wide open for the program and its 14th-year head coach.
Behind the core four of Ally Becki, Alex Richards, Madelyn Bischoff and Marie Kiefer, the Cardinals rallied to defeat Toledo 65-58 March 15 to win the event for the first time since 2009. This granted them an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where the team fell to Ole Miss.
Regardless, Sallee and his Cardinals did it. Years of work and building a winning program paid off, and it was a moment that you just had to be there for.
En route to post-season success, Becki was named the MAC Player of the Year, Kiefer was awarded the league’s Defensive Player of the Year title and Sallee capped it all off as the conference’s Coach of the Year.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu, zachcarter039@gmail.com or via X @ZachCarter85. Contact Dylan Kindig via X @DylanKindig2
