Crystal Ball: Five predictions for University of Southern Indiana athletics in 2024

EVANSVILLE — Well, here we are.

Another year on the horizon, filled with things to be seen and new developments to take in. A little over a year ago, I started on the University of Southern Indiana athletics beat. In some ways, I still feel like I’m playing a bit of catchup. But I’ve been enjoying it all along the way, and hopefully you have, too.

Theme of the story: I wasn’t expecting that to happen. A lot of things can happen in a year, many of which couldn’t be expected. But here we are, trying to peek inside the crystal ball and predict some things for the Screaming Eagles athletics department in 2024.

Will I be correct? Maybe. Hopefully. Maybe not. But that’s the fun of it, isn’t it?Anyway, here are five predictions for USI athletics for the new year:

Men’s basketball to make the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament

This one isn’t exactly a scorching take. Sure, the USI men’s basketball team hasn’t had the start to the season it wanted. You can see that in the Eagles’ record. But not everything has to be doom and gloom.

USI played one of the hardest non-conference schedules in the country and showed some flashes. Playing Saint Louis close, leading Duke at halftime, playing Michigan State even in the second half, even some moments in a few other games. Of course, there have been some bad moments, but there have been times of promise.

The OVC often is a wide open league. There are the favorites — Morehead State has been formidable in the non-conference while Tennessee State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Tennessee-Martin have shown flashes. All of them have shown weaknesses, too. Making the league tournament should be the expectation but also would be a good accomplishment, particularly with the roster turnover from last season.

With some of the showings and just how balanced the OVC is, I think USI will make the cut to make the conference tournament.

Women’s basketball finishes top five

One of the winter’s big positives has been the Eagles’ women’s basketball team. USI has beaten the teams at or near its level and challenged the Big 12’s Cincinnati. The Eagles’ losses have come against high-major opponents and NCAA Tournament participant Saint Louis. Other than those potentially expected bumps, USI has looked like a team to be reckoned with in the OVC.

The Eagles missed the OVC Tournament last season because of a head-to-head tiebreaker with Morehead State but they appear to be better equipped to make the dance this time around. They have more depth and are more versatile than they were a year ago. Addy Blackwell’s return offers a steady and experienced hand running the offense, but Triniti Ralston and Ali Saunders both bring different elements that make USI harder to scout and guard. Madi Webb and Chloe Gannon both offer good inside scoring and rebounding. Vanessa Shafford and Meredith Raley have both shown why they were preseason all-conference picks.

That culminated in the Eagles having one of the better non-conference showings among OVC teams. They could challenge for a top spot in the league this season.

Volleyball to compete for a title

Jeffery Aucoin’s first season in charge of the USI volleyball team could hardly have gone better. The Eagles went from a one-win team in their first Division I season to qualifying for and winning a match in the OVC Tournament with many of the same players from last year’s team.

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More wins could come with Aucoin getting more of his own recruits in. In this writer’s opinion, he should have been OVC Coach of the Year. USI has momentum to do that and some of the best facilities in the league. There’s optimism around the program and confidence that more building can come.

Will USI win the title? That remains to be seen. But the Eagles are in a position to begin building toward that.

Softball to continue to make D-I strides

There’s still good momentum in the USI softball program coming off the D-II College World Series run. The Eagles established themselves as one of the upper programs in the OVC last season and could continue that this season.

USI has a difficult non-conference schedule with Alabama, which has been a WCWS regular in recent seasons, and Virginia as the headliners. Those kinds of opponents, even if they’re on the schedule early in the season, prepare a team for conference play.

The Eagles showed they belonged on the D-I level last season. They can now make strides in Year 2.

AJ Smith, Jeremiah Hernandez to be All-OVC honorees

One of the USI men’s basketball team’s brightest spots has been Smith’s and Hernandez’s progression from last season. The pair went from end-of-bench guys to being arguably the most important players on the roster. Hernandez and Smith average 12.5 and 11.6 points per game, while Smith adds 9.5 rebounds to his tally.

Taking those numbers into account with the difficult non-conference schedule should bode well for OVC play. There’s no Duke- or Michigan State-level teams in that league. Those two performing to the level they have, particularly on decent efficiency numbers more often than not, should be a good launching point in conference play.

If they keep averaging the numbers they are, they could both be All-OVC players at the season’s end.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Five predictions for University of Southern Indiana athletics in 2024