Indiana
He tore both ACLs, now this Zionsville alum is big part of No. 1 Indiana men’s soccer
BLOOMINGTON — Each and every day, in Todd Yeagley’s world, No. 1 leans ever heavier on No. 99.
When Yeagley’s Indiana men’s soccer team ascended to the top of the United Soccer coaches rankings this week, they did so on the back of three straight clean sheets, including ranked wins over Oregon State and Saint Louis, and a 1-0 victory at Notre Dame.
Those results brought into stark relief the impact of the Hoosiers’ new No. 1 keeper, who wears a number as far from what is convention for his position as is possible.
Holden Brown, whose 6-foot-4 frame fills all of the purple adidas shirt IU’s keepers wear, transferred from Virginia last year. He did so knowing he’d have to fight for his place — in fact, that was part of the Hoosiers’ appeal — and he unexpectedly missed last season through an injury he hardly even knew he’d suffered.
But now, handed the proverbial No. 1 shirt, Indiana’s No. 99 (Brown’s actual number) anchors a back five that hasn’t conceded in a goal in its last 358 minutes of soccer. Brown found what he wanted in Bloomington. Handed his chance, after waiting so long, he’s seizing it with both hands.
“Whenever you become a consistent starter for so long,” Brown told IndyStar, “the game just kind of becomes a little bit of a job. That pressure becomes a privilege, but you get used to it.
“Sitting on the sideline makes you just appreciate the moment more.”
A Zionsville native, Brown began his career with another college soccer powerhouse. He spent four years seasons (2020-23) with the Cavaliers, starting between the sticks for two-plus seasons.
In 2021, Brown led the ACC in saves, and in 2022 he was third-team all-conference, and made the All-ACC tournament team.
Then, midseason in 2023, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Brown lost the rest of that campaign, before transferring into a two-year graduate program at IU.
He knew the Hoosiers better than most — Brown was close friends with Grant Yeagley, one of Todd Yeagley’s three sons, growing up, even spending time at the Yeagleys’ house when he was young.
But family ties didn’t bring Brown to Bloomington.
“Going to a place ready to compete was really important to me,” he said. “I didn’t just want to step in somewhere and be that annoying fifth-year senior that steps in and (takes the job by default).”
Indiana had an established keeper, JT Harms, and with his ACL tear mended, Brown was ready to push Harms for playing time.
But through the course of the summer in 2024, he started to notice a new pain, this time in his right knee. It was never sharp or unbearable. Brown can’t even pinpoint exactly when it started. It wasn’t extreme to the point that he stopped working out, or coaching other goalies. Just persistent enough for him to eventually get it examined.
“I finally pulled the trigger on the MRI, thinking maybe I’d sprained my MCL or something,” Brown said.
Tests confirmed what Brown never realized — he’d torn the ACL in his right knee.
“It was definitely a blow,” he said.
That planted Brown on the sideline for another year. He passed a lot of training sitting on Jerry Yeagley’s golf cart, getting a crash course in IU soccer history and culture from the former coach still affectionately referred to within the program as The Godfather.
Brown also spent that time studying his new team, and his new teammates. The goalkeeper is the only player on the pitch who plays with the entire game in front of him, and his role as a communicator and organizer is crucial to not just defensive success, but team success.
Once he was cleared a second time, Brown spent the summer directing what he calls “a makeshift goalies union,” working out with Louisville transfer AJ Piela and Dani Jacobson, the starting goalie for IU’s women’s team. When the rest of his teammates gathered for preseason, Brown might have been new to some of them on the pitch, but he needed no time bedding in.
“Hanging out with the guys for the whole year, them seeing me as a human being off the field, and then being able to prove myself on the field, I think that combination of both has been really helpful,” Brown said. “Even though I am a transfer, it doesn’t feel like it.”
That alone didn’t hand Brown the starting job, out of a keeper group Todd Yeagley has suggested is the deepest he’s coached at Indiana.
“This group,” Christian Lomeli, a former IU keeper now on staff, said, “it’s crazy to say, and I’ve never felt this way, in my time here: I could have picked the name out of a hat and every one would have been capable of starting in that (season-opening) Clemson match, and the season moving forward.”
In particular, Brown split time in the preseason with freshman Judewellin Michel, who came to IU from the CF Montreal academy setup.
Michel got that start against Clemson, a 2-2 draw that remains the only one of six regular-season games thus far IU hasn’t won. Brown came in Matchday 2 against San Francisco, and he’ll admit now this season might have taken a different direction for him had the Hoosiers not erased a 2-0 deficit in a 3-2 win.
But in the four matches since, he’s conceded just once, in the second minute against Green Bay. Those blanks thrown up in three impressive nonconference wins contributed to the Hoosiers rise to No. 1 this week.
Lomeli still pushes his veteran keeper to improve his game.
He wants Brown to keep honing his ability to communicate as a keeper, and to trust his big frame to command his 18-yard area, and come for crosses and free kicks as boldly as former Hoosier and current FC Cincinnati netminder Roman Celentano once did. When the Hoosiers have leads to protect — as they have recently — Lomeli knows more opponents will resort to throwing long balls into the area Brown can come clean up aggressively.
“We need to have a commanding keeper that can manage his box well,” Lomeli said. “That’s an area we need to just grow his confidence.”
And Brown knows September success means little for a program with December ambitions. The Hoosiers open Big Ten play Saturday against Michigan, starting their journey toward the first of three trophies they aim for annually.
Brown was part of an experienced team last year whose collective trophy cabinet was stuffed with conference honors and NCAA tournament wins. This group, turned over by attrition and leaning on both freshmen and transfers, can’t claim so much silverware.
If No. 99 has his way, No. 1 is just the beginning for Indiana this fall.
“No. 1’s great. Undefeated’s great. But we haven’t won any trophies,” Brown said matter-of-factly. “That’s what the guys want, and that’s what we’re gonna hunt, starting with Michigan on Saturday.”
Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.
A man’s family is demanding answers after he was shot by a security guard inside a hospital emergency room waiting area on Tuesday night in Gary, Indiana.
Methodist Northlake Hospital officials said, around midnight Tuesday night, its security staff responded quickly after a patient took out a gun. The hospital said he’d threatened to shoot himself or others.
The hospital commended the security guard who shot the man for “neutralizing the threat and helping ensure the safety of our patients and employees.”
Family members identified the man who was shot as Otis Brown. They said he is a kind father to a 12-year-old boy.
“Just a great person, a happy-go-lucky, always out there trying to do the right thing,” said his fiancée, Stacey Taylor.
Taylor said she was on a business trip when she got a call that Brown had been shot multiple times.
“Scared, uncertainty; you know, what story is right? You know, what happened?” she said.
After he was shot, Brown was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center for treatment.
Taylor said she had no idea why Brown went to Methodist Northlake Hospital in the first place. His family said he was trying to leave the hospital when the shooting happened, claiming that the hospital gave him his gun back after he was cleared to leave.
“We just want to get answers, just want to know what happened, particularly when people are defaming his name,” Taylor said.
She and Brown’s family hope the hospital has surveillance video footage that can help provide answers.
Gary police have not provided any details on the shooting. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department said it is investigating the shooting at the request of Gary police, but did not provide any further information.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WSBT) — The Indiana Attorney General has finished its investigation into Karl King Tower and issued a compliance order.
This is coming after a months-long investigation into the unsafe living conditions for residents at the apartments.
From December 2025 to January 2026, there were prolonged failures with the heating and a lack of heat for residents during winter conditions at Karl King.
The property owner provided a 20% rent credit for affected tenants and documentation related to health and safety issues.
Below is the agreement from the Attorney General:
- The owner must complete boiler and heating system improvements by September 30.
- The property is subject to a monitoring period for multiple years.
- The owner needs to provide on-site security, including cameras in common areas and monthly incident reports.
- The building needs an on-site property manager to address resident concerns.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The Attorney General has the authority to inspect the property and enforce compliance if commitments aren’t met.
It’s been a rough season for the Indiana baseball team, but the Hoosiers have one more shot to finish the season on a high note against Illinois this week.
Indiana (21-30, 7-20) has lost five straight contests and failed to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament after finishing outside the top 12 in the Big Ten, meaning Saturday’s game against the Illini will be the Hoosiers’ last.
And that may very well be the biggest surprise in all of the Big Ten, considering IU won 33+ games each of the last two years and finished above .500 in Big Ten play each of the last three seasons.
About Indiana
Indiana’s disappointing season is almost over after getting swept by in-state rival Purdue over the weekend. IU has lost four straight Big Ten series and hasn’t won a series in nearly a month.
Regardless of who is playing well and who’s not, don’t be surprised if the majority of the seniors get to play this weekend.
That probably wouldn’t be the case if Indiana were still able to qualify for the Big Ten Tourney, but with that out of the equation, expect to see the guys who might not ever play another competitive game of baseball get to see the field one last time.
The Hoosiers’ best pitcher is southpaw Tony Neubeck, who leads the team in wins, starts, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Neubeck has recorded back-to-back quality starts and could very well hear his name called in this June’s MLB Draft.
Offensively, the Hoosiers have proven they can score some runs, and despite getting swept last week, scored 21 runs against Purdue. IU’s top hitter is Jake Hanley, who leads Indiana’s offense in at-bats, hits, home runs, RBIs, total bases, and walks.
About Illinois
Unlike Indiana, no matter what happens this week for Illinois, the Illini are automatically a lock for the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois might rest some of its everyday players who have played a lot and have some of its top arms on pitch counts, but outside of that, expect the Illini to play this series like it’s their last.
Illinois still has a chance to move up a spot in the Big Ten, and there’s no denying the fact that seeding matters.
Illinois (27-23, 13-14) has won five in a row but has struggled on the road this season, especially in Big Ten play.
Still, though, Illinois has a couple of solid relievers — Sam Mommer and Sam Reed — and has an ace in Aidan Flinn.
Offensively, the Illini are inconsistent but did manage to score 26 runs in three games against Northwestern and have a couple of power hitters in AJ Putty and Collin Jennings.
Series Schedule
Thursday, May 14th (6 p.m. ET)
Friday, May 15h (6 p.m. ET)
Saturday, May 16th (2 p.m. ET)
All three games are available to watch via the Big Ten Network Plus (BIG+).
Follow
-
New York41 minutes agoMystery Grows Around Representative Thomas Kean Jr.’s Absence
-
Los Angeles, Ca47 minutes agoMillions of dollars worth of counterfeit luxury goods found in downtown L.A. bust
-
Detroit, MI1 hour ago3 things to love about Lions 2026 schedule
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoTrump derangement syndrome: San Francisco can’t let baseball be baseball
-
Dallas, TX1 hour ago2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoTua Tagovailoa will return to Miami for preseason contest against Dolphins
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoWeekend Happenings: Panda Fest and more
-
Denver, CO2 hours ago
‘Thursday Night Football’ vs. Seahawks, Christmas Day vs. Bills highlight Broncos’ standalone matchups in 2026
