Symons joins UE from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – One of the top high school basketball players in the State of Idaho is heading to the University of Evansville. Purple Aces head men’s basketball coach David Ragland has announced the signing of Caden Symons to a National Letter of Intent to play for the UE squad next season.

Symons – a 6-foot-4 guard from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – enters the 2025-26 season as the No. 3 rated player in Idaho. He currently plays for Coeur d’Alene High School.

“We are thrilled to welcome Caden and the entire Symons family to our UE basketball program. Caden is an outstanding young man who comes from a true basketball background,” Ragland said. “Both of his parents played collegiately and have established themselves as highly successful coaches. Caden embodies a tremendous work ethic and plays the game the right way. He is exceptionally competitive, defensively focused, and consistently makes winning plays for his teammates.”

“He is a perfect fit for the culture we have built here at UE. We are confident that his addition will help us take the next step forward as we continue working to revive the proud tradition of this storied program.”

Last season, Symons averaged 20.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Vikings. He was recognized as a Second Team All-Idaho player at the 6A level.

“When I was on my official visit I felt a sense of community and knew I would be taking care of and pushed to be the best player and child of God,” Symons exclaimed. “I saw the way the coaches treated the players and knew I wanted to be part of a program with that type of relationship”.

Symons comes from a family with a great deal of basketball experience. His parents both played at the college level. His father Corey is the head coach at North Idaho College while his mother, Nicole, is a former girls basketball coach at Coeur d’Alene HS. His sister, Madi, currently plays for the University of Wyoming. Along with his efforts in basketball, Symons is a quarterback for his high school football team.

UE assistant coach George Swanson is a former assistant coach at NIC and worked under Symons while fellow Aces assistant coach Sammy Dowd played at NIC for two seasons.

EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball grabs the win over Lindenwood University in four sets inside Liberty Arena Thursday night.

The Screaming Eagles improve to 11-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 15-12 overall, remaining in third place in the conference standings.
 
Set 1: LU 25, USI 23
Lindenwood went on a five-point scoring run at the start of the match. Freshman Carley Wright led the court in kills, landing four on no errors to hit a .500 percent. She was able to swing the momentum for the Eagles in pivotal moments, ending the Lions’ serving runs to get the side out. Sophomore Audrey Small picked up four digs to lead the back row, keeping the Lions offense to a low .172.
 
Set 2: USI 25, LU 15
The Screaming Eagles quickly took control of the match with a 14-4 scoring run to start the first half of the set. Freshman Aysa Thomas landed three kills in the set, leading the offense with senior Bianca Anderson, who also added three. Junior McKenzie Murphy was a wall at the net for the Eagles. She added a solo block and five block assists, for six total in the set.
 
Set 3: USI 25, LU 13
USI maintained the lead for the entirety of the set, finishing with a 12-point advantage over the Lions. Anderson led the offense with three kills, followed by Thomas, Murphy, and Wright, who each added two. As a team, the Eagles hit a .429 hitting percentage, recording just one error in the set. Senior Keira Moore kept the pressure on Lindenwood from the service line, landing three aces during her six-point serving run.
 
Set 4: USI 25, LU 19
The Lions came back for the final set to fight, taking the lead three times in the first 10 points, before the Eagles took it over. Junior Ashby Willis landed four of her six kills for the evening in the final set. Small and Thomas each picked up three digs to keep the pressure on the LU offense.

For the game, OVC Freshman of the Week, Thomas tabbed her 19^th career double-double, finishing with 35 assists, 10 digs, and a career-high seven kills. Anderson led the team with 10 kills, followed by Wright with nine.
 

Evansville looks to win their second consecutive MVC Tournament title

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After a dominant win over fifth-seeded UIC in Wednesday’s MVC Semifinal, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team will host the MVC Championship match for the first time in 30 years this Saturday at Arad McCutchan Stadium. Evansville welcomes sixth-seeded Western Michigan for the right to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.

MVC Championship History
Evansville is making its seventh appearance in the MVC Championship game, including their fourth in the last five years. The Purple Aces are 2-4 all-time in title matches, with wins coming in 1996 and 2024. Evansville won last season’s final in dramatic fashion, scoring a golden goal in the 99th minute to defeat Bowling Green. With a win, Evansville would qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history and make back-to-back appearances for the first time since 1991-92.

Western Michigan is making their second appearance in the MVC Championship game since joining the league in 2023. The Broncos won the MVC Tournament in 2023 with a 2-1 win over Missouri State.

Last Time Out
Entering the MVC Tournament with the number one seed for the first time in program history, the Aces flexed their muscles on Wednesday night, besting fifth-seeded UIC 4-1 at Arad McCutchan Stadium.

MVC Freshman of the Year Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) notched his fourth brace of the season, scoring the Aces’ first and fourth goals. Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe) and Nate Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) added goals to mark Evansville’s highest scoring output of the season.

Evansville jumped on the Flames immediately, with Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain/UNIR) taking the ball away from a UIC player and using some nifty dribbling to send a through ball to Escudero. From there, Evansville’s star freshman used his speed to get behind the defense and sneak a right-footed shot past the UIC keeper and inside the far post to net his 10th goal of the season.

The Purple Aces kept the pressure on, as Escudero nearly found another goal less than two minutes later, beginning a barrage of six shots in the next 20 minutes of play. The Aces broke through in the 25th minute on a wild sequence, with Escudero and Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) tallying shots before Shepherd came up with possession. From just inside the right side of the box, Sheperd struck, hitting the crossbar and finding the back of the net for his fifth goal of the year, making it 2-0.

The Evansville offense kept humming in the first half, finding another scoring chance in the 35th minute off an errant pass from the UIC keeper. Armon Haghighat (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley CC) corralled the ball before passing to Roberts, who gave the ball to Ben Zec (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) at the top of the box. Zec gave the ball right back to Roberts, who slid a shot past the keeper for his second goal in the last three matches and increasing the lead to three.

In the final minute of the half, UIC earned a penalty, and although the penalty shot was saved by Evansville keeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove), the Flames’ Edouard Nys collected his shot and tapped the ball in to make it 3-1 heading into half.

Evansville put a cherry on top of the night in the 66th minute of play, finding their fourth goal of the evening. Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain/Oregon State) started the attack, putting a beautiful pass into the box for Shepherd. Although Shepherd’s shot was saved, Escudero collected the deflection right in front of the goal for a tap-in, securing the brace.

Aces host Drake and Southern Illinois

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The final weekend of the regular season will see the University of Evansville volleyball team host Drake and Southern Illinois in Meeks Family Fieldhouse. UE welcomes the Bulldogs on Friday at 6 p.m. before completing the season on Saturday versus the Salukis at 4 p.m.

Senior Night

– Following Saturday’s match, seniors Kora Ruff and Maddie Hawkins will be honored along with graduate assistant Jordan Holland

– Ruff will complete her time at UE ranking third in the record books for career assists while adding over 1,000 digs in her collegiate career

– Hawkins enters her final weekend having seen action in 415 sets while accumulating 387 digs and 78 service aces

Recapping the Weekend

– Last weekend marked the final two road matches of the 2025 season as UE fell by a 3-0 final at Illinois State before dropping Saturday’s match at Bradley in four sets

– Hinsley Everett posted 20 kills against the Braves while Chloe Cline (15) and Makenzie Miller (8) set career highs in kills

Hitting Her Stride

– Josdarilee Caraballo put together her top collegiate match at Murray State finishing with career marks in kills (19) and aces (6)

– Her 19 kills passed her previous mark of 13, which game against Georgia State

– She added eight digs in the contest and is averaging 2.37 per set – 26th in the Valley

– Caraballo has 13 services aces over the last five matches and has jumped to second in the league with 0.38 per set

Scouting the Opposition

– Drake opens the final weekend with an overall mark of 14-11 to go along with a 10-4 Valley record

– Macy Daufeldt (3.51) and Kacia Brown (3.41) are 6th and 7th in the MVC in kills

– The Salukis are 11-17 and 5-9 in the MVC as they open the last weekend

– They are led by Kelly Franklin’s average of 2.99 kills/set

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Multiple stellar relay performances highlighted the opening day of the A3 Invite as the University of Evansville swimming and diving teams began the 3-day meet.

Action opened with prelims on Thursday morning with numerous Purple Aces advancing to the A Finals in their respective events. The top finish of the day belonged to the ladies who took second place in the 400-Medley Relay final. Ane Madina, Claire Mewbourne, Evelyn Chin, and Grace Moody swam a 3:49.01 in the finals to finish in second place. Their time was just three seconds off the school record. Full highlights from the first day are below.

TOP FIVE FINISHES

• 2^nd place | Women’s 400-Medley Relay Final | Ane Madina, Claire Mewbourne, Evelyn Chin, and Grace Moody | 3:49.01 (3:51.03 seed time)
• 4^th place | Women’s 200-Free Relay Final | Grace Moody, Jillian Giese, Evelyn Chin, and Mia Pesavento | 1:36.60 (1:38.01 seed time)
• 4^th place | Men’s 400-Medley Relay Final | Boris Tavrovsky, Jesse Montano, Alex Willis, Michael Pruett | 3:24.00 (3:23.87 seed time)
• 5^th place | Men’s 200-Free Relay Final | Sammy McCall, Michael Pruett, Brendan Ulewicz, and Alex Willis | 1:23.65 (1:24.90 seed time)

TOP TEN FINISHES

• 8^th place | Men’s 500-Free A Final | Joseph Capo | 4:41.79 (4:37.24 prelim time)
• 9^th place | Men’s 200-IM B Final | Chris Rector | 1:53.45 (1:56.57 prelim time)
• 10^th place | Men’s 200-IM B Final | Alex Willis | 1:54.69 (1:56.51 prelim time)

TOP FIFTEEN FINISHES

• 11^th place | Women’s 200-IM B Final | Jillian Giese | 2:08.43 (2:09.56 prelim time)
• 11^th place | Men’s 200-IM B Final | Joao Pereira | 1:55.03 (1:56.49 prelim time)
• 11^th place | Women’s 50-Free B Final | Grace Moody | 24.06 (24.07 prelim time)
• 12^th place | Women’s 500-Free B Final | Luana Carrotta | 5:14.28 (5:13.55 prelim time)
• 12^th place | Women’s 200-IM B Final | Claire Mewbourne | 2:08.94 (2:09.56 prelim time)
• 12^th place | Men’s 50-Free B Final | Sammy McCall | 21.01 (20.97 prelim time)
• 14^th place | Men’s 500-Free B Final | Tyler Jackson | 4:42.83 (4:45.72 prelim time)
• 15^th place | Men’s 500-Free B Final | Luke Cook | 4:43.31 (4:44.84 prelim time)
• 15^th place | Women’s 500-Free B Final | Hannah Krings | 5:18.13 (5:22.04 prelim time)

Both Purple Aces squads are in fourth place in the team standings entering Friday’s competition.