Kate Bruce beamed as she sat at a press conference table in the Corteva Coliseum staging area on Sunday.
A late arrival passing through on the way to the Horizon League Tournament’s second-round men’s game would have been perfectly justified to assume, based on the IU Indianapolis coach’s demeanor, that the Jaguars had just advanced to the HL semifinals.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth; in fact, the Jags had just swallowed a season-ending 38-point shellacking at the hands of rival Purdue Fort Wayne. For the crimson-clad, seventh-seeded upstarts, there was little to find encouraging within a game sheet that included data like a 26.3 shooting percentage (which plummeted to just 17.2 percent in the second half), a minus-14 rebounding margin, and a score by periods that showed that the contest was likely over by halftime, only becoming more lopsided from there.
Yet Bruce grinned as she spoke, because she had already moved past the inconvenience of the immediate result, and into what she views as brighter days ahead.
Some of that comes from the standard coach’s mindset. Lose a game? Watch the film, make the appropriate adjustments, and win the next one. Knocked out of the conference tournament? Start preparing for the transfer portal and the summer grassroots circuits. It’s a profession that always demands a forward-looking, optimistic mindset, and the unwavering belief that whatever didn’t work out today will fall the opposite direction tomorrow, with a little more hard work.
At the same time, physical reminders of a better tomorrow are always welcome, and five miles south of Corteva Coliseum, Bruce has roughly $110 million of tangibility on the way in the form of James T. Morris Arena, which is scheduled to open next season.
“We are so excited about what’s going on at IU Indianapolis,” the coach said. “We actually see our new arena. It’s got glass up. We are seeing that, and I think that is one thing we are lacking a little bit, as much as we love The Jungle. We are excited about that new arena.”
As nice as new buildings are, they lose appeal quickly unless occupied by a team worthy of the grandeur and publicity. So, by necessity, there had to be more behind Bruce’s outlook than a rapidly-evolving construction site.
IU Indianapolis became the Horizon League’s representative in its headquarters city, taking over for Butler – which had departed the HL five years earlier – when it joined up in 2017. Almost immediately, the Jags rocketed to the top of the standings under former coach Austin Parkinson and four-time Player of the Year Macee Williams. The duo’s run together was highlighted by the 2020 and 2022 conference tournament titles.
However, Parkinson left (coincidentally, for Butler) after the latter title, and Bruce was hired to navigate the program forward from there. It’s been a slow rebuild, partly because it was delayed for a year while holdovers from the previous regime threw together a competitive, but ultimately not good enough, final season together.
Indy then bottomed out with 16 total wins in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Then, abruptly, the program nearly equaled that combined number this year alone through a 14-17 final mark, despite rostering ten new players.
“I have to give the girls all the credit [for the improvement],” Bruce said. “I mean, gosh, they bought in and they work hard.”
“It’s been really exciting,” said Neveah Foster, who was named to the Horizon League’s third all-conference team on March 2nd. “I just feel like we’ve been really growing since day one and that has helped us get to this point. So let’s just keep pushing. It’s really been fun to see everyone grow”.
Of course, for the last few years, that growing process has meant watching invaders from places like Green Bay, Cleveland, and Fort Wayne compete for titles during the HL’s showcase event in the Jaguars’ home city.
There are clear signs that might change. This season, IU Indianapolis was nearly equal with Big Ten squads Northwestern and Wisconsin, as well as with MAC powerhouse Ball State. The Jags also chipped off victories against several Horizon League contenders, including a three-week stretch during January and February when they defeated Youngstown State, Northern Kentucky, and Cleveland State.
They toppled the Norse again on Wednesday in the HL Tournament’s first round, behind 36 combined points by twins Hailey and Olivia Smith. That result clinched the program’s first trip to the final rounds since 2022.
“We’re putting a name out there for ourselves,” Hailey Smith said. “Last year improving, and this year improving even more…I think if we continue to keep these players dialed in, what didn’t work this year, [we can] come back next year, and make a huge difference.”
Bruce’s roster is on the young side, with the Smiths, Foster, and other key members like Destini Craig, Julia Hall, and Ariana Williams all eligible to return. Certainly, the ever-looming portal presents a complicating factor for anyone’s retention plans, but in the aftermath of a tough defeat, the Jaguars’ stars spoke as if they were in it for the long haul.
Regardless, somewhere in between the new arena, a season of measurable accomplishment, a young roster, and the possibility of running things back to a large extent, Bruce’s enthusiasm bubbled over.
“We are going to continue to build and build and build, and you will see us here next year, but we are talking on the winning end of it,” she proclaimed.
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