Yogi Ferrell, Lilly King named IU athletes of the year
Indiana athletics announced on Monday morning that Yogi Ferrell and swimmer Lilly King have been named the department’s athletes of the year.
Here’s the full release from IU athletics:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Department of Athletics announced today that men’s basketball senior guard Kevin Yogi Ferrell and true freshman women’s swimmer Lilly King have been named IU’s Athletes of the Year.
“Yogi Ferrell and Lilly King are champions and record setters whose performances this past year make them more than worthy of joining the ranks of our legendary athletes who have earned our Athlete of the Year award,” IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass said. “Reaching our highest athletic potential and winning championships is a top priority, and these great athletes who performed spectacularly for two of our most honored programs are tremendous representatives of our championship heritage. Congratulations to both Yogi and Lilly on being named IU Athletes of the Year.”
Ferrell left Indiana as the all-time leader in games played and started with 137 and was the first player in the 21st century to win multiple Big Ten titles wearing the Cream and Crimson.
He finished sixth in career scoring with 1,986 points and was the all-time IU leader in assists with 633. He was second all-time in Hoosier lore with 272 three-point field goals made, but first in Big Ten play with 159, none bigger than a trey in the final minute at Iowa to help IU clinch its second outright Big Ten title in four years.
As a freshman, the Indianapolis native was instrumental on offense and on defense in the final 50 seconds at Michigan to help lead IU to a Big Ten title and a 72-71 comeback win over the Wolverines.
A Wooden All-American choice as a senior, he also earned All-American honors from The Sporting News, the NABC, USA Today, CBS Sports and the Associated Press.
For his career, he averaged 14.5 points and 4.6 assists and shot 39.9% from three-point range. He is the only IU player to ever lead his team in assists during all four seasons that he played.
“Yogi is leaving here as one of the great winners,” head coach Tom Crean said, “and there’s really no way anybody is going to be able to take that away from him. He won two outright championships in four years. And he leaves obviously with the accolades, was a part of our two Sweet 16s in the last four years. I think he’s one of the best — he’s definitely one of the best — defensive players I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching. He always set a tone with his work ethic here. He set a tone with how hard he practices. He set a tone with his competitiveness. He set a tone with his seriousness. And I think this year he absolutely set a tone with sharing his knowledge with his teammates and holding them more accountable along the way.”
King heads in to this month’s Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb., coming off one of the greatest single seasons in Indiana swimming history.
Amongst her accomplishments – NCAA Champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year, four-time All-America honoree, unanimous Big Ten Swimmer of the Year, Big Ten Champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, Big Ten Rookie of the Year and first team All-Big Ten.
Along with becoming the first Hoosier to be named CSCAA National Swimmer of the Year, the Evansville, Ind., native became the first woman to win both the 100 breast and 200 breast at one NCAA Championships since Rebecca Soni in 2009. King is the 10th woman to win both events in NCAA history.
In her two NCAA-winning swims, King broke the American, NCAA, NCAA Meet, U.S. Open, Indiana school, Big Ten and Georgia Tech Pool records in both the 100 and 200 breast.
With her two NCAA titles, King became the first woman – and fourth in the Big Ten – to win multiple national championships in one year. King is the first Hoosier – man or woman – to win multiple NCAA crowns in one year since Jim Montgomery in 1976.
At the Big Ten Championships, King was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team All-Big Ten after winning four gold and one bronze medals at her first conference championship.
King won gold in both the 100 and 200 breast, setting Indiana, Big Ten and Big Ten meet records in both victories. The rookie also helped lead the Hoosiers to gold medals in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Rounding out her championship performance, King took bronze in the 200 IM.
“Lilly King had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in NCAA history,” head coach Ray Looze said. “The best part about Lilly is how good of a person she is on a daily basis: team oriented, competitive, and she always puts the team goals ahead of individual ones. She has a very bright future and significant room to improve. It will be exciting to see where she can take her swimming career at Indiana.”
Filed to: Yogi Ferrell