Todd Yeagley’s belief in Indiana men’s soccer never wavered.
From the moment the final whistle blew against Rutgers on Nov. 7 to the NCAA Tournament selection show Monday, the 16-year Hoosiers head coach reiterated his team deserved a national seed.
Indiana received the No. 6 seed — a first round bye plus home field advantage through the Sweet 16.
It’s the Hoosiers’ highest seed since 2020-21, when they were No. 3 and reached the NCAA National Championship. It also marks the end of a turbulent regular season for Indiana, one that featured a No. 1 national ranking, an undefeated nonconference record and a trophyless Big Ten season.
But now the only trophy that matters is the one five wins away — a national championship. And a No. 6 seed gives the Hoosiers a solid shot at achieving that goal.
Indiana is well acquainted with the NCAA Tournament. Its inclusion in the 2025 edition is the 50th time it has reached this stage, the second most in history behind Saint Louis University’s 52 appearances. The Hoosiers have made the tournament every year since 1987, a 39-year streak that is 30 years longer than the next best active run by Georgetown University.
“That’s not motivation for us,” Yeagley said in a press conference Monday. “However, it’s a touch point to go ‘we've been as consistent as you could ever want to be,’ with the word consistent as a capital C.”
And yet, Indiana is still searching for its ninth star. The Hoosiers have been close before, including national championship appearances in 2017, 2020-21 and 2022, but the elusive ninth star has evaded capture for the majority of Yeagley’s tenure.
However, Indiana has the makings of a national championship-caliber squad. After a 1-0 victory over the University of Notre Dame on Sept. 7, the Hoosiers held a 5-0-1 record and were ranked No. 1 in the country the following week. Even after a disappointing 5-5-0 record in Big Ten play, they enter the postseason with momentum following a 5-0 win against Rutgers.
Two weeks of preparation at this stage of the season is something Yeagley has only had once before. The Hoosiers didn’t play for 17 days following a 1-0 loss to Michigan in the 2024 Big Ten Tournament.
This year it's 16 days. The added time off has allowed Indiana to manage fitness levels while simulating real game scenarios at their own pace, but balancing the two isn’t easy.
“Being smart with just how physical we are with each other, so that we don't have a knock that's unnecessary,” Yeagley said. “Keeping the intensity right but also being smart in the moment — it’s a real fine line.”
The Hoosiers now await either Saint Louis or the University of Kentucky — both teams they defeated in the regular season. It’s a unique situation for Yeagley and his squad, and preparation for the match will look a little different for Indiana.
“From a workload standpoint and preparation, it allows us to really spend extra time on other things that we might not been able to do as a staff,” Yeagley said. “And for the players, it just gives them an understanding. We've seen this team before. This worked. This didn't work as well. We could have done better in the first half, but we didn't do it. Why?”
Both contests were tight affairs, and both went in favor of Indiana. Junior forward Collins Oduro’s solo strike led the way in a 1-0 win against Saint Louis, and senior forward Palmer Ault’s brace completed a 2-1 comeback versus Kentucky.
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Ault’s finishing and playmaking prowess have led Indiana this season, as he won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year on Nov. 13 and is a MAC Hermann Trophy contender with 16 goals and 10 assists on the season. His impact is largely attributable to positive results, too — the Hoosiers were 10-1-1 when he scored or assisted and 2-4-0 when he didn’t.
Indiana’s win over Saint Louis is one of the few in which Ault didn’t provide a goal contribution. And if the Hoosiers hope to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, Ault’s play will be paramount.
“He came here to get this opportunity,” Yeagley said. “He felt when he made the decision, he wanted to challenge himself and get outside of his comfort zone and go somewhere that historically has been able to play in the deep rounds of the tournament, and we've been able to show that we've done that. Now it's his turn and our turn to see we can keep that going.”
The Hoosiers are guaranteed at least one final home match in front of their fans. Indiana only fell once at home in 2025, a 3-2 defeat to Michigan on Sept. 13, and secured nine wins and a draw in the other 10 matches.
Future home field opportunities aren’t on Yeagley's mind. Defeating the Billikens or Wildcats at noon Sunday would mean another opportunity to win at Bill Armstrong Stadium the following week, but the first triumph is all that matters.
Because without it, there won’t be a chance for a second.
“We'll be focused on that Sunday game and take it one at a time and know that we put our post best foot forward,” Yeagley said. “Now it's one game and advance.”
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
