Purdue women's basketball report: Friday visitor and more
Items of interest as you contemplate how many old-school sparklers to use on the 4th of July:
Noblesville’s Meredith Tippner is expected to visit campus for the second time on Friday. It would be Tippner’s second unofficial visit.
The 2025 recruiting target, who holds a scholarship offer from coach Katie Gearlds, came to West Lafayette earlier this month after the Indiana-Kentucky Junior All-Star game.
Purdue women's basketball recruiting target: Q&A with Noblesville's Meredith Tippner
Tippner is expected to interact more with the players on this visit than the first one. The Boilermakers are scheduled to hold a summer workout on Friday and will continue practice sessions on Saturday and Sunday before Gearlds gives the team next week off.
Purdue offered Tippner a scholarship earlier this spring. She also received offers from Miami (Fla.) and Oklahoma State and is considering Ivy League schools.
The Boilermakers have two 2025 commitments - South Bend Washington’s Kira Reynolds and Brownsburg’s Avery Gordon.
One of the program’s 2026 targets - Gracyn Gilliard - is changing schools.
Gillard announced on social media that she’s leaving Munster and will attend Center Grove. Gillard grew up in the Center Grove district before leaving for Northwest Indiana but is now returning home.
Purdue hasn’t offered Gillard a scholarship but continues to monitor her progress.
Gilliard played in the Future Games as part of Indiana All-Star week and participated in the IHSAA/IBCA Top 100 Showcase during June.
• Purdue isn’t the only Big Ten women’s program South Carolina is playing this season. The preseason No. 1 team also faces Michigan and UCLA in nonconference games. Two games will be played on neutral courts with the Gamecocks visiting Los Angeles to play the Bruins.
• The Zach Edey story continues to add more impressive chapters. The two-time National Player of the Year was picked No. 9 overall in Wednesday’s NBA Draft by Memphis. Last year, no NBA team was interested in drafting Edey in the first round. He returned to school, improved his skills, and led the Boilermakers to another Big Ten title and a spot in the national championship game. The same national awards he won after his junior year he won again following his senior season, capping one of the best careers in college basketball history. Thursday night was the payoff, not only financially but also an affirmation of Edey's hard work and effort throughout his Purdue career and before he arrived in West Lafayette. That’s two top 10 draft picks from Purdue in the last three years. Jaden Ivey was selected No. 5 overall by Detroit in 2022, and he was in the same recruiting class as Edey. Coupled with the recent Final Four run, it’s beyond time to toss the old narrative about Matt Painter’s program.
• Edey also earned back-to-back Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year honors.
• How much did Purdue increase its travel budget for Year 1 of the new Big Ten? Four newcomers - UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington - officially start Monday. Here’s my story at GoldandBlack.com.
• Purdue’s Luke Gaffney, who won Big Ten Freshman of the Year in baseball, has committed to Clemson after entering the transfer portal.
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