MAMA?S SEASON RECAP

Hello HoosierMama?s Faithful,

With this year's Mama?s season now over, we wanted to take a chance and wrap this season up—from the head coach's perspective.

The 2026 Season Recap

I've alluded to this already in the regionals recap and other tournament recaps this year, but our team's performance this year was marred by inconsistency. With so few seniors, it meant we had to look to a lot of younger players with less experience to lead us against teams that had more depth and experience. At times, this team looked like a bunch of old boys playing against teams of young men. And as Gravy always says, "your best ability is your availability."

Senior captain Conner "Rodman" Blalack, our best all around player, missed almost half our tournaments this year due to injuries. He would sit out practices for that same reason and so that meant our team wasn't always building chemistry playing as a unit. Which, of course, further contributed to our inconsistencies.

Senior captain Aidan Ball lacked the experience needed to consistently carry the weight that we asked him to. Aidan, if you're reading this, I love you - but you had no business taking some of the shots you did this year simply because you had not played/practiced that role ever before. And yet, you stepped up into that role because you had to. You stepped up into a leadership and communication role on the field that you had never done before - and you grew amazingly into that role, truly. But again, that lack of experience led to volatility.

I truly believed there was a world where this team, when it was at its best, could play with the best teams in the region. The question was: could we bring our best and, most importantly, sustain that for a full game? It happened a few times this year, but more often than not we struggled to put together entire games where we were at our best.

As a coach, was I overly optimistic at times? Certainly. But I tend to see the best in people and I genuinely believed in this version of the Mama?s. Only once before in my time as a coach did I look the captains in the face and tell them there was no chance at winning the region that year. This was not one of those years.

Mama?s Head Coach, Connor Regan, strategizing.

The silver lining to this team having such a small senior class is that the next generation of Mama? greats were getting extremely valuable reps within roles they had no business being in just yet. I believe that will pay dividends for us next year. With so many other regional teams graduating major production, they will have to have their next generations grow into those roles throughout next year. Us? Well, we've already begun that process in a major way. That doesn't mean it'll be a walk in the park, but it'll certainly be a more consistent product next year. Plus, I think we have a solid incoming rookie class.

There were also other challenges and adversities that this team faced that are worth mentioning. For one, this was the first year since 2017–2018 where Dan "Admiral" Clement was not coaching with me. Dan was around the team for about a month in the Fall before needing to head west to take care of himself — though he plans to return next season. I cannot overstate how important Dan is to this program. He has always been there for the Mama?s and he is a fantastic coach, as many of you dear readers can personally attest to.

I myself went through the hardest year of my career and often found myself feeling stretched extremely thin as a result, struggling to put the time into film analysis and such that I used to. These aren't excuses by any means, but for our own coaching staff to be more inconsistent than we've been in nearly a decade would only further contribute to the team itself playing inconsistently.

Coming into this year I had never coached a tournament without a coach like Dan or Gravy around. I did that twice this year, coaching alone, and it was incredibly difficult. Even after all these years, there were times I found myself battling imposter syndrome again. There were times I felt like I was letting the team down. I did my best to push those demons and insecurities aside, putting on my best coaching face in front of the boys. And for myself too, I suppose.

The funny thing is, every time I showed up to practice after a terrible day of work, I always, without fail, left practice feeling better than I did when I got there. And that's a beautiful thing. I think each of us remembers, vividly or otherwise, those feelings that this team imparted on us. It's what has you reading this far into my write up. Because you care. And you care because this program gave you something truly valuable. Something hard to recreate or find elsewhere. What this team gave us is unique to each individual. But it's those things that bond us together. It's those things that made us who we are today. And most of us, I believe, wouldn't trade any of it. Not for the world. The good, the bad, the heartbreak. All of it. It's our story, growing each and every year as the Mama?s march on. Ever growing and adding new blood to the tribe. People who will leave their mark on this team in their own ways. They'll leave their own legacies. They'll write their own stories. And we will be proud of them.

Sooner or later, there will be a time where I'm not with the team. And I've been with the team for 14 straight years now. But I know that I will always have a home in Bloomington with the Mama?s to come back to. I know that I will always have a bond with each and every one of you. And while that bond is difficult for me to convey with words, I know each of you understands it.
We are the Mama?s and the Mama?s are great.

With love,

Connor "Pretty" Regan

30-Day Stay Clean Challenge Update!

We wanted to share a quick update on this year’s 30-Day Stay Clean Challenge and thank those of you who helped make it such a success.

We had 30 players sign up, with 12 completing the full 30 days of sobriety. Altogether, that resulted in $1,650 raised to support the program.

Beyond the fundraising, what stood out most was the impact on day-to-day habits. Players shared that they felt more focused, had more time, and were challenged in new ways socially. A few reflections from the post-challenge survey:

• “Seeing how much extra time I could spend being productive.”
• “My weekends felt a lot longer, I woke up earlier, felt more clear headed.”
• “Going to bars with friends and not drinking.”
• “Even though I failed, it changed my mindset and made me think more carefully about all preparation choices I made leading up to Regionals.”

We also want to give a special thank you to the five alumni who volunteered as accountability buddies. That piece added a lot this year — not just in helping players stay on track, but in building real connections.

One example: Will “Quigs” Quigley was paired with a graduate student. Quigs is learning to play the harmonica, and each morning during the challenge he recorded an encouraging message for his buddy that included a little harmonica. When his buddy was asked what helped him stay on track? My good friend Quigs.

Overall, we were encouraged by both the increased participation and completion rate, and especially by the sense of connection and support that developed throughout the challenge.

Thanks again to everyone who participated, supported, or helped spread the word. If you have an idea for a fundraiser, we’d love to hear it — feel free to reach out at hello@hoosiermamas.org.