Class 3A Season Preview: Preseason Polls & Awards

Now that we’ve spent this past week previewing the 2019-2020 season for Class 3A in Indiana, I wanted to have a little fun. So, I took a look back at those articles, and I’ve attempted to predict what this season might hold in Class 3A. Taking some ideas from college preview magazines of years past, I’ve assembled this article with a variety of things, like a preseason team poll, preseason awards, and preseason all-state teams. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>PRESEASON POLL</strong></span> The preseason poll is based solely on how I think teams will stack up this season in Class 3A. Past success isn’t meaningless, but year-in and year-out rosters change, and teams can slide up or down the scale in terms of competitiveness. When I looked at all the rosters of Class 3A teams, I came up with approximately 20 teams who I could legitimately see making a run to Bankers Life Fieldhouse if things work out their way. So, preparing a Top-10 was incredibly difficult. The return of both Heritage Christian and South Bend St. Joseph will certainly have a ripple affect on the rest of Class 3A. Heritage Christian has one of the most athletic backcourts in the state, regardless of class. Benton Central, fresh off their State Finals appearance, seems like they’re ready to make another run at it, but this time through the North bracket instead of the South. Mishawaka Marian will be tough to beat this year up North as well, and Gibson Southern has about as deep of a team as any, with as many as 15 girls who could legitimately plug into their Varsity lineup. Don’t forget about Salem and what they’ve done recently done South, plus Danville, Vincennes Lincoln, and Greensburg have all had their share of postseason success in recent years. Class 3A this season could see the most movement in the polls and change favorites from week to week. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>PGH Indiana Class 3A Preseason Top-10 (<em>2018-2019 record</em>):</strong></span> 1. Heritage Christian (18-7) 2. Benton Central (26-5) 3. Mishawaka Marian (22-4) 4. Gibson Southern (24-4) 5. Salem (24-4) 6. Norwell (19-4) 7. Danville (21-6) 8. Vincennes Lincoln (23-4) 9. Greensburg (20-5) 10. South Bend St. Joseph (16-8) &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>PRESEASON AWARDS</strong></span> These preseason awards are an attempt at honoring girls who I think stand out in Class 3A. There are multiple candidates for each award, and every award is easily debatable, but I chose them based on who I thought filled the description the best. Each award is determined through different criteria, as some awards are based primarily on opinion, while others are decided with a heavy influence from statistical merit. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason Individual Awards:</strong></span> [caption id="attachment_111234" align="alignright" width="200"] <em>Ella Collier - Danville</em>[/caption] Most Valuable Player: Maddie Lawrence, 2020, Winchester Community Most Outstanding Player: Ariana Wiggins, 2021, Heritage Christian Toughest Player: Hanna Knoll, 2021, Angola Best Motor: MacKenzie McMahon, 2020, Bellmont Best Shooter: Ella Collier, 2020, Danville Community Best Scorer: Ella Collier, 2020, Danville Community Best Passer: Darrian Carmean, 2020, Vincennes Lincoln Best Rebounder: Alaina Omonodé, 2020, West Lafayette Best Shot-Blocker: Haley Scott, 2021, Western Best Defender: Sydney Watkins, 2020, Heritage Christian Best Athlete: Ariana Wiggins, 2021, Heritage Christian Most Versatile: Keegan Sullivan, 2020, South Bend St. Joseph &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18pt"><strong>PRESEASON ALL-STATE TEAMS</strong></span> Like the preseason awards, this was another attempt to honor girls who stand out in Class 3A. These teams were selected based on equal parts talent, skill, potential, statistical accomplishments, and team accomplishments. While we can debate who should be where, I do think it’s easy to understand why each of the girls listed below were at least selected to be honored. &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason 1^st Team All-State:</strong></span> [caption id="attachment_12885" align="alignright" width="249"] <em>Maddie Lawrence - Winchester</em>[/caption] Ella Collier, 2020, 5-11 G, Danville Community Maddie Lawrence, 2020, 6-0 F, Winchester Community Keegan Sullivan, 2020, 5-11 W, South Bend St. Joseph Taylor Westgate, 2020, 6-1 F/C, Oak Hill Ariana Wiggins, 2021, 5-8 PG, Heritage Christian &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason 2^nd Team All-State:</strong></span> Darrian Carmean, 2020, 5-8 PG, Vincennes Lincoln Alaina Omonodé, 2020, 6-0 C, West Lafayette Meredith Raley, 2020, 6-0 F, Gibson Southern Audrey Strawsma, 2020, 5-10 F, Benton Central Hanna Knoll, 2021, 5-8 G, Angola &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason 3^rd Team All-State:</strong></span> [caption id="attachment_11182" align="alignright" width="189"] <em>Keegan Sullivan - SB St. Joe</em>[/caption] Juliana Kemper, 2020, 5-9 W, Lawrenceburg Leah Miller, 2020, 5-6 PG, Salem Sydney Watkins, 2020, 5-9 G, Heritage Christian Zakia Rasheed, 2021, 5-8 G, Bishop Chatard Mila Reynolds, 2022, 6-2 F, South Bend Washington &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason 4^th Team All-State:</strong></span> Lydia Reimbold, 2020, 5-9 W, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Bayleigh Runner, 2020, 5-7 PG, Hamilton Heights Rebekah Gordon, 2021, 6-0 F, Heritage Hills McKenzie Hudgen, 2021, 5-7 G, Mishawaka Marian Maycee Lange, 2021, 6-0 F, Vincennes Lincoln &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason 5^th Team All-State:</strong></span> [caption id="attachment_23613" align="alignright" width="222"] <em>Ariana Wiggins - Heritage Christian</em>[/caption] Addison Bayman, 2020, 5-6 G, Woodlan Caily Bolser, 2020, 6-4 F/C, Mississinewa Kyrstin Bond, 2020, 5-7 G, South Dearborn Carley Culberson, 2021, 5-7 PG, Yorktown Alaysha Brandenberger, 2022, 5-5 G, Boonville &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt"><strong>Class 3A Preseason Honorable Mention:</strong></span> Ali Barber, 2020, Washington Breann Barger, 2020, Norwell Rebecca Berry, 2020, South Vermillion Kashlin Biffle, 2020, South Bend St. Joseph Meghan Busick, 2020, Bellmont Viktoria Campbell, 2020, Rushville Consolidated Becca Chamberlin, 2020, Winchester Community Kelsey Coffman, 2020, Benton Central McKenzie Cooper, 2020, Eastern-Greentown Jeanie Crabtree, 2020, Eastern-Greentown Courtlynn Crowe, 2020, Peru Nicole Cunningham, 2020, Guerin Catholic Bree Dossen, 2020, Heritage Aliyah Evans, 2020, Greensburg Denaya Harris, 2020, Evansville Bosse Mallory Hawkins, 2020, South Vermillion Halle Hehman, 2020, Brownstown Central Gabby Hicks, 2020, Cardinal Ritter Christina Himelick, 2020, Mishawaka Marian Lauren Kellerman, 2020, Crawfordsville Libby Lapczynski, 2020, New Prairie Neasia Lee, 2020, Beech Grove Ally Lorntz, 2020, Angola Jaylah Mays, 2020, Scottsburg MacKenzie McMahon, 2020, Bellmont Micha Morrison, 2020, Greensburg Jalyn Nelson, 2020, Pike Central Maddy Payne, 2020, NorthWood Madison Payne, 2020, Monrovia Molly Ream, 2020, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger Kate Rulli, 2020, NorthWood Meghan Sandifer, 2020, Cardinal Ritter Amanda Schreiber, 2020, Hanover Central Ashley Schroer, 2020, Brownstown Central Allison Stevens, 2020, Greencastle Allison Stogsdill, 2020, Brown County Hope Tomlinson, 2020, Salem Eryn Turner, 2020, Indianapolis Shortridge Karston Watson, 2020, Charlestown Melina Wilkison, 2021, Greensburg Ryleigh Anslinger, 2021, Evansville Memorial Maddie Barnes, 2021, Speedway Katherine Benter, 2021, Brownstown Central Tyranny Brown, 2021, Heritage Christian Chanteese Craig, 2021, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran Jaclyn Emly, 2021, Silver Creek Ariel Esquivel, 2021, Griffith Kaylee Fuelling, 2021, Norwell Prentciss Gates, 2021, Gary Lighthouse Bridgette Gray, 2021, Central Noble Bailey Hartsough, 2021, Lakeland Brooke Jackson, 2021, Mount Vernon-Posey Remi Jordan, 2021, Knox Trenaé Mann, 2021, Indianapolis George Washington Lillian Mast, 2021, West Noble Moira McGinley, 2021, Bishop Chatard Kamryn Miller, 2021, Gibson Southern Jade Nutley, 2021, 6-0 F/C, Madison Consolidated Jillian Osswald, 2021, Hamilton Heights Maddie Patterson, 2021, Danville Community Elizabeth Reece, 2021, Yorktown Paige Robinson, 2021, Mount Vernon-Posey Grace Sandlin, 2021, Tri-West Maiah Shelton, 2021, Norwell Hannah Sisk, 2021, Princeton Community Libby Steinhart, 2021, Mount Vernon-Posey Alana Striverson, 2021, Silver Creek Karly Sweeney, 2021, Salem Sydney Wagner, 2021, Tippecanoe Valley Zoe Zellers, 2021, Scottsburg Diana Burgher, 2022, North Harrison Gracie Gilland, 2022, Delta Kenna Kirby, 2022, Tri-West Kencia Levasseur, 2022, Washington Hadley Lytton, 2022, Heritage Hills Lilly Maple, 2022, Maconaquah Annika Marlow, 2022, Rushville Consolidated Faith Owen, 2022, Garrett Camiell Perry, 2022, Speedway Iatia Poston, 2022, Gary Lighthouse Emme Rooney, 2022, Silver Creek Alison Saunders, 2022, North Harrison Tressa Senasac, 2022, Benton Central Delainey Shorter, 2022, Sullivan Gracie Shorter, 2022, Sullivan Kynidi Striverson, 2022, Silver Creek Macy Timberman, 2022, Northview Abby Fleetwood, 2023, Brown County Nevaeh Foster, 2023, Mishawaka Marian Emily Mattingly, 2023, Evansville Memorial Amiyah Reynolds, 2023, South Bend Washington &nbsp; <em>Feature image is of Northwestern High School celebrating their 2019 Class 3A State Championship.  Image is courtesy of the IHSAA Twitter account.</em>