Central Indiana: Hamilton County
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The featured image is of Hannah Lach Hannah Lach 5'10" | SF Carmel | 2023 State IN (2023) of Carmel High School. Four years ago, when I first started with Prep Girls Hoops, I introduced different areas of the state…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Hannah Lach Hannah Lach 5'10" | SF Carmel | 2023 State IN (2023) of Carmel High School.
Four years ago, when I first started with Prep Girls Hoops, I introduced different areas of the state and their top prospects. I wanted to again work through that this Fall and offer you a much more detailed look at the Hoosiers State’s different regions and the prospects who should shine this Winter throughout those regions. This article will focus on the Northern suburbs of Indianapolis, and specifically Hamilton County. Of the 13 schools in the state with an enrollment greater than 3000 students, four of them are located in Hamilton County (Carmel-5327, Fishers-3611, Hamilton Southeastern-3430, & Noblesville-3234).
If I simply say, “Hamilton County”, I’m not sure that location is immediately familiar to people throughout the entire state. However, if I say, “Carmel”, “Fishers”, “Noblesville”, etc., everyone quickly knows what I’m referring to. Well, Hamilton County is the county just North of Marion County (Indianapolis), and it has become quite the hotbed for girls’ basketball over the last few years. With just nine schools in the county, they have enough talent to at least compete with any roster you want to put together from any other county in the state, and possibly any team you can assemble from all of the other 91 Hoosierland counties combined.
The combination of Carmel, Fishers, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Sheridan, University, and Westfield have recently provided us with top-end talent like 2020 Miss Basketball Sydney Parrish (Hamilton Southeastern). Additionally, prospects such as Alyssa Crockett (Westfield 2022), Kate Clarke (Carmel 2022), Katie Burton (Fishers 2021), Bridget Dunn (Carmel 2021), and Amaya Hamilton (Hamilton Southeastern 2019) have come from the Northern suburbs of Indianapolis. All of those ladies were Indiana All-Stars and are currently playing at Division-I schools.
At the same time, with so many big schools in such a small area, prospects can often go underrecruited and even unnoticed at times within their own area/school. I often encourage small colleges to visit Indianapolis and watch entire rosters at schools, not focusing solely on one or two players, because there are several hidden gems each year in Hamilton County. With that said, I wanted to take the time to highlight a handful of girls who may not often grab the spotlight, but who deserve their share of recognition for their basketball abilities. All of these girls are strictly from the nine schools in Hamilton County.
Teegan has been a favorite of mine since I first saw her between her 8th Grade and Freshman years. She is a hard-working, quietly tough-nosed, and very skillful wing forward. She has really worked on developing her handle and her perimeter jumper over the years, and she should only get better at the next level. Still, to this day, she stands out because she simply outplays her opponents at both ends of the floor. She’s also a willing and capable defender. Teegan has already committed to play at Huntington University.
Emmrey could be a big-time contributor this year at Westfield, especially considering their heavy graduation losses. She is one of their most talented perimeter players, as she has a nice combination of length, wiry strength, speed, and quickness. She is capable of knocking down an open rhythm jumper outside, but she’s probably more effective attacking the basket. I also really like her intensity at the defensive end of the floor, as she can use her athletic ability and length to really bother opponents.
Kaitlyn is another really nice small college prospect who could have a big year. She was a starter last season on Noblesville’s Class 4A State Championship team, but she could be relied upon even more this time around. She is quick, fast, and feisty, and she plays with a lot of energy. She is a very good perimeter shooter with deep range, and she doesn’t need a lot of time or space to get a shot away. She’s capable of running a team as well, and she is a scrappy, in-your-face defender at times who can bother ball-handlers.
I feel like there’s a theme here, but Ava is another prospect who could see a significant increase in opportunity during the 2022-2023 season. Carmel graduated a lot of production, and Ava could step into a lot more minutes. She is a long, wiry, and fairly fluid athlete. She’s a very good perimeter shooter, so her ability to make shots will give the Greyhounds another weapon on the perimeter. She’ll still need to work on building strength and absorbing contact, but she is a very intriguing small college prospect at this time.
Taylor got some run last year for a good University team, but this year she could transition into more of a leadership/starring role. She is extremely long, wiry-strong, and athletic. She possesses speed, quickness, some bounce, and a nice motor at both ends of the floor. She has improved her perimeter skillset in the last year, and as that continues, she is becoming more of a multilevel scorer instead of primarily a slashing scorer. Defensively, she can take on a variety of guards and wings. She also rebounds well.
Additional Hamilton County Prospects in Our Rankings for 2023-2025:
Charity Beal
Charity
Beal
5'10" | SF
Hamilton Southeastern | 2023
IN
, 2023, Hamilton Southeastern H.S.
Olivia Brown
Olivia
Brown
5'7" | PG
Hamilton Southeastern | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Hamilton Southeastern H.S., committed to Akron
Kelsey DuBois
Kelsey
DuBois
6'2" | PF
University | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, University H.S.
Madison Geary
Madison
Geary
5'8" | SF
Heritage Christian | 2023
IN
, 2023, Carmel H.S.
Hannah Lach
Hannah
Lach
5'10" | SF
Carmel | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Carmel H.S.
Riley Makalusky
Riley
Makalusky
6'2" | SF
Hamilton Southeastern | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Hamilton Southeastern H.S., committed to Butler
Dani Mendez
Dani
Mendez
5'11" | PF
Noblesville | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Noblesville H.S.
Aubrey Novinger
Aubrey
Novinger
5'10" | SF
Noblesville | 2023
IN
, 2023, Noblesville H.S.
Jordan Patterson
Jordan
Patterson
5'5" | CG
University | 2023
IN
, 2023, University H.S.
Karina Scott
Karina
Scott
5'5" | SG
Fishers | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fishers H.S.
Payton Seay
Payton
Seay
5'6" | SF
University | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, University H.S.
Hailey Smith
Hailey
Smith
5'10" | SG
Fishers | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fishers H.S.
Olivia Smith
Olivia
Smith
5'10" | SG
Fishers | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fishers H.S.
Brooklyn Smitherman
Brooklyn
Smitherman
6'4" | C
Noblesville | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Noblesville H.S.
Lauren Stewart
Lauren
Stewart
5'11" | PF
Hamilton Southeastern | 2023
IN
, 2023, Hamilton Southeastern H.S.
Mackenzie Thomas
Mackenzie
Thomas
6'1" | C
Carmel | 2023
IN
, 2023, Carmel H.S.
Alycia Triplett
Alycia
Triplett
5'11" | PF
Fishers | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fishers H.S.
Kamryn Washington
Kamryn
Washington
5'7" | PG
University | 2023
IN
, 2023, University H.S.
Jamie Elliott
Jamie
Elliott
5'9" | SF
Carmel | 2024
IN
, 2024, Carmel H.S.
Keaton Gatlin
Keaton
Gatlin
5'8" | SG
Carmel | 2024
IN
, 2024, Carmel H.S.
Talia Harris
Talia
Harris
5'8" | PG
Fishers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fishers H.S.
Ella Hickok
Ella
Hickok
5'6" | PG
Hamilton Heights | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Hamilton Heights H.S.
Elizabeth Kelleher
Elizabeth
Kelleher
5'10" | PG
Westfield | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Westfield H.S.
Jocelyn Love
Jocelyn
Love
5'8" | SG
Lapel | 2024
IN
, 2024, Noblesville H.S.
Kiarra Loveless
Kiarra
Loveless
6'1" | PF
Westfield | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Westfield H.S.
Morgan Roberts
Morgan
Roberts
6'0" | SF
Fishers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fishers H.S.
Camryn Runner
Camryn
Runner
5'9" | CG
Hamilton Heights | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Hamilton Heights H.S.
Taelyn Russell, 2024, Westfield H.S.
Ava Shoemaker
Ava
Shoemaker
5'9" | SF
Noblesville | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Noblesville H.S.
Joirdyn Smith
Joirdyn
Smith
5'4" | CG
Fishers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fishers H.S.
Kate Thomas
Kate
Thomas
6'1" | PF
Fishers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fishers H.S.
Reagan Wilson
Reagan
Wilson
5'7" | PG
Noblesville | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Noblesville H.S.
Mallory Bourquein
Mallory
Bourquein
5'9" | SG
Carmel | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Ava Carter
Ava
Carter
5'11" | SF
Fishers | 2025
IN
, 2025, Fishers H.S.
Aubrey Crockett
Aubrey
Crockett
5'9" | CG
Westfield | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Westfield H.S.
Nevaeh Dickman
Nevaeh
Dickman
6'0" | PF
Fishers | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Fishers H.S.
Kristian Dinkins
Kristian
Dinkins
5'8" | SF
North Central (Indianapolis) | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Westfield H.S.
Shelby Eaton
Shelby
Eaton
5'9" | SF
Sheridan | 2025
IN
, 2025, Sheridan H.S.
Taryn Fisher
Taryn
Fisher
5'7" | PG
Carmel | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Kenzie Garner
Kenzie
Garner
6'1" | SF
Sheridan | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Sheridan H.S.
Maya Makalusky
Maya
Makalusky
6'3" | SF
Hamilton Southeastern | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Hamilton Southeastern H.S.
Rilee McBride
Rilee
McBride
5'10" | PF
Carmel | 2025
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Lydia Pederson
Lydia
Pederson
6'0" | PF
Carmel | 2025
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Lauren Perry
Lauren
Perry
6'3" | SF
Carmel | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Allison Scheu
Allison
Scheu
5'10" | SG
Fishers | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Fishers H.S.
Isabelle Shepherd
Isabelle
Shepherd
5'5" | CG
Carmel | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Carmel H.S.
Meredith Tippner
Meredith
Tippner
5'10" | SG
Noblesville | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Noblesville H.S.
Lindsey Van Dyke
Lindsey
Van Dyke
5'9" | SG
Westfield | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Westfield H.S.