Fort Wayne, Indiana: The Summit City

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id="177351" first="Jordyn" last="Poole"] (2024) of Fort Wayne's R. Nelson Snider 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. With this first installment, I wanted to turn everyone's attention to the Northeast corner of the state and focus on the state's second biggest city, Fort Wayne, nicknamed "The Summit City". I also quickly wanted to recognize and thank the site www.visitfortwayne.com for some of the information I was able to gather and include below.   Fort Wayne is named after “Mad” Anthony Wayne, an American General who helped build the first fort where the Saint Mary's River, the Saint Joseph River, and the Maumee River all come together. Later, in the 1830s, construction began on the Erie and Wabash Canal in Fort Wayne, and because Fort Wayne was the highest point above sea level along the canal route, it was aptly later nicknamed “ The Summit City”.   Year after year, Fort Wayne turns out several high-quality basketball players and high school teams. 2022 Miss Basketball Ayanna Patterson (Homestead) and Indiana All-Star teammate Olivia.Smith (South Side 2022) come directly from the Summit City, as did prospects like Sydney Graber (Homestead 2020) and Carissa Garcia (Concordia Lutheran 2019). Even Sydney Freeman (Central Noble 2019), Grace Hunter (Bellmont 2019), and Hanna Knoll (Angola 2021) are from the Northeast corner of the state, though not actually "in" Fort Wayne. All of those ladies were Indiana All-Stars and/or are currently playing at Division-I schools.   However, year after year there are many other quality players in the Fort Wayne area who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to make the trip up I-69 or across U.S. 30 a couple of times each high school season to check out the area teams. Below, 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. Not all of these girls are technically in Fort Wayne, but they are all from the Northeast corner of Indiana.     [player_tooltip player_id="372354" first="Justice" last="Billingsley"], 2023, 5-5 CG, Fort Wayne South Side H.S. - Justice is one of the better athletes in the 2023 class, and she's flying way under the radar at this time. She has some length at her height, she has an athletic frame, and she can move. She is an in-your-face on-ball defender, but she also does a nice job of affecting passing lanes from help positions. Offensively, she's more of an attacker than a traditional point guard or shooter, but she can occasionally score it at all three levels, and she does have solid ball skill, plus the aforementioned ability to defend the ball at a high level. I think she can become a full-time point guard at the next level, and she could be a real steal at the small college level.   [player_tooltip player_id="372357" first="Evah" last="Smith"], 2023, 5-9 PF, Woodlan H.S. - Evah is not a grassroots kid, so not many people have seen her outside of her high school environment. However, she has one of the best motors I've seen, especially when it comes to hustle plays and rebounding. She has some length, a fairly strong frame, and of course that motor. Offensively, she can score the ball inside of 15-feet, but she does a tremendous job of keeping possessions alive, from offensive rebounds, to collecting loose balls, and scrapping for everything. Defensively, she takes on 6-3 posts, typical forwards, as well as some wings from time to time. I think she has great small college value because of her nonstop effort and energy.   [player_tooltip player_id="59783" first="Skyla" last="Tomasek"], 2023, 6-2 C, Norwell H.S. - I feel like people put way too much emphasis on scoring, especially when it comes to post play, so kids like Skyla are often under-appreciated. She is a nice backend defender, she protects the paint well, rotates to help, and alters/blocks a lot of shots. She also is a solid box-out rebounder, both offensively and defensively. At the offensive end, she does have some touch that I think can consistently reach the 3-point line with a little more work, but she also has good vision and is a really nice high-post passer. I do think she has the ability to score the ball at a much higher level, but she chooses to facilitate more and do a lot of the "little things" we undervalue.   [player_tooltip player_id="406435" first="Molly" last="Baker"], 2024, 5-11 PF, Columbia City H.S. - When you watch Columbia City play, it's easy to get caught up in their plethora of skilled and talented guards (see all the names below). But Molly plays a critical role for the Eagles, as she provides a sizeable presence for them. She has a strong frame, but she moves well around the floor and works hard. She is fairly physical offensively, but she also has some skill/touch in the mid-post and short corners. I think, eventually, she can be a real threat around the perimeter, and she does some of that now, but she is a big part of their backend defense, and she's a key rebounder for them nightly. I'll be curious to see what she/they will be able to do this season.   [player_tooltip player_id="298261" first="Tia" last="Phinezy"], 2024, 6-2 PF/C, Fort Wayne Snider H.S. - Like Baker (above), it's really easy to get caught watching the Snider guards on a nightly basis. Tia, however, has always been a prospect with a great deal of upside, because she's extremely long, bouncy, and fairly fluid in all directions. She continues to build her skillset, and she's starting to move away from the basket more consistently. She has a solid 15-foot jumper now, and she can attack the basket from there in one dribble. She'll still need to get much stronger for the next level, and her understanding of situations continues to grow, but she has noticeable talent, and she is already drawing a great deal of small college attention/offers.   [player_tooltip player_id="404109" first="Brooklyn" last="Fream"], 2025, 5-11 F, Homestead H.S. - Brooklyn is a versatile forward with a nice inside-out approach to the game. She has great length, she's bouncy, and she moves somewhat effortlessly around the floor. She is probably most comfortable in the mid-post and short corners, but she has developing touch around the perimeter, she is starting to handle it better against pressure, and she can attack the rim and finish. She's obviously still a youngster, but as she continues to gain strength, I think her production and consistency will continue to rise. With a lot of unknowns for Homestead entering this season, look for her to compete for a key Varsity role right out of the gate.     Additional Northeast Corner Prospects in Our Rankings for 2023-2025: [player_tooltip player_id="372355" first="Hilary" last="Adams"], 2023, Homestead H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="410035" first="Evie" last="Bottoms"], 2023, Homestead H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="372361" first="Emilia" last="Diaz"], 2023, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="203658" first="Taylor" last="Double"], 2023, Huntington North H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="460831" first="Jaelyn" last="Fee"], 2023, Angola H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96079" first="Taylor" last="Fordyce"], 2023, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne), committed to St. Francis-IN [player_tooltip player_id="300075" first="Sydney" last="Fream"], 2023, Homestead H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="241187" first="Kayla" last="Gibbs"], 2023, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne) [player_tooltip player_id="300080" first="Peyton" last="Hartsough"], 2023, Lakeland H.S., committed to Huntington [player_tooltip player_id="59759" first="Nevaeh" last="Jackson"], 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S., committed to Valparaiso [player_tooltip player_id="59758" first="Saniya" last="Jackson"], 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S., committed to Valparaiso [player_tooltip player_id="460828" first="Sydney" last="Keane"], 2023, Bellmont H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="264990" first="Meghan" last="Kiebel"], 2023, Central Noble H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="127226" first="Bailey" last="Kelham"], 2023, Garrett H.S., committed to Huntington [player_tooltip player_id="372353" first="Mackensy" last="Mabie"], 2023, West Noble H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="410034" first="Brooklyn" last="McLemore"], 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96089" first="Annaka" last="Nelson"], 2023, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="127213" first="Shabrea" last="O'Quinn"], 2023, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="372352" first="Faith" last="Riehl"], 2023, Lakeland H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="203663" first="Alexa" last="Robinson"], 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="96091" first="Renna" last="Schwieterman"], 2023, Jay County H.S., committed to Purdue Fort Wayne [player_tooltip player_id="59778" first="Alison" last="Stephens"], 2023, Homestead H.S., committed to Nebraska Omaha [player_tooltip player_id="127237" first="Molly" last="Stock"], 2023, Homestead H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="203666" first="Madison" last="Vice"], 2023, Central Noble H.S., committed to Siena Heights   [player_tooltip player_id="177314" first="Alexis" last="Castator"], 2024, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne) [player_tooltip player_id="298265" first="Kylie" last="Caswell"], 2024, Angola H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="455940" first="Hailey" last="Cole"], 2024, Bellmont H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="177317" first="Destini" last="Craig"], 2024, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="201869" first="Annika" last="Davis"], 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="177321" first="Joh'nea" last="Donahue"], 2024, Fort Wayne Snider H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="201870" first="Giselle" last="Eke"], 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="455938" first="Gracie" last="Fields"], 2024, Huntington North H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="264113" first="Kennedy" last="Fuelling"], 2024, Norwell H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="331809" first="Makenzie" last="Fuess"], 2024, Norwell H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="298263" first="Sydney" last="Gorman"], 2024, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="264114" first="Taylor" last="Kneubuhler"], 2024, Woodlan H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="201879" first="Macy" last="Oberlin"], 2024, Angola H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="239353" first="Riley" last="Pepple"], 2024, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="177351" first="Jordyn" last="Poole"], 2024, Fort Wayne Snider H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="369834" first="Emma" last="Reust"], 2024, Homestead H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="298259" first="Addie" last="Shank"], 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="177354" first="Kyndra" last="Sheets"], 2024, Columbia City H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="455935" first="Tessa" last="Tonkel"], 2024, Columbia City H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="455937" first="Aniya" last="Woodson"], 2024, Fort Wayne North Side H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id="295754" first="Addison" last="Baxter"], 2025, Columbia City H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="404107" first="Ashley" last="Cox"], 2025, DeKalb H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="404108" first="Emma" last="Daugherty"], 2025, Huntington North H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="453217" first="Molly" last="Daugherty"], 2025, Huntington North H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="295801" first="Jersey" last="Paul"], 2025, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne) [player_tooltip player_id="295794" first="Marissa" last="Trout"], 2025, Huntington North H.S.

The featured image is of Jordyn Poole Jordyn Poole 5'6" | PG Fort Wayne Snider | 2024 State IN (2024) of Fort Wayne's R. Nelson Snider High School.