Fort Wayne, Indiana: The Summit City
In this article:
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. Four years ago, when I first started with Prep Girls Hoops, I…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe 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.
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.
Justice Billingsley
Justice
Billingsley
5'5" | CG
Fort Wayne South Side | 2023
IN
, 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.
Avah Smith
Avah
Smith
5'9" | PF
Woodlan | 2023
IN
, 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.
Skyla Tomasek
Skyla
Tomasek
6'2" | C
Norwell | 2023
State
IN
, 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.
Molly Baker
Molly
Baker
5'10" | PF
Columbia City | 2024
State
IN
, 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.
Tia Phinezy
Tia
Phinezy
6'3" | C
Fort Wayne Snider | 2024
State
IN
, 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.
Brooklyn Fream
Brooklyn
Fream
5'11" | PF
Homestead | 2025
IN
, 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:
Hilary Adams
Hilary
Adams
5'3" | PG
Homestead | 2023
IN
, 2023, Homestead H.S.
Evie Bottoms
Evie
Bottoms
5'6" | PG
Homestead | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Homestead H.S.
Emilia Diaz
Emilia
Diaz
5'7" | SG
Fort Wayne Wayne | 2023
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S.
Taylor Double
Taylor
Double
5'10" | SF
Huntington North | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Huntington North H.S.
Jaelyn Fee
Jaelyn
Fee
5'8" | SG
Angola | 2023
IN
, 2023, Angola H.S.
Taylor Fordyce
Taylor
Fordyce
5'10" | SG
Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne), committed to St. Francis-IN
Sydney Fream
Sydney
Fream
5'10" | PF
Homestead | 2023
IN
, 2023, Homestead H.S.
Kayla Gibbs
Kayla
Gibbs
5'7" | SG
Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne)
Peyton Hartsough
Peyton
Hartsough
5'6" | CG
Lakeland | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Lakeland H.S., committed to Huntington
Nevaeh Jackson
Nevaeh
Jackson
6'0" | SF
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S., committed to Valparaiso
Saniya Jackson
Saniya
Jackson
6'0" | SF
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S., committed to Valparaiso
Sydney Keane
Sydney
Keane
5'7" | SG
Bellmont | 2023
IN
, 2023, Bellmont H.S.
Meghan Kiebel
Meghan
Kiebel
5'7" | SG
Central Noble | 2023
IN
, 2023, Central Noble H.S.
Bailey Kelham
Bailey
Kelham
5'10" | SF
Garrett | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Garrett H.S., committed to Huntington
Mackensy Mabie
Mackensy
Mabie
5'4" | CG
West Noble | 2023
IN
, 2023, West Noble H.S.
Brooklyn McLemore
Brooklyn
McLemore
6'2" | C
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S.
Annaka Nelson
Annaka
Nelson
6'0" | PF
Fort Wayne Concordia | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran H.S.
Shabrea O’Quinn
Shabrea
O’Quinn
6'1" | C
Fort Wayne Wayne | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S.
Faith Riehl
Faith
Riehl
5'7" | SF
Lakeland | 2023
IN
, 2023, Lakeland H.S.
Alexa Robinson
Alexa
Robinson
5'8" | SF
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2023
IN
, 2023, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S.
Renna Schwieterman
Renna
Schwieterman
6'0" | SF
Jay County | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Jay County H.S., committed to Purdue Fort Wayne
Alison Stephens
Alison
Stephens
5'11" | SF
Homestead | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Homestead H.S., committed to Nebraska Omaha
Molly Stock
Molly
Stock
5'7" | PG
Homestead | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Homestead H.S.
Madison Vice
Madison
Vice
5'5" | CG
Central Noble | 2023
State
IN
, 2023, Central Noble H.S., committed to Siena Heights
Alexis Castator
Alexis
Castator
6'1" | SG
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne)
Kylie Caswell
Kylie
Caswell
5'4" | PG
Angola | 2024
IN
, 2024, Angola H.S.
Hailey Cole
Hailey
Cole
5'11" | PF
Bellmont | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Bellmont H.S.
Destini Craig
Destini
Craig
5'9" | PF
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S.
Annika Davis
Annika
Davis
5'8" | PG
Bishop Luers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers H.S.
Joh’nea Donahue
Joh’nea
Donahue
5'8" | SG
Fort Wayne Snider | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Snider H.S.
Giselle Eke
Giselle
Eke
6'3" | C
Bishop Dwenger | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger H.S.
Gracie Fields
Gracie
Fields
5'7" | SG
Huntington North | 2024
IN
, 2024, Huntington North H.S.
Kennedy Fuelling
Kennedy
Fuelling
5'7" | CG
Norwell | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Norwell H.S.
Makenzie Fuess
Makenzie
Fuess
5'5" | PG
Norwell | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Norwell H.S.
Sydney Gorman
Sydney
Gorman
5'8" | SG
Fort Wayne Wayne | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Wayne H.S.
Taylor Kneubuhler
Taylor
Kneubuhler
6'0" | PF
Woodlan | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Woodlan H.S.
Macy Oberlin
Macy
Oberlin
6'0" | PF
Angola | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Angola H.S.
Riley Pepple
Riley
Pepple
5'6" | SG
Fort Wayne Northrop | 2024
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Northrop H.S.
Jordyn Poole
Jordyn
Poole
5'6" | PG
Fort Wayne Snider | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Snider H.S.
Emma Reust
Emma
Reust
5'9" | SG
Homestead | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Homestead H.S.
Addie Shank
Addie
Shank
6'0" | PF
Bishop Luers | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers H.S.
Kyndra Sheets
Kyndra
Sheets
5'6" | PG
Columbia City | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Columbia City H.S.
Tessa Tonkel
Tessa
Tonkel
5'6" | CG
Columbia City | 2024
IN
, 2024, Columbia City H.S.
Aniya Woodson
Aniya
Woodson
5'7" | SF
Fort Wayne North Side | 2024
IN
, 2024, Fort Wayne North Side H.S.
Addison Baxter
Addison
Baxter
5'9" | PG
Columbia City | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Columbia City H.S.
Ashley Cox
Ashley
Cox
5'8" | CG
DeKalb | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, DeKalb H.S.
Emma Daugherty
Emma
Daugherty
6'1" | PF
Summerville | 2025
State
SC
, 2025, Huntington North H.S.
Molly Daugherty
Molly
Daugherty
5'10" | SF
Summerville | 2025
State
SC
, 2025, Huntington North H.S.
Jersey Paul
Jersey
Paul
5'6" | CG
Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Carroll H.S. (Fort Wayne)
Marissa Trout
Marissa
Trout
5'10" | SF
Huntington North | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Huntington North H.S.