Down by the River (Southern Indiana)
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The featured image is of Ava Wheeler Ava Wheeler 6'0" | PF Borden | 2026 State IN (2026) of Borden High School. As we continue our expedition throughout Indiana, this installment will focus on the area that includes Scottsburg, Jeffersonville,…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Ava Wheeler Ava Wheeler 6'0" | PF Borden | 2026 State IN (2026) of Borden High School.
As we continue our expedition throughout Indiana, this installment will focus on the area that includes Scottsburg, Jeffersonville, New Albany, and the surrounding towns. For those of you not terribly familiar with those areas, most of this territory is just North of the Ohio River and Louisville, Kentucky. For the purposes of this articles, I am going to focus on the 22 high schools that reside in Clark County, Crawford County, Floyd County, Harrison County, Scott County, and Washington County.
Southern Indiana has seen a great deal of success in girls’ basketball, with Lanesville (2023 Class 1A), Silver Creek (2021 Class 3A), and Eastern (Pekin) (2017 Class 2A) winning state titles in the last seven years, and Corydon Central (2023 Class 3A), Silver Creek (2022 Class 3A), Salem (2020 Class 3A), and North Harrison (2016 & 2017 Class 3A) all making runner-up appearances in the last eight years. Additionally, recent prospects like Lilly Hatton (North Harrison 2019), Nan Garcia (Jeffersonville 2020), and Kynidi Mason-Striverson (Silver Creek 2022) were all Indiana All-Stars who are currently playing at Division-I schools.
However, year after year there are many other quality players in Southern Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive down I-65 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. All of these girls are from the extreme Southern part of Indiana.
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Ellie Falkenstein
Ellie
Falkenstein
5'9" | SF
Silver Creek | 2024
IN
, 2024, 5-9 SF, Silver Creek H.S.
– Ellie is someone who has stood out to me during grassroots seasons, because she has played a lot of minutes in the past for her
Indiana Flight South
teams. She has nice length, a wiry-strong frame, and she’s a fluid and smooth athlete. She loves to attack the baseline and either finish at the basket or knock down the pull-up jumper. She has some touch around the perimeter as well, when in rhythm, and I think she can add value with her length and versatility defensively. She transferred into Silver Creek from Jeffersonville.
Kaidin James
Kaidin
James
5'8" | SF
New Washington | 2024
IN
, 2024, 5-8 SG/SF, New Washington H.S.
– Not many people are familiar with Kaidin on a statewide level, but she had a strong statistical season for New Washington in 2022-2023, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 steals per game as a Junior. She has a fairly strong frame, she’s a solid North/South athlete, and she can knock down the occasional 3-pointer. However, her game is mostly attacking the basket, earning free throw trips, and picking up “scraps” baskets off of offensive rebounds. She’s someone small colleges should get on soon.
Katrina Cooper
Katrina
Cooper
6'0" | PF
Scottsburg | 2025
IN
, 2025, 5-11 PF, Scottsburg H.S.
– Because of missing some time due to injury leading up to last year, there was speculation Katrina might not even play in 2022-2023. But she did return to the floor, and she made quite the impact inside of the arc for Scottsburg. She is a long, wiry-strong, bouncy and athletic forward. She plays with a really nice motor, she rebounds outside of her area, and she can defend different types of frontline players. As she continues to develop a consistent offensive game, she can help Scottsburg become an elite Class 3A team.
Alyssa Groover
Alyssa
Groover
6'0" | PF
Corydon Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, 6-0 PF/C, Corydon Central H.S.
– I’ve really been impressed with Alyssa’s growth over the past couple of seasons. She has a fairly strong frame, she’s a nice athlete in most directions, and she plays with a motor. Where she has really improved is skillfully. She is not a back-to-the-basket post, but instead, she likes to face the basket in the short corners and the mid-post. She can knock down the 15-footer, she can attack the basket one or two dribbles productively, plus she is a very good pursuing rebounder. She could have a nice 2023-2024 season.
Brynn Owens
Brynn
Owens
5'7" | CG
Austin | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, 5-6 CG, Austin H.S.
– I finally had the opportunity to see Brynn in-person during July, and she definitely has some upside. She is long and wiry, quick, and she plays with a really nice motor. With her travel team, at least, I felt like she was more comfortable off the ball as a ‘2’, but she does possess ball skill. She is an accurate perimeter shooter, and the more she plays against top competition and works on quickening her shot process, the more dangerous she’ll become. I also felt like she was a scrappy defender who used her length well.
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Additional Southern Indiana Prospects in Our Rankings for 2024-2026:
Kennedy Coleman
Kennedy
Coleman
6'0" | SF
Charlestown | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Charlestown H.S., committed to Marian University
Megan Czarnecki
Megan
Czarnecki
6'1" | C
Floyd Central | 2024
IN
, 2024, Floyd Central H.S.
LaQaya Gold
LaQaya
Gold
5'4" | CG
Jeffersonville | 2024
IN
, 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.
Carrie Hiler
Carrie
Hiler
5'7" | SG
Scottsburg | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Scottsburg H.S.
La’Kyra Johnson
La’Kyra
Johnson
5'7" | SG
Jeffersonville | 2024
IN
, 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.
Elle Marble
Elle
Marble
5'9" | CG
Jeffersonville | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Jeffersonville H.S.
Maddie Nipper
Maddie
Nipper
5'5" | PG
Charlestown | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Charlestown H.S.
Hylton Brumley
Hylton
Brumley
5'8" | SF
Lanesville | 2025
IN
, 2025, Lanesville H.S.
Hadley Crosier
Hadley
Crosier
5'9" | CG
Lanesville | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Lanesville H.S.
Lola Fouts
Lola
Fouts
5'5" | PG
Scottsburg | 2025
IN
, 2025, Scottsburg H.S.
Nora Gibson
Nora
Gibson
6'1" | C
Floyd Central | 2025
IN
, 2025, Floyd Central H.S.
Alyssa Groover
Alyssa
Groover
6'0" | PF
Corydon Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Corydon Central H.S.
Samara Miller
Samara
Miller
5'7" | CG
Floyd Central | 2025
IN
, 2025, Floyd Central H.S.
Ellie Richardson
Ellie
Richardson
5'8" | CG
Scottsburg | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Scottsburg H.S.
Katy Rooney
Katy
Rooney
5'3" | CG
Silver Creek | 2025
IN
, 2025, Silver Creek H.S.
Josie Vaughn
Josie
Vaughn
5'5" | PG
Corydon Central | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Corydon Central H.S.
Lydia Wright
Lydia
Wright
5'7" | SG
Silver Creek | 2025
IN
, 2025, Silver Creek H.S.
Elise Coleman
Elise
Coleman
6'0" | SF
Floyd Central | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Floyd Central H.S.
Kelis Dansby
Kelis
Dansby
5'7" | PG
Rock Creek Academy | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Rock Creek Academy
Riley Rarick
Riley
Rarick
6'0" | CG
Borden | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Borden H.S.
Brooklynn Renn
Brooklynn
Renn
6'3" | PF
Silver Creek | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Silver Creek H.S.
Emma Schoen
Emma
Schoen
5'7" | PG
Silver Creek | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Silver Creek H.S.
Ava Wheeler
Ava
Wheeler
6'0" | PF
Borden | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Borden H.S.