I-65 South & I-74 East to the Ohio River

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486508' first='Mollie' last='Ernstes'] (2026) of Jennings County High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Five 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 Hoosier State's different regions and the prospects who should shine this Winter throughout those regions. As we near the end of these reports, we have a couple of odd-shaped areas left to cover. This article will focus on the ladies from Brown County and Jackson County, East to the Ohio State Line and the Ohio River. It specifically includes the counties of Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland. There are 27 total schools spread throughout those 11 counties, and there is nice balance in terms of school sizes, with five being from class 4A, seven being from Class 3A, seven being from Class 2A, and eight being from Class A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It has been a few years, but over a four-year stretch within the last nine seasons, the area has seen a lot of tournament success. Jac-Cen-Del (<em>2015-2016 Class A</em>) and Columbus North (<em>2014-2015 Class 4A</em>) have each won state titles, while Columbus North (<em>2015-2016 Class 4A</em>) and Greensburg (<em>2017-2018 Class 3A</em>) have each been state runners-up in their respective classes. The combination of these 27 schools have also produced quite a bit of talent, with a number of girls moving on to college basketball of levels. Recently, players like <strong>Hope Fox</strong> (<em>East Central 2022</em>), <strong>Koryn Greiwe</strong> (<em>Columbus East 2022</em>), <strong>Katherine Benter</strong> (<em>Brownstown Central 2021</em>), <strong>Sydney Jaynes</strong> (<em>Trinity Lutheran 2021</em>), <strong>Paige Ledford</strong> (<em>Jac-Cen-Del 2021</em>), <strong>Jade Nutley</strong> (<em>Madison 2021</em>), <strong>Kyrstin Bond</strong> (<em>South Dearborn 2020</em>), <strong>Aliyah Evans</strong> (<em>Greensburg 2020</em>), <strong>Juliana Kemper</strong> (<em>Lawrenceburg 2020</em>), <strong>Makenna Fee</strong> (<em>Seymour 2019</em>), and <strong>Hattie Westerfeld</strong> (<em>Batesville 2019</em>) have represented these counties well. Fox and Jaynes were also selected as Indiana All-Stars in their respective graduating classes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still, though, there are a number of girls who go underrecruited throughout their careers, and this is an area where small colleges can find some real gems, plus there is typically a Division-I prospect in most graduating classes from these 11 counties. 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 counties of Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="#FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">[player_tooltip player_id='625088' first='Reagan' last='Hughes'], 2024, 5-8 SG, Jac-Cen-Del H.S.</font></strong><br>- Reagan is a long and wiry, fairly smooth, and versatile guard prospect. She is an excellent perimeter shooter with some range, but over the years she has continued working on her handle and creativity, and she's able to spend time as the team's primary ball-handler. She is more of a game manager at the point, but she finds teammates and rarely makes the same mistake twice. I also like her ability to use her length to defend, whether she is on or off the ball. She has drawn significant small college interest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">[player_tooltip player_id='631648' first='Nicole' last='Mears'], 2024, 5-11 CF, Franklin County H.S.</font></strong><br>- Nicole is a versatile forward who has the capability of playing inside or out. She has an athletically strong frame plus some length. She can play physical inside, as evidenced by her 10.1 rebounds per game last year, or she can face the basket in the mid-post, plus she can handle the ball and knock down shots around the perimeter. Her position in college will depend on what her school of choice sees her as in their specific system. She has seen her recruiting really take off over the past couple of months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">[player_tooltip player_id='572809' first='Julia' last='Meyer'], 2024, 5-10 SF, Jac-Cen-Del H.S.</font></strong><br>- Julia was another interesting watch this Spring &amp; Summer, because she came out of nowhere her Junior season for the Lady Eagles. She carried that strong play into the grassroots season and showed she was capable of scoring the basketball at all three levels. She has some strength and does a nice job of attacking the basket North/South. At the same time, she is a very good perimeter and mid-range shooter. She will need to get a bit quicker laterally for the next level, but she has a lot of small college interest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">[player_tooltip player_id='366794' first='Madi' last='Allen'], 2025, 5-9 SF, North Decatur H.S.</font></strong><br>- Madi has been a big part of North Decatur's success the last couple of seasons, and she looks to lead the Lady Chargers once again in 2023-2024. She has nice length, an athletic and wiry frame, and she's a solid athlete in all directions. She plays a point forward role, she can put pressure on opponents by pushing the ball in transition or running the floor without the ball, and she is a really nice attacker from the perimeter. Additionally, she is a versatile defender who can take on all types of perimeter players.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">[player_tooltip player_id='567136' first='Miley' last='McClellan'], 2026, 5-11 SF, Columbus North H.S.</font></strong><br>- Miley is a really nice athlete, she has a long, wiry-strong frame, and she saw quite a few minutes for the Lady Bulldogs in 2022-2023, averaging 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She can attack the basket with her athleticism, but she also has nice touch in the mid-range game, plus she's developing a perimeter touch...she has really worked on her consistency. She isn't present during the grassroots season, because she is a talented softball player as well and spends a lot of time on the diamond.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="#FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+1">Additional Southeastern [program_tooltip program_id='716083' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2024-2026:</font></strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='298257' first='Journee' last='Brown'], 2024, Seymour H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='455936' first='Alexis' last='Carson'], 2024, Jennings County H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='201871' first='Alivia' last='Elmore'], 2024, Jennings County H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='326481' first='Liza' last='Froedge'], 2024, Trinity Lutheran H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='326483' first='Jenna' last='Guse'], 2024, Columbus East H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='572816' first='Ella' last='Kunz'], 2024, North Decatur H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='201881' first='Madelyn' last='Poe'], 2024, Columbus East H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='264117' first='Elise' last='Preston'], 2024, Columbus North H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='177357' first='Kendall' last='Sterling'], 2024, Seymour H.S., <em>committed to Thomas More University</em><br>[player_tooltip player_id='572815' first='Kathryn' last='Wilson'], 2024, Columbus North H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='177362' first='Juliann' last='Woodard'], 2024, Jennings County H.S., <em>committed to Michigan State University</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='496039' first='Kiley' last='Best'], 2025, South Decatur H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='692237' first='Lydia' last='Haskamp'], 2025, Batesville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='506030' first='Emily' last='Klem'], 2025, East Central H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='570377' first='Alyson' last='Peters'], 2025, Batesville H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='690125' first='Ava' last='Turner'], 2025, Shawe Memorial H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='295778' first='Leah' last='West'], 2025, Greensburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='295779' first='Mylie' last='Wilkison'], 2025, Greensburg H.S.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='624877' first='Juliana' last='Davis'], 2026, Madison Consolidated H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='486508' first='Mollie' last='Ernstes'], 2026, Jennings County H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='486506' first='Mary' last='Harmon'], 2026, Greensburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='624878' first='Aubree' last='LaBazzo'], 2026, Lawrenceburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='479613' first='Alyson' last='Powers'], 2026, Greensburg H.S.<br>[player_tooltip player_id='638374' first='Sophie' last='Skidmore'], 2026, Seymour H.S.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->