Michiana (Northern Indiana)

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='369828' first='Karleisha' last='Echols'] (2024) of Penn High School.   Over the five years I have been with Prep Girls Hoops, I have taken a moment each year to introduce 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. The area that includes South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, and the surrounding towns, has commonly been referred to as "Michiana" over the years, but South Bend has also been dubbed "The Metropolis of Northern Indiana" and "Wagon City", Mishawaka has been identified as "The Peppermint Capital of the World" and "Princess City", while Elkhart has also been nicknamed "The Town with a Heart" and "The RV Capital of the World". For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on the 31 high schools that reside in St. Joseph County, Elkhart County, Marshall County, and Kosciusko County.   "Michiana" has seen a great deal of success in girls' basketball, with Fairfield (2023 Class 2A), South Bend Washington (2022 Class 3A), NorthWood (2020 Class 3A), South Bend St. Joseph (2017 Class 3A), and Penn (2016 Class 4A) all winning state titles in the last eight years. Additionally, recent prospects like Trinitee Harris (Elkhart Central 2019), Keegan Sullivan (South Bend St. Joseph 2020), Kaitlyn Costner (Penn 2021), Brynn Shoup-Hill (Goshen 2021), Kelly Ratigan (South Bend St. Joseph 2022), Mila Reynolds (South Bend Washington 2022), and Taylor Bowen (Culver Academy 2022) have all represented the area well, and each of Costner, Shoup-Hill, and Reynolds were Indiana All-Stars as well.   However, year after year there are many other quality players in Northern Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive up U.S. 31 or across the Indiana East-West Toll Road 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 “Michiana”, but they are from the extreme Northern part of Indiana.   .   [player_tooltip player_id='201872' first='Gaby' last='Gates'], 2024, 5-11 PF, Northridge H.S. - When I was able to see Gaby throughout the Spring & Summer, I felt like she played consistently well in those contests. She is strong, athletic, and she plays with a motor. She is willing to defend and rebound inside, but she can also step out and play comfortably around the perimeter. I feel like the mid-post is probably her sweet spot, as she has nice touch in the mid-range game, and she can put it on the floor one or two dribbles productively, plus she does a nice job of finishing through contact.   [player_tooltip player_id='369830' first='Addyson' last='Viers'], 2024, 6-1 C, Triton H.S. - Addyson plays with good size and strength, she has nice hands, solid footwork on the block, and she can score in a variety of ways around the basket. At the same time, she has face-up skill and can play consistently in the mid-post. For her high school team, you'll see her step out and knock down the occasional 3-pointer. For the next level, that offensive versatility will come in handy, as she'll be able to be a threat in both pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations. Defensively, she blocks/alters a lot of shots.   [player_tooltip player_id='454676' first='Lena' last='Jones'], 2025, 5-6 PG, Plymouth H.S. - I finally got to see Lena in-person this grassroots season, after watching quite a bit of film on her. She is a really nice athlete with good end-to-end speed, some length, and a wiry-strong frame. She has been fortunate to play with a lot of size at Plymouth, especially during her Freshman season, so she has become a very good facilitator in the half-court. Moving forward, however, she'll likely have to score a lot more for Plymouth, and she is certainly capable of getting to the basket. I also like her ability to defend the ball.   [player_tooltip player_id='324081' first='Ayanna' last='Nicholson'], 2025, 5-11 PF/C, South Bend Washington H.S. - Ayanna came in from South Bend Clay last Fall, and she gave an immediate boost to the depth of Washington's frontcourt. Ayanna is very strong, willingly physical, and she acts as a really nice interior rebounder and defender. Despite having a powerful base, she also has long arms, so she plays much taller than she is. She can score the ball consistently inside of 10-feet, but she also blocks/alters a lot of shots at the rim. She gave them very good minutes off the bench last year and could see her minutes increase.   [player_tooltip player_id='567137' first='Eva' last='Herbert'], 2026, 5-10 SF, Fairfield H.S. - Eva saw a lot of opportunity come her way on Fairfield's 2023 Class 2A State Championship team. Compared to a year ago, she is starting to show more strength, though she's still extremely long and wiry. She has very good touch from the perimeter, she can put it on the floor a little, and she's a solid passer with good vision. As she continues to gain strength, it will help her stamina, her ability to absorb contact when attacking the basket, plus she'll be able to defend with more physicality. She has really nice upside.   .   Additional Northern [program_tooltip program_id='716083' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2024-2026: [player_tooltip player_id='177318' first='Morgan' last='Cross'], 2024, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369828' first='Karleisha' last='Echols'], 2024, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177328' first='Kyra' last='Hill'], 2024, Goshen H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369836' first='Jaya' last='Johnson'], 2024, Elkhart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='572813' first='Sabrina' last='Miller'], 2024, Northridge H.S., committed to Franklin College [player_tooltip player_id='406434' first='Asiah' last='Shaffer'], 2024, Mishawaka H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='298267' first='Dominique' last='Stilley'], 2024, Concord H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='326492' first='Mariah' last='Stoltzfus'], 2024, Bethany Christian H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369826' first='Samiyah' last='Stout'], 2024, Elkhart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369824' first='Lauren' last='Walsh'], 2024, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='338899' first='Zoe' last='Willems'], 2024, Bethany Christian H.S., committed to Trine University [player_tooltip player_id='239359' first='Justyce' last='Williams'], 2024, Jimtown H.S., committed to Bethel University (IN)   [player_tooltip player_id='335982' first='Zion' last='Belcher-Arill'], 2025, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570388' first='Kila' last='Foster'], 2025, Bremen H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='331802' first='Rielyn' last='Goodwin'], 2025, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295766' first='Monique' last='Mitchell'], 2025, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324080' first='Ella' last='Mohamed'], 2025, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570370' first='Claire' last='Payne'], 2025, NorthWood H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324082' first='Abbey' last='Peterson'], 2025, Warsaw Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295770' first='Kira' last='Reynolds'], 2025, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295795' first='Jessa' last='Troy'], 2025, Penn H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295780' first='Ryiah' last='Wilson'], 2025, South Bend Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295782' first='Brooke' last='Winchester'], 2025, Warsaw Community H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='567138' first='Aaniyah' last='Bonner'], 2026, NorthWood H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='567134' first='Joslyn' last='Bricker'], 2026, Warsaw Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='492316' first='Piper' last='Brumm'], 2026, Culver Academy [player_tooltip player_id='624876' first='Camryn' last='Conley'], 2026, Northridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486551' first='Valencia' last='Miller'], 2026, Culver Academy [player_tooltip player_id='686307' first='Alexis' last='Neely'], 2026, Warsaw Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='624884' first='Shaniyah' last='Stout'], 2026, Elkhart H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='403531' first='Brooke' last='Zartman'], 2026, Warsaw Community H.S.

The featured image is of Karleisha Echols Karleisha Echols 5'6" | PG Penn | 2024 State IN (2024) of Penn High School.