The Pocket City (Evansville, IN)

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='295791' first='Kaelyse' last='Mitchell'] (2025) of Evansville's Francis Joseph Reitz 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. With this second installment, I wanted to turn everyone's attention to the Southwest portion of the state and focus on the state's third biggest city, Evansville, nicknamed the "Pocket City".   Just like the islands of Isla Sorna and Isla Nublar in the popular Jurassic Park movie franchise, basketball prospects from the Evansville area have often felt like they were "lost" on an island only a few outsiders have ever visited. Located in the Southwest corner of Indiana, the “Pocket City” as Evansville is so aptly nicknamed, is actually closer to Louisville (123 miles), Nashville (153 miles), and Saint Louis (167 miles), than it is to Indianapolis (172 miles).   But it is the third largest city in Indiana by population, and year after year Evansville turns out quality basketball prospects. Recent graduates like Natalie Niehaus (Castle 2022), Alaina Thorne (Washington 2022), Rebekah Gordon (Heritage Hills 2021), Ryleigh Anslinger (Reitz Memorial 2021), Meredith Raley (Gibson Southern 2020), Kenna Hisle (Evansville North 2020), Grace Waggoner (Vincennes Rivet 2019), and Jossie Hudson (Mater Dei 2019) all hail from Southwest Indiana. Several of those ladies are currently participating in collegiate athletics.   There are many quality players in the Evansville area often overlooked, so I highly encourage small colleges to make the trek down there a couple of weekends each year during the winter to check them out. Below I wanted to take the time to highlight a handful of girls who may not often grab the spotlight throughout the rest of the state, but who deserve their share of recognition for their basketball abilities. Not all of these prospects are technically in Evansville, but they are from that Southwest region of the state.   .   [player_tooltip player_id='510511' first='Arianna' last='Gerkin'], 2024, 5-10 CF, Vincennes Lincoln H.S. - I've had Arianna's name for a couple of years, even seen her on film, but by her playing this Spring & Summer on the grassroots circuit, it really helped her visibility, as many college coaches were finally able to see her in-person. She is a strong, physical forward, with a tremendous motor. She's a nice athlete, she can attack the basket straight-line North/South, and she can finish through contact. She will also willingly post smaller defenders around the blocks. At the same time, Arianna has some touch outside, she can bury an open, rhythm 3-pointer, and she runs the floor well in transition. Figuring out who she'll defend at the next level is the one question as to where she "fits".   [player_tooltip player_id='455943' first='Molly' last='Schulte'], 2024, 5-7 PG, South Spencer H.S. - Molly has become one of my favorite point guards to watch in this class, because she plays the position with poise, patience, and she sees the floor very well. At her high school, she has spent the last couple of years facilitating for a high-scoring upperclassmen, so Molly natural picked up those instincts. Putting it to use in the Spring & Summer with and against better players has helped her improve that much quicker. She is athletic and can create offense off the dribble, plus she can knock down an open, rhythm jumper. But she is more of a traditional point guard who finds teammates on time/on target. She's also a willing and capable on-ball defender with some length.   [player_tooltip player_id='626932' first='Bren' last='Hill'], 2025, 5-11 CF, South Knox H.S. - Bren is another prospect I was able to see for the first time this Spring/Summer. She is an extremely long forward, she has nice all-around athleticism, even a little bounce to her, and she plays with a motor and nice toughness/physicality considering her wiry frame. She is excellent in the mid-post, she can get to the basket and finish, knock down the 15-footer, plus she pursues rebounds outside of her area. She looks fairly comfortable at 21-feet as well, can knock down the occasional 3-pointer, and as that part of her game gains consistency, watch out. Defensively, she can sit down and defend bigger guards/wings, or she can scrap inside against power forwards.   [player_tooltip player_id='295791' first='Kaelyse' last='Mitchell'], 2025, 6-5 C, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S. - People have known about and been drawn to Kaelyse for a few years now because of her size. She has a big, broad frame, solid length, and she is almost immovable in the paint. Offensively, her hands have improved, and her footwork is improving. I would like to see her rim-run with a little more urgency, because if she wins the race down the floor, she can keep position nearly the entire possession. Defensively, she is quite the presence, clogging the lane and blocking/altering shots at the rim. As she gains core strength and is able to sit down lower and longer, it will help her defend out on the floor, especially in ball screen situations. She continues to improve each year.   [player_tooltip player_id='492324' first='Madalynn' last='Shirley'], 2026, 6-1 PF, Evansville Central H.S. - Last Summer, when I saw Maddy for the first time, I came away thinking one thing...I didn't recall a frontline player who was as technically skilled entering high school as her. Maddy is incredibly fundamental. Inside of 15-feet, she has moves, countermoves, and counters to the counters. She works to get her defenders off-balance, then dissects them, but she is decisive and doesn't do it just to do it. One approach to defend her is to overwhelm her with size, but then she'll stretch the defense by knocking down a 3-pointer or attacking from the perimeter. Defensively, she will need to get a bit quicker laterally, but she makes up for it with effort and understanding.   .   Additional Southwest [program_tooltip program_id='716083' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2024-2026: [player_tooltip player_id='201868' first='Madelyn' last='Dalton'], 2024, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177320' first='Brylee' last='Delano'], 2024, Evansville Mater Dei H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='369833' first='Jenna' last='Donohoo'], 2024, Tecumseh H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177324' first='Chloey' last='Graham'], 2024, Gibson Southern H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177327' first='Josie' last='Hayden'], 2024, Castle H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177332' first='Sophie' last='Johnson'], 2024, Evansville Memorial H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='556017' first='Avery' last='Kelley'], 2024, Evansville Memorial H.S., committed to the University of Evansville [player_tooltip player_id='264115' first='Norah' last='Miller'], 2024, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='239354' first='Aleyna' last='Quinn'], 2024, Castle H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177353' first='Macy' last='Sexton'], 2024, Vincennes Lincoln H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='572806' first='Mackenzie' last='White'], 2024, Evansville Central H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='366796' first='Hannah' last='Bledsoe'], 2025, Barr-Reeve H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570376' first='Libby' last='Blythe'], 2025, Evansville North H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570374' first='Ella' last='Bobe'], 2025, South Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='366797' first='Matea' last='Bradfield'], 2025, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295756' first='Myla' last='Browning'], 2025, Evansville Memorial H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='473675' first='Brynna' last='Collins'], 2025, North Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570382' first='Elexus' last='Frey'], 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324075' first='Olivia' last='Gilley'], 2025, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='692238' first='Alyssa' last='Heath'], 2025, North Posey H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='404106' first='Mary' last='Herman'], 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295765' first='Alex' last='McKinley'], 2025, North Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295767' first='Avah' last='Montgomery'], 2025, Southridge H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='506027' first='Nola' last='Ravellette'], 2025, Gibson Southern H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='640055' first='Evie' last='Sale'], 2025, Evansville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324084' first='Jordan' last='Scott'], 2025, Castle H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295774' first='Gabby' last='Spink'], 2025, Gibson Southern H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='626934' first='Delaney' last='Steers'], 2025, Evansville Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295813' first='Carlie' last='Still'], 2025, Heritage Hills H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='567991' first='Callie' last='Alston'], 2026, Orleans H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486561' first='Nya' last='Dame'], 2026, Princeton Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486473' first='Bailey' last='Hape'], 2026, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486476' first='Shaylyn' last='Hawk'], 2026, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486483' first='Paiton' last='Mitchell'], 2026, Castle H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486484' first='Emily' last='Parker'], 2026, Boonville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='420275' first='Lexi' last='Primus'], 2026, North Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486519' first='Katherine' last='Reed'], 2026, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486494' first='Jayden' last='Scott'], 2026, Castle H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486492' first='Ailie' last='Taylor'], 2026, Princeton Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486523' first='Ella' last='Williams'], 2026, Washington H.S.

The featured image is of Kaelyse Mitchell Kaelyse Mitchell 6'5" | C Evansville F.J. Reitz | 2025 State IN (2025) of Evansville's Francis Joseph Reitz High School.