The Pocket City (Evansville, IN)
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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. Over the five years I have been with Prep Girls Hoops, I have…
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Continue ReadingThe 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.
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.
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Arianna Gerkin
Arianna
Gerkin
5'11" | PF
Vincennes Lincoln | 2024
State
IN
, 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”.
Molly Schulte
Molly
Schulte
5'7" | PG
South Spencer | 2024
IN
, 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.
Bren Hill
Bren
Hill
5'11" | SF
South Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 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.
Kaelyse Mitchell
Kaelyse
Mitchell
6'5" | C
Evansville F.J. Reitz | 2025
State
IN
, 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.
Madalynn Shirley
Madalynn
Shirley
6'1" | PF
Evansville Central | 2026
State
IN
, 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.
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Additional Southwest Indiana Prospects in Our Rankings for 2024-2026:
Madelyn Dalton
Madelyn
Dalton
6'1" | C
Washington | 2024
IN
, 2024, Washington H.S.
Brylee Delano
Brylee
Delano
5'10" | SF
Evansville Mater Dei | 2024
IN
, 2024, Evansville Mater Dei H.S.
Jenna Donohoo
Jenna
Donohoo
5'10" | PF
Tecumseh | 2024
IN
, 2024, Tecumseh H.S.
Chloey Graham
Chloey
Graham
5'9" | SG
Gibson Southern | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Gibson Southern H.S.
Josie Hayden
Josie
Hayden
5'8" | SF
Castle | 2024
IN
, 2024, Castle H.S.
Sophie Johnson
Sophie
Johnson
6'0" | PF
Evansville Memorial | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Evansville Memorial H.S.
Avery Kelley
Avery
Kelley
5'4" | PG
Evansville Central | 2025
IN
, 2024, Evansville Memorial H.S., committed to the University of Evansville
Norah Miller
Norah
Miller
5'7" | CG
Evansville F.J. Reitz | 2024
State
IN
, 2024, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S.
Aleyna Quinn
Aleyna
Quinn
5'9" | SF
Castle | 2024
IN
, 2024, Castle H.S.
Macy Sexton
Macy
Sexton
5'10" | PF
Vincennes Lincoln | 2024
IN
, 2024, Vincennes Lincoln H.S.
Mackenzie White
Mackenzie
White
5'10" | SF
Evansville Central | 2024
IN
, 2024, Evansville Central H.S.
Hannah Bledsoe
Hannah
Bledsoe
6'0" | PF
Barr-Reeve | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Barr-Reeve H.S.
Libby Blythe
Libby
Blythe
5'11" | SF
Evansville North | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Evansville North H.S.
Ella Bobe
Ella
Bobe
5'9" | CG
South Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, South Knox H.S.
Matea Bradfield
Matea
Bradfield
5'4" | PG
Evansville F.J. Reitz | 2025
IN
, 2025, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S.
Myla Browning
Myla
Browning
5'11" | SF
Evansville Memorial | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Evansville Memorial H.S.
Brynna Collins
Brynna
Collins
5'7" | SG
North Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, North Knox H.S.
Elexus Frey
Elexus
Frey
5'7" | SG
Vincennes Rivet | 2025
IN
, 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S.
Olivia Gilley
Olivia
Gilley
6'0" | PF
Washington | 2025
IN
, 2025, Washington H.S.
Alyssa Heath
Alyssa
Heath
5'11" | PF
North Posey | 2025
IN
, 2025, North Posey H.S.
Mary Herman
Mary
Herman
6'3" | C
Vincennes Rivet | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S.
Alex McKinley
Alex
McKinley
5'8" | SG
North Knox | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, North Knox H.S.
Avah Montgomery
Avah
Montgomery
5'9" | SG
Southridge | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Southridge H.S.
Nola Ravellette
Nola
Ravellette
5'9" | SF
Gibson Southern | 2025
IN
, 2025, Gibson Southern H.S.
Evie Sale
Evie
Sale
5'10" | SF
Evansville North | 2025
IN
, 2025, Evansville H.S.
Jordan Scott
Jordan
Scott
5'6" | PG
Castle | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Castle H.S.
Gabby Spink
Gabby
Spink
5'9" | CG
Gibson Southern | 2025
State
IN
, 2025, Gibson Southern H.S.
Delaney Steers
Delaney
Steers
5'9" | SF
Brownsburg | 2025
IN
, 2025, Evansville Central H.S.
Carlie Still
Carlie
Still
5'5" | PG
Heritage Hills | 2025
IN
, 2025, Heritage Hills H.S.
Callie Alston
Callie
Alston
5'10" | PF
Orleans | 2026
IN
, 2026, Orleans H.S.
Nya Dame
Nya
Dame
5'3" | PG
Princeton | 2026
IN
, 2026, Princeton Community H.S.
Bailey Hape
Bailey
Hape
5'10" | SF
Evansville F.J. Reitz | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Evansville F.J. Reitz H.S.
Shaylyn Hawk
Shaylyn
Hawk
5'7" | SG
Washington | 2026
IN
, 2026, Washington H.S.
Paiton Mitchell
Paiton
Mitchell
5'6" | PG
Castle | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Castle H.S.
Emily Parker
Emily
Parker
5'10" | SF
Boonville | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Boonville H.S.
Lexi Primus
Lexi
Primus
5'8" | SG
North Knox | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, North Knox H.S.
Katie Reed
Katie
Reed
6'2" | PF
Washington | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Washington H.S.
Jayden Scott
Jayden
Scott
5'11" | SF
Castle | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Castle H.S.
Ailie Taylor
Ailie
Taylor
5'5" | CG
Princeton | 2026
IN
, 2026, Princeton Community H.S.
Ella Williams
Ella
Williams
5'10" | SG
Washington | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, Washington H.S.