Spring Rankings Update: 2026 Small Forwards

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>Featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='486495' first='Olivia' last='Jones'] (2026) of Pendleton Heights High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we continue to cycle through the most recent quarterly rankings updates, our focus is now on the incredibly strong and deep 2026 class. While there is still a lot of time left in their playing careers, this class has proven to be one of the deeper classes in some time, so regardless of where a player might be ranked, there is talent spread throughout the class. Below is a look specifically at the top small forward prospects in 2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Rk.</strong></td><td><strong>Prospect</strong></td><td><strong>Pos.</strong></td><td><strong>Ht.</strong></td><td><strong>H.S.</strong></td></tr><tr><td>1.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='419439' first='Lillian' last='Barnes']</td><td>SF/PG</td><td>5-11</td><td>Valparaiso</td></tr><tr><td>2.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486486' first='Kayla' last='Stidham']</td><td>SF</td><td>6-0</td><td>Hamilton Southeastern</td></tr><tr><td>3.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486521' first='Laniah' last='Wills']</td><td>SF/PF</td><td>6-0</td><td>Lapel</td></tr><tr><td>4.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='567131' first='Indiah' last='Hutchinson']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Hammond Central</td></tr><tr><td>5.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486500' first='Elise' last='Coleman']</td><td>SF</td><td>6-0</td><td>Floyd Central</td></tr><tr><td>6.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='492326' first='Khala' last='Williams-Thomas']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Fort Wayne Northrop</td></tr><tr><td>7.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486533' first='Elle' last='McCulloch']</td><td>SF/SG</td><td>5-11</td><td>Brownsburg</td></tr><tr><td>8.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486540' first='Whitney' last='Ankenbruck']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-9</td><td>Homestead</td></tr><tr><td>9.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486473' first='Bailey' last='Hape']</td><td>SF/SG</td><td>5-10</td><td>Evansville F.J. Reitz</td></tr><tr><td>10.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='624876' first='Camryn' last='Conley']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Northridge</td></tr><tr><td>11.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='567136' first='Miley' last='McClellan']</td><td>SF</td><td>6-0</td><td>Columbus North</td></tr><tr><td>12.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486551' first='Valencia' last='Miller']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Culver Academy</td></tr><tr><td>13.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486484' first='Emily' last='Parker']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Boonville</td></tr><tr><td>14.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='624879' first='Julia' last='Lashley']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Bloomington South</td></tr><tr><td>15.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='665452' first='Grace' last='Goldman']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-11</td><td>North Harrison</td></tr><tr><td>16.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='567139' first='Maddie' last='Carnes']</td><td>SF/PF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Springs Valley</td></tr><tr><td>17.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486494' first='Jayden' last='Scott']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Castle</td></tr><tr><td>18.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='638374' first='Sophie' last='Skidmore']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-8</td><td>Seymour</td></tr><tr><td>19.</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='567137' first='Eva' last='Herbert']</td><td>SF/PF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Fairfield</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='832654' first='Jillian' last='Barr']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Delta</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='832685' first='Olivia' last='Berzai']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Bishop Chatard</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='761159' first='Sydney' last='Bonds']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Carmel</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='761160' first='Kenna' last='Conrad']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-9</td><td>Columbus North</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='832680' first='Macey' last='Crider']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-10</td><td>Edgewood</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='553262' first='Chloe' last='Finney']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-9</td><td>McCutcheon</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486498' first='Lani' last='Graves']</td><td>SF/PF</td><td>5-11</td><td>Bloomfield</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='772792' first='Aubri' last='Ingram']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-8</td><td>Ben Davis</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486495' first='Olivia' last='Jones']</td><td>SF/SG</td><td>5-8</td><td>Pendleton Heights</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='832674' first='Samantha' last='Marks']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-8</td><td>South Central (Union Mills)</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='773840' first='Mykayla' last='Mast']</td><td>SF/SG</td><td>5-10</td><td>Fairfield</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='732354' first='Vanessa' last='Rosswurm']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-9</td><td>Norwell</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='885219' first='Avery' last='Smith']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-8</td><td>Our Lady of Providence</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='761186' first='Aleia' last='Sultzer']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-8</td><td>Ben Davis</td></tr><tr><td>WL</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='486126' first='Lilly' last='Sylvester']</td><td>SF</td><td>5-9</td><td>Yorktown</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>NOTEWORTHY UPDATES:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["553262"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Chloe is one of those players who is just solid. She has a balanced set of athletic tools, nice length, and she has some strength for her age. She is a very good perimeter shooter, and she is the type of shooter/scorer a lot of the Midwestern small colleges are really drawn to. She handles it okay, and as that becomes more dynamic, especially in traffic, look for her to be an even better multilevel scorer. I also like how hard she plays. She will compete, get on the floor, and she is a willing defender. I am curious to see what kind of Junior year she can have after a nice Sophomore season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["567131"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"I feel like Indiah is one of those kids primed to have a breakout Spring. She has a strong, athletic frame, she can run u0026amp; jump with the best of them in Indiana's 2026 class, and she plays hard. She has some touch, solid ball skill, and the ability to create shots for herself or others, especially in transition. But as she continues to work on her skillset and just make everything a little more consistent, I'd expect to see her draw a lot of Division-I interest from a variety of levels. I also think she is athletic enough to be a high-level on-ball defender, plus she pursues rebounds from the wing extremely well.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["486495"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Olivia is an absolute scrapper. She is one of those kids who does so many of the things you can't quantify with metrics, that once you factor in her being a nice athlete with length, speed, and some bounce, she could be an outstanding small college recruit at some point. She always plays hard, competes, and doesn't mind contact one bit. She will get inside and rebound among the u0022bigsu0022, she will defend bigger players when necessary, and she can score the ball a little bit at all three levels. She is also versatile enough that she could probably play any of about three positions.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["486551"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Valencia is another versatile type of forward who does a little of everything. She is extremely long and wiry, a fluid run u0026amp; jump athlete, and she can make a lot of plays other girls can't because of her length and athletic ability. She was more of a power forward when she got to high school, and she still likes to play some in the mid-post, but she is starting to stretch her game offensively to the perimeter. I think athletically and defensively, she can be a true wing today, but as her perimeter jumper and handle become more consistent, she will play outside exclusively.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["492326"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Khala had a tremendous 2023-2024 season for the Northrop Bruins, averaging 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, including a 38-point game late in the year in which she was 17-22 from the field. She is one of the best, if not the best, athletes in the 2026 class in Indiana. Her ability to change directions, increase speed, and stop on a dime to rise up are impressive. She is without a doubt a Division-I athlete. The next step for her is to offensively step outside the arc and continue to make her jump-shot more consistent. I think she has huge upside.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66239edd42ae6"} /-->