2025-26 Season Preview: Class 1A, Sectional 63

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is a throwback from 2022 of [player_tooltip player_id='486552' first='A.J.' last='Mallad'] (2026) from Borden High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've always enjoyed offering preseason coverage of each of the 64 Sectionals in Indiana high school basketball, and last year I felt like I got a little behind and didn't finish with the previews until after Thanksgiving. With that said, as we come up on October, I wanted to get out in front of it this year and offer you a glimpse at what the 2025-26 season could hold with a preview of each of the state's 64 Sectionals once again. During the Spring of 2024, the IHSAA moved to a traditional enrollment-based format, realigning all classes with hard enrollment cutoff lines per class instead of taking nearly 400 schools and simply dividing them into four equal classes. With that said, each class has been more competitive, but the bigger classes have fewer teams than the smaller classes. This article serves as one of many previewing each Sectional in the state. In this specific article, I will take a look at Class 1A, Sectional #63. Below is a look at the teams in that Sectional, along with some general comments and analysis.<br><small>(<em>SAG = Final 2024-2025 Multiclass Sagarin Rating (398 teams); SOS = Final 2024-2025 Strength of Schedule</em>)</small></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="#FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Sectional #63 at West Washington</font></strong><br>Borden (23-5), SAG 41, SOS 102<br>Henryville (14-9), SAG 157, SOS 195<br>South Central (Elizabeth) (10-12), SAG 173, SOS 180<br>West Washington (10-14), SAG 208, SOS 172<br>Christian Academy (14-11), SAG 238, SOS 295<br>New Washington (5-18), SAG 329, SOS 253<br>Rock Creek (5-13), SAG 373, SOS 357</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Borden was the team to beat in all of Class 1A during the 2024-2025 season, and they very well could maintain that spot this year, as they did not graduate any of their core players. However, 5-11 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486522' first='Ava' last='Wheeler']</strong> (<em>16.6p, 6.4r, 3.9a, 3.0s, 1.0b</em>) was injured in March and her availability could be limited early, plus she'll need time to get back to where she was as a Division I prospect. When healthy, however, she is a real problem for opponents at the Class 1A level. 6-0 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486550' first='Riley' last='Rarick']</strong> (<em>8.5p, 4.4r, 4.7a, 1.7s, 1.0b</em>) and 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486552' first='A.J.' last='Mallad']</strong> (<em>9.7p, 3.6r, 2.3a, 2.0s</em>) give the Lady Braves skill, basketball savvy, and experience in the backcourt. Rarick is a long, fluidly athletic point forward type, while Mallad is a dangerous perimeter shooter who can handle it as well. 5-10 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797505' first='Emma' last='Hart']</strong> (<em>6.7p, 8.0r, 2.5a, 1.5s</em>) and 5-7 Senior wing <strong>McKenna Mullen</strong> (<em>8.5p, 3.0r</em>) bring even more veteran depth to the starting lineup. Both are hustle players who help by making winning plays for the team. 5-7 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='973276' first='Saylor' last='Schleicher']</strong> (<em>3.7p, 1.8r</em>) got plenty of experience as a rookie and could see a bigger role this year. If the Lady Braves continue to play together, share the ball, and attack the season with the common cause of repeating, they could be even tougher this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm not sure anyone in Sectional #63 is going to approach a level of play good enough to knock off Borden this season, but look for South Central and the Christian Academy of Indiana to have winning seasons. South Central is led by a pair of guards who are exciting to watch. 5-5 Senior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='886428' first='Gracelynn' last='Bartoszek']</strong> (<em>12.3p, 4.5r, 2.2a, 2.4s</em>) is a playmaker off the dribble. She is quick, fast, and crafty with the ball, plus she can score from all three levels. 5-4 Junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='743640' first='Hailey' last='Conder']</strong> (<em>16.9p, 2.0r, 3.6a, 2.6s</em>) is one of the state's best pure shooters who few people know much about. She cannot be given any rhythm whatsoever, or she is knocking it down, and with deep range. The Christian Academy Warriors suffered a pair of key graduation losses, but they also have a nice duo to lean on. 5-10 Senior front-liner <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='599714' first='Addison' last='Jackson']</strong> (<em>10.5p, 7.6r, 1.0a, 1.1s</em>) has shown flashes of double-double potential, and she could very well average those types of numbers this year. Also, 5-6 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137345' first='Carly' last='Stevens']</strong> (<em>10.3p, 3.9r, 3.0a, 3.0s</em>) had a nice Spring &amp; Summer, and she could turn from the team's point guard into its leading scorer in 2025-2026.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Henryville: 5-3 Senior guard <strong>Gracie Best</strong> and 5-8 Junior forward <strong>Ella Logsdon</strong>; Rock Creek: 5-7 Senior guard <strong>Maddie Clark</strong>; West Washington: 5-8 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='886356' first='Meredith' last='Deaton']</strong> (<em>19.1p, 6.9r, 2.5a, 3.5s</em>) and 5-6 Senior wing <strong>Adelle Brown</strong> (<em>6.6p, 4.1r, 2.5a, 2.1s</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->