2025-26 Season Preview: Class 2A, Sectional 36

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='1228338' first='Hazel' last='Leffers'] (2028) of Whitko High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that Class 1A has been previewed and is posted online, it's time to turn our attention to Class 2A. With official IHSAA practices starting next week, I wanted to continue offering 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 64 previewing each Sectional in the state. In this specific article, I will take a look at Class 2A, Sectional #36. 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 #36 at Woodlan</font></strong><br>Bluffton (22-3), SAG 49, SOS 222<br>Whitko (21-5), SAG 67, SOS 150<br>Woodlan (14-8), SAG 125, SOS 167<br>Bishop Luers (9-15), SAG 131, SOS 80<br>Adams Central (5-17), SAG 287, SOS 220<br>South Adams (4-18), SAG 349, SOS 294</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2024-2025 season saw the Whitko Wildcats win their first ever Sectional and Regional title, and they did so with their top two scorers (<em>and six of their top eight</em>) being underclassmen. Add to that the fact that they welcome a couple of transfers, and they could very well be a Top 5 team in Class 2A to begin the year. The sister act of 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1221113' first='Reese' last='Stonebraker']</strong> (<em>13.8p, 5.9r, 3.3a, 3.1s</em>) and 5-4 Junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='890886' first='Jayma' last='Stonebraker']</strong> (<em>12.7p, 4.4r, 3.8a, 3.8s</em>) lead the list of returnees. Both were tremendous additions last year form Lakeland Christian, and both are returning double-digit scorers. Reese is a nice perimeter shooter, a solid all-around athlete, and she can play both backcourt positions if necessary. Jayma is a feisty, water-bug style of playmaker, she can get into the paint and create offense for everyone, plus she has shown she can score it in bunches at times. 6-2 Junior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1259573' first='Ally' last='Brown']</strong> (<em>6.0p, 6.0r, 1.1b</em>) showed flashes of being a matchup problem for many opponents, and she will just get better with more repetitions. 5-5 Junior guard <strong>Jocelyn Luecke</strong> (<em>4.8p, 1.2a, 1.2s</em>), 5-7 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1228338' first='Hazel' last='Leffers']</strong> (<em>3.7p, 1.9r, 1.8a, 1.8s</em>), and 5-8 Junior wing <strong>Anna Allebach</strong> (<em>2.8p, 1.9r, 1.3a</em>) all look to earn more opportunity after getting a nice taste of Varsity last season. Look for Leffers to potentially step into a starting role. New to the squad are 5-8 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834952' first='Kyra' last='Lowe']</strong> (<em>3.4p, 1.8r, 1.4a, 1.8s</em>), a transfer from South Bend Washington, 5-7 Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229461' first='Jules' last='Leffers']</strong>, and 5-6 Freshman guard <strong>Ady Luecke</strong>. Each could add more punch to the backcourt. Lowe has started the last two years for the talented Panthers teams. Needless to say, Whitko possesses a lot of potential and depth, and should be a tough out come February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bluffton Tigers had an outstanding regular season in 2024-2025, falling to Whitko in the Sectional Championship game. They also graduated five of their nine rotation players from a season ago. However, the Tigers are typically strong and have depth within their program, plus they return a pair of really nice underclassmen in 5-8 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131919' first='Konley' last='Ault']</strong> (<em>15.9p, 4.4r, 3.7a, 2.8s</em>) and 5-7 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225041' first='Khloe' last='Dick']</strong> (<em>8.9p, 1.9r, 1.4a, 1.5s</em>). Ault was their second leading scorer last year, and she has a power game on the wing. She can handle it and create like a point forward, she has some touch outside, but she is great at getting angles, using her physicality, and getting into the paint for mid-range jumpers and layups. Dick is also a strong attacker, and she can get downhill as well. As a rookie, she did a nice job of "fitting in" and adding another capable scorer, but this year I look for her to be much more aggressive, whether that means scoring it or creating for others. 5-10 Junior <strong>Sophie Eisenhut</strong> (<em>1.8p, 3.8r, 1.5b</em>) will be their "size", but more importantly, she brings a lot of length and some athleticism to the court. Also keep an eye on 5-7 Sophomore wing <strong>Kamryn Ault</strong> (<em>1.9p, 1.0r</em>) to play a much bigger role this year. After learning/growing behind several capable wings, there is now a lot of opportunity for her to step into key minutes. She did play in 22 games as a Freshman. The Tigers will be figuring some things out early, but they do have a pair of legitimate Varsity scorers who can carry them until others feel more comfortable.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over the last few years, the Woodlan Warriors have had a knack for being the "fly in the ointment", often upsetting teams when they weren't favored. This season, they could fulfill that role once again. It all starts with double-double machine <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1038858' first='Alyssa' last='Anderson']</strong> (<em>17.3p, 10.6r, 1.6a, 1.9s, 1.5b</em>). The 5-11 Senior forward is one of the most under-the-radar talents in the state's 2026 class. She is a long athlete who plays with an outstanding motor, and she consistently produces in the mid-post and around the block. While there are no other double-figure scorers returning to the roster, there are four additional ladies who averaged more than 11 minutes per game last year. Junior forward <strong>McKenna Goble</strong> (<em>5.2p, 3.1r, 1.6a, 1.1s</em>) and Sophomore guard <strong>Savannah Scheumann</strong> (<em>4.1p, 2.4r, 1.0a, 1.7s</em>) have the best chance at becoming the second option this season. Goble is an interior forward who cleans up whatever Anderson misses, and she is an opportunistic scorer around the rim. Scheumann saw a lot of action early in her career and could now be targeted more within the offense. Senior guard <strong>Emma McDaniel</strong> (<em>2.6p</em>) and Junior guard <strong>Layla Hodson</strong> (<em>1.6p, 1.2r, 1.1s</em>) add a veteran presence to the backcourt and will add that scrappiness the Warriors are always known for.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Adams Central: 5-7 Senior guard <strong>Ava Stafford</strong> (<em>12.8p, 5.4r, 2.8a, 2.6s</em>) and 5-9 Senior wing <strong>Kate Fisher</strong> (<em>11.2p, 3.6r, 1.9s</em>); Bishop Luers: 5-8 Senior wing <strong>Addison Warner</strong> (<em>5.6p, 4.0r, 1.1a</em>), 5-6 Senior guard <strong>Brooklynn Gray</strong> (<em>5.6p, 2.7r, 2.5a, 1.0s</em>), and 5-6 Senior guard <strong>Karianne Gilman</strong> (<em>5.5p, 3.0r, 2.8a, 2.0s</em>); South Adams: 5-6 Senior forward <strong>Laney Trausch</strong> (<em>9.6p, 8.6r, 1.1a, 1.6s</em>) and 5-10 Sophomore wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1262616' first='Ana' last='Lehman']</strong> (<em>9.5p, 6.3r, 1.4a, 2.3s</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->