2025-26 Season Preview: Class 2A, Sectional 38

<!-- 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 this 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 #37. 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 #38 at Wabash</font></strong><br>Oak Hill (22-3), SAG 122, SOS 227<br>Wabash (18-5), SAG 153, SOS 203<br>Lewis Cass (19-7), SAG 168, SOS 242<br>Rochester (16-7), SAG 191, SOS 204<br>Manchester (9-14), SAG 237, SOS 184<br>Eastern (Greentown) (1-22), SAG 357, SOS 313</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oak Hill posted an outstanding record in 2024-2025, but they fell a few points short of winning a Sectional title. They do return seven of their top nine players from a year ago, so expectations remain high in Converse, Indiana. Leading the way is 5-6 Junior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137326' first='Landri' last='Hardman']</strong> (<em>8.6p, 3.2r, 4.7a, 3.3s</em>). She is an excellent floor general, a capable shooter/scorer, plus she is a feisty defender. She is one of the best traditional point guards in Class 2A. 5-8 Junior wing <strong>Erika Newhouse</strong> (<em>3.8p, 2.8r, 2.5a, 1.3s</em>) should join Hardman in the backcourt. Newhouse brings the versatility and skill to play multiple positions. Up front, the Golden Eagles have some size to turn to. 6-1 Sophomore post <strong>Brianna Dailey</strong> (<em>7.5p, 3.9r</em>) was the most productive per minute played, but she also played the fewest minutes per game of this group. She will look for an expanded role. 6-0 Senior forward/post <strong>Lydia Trexler</strong> (<em>6.1p, 5.3r</em>) patrols the paint and does a nice job of using her length and physicality to defend/rebound. 5-11 Junior forward <strong>Morgan Cates</strong> (<em>4.4p, 5.1r, 1.1s</em>) showed flashes at times of being a double-digit scorer in the future. She is a strong athlete with some versatility. From there, Junior guards <strong>Kora Pond</strong> (<em>2.1p, 1.1r</em>) and <strong>Lilly Edwards</strong> (<em>1.9p</em>) should step into much bigger roles as key reserves. Oak Hill has guard play and size inside, so it's a matter of meshing well once again and remaining healthy. They could be a problem all year in Class 2A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Kings of Lewis Cass were the 2025 Sectional Champions, and they will attempt to repeat this season, however, they said "goodbye" to their second leading scorer and rebounder. Everyone else is back, though, and they present the biggest challenge to Oak Hill. Once again, 5-1 Senior guard <strong>Aftin Griffin</strong> (<em>11.8p, 1.3r, 1.3a, 2.8s</em>) leads the list of returnees. She can facilitate, make shots, and cause problems at the defensive end of the floor. 5-5 Senior point guard <strong>Anna Hedrick</strong> (<em>7.9p, 4.2r, 3.2a, 2.3s</em>) is the more natural point guard of the two, plus she brings a lot of experience to the backcourt. 5-5 Junior guard <strong>Laney Davis</strong> (<em>5.5p, 2.4r, 1.7a, 1.7s</em>), 5-6 Senior wing <strong>Ava Hubner</strong> (<em>4.1p, 4.9r, 1.3a, 1.8s</em>), and 5-5 Sophomore guard <strong>Hope Rush</strong> (<em>3.3p, 1.0r</em>) saw quality minutes last year, and while none are overly tall, Hubner does help to rebound, while all three defend fairly well. With a lack of much size returning to the rotation, look for 5-10 forward <strong>Presley Johnson</strong> (<em>1.6p, 1.5r</em>), 5-7 Senior forward <strong>Kylie Logan</strong> (<em>1.5p, 3.6r</em>), and 6-1 Senior post <strong>Lexi Gotshall</strong> (<em>0.4p, 1.6r</em>) to all get a shot at impacting the lineup immediately. Cass is definitely a capable opponent, but like with any smaller team, how they play against size should tell a lot about their potential in February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Eastern (Greentown): 5-5 Sophomore point guard <strong>Gianna Beechy</strong> (<em>6.3p, 3.0r, 1.6a, 1.8s</em>) and 5-7 Sophomore wing <strong>Lainey Newlin</strong> (<em>4.0p, 3.8r, 1.0a, 1.0s</em>); Manchester: 5-6 Junior wing <strong>Emma Walker</strong> (<em>12.2p, 6.6r, 1.6a, 2.9s</em>) and Senior guard <strong>Peyton Ream</strong> (<em>9.0p, 3.3r, 1.7a, 2.2s</em>); Rochester: 5-6 Junior guard <strong>Aubrey Wilson</strong> (<em>9.9p, 3.0r, 2.3a, 2.8s</em>) and 5-8 Junior wing <strong>Brailyn Hunter</strong> (<em>5.6p, 3.8r, 1.2s</em>); Wabash: 5-8 Senior wing <strong>Bryleigh Boggs</strong> (<em>8.8p, 6.5r, 2.2s</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->