2025-26 Season Preview: Class 2A, Sectional 41

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='989989' first='Lila' last='Busenbark'] (2028) from Parke Heritage High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are now into the Southern Sectionals for Class 2A. With official IHSAA practices starting this past 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 #41. 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 #41 at South Putnam</font></strong><br>Parke Heritage (23-5), SAG 90, SOS 259<br>Southmont (12-12), SAG 207, SOS 269<br>South Putnam (11-12), SAG 253, SOS 280<br>North Putnam (12-11), SAG 262, SOS 307<br>Greencastle (7-17), SAG 307, SOS 284<br>South Vermillion (0-24), SAG 391, SOS 341</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 class for Parke Heritage was a strong one, helping to lead the Wolves to 85 wins, two Sectional titles, and a Regional title. After seeing six of their top seven players leave via the diploma, there's no question Parke Heritage has a new look, but they also have some young talent and could very well be there at the end of Sectional week battling once again for the crown. 5-9 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='989989' first='Lila' last='Busenbark']</strong> (<em>5.5p, 1.8r, 1.0s</em>) is a likely candidate to step into a starring role. She has skill and talent alike, she has shown flashes of scoring it in bunches, and she is the most experienced of the returnees after playing key minutes as a rookie. Classmate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='990958' first='Birkley' last='Schelsky']</strong> (<em>2.2p, 1.4r, 1.3a, 1.0s</em>), a 5-8 guard, is capable of playing either guard spot, she's a nice multisport athlete, and she could be a second double-figure scorer for the Wolves this season. Junior wing <strong>Addie Ramsay</strong> (<em>2.3p, 1.1r</em>) comes from an athletic family with Wolves lineage, and she should compete for a starting spot as well, while Junior guard <strong>Anesa Veseli</strong> (<em>1.7p, 1.1r</em>) is ready for her opportunity after playing behind a number of quality upperclassmen the past two years. Yes, the Wolves will be quite inexperienced this year, however, they have nice young talent and should be competitive enough to win Sectional #41 once again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team that looks like it could step into the forefront in this field is Southmont. The Mounties did not have a Senior in last year's 7-player core rotation, and the same will likely be said after this season. Additionally, they have one of the best guards and one of the best forwards the state likely doesn't know much about. 5-9 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144620' first='Ella' last='Barry']</strong> (<em>18.5p, 4.3r, 1.2a, 2.6s</em>) is an explosive scorer. She is long, bouncy, and fast, she pushes the ball well in transition, and she does a nice job of creating space for herself when pressured. 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137319' first='Layla' last='Gomez']</strong> (<em>11.8p, 8.4r, 2.5a, 2.5s, 2.0b</em>) is the ultimate combination of skill. She has the frame, strength, and physicality to play around the block, she can handle the ball, she is an excellent passer, and she has some touch to the perimeter. While those two are the standouts, if they can get just a little more out of each of the other five, the Mounties could approach 20 wins this year. Juniors include <strong>Molly Williams</strong> (<em>4.3p, 2.3, 1.5a, 1.2s</em>), <strong>Claire Kessler</strong> (<em>3.9p, 5.2r</em>), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='914784' first='Emily' last='Link']</strong> (<em>3.0p, 2.7r, 3.0a, 1.9s</em>), and <strong>Makinzie Wood</strong> (<em>2.5p, 1.9r</em>), while <strong>Kaylee Turner</strong> (<em>2.9p, 2.6r, 1.6a, 1.9s</em>) is a Sophomore with a year of experience already.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A dark horse could be the Cougars of North Putnam. While they graduated their second leading scorer from a season ago, they also return a player who missed the entire 2024-2025 season. That player is 5-8 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='773837' first='Jasmine' last='Duvall']</strong> (<em>7.2p, 2.5r in 2023-2024</em>), and she was primed to become a big offensive option last year. Her return will definitely help spark the Cougars, coupled with leading scorer <strong>Melanie Davies</strong> (<em>13.4p, 6.7r, 1.5a, 1.0s</em>), a 5-9 Senior forward. Davies is a nice athlete with length, and she made a huge jump from her Sophomore to Junior year. Guard <strong>Hailie Daigle</strong> (<em>6.8p, 6.0r, 2.9a, 1.9s</em>), point guard <strong>Jenna Day</strong> (<em>5.9p, 2.4r, 1.6a, 1.8s</em>), and forward <strong>Kassidy Hackleman</strong> (<em>2.3p, 1.9r</em>), all Seniors this year, bring a lot of experience as rotation players. The Cougars posted a winning record last season, and with this much production returning, they could cause problems for Parke Heritage or Southmont, if either of their rivals slip up this Winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye On:</strong> Greencastle: Senior forward <strong>Bailey Brown</strong> (<em>8.8p, 9.5r, 1.3s</em>) and Junior forward <strong>Sarah Simmerman</strong> (<em>7.3p, 4.3r, 1.5a, 1.0s</em>); South Putnam: 5-9 Junior wing <strong>Lyla Rissler</strong> (<em>7.9p, 4.0r, 1.5a, 1.5s</em>) and 5-8 Junior wing <strong>Drew Gardner</strong> (<em>5.4p, 3.6r, 1.7s</em>); South Vermillion: 5-11 Sophomore post <strong>Keagan Miller</strong> (<em>3.1p, 3.8r</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->