2025-26 Season Preview: Class 3A, Sectional 26

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='926326' first='Caroline' last='Wiggins'] (2028) from Cathedral High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that the previews for Classes 1A and 2A are complete, it's time to turn to Class 3A. These should come almost two to a day over the next week, because the season is a week underway, and 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 3A, Sectional #26. 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 #26 at Shortridge</font></strong><br>Cathedral (18-10), SAG 45, SOS 26<br>Bishop Chatard (14-9), SAG 57, SOS 39<br>Purdue Poly (Englewood) (15-9), SAG 139, SOS 174<br>Crispus Attucks (8-14), SAG 145, SOS 168<br>Shortridge (15-7), SAG 235, SOS 310<br>Herron (16-8), SAG 322, SOS 383</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cathedral Fighting Irish had a really nice 2024-2025 season but suffered a number of key graduation losses, including their top two scorers. Still, though, they return quite a bit of young talent mixed with several veterans as well. 5-11 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='926326' first='Caroline' last='Wiggins']</strong> (<em>9.3p, 6.0r, 1.6a, 2.1s, 1.0b</em>) is one of the better Sophomores in the entire state, and following a strong rookie campaign, I anticipate her stepping into a leadership role and potentially leading the Lady Irish in both scoring and rebounding for the next three seasons. 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131916' first='Precious' last='Anuka']</strong> (<em>5.7p, 2.2r, 1.1a, 1.3s</em>) is a really nice athlete, a strong on-ball defender, and she is entering just her second Varsity season, following a series of injuries that derailed the first couple years of her high school career. 5-9 Sophomore wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1277699' first='Maddy' last='Watko']</strong> (<em>3.5p, 1.6r, 1.2a, 1.5s</em>), 5-10 Senior forward <strong>Tatum Triggs</strong> (<em>3.3p, 2.0r</em>), and 5-9 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751124' first='Taylor' last='Babington']</strong> each seek more opportunity this Winter. Each has shown flashes at times, but building consistent depth will be crucial if the Irish want to repeat what they did a season ago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop Chatard and Cathedral have a historic rivalry, and this year they'll once again compete with each other for Sectional #26. While Chatard graduated their top interior presence who led them in scoring and rebounding, the Lady Trojans return everyone else of importance plus add a transfer and a top Freshman to the fold. Returning once again for the Trojans are 5-11 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832685' first='Olivia' last='Berzai']</strong> (<em>10.8p, 5.9r, 3.1a, 2.3s</em>), 6-1 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486530' first='Alyx' last='Kendall']</strong> (<em>10.4p, 3.4r, 1.0s</em>), and 5-8 guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486534' first='Betsy' last='Tragesser']</strong> (<em>5.2p, 2.5r, 3.7a, 1.6s</em>), all Seniors and multiyear starters. Berzai is an inside-out playmaker, Kendall is a face-up '4' with a nice jump-shot, and Tragesser plays more of a distributing point guard role, but she can score it a little as well. The trio has been critical in past successes. From there, 5-6 Senior guard <strong>Megan Todd</strong> (<em>3.0p, 1.5r, 1.0s</em>), 5-10 Junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992543' first='Lilly' last='Braun']</strong> (<em>4.6p, 3.1r</em>), and 5-7 Sophomore guard <strong>Addy Jahn</strong> (<em>2.3p</em>) all return with significant experience but look for more enhanced roles. Then there are the newcomers. 6-3 Junior post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751060' first='Gianna' last='Morelli']</strong> (<em>9.5p, 7.3r, 2.8b in 13 games in 2023-2024</em>) comes to the Trojans after playing her first two seasons at Guerin Catholic High School. She'll add noticeable size &amp; strength around the paint, plus she has nice touch facing the basket. Younger sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1263956' first='Briley' last='Morelli']</strong>, a 5-10 guard, is one of the best 2029 prospects in Central Indiana and will surely make an instant impact for Chatard. The sooner the Trojans get on the same page, the better, as they have the size, depth, skill, and talent to be a top team in Class 3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The wildcard in Sectional #26 are the Techies of Purdue Polytechnic (Englewood). The program has only gotten stronger and stronger since its inception and inclusion as an IHSAA member school, and this season could be their best. They return a ton of depth, experience, and balance throughout their roster, as no fewer than nine different ladies return who played in their primary rotation at one point or another last year. Tops for the Techies are 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137310' first='Te'Asia' last='Briscoe']</strong> (<em>11.8p, 6.7r, 1.4a, 1.7s, 3.5b</em>), 5-6 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751079' first='Ja'Nyiah' last='Rogers']</strong> (<em>11.5p, 2.3r, 3.4a, 3.1s</em>), and 5-6 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='915527' first='Amelia' last='Story']</strong> (<em>9.0p, 1.8r, 1.4a, 1.0s</em>). The trio actually has two more years together to claim a Sectional title. Briscoe exploded onto the scene a year ago, putting together a nice Winter, then showcasing her skill and talent throughout the Spring &amp; Summer grassroots season. Rogers is an athletic and fast guard who just creates offense for everyone. Story is a nicely skilled, disciplined shooter/scorer who makes a lot of hustle plays. Joining those three in the Junior class is 5-5 wing <strong>Madeline Pena-Valdez</strong> (<em>2.7p, 1.3r</em>). There are four Seniors who add some experience. They include 5-8 playmaking wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='773839' first='Marrina' last='Simmons']</strong> (<em>4.0p, 3.5r in 13 games</em>), 5-1 guard <strong>Coreah Lewis</strong> (<em>2.5p</em>), 5-9 forward <strong>Lorren Hicks</strong> (<em>2.1p, 2.1r</em>), and 5-8 wing <strong>Sharr Mays</strong> (<em>1.7p in 15 games</em>). 5-6 Sophomore point guard <strong>Adessa Martin</strong> (<em>2.2p, 1.0r, 1.0s</em>) saw some action as a rookie last year, and she looks to build upon that and earn more of an opportunity in her second year. Purdue Poly has typically been an extremely feisty, competitive group, and I don't know why this year would be any different. Cathedral and Chatard will have their hands full.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye on:</strong> Crispus Attucks: 5-9 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='331774' first='Kamrah' last='Banks']</strong> (<em>26.4p, 5.4r, 1.8a, 2.9s</em>), 5-7 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='492315' first='Kenadi' last='Banks']</strong> (<em>15.2p, 2.6r, 2.7a, 3.0s</em>), and 5-7 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1005025' first='Sevan' last='Walls']</strong> (<em>6.6p, 2.5r, 1.2s</em>); Herron: 5-3 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1122688' first='Taylor' last='Cotham']</strong> (<em>20.1p, 6.5r, 4.2a, 5.8s</em>) and 5-2 Sophomore guard <strong>Xavia Bell</strong> (<em>1.4p, 3.3r, 1.5s</em>); Shortridge: 5-6 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832688' first='KaMariona' last='Garrett']</strong> (<em>13.4p, 5.9r, 2.3a, 4.5s, 1.9b</em>), 5-5 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='911611' first='Keara' last='Stewart']</strong> (<em>11.4p, 2.9r, 2.2s</em>), and 6-0 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1360451' first='Jocelyn' last='Eskew']</strong> (<em>7.3p, 5.9r, 3.4a, 2.8s</em>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->