2025-26 Season Preview: Class 4A, Sectional 15

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='961306' first='Alicia' last='Mangrum'] (2028) from Jeffersonville High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finally, I am down to the last two Sectional previews, and now we can focus on the stretch run of January for all of these teams we've previewed. 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 4A, Sectional #15. 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 #15 at New Albany</font></strong><br>Floyd Central (23-5), SAG 25, SOS 49<br>Jeffersonville (10-13), SAG 81, SOS 20<br>Seymour (10-13), SAG 110, SOS 42<br>Bedford North Lawrence (7-16), SAG 123, SOS 29<br>New Albany (6-18), SAG 159, SOS 50</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In February of 2025, Floyd Central won its first Sectional title since 2010, and they could be even better this season. While they said "goodbye" to a couple of solid graduates, they return a great deal of talent and size to the roster. 6-0 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486500' first='Elise' last='Coleman']</strong> (<em>15.0p, 5.0r, 2.7a, 3.9s</em>) is the main catalyst for the Highlanders. She has good size, she's a solid all-around athlete, but she has grown up as more of a wing and is a very good perimeter shooter who has worked hard on making her game off the dribble more effective/productive. 5-10 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='928914' first='Brinley' last='Clark']</strong> (<em>10.6p, 4.6r, 1.5a, 2.5s</em>) is another versatile scorer who can make open shots. Clark plays with an outstanding motor, a quiet toughness, and she does a lot of the "little things" to help them win. 6-2 Junior front-liner <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932692' first='Riley' last='Roberts']</strong> (<em>6.6p, 4.3r, 2.6b</em>) is a wildcard who could become a matchup problem for opponents. She has an athletic frame, nice length, and she moves well in most directions. When she sees the ball, she has some skill and can score it inside of 15-feet. She also allows Coleman and Clark to play their more natural positions outside. 5-11 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932688' first='Jadyn' last='Drury']</strong> can also help some inside. She is a strong, athletic, high-motor forward who can play in the mid-post or battle around the block defensively. No fewer than six additional Juniors &amp; Seniors bring additional Varsity experience and depth, so challenging Floyd Central in Sectional #15 will be incredibly tough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That team could be the Lady Stars of Bedford North Lawrence. Not winning Sectional #15 last season broke a string of 13 consecutive titles for the Stars. This year, they look to learn from it and recalibrate, attempting to get back to that program who always made deep tournament runs. In the past, they leaned on steady perimeter play, and this year will be no different. 5-9 Junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='644053' first='Miley' last='Sherrill']</strong> (<em>10.2p, 4.0r, 1.7a, 1.5s</em>) is their returning scorer. She is a strong, fairly athletic kid who can get to the rim or knock down an open jump-shot. 5-7 Senior <strong>Trinidy Bailey</strong> (<em>5.1p, 4.5r, 2.6a, 2.1s</em>) and 5-3 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751081' first='Jordynn' last='Blann']</strong> (<em>4.3p, 2.0r</em>) have been Varsity regulars since they arrived at campus as Freshmen, and they should handle the ball a majority of the time. Both are tough-nosed and hard-working. Finding size could be a problem, though. 5-11 Junior forward <strong>Sammie Nusbaum</strong> (<em>0.5p in 4 games</em>) should help some with that after playing sparingly as a Sophomore. 5-6 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486517' first='Paige' last='Burton']</strong> (<em>0.3p in 9 games</em>) and 5-8 Sophomore wing <strong>Elahdy Ray</strong> (<em>1,5p in 2 games</em>) look to earn bigger roles this year as well. Both have shown flashes during offseason play, whether that be with the school team in June or during grassroots play. I look for Bedford to be much improved from last season, but how much will depend on building some depth beyond Sherrill, Bailey, and Blann. If they can do so, they could get back to their winning ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye on:</strong> Jeffersonville: 5-8 Senior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='567129' first='Kelis' last='Dansby']</strong> (<em>14.3p, 6.1r, 2.2a, 1.6s</em>), 5-6 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='999427' first='MaKenna' last='Taylor']</strong> (<em>12.1p, 1.9r, 1.0a</em>), 5-9 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832668' first='Maizy' last='Smith']</strong> (<em>6.9p, 4.8r, 1.3a, 1.2s</em>), and 5-9 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='961306' first='Alicia' last='Mangrum']</strong>; New Albany: 5-9 Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='743639' first='Emily' last='Spainhour']</strong> (<em>8.1p, 5.0r</em>), 5-7 Sophomore point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992348' first='Gracie' last='Matheny']</strong> (<em>9.5p, 4.1r, 2.0a, 2.1s</em>), 6-1 Senior post <strong>Chloe Bekol</strong>, and 5-8 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1226484' first='Claire' last='Webster']</strong> (<em>6.8p, 2.5r, 1.7a, 1.1s</em>); Seymour: 5-8 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='638374' first='Sophie' last='Skidmore']</strong> (<em>10.9p, 3.8r, 2.4a, 1.0s</em>), 5-8 Senior guard <strong>Emmy Munson</strong>, and 5-6 Senior guard <strong>Abby Otte</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->