2025-26 Season Preview: Class 4A, Sectional 6

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size"><em>The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='902152' first='Delaney' last='Noll'] (2028) from Homestead High School.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Now that the previews for Classes 1A, 2A, and 3A are complete, it's time to continue the previews in Class 4A. We are now a quarter of the way through the Class 4A Sectionals, and since the season is just past Thanksgiving, I wanted to finish offering you a glimpse at what the 2025-26 season could hold with a preview of each of the state's remaining Class 4A Sectionals. 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 #6. 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 #6 at Fort Wayne South Side</font></strong><br>Homestead (24-3), SAG 5, SOS 15<br>Norwell (23-6), SAG 7, SOS 31<br>Huntington North (14-10), SAG 72, SOS 53<br>Fort Wayne Wayne (12-11), SAG 177, SOS 133<br>Fort Wayne South Side (4-18), SAG 283, SOS 123</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Homestead and Norwell...these one-time conference rivals will now be Sectional #6 rivals. Finishing as the Class 3A State Runner-Up in 2024 and the Class 3A State Champion in 2025, Norwell's "success" per the IHSAA elevated them into Class 4A for the next couple of seasons. What's crazy is, during their runner-up season, they graduated several strong Seniors, and last year's group was very inexperienced in terms of Varsity play entering November of 2024. In turn, they played almost all Juniors and Sophomores on Varsity in 2024-2025, so nearly everyone from their state title run is eligible to return. The leader of the group is 5-10 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='732354' first='Vanessa' last='Rosswurm']</strong> (<em>22.6p, 6.5r, 3.5a</em>). She might be the hardest-working player in the state, as she never stops moving at any point. She is tremendous defensively, she has developed touch from outside and can now score it from all three levels, plus she is a really nice, bouncy athlete. 5-8 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1137282' first='Macie' last='Saalfrank']</strong> (<em>14.1p, 3.1r, 1.6a</em>) saw her first Varsity action last season and ended up as their second leading scorer, plus she's a tremendous 3-point shooter. I'm also a fan of 5-7 Senior guard <strong>Addie Norris</strong> (<em>6.6p, 2.2r, 2.1a</em>) and what she adds to the lineup. She is strong for a guard, tough-nosed, and she's almost as nonstop as Rosswurm. 5-9 Senior wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1231135' first='Ashley' last='Waldman']</strong> (<em>7.0p, 2.5r, 1.4a</em>) and <strong>Jada Dale</strong> (<em>5.7p, 2.8r, 1.0a</em>) offer the Lady Knights a pair of fluid athletes who can make open shots on the wings, plus they are willing rebounders and defenders. 5-11 Senior forward <strong>Alivia Green</strong> (<em>3.2p, 4.9r</em>) and 6-0 Junior post <strong>Isabella Swineford</strong> (<em>1.8p, 2.1r</em>) give Norwell options inside, and both work hard to patrol the paint and rebound. 5-5 Junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='952497' first='Haley' last='Williamson']</strong> (<em>1.9p</em>) and 5-6 Senior guard <strong>Larkin Smith</strong> (<em>1.2p, 1.0r</em>) add experienced backcourt depth, and both bring good motors to the floor as well. While the Lady Knights might not have a bevy of Division I prospects on their roster, they will outwork nearly all of their opponents, they have years of experience in their program's system, and they play with tremendous skill &amp; understanding of the game. It's difficult to be surprised if they beat Homestead this year and advance deep into the Class 4A state tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Speaking of Homestead, their 2026 and 2028 classes are loaded with talent, and they have as much/more depth as anyone in the state, regardless of class. The Senior class starts with two Indiana Junior All-Stars in 5-10 point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='492319' first='Myah' last='Epps']</strong> (<em>14.8p, 4.6r, 4.5a, 2.0s</em>) and 5-11 wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='414465' first='Gabby' last='Helsom']</strong> (<em>19.1p, 5.7r, 1.7a, 1.3s</em>). Epps is a long, smooth playmaker who can score it from all three levels, she can create for others, plus she is a versatile defender. Helsom is a strong, physical wing who enjoys battling for rebounds about as much as burying 25-foot jumpers consistently. Either of them can take over a game and carry the Spartans from time to time. But typically, they don't have to. 5-9 Senior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486540' first='Whitney' last='Ankenbruck']</strong> (<em>10.7p, 4.8r, 1.9a, 1.4s</em>), 5-9 Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='761179' first='Carley' last='Moellering']</strong> (<em>8.4p, 2.9r, 2.9a, 1.1s in 17 games</em>), and 5-8 Senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='486546' first='Kendall' last='McLaughlin']</strong> (<em>3.3p, 2.1r</em>) each add size, strength &amp; toughness, plus the ability to really shoot the basketball from the perimeter. They also have multiple years of experience at the Varsity level. 5-9 wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751059' first='Eva' last='Scarbeary']</strong> (<em>3.0p, 2.4r</em>) represents the whole Junior class on Varsity, but she had a tremendous Spring &amp; Summer and could see an uptick in minutes this year. She is long, smooth, skilled, and very hard-working, especially defensively. The Sophomore group begins with Top 5 2028s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='902152' first='Delaney' last='Noll']</strong> (<em>6.0p, 4.0r, 3.0a, 1.1s</em>), a 5-10 guard, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='888190' first='Suzy' last='Perego']</strong> (<em>2.4p, 2.3r, 1.5a</em>), a 6-2 wing. Noll is a knockdown shooter and a potential starter/star for the Spartans moving forward. She has really worked to handle the ball and run offense more often, plus she is tough and hard-working. Perego also has star potential in her, and she has shown flashes over the last 18 months. She is extremely long, bouncy, and smooth as either a point forward or a face-up '4' in their system. But the Sophomore class isn't limited to those two. 6-0 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='933384' first='Leah' last='Werth']</strong> had an outstanding Summer and has greatly improved her game. She has skill, athleticism, and she plays with a motor. 5-7 point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='990167' first='Kenna' last='Taylor']</strong> is a cerebral but scrappy point guard prospect who can handle and run offense, but she's also a capable perimeter shooter. 5-9 guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='990956' first='Agnes' last='Bell']</strong> also had a fantastic grassroots season, plus she was really good in June for the Spartans at team shootouts/events. She can shoot/score it from different spots on the floor, and she plays with an outstanding motor. Obviously, Homestead isn't hurting for talent, but with all of these options, they will have to buy in and work together as a unit, which they've done well in the past. If they can, there's no reason they can't represent Class 4A from the North at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in February.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Players to Keep an Eye on:</strong> Fort Wayne South Side: 5-7 Sophomore guard <strong>BriTanya Diedrich-Williams</strong> (<em>7.1p, 2.6r, 1.2s</em>), 5-7 Junior wing <strong>Bry'Lee Diedrich-Williams</strong> (<em>6.3p, 4.6r</em>), and 5-4 Freshman guard <strong>Macy Newsome</strong>; Fort Wayne Wayne: 5-9 Junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='834942' first='Davianna' last='Irons']</strong> (<em>12.4p, 6.8r, 1.1s</em>), 5-4 Junior guard <strong>Braleah King</strong> (<em>6.0p, 2.8r, 2.6a, 1.9s</em>), and 5-10 Sophomore forward <strong>Amiya Tyree</strong>; Huntington North: 5-8 Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='896531' first='Luci' last='Reich']</strong> (<em>8.9p, 2.8r, 1.1a, 1.0s</em>), 5-6 Junior guard <strong>Riley Wilson</strong>, and 5-11 Freshman forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1231497' first='Ruby' last='Grogg']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->