2028 Breakout Candidates for the 2026-2027 Season

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='990043' first='LeAnah' last='Hyatt'] (2028) from Lawrence Central High School.   Now that the June "scholastic live period" is over, I wanted to circle back and consider who could be the breakout candidates for the 2026-2027 high school season. There is no exact, singular qualification for these, other than I am looking at prospects who (a) played regular Varsity minutes in 2025-2026 but I feel like this coming year they could step into a key role and significantly increase their statistics, or (b) maybe they are getting their first major minutes of Varsity action, or (c) maybe they are in a new location and will have a bigger opportunity to affect each game.   .    LeAnah spent the last two seasons growing and developing her game, while also logging quality minutes for one of the state's more talented programs. She has learned "on the fly" at times, but now minus several talented graduates the last two years, she is ready to step into a leadership position. With her length and athleticism, plus her ability to score the ball at all three levels, I fully expect LeAnah to have a breakout Winter and potentially score in the mid to high teens after averaging 5.7 points per game this past year. She can be explosive offensively, and she can be disruptive defensively.     I enjoyed watching Sawyor as an 8th Grader and Freshman as she showed off a lot of feistiness, a love for the game, plus good skill and a solid understanding of the point position. Then, she transferred to New Palestine from Triton Central prior to her Sophomore year, and she spent last year getting acclimated into a new system/program. This year, however, I would expect her to take a big step in helping the Lady Dragons to a successful season. The 2028 class there is strong, and she just makes it stronger. I believe their top three, including Sawyor, can all be double-figure scorers in 2026-2027.     I am actually a little excited for Suzy this coming year, and it's rare to have someone ranked so high in this article. But I have seen her talent in flashes throughout grassroots play, and now she has the opportunity at Homestead to earn big minutes and show everyone else what she is capable of. She is long, wiry-strong, fluidly athletic, and very skilled. She is a tall, long point forward type who can create offense for others, she can get to the rim and finish athletically in a variety of ways, plus she can knock down open rhythm jumpers. Look for her to have an impactful season.     Claire is the younger sister of 6-foot-8 Indiana University forward Trent Sisley. While she is not quite on that level as a recruit, she does possess a long, wiry frame, nice all-around athleticism, a little bounce, and the potential to turn the corner and have a nice season for Heritage Hills. I felt like her growth from her Freshman to her Sophomore year was understated, as she averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in her second season. She is an active rebounder and defender, while she can post a little or attack the basket from the mid-post offensively.     I saw Arey'a for the first time in April, and I've seen her a couple more times since, and I have been pretty impressed with her combination of talent and skill. At first, I thought she was a really nice athlete with length, wiry strength, and a grit to her, especially defensively. She looked like she wanted to pressure the ball, trap, and turn people over, then attack off the dribble all the time. But in May, she was more versatile and knocked down several shots consistently from the perimeter, plus she stood out as more of a guard than a wing. She could have a big year for Anderson in 2026-2027.

The featured image is of LeAnah Hyatt LeAnah Hyatt 5'8" | SG Lawrence Central | 2028 State IN (2028) from Lawrence Central High School.