Back to School Storylines: District-2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the grassroots season coming to an end, and with kids returning to school, I wanted to take the time to highlight some things that I think will be storylines for the upcoming 2026-2027 high school season. The IHSAA dissects the state into three districts, so in this article I will focus on items, prospects, and teams from District-2 (<em>Central third of the state</em>).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><font color="FFFFFF">.</font></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Will Miss Basketball come from District-2?</font></strong><br>The 2027 Miss Basketball race is sure to be another interesting one. While talented wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751095' first='Lillie' last='Graves']</strong> (<em>17.2p, 7.2r, 5.7a</em>) of McCutcheon has been our top ranked prospect throughout her career, I think the pack has grown closer to her, and there are others in District-2 who have had excellent careers and with good Senior seasons, they could earn a chance at the prestigious award as well. Graves, Pendleton Heights post <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750718' first='Adah' last='Hupfer']</strong> (<em>20.5p, 13.0r, 2.0s</em>), Plainfield guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751064' first='Hannah' last='Menser']</strong> (<em>17.0p, 4.5r, 2.7a</em>), Eastern Hancock guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='750766' first='McKenzie' last='Koch']</strong> (<em>25.5p, 4.8a, 4.4s</em>), and Roncalli guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='716615' first='Elliot' last='Leffler']</strong> (<em>18.9p, 5.2r, 2.0s</em>) all come from District-2. While there are a handful more candidates in the other two districts, the odds lean heavily toward Central Indiana bringing that award back to District-2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">Hamilton County's Youth Movement</font></strong><br>It wasn't too long ago that Hamilton County was easily the most talent-rich county in the Hoosier State. That's not to say they aren't still talented in the North Indy suburbs, but it seems like a lot of that talent is younger this year. There are nine schools in Hamilton County...Carmel, Fishers, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville, Sheridan, University, and Westfield. Carmel welcomes Freshmen guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875989' first='Bryce' last='Webster']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1247914' first='Journie' last='Johnson']</strong> to the fold. Webster has already picked up Big Ten offers, while Johnson has a Division I offer of her own. Add to that the Junior trio of point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='990047' first='Maddy' last='Wallace']</strong>, guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1882714' first='Catherine' last='Bassi']</strong>, and guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='999412' first='Bella' last='Ramsey']</strong>, and the Greyhounds will have one of the state's tougher, deeper backcourts for a couple of years. Fishers is one of the older teams in the county, with Seniors like forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751034' first='Alanna' last='Anthony']</strong>, wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751096' first='Lily' last='Burns']</strong>, and guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751040' first='Arianna' last='Harrington']</strong> leading the way for the Tigers. But don't count out Freshman point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1306357' first='Tatum' last='Eberly']</strong> from seeing extensive minutes as a rookie this year. Guerin Catholic played a huge 2029 class this past Winter and looks to do the same this coming year. Guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1690489' first='Cecilia' last='Titus']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827739' first='Lauren' last='Keller']</strong>, plus forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1827737' first='Ella' last='Horvath']</strong> each averaged 7.3 points per game or more last season, while guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1263944' first='Emersyn' last='French']</strong> and forward <strong>Delanie Cardinal</strong> are two more members of a talented 2029 group. Hamilton Heights was another school that played a significant amount of Freshmen. Now Sophomores, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1263963' first='Riley' last='Suarez']</strong>, <strong>Zoe Curry</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1311790' first='Bayleigh' last='Eisele']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1321761' first='Addison' last='Blum']</strong> were starters averaging 9.1 points per game or higher. Suarez was fantastic, averaging 21.6 points per game for the Huskies. Hamilton Southeastern will turn to Senior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='751032' first='Abigail' last='Orme']</strong> to handle the ball, but from there it's a trio of Junior wings who could step into full-time starting spots. They are <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='905531' first='Piper' last='Brinley']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992352' first='Haylee' last='Mezera']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225065' first='Eevey' last='Tolliver']</strong>. Brinley started last year, while I've already I.D.'ed the shooter Mezera as a breakout candidate, and the athletic Tolliver could be too after watching her in mid-July. Plus, 6-0 Freshman forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1818003' first='Brooklyn' last='Bizila']</strong> has already earned Division I interest/offers and could be a standout sooner rather than later. Noblesville is yet another team who might not start a Senior this year, leaning heavily on Junior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='999395' first='Maia' last='Blower']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='816212' first='Norah' last='Vetor']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1883450' first='Aleah' last='Magee']</strong>. Also keep an eye on 5-9 Freshman wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1879591' first='Katelyn' last='Weddell']</strong>, who had a nice July on the grassroots circuit. Sheridan will play a pair of Seniors as leaders in <strong>Brielle Garner</strong> and <strong>Sadie Timme</strong>, but then they have eight Sophomores returning who each played in seven or more games last season. University graduated their top three scorers and six Seniors in total. They look to four Sophomores for at least some experience, while guard <strong>Nyla Blanding</strong> saw the most action and could be their leading scorer this time around. And that leaves Westfield, who were led by 2029 guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1267070' first='Lillian' last='Clark']</strong>, a sharp-shooter who can flat out score, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1263930' first='Gabby' last='Bassett']</strong>, a smooth pass-first point guard. <strong>Avery Taylor</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1264921' first='Kylie' last='Wyatt']</strong> are two other Sophomores who should contribute more this season. As you can see, Hamilton County is filled with talent, but most of it is in 2028, 2029, or 2030.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><font size="+2">The 2030 Class in Central Indiana should be strong once again</font></strong><br>While we have yet to release an initial 2030 watch list yet, collecting data has pointed us to a number of Central Indiana prospects who stand out. In addition to Webster, Johnson, Eberly, and Bizila (<em>all mentioned above</em>), there is a lot more talent on hand as well. 6-2 wing/forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1859329' first='Quinn' last='Sowder']</strong> from Brownsburg is an elite talent and already holds a number of high-major Division I offers because of her size, skill, and athleticism. 6-5 front-liner <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1871562' first='Jada' last='Reid']</strong> of Lawrence Central has a tremendous amount of upside. She is extremely long, she can get out and run in transition, and she has some bounce in her game. Point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1879578' first='Britt' last='Schellhammer']</strong> should slot in next to her sister in the Greenfield-Central backcourt, and Britt is a really nice athlete with great ball skill and vision. <strong>Maddie Smalligan</strong> is another nice wing from Hamilton Southeastern who is already attracting Division I interest. She could find her way into the Varsity lineup as well for the Lady Royals. 5-9 forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1880375' first='Maya' last='Durham']</strong> is an absolute athlete, defender, and rebounder for Warren Central, while 5-9 guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1880376' first='Danajia' last='Williams']</strong> is a capable perimeter shooter with some smoothness of the bounce.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->