Under the Radar from Lafayette to Kokomo

About once a year I like to go through various areas of the state and highlight players for different reasons. In this specific article, I wanted to focus on 6 prospects (3 in 2027, 2 in 2028, and 1 in 2029) who are either listed on the watch list, or not at all included in the rankings at the release of this article. All 6 of these prospects come from schools in North Central Indiana, but more specifically, from the counties of Benton, Fountain, Warren, White, Carroll, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Clinton, Howard, Tipton, Cass, Miami, and Wabash.   .    Aaliyah flashed a great deal of potential throughout the 2025 grassroots season, but she was nowhere to be found during the 2026 grassroots season, unfortunately due to an injury she suffered at the end of the high school season. Aaliyah is a long, wiry, bouncy, fast athlete. She will likely be a key to Jeff's 2026-2027 season once healthy, as she can add explosiveness attacking the basket, she is streaky but can fill it up outside at times, plus she does a nice job of using her length and her physical talents on the ball defensively. Her ability to pressure the ball could be huge for the Bronchos.     Laney is another really nice prospect who hasn't played massive grassroots schedules. She has played, but on a team who selects a few events each year. She is extremely long, wiry, fluid, and somewhat smooth. She can handle it in transition and even initiate the offense if necessary. She has primarily been a slashing/attacking style of scorer who glides to the rim, but as she's gotten older, her perimeter jumper has gotten more consistent, to the point she keeps defenders honest. I'll be curious to see how her recruiting turns out, because I think she can play NAIA ball somewhere.     Satyra had a nice Spring & Summer grassroots season, and she can be problem for opponents on the floor. She is extremely strong at her size, but she's also fast, quick, and shifty. She can explode by defenders, use her strength to ward off contact, and finish athletically around the basket. She can make enough perimeter jumpers to make defenders pay attention, but again, if you get too close, she's going by you. If she can raise her outside percentages into the 30s, I think it would really help her become a hard-to-guard multilevel scorer. She's another tough-nosed, feisty defender as well.     Lorelei is a tough matchup for her opponents, because she has a lot of ability. She is more of a wing guard/forward, she has a wiry-strong, athletic frame, and she moves well in all directions. She's also somewhat bouncy and plays with a nice motor. Offensively, she can shoot it a little outside, but she doesn't usually force shots, and she prefers to get to the basket. She shoots it solidly from the mid-range and the charity stripe. Defensively, she is a willing rebounder and on-ball defender; I would just like to see her match up against better opponents more often. She definitely has small college potential.     Kylie and her twin [player_tooltip player_id='1229678' first='Kenzie' last='Schuessler'] have been part of the Central Catholic lineup over the past two seasons. However, they transferred to West Lafayette this year and can really help solidify the lineup for the Red Devils. Kylie is a long, wiry-strong, and fluidly athletic player. She's someone who is tough to define by position, because she does a little of everything very well. She can play in the paint some, defend, rebound, and score it from the mid-post. She can also handle and push it in transition, occasionally initiating the offense. It should be fun to watch West Lafayette this year.     Rossville was going to be a good team in Class 1A in 2025-2026, with or without Mallory. She exploded onto the scene, however, Leading the Lady Hornets in scoring (13.8 ppg), steals (2.7 spg), 3-pointers made (47), and free throw percentage (79%), while tying for the lead in assists (3.4 apg) and finishing second in 3-point percentage (37%). What a Freshman year! This season, she'll need to use her quickness and craftiness to evade defenders, get downhill, and find open teammates with as much ease. However, I look for her to continue to improve and dissect defenses.

About once a year I like to go through various areas of the state and highlight players for different reasons. In this specific article, I wanted to focus on 6 prospects (3 in 2027, 2 in 2028, and 1 in 2029) who are either listed on the watch list, or not at all included in the rankings at the release of this article. All 6 of these prospects come from schools in North Central Indiana, but more specifically, from the counties of Benton, Fountain, Warren, White, Carroll, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Clinton, Howard, Tipton, Cass, Miami, and Wabash.