Top Forwards & Posts In East Central, South Central, & Southeast Indiana

In selecting the five regional areas for my regional articles, I used the Indiana Coaches of Girls’ Sports Association’s (ICGSA) five districts. Schools are evenly distributed by county and somewhat geographical, though not exact. Counties included in the "East Central, South Central, & Southeastern" articles include: Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Madison, Ohio, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Shelby, Switzerland, Union, and Wayne. Across the entire Prep Hoops Network, we are exploring ways to bring you different types of content in each of the states we cover. One idea we’ve come up with is "city rankings", where we highlight some of the better players in each metropolitan area. I felt like in Indiana, however, there are talented kids spread all over the state, so it wouldn’t be fair to solely focus on Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Evansville, for example. Instead, I have divided the state into five regions based on a fairly even distribution of the 400+ high schools available to choose from. It isn’t exact, but it seemed like the best way to make sure all prospects from the Hoosier state were considered. (Please see the italicized fine print above for a more specific breakdown of the counties used in this article.) Without further ado, below is a look at some of the top returning forwards & posts in "East Central, South Central, & Southeastern" Indiana, arranged alphabetically within their graduating classes.   [player_tooltip player_id="99397" first="Madison" last="Gray"], 2021, 5-10 PF/SF, Union County H.S. Madi is one of the better small school forwards in the state. She is a solid all-around athlete, she has a wiry strong frame, some length, a little bounce to her, plus she plays with a nice motor at both ends of the floor. At the high school level she is asked to play a little more on the interior, especially defensively, but on the grassroots circuit she plays either a perimeter '4' or a true wing position. She can handle it a little, knock down shots to about 17-feet, or attack the basket. She's great in the mid-post offensively, and she's a versatile defender as well. [player_tooltip player_id="130371" first="Erikka" last="Hill"], 2021, 5-9 PF/C, Shenandoah H.S. Erikka might not be the prototypical size of a collegiate post prospect, but after averaging 19.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.2 steals per game as a Junior, I would say she is plenty productive, especially for Shenandoah at the Class 2A level. Erikka is a strong, physical, incredibly high-motor kid. She seeks contact and controls the paint, and she understands how to finish through and around contact. She guards the perimeter reasonably well for a "big", and she is always going to do the intangible things to help her team win. Look for her to possibly head off to college next year as a track & field thrower. [player_tooltip player_id="130348" first="Paige" last="Ledford"], 2021, 6-0 PF/C, Jac-Cen-Del H.S. I feel like this collection of forwards/posts has one thing in common for the most part, and that's the word 'motor'. Paige is yet another incredibly hard-working interior player who outproduces her talent level every single night. She is strong, physical, and quietly tough, but she also has good hands and feet, touch on her shot, plus the ability to defend a couple of positions because she'll work to sit down in a stance. She has a nose for the ball and simply beats opponents to rebounds/loose balls, but she's also capable of spending some time around the perimeter moving the ball, setting screens, etc. [player_tooltip player_id="99358" first="Jade" last="Nutley"], 2021, 6-0 PF/SF, Madison Consolidated H.S. Jade has such a unique style of play, that you only see it come around in a player maybe once every year or two. She is difficult to define by position because she checks boxes in multiple categories. She is built like a post, she probably moves and defends like a power forward, but she handles and passes the ball like a point forward, and she shoots it like a wing. Regardless of what anyone considers her in high school, her distinctive style of play will undoubtedly draw certain types of coaches to where she "fits" in their system or concepts. Either way, Jade is a nice talent and a tremendous high school ballplayer. [player_tooltip player_id="35027" first="Tenleigh" last="Phelps"], 2021, 5-10 PF/SF, Triton Central H.S. In the Fall of 2018, I compared Tenleigh's game to being a little like Charles Barkley, and her mother DMed me about how that was so true. She is extremely tough and physical, sometimes a little nasty, she is a little undersized for how physical she plays, but she can score the ball at the rim, in the mid-post, or knock down 3-pointers with some range. Tenleigh is a nice North/South athlete, plus she often succeeds inside against taller athletes. She has the handle to create space for her shot, and she has a nose for the ball and is a great rebounder. She has already verbally committed to play at Youngstown State University. [player_tooltip player_id="35057" first="Isabella" last="Reed"], 2021, 5-9 PF/SF, Greenwood Christian Academy Yet another hard-working, productive interior player, Isabella has already had a career in just three years. She has crossed the 1500-point and 1000-rebound plateaus, and those numbers should only continue to rise quickly in 2020-2021. She is a fairly long, wiry strong forward, she is much more physical than she might look, and she can dominate the paint at times at the Class 1A level. During the Spring and Summer months, however, she plays a lot more in the mid-post and around the perimeter. She has great touch, and if she can prove to be a full-time wing, I think it would definitely benefit her recruiting. [player_tooltip player_id="128127" first="Jaleigh" last="Crawford"], 2022, 5-11 SF/PF, Elwood Community H.S. Jaleigh is one of the state's best-kept secrets. She is extremely long, wiry strong, bouncy, and all-around very athletic. She has Division-I physical ability, without question, and her skillset has come a long way over the past two seasons. For an Elwood team thin on talent, she has to handle the ball a lot and play a point forward role, but when she's able to get inside of the arc in the half-court, she is tremendously difficult to contain. She finished the season averaging 17.8 points and 14.4 rebounds, but she averaged 23.2 points over the last 11 games. She is also a talented volleyball prospect. [player_tooltip player_id="97266" first="Ally" last="Madden"], 2022, 6-2 C, Blue River Valley H.S. Ally is a highly skilled, versatile young post. She is strong with broad shoulders, she has really long arms considering her frame, plus she has good hands and solid footwork. She can come out on the floor and defend a little, she can move people inside, and she always plays with a nice motor at both ends of the floor. Offensively, she is capable of establishing position inside and finishing either direction with a variety of moves. She can play facing the basket in the mid-post as well, and she's a solid passer around the perimeter. If she could consistently knock down shots outside, she could be scary to defend. [player_tooltip player_id="59741" first="Gabrielle" last="Dean"], 2023, 6-4 C, Columbus East H.S. Gabby has unbelievable upside for such a young post prospect. She obviously has the height, a wiry strong frame, tremendous length, plus she runs the floor well North/South, she changes directions very well for a player of her size, and she has good lift off the floor. Beyond that, she'll impress you with her ability to knock down the 15-footer, she is a good mid-post passer, and she tries to get physical and play the right way around the basket. At the same time, Gabby holds high-major volleyball offers, some of which came before enrolling in high school. She'll definitely have options as a college athlete. [player_tooltip player_id="59784" first="Josie" last="Trabel"], 2023, 6-0 PF/SF, East Central H.S. Josie is a tremendous basketball player, and after what she did as a Freshman in 2019-2020, I have a feeling she'll flirt with 2000 points and possibly 1000 rebounds by the end of her career. She is a strong, physical, but athletic forward who plays with a great deal of versatility. She can battle around the basket and score/rebound inside, but she also handles the ball at times like a point forward and can create scoring opportunities from the perimeter for herself or teammates. She is starting to shoot it better outside, and if that becomes a full-time part of her game, she will be problematic for opponents.   Other Noteworthy Forwards & Posts: [player_tooltip player_id="130389" first="Alayha" last="Allen"], 2021, Richmond H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130395" first="Kaylee" last="Kear"], 2021, Cowan H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130362" first="Charsan" last="McCory"], 2021, East Central H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="99392" first="Heather" last="Pautler"], 2021, Daleville H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130391" first="Averi" last="Phelps"], 2021, Tri H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130331" first="Lauren" last="Sandrock"], 2021, Franklin Community H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130345" first="Chloee" last="Thomas"], 2021, Frankton H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130407" first="Anna" last="West"], 2021, Greensburg H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="130377" first="Olivia" last="Yeley"], 2021, Mount Vernon H.S. (Fortville) Ashlynn Allman, 2022, Lapel H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="157173" first="Madison" last="Dirksen"], 2022, Jay County H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="97263" first="Quinn" last="Kelly"], 2022, Greenwood Community H.S. Emily Livingston, 2022, Union City H.S. JaKaia Lotz, 2022, Richmond H.S. Honour Ellis, 2023, Union H.S. (Modoc) Bailey Parham, 2023, Tri H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="127236" first="Saige" last="Stahl"], 2023, Columbus East H.S. [player_tooltip player_id="59788" first="Sakagawea" last="Watson"], 2023, New Castle H.S.