West to Southwest Indiana

The featured image is of [player_tooltip player_id='177308' first='Madisyn' last='Bailey'] (2024) of Bedford North Lawrence High School.   Five years ago, when I first started with Prep Girls Hoops, I introduced different areas of the state and their top prospects. I wanted to again work through that this Fall and offer you a much more detailed look at the Hoosier State's different regions and the prospects who should shine this Winter throughout those regions. With this being the last of those reports, we have one last, odd-shaped area left to cover. This article will roughly focus on a triangle that incorporates schools in or around the triangle of I-70 West out of Central Indiana, I-69 Southwest out of Central Indiana, and where they approach US-41 and the state line that touches Illinois. It specifically includes the counties of Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo. There are 41 total schools spread throughout those 14 counties, and there are schools of all classes with a heavy influence of smaller schools, with five being from Class 4A, seven being from Class 3A, 14 being from Class 2A, and 15 being from Class A.   There has been a great deal of team success when it comes to this area. Over the past 15 years, Linton-Stockton (2020 2A, 2021 2A), Loogootee (2021 A), Bedford North Lawrence (2013 4A, 2014 4A, 2023 4A), and Vincennes Rivet (2011 A) have all won state championships. Rivet has made the most finals appearances, having also been the Class A runner-up in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018, and 2019. Loogootee (2021 A), Barr-Reeve (2014 A), the now defunct Turkey Run (2011 A), and Owen Valley (2009 3A) also finished in second place in their respective classes. Turkey Run combined with Rockville in 2018 to form Parke Heritage High School. The combination of this area's 41 schools has also produced quite a bit of talent, with a number of girls each year playing college basketball at a variety of levels. Recently, players like Zoe Stewart (Terre Haute North Vigo 2022), Maycee Lange (Vincennes Lincoln 2021), Chloe McKnight (Bedford North Lawrence 2021), Vanessa Shafford (Linton-Stockton 2021), Jorie Allen (Bedford North Lawrence 2019), Addisyn Blackwell (Bloomington South 2019), Amani Brown (Terre Haute South Vigo 2019), and Grace Waggoner (Vincennes Rivet 2019) have represented their high schools well. Stewart, McKnight, Shafford, and Allen were all Indiana All-Stars in their respective graduating classes. Allen was the Indiana Miss Basketball in 2019.   Still, though, there are a number of girls who go underrecruited throughout their careers, and this is an area where small colleges can find some real gems, plus there is typically a Division-I prospect or two in most graduating classes from these 14 counties. With that said, I wanted to take the time to highlight a handful of girls who may not often grab the spotlight, but who deserve their share of recognition for their basketball abilities. All of these girls are strictly from the counties of Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo.   .   [player_tooltip player_id='510511' first='Arianna' last='Gerkin'], 2024, 5-10 CF, Vincennes Lincoln H.S. - Arianna put together a strong Spring & Summer grassroots season, and I'm glad she played a full one, because it really benefited her in terms of her recruiting. She has seen her interest skyrocket over the last five months, and rightfully so. She is a strong, physical, but athletic forward who can play inside or out. She can be a bruising power forward around the block, grab rebound after rebound, and defend the post. She can also step outside and bury 3-pointers, handle it in transition, and get to the basket.   [player_tooltip player_id='201876' first='Abbie' last='Lucas'], 2024, 6-0 PF, Bloomington H.S. South - Abbie is another frontline prospect who is drawing a great deal of elite small college interest right now. She has an athletic frame, she moves well in all directions, and she has some bounce to her. She plays with a motor and has a nose for the ball, plus she is an excellent offensive rebounder. She has nice touch to the mid-post, and she can attack the basket from there or the short corners and finish through contact. Defensively, she has always played with versatility and can even defend bigger guards.   [player_tooltip player_id='473675' first='Brynna' last='Collins'], 2024, 5-7 SF, North Knox H.S. - Brynna is a strong, broad-shouldered, and very physical wing prospect. She plays with a strong motor, she is a solid North/South attacker, and she can get inside to score the ball. She has nice touch outside and shot 34% from 3-point range as a Sophomore, but I think she can be even more dangerous as an attacker because of her ability to draw contact and get to the free throw line. If she can gain just a little quickness defensively, I definitely think it would benefit her at that end of the floor.   [player_tooltip player_id='626932' first='Bren' last='Hill'], 2025, 5-11 CF, South Knox H.S. - This Spring was my first time seeing Bren play, and I came away pretty impressed with her potential. She is extremely long and wiry, fairly fluid athletically, and she plays a lot more physical than she looks. She can attack the basket from the perimeter, she's active around the lane pursuing rebounds, and she earns herself a lot of "scraps" baskets. Additionally, she can knock down the occasional perimeter jumper. Defensively, she shows a lot of versatility as well, she just needs to continue building her strength.   [player_tooltip player_id='486519' first='Katherine' last='Reed'], 2026, 6-1 PF/C, Washington H.S. - Katie had a fantastic Spring & Summer grassroots season. She has a wiry-strong and athletic frame, and she moves well in most directions. Impressively, she runs the floor hard and extremely well for a young "big". She has good hands, developing footwork, and she does a nice job of finishing around the basket. Defensively, she has the ability to sit down in a stance and defend out on the perimeter, plus she is a solid rim protector/shot blocker. As she continues to develop her skill, watch out!   .   Additional West to Southwest [program_tooltip program_id='716083' first='Indiana' last='Prospects'] in Our Rankings for 2024-2026: [player_tooltip player_id='177308' first='Madisyn' last='Bailey'], 2024, Bedford North Lawrence H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='326486' first='Bradie' last='Chambers'], 2024, Linton-Stockton H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='201868' first='Madelyn' last='Dalton'], 2024, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='331783' first='Braxtyn' last='Dunham'], 2024, North Vermillion H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='177329' first='Keylee' last='Hudson'], 2024, Eastern Greene H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='718311' first='Sydney' last='Jerrells'], 2024, Linton-Stockton H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='239355' first='Ava' last='Reitmeyer'], 2024, Bloomington H.S. North [player_tooltip player_id='239356' first='Mia' last='Robbennolt'], 2024, Bloomington H.S. North [player_tooltip player_id='177353' first='Macy' last='Sexton'], 2024, Vincennes Lincoln H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='176409' first='Chloe' last='Spreen'], 2024, Bedford North Lawrence H.S., committed to the University of Alabama   [player_tooltip player_id='366796' first='Hannah' last='Bledsoe'], 2025, Barr-Reeve H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570374' first='Ella' last='Bobe'], 2025, South Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570371' first='Brynlee' last='Clarke'], 2025, Northview H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570382' first='Elexus' last='Frey'], 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='324075' first='Olivia' last='Gilley'], 2025, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='692234' first='Katie' last='Godlevske'], 2025, Bedford North Lawrence H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='404106' first='Mary' last='Herman'], 2025, Vincennes Rivet H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='495982' first='Addisyn' last='McKee'], 2025, Linton-Stockton H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='295765' first='Alex' last='McKinley'], 2025, North Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='570385' first='Ava' last='Robbennolt'], 2025, Bloomington H.S. North [player_tooltip player_id='506018' first='Emma' last='Simpson'], 2025, Parke Heritage H.S.   [player_tooltip player_id='567991' first='Callie' last='Alston'], 2026, Orleans H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='567139' first='Maddie' last='Carnes'], 2026, Springs Valley H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='481402' first='Maci' last='Eckerty'], 2026, Springs Valley H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='404387' first='Violet' last='Hall'], 2026, Bloomington H.S. South [player_tooltip player_id='486476' first='Shaylyn' last='Hawk'], 2026, Washington H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='624879' first='Julia' last='Lashley'], 2026, Bloomington H.S. South [player_tooltip player_id='420275' first='Lexi' last='Primus'], 2026, North Knox H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486477' first='Hannah' last='Stepp'], 2026, West Vigo H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='492325' first='Ellie' last='Tillett'], 2026, Bedford North Lawrence H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486472' first='Reagin' last='White'], 2026, Northview H.S. [player_tooltip player_id='486523' first='Ella' last='Williams'], 2026, Washington H.S.

The featured image is of Madisyn Bailey Madisyn Bailey 5'9" | PG Bedford North Lawrence | 2024 State IN (2024) of Bedford North Lawrence High School.