128 teams earn new Team Academic Award; 414 additional players cited as individual Honorable Mention

            (3-11-26) Eighty-seven Indiana high school seniors – 44 boys and 43 girls – have been chosen as first-team Academic All-State for 2026 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Wednesday (March 11).

            In addition, 233 more boys and 181 more girls were recognized as honorable mention Academic All-State for 2026, IBCA executive director Marty Johnson said. In total, 501 players received some level of recognition in this year’s IBCA Academic All-State program.

            The IBCA Academic All-State program is one where academic prowess and athletic prowess both are considered in the selections. Items such as grade-point average, academic class rank and SAT or ACT scores are considered along with athletic performance in areas such as points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game. 

            “The quality of these student-athletes shows that success in academics and success in athletics are not separate entities,” Johnson said. “Rather, in many cases, a player’s success in the classroom directly contributes to his or her success on the floor.”

            IBCA-member head coaches from schools across the state may nominate their senior student-athletes who meet criteria that include a 3.50 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale, a class rank in the upper 25 percent of one’s class and either an SAT score of 1100 (on the reading and math sections) or an ACT composite score of 24. Once nominations were received, an IBCA committee reviewed the information and determined awards for first team and honorable mention.

            Individual boys’ first-team honorees are: Noah Allen, Randolph Southern; Matthew Armstrong, South Newton; Nolan Baker, Eastside; Ryan Basham, Hobart; Carter Biggs, Western; Cooper Bock, Sullivan; Carter Campbell, Winchester; Caden Claxton, Shelbyville; William Clore, Avon; Brady Cook, Southwestern (Hanover); Isaac Crane, Covenant Christian;

            Aidan Duff, Carroll (Flora); Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon (Fortville); Caleb Ferguson, Columbus North; Brody Fisher, Carroll (Fort Wayne); Braedyn Foster, LaVille; Nathan Fritsch, Seymour; Kaden Grau, Westview; Peyton Gray, Heritage Hills; Cass Hejnowski, Lowell; Jarrett Helman, Shenandoah; Drew Johnson, Adams Central;

            Jaden Johnson, Shakamak; Landyn Keiser, Centerville; Mason Kitterman, Blackford; Tytus Lehman, South Adams; Braxton Lewis, Southwestern (Hanover); Rob McGowan, Washington Township; Derek McKean, South Adams; Mason Miller, New Castle; Zane Mitchell, Shenandoah; Aran Padmalingam, Fort Wayne Canterbury; Mason Pearson, NorthWood;

            Aleks Pecoski, Marquette Catholic; Lane Pendleton, Brownstown Central; Caden Powers, Eastern Hancock; Logan Sargent, Tri-Central; Levi Sawatzky, Goshen; Brady Scholl, Northridge; Eli Sego, Triton Central; Ashaan Singh, Pendleton Heights; Julien Smith, Indianapolis Cathedral; Gradin Swoveland, Jay County; Sawyer Tonagel, LaPorte.

            Individual girls’ first-team honorees are: Konley Ault, Bluffton; Hannah Baker, Shelbyville; Addison Barnes, Delta; Lilli Barnes, Valparaiso; Olivia Berzai, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard; Ally Bland, Edgewood; Sydney Bonds, Carmel; Joslyn Bricker, Warsaw; Brooklyn Campbell, Washington Township; Elise Coleman, Floyd Central;

            Carly Davison, Clinton Central; Sarah DePew, Garrett; Sophia Dyer, Whiteland; Reese Ford, Tell City; Gracyn Gilliard, Center Grove; Grace Goldman, North Harrison; Lani Graves, Bloomfield; Madison Grossman, Westview; Hannah Higgs, Evansville Christian; Olivia Jones, Pendleton Heights; Emma Kincaid, Bremen;

            Kandace Kroft, Winamac; Julia Lashley, Bloomington South; Mia McKaig, Pioneer; Robyn Pate, Brebeuf Jesuit; Gabrielle Patrick, Shenandoah; Caroline Pugh, Plainfield; Katie Reed, Washington; Brooklynn Renn, Silver Creek; Grace Sailors, North Miami; Jillian Salts, Carroll (Flora); Leah Shappell, Leo;

            Maddy Shirley, Evansville Central; Alexa Sichting, Indian Creek; Kenna Streeval, Edinburgh; Grace Swank, Central Noble; Lilly Sylvester, Yorktown; Sarah Thompson, Oregon-Davis; Anisa Tonkel, Columbia City; Ellyse Walden, Western; Berkeley Williams, Plainfield; Sophie Wischmeier, Brownstown Central; Reese Withers, Corydon Central.

            The IBCA has selected an individual Academic All-State team for boys since 1973. The program was expanded to include a girls’ individual Academic All-State team in 1980.

            A new award in 2026 is an IBCA Team Academic Award, for which 128 teams qualified. The IBCA firmly believes that academics are an essential component of developing well-rounded basketball players and that outstanding academic achievement deserves recognition.

            Inaugural winners of the IBCA Team Academic Award – 29 boys’ teams and 99 girls’ teams – are teams that demonstrate the same commitment to excellence in academics as they do in athletics. To qualify, each team listed had a cumulative team GPA of 3.50 or better when averaging the first-semester GPAs of all players on its 2026 sectional roster.

            Certificates will be e-mailed as PDFs to coaches of honored players and teams during April. Coaches should then print the certificates out and present them to the honored player (or players) before the 2025-26 school year ends.