Eric’s 1A State Preview
The high school season begins next week and we are looking at a little bit of everything as we begin. There are teams, players, and so much more to consider and in 1A this year, there are a ton of challenges that await. We breakdown, top to bottom, everything you need to know in 1A this season. Let’s begin.
Morristown Rebuilding, Blackhawk Reloading
A season ago we saw small town Morristown take their team through a gauntlet to win a state title in 1A. They had to beat University, Tindley, Barr-Reeve, and Southwood in their final four games to do it. It was a remarkable run and one of the best we had seen in a while. But now, they are in a state of rebuild as their top two players have graduated.
One of the teams we predicted at the beginning of last season to make their run and meet in the State Finals was Blackhawk Christian. Loaded with some crazy amount of talent for a 1A team, they fell one game short against Southwood. They graduated Jalan Mull, Drake Thompson, Luke Sassmannhausen, and Devon Donaldson from last year. However, they bring back elite power forward Caleb Furst, emerging wing Frankie Davidson, along with some other key contributors. They also got Churubusco (IN) guard Zane Burke moving in who will provide some shooting off the bench. This team is reloading and still has plenty left in the tank to make another run.
Potential State Championship On December 29th
Last season, we saw Blackhawk Christian play in the North Daviess Tournament which paired them against a ton of really great southern Indiana teams. Most notably was the Championship game for them against Barr-Reeve. Well, they are going down again this year and they could meet again in the Championship game.
While we know Blackhawk Christian will be a power, Barr-Reeve has a lot more success than them and has a team looking like one of the best in the south once again. Gabe Gladish, Isaac Wagler, Brycen Graber, Austin Ainscough, and Keegan O’Neill are just a few of those returning to a team that lost pretty much nothing in terms of production. On December 29th, the final game of the North Daviess Tournament, it would be a shame if we didn’t get not only a rematch of last years game but also a preview of the potential 1A State Title game.
1A Takes A Dip In Talent
Last season, we had a number of really good teams with some high-end players. Now, though, we are looking at whole new landscape. Southwood, gone. Built mostly of Seniors. Morristown, same. Tindley, Hauser, Covenant Christian. All the same.
That is a lot of teams that have been great for a while that aren’t likely to be that competitive. They could be but they just don’t have the same talent level anymore. Instead, look for University, Loogootee, and Greenwood Christian as a few of the teams that could step in this year and make runs. But the reality is that this year it is really top loaded with Blackhawk and Barr-Reeve as the runaway favorites. Some teams are going to have to prove things wrong in the first couple of weeks to change that.
Prep Hoops Indiana’s Top 20 In 1A
- Blackhawk Christian
- Barr-Reeve
- University
- Gary 21st Century
- Lafayette Central Catholic
- Loogootee
- Wood Memorial
- Lanesville
- Morristown
- Christian Academy
- Greenwood Christian
- Bloomfield
- Oldenburg Academy
- Jac-Cen-Del
- Edinburgh
- Indianapolis Lighthouse South
- Indianapolis Metropolitan
- Oregon-Davis
- Indianapolis International
- Liberty Christian
1A All-Class Teams
First Team All-Class 1A
Frankie Davidson (Sr., Fort Wayne Blackhawk)
Caleb Furst (So., Fort Wayne Blackhawk)
Johnell Davis (Sr., Gary 21st Century)
Carson Barrett (Jr., Lafayette Central Catholic)
Keegan O’Neill (Jr., Barr-Reeve)
Second Team All-Class 1A
Gabe Gladish (Sr., Barr-Reeve)
Mawich Kaahjaani (Sr., International)
Turner Royal (Jr., Bloomfield)
Paxon Bartley (Sr., Wood Memorial)
Logan Laster (Sr., Morristown)
Third Team All-Class 1A
Landon Newnum (Sr., Parke Heritage)
Dallas Holmes (Sr., Southwood)
Noah Jordan (Sr., Indianapolis Metropolitan)
Silas Bauer (So., Loogootee)
Jaden Thomas (So., International)
Honorable Mention
De’Andre Coleman (Jr., South Bend Career Academy)
Brent Wireman (Sr., Kouts)
Justin Harmon (Sr., Lakeland Christian)
Ben Lins (Jr., Covenant Christian (DeMotte))
Kendall Arseneau (Sr., South Newton)
Trevor Braden (Sr., Morgan Twp.)
Colin Burton (Sr., Washington Twp.)
Nathan VanDokkenburg (Sr., Faith Christian)
Michael Carr (Jr., Tri-Central)
Jake Moynihan (So., Seton Catholic)
Declan Gill (Sr., Cowan)
Connor Fleming (Jr., Daleville)
Trevor Eppert (Sr., North Vermillion)
Andrew Froedge (Jr., Blue River Valley)
Zeke Brown (Sr., Central Christian)
Johnny Porter (Jr., Indiana Math and Science Academy)
Shawn Michaelis (Sr., Eminence)
Nick Koons (Sr., Rising Sun)
Champ McCorkle (Jr., Greenwood Christian)
Tyler Goecker (So., Trinity Lutheran)
Bryce Burton (Sr., Edinburgh)
Cade Chezem (Sr., Loogootee)
AJ Goecker (Sr., Trinity Lutheran)
Noah Hupmann (Jr., Evansville Day)
Coltan Henderson (Sr., Edinburgh)
State Predictions
I spent some time researching and looking into the teams in 1A this season. This is my personal, unbiased predictions for those winners of each Sectional, Regional, Semistate, and State game.
Sectional Predictions
Sectional 49: Gary 21st Century
Sectional 50: Tri-County
Sectional 51: Oregon-Davis
Sectional 52: Blackhawk Christian
Sectional 53: North Vermillion
Sectional 54: Lafayette Central Catholic
Sectional 55: Liberty Christian
Sectional 56: Seton Catholic
Sectional 57: Bloomfield
Sectional 58: University
Sectional 59: Greenwood Christian
Sectional 60: Morristown
Sectional 61: Lanesville
Sectional 62: Edinburgh
Sectional 63: Barr-Reeve
Sectional 64: Wood Memorial
Regional Predictions:
Regional 13: Blackhawk Christian
Regional 14: Lafayette Central Catholic
Regional 15: University
Regional 16: Barr-Reeve
State Predictions:
Semistate North: Blackhawk Christian
Semistate South: Barr-Reeve
State Champion: Blackhawk Christian