Prep Hoops Indiana 2025-26 High School Preview – Class 3A (North)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With official practice having started on November 10th, and first tip-off is less than a week away, the road to Indianapolis begins as 110 schools battle for the chance to etch their name in the history books as state champions. With South Bend St. Joe's, last years 3A State Champion now competing in 4A, the field is wide open for a new champion to be crowned. Here is the season preview for Class 3A North:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE FIELD</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 17 (Gary West): </strong> Calumet, East Chicago Central, Gary West, Griffith, Hammond Noll, Highland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 18 ( Hanover Central):</strong> Hanover Central, Illiana Christian, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, River Forest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 19 (New Prairie): </strong>Culver Academy, John Glenn, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, Plymouth, South Bend Washington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 20 (Columbia City): </strong>Columbia City, Fairfield, NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wawasee, West Noble</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 21 (DeKalb): </strong>Angola, DeKalb, East Noble, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Fort Wayne Concordia, Fort Wayne Dwenger, Garrett, Leo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 22 (Bellmont): </strong>Bellmont, Heritage, Marion, Mississinewa, New Haven, Norwell</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional</strong> <strong>23 (Logansport): </strong>Logansport, Maconaquah, Northwestern, Peru, Twin Lakes, West Lafayette, Western</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 24 (New Castle): </strong>Connersville, Delta, Hamilton Heights, Jay County, New Castle, Yorktown</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>TOP PLAYERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tarvar Baskerville - New Haven 2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560969' first='Tyler' last='Crews'] - Gary West 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2791287' first='Rayveon' last='Fetz'] - Mississinewa 2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3033269' first='Prentiss' last='Gates'] - Gary West 2029</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560995' first='Reggie' last='Hinton'] - Gary West 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1989433' first='Tim' last='Jones Jr.'] - Marion 2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2539827' first='Bryce' last='LaCross'] - Fort Wayne Blackhawk 2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2471421' first='Owen' last='Marshall'] - Columbia City 2026 (Committed to Bethel)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2837583' first='Landon' last='Richmond'] - Columbia City 2026 (Committed to Huntington)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dan Selking - Bellmont 2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2297505' first='Jaece' last='Vogt'] - West Lafayette 2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MOST INTRIGUING SECTIONALS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 20: </strong>As arguably the favorite to come out of the north, Columbia City is the class of Sectional 20 at home. Bringing back the dynamic duo of Huntington Commit [player_tooltip player_id='2837583' first='Landon' last='Richmond'] and Bethel Commit [player_tooltip player_id='2471421' first='Owen' last='Marshall'] pushed the 3A State Champion South Bend Saint Joe's to the limit in the Regional. With Sophomore Guard Ian St John stepping into a starting role, the Eagles now have a trio that can balance the offensive output and make them more dangerous.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NorthWood under Head Coach Aaron Wolfe lost to Columbia City in the sectional by one point. 6'8” big man Tyler Raasch is off to Grace, but in steps in 6'7” Olivet Nazarene Commit [player_tooltip player_id='2272823' first='Mason' last='Pearson'] to lead the charge for the Panthers. NorthWood has certainly had more talented teams with more firepower in the latest run of excellence from the program, but Coach Wolfe has built a winning culture that can't go ignored.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Joe Luce makes his way to Wawasee after a successful three-year run at Tippecanoe Valley. Following him over is 6'7” Senior Forward [player_tooltip player_id='1981703' first='Stephen' last='Akase'] who averaged 13 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a junior. Also making his way over his veteran 5'10” Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id='1989434' first='Davis' last='Cowan'] prepared to take over a leadership role with his new team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 22: </strong>Taking a deep dive into all the sectionals in Class 3A North, the one that really pops as the most intriguing is Sectional 22 at Bellmont. Six team sectional with New Haven coming in as the presumed favorite. Returning for the Bulldogs is the backcourt of 6'2” Junior Guard Tarvar Baskerville, who led the Bulldogs at just under fourteen points per game is joined by 6'2” Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id='2892459' first='Jadrien' last='Ezell'], a super athletic guard that shoots it well from deep. [player_tooltip player_id='2837232' first='Lavell' last='Ledbetter'] is a 6'3” Junior Forward that will look to take a jump in production from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marion is a legendary program in the state looking to get back to their winning ways in what will be Coach James Blackmon Sr's final season at the helm of his alma mater. [player_tooltip player_id='1989433' first='Tim' last='Jones Jr.'] is a 6'3” Senior Combo Guard returning after having a monster junior season averaging 19.4 points, five rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 4.1 steals per game. Most nights out he will be the best player on the floor and when that's the case, the team always has a chance to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STATE TITLE CONTENDERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gary West: </strong>The Cougars come into the season with the most talent on paper. Return arguably the most dynamic player in 3A North in 5'11” Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id='1560995' first='Reggie' last='Hinton'] along with [player_tooltip player_id='1560969' first='Tyler' last='Crews'], a 6'10” Senior Center that brings unmatched size to the table. Hinton is a lightning quick guard is relentless as he impacts the game on both ends of the floor while Crews is a for the Cougars is potential breakout star that has all the intangibles to have a huge senior season. The X-Factor will be how fast 6'8” Freshman Forward [player_tooltip player_id='3033269' first='Prentiss' last='Gates'] can adapt to the varsity game. If he's able to get comfortable with the pace of play and physicality, the talented freshman could push Gary West over the top and send them down to Indianapolis for the first time since 2002.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Columbia City: </strong>If any team knows what it takes to go head to head and push another state title contender to the brink it's the Columbia City Eagles. Nearly knocking off last years 3A State Champion South Bend Saint Joe's in the regional round, the Eagles are hungry to get over the hump led by their senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2471421' first='Owen' last='Marshall'] (Bethel Commit) and [player_tooltip player_id='2837583' first='Landon' last='Richmond'] (Huntington Commit).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DARK HORSE CONTENDERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>New Haven: </strong>With the return of Junior leading scorer Tarvar Baskerville coming off a great summer of AAU, along with the senior leadership of [player_tooltip player_id='2892459' first='Jadrien' last='Ezell'], New Haven has the talent the make noise in the tournament. A lot is riding on the increase production of [player_tooltip player_id='2837232' first='Lavell' last='Ledbetter'] as emerging as the third guy in the roster. It's been 8 seasons since the Bulldogs have made it past the sectional, the talent is there, they just need to put it all together, and if they do, watch out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Wayne Blackhawk: </strong>Fort Wayne Blackhawk has been one of the most successful programs in the tournament in the last 10 years. The Caleb Furst and Kellen Pickett days are over, but the Braves have a trio of guards that can go out and win a game for them on any given night led by Senior Guard [player_tooltip player_id='1738845' first='Briggs' last='Pardon']. Talented scoring guard that's transitioning to a leadership role for the roster's talented sophomore duo in [player_tooltip player_id='2539823' first='Drake' last='Sefton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2539827' first='Bryce' last='LaCross'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->