Seven county programs earn Team Award
The REPORTER
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.
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.
Among local schools, Carmel’s Sydney Bonds was named to the Girls First Team Academic All-State.
The following players were named honorable mention:
BOYS: Will Bach, Guerin Catholic; Drew Burnett, Guerin Catholic; Cooper Cammack, University; Jackson Cantlon, Hamilton Heights; Austin Day, Hamilton Heights; Brock Detamore, Westfield; Adam Fine, Noblesville; Wyatt Freehauf, Westfield; Sawyer Holman, Guerin Catholic; Ryan Hunsucker, Westfield; Jack Jacobs, Hamilton Southeastern; Kian Kelly, Hamilton Southeastern; Rees Knapp, Hamilton Heights; Josh McGee, University; Harris Nachlis, University; Chance Spencer, Sheridan; Julian Vogt, Carmel.
GIRLS: Dana Dues, Guerin Catholic; Nicole Ellison, Fishers; Mackenzie Feeney, University; Anya Hicks, University; Alyssa Hutchinson, Noblesville; Devyn Johnson, Noblesville; Ava Kashani, Hamilton Southeastern; Akya Koenig, Fishers; Lauren Linville, Westfield; Natalie Thomas, Fishers; Jacobi Warren, Carmel.
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.
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.
Four county girls teams are among the first Academic Award winners: Carmel, Fishers, Guerin Catholic and Sheridan. Among boys teams, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern and Noblesville won the Academic Award.
