Five Area Players Named First Team Academic All-State; Twelve More Earn Honorable Mention

Academic All-State honors are determined by academic and athletic prowess.

INDIANAPOLIS – Nearly 500 high school basketball players have earned Academic All-State honors from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Seventy-six seniors were chosen as First-Team Academic All-State selections, while 424 earned honorable mention.

The IBCA Academic All-State program is one where academic and athletic prowess 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. 

Mary Ryan (Oldenburg Academy), Nicole Mears (Franklin County), Alyssa Simpson (Rising Sun), and Kate Weber (Oldenburg Academy) made Girls First Team Academic All-State, while Dylan Maxwell (East Central) made Boys First Team Academic All-State.

Several others were named honorable mention: Kaylin Hinners (Jac-Cen-Del), Reagan Hughes (Jac-Cen-Del), Riley Lagaly (South Dearborn), Maddie Levell (Switzerland County), Claire Saner (Batesville), Sadie Wachsmann (Oldenburg), and Molly Wrightsman (Switzerland County).

On the boys’ side, five area players received honorable mention. They are Ben Cornett (Lawrenceburg), Nate Elliott (Rising Sun), Jack Grunkemeyer (Batesville), Carson Hughes (Jac-Cen-Del), and Sam Johnson (Batesville).

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.

Those selected will receive certificates from the IBCA for their honor.