Four Hamilton County basketball players are among the 82 Indiana high school seniors (40 boys and 42 girls) that have been chosen as first-team Academic All-State for 2022 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Tuesday.
In addition, 378 more boys and 452 more girls were recognized as honorable mention Academic All-State for 2022, IBCA executive director Steve Witty said. In total, a record 912 players received some level of recognition in this year’s IBCA Academic All-State program.
Two boys and two girls from Hamilton County are on the first-team list. Those student-athletes are: Larry Pierce, University; Charlie Smith, Fishers, Kathryn Loso, Guerin Catholic and Emily Roper, Carmel.
County boys named as honorable mention are: Nic Depasquale, Westfield; Trey Dorton, Westfield; Matthew Etchison, Guerin Catholic; Josh Forbes, Fishers; Will Grissom, Guerin Catholic; Nate Jeffrey, University; Ethan Moistner, Sheridan; Josh Rauh, Carmel; Luke Scariano, Guerin Catholic; Jeffrey Simmons, Fishers; Jonah Spinner, Westfield; Peter Suder, Carmel; Isaac Tuma, Hamilton Heights; Burke Weldy, Carmel; Charlie Williams; Luke Wilson, Noblesville; Alex Wolf, Westfield.
County girls named as honorable mention are: Patty Chikamba, University; Kate Clarke, Carmel; Makayla Hinshaw, Hamilton Southeastern; Katie Koger, Guerin Catholic; Gabi Layman, Hamilton Southeastern; Chesney Tebbe, Westfield; Mia Thompson, Guerin Catholic; Hannah Weitzel, Guerin Catholic.
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 and academic class rank are considered along with athletic performance in areas such as points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game. In most years, college board scores also are considered. For the second consecutive year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some students not taking the SAT or ACT and some colleges not requiring those results, the IBCA waived its previous college board requirements.
“The quality of these student-athletes shows that success in academics and success in athletics are not separate entities,” Witty 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 3.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale and a class rank in the upper 25 percent of one’s class. Traditionally, the IBCA has required an SAT score of 1,100 (on the reading and math sections) or an ACT composite score of 24 on the college boards, but, as mentioned earlier, those requirements were waived this year.
Once nominations were received, an IBCA committee reviewed the information and determined awards for first team and honorable mention.
Those selected will receive certificates from the IBCA for their honor. Plans are for certificates to be distributed in PDF form to coaches via e-mail during April for the coach to print. The coach then may present the certificate to each honored player sometime before the conclusion of the 2021-22 academic year.
The IBCA has selected an Academic All-State team for boys since 1973. The program was expanded to include a girls’ Academic All-State team in 1980.
