The REPORTER
Two Hamilton County basketball players are among the 76 high school seniors (38 boys and 38 girls) that have been chosen as first-team Academic All-State for 2024 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Tuesday.
In addition, 218 more boys and 204 more girls were recognized as honorable mention Academic All-State for 2024, IBCA executive director Marty Johnson said. In total, 498 players received some level of recognition in this year’s IBCA Academic All-State program.
Guerin Catholic’s Robert Sorensen was named to the First Team on the boys’ side, while Hamilton Heights’ Camryn Runner was named to the girls’ First Team.
County boys earning Honorable Mention are: Jackson Bledsoe (University), Trey Buchanan (Westfield), Andy Caron (Guerin Catholic), Luke Etchison (Noblesville), Tillman Etchison (Hamilton Heights), Tyler Garner (Sheridan), Michael Griffith (Hamilton Southeastern), Ben Grissom (Guerin Catholic), Evan Krupp (Sheridan), Taden Metzger (Fishers), Dylan Murans (Guerin Catholic), Parker Perdue (Fishers) Joe Rozembajgier (University), Will Smits (Noblesville) and Hunter Walston (Noblesville).
County girls earning Honorable Mention are: Mia Bair (Guerin Catholic), Lucy Collins (Guerin Catholic), Kori Dues (Guerin Catholic), Jamie Elliott (Carmel), Ellie Kelleher (Westfield), Morgan Roberts (Fishers), Ava Shoemaker (Noblesville), Kate Thomas (Fishers), Hannah Wade (Hamilton Southeastern), Reagan Wilson (Noblesville) and Sutton Worman (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, 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 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
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.
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 2023-24 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.