Indiana

Signing day: Confirmed signings for Central Indiana high school athletes

Published

2 months ago

November 12, 2025

Signing day: Confirmed signings for Central Indiana high school athletes

The early signing period begins on Wednesday for all sports except football, which has its early signing period in December.

These are the confirmed expected signings for Wednesday for Central Indiana athletes. We will update this throughout the day and through the signing period (Nov. 19). Please email kyle.neddenriep@indystar.com with school, sport and college choice to add to list:

Girls soccer

Aryana Ali, Westfield: DePauw

Taylor Baier, Center Grove: Walsh

Riley Boyd, Hamilton Southeastern: Indiana

Coltie Carson, Westfield: Miami

Sydney Cook, Hamilton Southeastern: Purdue

Emma Ehret, Carmel: Indiana

Lucy Elder, Hamilton Southeastern: Hanover

Lola Horstman, Westfield: Western Kentucky

Olivia Joyce, Carmel: Kansas

Kate Klinginsmith, Carmel: Ball State

Mallory Long, Fishers: Earlham

Sarah Maudlin, Fishers: Taylor

Elise May, Fishers: Butler

Sloan May, Hamilton Southeastern: Michigan

Kate Noel, Hamilton Southeastern: Purdue

Kari Radford, Lawrence North: Ball State

Brooke Reiter, Carmel: Loras College

Blair Satterfield, Hamilton Southeastern: Indiana

Taylor Townley, Center Grove: IU Indy

Boys soccer

Carsten Shidler, Noblesville: UIndy

Ryan Weber, Carmel: Iowa State

Softball

Erica Burris, Center Grove: Purdue Northwest

Sofia Easterhaus, Westfield: Marian

Riley Fuhr, Center Grove: Thomas More

Kiersten Hardin, Center Grove: Purdue Northwest

Tatum Hunt, Brownsburg: Marian

Frankie Jackson, Fishers: Mars Hill

Jayden Kleiner, Carmel: Michigan

Kensly Larkin, Brownsburg: Huntington

Ashyr Lawson, Decatur Central: Purdue

Brynn Meyer, Center Grove: Indiana

AG Pogue, Brownsburg: Southern Indiana

Hailey Prather, Brownsburg: Ohio Northern

Addelynn Reed, Center Grove: IU Columbus

Haley Schatko, Noblesville: Indiana

Grace Swedarskiy, Hamilton Southeastern: Virginia Tech

Megan Todd, Bishop Chatard: Concordia (Wis.)

Makayla Watson, Westfield: North Carolina State

Addison Wolf, Center Grove: Columbia

Girls track and field/cross country

Ansley Applegate, Noblesville: Taylor

Gracie Czubik, Westfield: Saginaw Valley State

Sadie Foley, Carmel: Indiana

Ceci Jackson, Bishop Chatard: Indiana

Ella Jenkins, Westfield: Northern Iowa

Julia Score, Bishop Chatard: Wake Forest

Chloe Senefeld, Hamilton Southeastern: Iowa

Carly VonDielingen, Whiteland: Indiana State

Lucy Wood, Brebeuf Jesuit: Butler

Boys track and field/cross country

Eli Balbach, Bishop Chatard: Marian

Phoenix Boyer, Bishop Chatard: Indiana

Cooper Click, Noblesville: Taylor

Konrad Hayden, Fishers: Marian

John Libs, Noblesville: Butler

Liam Powers, Hamilton Southeastern: Belmont

Conrad Schumacher, Lawrence North: Marian

Nate Thomas, Fishers: Xavier

Evan Williams, Lawrence Central: Indiana

Boys basketball

Justin Curry, Noblesville: Valparaiso

Evan Harrell, Carmel: Bellarmine

Brennan Miller, Lawrence North: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Noah Smith, Plainfield: DePauw

Baron Walker, Noblesville: Butler

Luke Weemer, Hamilton Southeastern: Emporia State

Girls basketball

Ke’Adriah Butler, Lawrence Central: Boston College

Antonete Greene, Hamilton Southeastern: Earlham

Kenedy Holman, Hamilton Southeastern: Florida

Alyx Kendall, Bishop Chatard: DePauw

Akya Koenig, Fishers: IU-Kokomo

Elle McCulloch, Brownsburg: Florida Gulf Coast

Aniyah McKenzie, Lawrence Central: Illinois-Chicago

Lola Lampley, Lawrence Central: LSU

C.C. Quigley, Noblesville: Lipscomb

Kayla Stidham, Hamilton Southeastern: Bowling Green

Natalie Thomas, Fishers: Bethel

Berkely Williams, Plainfield: DePauw

Boys golf

Ryan Cesare, Westfield: Marian

Thomas Klinker, Fishers: IU Indy

Tyler Marucci, Noblesville: Indiana Wesleyan

Nathan Springer, Center Grove: IU Indy

Mattingly Upchurch, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Girls golf

Olivia Folwer, Noblesville: Tampa

Janelle Garcia, Hamilton Southeastern: IU Indy

Kelsey Haverluck, Westfield: Western Carolina

Peyton Kauzlick, Noblesville: Saint Mary’s College

Josie Kelley, Noblesville: Eastern Kentucky

Presley White, Noblesville: Taylor

Baseball

Collin Bumps, Fishers: Manchester

Beckett Doane, Noblesville: Mississippi State

Beck Jordan, Westfield: Wabash

Sean Frey, Fishers: Anderson

Aiden Grabowski, Westfield: Indiana Wesleyan

Paul Karnes, Lawrence Central: Franklin

Owen Lukac, Fishers: Evansville

Ryan Murphy, Brownsburg: Creighton

Silas Neal, Carmel: UIndy

Vince Painter, Brownsburg: Bellarmine

Vincent Pecoraro, Fishers: Anderson

Daniel Phillips, Brownsburg: Purdue Northwest

Aiden Reynolds, Noblesville: Indiana

Gavin Russ, Westfield: Ohio Northern

Miles Tebben, Fishers: Grace

Brayden Thompson, Brownsburg: Bethel

Clayton Walther, Westfield: Hope

Hayden Werner, Fishers: Maryville

Corey Wilhelm, Westfield: Rose-Hulman

John Zangrilli, Carmel: Thomas More

Boys lacrosse

Wil Bates, Carmel: Maryville

Charlie Boe, Noblesville: Wabash

Max Brown, Westfield: Point Park

Evan Coulter, Carmel: Anderson

Henry Dvorak, Carmel: LeMoyne

Max McCord, Carmel: Palm Beach Atlantic

Cohen Odle, Carmel: Palm Beach Atlantic

Ike Stitle, Carmel: Siena

E.B. Warren, Carmel: Tampa

Girls lacrosse

Sophia Anthony, Carmel: Lincoln Memorial

Madeleine Biedess, Westfield: Lake Forest

Hannah Cavalcanti, Westfield: UIndy

Sophie Grotjan, Carmel: DePauw

Katie McKeever, Carmel: Belmont

Maggie Piatt, Bishop Chatard: Manhattan

Samantha Worzala, Hamilton Southeastern: Hope

Volleyball

Georgia Bresnahan, Westfield: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Ella Coppock, Noblesville: DePauw

Jasmin Daniels, Hamilton Southeastern: Morehead State

Charlotte Dudik, Bishop Chatard: Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

Grace Gwin, Bishop Chatard: Earlham

Skylyr Merriman, Center Grove: Franklin

Madison Miles, Hamilton Southeastern: Illinois

Reagan Miles, Hamilton Southeastern: Taylor

Bre Morgan, Hamilton Southeastern: Florida Gulf Coast

Reese Resmer, Noblesville: Kansas State

Merritt Sliwa, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Ashlynn Turner, Noblesville: Marian

Natalie Vance, Center Grove: Southern Illinois

Jayda Vanoskey, Lawrence North: IU-Columbus

Kate Vrabel, Brownsburg: Oakland

Wrestling

Julian Burgett, Fishers: Mercyhurst

Tommy Gibbs, Brownsburg: Indiana

Parker Reynolds, Brownsburg: Purdue

Xavier Smith, Fishers: Purdue

Michael White, Lawrence North: Oklahoma State

Girls swimming and diving

Zoe Baldauf, Carmel: Anderson

Katie Countryman, Bishop Chatard: Bowling Green

Lucy Enoch, Carmel: Florida Atlantic

Adelyn Flessner, North Central: Iowa

Naomi Haines, Hamilton Southeastern: Ball State

Avery Hannon, Fishers: Xavier

Ella Hare, Fishers: Lynn

Mia Henderson, Hamilton Southeastern: Hope

Sabrina Ledwith, Carmel: Florida International

Eryn McMahon, Noblesville: Ball State

Ryan Murphy, Hamilton Southeastern: Anderson

Francesca Ramey, Fishers: Pepperdine

Polina Sopova, Fishers: Ball State

Boys swimming and diving

Camden Bailey, Hamilton Southeastern: DePauw

Kirby Danglade, Fishers: IU Indy

Drew DuBois, Carmel: Seton Hall

Carter Hadley, Carmel: Southern Methodist

Cory Han, Carmel: Columbia

Will Lathrop, Carmel: Xavier

Mason Lawson, Fishers: North Carolina State

Sebastian Rizik, Carmel: Wabash

Lewis Zhang, Carmel: Penn

Girls tennis

Cathy Beckmann, Bishop Chatard: Valparaiso

Boys tennis

Connor Certain, Brownsburg: Marian

Logan Polen, Brownsburg: Trine

Rowing

Callie Carpenter, Carmel: Duquesne

Paul Kiser, Carmel: Syracuse

Lauren Raines, Brebeuf Jesuit: Wisconsin

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.

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Indiana

Our childhoods were awesome. Let’s legalize kids playing outside. | Opinion

Published

12 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Our childhoods were awesome. Let’s legalize kids playing outside. | Opinion

We loved our free-range childhoods. Now we’re fighting to make sure Hoosier parents won’t get arrested for giving their kids the same freedom.

Jake Teshka and Victoria Garcia Wilburn
| Opinion Contributors

It’s tempting to think Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything these days, but the two of us wholeheartedly agree on this:

Our childhoods were awesome.

In fact, we loved our childhoods so much, we are co-sponsoring a bill that would ensure Indiana parents can let their kids enjoy their childhoods just as much. Under our bill, parents can let their kids play outside, walk to the store, romp in the woods and stomp in the rain without worrying that this wonderful independence could be mistaken for neglect.

The so-called “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill has been passed in 11 states so far — red, blue, and purple. It is not a free pass for abusive parents. It is reassurance for all decent Hoosiers that they don’t have to worry about being investigated or arrested for giving their kids some unsupervised time.

House Bill 1035 simply says that “neglect” is when you put your child in obvious and serious danger — not anytime you take your eyes off them. This helps parents who want to give their kids a longer leash. And it helps parents in poverty who have little choice but to do so — for instance, a single mom working two jobs who lets her kid come home with a latchkey.

It also helps all the parents desperate to get their kids off screens: You take away the phone — and open the door.

Our own childhoods were as outdoors and free range as they come. Jake grew up in Michiana, running around, looking for trees to build tree houses in. Other times he’d jump on his bike and go to the ballpark with friends, or go get a burger or even, yes, some Big League Chew.

Victoria biked all over the place, too — after telling her parents where she was heading. (No cell phones back then.) There was a hill everyone loved to ride down and a 7-Eleven where she’d go with her friends for lunch, which consisted of … a Slurpee. Yes, your elected representatives made some slightly suboptimal choices as kids. That’s part of growing up. It was a magical time.

It was also foundational. Jake works in commercial construction when he’s not legislating. He credits the give-and-take of those unsupervised ballgames with building the client skills he uses to this day. (And maybe the tree houses launched his career in construction.)

Victoria went on to become an associate professor and program director in occupational therapy at Indiana University. Working with young kids, she has seen the slow decline in developmental milestones as the run-around childhood got replaced by a sedentary, screen-based one.

That’s another reason we are so keen to pass this bill. Autonomy isn’t something “nice” to have. It is crucial. We all know about the youth mental health crisis. Let’s make it at least as easy for kids to go outside as it is for them to go online.

Some people may think the reason a supervised, structured childhood has become so normal is because the crime rate is so high. But the murder rate today is lower than it was in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

The Reasonable Childhood Independence bill allows parents to decide for themselves when their kids are ready to do some things on their own.

“As parents, you have a good understanding of where your children are on their level of responsibility,” says Rep. Ryan Lauer, Vice Chair of the House Family and Children Committee, who is also co-sponsoring this bill.

And yet we’ve all heard the stories of decent parents being investigated simply because they didn’t hover — like that mom in Georgia, Brittany Patterson, arrested in 2024 because her 10-year-old walked to town without telling her. Or that mom in South Carolina, Debra Harrell, a few years back. She let her daughter, 9, play at a popular sprinkler park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s. For this, Harrell was thrown in jail and had her daughter taken from her for 17 days.

As parents, we shudder at the thought of overreach like that. We also shudder at the thought of child abuse. By narrowing the definition of neglect, our law gives hardworking Department of Child Services personnel more time to focus on the kids who are truly in danger.

Hoosier parents deserve the freedom to take their eyes off their kids when they know their kids are ready. Hoosier kids deserve to enjoy that freedom. And if they use it to make a tree house or drink a Slurpee for lunch, well, that’s not against the law.

Rep. Jake Teshka represents Indiana’s 7th District (St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties). Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana’s 32nd District (Marion and Hamilton counties).

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Indiana

Pride organizers, ACLU sue Indiana city again, saying it defied court

Published

24 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pride organizers, ACLU sue Indiana city again, saying it defied court

An LGBTQ advocacy group is once again suing Loogootee, Indiana, claiming the city is ignoring a recent court decision ruling its actions unconstitutional and is pushing its festival out of the public square illegally.

The Southern Indiana city of 2,600 people and festival organizer Patoka Valley AIDS Community Action Group have fought for years over LGBTQ expression on city property, specifically where the annual PrideFest would be held.

The city had enacted a special events policy that would prevent the group from holding the festival at the public square downtown. The U.S. District Court of Southern Indiana handed the city a major defeat in August, ruling that the policy was too broad and violated organizers’ First Amendment rights.

Now, Loogootee has enacted another special events policy that mirrors several measures in the one that the court struck down. In response, the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Pakota Valley, filed a new lawsuit against the policy and filed a motion alleging the city is disobeying court orders.

“Court orders must be complied with, and Loogootee, by enacting an ordinance that contains provisions enjoined by the Court, is in contempt of its lawful orders,” ACLU Indiana legal director Ken Falk said in a news release. “Moreover, the ordinance it has adopted continues Loogootee’s pattern of attempting to unconstitutionally restrict this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.”

The new legal twist is the most recent development in what’s been a tense local culture war between the LGBTQ+ community seeking to publicly celebrate their identity and the strong, sometimes threatening, community pushback to their efforts.

Is Loogootee’s ‘new’ policy new?

Judge Richard L. Young listed three primary factors in his August ruling as to why he found Loogootee’s old policy unconstitutional: a 45-day event permit application deadline, small group thresholds, and event location limits. He also disagreed with the city’s health and safety reasoning for such rules.

Public institutions can legally establish restrictions on the time, place and manner of free expression as long as these restrictions are narrowly tailored.

Enacted Dec. 29, the new ordinance reuses the same language regarding the permit deadline and small groups but broadens the locations where an event can be held. Instead of limiting an event to one of two places, an event can now be held anywhere except within 240 feet of the town center’s fountain.

In its complaint, the ACLU argued that the “verbatim” measures and the new location restriction are all unconstitutional.

“The ‘new’ Ordinance is therefore ‘new’ in name only and, in reality, Loogootee has simply reenacted provisions that this Court has explicitly enjoined as unconstitutional,” the ACLU’s complaint reads.

Loogootee Mayor Brian Ader previously told IndyStar that the city planned to appeal the District Court’s decision, but an appeal was never filed.

The USA TODAY Network – Indiana’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.

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Bryce Boettcher Opens Up About Indiana Ahead Of Playoff Semifinals

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Bryce Boettcher Opens Up About Indiana Ahead Of Playoff Semifinals

The No. 5 Oregon Ducks are preparing to face the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers for the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ahead of the matchup, Oregon star linebacker Bryce Boettcher discussed the game, which will be a rematch of the Ducks’ only loss this season.

The Oregon Ducks are coming off a shutout win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Boettcher addressed how the team can keep momentum, but called Indiana a better opponent.

Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher celebrates his win as the Oregon Ducks host the USC Trojans on Nov. 22, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I mean, we had a really good game. I think it just obviously gives you confidence. You can’t get complacent with that confidence. You got to realize that Indiana is going to be a way better team than Tech. Tech was a good team, but Indiana is better. At this point, it’s win or go home. We’re pumped for the opportunity,” Boettcher said.

What Sticks Out About The Rematch Against Indana

“A couple things defensively. First off, when you stop the run, they’re really good at running the ball. We got to do that. Got to cage your quarterback. Feel like he’s overlooked for how good he is at scrambling at times, getting out of the pocket. Got to do that, just do our job.”

How Oregon Has Changed Since First Game Against Indiana

“We’ve sewn some things up within our defense. As we played them, we installed some new defenses that we’re still working the kinks out of. Now we’re experts at it. Everybody knows their job in and out. We’ve had a lot of reps at it.”

Oregon inside linebacker Bryce Boettcher walks the orange carpet as the Oregon Ducks arrive at Miami International Airport ahead of the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29, 2025, in Miami, Florida. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Much The First Matchup Against Indiana Goes Into Playoff Preperation

“It definitely comes into play. I mean, obviously, they’re not a new team but an evolved team, and so are we. I think more so, kind of correcting our errors in where we went wrong in the first game, doing some self-scout and recognizing that. They may try to expose that again in this next game. Yeah, it comes into play a little bit. We also watched new film because they’re an evolved team.”

The Challenge In Beating The Same Team Twice

“I mean, I think obviously that’s a narrative. I know teams have been beaten twice. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. I don’t know, I think Indiana is a good team. We’re also a good team. The better team’s going to win.”

What Being In The Semifinals Means To Bryce Boettcher

“It means everything. It’s a pretty rare opportunity. There’s four teams left. Pretty cool. Surreal. I’ll be happy once we get this win. Honestly, I’m head down, focused on the task at hand. But it’s a cool opportunity.”

MORE: Curt Cignetti Speaks Candidly On Oregon Ducks Playoff Rematch

MORE: Oregon’s Three Most Impactful Transfer Portal Departures

MORE: Oregon Freshman Brandon Finney Turns Heads With Comments After Orange Bowl

How Bryce Boettcher Is Handling The Magnitude Of The Game

“I mean, I’ve played a lot of big games in my year here, whether it be football or baseball. I feel like I do a pretty good job at handling the magnitude of the game. At the end of the day, it’s a football game. We play the game every day in practice. We’ve been in pretty dang big games. It’s just another game, but it’s win or go home, so I’m pumped for that aspect.”

Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks linebacker Bryce Boettcher (28) poses for a photo head coach Dan Lanning before the game against the Southern California Trojans at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

How Oregon Is Handling The Long Trips

“It’s always cool when you get to spend some time together. Obviously, most of the time we’re spending time together, it’s pretty locked in at the task at hand. We try not to spend a whole lot of time talking about other stuff other than football. There are other times on the plane or in the hotel room when you have some downtime that you can come together, bond. So it’s been fun.”

How The Defense Can Install New Ways To Stop Indiana

“You can’t be the same team every time you play another team, or else they’ll just scout you, know what you’re in every single time.”

“You got to do your assignment, play hard. At the end of the day, the team that plays the hardest and does their assignment is going to win. Some variables, throw in some new things at a team, which is definitely important. When Indiana comes out, I’m sure they won’t do everything we’ve seen on film. They’ll have a few wrinkles. That’s the exciting part.”

What Went Wrong Against Indiana In October

“Just doing our job within our defense. Honestly, the past Indiana game, couple mental errors where I didn’t necessarily do my job in the body of the defense. Same goes for other guys on our team. I think just sewing that up, better understanding our opponent, having a better game plan going into the game.”

Dec 20, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning looks on during the fourth quarter against the James Madison Dukes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

What Makes Indiana’s Offensive Line Good

“They’re smart, fast, and physical. I know up front in their run game, they play physical, and they do their job. They don’t have a lot of unblocked hats. I know in the screen game, they get out and are elite at kind of retracing and blocking for their receiver in the screen game, which was present in our last game. We’ve done a lot of screen drills. They’re a good unit. They play well together and do their job.”

What The Loss Against Indiana Meant For The Rest Of The Season

“I believe everything happens for a reason. I think we needed that to kind of wake us up. We came out of a big Penn State win, kind of thought we were pretty cool going into that week, pretty confident. Got a little lackadaisical with our prep, I think. It was a good wake-up call. The rest of the season leading up to this point is a pretty good testament to the way we responded to that loss.”