It is June. And no ranking of teams should matter.
But….we like to look ahead, we like to talk about basketball during the summer as much as we can. And Bounce, well I like to get all the keyboard warriors and barstools on X and Facebook chatting, even if I am just riling you up for the sake of it.
The banter is fun, but so is some thought into what next season could look like, at least when we tip off girls season in October. So here we are in June, four months ahead of time: my current Top 20 girls teams for the 2026-2027 season. Will it change before October? Undoubtedly.
1. Bellmont – State champions with their top two returners back. Sorry Norwell fans, right now its the Braves on top until some proves otherwise.
2. Homestead – This is the Spartans after all and just because they graduated multiple college players doesn’t mean they aren’t already reloaded (see: Noll, Delaney and Perego, Suzy).
3. Snider – A healthy Janaya Cooper is trouble for the area. They had one of the best freshmen in Northeast Indiana last season and have added a big complimentary back court piece in the transfer in of Dessi Pope.
4. Norwell – Another team that loses a lot to graduation but always rebounds. Their JV and freshman teams were stellar and they still have a lot of pieces back from last season’s big 4A run. They may have something to prove but me thinks it won’t be long for them to prove it.
5. Fremont – Another state finalist that returns a bunch. Grace Scharlach MAY be the best returning player in the area. Just some food for thought for Bounce and OTH’s future Top player countdown before the season.
6. Jay County – Stellar new coach. Stellar returning Schwietermans.
7. Angola – Kendall VanderWal has proven that she is ready to take over the area. Could she be Northeast Indiana’s best player this season?
8. Whitko – Coach Justin Jordan has turned Whitko into a machine and one that reloads too, no that the cupboard is bare at all. They are going to make another run, count on it.
9. Eastside – Does anyone in the area play harder than Taylor Mack?
10. Bluffton – Replace the best player, sure isn’t always easy but the Tigers have the pieces.
11. Fairfield – Brodie Garber back on the sideline and Madison Jones returns.
12. Huntington North – They had their struggles a season ago, but Luci Reich is perhaps the best player in the area that doesn’t get talked about enough.
13. Warsaw – The Tigers have a massive reload ahead, but new coach Kyle Hartman has proven he can rebuild with talent taking over a program after a big season.
14. East Noble – The loss of Averi Amstutz to Northridge does hurt, but remember this was a pretty deep team a season ago for a reason.
15. Columbia City – The Eagles are never out of the equation. Ever.
16. Central Noble – This team got a lot of good experience and grew last season. They are going to be talked about in important NECC games.
17. Bishop Luers – Harvest Green has this program rekindled in many ways.
18. DeKalb – They were young a year ago and made big strides. Now they are older and wise.
19. Garrett – They replace one of the NECC’s best players, but Emma Coffman is back and she is a beast.
20. Woodlan – Who can make up the loss of Alyssa Anderson? It may be by committee but there is hope in Woodburn.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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