Fairfield enters the 2026–27 girls basketball season with a familiar face back on the sideline, a proven centerpiece on the floor and significant questions surrounding both. Brodie Garber has returned to lead the Falcons after spending the past two seasons coaching Fairfield’s boys program, where he compiled a 29–16 record. Garber succeeds Kyle Hartman, who departed to become the head coach at Warsaw.
Garber’s return carries added significance because of what he previously built at Fairfield. Over 11 seasons leading the girls program, he produced a 180–89 record, won four sectional championships and three regional titles. His first tenure culminated in 2023, when Fairfield finished 28–2 and defeated Corydon Central 49–42 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to capture the first state championship in school history.
Garber stepped away from the girls program following that championship season and eventually moved across the gym to coach the Fairfield boys. But when the girls position became available again, the opportunity to return to the program he helped establish was too meaningful to pass up. His résumé now includes 209 combined victories coaching Fairfield’s boys and girls teams.
He inherits a team that showed considerable postseason toughness last winter. Fairfield finished 20–7 after getting hot at the right time, winning Class 3A sectional and regional championships before falling to Connersville, 50–36, in the semistate. Those tournament victories gave the Falcons their seventh sectional title and fourth regional championship in program history.
Senior Madison Jones will be the foundation of Fairfield’s latest transition. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged 18.2 points and 5.8 rebounds last season and has already surpassed 1,000 career points. A first-team All-Area and first-team All-NECC selection, Jones gives Garber a proven scorer capable of carrying the offense while Fairfield’s inexperienced players grow into larger responsibilities.
Junior Paige Park provides another experienced presence in the frontcourt after averaging 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. At 5-foot-7, Park’s rebounding production illustrates the activity and toughness she brings around the basket. Junior guard Jenna Fought also returns after contributing 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds, giving Fairfield three starters who have already played meaningful minutes in high-pressure conference and tournament games.
Beyond those three, however, Fairfield must replace everyone else from last season’s regular rotation. Sophomore guards Tori Elliot and Maylin Maust are candidates to earn varsity roles, as is 5-foot-7 freshman forward Chara Herbert. Their development will be critical because the Falcons will need more than scoring from Jones; they must identify dependable ballhandlers, defenders and rebounders who can hold up against an experienced varsity schedule.
That combination makes Fairfield one of the area’s most intriguing teams. The Falcons have a 1,000-point scorer, three returning starters and a coach whose defensive system previously carried the program to the top of Class 3A. They also have a largely untested supporting cast that will have to mature quickly. Garber’s return provides stability and championship credibility, but Fairfield’s ceiling will ultimately be determined by how rapidly its newcomers become reliable varsity contributors.
“Ultimately we are going to have to find multiple ways to win and it first and foremost starts with playing good defense. There are some really good teams and really good players on our schedule that give us a challenge on several nights,” Garber says. “With all that being said, we are looking forward to the challenge before us.”
WHY #10?
Admittedly, there are a lot of questions for Fairfield this season because they only return three rotation players. But the player at the top of the heap and the coach on the sideline is a big reason why Fairfield cracks the preseason top 10 for Outside the Huddle. Garber won postseason titles in each of his last three years that he was on the Falcons girls sideline and this team was also a postseason champion last season. The players, for the most part, are changing but success at Fairfield rarely does.
CRITICAL GAME – DECEMBER 1 vs. ANGOLA
While Fairfield will get some quality out of conference tests early on – November 13 at Norwell, November 17 vs. Northridge both come to mind – this game to open December will be the first big NECC test against a scrappy Angola team. It will be a chance to see how far Fairfield has come in the opening month of the season and it is early enough to be a true building block game before other top NECC foes and the conferene tournament hit the schedule.
CRUCIAL PLAYER
Paige Park is going to be looked at to rise up even more this season after a solid campaign a year ago. The mass of the interior work is going to fall on her shoulders after a solid 5.1 rebound per game sophomore season. Park will be crucial to help Fairfield control that inside against a NECC that has some quality post players and efforts nightly.
Be the first to comment