Homestead spent last season setting a high standard: 24 wins, an unbeaten Summit Athletic Conference record and another trip to a sectional final. The Spartans claimed the SAC title outright with a 73-70, triple overtime victory over Northrop, then saw their season end in a 47-46 loss to Norwell in the Class 4A sectional championship. Now coach Rod Parker faces the challenge of building a new rotation around one returning starter after sending his core from last year to all play college basketball.
That lone returning starter is junior guard Delaney Noll, who averaged 10 points and 4.3 assists last season. Noll was named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s Supreme 15 Underclass team, putting her among the state’s top returning players. Her ability to create for herself and her teammates will carry even more weight as Homestead replaces much of last year’s production.
The biggest departures are Myah Epps and Gabby Helsom. Epps averaged 14 points, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals, while Helsom led Homestead with 14.2 points per game. Both earned IBCA Supreme 15 Senior honors. Whitney Ankenbruck and Carley Moellering are also gone after joining Epps and Helsom on the All-SAC first team. Replacing that group’s scoring, experience and leadership will take contributions throughout the lineup.
Noll has already shown she can do more than distribute the ball. At 5-foot-9, she gives Parker a guard who can score, handle the offense and set the pace. The next step is sustaining that production while drawing more attention from defenses that no longer have Epps and Helsom to account for. Noll’s rise up the pecking order this coming season for Homestead is a microcosm of the program: a lot of very talented players that have chose to wait their turn instead of seek immediate playing time elsewhere.
Senior forward Eva Scarbeary and junior guard Aggie Bell are among the players positioned for larger roles. Scarbeary averaged 4.2 points last season, and Bell added 3.9. Their opportunities should grow as Homestead looks for new scoring options alongside Noll.
Parker also listed junior guard-forward Leah Werth, junior guard Kenna Taylor and 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Malia Williams as key returners. Their development could give Homestead the balance Parker wants: players who can contribute at different spots rather than relying on one scorer to replace the graduated seniors.
Scarbeary (Indiana Tech) and Werth (Eastern Michigan) have already committed to teams to play on the next level, while Noll, Bell, Taylor and Williams all have next level of play offers already at this point. They may not have minute experience with Homestead, but have all been strong during the summer and are high level players that can all break out this season.
The Spartans had expected another important piece back in Suzy Perego, who averaged 4.4 points and 2.8 assists last season. Parker said Perego will miss the season with a torn ACL. Her absence further narrows the experienced rotation and creates another opening for Homestead’s younger players.
Who else contributes for the Spartans, we will see but this is Homestead so just because the casual fan may not know the names yet, it doesn’t mean that the Spartans are due for any kind of program lapse. Homestead has won less than 20 games just twice in the past 14 seasons and those were both 19-win campaigns. Parker sits at 473 career wins; since Parker first surpassed the 15 win mark in the 2009-2010 season at Homestead, he and the team have never won less than 18 games in a season.
There is a change to the schedule, too. Homestead will not play SAC opponents Wayne, North Side, South Side or Concordia Lutheran in 2026–27. Outside the Huddle reported that, under the conference’s stated bylaws, missing multiple league opponents would leave the Spartans ineligible for the SAC title. The schedule still includes Carroll, Snider and Northrop, along with nonconference tests against Norwell, Hamilton Southeastern, Carmel and Warsaw.
Parker sees balance and versatility as this team’s strengths, with several players capable of scoring at different levels and playing multiple positions. He wants the Spartans to compete at a high level on both ends for all 32 minutes. After a season defined by a veteran core, Homestead’s success will depend on how quickly Noll and her returning teammates grow into their new responsibilities.
WHY #2?
Because this is Homestead. The Spartans are always considered the team to beat until someone actually does it. Last season Homestead lost just three times: twice to Norwell and once to Hamilton Southeastern. Norwell too has to reload their lineup but does anyone in the area have more college ready players than the Spartans, no matter their grade? Homestead again a major baseline coming into this season until someone proves otherwise.
CRITICAL GAME – NOVEMBER 17 vs. NORWELL
It really feels like every game for the Spartans is critical as they have one of the most robust schedules in Northeast Indiana. Though this early season game with Norwell is very important since the Knights are the ones that ended Homestead’s run last season and the two teams may meet again in the Sectional round this year.
That said, both Homestead and Norwell are reloading this year with significantly enhanced roles for most of their rosters. So to see what Homestead looks like game five and Norwell looks like game six will be important.
CRUCIAL PLAYER
Leah Werth is one of those names that you may not know for Homestead if you do only pay attention to high school season ball, but also that doesn’t mean she isn’t going to provide significantly. Werth is a D1 prospect, already committed to Eastern Michigan. Werth is a long, strong wing with a solid athletic base, she brings the size and physicality to make an impact in several ways for the Spartans. Werth shoots the ball well, giving her team a reliable threat from the perimeter, and her versatility allows her to contribute in a variety of roles on both ends of the floor.
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