Joe Huppenthal Named Head Coach for 2026 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars

Joe Huppenthal, Lake Central’s head girls coach, has been named head coach of the 2026 IndyStar Indiana girls All-Stars, the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association announced in a March 2, 2026 release. Games director Mike Broughton is credited with the selection announcement; the IBCA press release lists Pat McKee as the media contact (317-403-1665).

The All-Stars schedule is framed as a three-game June slate in the IBCA release — an exhibition against the Indiana Junior All-Stars plus home-and-home contests with the Kentucky All-Stars. The IBCA text lists June 5 and June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, while other reporting lists June 5 in Lexington and June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. For confirmation of dates and sites, the release identifies Mike Broughton as games director and Pat McKee at 317-403-1665 as press contact.

Huppenthal arrives to the role with extensive credentials: he is 178-86 in 10 seasons leading Lake Central’s girls program, including a 13-13 finish in 2025-26. The IBCA release credits him with a 294-125 record in 17 seasons as a girls coach and an overall head-coaching total of 498-348 across 36 years. Lake Central accomplishments under Huppenthal listed in the release include multiple Duneland Athletic Conference titles, four sectionals, two regional championships and a semi-state (state runner-up) showing; other reporting cites him as the second-winningest coach in program history and notes four 20-win teams, including the 2022-23 regional championship squad that went 23-6 and upset nationally ranked South Bend Washington in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

Huppenthal’s earlier tenure is also detailed in the materials: East Chicago Central girls teams went 103-27 under his leadership with a streak of five sectional championships, and he served on the boys side at South Bend Clay from 1996-2015 before one season coaching Clay’s girls in 2015-16. One account lists a No. 1 national ranking for his East Chicago Central team in 1994-95; another places five consecutive sectionals in 1992-1996, a timeline discrepancy that a record check could clarify.

Assistant coaches named alongside Huppenthal are Amy Shearer of Columbia City and Brian Smith of Loogootee. Shearer’s Columbia City went 16-8 in her 16th season, she guided the Eagles to a 2024-25 semistate runner-up finish and owns a 237-150 career record. Smith’s Loogootee finished 16-7 in his 11th season, marking the program’s best result since its Class A state runner-up finish in 2020-21; his career mark is 152-111 and Loogootee’s recent semistate run followed a 2019-20 state championship campaign.

Lake Central’s athletics department shared a congratulatory post noting, “Congratulations to Joe Huppenthal on being selected to coach the Indiana All-Stars! This is a tremendous honor and a well-deserved recognition of Coach Huppenthal’s leadership, dedication, and impact on the game and our school/community. Best of luck representing Indiana on the big stage!” Roster announcements for the Indiana All-Stars and the Junior All-Stars coaching staff and dates were listed as forthcoming in the materials; Huppenthal and his staff are set to lead the Indiana side into the June series once final game sites and rosters are confirmed.