Eastern’s Addison Smith earns dual statewide basketball honors

Addison Smith’s senior year ended with Indiana basketball sending a clear message about what it still rewards: not just points, but poise, leadership and the habits that hold a program together. The Eastern (Pekin) guard received the 2026 Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award in Class 2A girls basketball and also earned a Marion Crawley Scholarship from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, placing her among a very small statewide group recognized for more than production.

That combination matters because it reaches beyond the usual recruiting buzz. Smith was one of 16 girls’ players statewide to land the Crawley Scholarship, and the IBCA named 40 Indiana high school seniors overall for scholarship awards in 2026. The coaches group, which said it has about 2,400 members statewide, handed out $500 grants this year and said it has awarded about $840,000 in scholarships through the years. For Eastern, Smith was not just another senior with a decorated resume; she was one of the players the state’s basketball network chose to spotlight for value that showed up every day, not just on the scoreboard.

The Roy honor carried its own weight. The IHSAA presents the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by her principal and coach and who best demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. Roy, a former assistant commissioner, helped pioneer girls’ athletics and oversaw the girls’ basketball state tournament from its start in 1976 until her retirement in 1999. Smith’s selection linked her season to that standard, one built around the kind of senior who steadies a locker room as much as she fills a stat sheet.

Smith gave that case more substance in the title game. Eastern beat Oak Hill 50-32 in the Class 2A championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Feb. 28, finishing 21-7, and Smith scored 13 points with six rebounds and four steals. Sidney Burton powered the Musketeers with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Eastern controlled the game from start to finish, finishing with a 35-26 rebounding edge and only nine turnovers.

That is why the dual honors land so well. Indiana basketball still knows how to celebrate a player whose impact lived in leadership, academics, resilience and mental attitude, not just in scoring columns. Smith’s awards read like a reminder of what the state says it values when the season is over and the trophies have been handed out.