Ertel, Aldridge Earn Spots on IBCA Senior Supreme 15 Honors List

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's final word on the 2026 senior class landed where the postseason ended: with the players who carried state champions into Gainbridge Fieldhouse and refused to leave without a trophy.

Luke Ertel of Mt. Vernon and Keaton Aldridge Jr. of Indianapolis Cathedral both earned spots on the 2026 IBCA Senior Supreme 15, the peer-voted list that represents the coaches association's definitive evaluation of the state's top graduating seniors. The honors were announced April 1.

Ertel, a 6-foot-3 guard headed to Purdue, closed his high school career by delivering the defining performance of Indiana's Class 4A championship game on March 28, scoring 26 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and distributing six assists in Mt. Vernon's 52-50 victory over Crown Point. He scored 15 of those 26 points in the second half, pacing the Marauders to the first state title in program history and finishing a 28-3 season with his most complete game. His season averages, 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, placed him among Indiana's Mr. Basketball finalists and earned him MaxPreps Indiana Player of the Year recognition.

Aldridge, a 6-foot-4 guard-forward who signed with Detroit Mercy, anchored Cathedral's run to the Class 3A championship, which the Irish captured 71-61 over New Haven. He finished that final with 17 points and 11 rebounds, adding to a season in which he averaged a team-high 18 points per game as Cathedral went unbeaten against Class 3A competition. His signature postseason moment came in the Martinsville Regional, where he posted a double-double and buried a game-winning shot with 1.9 seconds remaining to send the Irish past Brebeuf Jesuit 69-67.

The two state champions were not the only names on the list. The full Senior Supreme 15 also includes Dane Caldwell of Silver Creek, DeZhon Hall of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Evan Harrell of Carmel, Terrence Hayes Jr. of Gary 21st Century, Tyrese Jones of South Bend Riley, Jashawn Ladd of Ben Davis, Kai McGrew of Fishers, Brennan Miller of Lawrence North, Brady Scholl of Northridge, Dikembe Shaw of Crown Point, Nick Shrewsberry of South Bend Saint Joseph, Noah Smith of Plainfield, and Baron Walker of Noblesville.

The depth behind those 15 selections reflects the scope of Indiana prep basketball: 706 players from 331 schools received nominations for all-state recognition this cycle. A 22-coach voting panel, made up of 16 regional representatives and six at-large selectors, narrowed the field to the final honorees. That 331-school total represents more than three-quarters of Indiana's high school programs, a figure that signals talent is broadly distributed across the state even as championship hardware continues to concentrate in programs near Indianapolis.

With Ertel heading to West Lafayette and Aldridge to Detroit, the most compelling next-chapter story may stay in Fortville. Mt. Vernon junior Max Vise, who scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in the same state final where Ertel starred, earned his own spot on the IBCA Underclass Supreme 15. The coaches who assembled this year's list will have no shortage of familiar names to weigh again come next March.