Indiana Junior All-Stars 2026 Roster Revealed, Core Group Named

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has announced the 2026 boys' Junior All-Stars roster, naming a six-player Core Group that will anchor Indiana's program as it looks to extend its 9-5 all-time lead over Kentucky in the Junior boys' series this June.

The Core Group players are the top distinction in a tiered 18-player roster structure that the IBCA organizes each year. Core selections participate in two games: the Junior All-Stars' matchup against Kentucky's junior squad and the exhibition against the Indiana Senior All-Stars. The remaining 12 players are split into Red and Blue groups, with each playing one game. The Red Group will face the Kentucky Juniors in late May; the Blue Group will square off against the Indiana Senior All-Stars in early June.

That layered format is intentional. It rewards the state's highest-producing juniors with maximum exposure while still giving two additional groups of six players a competitive all-star platform. Brandon Ramsey handles Junior All-Star selections for the IBCA on the boys' side, with Beth DeVinney serving as Junior All-Star Director, and games director Mike Broughton overseeing the broader All-Stars week operation.

The Junior schedule runs alongside a senior program that will feature its own coaching staff of Todd Woelfle of Terre Haute North, Chad Ballenger of Hamilton Heights, and Joe Bradburn of Class 4A state champion Mt. Vernon in Fortville. The Senior All-Stars will play an exhibition against the Indiana Junior All-Stars before meeting Kentucky's senior squad in a home-and-home series. The Futures Games doubleheader, featuring North versus South squads of freshmen and sophomores, is set for June 1 at a site to be announced.

The Junior series has quietly become one of the better barometers of Indiana's underclass depth. The 2025 Core Group alone included Luke Ertel of Mt. Vernon, who committed to Purdue, and Steven Reynolds III of South Bend Washington, among others who drew significant Division I interest. Four of the six players on the 2024 Junior Core Group went on to receive or firm up high-major offers by the following fall. The program has a track record of putting juniors in front of college coaches at precisely the right developmental window.

The IBCA selects Junior All-Stars through its all-state nominating process, in which member head coaches submit nominees that are then reviewed by the association's all-state committee. Final roster updates will be communicated through IBCA channels as any late changes are processed before the June games.

Indiana leads the Junior boys' series with Kentucky 9-5, and with a full schedule of competitive games built around the Core Group framework, the 2026 class will have every opportunity to push that margin further.