Indiana sweeps Kentucky series behind Ertel, Renn MVP performances

Indiana’s top seniors closed the book on the Kentucky series with a clean sweep and two more statements for the résumé. The girls handled Kentucky 90-71 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and the boys followed with a 94-80 win to finish the home-and-home set after Friday’s split in Lexington. For a June showcase built around the state’s outgoing class, it was the kind of finish that lingers far beyond the final horn.

Luke Ertel, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball, was the headliner on the boys side. He scored 21 points in the Saturday game and left the series with boys MVP honors, while one recap said he also set a two-game assist record across the two games. That matters because the all-star stage is less about system fit than about translation, and Ertel showed he could create, distribute and still carry scoring load against another elite senior group. Kentucky Mr. Basketball Jake Feldhaus answered with a strong series of his own, averaging 24 points and 14 rebounds, but Indiana’s late push in Indianapolis made the final margin look more comfortable than the middle stretch suggested.

Brooklynn Renn, the Silver Creek graduate headed to Kansas, gave the girls team its biggest individual award and one of the weekend’s cleanest stock-ups. Indiana turned the frustration of Friday night into a decisive response, outscoring Kentucky 25-9 in the second quarter and taking a 46-24 lead into halftime. That kind of separation said as much about energy and ball movement as it did about talent. The girls roster also featured Gracyn Gilliard, Komari Booker, Joslyn Bricker, Laniah Davis, Myah Epps, Mollie Ernstes, Kennedy Holman, Laniah Wills and Brooke Zartman, a group that reflected the depth of a class shaped by championship and runner-up experience.

The sweep carried more weight because this rivalry has been a June fixture since 1940, and Indiana’s boys made it back-to-back series sweeps over Kentucky. A crowd of 4,702 watched the boys game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, another reminder that this annual matchup still draws real attention when the state’s best seniors share one floor. For recruiters, college followers and anyone tracking who is ready for the next step, Indiana’s final read on the 2026 class came in clear and loud: Ertel and Renn left as MVPs, and the state left with momentum.