Luke Ertel headlines Indiana All-Stars as All-Star Week nears

Indiana’s All-Star week still works because it does more than close the season. It tells you which players now carry the state’s next basketball conversation, and this year that conversation starts with Mt. Vernon (Fortville) guard Luke Ertel, the 2026 IndyStar Indiana Mr. Basketball who will wear No. 1 for the Indiana All-Stars.

Ertel’s final high school stretch is now set for June 3, June 5 and June 6, a run that puts him on the same stage as the program’s most durable names. Gracyn Gilliard of Center Grove, the 2026 Indiana Miss Basketball, will also wear No. 1 for the girls’ senior team, a reminder that Indiana’s top individual honors still feed straight into the All-Star spotlight. The senior series is not a throwaway exhibition. It is the latest checkpoint in a tradition that dates to 1939 for the boys, 1940 for the Indiana-Kentucky series and 1976 for the girls.

That history matters because the results have long tilted Indiana’s way. The boys lead Kentucky 107-46 in the senior series, a margin that says as much about the state’s depth as any ranking ever could. More than 1,000 boys have been selected since the program began, and since 2012 the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has managed the Indiana portion of the annual games, taking over after The Indianapolis Star handled the event from 1939 through 2011. The structure has changed; the measuring stick has not.

This year’s boys’ senior roster reflects the same regional spread that keeps Indiana basketball competitive across the map. Along with Ertel, the team includes Dikembe Shaw of Crown Point, Brady Scholl of Northridge, Brennan Miller and Cameron Webster of Lawrence North, Noah Smith of Plainfield, Dane Caldwell of Silver Creek, Anthony Fresh of Charlestown, Evan Harrell of Carmel, Ja’Shawn Ladd of Ben Davis, Kai McGrew of Fishers, Nick Shrewsberry of South Bend Saint Joseph and Baron Walker of Noblesville. Todd Woelfle of Terre Haute North will coach the boys, with Chad Ballenger of Hamilton Heights and Joe Bradburn of Class 4A state champion Mt. Vernon as assistants. Joe Huppenthal of Lake Central will lead the girls, with Krista Shearer of Columbia City among the assistants.

All-Star Week runs from May 31 through June 6, and the practical details matter too. Indiana Juniors face Kentucky Juniors on Sunday, May 31, at Charlestown High School, with the girls game at 2 p.m. EDT and the boys following. Admission is $15 per person at the door, while preschool children are free. The Futures Games return for a fourth year on June 1 at New Palestine High School, with the girls at 6 p.m. EDT and the boys around 8 p.m. EDT. The senior boys open June 3 against the Indiana Junior All-Stars at Mt. Vernon (Fortville), then go to Lexington Catholic High School on June 5 before closing June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The girls’ final game against Kentucky is also June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with Energy Systems Group backing that senior doubleheader and Hoosier Shooting Academy serving as a presenting partner for the week.

For Ertel, Gilliard and the rest of the class, the week is less about ceremony than calibration. Indiana’s old formula still travels, and the next round of names is already trying to prove it.