Mt. Vernon stars Webber, Guerre earn IBCA scholarships after title run

Brady Webber and Jack Guerre have added another line to Mt. Vernon’s championship spring. The Marauders’ senior standouts were named among 40 Indiana high school seniors selected for Indiana Basketball Coaches Association scholarships, a recognition that links their on-court impact to the kind of academic and character work that helps separate good programs from great ones.

The IBCA announced the 2026 winners Tuesday, April 28, and each recipient received a $500 grant through the association’s Crawley, Mannies, Aikman and Witty award program. For Mt. Vernon, the honor lands in the middle of a season already defined by history. Webber helped deliver the school’s first boys basketball state title March 28, when the Marauders beat Crown Point 52-50 in the Class 4A championship game after erasing a 10-point halftime deficit. He knocked down both free throws in the closing seconds to help finish off the 28-3 season.

Webber’s postseason has already been crowded with accolades, including the Trester Award that came with the championship run. The scholarship now extends that story beyond the final buzzer, underscoring how central he was to a title team that finished with the best record in program history and a trophy that had never before been in Fortville.

Guerre’s recognition carries a different kind of weight. He was one of only two Pat Aikman Character and Leadership Award winners in 2026, joining Grace Behny of Knightstown. The award, established in 2011, is reserved for students who excel on and off the court and plan careers in journalism and sports management, which makes it one of the IBCA’s most selective distinctions. Guerre, a starter and Mt. Vernon’s third-leading scorer at 7.8 points per game, was also a steady part of the lineup that turned a strong season into a state title.

The broader picture is just as telling for Mt. Vernon’s reputation. The IBCA said it has about 2,400 members statewide and has awarded about $840,000 in scholarships over the years. The 2026 class reflected the association’s wide reach, with 12 boys players, 16 girls players, four student managers, one cheerleader and one student trainer/statistician among the recipients. The Crawley award is named for Marion Crawley, who won 644 games in a 35-year career with state titles at Washington and Lafayette Jefferson before serving as the IBCA’s first executive director from 1970 to 1974. For Mt. Vernon, the latest honors show the championship season was about more than one March run. It produced seniors whose value reached well beyond the scoreboard.