Prep Hoops expands Indiana Class of 2029 watch list, unveils Top 25

Micah Mohler is the name at the top of Prep Hoops Indiana’s first real Class of 2029 Top 25, and the move makes sense for anyone who watched Austin’s freshman guard keep climbing. The 6-foot-4 point guard, who plays for Midwest Basketball Club 3SSB, had already been viewed as a likely Top 5 freshman in the state. Then he backed it up with a 32-point performance in a sectional championship win over Southwestern (Hanover) and followed that with a season in which he averaged 21.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals for Austin during a 17-9 run that ended with a Class 2A regional championship.

That kind of production is why this ranking update matters. Prep Hoops Indiana did not just reshuffle a list, it made the first hard decisions on a class that had been sitting in broad coverage mode for months. The initial watch list included more than 150 prospects, but the staff said a player basically had to be one of the state’s best incoming freshmen, be on a varsity roster for the Charlie Hughes Showcase or attend the annual Prep Hoops Indiana Freshman Showcase to make that first cut. After another year of evaluation, more than 125 new names were added and the database now sits at nearly 300 prospects.

The top five behind Mohler gives the class its first real statewide shape: Karson Stoudemire of New Albany, Tristan Breland of Fishers, Prentiss Gates of Gary West and Max Hopkins of Fishers round out the early front line. That mix matters because it shows how wide the net has become, with proven school-floor production and club exposure both carrying weight as evaluators sharpen the board.

The showcase circuit remains the engine behind the rankings. Prep Hoops says the Freshman Showcase has brought in over 100 of the best Class of 2029 prospects in Indiana and has, for the most part, been the staff’s first look at the group. The Charlie Hughes Showcase is even more central to the evaluation process, and Prep Hoops describes it as the single best evaluation and recruiting event of the calendar year.

That event has a heavy footprint this cycle. The 2025 boys Charlie Hughes Team Showcase was scheduled for June 20-22, 2025, at Carmel High School, Westfield High School and Westfield Middle School. The 2026 boys showcase is set for June 26-28, 2026, at Carmel High School and Westfield High School. Those dates matter because they explain how quickly a freshman class can move from watch list status to real ranking territory.

For Indiana coaches, AAU staffs and college programs tracking the next wave, this is the marker: the Class of 2029 is no longer just a long list of names. Prep Hoops has now put a hierarchy on it, and Mohler is the first player to separate himself from the pack.