Northwest Indiana Fast Track: 2026
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The featured image is of Laniah Davis Laniah Davis 5'8" | SG Marquette Catholic | 2026 State IN (2026) of Marquette Catholic High School. The 2022-2023 season is well underway, with most teams having played a half dozen games or…
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Continue ReadingThe featured image is of Laniah Davis Laniah Davis 5'8" | SG Marquette Catholic | 2026 State IN (2026) of Marquette Catholic High School.
The 2022-2023 season is well underway, with most teams having played a half dozen games or so through the first four weeks. With that said, I wanted to take the time to highlight five Northwest Indiana 2026 prospects who have exploded in their first few games of their rookie seasons. A couple of these prospects are even pushing to be added when we do our next rankings update in mid-December.
Lillian Barnes
Lillian
Barnes
5'11" | SF
Valparaiso | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, 5-10 G/F, Valparaiso H.S.
– Lillian had an outstanding July on the grassroots circuit, and she has carried that play over into her Freshman season. She has always been a little stronger and more physical than most of her peers, but now she’s utilizing her high skill level and understanding of the game to dissect opponents each night. While she is averaging 16.3 points per game through her first seven games, I still claim that her vision and ability to find open teammates is probably her best attribute, and she’s at 4.0 assists per game, even though she isn’t her team’s primary ball-handler. Where she has also affected the game is defensively, averaging 6.4 rebounds and 7.4 steals per game.
Laniah Davis
Laniah
Davis
5'8" | SG
Marquette Catholic | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, 5-7 G, Marquette Catholic H.S.
– Laniah combines incredible strength for her age with a high level of athleticism. She is quick and shifty, she gets downhill with relative ease, and she can finish around the hoop with a variety of runners and floaters. What’s crazy is, she is averaging 16.8 points per game through six games while only knocking down one 3-pointer. She is great at drawing fouls and earning repeated trips to the charity stripe, but she’s also an effective offensive rebounder, a quick second-jumper, and she follows her shot constantly. Additionally, I like her willingness to defend the ball with effort and physicality. Laniah is also averaging 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game.
Gracyn Gilliard, 2026, 5-9 G/F, Munster H.S.
– Gracyn made her presence felt immediately, scoring 27 points in her first Varsity contest. She is a strong wing with good all-around athleticism, and she does a really nice job of filling her role in Munster’s newfound pressure defense this year. She has created a number of turnovers, as she’s averaging 6.0 steals per game, which allows her to get out in the open floor and score in transition quite a bit. The next step for this youngster is to work on her efficiency in the half-court against a set defense, but she has certainly taken Northwest Indiana by storm thus far, averaging 18.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in her first four games of her rookie year.
Indiah Hutchinson, 2026, 5-10 G/F, Hammond Central H.S.
– Not many people outside of “The Region” know much about Indiah, but I’m sure they will soon enough. She is a talented athlete with a fairly strong frame, she can really get out and run, and she has some skill with the ball in her hands. Right now, she is more of an attacking style of driver, but she has shown a little touch outside with the potential for that part of her game to be more consistent. She can play either the ‘2’ or the ‘3’ defensively, and she can defend the ball 84-feet if necessary. There are a lot of things to like about Indiah’s game athletically, so as soon as she learns the nuances of the game and becomes a little more efficient, she could really take off.
Trinity Wilburn
Trinity
Wilburn
5'5" | PG
Faith Christian | 2026
State
IN
, 2026, 5-5 PG, Faith Christian H.S.
– While Trinity is the lone player on this list not in the Central Time Zone, she is still technically in the Northwest quadrant of the state. Trinity is off to one of the fastest starts in the 2026 class this season, averaging 20.3 points per game through seven games, which leads all Indiana Freshmen, per MaxPreps. Athletically, she is strong and compact, but also quick, fast, and explosive in all directions. She can sit down and defend nearly anyone 84-feet, but she also does a nice job of “helping” from the weak-side of the floor. If there is one part of her game she could focus on, it’s working on becoming a more consistent perimeter shooter, but that should come in time.