RHS golfer Ava Thomas said golf has been something that she's been interested in since she could walk.

The daughter of RHS golf coach Chad Thomas says golf has always been a key part of her life. 

Despite being just a junior at Rochester High School, the 2025 graduate is already setting plans for her next step in education. On Friday, Grace College women's golf coach Denny Duncan met with Thomas in the Rochester High School gym to sign her national letter of intent for the school. 

Thomas said she knew as a sophomore that Grace was the college she wanted to attend. The decision to sign on Friday was not a hard one.

As for her plans after college, Thomas said she hopes to eventually start a career in teaching. 

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Tecumseh stood in Caston’s way for a 1A state softball championship last spring at Bittinger Stadium.

The 1A defending state champion Braves are in Caston’s way again.

Three of the four 2023 IHSAA softball state champions debut at No. 1. Penn (Class 4A), New Prairie (3A), Eastside (2A) and Tecumseh (A) are the No. 1 teams in their respective classes. Only Eastside, who lost to Andrean in the 2023 semistate championship game, is not a defending state champion.

Caston is second in the 1A poll to begin the season.

Caston, making its first-ever state finals appearance in any sport, lost 6-0 to Tecumseh to conclude a 22-5 season last spring.

Tecumseh finished last season with a 25-9 record after starting the season splitting the team’s first 16 games.

Rossville is third in the 1A preseason poll followed by Barr-Reeve and Cowan in the top five.

North Miami, 22-5 last season, is ranked ninth in the 1A poll.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 62^nd Men’s Awards Banquet is Wednesday.

The City of Rochester has a special event planned for Wednesday in conjunction with that event as one of the city’s own will be honored at that banquet, 1979 graduate Pete Smith.

Rochester Mayor Trent Odell.

Smith’s coaching history includes time as an assistant at Rochester, South Bend Adams, and Warsaw before becoming head coach at Manchester, Noblesville, Penn, Carmel, and Guerin Catholic. Smith started the basketball program at Guerin Catholic in 2004, where he won state titles in 2012 and 2015.

Smith amassed 389 wins in his career, and a winning percentage of 61%.

Smith has earned numerous honors from the IBCA including District Coach of the Year.  Smith had the honor of being an assistant coach twice for the McDonald’s All-American game, Director of the IN/KY All-Star Series, and a director of 5-Star Summer Basketball Camps for 24 summers. 

The ceremonies on Wednesday include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Museum in New Castle that afternoon with a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis.

With Wabash and Peru boys basketball seasons coming to a close in Saturday's semistates the TRC has released its All-TRC boys basketball team for the 2023-24 season.

Wabash (21-6) lost in the semifinal round of the 2A Lafayette Jeff semistate to sixth-ranked Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 55-51. Blackhawk lost in overtime in the championship game to #2 Wapahani, 60-49.

Wapahani reached the championship with a semifinal win over North Judson, 48-28.

In 3A, Peru (16-11) lost a semifinal shootout to #13 South Bend St. Joseph, 88-80. St. Joseph was then able to survive a triple-OT thriller to get by Delta in the championship game, 44-41.

All-TRC boys basketball team

Kyler Krull---Whitko

Sam Essegian---Whitko

Bryce Wilcox---Southwood

LJ Hillis---Lewis Cass

Josiah Ball---Maconaquah

AJ Kelly---Maconaquah

Matthew Roettger---Peru

Gavin Eldridge---Peru

Alex Ross---Peru

Ethan Hendrix---Manchester

Gavin Betten----Manchester

Izaak Wright---Wabash

Trevor Daughtry---Wabash

Grant Ford---Wabash

Tanner Reinartz---Rochester

Honorable Mention

Jaylen Gibson---Whitko

Will Winer---Southwood

Carter Rodgers---Northfield

Bryce Rudd---Lewis Cass

Ethan Zeiser---Maconaquah

Ian Potts---Peru

Gavin Martin---Manchester

Kaden Vogel---Wabash

Drew Bowers---Rochester

Jake Riley---North Miami

Game officials Scott Arthur and P.J. Pitts will be recognized with special awards in 2024 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Arthur and Pitts will be honored as respective winners of the Roy Gardner and Mildred Ball awards as outstanding officials throughout long careers on the hardwood. The two officials are being cited for their work impacting the game floor, Arthur from 1992 to the present and Pitts from 1995 to the present.

Arthur is in his 32nd season as an official, including four times in the boys' basketball State Finals and four times in the girls' basketball State Finals while a member of the Southwestern Indiana Officials Association. The Loogootee resident served as the SWIOA basketball chairman for four years and was an IHSAA certification clinician for eight years. He also has been a baseball umpire for 23 years and worked four State Finals in that sport.

Pitts, a Bridgeton resident, is in his 29th season as an official. He has worked the boys' basketball State Finals four times and the girls' basketball State Finals five times. He has been a member of the Wabash Valley Officials Association for 29 years and the Western Indiana Officials Association for two years. He served four years at WVOA president and eight years as a board member. Pitts also has been a football official, twice working the State Finals, and a volleyball official.

The Gardner Award is named after the late Roy Gardner, a Lawrenceburg native, Ball State graduate and former Batesville High School math teacher who worked three boys' basketball State Finals and officiated in the Big Ten from 1959-69. He passed away in 1977, and the IBCA has presented an award in his name since 1978. Gardner was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Ripley County Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.

The Ball Award is named after Mildred Morgan Ball, a graduate of Gary Roosevelt High School and Indiana University who served as an IHSAA assistant commissioner from 1977-97. During her time at the IHSAA, Ball was responsible for licensing and training of contest officials and also worked with the National Federation of High School Associations rules committee. The IBCA has presented an award in her name since 1997. Ball was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, and she was the 2022 recipient of the Richard G. Lugar Award for Distinguished Service.

Arthur and Pitts each will receive his award during the IBCA's annual clinic on April 25-26 at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville. For more information about the IBCA, go to in.nhsbca.org.

2024 IBCA Mildred Ball Award 

P.J. Pitts of Bridgeton is the winner of the 2023 IBCA Mildred Ball Award.

Now in his 29th season as an official, Pitts began officiating in 1995 and has extensive state tournament experience for boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball. For boys, he has worked 20 sectionals, 14 regionals, seven semi-states and four State Finals (2009, 2013, 2016 and 2020). For girls, he has called 23 sectionals, 16 regionals, nine semi-states and five State Finals (2009, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2022).

Pitts, a 29-year member of the Wabash Valley Officials Association and a two-year member of the Western Indiana Officials Association, also has worked as a football official and volleyball official, and he has been a part of crews that twice called the football State Finals (2015 and 2018). He has served as president of the WVOA for four years and eight years as a board member.

In 2019, Pitts was selected as the IHSAA’s Official of the Year in boys’ basketball. Officials receiving this honor are selected by a committee representing the 24 officials associations in Indiana and have gone above and beyond to serve their community and the IHSAA.

In receiving the Mildred Ball Award, Pitts expressed thanks to the late Don Corey, his officiating mentor and 2005 IHSAA Official of the Year in girls’ basketball, as well as 29-year partner Mark Hopper, the 2018 IHSAA Official of the Year in girls’ basketball, the 2022 IHSAA Official of the Year in boys’ basketball and the 2022 NFHS Section 4 Official of the Year.

A 1994 graduate of West Vigo High School, Pitts played basketball for the Vikings and coach Steve DeGroote. He went on to earn an associate’s degree in business management from Ivy Tech Community College in Terre Haute in 1996.

Professionally, Pitts has been the supervisor of transportation for the Vigo County School Corporation for the past five years. He previously worked as operations manager at Heavy Duty Truck in Terre Haute. He also has been an active volunteer in the community over the years for programs including West Terre Haute Brush Up and Clean Up the Community Environmental Day.

Pitts and his wife, Ashley, are parents to five children – Lexi, 19; Kayleigh, 17; Kenzie, 15; Jackson, 11; and Ryleigh, 10. In his free time, Pitts enjoys fishing, hunting and spending time with family.

2024 IBCA Roy Gardner Award

Scott Arthur of Loogootee is the winner of the 2024 IBCA Roy Gardner Award.

A 1989 graduate of Loogootee High School, Arthur competed in cross country, basketball and baseball – teams that won one basketball regional and two baseball sectionals. He initially went to Hanover College, then transferred to the University of Evansville, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1994.

Arthur began officiating in 1992 while a college student. Over the years, he has worked 27 sectionals, 18 regionals, seven semi-states and four State Finals (2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022) in boys’ basketball as well as 22 sectionals, 13 regionals, seven semi-states and four State Finals (2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022) in girls’ basketball. He also has worked four Hall of Fame Classic tournaments, two for boys and two for girls.

A member of the Southwestern Indiana Officials Association for 31 years, Arthur also has been a baseball umpire for 23 years and worked four State Finals in that sport (2004, 2007, 2012 and 2013). He served as the SWIOA basketball chairman for four years and its baseball chairman for five years. He also has operated as an IHSAA certification clinician for eight years.

Arthur was recognized with the IHSAA’s Official of the Year in 2019 for baseball and in 2023 for girls’ basketball. Officials receiving these honors are selected by a committee representing the 24 officials associations in Indiana and have gone above and beyond to serve their community and the IHSAA.

Professionally, Arthur has worked as a project lead for night-vision equipment at Naval Warfare Center Crane for 25 years. In addition, he is in his sixth season as the varsity baseball coach at Loogootee. He also enjoys to play golf, travel and to attend sporting events in his free time.

Arthur and his wife, Marci, are parents to two adult children – Dylan and Shealyn.

 Thirteen players have been selected for the 2024 IndyStar Indiana Girls' All-Stars.

Those chosen to the team will play three games in June -- one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.

The players comprising 2024 Indiana Girls' All-Stars are Audrey Annee of Center Grove, Emma Haan of Zionsville, Alli Harness of Carroll (Flora), Talia Harris of Fishers, Ellery Minch of Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Jordyn Poole of Fort Wayne Snider, Camryn Runner of Hamilton Heights, Chloe Spreen of Bedford North Lawrence, Lauren Walsh of Penn, Reagan Wilson of Noblesville, Faith Wiseman of Indian Creek, Rachel Wirts of Center Grove and Juliann Woodard of Jennings County.

The 2024 IndyStar Indiana Miss Basketball will come from among the above players and be announced later.

The '24 girls' All-Stars have two players who have been a part of state championship teams (Spreen, 2023 4A, and Wilson, 2022 4A), two players who were named IBCA first-team Academic All-State (Minch and Runner) and three players who were named IBCA honorable mention Academic All-State (Annee, Haan and Wilson).

Andy Maguire of Zionsville has been named head coach of the 2024 All-Stars. He will be assisted by Jason Simpson of Greensburg and Lauren Votaw of Fishers. Maguire is 330-240 in 26 seasons as a varsity coach, including 256-209 in 21 years at Zionsville. Simpson is 180-65 in 10 seasons at Greensburg. Votaw is 131-44 in seven seasons at Fishers.

The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 5 at Kokomo. The first game against Kentucky will be June 7 at a site to be announced. The final game against Kentucky will be June 8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana Boys' All-Stars, whose roster will be announced later. 

The Indiana Junior All-Stars will play two girl-boy doubleheaders this year -- June 2 against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Scottsburg and June 7 against the Indiana seniors at Kokomo.

The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana Boys All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls' portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996. The All-Star senior girls have played Kentucky every year since 1976, except 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star senior boys have played Kentucky in all but three years since 1940 -- 1943 (World War II), 1944 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).

The Indiana Senior girls lead 53-41 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior girls lead 41-11 in games against the Indiana Junior girls. The Indiana Junior girls lead 11-1 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 104-45 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 41-11 in games against the Indiana Junior boys. The Indiana Junior boys lead 7-5 in their series with Kentucky.

The second IndyStar Indiana All-Star "Futures Games" doubleheader will be June 3 at Hamilton Southeastern. The Futures Games will be a girls-boys doubleheader with Indiana-only squads of sophomores and freshmen in a North vs. South format. The Futures Games' lineups will be announced later. In the inaugural Futures Games, the North girls prevailed 73-63 and the South boys won 100-96.

The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is a title sponsor. Hoosier Shooting Academy is a presenting partner of All-Star Week, and Energy Systems Group is a presented partner of the June 8 All-Star doubleheader at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The IndyStar Indiana All-Star Team is selected through a balloting process of coaches and media overseen by game organizers from the IBCA. The top vote getter will be named Miss Basketball, and the remainder of the team is finalized by Broughton after observing numerous games and events throughout the season, conferring with coaches, school officials and media across the state. Broughton also reviews votes submitted by coaches and media who each could recommend up to 10 players.

2024 IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars

Name, School, Height, PPG, College Choice

Audrey Annee, Center Grove, 5-9,13.2, Army

Emma Haan, Zionsville, 5-7, 15.6, Vermont

Alli Harness, Carroll (Flora), 5-8, 20.8, Western Michigan

Talia Harris, Fishers, 5-8, 14.8, Mercer

Ellery Minch, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), 6-2, 14.2, DePaul

Jordyn Poole, Fort Wayne Snider, 5-7, 16.9, Purdue

Camryn Runner, Hamilton Heights, 5-9, 26.9, Evansville

Chloe Spreen, Bedford North Lawrence, 5-10, 20.4, Alabama

Lauren Walsh, Penn, 5-7, 12.5, undecided

Reagan Wilson, Noblesville, 5-8, 16.1, Iowa State

Faith Wiseman, Indian Creek, 6-4, 18.2, Indiana

Rachel Wirts, Center Grove, 6-3, 12.1, Villanova

Juliann Woodard, Jennings County, 6-0, 17.3, Michigan State

2024 IndyStar Indiana All-Star key dates

Sunday, June 2 — Indiana Juniors vs. Kentucky Juniors at site TBA — girls, 2:00 p.m.; boys, to follow; admission, $10 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).

Monday, June 3 – Indiana All-Stars “Futures Games” doubleheader at Hamilton Southeastern – girls, 6:00 p.m., boys, to follow; admission, $10 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).

Wednesday, June 5 — Junior-Senior All-Star game at Kokomo — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow; admission, $10 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).

Friday, June 7 — Indiana at Kentucky at TBA — girls, time, TBA; boys, to follow, time TBA. Ticket information, TBA.

Saturday, June 8 — Indiana vs. Kentucky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis — Senior girls, 5:00 p.m.; Senior boys, to follow (about 7:30 p.m.). Ticket information, TBA.