New faces in new places. In-state college basketball players on the move in 2023

There are going to be plenty of new faces in new places next season in college basketball, including several former Indiana high school basketball standouts exchanging one uniform for another. Here’s a look at Division I players who were in the portal and have changed schools, or still are looking:

Cam Alford: The former Brownsburg standout started out at Alabama A&M for one season, averaging 12.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, before transferring to John A. Logan College for two seasons, starting 47 games in 55 seasons. Alford played last season at Utah Valley, averaging 4.9 points per game. He has not solidified his plans yet.

Ali Ali: The 2019 Indiana All-Star from East Noble started his career at Akron, playing three seasons and earning second-team all-Mid-American Conference honors in 2021-22 as he averaged 13.9 points. The 6-8 Ali transferred to Butler and averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 18 games. Ali will return to Akron for next season.

Cobie Barnes: The 6-7 Barnes, an Indiana All-Star out of Floyd Central in 2019, played his first two seasons at Indiana State, averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds, before transferring to John A. Logan College for one season and averaging 14.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. Barnes averaged 2.3 points in 15 games with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville last season. He is headed Marian University for his final season.

Reggie Bass: The 6-4 former Tech star was Freshman of the Year in the Mid-American Conference last season at Central Michigan, averaging 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Bass announced his transfer to Kent State, an NCAA tournament team last season.

Ethan Brittan-Watts: The 6-2 guard, a former Culver Academy star, played four seasons at Boston University, averaging 8.6 points and 2.0 assists in 2022-23. He started 21 games last season and 39 for his career. Brittain-Watts will be a graduate transfer at Ball State.

Luke Brown: Brown, a 6-1 guard, scored 3,011 career points at Blackford to rank fourth in state history and earn Indiana All-Star honors in 2021. He signed with Stetson out of high school, transferred to Ball State for his freshman year, averaging 3.3 points in 18 games. Brown transferred back to Stetson and averaged 10.2 points and shot 46.2% from the 3-point line. Brown transferred to Indiana Wesleyan.

Luke Bumbalough: The 6-1 guard was a finalist for Mr. Basketball and Indiana All-Star out of New Castle in 2019 after he averaged 31.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a senior. Bumbalough played four seasons at Ball State, averaging 6.9 points and 2.1 assists in 117 games and 76 starts at Ball State. He transferred to Niagara to play his final season for coach Greg Paulus.

Nathan Childress: Childress walked on at Indiana after averaging 14.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a senior at Zionsville in 2018-19. After four seasons at IU, Childress announced he would spend his final season playing at Indiana Wesleyan.

Ryan Conwell: The 6-4 Conwell was an Indiana All-Star and Marion County Player of the Year out of Pike in 2022 after he averaged 22.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.0 steals. He committed to South Florida and started 21 games as a freshman last season, averaging 5.1 points and 1.9 assists. After a coaching change, he committed to Indiana State.

Sydney Curry: The 6-8 Curry was all-state as a senior at Fort Wayne Northrop in 2018-19, averaging 18.6 points and 12.4 rebounds. He started out in junior college at John A. Logan College for two seasons, where he was a junior college All-American in 2020-21. In two seasons at Louisville, Curry averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, starting 37 of his 60 games. Curry is headed to Grand Canyon to play for Bryce Drew.

Tae Davis: The 6-9 Davis was an Indiana All-Star out of Warren Central in 2022 before joining his brother Dre Davis at Seton Hall last year as a freshman. Davis averaged 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in about 13 minutes per game. He has not yet decided on his next destination.

Sam DeVault: The former 6-10 Evansville Memorial star started out at Austin Peay, then transferred to Bellarmine and averaged 4.0 points and shot 36.2% from the 3-point line over three seasons. He will play his final season at Division II Wisconsin-Parkside.

Kevin Easley Jr.: The former Lawrence North standout, a 2018 graduate and Indiana All-Star, was originally committed to VCU, but after a coaching change committed to Chattanooga, where he earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2018-19 as he averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds. Easley transferred to TCU, averaging 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2020-21. He then transferred to Duquesne, where he averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 2021-22. Easley played in just three games last season for Duquesne after serving a suspension and announced his transfer to Coastal Carolina for his final season.

Jaxon Edwards: The 6-6 Edwards, and Indiana All-Star and state champion in 2022 at Cathedral, averaged 10.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a senior. He committed to Murray State, where he played in 11 games last season as a freshman. Edwards will play at Valparaiso next season.

Gus Etchison: Etchison was a standout at Hamilton Heights, scoring 2,076 points. In two seasons at Western Michigan, the 6-foot guard averaged 3.7 points and 1.5 assists in 36 games over two seasons. Etchison committed to Marian University.

Cam Haffner: The 6-3 Haffner was a standout at Westfield, where he averaged 16.5 points and set the school’s single-season record with 85 3-pointers in 2021-22. The 1,000-point career scorer went to Eastern Illinois as a freshman and was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year as he averaged 7.5 points and shot 42.7% from the 3-point line. The son of former Evansville standout Scott Haffner announced he is transferring to Evansville.

Jake Heidbreder: The 6-5 guard was a standout at Floyd Central, where he averaged 19.9 points as a senior in 2020-21 and scored 1,228 career points. Heidbreder played two seasons at Air Force, averaging a team-leading 15.1 points as a sophomore in 2022-23 and earning third-team all-Mountain West Conference honors. Heidbreder announced his transfer to Clemson in late March.

D.J. Hughes: The 6-6 Hughes was a 1,000-point scorer at Lawrence North, averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior in 2020-21 to help Lawrence North to a 28-3 record and Class 4A state finals appearance. Hughes signed with Butler, where he averaged 1.1 points and 1.6 rebounds as a freshman and then averaged 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds as a sophomore. He has not yet settled on his next destination.

Jalen Jackson: The 6-2 Jackson starred in high school at Fort Wayne Northrop and earned Indiana All-Star honors in 2022. He played his freshman season at Illinois-Chicago, where he averaged 7.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists. Jackson is returning home to play at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Kooper Jacobi: The 6-6 Jacobi was a standout at Silver Creek, winning two Class 3A state championships. He averaged 21.2 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior in 2020-21 to earn all-state honors. He signed with Toledo and played his freshman season for the Rockets, averaging 2.2 points and 2.5 rebounds. Jacobi redshirted last season and will have three seasons of eligibility at his next stop at Eastern Illinois.

Kamari Lands: The 6-8 Lands, an Indianapolis native who played two seasons at La Lumiere before transferring to Hillcrest Prep, played his freshman season in 2022-23 at Louisville, where he averaged 5.9 points and 1.9 rebounds. Lands committed to Arizona State in early April.

Antonio Lisenbee: The 6-7 Tech graduate averaged 7.1 points and 8.3 rebounds as a senior for the Titans in 2021-22. Lisenbee signed with Maine and played his freshman season there, seeing action in just one game. He announced in late March that he would be transferring to Triton College, a top juco program in Illinois.

J.J. Louden: The 6-5 Louden, who played at Pike before attending Desert Valley Prep in Las Vegas, spent his freshman season in 2022-23 at Weber State, where he played in six games. Louden has not yet announced his next destination.

Logan McIntire: The 6-4 McIntire averaged 21.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals as a senior at North Harrison in 2021-22. He played in one game at Evansville as a freshman, announcing in April he would transfer to Kentucky Wesleyan.

Brandon Newman: The 6-5 guard was Mr. Basketball runner-up in 2019 at Valparaiso, averaging 27.2 points and 8.8 rebounds as a senior. The four-star prospect redshirted his first season at Purdue and then had probably his best of three seasons as a freshman, averaging 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 2020-21. Newman committed to Western Kentucky, where former Purdue assistant Steve Lutz is the coach. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.1 rebounds for the Boilermakers last season.

Julian Norris: The 6-3 Norris attended Evansville Bosse through his junior year before transferring to Link Academy in Branson, Mo., for his senior season of 2021-22. Norris attended Morehead State in 2022-23 but redshirted. He has not yet committed to his next destination.

Quimari Peterson: The 6-1 point guard from Gary West Side was a 1,000-point scorer, graduating from high school in 2021. Peterson played at four games at Indiana State in 2021-22. He transferred to John A. Logan College and had a standout sophomore season, averaging 13.5 points, 4.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds. Peterson committed to East Tennessee State.

Mike Saunders Jr.: The Indianapolis native played at Lawrence North through his sophomore year before transferring to Wasatch Academy (Utah). The 6-foot guard played two seasons at Cincinnati, averaging 5.8 points and 2.2 assists. He transferred to Utah, where he averaged 4.1 points in 18 games in 2022-23. Saunders Jr. will play for Will Wade at McNeese State.

Javon Small: The 6-2 guard played his sophomore and junior season at Franklin Central before transferring to Arizona Compass Prep for the 2020-21 season. Small signed with East Carolina, averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 assists and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore in 2022-23. Small announced he is transferring to Oklahoma State, where he will have two years of eligibility.

Billy Smith: The 6-7 Smith averaged 18.8 points as a senior at Brebeuf Jesuit in 2020-21 before going on to play at Miami of Ohio last season as a freshman. Smith averaged 6.2 points and 2.7 rebounds and shot 36.2% from the 3-point line in 26 games. He announced he will transfer to Bellarmine.

Payton Sparks: The 6-9 Sparks averaged 19.4 points and 13.8 rebounds as a senior at Winchester in 2020-21. At Ball State, he was the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year in 2021-22 and averaged 13.3 points and 8.7 rebounds as a sophomore for the Cardinals and was named second-team All-MAC. Sparks transferred to Indiana.

Isaiah Swope: The 5-10 guard averaged 22.2 points and 3.9 assists as a senior at Castle in 2020-21. Swope signed with Southern Indiana, where he averaged 8.2 points and 1.9 rebounds as a freshman and 15.6 points and 3.5 assists as a sophomore in 2022-23. Swope is transferring to Indiana State.

Jayden Taylor: The 6-4 Taylor averaged 25.5 points and 5.5 rebounds as a senior at Perry Meridian in 2020-21 and earned Indiana All-Star honors. He scored 1,537 career points. Taylor started 42 of 65 games at Butler in two seasons, averaging 12.9 points and 3.8 rebounds last season. Taylor is transferring to North Carolina State.

Pierce Thomas: The 6-5 Thomas was an Indiana All-Star out of Brownsburg in 2020-21 as he averaged 21.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Thomas redshirted his first season at Butler, then played in 23 games last season, averaging 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds. Thomas will play next season at Eastern Kentucky.

Jalen Windham: The 6-5 Windham was an Indiana All-Star out of Ben Davis in 2019, averaging 17.9 points per game. He played his freshman season at Creighton in 2019-20, then transferred to Ball State, where he averaged 5.9 points and 1.4 rebounds and shot 39% from the 3-point over 54 games in three seasons. Windham is transferring to Morehead State.

Charlie Yoder: The 6-4 Yoder averaged 27.3 points as a senior at Westview in 2019-20 and was named to the Indiana All-Star team. After attending Spire Academy (Ohio), Yoder played at Incarnate Word in parts of three seasons, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21 games. He transferred back to his home state to play at St. Francis.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana natives on the move in college basketball transfer portal