Garrett headlines All-District recognition
Three representatives from our coverage area recently were recognized by the Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association for their efforts on the basketball court.
The HBCA over the past week has named All-District selections throughout the state of Indiana which includes district all-stars and Coach of the Year winners. Ripley County falls into District 3 which serves Ripley, Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Fayette, Franklin, Jennings, Johnson, Rush, Shelby and Union counties.
Batesville boys basketball head coach Aaron Garrett was named the HBCA District 3 Coach of the Year and his accolades for the year are not through as the Bulldogs will be playing for a Class 3A regional championship this Saturday against Scottsburg. Garrett is in his 16th season at the helm and has already led Batesville this season to its first 20-win season since the 2007-2008 campaign. He has a career record of 240-139 and has led the program to three sectional championships, one regional crown and a trip to the Class 3A Final Four in 2011.
Garrett has been at the helm for 13 winning seasons during his time with many of those seasons featuring Batesville ranked in the Class 3A state poll. 11 of those 13 have seen the Bulldogs with 15 or more wins during the year.
One of Garrett’s top players, senior Sam Johnson, was named an HBCA District 3 All-District selection. Johnson, who verbally committed to the University of St. Francis this week to play basketball, is averaging 12.8 points, six rebounds and 2.1 assists this year while having totaled 656 points in his three years at the varsity level.
Johnson is just a few points away from finding himself among the Top 25 career scorers at the school.
On the girls side, Jac-Cen-Del senior Reagan Hughes was named a District 3 All-Star by the HBCA and will play in the East/West All-Star Game on April 7 at Washington High School.
Hughes helped lead the Lady Eagles to a Class A Final Four a year ago before wrapping up her high school career in the semifinal round of the Class A South Semi-State in 2024. She finished the season averaging 11.9 points, three rebounds, 1.5 assists and two steals per game and also reached the 1000-career point plateau earlier in the winter.
Career wise, Hughes is among program leading scorers all-time with 1012 points and also totaled career numbers of 257 rebounds, 192 steals and 161 assists.
