Center Grove football will be seeking a third consecutive state championship this fall.
Daily Journal file photo
“With the first pick of the 2023 MLB draft …”
Around here, only a few hardcore fans likely tuned into watch the first round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft on Sunday night. The local audience figures to be a good bit higher next summer, though, when the eyes of Johnson County in general and Franklin in particular will be eagerly waiting to see how early Max Clark’s name will get called. (Most way-too-early 2023 prospect lists have Clark at or near the top.)
The good news is that area baseball fans still have one more year to watch Clark play for the Grizzly Cubs. If and when you do, savor it, because we’re living through a golden age for Johnson County sports, one that may not be replicated anytime soon.
We’ve got it so good right now that Clark — who, again, could be the first overall MLB draft pick in 2023 — might not even be the most dominant local on the diamond. Whiteland native Keagan Rothrock has pitched Roncalli to the last two Class 4A state softball championships, and she was named Gatorade’s national player of the year this past spring. Rothrock, like Clark, has one more year of high school ball left before she heads to the University of Florida.
Center Grove returns a state diving champion (and potential 2024 Olympic hopeful) in junior-to-be Mia Prusiecki; the school also just graduated a pair of state wrestling champs in Drake Buchanan and Hayden Watson.
Some other recent local graduates are still doing their thing at the collegiate level, too. Center Grove alum Trayce Jackson-Davis, who earned Mr. Basketball honors for the Trojans in 2019, will play his fourth and final season at Indiana University this coming winter. Jackson-Davis is projected to go in the late first or early second round of the 2023 NBA draft, according to early mocks (one posted on The Athletic last week had him going 34th overall to the Pacers).
Another 2019 Center Grove grad, Erica Shepherd, has continued to rack up accolades on the golf course at Duke University; she’ll be chasing a spot on the LPGA Tour after finishing up her career with the Blue Devils.
Franklin native Emerson Axsom didn’t wait until after college, or even high school, to get his professional career started. Axsom, who’s still got one year of high school left, is in the top five of the points standings as a rookie on the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint racing circuit. He’ll be racing in his home state eight times in the coming days as part of Indiana Sprint Week.
Prusiecki might not be the county’s lone Olympic hopeful, either. Johnson County had a pair of swimmers (Michael Couet and Cade Oliver) competing at the 2021 Olympic trials, and a handful of other locals should have a chance to compete at the 2024 trials, which will be right here in Indianapolis. Softball isn’t an Olympic sport in 2024, but Rothrock could still be on the short list of Team USA pitching candidates if and when the sport is back on the menu in 2028.
Those dreams are still a bit down the road, but there’s plenty else to watch for in the more immediate future.
On the high school gridiron, Center Grove has won back-to-back Class 6A state championships, ranking among the top five teams in the nation each of the last two seasons. Several players from those squads are continuing their careers at the next level, including All-State standouts such as Caden Curry (Ohio State), Tayven Jackson (Tennessee), James Schott (Michigan State) and Carson Steele (Ball State). The Trojans still figure to be among the top picks to win it all again this fall; Whiteland, with most of its top talent returning, hopes to make a similar run in Class 5A.
Franklin girls basketball, a state runner-up last season, has the talent to make it back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and Indian Creek’s girls are looking like a 3A threat. Expect local teams and individuals to make deep tournament runs in other sports during the coming months as well.
Johnson County has long had its fair share of athletic high points, going all the way back to the Wonder Five a century ago. But there may not have been an era that’s featured quite as many state and national luminaries as we get to follow right now.
A run like this isn’t guaranteed to come around again. Enjoy it while it’s here.
