Luke Ertel’s name is already etched into the record book as the 86th Indiana Mr. Basketball. Attention turns immediately to who’s next. These 2027 Indiana Mr Basketball early candidates split into two groups: nationally ranked recruits who’ve been on watch lists since their freshman year, and proven winners from this year’s state tournament whose title-game performances make them impossible to ignore.
Jason Gardner Jr. — Fishers
No player in the 2027 class carries more built-in name recognition. Gardner is the son of Jason Gardner Sr., North Central’s 1999 Mr. Basketball winner who went on to a three-time All-Pac-10 career at Arizona and a 2001 Final Four appearance. The younger Gardner ranks as high as No. 21 nationally in the 2027 class per 247Sports and sits atop most in-state recruiting boards, holding offers from Purdue, Indiana, Cincinnati, and a growing list of high-major programs. He’s started for a Fishers program that’s gone a combined 83-3 across the past three seasons, including the 2024 Class 4A state title, and this summer he’s been averaging over 20 points a game on the Indiana Elite 16u circuit. With new head coach Miles Wayer building the 2026-27 season around him, Gardner enters as the closest thing this race has to a preseason favorite.
Cooper Zachary — Fishers
Gardner’s own backcourt partner is a top-five in-state prospect in his own right. Zachary is rated as high as No. 4 in Indiana’s 2027 class by multiple recruiting services and gives Fishers arguably the best returning backcourt duo in the state. Playing alongside a nationally ranked point guard tends to inflate a supporting player’s profile in college recruiting circles, but Zachary’s individual ranking suggests he’s earned his spot on this list independent of who’s next to him.
Isaiah Hill — Pike
At 6-foot-11, Hill gives the 2027 class its most physically imposing prospect, and recruiting services consistently rank him among the top two or three players in the state regardless of position. His length and rim protection give him a different path to Mr. Basketball consideration than the guard-heavy names atop most boards — the award has gone to dominant big men before, from Greg Oden to the Zeller brothers, and Hill’s frame puts him squarely in that lineage.
Jahari Miller — Pike
Hill’s teammate gives Pike a legitimate one-two punch heading into the year. Miller averaged 14.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists as a junior and ranks inside the state’s top five on most published boards. A strong senior season pushing Pike deep into the Class 4A bracket would put him firmly in the Mr. Basketball conversation alongside his more highly touted teammate.
Devin Cleveland — La Lumiere
La Lumiere’s national prep schedule makes its players a different kind of watch — Cleveland isn’t grinding through a typical Indiana conference slate, but the level of competition he faces weekly at one of the country’s top prep programs carries its own kind of proof. He’s ranked among the state’s top prospects in the 2027 class and gives La Lumiere a second nationally relevant name behind five-star teammate Ferlandes Wright, a Louisville commit.
The Proven-Winner Wing of the Race
Recruiting rankings don’t always predict who wins Mr. Basketball — the award has just as often gone to the best player on the best team as to the highest-rated recruit. That opens the door for several juniors-turned-seniors who were central to state tournament runs in March. Owen Peterson delivered an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for Cathedral in the Class 3A championship game. Tarvar Baskerville averaged 16.4 points and earned All-Defensive Team honors while leading New Haven to the same title game. Carter Crum, a 1,000-point scorer, was the best player on the floor for long stretches of Parke Heritage’s Class 2A title run. And Auston Schlabach battled Isaac Pickel possession-for-possession in the closest state final of the year for Westview. None carries Gardner’s national profile, but Indiana Mr. Basketball voters have rewarded team success and big-moment performance as often as recruiting stars.
Why This 2027 Indiana Mr Basketball Early Candidates List Is Worth Following Now
Mr. Basketball campaigns are built over an entire season, not decided in July, but the early shape of the 2027 Indiana Mr Basketball early candidates list already suggests a genuinely competitive year. Gardner enters with the recruiting pedigree and the team success to be the favorite, but Hill’s rare size, Miller’s complementary scoring, and a cluster of proven tournament performers from smaller schools all give this race more depth than recent years. We’ll track it monthly as the season develops.
