Catching up with, and highlighting, a few of the graduates of Gibson County high schools that competed as a collegiate student-athlete in 2024-2025:
Brady Allen (GSHS, Class of 2022) (University of Louisville – Football): Allen enters his third year at Louisville as one of six quarterbacks on the UL roster (as of July 8, 2025) looking to gain an increased on-field role for the Cardinals this Fall…Entering Fall camp, preliminary reports indicate that Allen may be in line to serve as the Cardinals’ backup quarterback behind incoming transfer Miller Moss, who entered the UL program after transferring in from the University of Southern California…In 2024, Allen played against Austin Peay and completed 2-of-2 passes for 28 yards, and also saw time in UL’s regular-season finale against the University of Kentucky…In 2023, Allen appeared in one game and completed his only pass for seven yards against Murray State…As a freshman at Purdue University in 2022, he completed 1-of-3 passes for eight yards and made his lone on-field appearance for the Boilermakers against Indiana State before later transferring to Louisville…
Chloey Graham (GSHS, Class of 2024) (Indiana Wesleyan University – Women’s Basketball): Graham appeared in 20 games for IWU and played a total of 81 minutes (just over four minutes played per game); she scored 31 total points, collected 21 total rebounds (eight offensive rebounds and 13 defensive rebounds), swiped four steals dished out one assist; Graham made five two-point baskets, six three-point baskets and three free throws.
Ally Malone (GSHS, Class of 2024) (Marian University – Softball): In her freshman season, Malone hit .362 (51-for-141), scored 32 runs, belted nine doubles and three home runs, drove in 42 runs, had three sacrifice flies and stole five bases.
Olivia Stunkel (GSHS, Class of 2021) (Marian University – Softball): In her senior season, Stunkel finished with an incredible 30-2 record as a pitcher in the circle, compiled a 2.26 ERA and stuck out 173 hitters in 195 innings pitched.
Kasey Wood (PCHS, Class of 2022) (Oakland City University – Softball): In her junior season at OCU, Wood was named a Second-Team All-River States Conference selection and an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. On the field, Wood, an outfielder, hit .344 in 2025, which was the second-highest batting average on the team. She also went 20-for-20 on stolen bases, had eight doubles, one triple and two home runs before sustaining a season-ending lower-body injury in OCU’s final regular-season game. Wood, slated to graduate in 2026 with a degree in business administration (with a concentration in management), will then begin graduate studies (with a concentration in human resources).
Riken Burkett (PCHS, Class of 2024) (Hanover College – Baseball): Burkett, preparing to enter his sophomore year as a student-athlete for the Panthers’ baseball program, missed his freshman diamond campaign for the Panthers due to an upper-body injury, but has played throughout the Summer of 2025 as a pitcher and infielder, where he has gradually worked his way back on the mound while serving as a valuable contributor for the Head Coach Brent Denbo-led Princeton Post 25 American Legion Baseball Senior team.
Jacob Keehn (PCHS, Class of 2024) (Oakland City University – Sprint Football): Keehn, preparing to enter his sophomore year as a student-athlete at Oakland City University, started on the offensive line for OCU in their 14-0 win over Midway University at Enlow Field in Evansville on September 21, 2024. OCU’s 14-point victory was the first-ever win for the OCU Sprint Football program…Keehn also started at left tackle in OCU’s game against Walsh on September 28, 2024 at Jack Jewell Memorial Field in Fort Branch…Keehn also started at left tackle in OCU’s game against Calumet on October 12, 2024 at Jerry Brewer Alumni Stadium in Jasper…Keehn also started on the OCU offensive line for OCU in their game at Quincy on October 19…
Hillary Humbaugh (GSHS, Class of 2022) (Wittenberg University – Women’s Golf): Humbaugh, who was the first student-athlete college signing I covered in my time with the Clarion in 2022, has now completed three years as a student-athlete at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, was named an All-North Coast Athletic Conference Second-Team selection in 2025. The Lady Tigers recorded six top-five finishes throughout the 2025 campaign, including a third-place finish at the 2025 NCAC Championships. The team also recorded a first-place finish in the Eva Shorb Wieskopf Invitational at the College of Wooster on April 7, 2025…In the win at Wooster, Humbaugh took first overall (in the individual standings) for the first time in her collegiate career, as she shot a 79…Humbaugh earned All-NCAC Second-Team honors in 2024 and was named to the WGCA All-American Scholar Team…Other honors earned by Humbaugh in the 2023-2024 academic year include being named a CSC Academic All-District and being named an NCAC Academic Honor Roll selection…
Gavin Bigham (WMHS, Class of 2024) (Rend Lake College – Men’s Basketball): In his debut season at RLC, Bigham, following in the footsteps of his father, Bart, in playing for the Warriors, played in 32 games in 2024-2025, scored 4.1 points per game (scored a total of 132 points), played a total of 304 minutes, shot 48 percent from the floor (49-of-102), connected on 43.5 percent of his three-point attempts (10-of-23), made 72.7 percent of his free throws (24-of-33) and collected two rebounds per game.
Josie Page (WMHS, Class of 2024) (Indiana University – Women’s Track and Field): In her debut season for the Indiana University Women’s Track and Field program, the 2023 IHSAA State Champion in the High Jump (and 2024 IHSAA State Runner-Up in the same event) achieved a personal-best high jump of 5’ 7.25”…
Alexis Tucker (GSHS, Class of 2023) (Wabash Valley College – Softball): Tucker, after two outstanding years as a student-athlete in the WVC softball program, recently committed to play softball at the University of Evansville…In the 2025 season as a hitter at the plate, Tucker batted .412 (63-for-153), scored 46 runs, had 11 doubles, belted 14 home runs, drove in 51 runs, accounted for 116 total bases, drew 23 walks, was credited with four sacrifice flies, had a .481 on-base percentage and had a .758 slugging percentage…In the 2025 season as a pitcher in the circle, Tucker made 42 appearances, started 32 games, finished with a 27-6 won-loss record, recorded one save, had 23 complete games, posted nine shutouts and recorded an eye-popping 234 strikeouts in 192.1 innings pitched…
Brenna Blume (GSHS, Class of 2022) (Belmont University – Softball): In her junior season at Division-I Belmont University, Blume, a finalist for the 2022 IHSAA Miss Softball award and the GSHS career-record holder in batting average, doubles, runs batted in, hits and home runs, played in 55 games for the Lady Bruins, started 54 contests, scored 14 runs, had 32 hits (18 singles, eight doubles and six home runs), drew 15 walks, was credited with three sacrifice flies and drove in 25 runs…Blume, as Belmont’s catcher, had an excellent season defensively in 2025, as she ended the campaign with a .995 fielding percentage…
Cole Hurt (PCHS, Class of 2022) (University of Indianapolis – Track and Field):
Hurt was a four-year, four-sport athlete for the Princeton Tigers and the PCHS Male Athlete of the Year in 2021. He signed with the University of Indianapolis with a scholarship to run track for the Greyhounds and serve as a walk-on kicker for the football team. After a freshman year of doing both sports, he decided to focus on track and field, and Hurt began training as a ;multiple-event’ contributor (combined track and field events such as the heptathlon and decathlon).
During his sophomore year at UIndy, Hurt suffered a complete rupture of his Achilles tendon while hurdling at an indoor winter meet in February 2023. This ended his winter and upcoming spring outdoor season and jeopardized his collegiate track career. Surgical repair and reattachment of the tendon were performed, and the long rehabilitation process to hopefully become competitive again was underway.
Fifteen months after surgery, Cole competed in the GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference) 2024 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the decathlon event in May 2024. He finished second overall in the conference during the two-day, 10-event decathlon.
Hurt returned to the GLVC Outdoor Championships for the decathlon event in May 2025. He finished in second place again while breaking and setting a new all-time UIndy school decathlon record.
Due to Hurt’s injury, that year served as a medical-redshirt season, which gives him one more year of eligibility. Hurt graduated with an Industrial Engineering degree in May and has started summer graduate school classes at UIndy. Hurt plans to take advantage of making up that lost year of track with the Greyhounds this coming season.