Woelfle, Ballenger, Bradburn named coaches for 2026 IndyStar boys' Indiana All-Stars
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Pat McKee, 317-403-1665
March 31, 2026 IBCA Director of Special Projects
Woelfle, Ballenger, Bradburn named coaches for 2026 IndyStar boys' Indiana All-Stars
Woelfle will be assisted by Chad Ballenger of Hamilton Heights and Joe Bradburn of Class 4A state champion Mt. Vernon (Fortville).
The 2026 boys' All-Stars will play three games in June – one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.
Woelfle has compiled a 278-177 record in 18 seasons as the boys' varsity coach at Terre Haute North, including a 24-4 finish with sectional and regional crowns in 2025-26. Over the years, his teams have won two Conference Indiana championships, five sectionals, two regional and 10 Wabash Valley Classic tournaments.
Woelfle is a two-time HBCA District 1 Coach of the Year (2024, 2026), a two-time Conference Indiana Coach of the Year (2024, 2025) and served as head coach for the 2025 boys' Junior All-Stars. He currently is in his third year as an IBCA district representative.
A 1994 graduate of Terre Haute North, Woelfle averaged 12.7 points and was chosen all-regional as a senior while playing for coach Jim Jones. Woelfle matriculated to Oakland City University, where he averaged 12.5 points, led NCAA Division II in 3-point accuracy (.537) and was a National Christian College Athletic Association second-team All-American as a senior while playing for coach Mike Sandifar.
Woelfle completed his bachelor's degree in physical education at Oakland City in 1999 and earned a master's degree in physical education from Ball State in 2005. He has been a teacher for Vigo County Schools for 27 years, the past 20 at Terre Haute North.
He started his coaching career in 1999-2000 as a men's basketball assistant at Rose-Hulman. He followed by coaching seventh-grade boys at Sarah Scott Middle School for one year, then assisted Jones at Terre Haute North for seven seasons before succeeding Jones as the Patriots' head coach in 2008-09.
Woelfle and his wife, Amanda, have two sons -- Gavin, a Terre Haute North senior, and Trenton, a Terre Haute North sophomore.
He was a 2014 Junior All-Star assistant coach and also coached in the 2011 North-South Indiana All-Star Classic and in four Hoosier Gym All-Star Games (2006, 2007, 2021 and 2024). He was named 2004 White River Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and 2004 New Castle Courier-Times Coach of the Year. He served as an IBCA district representative from 2007-10.
A 1988 graduate of Hagerstown, Ballenger competed in basketball, cross country and track for the Tigers and was among the state's Top 100 players in free throw accuracy (.862) as a senior. He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Ball State in 1994.
Ballenger started his career in coaching in 1990-93 at Cowan as a junior high coach and high school assistant for Pat Mapes. He was a student-teacher and high school assistant at Knightstown in 1993-94, then assisted Basil Mawbey at Kokomo from 1994-2000 before becoming the head coach at Eastern (Greentown) from 2000-02. Ballenger followed as head coach at Knightstown from 2002-07, then moved to Hamilton Heights starting in 2007-08.
He is in his 19th year as a teacher and fifth year as a department head at Hamilton Heights, currently teaching advanced physical education, health & wellness and freshman seminar.
Ballenger and his wife, Stacie, have one child, Cooper, 14.
He is a 1984 graduate of Wapahani, where he played basketball and baseball for four seasons each. He earned a bachelor's degree in business education from Ball State in 1989. He later earned a master's degree in administration from Ball State in 1999.
Bradburn began his career in coaching as a Cowan assistant from 1989-93, then went 7-13 in 1993-94 as the school's head coach. He went 134-89 at Yorktown from 1994-2004, 56-30 at DeKalb from 2004-08, 28-38 at Huntington North from 2008-11 and 77-64 at Greenwood from 2017-23.
His teams have captured five sectional championships, three regional titles, two semi-state crowns and he guided Yorktown to a Class 3A state runner-up finish in 1998. He was the 2003 IBCA District 4 Coach of the Year and served as a 2003 Junior All-Star assistant coach.
Bradburn and his wife, Dena, have two adult children -- Kyle and Lauren.
The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 3 at Mt. Vernon (Fortville). The first game against Kentucky will be June 5 at Lexington Catholic High School. The final game against Kentucky will be June 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar girls' Indiana All-Stars.
The roster for the 2026 Indiana boys' All-Stars and 2026 boys' Junior All-Stars will be announced later. The roster for the 2026 Indiana girls' All-Stars was announced March 18. The roster for the 2026 girls' Junior All-Stars was announced March 9.
The Indiana Junior All-Stars will play two girl-boy doubleheaders this year – May 31 against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Charlestown and June 3 against the Indiana seniors at Mt. Vernon (Fortville).
The 2026 IndyStar Indiana All-Star "Futures Games" doubleheader will be on June 1 at a site to be announced. This event, for girls and boys who are current sophomores or freshmen, will feature two Indiana teams in a North-South format. The girls' Futures Game rosters were announced March 26. The boys' Futures Game rosters will be announced later.
The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana boys' All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls' portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996. The All-Star senior girls have played Kentucky every year since 1976, except 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star senior boys have played Kentucky in all but three years since 1940 -- 1943 (World War II), 1944 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).
The Indiana Senior boys lead 107-46 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 42-12 in games against the Indiana Junior boys. The Indiana Junior boys lead 9-5 in their series with Kentucky. In the three years of Futures Games, the North girls lead 2-1 and the South boys lead 2-1. The Indiana Senior girls lead 55-43 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior girls lead 42-12 in games against the Indiana Junior girls. The Indiana Junior girls lead 13-1 in their series with Kentucky.
The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is the title sponsor. Hoosier Shooting Academy is a presenting partner for All-Star Week. Energy Systems Group is a presenting partner of the Saturday doubleheader against Kentucky.
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2026 IndyStar Indiana All-Star key dates
Sunday, May 31 — Indiana Juniors vs. Kentucky Juniors at Charlestown High School (1 Pirate Place, Charlestown, IN 47111) — girls, 2:00 p.m. EDT; boys, to follow; admission, $15 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).
Monday, June 1 – Indiana All-Stars “Futures Games” doubleheader at site TBA – girls, 6:00 p.m. EDT, boys, to follow; admission, $15 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).
Wednesday, June 3 — Junior-Senior All-Star game at Mt. Vernon High School (8112 N. 200 W., Fortville, IN 46040) — girls, 6:00 p.m. EDT; boys, to follow; admission, $15 per person at the door (adults, school-aged students; pre-school children are free).
Friday, June 5 — Indiana at Kentucky at Lexington Catholic High School (2250 Clays Mill Rd., Lexington, KY 40503) — girls, 5:30 p.m. EDT; boys, to follow, time TBA. Ticket information, Available starting May 1 at kentuckybasketballcoaches.org.
Saturday, June 6 — Indiana vs. Kentucky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 46204) — Senior girls, 5:00 p.m. EDT; Senior boys, to follow (about 7:30 p.m. EDT). Ticket information, TBA.
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Gene Milner
IBCA Website Coordinator