The Missouri Valley Conference released “Players to Watch” lists Wednesday for the upcoming basketball season and Indiana State had two men’s players and three women’s players on their respective lists.
For the Sycamore men, graduate student Markus Harding and junior Camp Wagner made the MVC’s list. Meanwhile, ISU senior guard Kennedy Claybrooks, sophomore forward Amerie Flowers and sophomore guard Tierney Kelsey made the women’s list.
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Harding played in 29 of the Sycamores’ 32 games last season, averaging 6.4 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 18 minutes of action per game. He started in all 29 games available. Harding’s season high of 16 points occurred twice last season, most recently at home against Northern Iowa where he made 4 of 7 from 3-point range in only 21 minutes on the court.
Wagner averaged 26.6 minutes per game last season and played in all but one. He led ISU in 3-point percentage shooting 38.5% and ranked third in the MVC. His 2.7 3s per game was also third in the league. Wagner scored a season- and career-high 31 points at Belmont, making 9 of 18 3-pointers.
Harding, Wagner and second-year ISU head coach Matthew Graves’ Sycamores open the regular season Nov. 3 at Charlotte. The Sycamores’ home opener is Nov. 6 against Illinois Tech. ISU finished with records of 14-18 overall and 8-12 in the MVC last season.
As for the women on that MVC “Watch” list, Claybrooks, Kelsey and Flowers — and all 11 of their ISU teammates — are newcomers to second-year coach Marc Mitchell’s program.
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Mitchell’s ’25-26 squad will try to improve on last season’s records of 4-28 overall and 2-18 in the MVC.
Claybrooks, a 5-6 guard from Memphis, Tenn., transferred to ISU after playing last season at Southeast Missouri State, averaging 9.3 points, 5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in seven games for the Redhawks. In three games against MVC schools last year, she averaged 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals per outing.
Flowers, a 6-2 forward from Willowbrook, Ill., transferred to ISU after spending the 2024-25 season at McLennan Community College. The sophomore averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in her debut season as a collegiate player, while shooting better than 40% from the field for a McLennan team that reached the second round of the NJCAA Division I tournament.
Kelsey, a 5-6 guard from Memphis, Tenn., transferred from Jackson State to ISU after the 2024-25 season. The sophomore guard appeared in all 30 games off the bench for the Tigers last season and averaged 3.6 points, 1.3 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game, despite playing less than 15 minutes per contest. Kelsey shot 35.9% from 3-point range.
The ISU women will open their season Nov. 3 at IU Indy, with the Sycamores’ home opener set for Nov. 11 against Eastern Illinois.
