Luke Ertel Joins Growing List of Boilers to Win Indiana's Mr. Basketball Award
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Another Boilermaker holds the title of Indiana Mr. Basketball.
Thursday, Mt. Vernon star and 2026 Purdue signee Luke Ertel was named the recipient of the Indiana Mr. Basketball award for the 2025-26 high school season. It is the second major honor the future Boiler has received, also being named the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year.
Ertel is now the 14th Purdue commit to receive the prestigious honor. The last Boilermaker to win it was Braden Smith, who was named Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2022 following his senior campaign at Westfield.
In 2021, Blackhawk Christian's Caleb Furst was also named Indiana Mr. Basketball. Both Smith and Furst were members of Purdue's 2023-24 squad that won the Big Ten championship and reached the National Championship Game.
"It's just a dream come true. Ever since I was a little kid, I feel like I've worked super hard to be in this moment," Ertel said in a video posted on social media. "It just goes back to all the days, ever since I was six years old, countless hours being put in ... It's awesome to have this moment."
Ertel concluded his career at Mt. Vernon with an impressive senior season. He averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He led the Marauders to a 28-3 record and a Class 4A state championship, the first in program history.
The future Purdue guard also won the three-point contest at the State Farm Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships on Friday, April 3, the night before the start of the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Purdue's list of Indiana Mr. Basketball winners
The Indiana Mr. Basketball award has been presented every year since 1939. Purdue has had the second-most winners with 13. The Boilers trail only IU, with 29 players committing to play for the Hoosiers.
Here's the complete list of Indiana Mr. Basketball winners who played college basketball at Purdue:
- 2026 — Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon
- 2022 — Braden Smith, Westfield
- 2021 — Caleb Furst, Blackhawk Christian
- 2015 — Caleb Swanigan, Homestead
- 1991 — Glenn Robinson, Gary Roosevelt
- 1988 — Woody Austin, Richmond
- 1984 — Troy Lewis, Anderson
- 1981 — Dan Palombizio, Michigan City Rogers
- 1975 — Kyle Macy, Peru
- 1966 — Rick Mount, Lebanon
- 1965 — Billy Keller, Indianapolis Washington
- 1964 — Dennis Brady, Lafayette Jefferson
- 1955 — Wilson Eison, Gary Roosevelt
- 1952 — Joe Sexson, Indianapolis Tech
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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