Ross Michael McHale has incredible timing.
He came into the world at 8:21 p.m. March 21 at Community Hospital North. At that moment, about 45 miles east at New Castle Fieldhouse, his uncle Luke Ertel was trying to get Mt. Vernon to the state championship for the first time.
“The game was on,” said Ross’ mother and Luke’s oldest sister, Mary Grace Ertel McHale. “It was in the background.”
New grandmother Amy Ertel was in the Community North waiting room watching the game when she was informed Ross announced his arrival into the world. It was right around the same time her youngest son Luke picked up his third foul, which was followed seconds later by his fourth foul.
“A very high stress hour for her,” Mary Grace said with a laugh.
Not to worry. There was high stress that night at New Castle Fieldhouse, where Mt. Vernon lost the entirety of its 14-point lead against New Albany in the 2 minutes, 29 seconds when Ertel was benched with his fourth foul. But at 9:32 p.m., a little more than an hour after his nephew made his arrival, Luke Ertel put the finishing touches on a triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) in Mt. Vernon’s 77-69 state finals-clinching win.
Impeccable timing.
A week later, Ross McHale was there in person to “watch” Ertel lead Mt. Vernon to a 52-50 win over Crown Point in the Class 4A state finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. And he was there Thursday at Mt. Vernon to see his uncle named 2026 IndyStar Mr. Basketball, though he slept through the festivities.
But when it comes time to learn about his uncle’s senior season at Mt. Vernon, Ross will have plenty of people to ask. He can start with his mom, the oldest of five children to Mike and Amy Ertel. Older sisters Mary Grace, Emma and Claire and older brother Michael were among the most invested fans of their youngest sibling, even as they watched from hospital rooms and Hong Kong, where Michael was playing basketball.
They were all there with a front-row seat to watch Luke win the state championship.
“It was God’s plan,” Amy Ertel said. “Just amazing.”
Amazing is a good word to describe Luke’s senior year, though coach Joe Bradburn admitted he was out of adjectives to describe Ertel. The 6-foot-2 Purdue-bound point guard was a landslide winner for Mr. Basketball, earning 207 of the 230 votes from the state’s coaches and media for the top senior award. Crown Point’s Dikembe Shaw was second with six votes and Northridge’s Brady Scholl third with four votes. Plainfield’s Noah Smith and Lawrence North’s Brennan Miller were each named on three ballots.
Ertel is the first Mr. Basketball from Mt. Vernon. He capped his senior year with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the comeback win over Crown Point in the 4A state finals and averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.8 steals for the season.
“It’s just a dream come true,” Ertel said of being Mr. Basketball. “Ever since I was a little kid, I feel like I’ve worked super hard to be in this moment. It just goes back to all the days ever since I was 6 years old and the countless hours put in.”
Those hours include plenty of time working with his father, older brother Michael, a 2017 Indiana All-Star, and his sisters, who were also college athletes. “We were out there hiking the ball for him and rebounding,” said Mary Grace, a star volleyball player who went on to play at the University of Indianapolis.
Michael, who played at Louisiana Monroe and UAB, would pummel Luke on the basketball court growing up. But older brother knew by the time Luke arrived in high school that he would be better prepared than most.
“When he was little, I would just beat him up, pretty much,” Michael said. “It felt like he had no chance. But once he started getting into high school, I had to really play to beat him. Now when we play, it’s like a bloodbath out there. He can beat me now … sometimes. But I thought this was possible ever since he was a little kid. He’s always worked really, really hard and he that special talent, too.”
Luke made a splash as a freshman but suffered a foot injury during his sophomore year of football, which cost him most of his basketball season. That injury ended Luke’s football career. It also showed him, during his time sitting out, that he needed to work even more to take his game to the next level.
That work paid off with a phenomenal junior year for the Marauders. He averaged 22.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists, leading Mt. Vernon to a 21-6 record and regional title. Only a late rally from Jeffersonville, which went on to win the state, kept Mt. Vernon from making a deeper tournament run. The Red Devils beat Mt. Vernon 63-59 in the semistate semifinal.
Bradburn, who coached Ertel his final three seasons at Mt. Vernon, compared him to some of the former Indiana high school basketball greats like Scott Skiles, Damon Bailey and Steve Alford. Skiles hit big shots late in games. Ertel did that, too. Bailey raised the level of his team to win a state championship. Ertel did that, too. Alford was a star who could do it all for his New Castle teams. Ertel certainly was that for Mt. Vernon, too.
“He’s done everything possible to prepare himself for this day,” Bradburn said. “His family support, his work ethic and his dedication and his commitment to everything has been phenomenal … I’m proud that he’s part of our program and he reflects our program and reflects our community.”
Ertel, who broke the record for the Junior All-Stars against the Indiana All-Stars with a 36-point game in a win over the seniors last June, will now wear the No. 1 jersey for the Indiana All-Stars this June as Mr. Basketball.
For all of Ertel’s last-second heroics and clutch moments throughout his career, there was little drama in the Mr. Basketball unveiling. Bradburn tried. He told Ertel he needed to see him to talk about ring sizes for the state championship.
“He didn’t do a great job acting,” Ertel said.
No need to hide it anymore. To high school basketball fans, this comes as no surprise: Luke Ertel is Mr. Basketball. Even his nephew could tell you that.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Mt. Vernon’s Luke Ertel is 2026 Indiana Mr. Basketball; Northridge’s Scholl 3rd
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / South Bend Tribune
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