LONDON — Tod Windlan takes over as new coach of the South Laurel Lady Cardinal basketball program, and once again, they appear to be one of the top-ranked teams in the 13th Region.
Windlan takes over for former coach Chris Souder, who stepped down as the Lady Cardinal coach during the offseason to return to coach at Mercer County.
Windlan has a solid resume, and is set to lead South Laurel to lots of success this season.
He is a native of Anderson, Indiana with 20 years of head coaching experience (including 18 seasons as a girls’ head coach) and tremendous success at several schools in the state. He has an overall record of 250-160 for an overall .610 winning percentage.
Windlan’s teams have won numerous sectional, regional, and semi-state championships. His 2013 team was the class 3A state runners-up at Hamilton Heights, and Coach Windlan was named the ICGSA Class 3A Coach of the Year. His teams at Carmel High School won three consecutive sectional championships from 2016-2018.
Twenty-nine players under Windlan have gone on to play collegiately in the Big Ten, Big East, ACC, MAC, Missouri Valley, and Big 12 conferences among others.
He coached 2018 Indiana Miss Basketball Amy Dilk and Indiana All-Star team members Dakota Weatherford in 2013 and Tomi Taiwo in 2018. Windlan also coached more recent Indiana All-Star team members Jasmine McWilliams (2020), Bridget Dunn (2021), and Kate Clarke (2022).
With that said, Windlan admitted his team has responded well heading into the season.
They have responded very well and are working hard,” he said. “Putting in a new system takes time, and we are slowly getting there. I’m settled in and ready to go.
I actually got hired late and did not have a summer with them,” he added. “I think by the end of the year we will be a good competitive team.”
The Lady Cardinals return a solid nucleus of talent that posted a 20-14 record. They fell to Corbin in the 50th District finals while dropping a 48-27 decision to North Laurel in the 13th Region Tournament’s semifinals.
Starters Maci Messer, Skeeter Mabe, Jaime Buenaventura, and Aubrey Bundy return to the mix along with a solid nucleus of even more talent.
“Maci Messer is an all-around player, who I expect to take a leadership role and expand her game to reach the next level,” Windlan said. “Skeeter Mabe has great court vision, creates match up issues and has worked very hard on her conditioning. She can be a difference maker for us.
Jaime Buenaventura is our only senior, and I expect strong leadership from her and a more expanded role on offense as she is a very good shooter,” he added. Aubrey Bundy is a tough hard-nosed player who we expect to lead us by example. She has worked hard to develop her shot and all-around offensive game. The other starting spot is up for grabs and players competing for that are Emma Adams, Callie Jones, Shelby Smith, Kenna Andes and Ryleigh Bretz.
“While we bring back four starters, we are very young — one senior, one junior, three sophomores, five eighth graders and one seventh grader,” Windlan continued. “I think with the young team learning a completely new system we will start slow but be very competitive come District and Region.”
Windlan also mentioned that Callie Jones , Emma Adams, Shelby Smith, Kenna Andes and Ryleigh Bretz could all play major minutes for Aouth Laurel.
“Performance in practices and games will separate who earns the playing time,” he said.
Windlan likes his team’s strengths, noting that his players are “used to winning.”
“We have numerous players who can score, and most have played in some big tournament games,” he said.
He also has some concerns — “new system, very young team, so we will have some peaks and valleys,” he admitted. “How we respond to both will go a long way towards our success.
He also stated his team needs to remain injury-free, accept their roles and responsibilities, while continuing to practice hard and compete for playing time.”
The Lady Cardinals face another rough slate of games which Windlan feels will prepare them for their upcoming district battles.
“We play a very difficult schedule, and I prefer it that way,” he said. “It will prepare us and challenge us.
“I think we are at the top of our district with Corbin based on returning players,” Windlan added. “But being new to the area that is a hard question for me to honestly answer. I feel we have the tools to make a run at the Region championship, North Laurel and Knox Central on paper, may be the favorites? I like my team, they will compete hard and once they learn the system they will be a sound team.”
