Indian Hill's football team will face bigger opponents this fall after the OHSAA bumped the Braves from Division IV to Division III, a jump that follows the program's first-ever state semifinal appearance and a 13-1 season in 2025.
The Braves open the 2026 campaign at Roger Bacon on August 21, and travel to Beechwood on August 28.
Indian Hill went 7-0 in the Cincinnati Hills League last season before falling to Shelby, 42-7, in the Division IV state semifinal on Friday, November 28, 2025, at Sidney Memorial Stadium. It was the program's first trip to the state Final Four.
Head coach John Rodenberg, now in his fifth season at Indian Hill and his 33rd year as a high school head coach, told WCPO on July 24, that the reclassification hasn't changed the team's expectations.
"Our defense last year statistically might have been the best defense I've ever had in my career," Rodenberg said. "It was crazy how good we were."
The numbers back him up. Indian Hill's 2025 defense allowed just 10 points and 161 total yards per game, holding opponents to 3.2 yards per rush and 9.2 yards per pass attempt.
Much of that unit returns. Junior linebackers Topher Wachtel and Joey Jernigan each recorded 83 tackles as first-year starters last season. Rodenberg said both are bigger and stronger heading into 2026. Senior defensive back Dylan Hartman, a Division IV first-team all-state selection, is back, along with senior cornerback Tyler Fitzgerald.
On offense, senior quarterback Devlan Daniel leads the way. Daniel threw for 1,192 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 1,116 yards and 21 more scores in 2025, his first year at the position after moving from running back. He is verbally committed to Mississippi State for baseball and is rated Ohio's No. 1 high school baseball player in the 2027 class by Prep Baseball Report.
Daniel will miss some early-August practice time. He received an invitation to the Perfect Game All-American Classic on August 16, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, according to Indian Hill Braves Athletics. He is the only Ohio athlete on the roster.
Junior tailback Jacob Alexander, who rushed for 674 yards and seven touchdowns last fall, rounds out the backfield. Rodenberg said defenses keying on Daniel could open lanes for Alexander.
Hartman also contributes as a receiver, catching 13 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.
Rodenberg has compiled more than 200 career victories and four state championships in three states, including back-to-back Division I titles at Archbishop Moeller in 2012 and 2013. The August 21 opener at Roger Bacon marks a return to a program he coached earlier in his career.
