Playing on the same team with a brother or sister is a special bonding experience that many siblings get to experience while growing up. The memories made at the youth, middle school and high school levels are special ones that can last a lifetime.

Far less often, two siblings get to share the same team at a higher level than that. For Chloe and Channah Gannon, the journey has continued.

Earlier this year, the two sisters wrapped up their first season playing together at the NCAA Division I level at the University of Southern Indiana. Chloe, a rising senior forward/center, has been in Evansville the past three years, while Channah, a rising sophomore forward/center, has been with the Screaming Eagles since this past season.

“It was very fun. We played in high school together for two years and it was kind of just the same like that. Very competitive practices, like we wanted to kill each other, but we love each other,” Chloe said of getting to play with her younger sister this past season. “Definitely that fun, competitive, loving scenario. The girls, they love watching us go against each other because we’ll get mad and we’ll be fine. It’s kind of like a bipolar situation going on, but it was so fun and we loved it and can’t wait for next year.”

The 2025-26 season marked the first time the Gannon sisters had played on the same team in two years, following their overlapping period at Coffee County Central High School where both sisters had decorated careers.

Chloe finished her time in Manchester by averaging 15 points and six rebounds as a senior during the 2022-23 season and 13.6 points and five rebounds per game as a junior the year before. As a senior, she also received Class 4A All-State team recognition, Class 4A Region 3 All-Tournament team honors and was a Class 4A Miss Basketball candidate.

Two years later, Channah went on to finish her senior season with an average of 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game. The younger Gannon also received Class 4A All-State team honors and helped lead Coffee County to back-to-back trips to the TSSAA State Tournament her junior and senior seasons, including an appearance in the 2023-24 state tournament semifinals.

With both sisters now competing at the college level, this familiarity with each other’s game has been integral to helping them both continue to excel.

“I think our biggest thing in high school was knowing where we were gonna be at times. We played the same exact way in high school,” Chloe said. “We played a three-guard, two-post kind of thing and we do the same thing in college, so just the high-low I think was my favorite part. Either I would hit her low or she would hit me low.”

The two sisters’ time playing basketball together began well before they were lighting up Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium every night. As soon as each girl could walk, they had a basketball in their hand.

Chloe and Channah began playing on a team together in Shelbyville when Chloe was in fifth grade. Channah was playing above her age group by this time, competing at the fifth grade and sixth grade level despite being a third-grader.

“I think that was about the first time that we started really playing with each other, other than outside in the driveway,” Chloe said.

Basketball was already a family tradition by the time Chloe and Channah were beginning to learn the sport. Their mother Anita Gannon, the current boys’ basketball coach at Westwood Middle School, had an illustrious career of her own, playing high school basketball at Shelbyville Central before going on to play for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Their mother’s background in basketball played a major role in the girls’ aspirations to follow in her footsteps.

“Mom, she really helped,” Channah said. “Telling all her stories, even showing some clips, really made us want to be like her playing at the collegiate level.”

As they continued to develop their respective games over the years, playing in college like their mother did became more than just a childhood dream. By the time they were each in high school, it had become a real opportunity for both sisters.

During Chloe’s recruitment process, Southern Indiana began to stand out due to the friendly, caring nature of the conversations she had with the coaching staff. Once she made her first visit, she knew this was where she wanted to continue playing.

“The first phone call, that Coach G (assistant coach Randa Gatling) made to me, I could tell she cared for me. She really wanted me to succeed. She wanted me to be there. She was recruiting me but she also said we understand your decision. Then I went on the visit and I fell in love with the campus,” Chloe said. “(Coach Rick Stein), he’s awesome, he’s like a second dad when our dad isn’t around. He’s literally like that figure in our life that you need in college. With him, it’s what you see is what you get. He’s not fake at all like some coaches will be. The culture, the standards that he makes us follow, it works and we’re very successful because of it.”

As Chloe began her college career, Channah was there cheering her on from the sidelines.

“Growing up, I’ve always watched her and wanted to be like her,” Channah said. “But seeing her succeed at the college level and how she loved it up there at USI really impacted me to want to go there and follow her footsteps.”

Channah had no shortage of offers rolling in when her recruitment process began. As a whole, she received 11 NCAA Division I offers, the most for a Coffee County athlete since former Red Raider football player and current NFL cornerback Alontae Taylor.

Of these 11, her top five were UT Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee State, Nebraska, Samford and Southern Indiana. It would be the Screaming Eagles who ultimately secured her college commitment, bringing her to Evansville to join Chloe.

“I really wanted to play with my older sister, but I also wanted to see the kind of offers I would get, but playing with her obviously is amazing,” Channah said. “USI was actually my first offer. After that, I kind of settled in and then I got a few more offers. I went on my visit and I fell in love. It was just home. It had that feeling once you step on campus and you’re like I want to be here the rest of the four years.”

Just as she had her whole life, Chloe quickly became a source of advice for Channah as she began to navigate the world of being a college athlete.

“When she did come to college, I think I helped her adapt to the college level and knowing how we play, knowing what the requirements are, what our standards are,” Chloe said. “Coach Stein is really big on standards, so just teaching her that along with the other freshmen.”

Both on and off the court, Channah added that Chloe helped her make the transition to college more seamless as well.

“She’s shown me time management. Time management when I got to college was hard. It was probably the hardest thing,” Channah said. “She’s shown me, for basketball, just what to do.”

A few weeks into the season, the Gannon sisters’ first time sharing the floor during a game came on Dec. 14. Hosting MTSU, Channah went off for 16 points and one rebound. Chloe added five rebounds and two points in her first game back following knee surgery on the way to Southern Indiana’s 76-59 win over the Blue Raiders.

“I was out there and I saw her (Channah) checking in and I thought the USI world is about to find out what she’s made of,” Chloe said. “16 points in 11 minutes, that was crazy. That’s a crazy debut for her and I was so proud of her.”

Before she quickly found her rhythm, Channah was understandably nervous to be out on the court for the first time. Seeing her older sister was there with her helped keep her composed.

“My nerves were all shook, but I knew Chloe was out there,” Channah said. “I knew she was gonna make it better, she was gonna calm me down, she was gonna talk me through it.”

The MTSU game marked the first of several that the two sisters shared playing time over the remainder of the season. The Screaming Eagles went on to finish the year with a 21-11 record, closing it out with a 61-58 loss to George Washington in the second round of the Women’s NIT on March 23. Now in the offseason, looking back and thinking about how they have been able to share this experience at the collegiate level still feels like a dream.

“There was actually one game in particular, I don’t remember who it was, but I remember sitting on the free throw line getting ready to box out and Channah was standing in front of me and I was thinking are we really playing together right now? It was surreal,” Chloe said. “I was thinking oh my gosh, she’s really here playing. I don’t remember what game that was, but I just remember thinking that.”

Barring any additional eligibility being granted for Chloe, next season will be the two sisters’ last as teammates. No matter how it shakes out, both Chloe and Channah plan to make the most of it and continue enjoying the basketball journey that has taken them this far.

“I would say I’m grateful,” Channah said. “A lot of people don’t get this opportunity, but we do, so we’re not taking it for granted at all.”