11/27/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Cahokia Conference largest division known as the Mississippi has been won for the last four consecutive seasons by Breese Central.

The Cougars have more than dominated this conference since it went to divisions in 2006-07.

The program has won 12 outright championships and shared three others during that stretch.

If they're going to repeat Coach Jeremy Shubert must replace a senior group that were part of three consecutive sectional championship game appearances.

Columbia looks to be the biggest challenger to the Cougars.

The Eagles have what appears to be a top-shelf club coming into the season for head coach Mark Sandstrom and they have a couple of key transfers into the program that could give this coach his best squad since he came back to the bench three seasons ago.

Freeburg has a new head coach with Dakota Street taking over the Midgets' program with a bunch to do for a school whose enrollment puts them in the 3A postseason tournament.

East Alton-Wood River also has a new mentor with Eric Dewerff at the helm and some key players to replace from graduation from a club that managed just four victories last winter.

Roxana, who has had a pretty good run on the football field, has some athletes returning for Coach Mark Briggs on the basketball court as last season the Shells parlayed the football playoff run into nearly 20-wins in hoops.

Salem and head coach Pete Colclasure lost five seniors in the spring and the Wildcats will need to get better in a hurry in this much improved conference.

The Illinois Division was won by Wesclin last winter but head coach Brent Brede lost his top scorer and some others from graduation from a regional titlist.

The Warriors have won two of the three Illinois titles since the league went to a trio of leagues in 2021-22.

Red Bud should be a tough challenge to Wesclin this winter with Coach Dane Walter having a three-year starter returning for his fourth season and some new ones to build around.

Seven isn't a lucky number heading into the season for Sparta head coach Jordan Beckley as that is the number of seniors lost from last winter.

Carlyle mentor Maverick Taylor has all five starters back as they look to challenge for this division crown.

Wesclin, Red Bud, Carlyle and Sparta all went over 20-wins for 2023-24, which showed the strength of the league.

Chester and Coach Chris Toledo played the top four in the league tough last season without much success for the win column but the Yellow Jackets have the athletes to compete in 2024-25.

Okawville, the only program in the division that is 1A, will need to improve when you look at their usual brutal conference and non-conference slate of games for Coach Ryan Heck.

Steeleville has won the past five Kaskaskia Division titles for head coach Aaron Fiene and the Warriors successful run includes a fourth place finish in the finals at the 1A state finals in Champaign back in 2021-22.

New Athens head coach Conrad Widdersheim finished just a game back of Steeleville last winter and these Yellow Jackets, despite some pieces missing from last year, look to be the top gun to take down the defending champs.

Coach Jon Wuelling at Valmeyer is another of the coaches that have pieced together competitive teams at the 1A level.

The Pirates have enough coming back to make things interesting in the Kaskaskia.

Marissa/Coulterville and head coach Matt Reuss finished in fourth place in the league but ended up at .500 for the season, his first at the school.

Lebanon has a new coach in place (Ayinde Bennett) with work to do as the rebuilding continues.

If only the administration and founders of Breese Central High School, back when it went from Aviston to the building they have now, would have had the foresight to have built a larger and higher seating capacity gym?

Perhaps instead of having to travel to take on great teams on their home floor, the Cougars could have hosted a few of these sectionals.

Case in point the last three seasons.

Coach Jeremy Shubert's crew had to go on the road and they fell in the last three sectional championship games.

The last two they lost to the host school on their home court, dropping contests to Pinckneyville and Benton by close margins.

The Panthers and Rangers moved on and Breese Central went home.

An argument could be made that the Cougars win those two contests on a neutral floor and certainly had they been able to host.

Nevertheless, Coach Shubert and company will march on.

The Cougars football program, of which most of the players on the basketball squad participated in, advanced into the third round before losing in the playoffs.

So it was a late start for the hoop squad to begin the 2024-25 preseason practices.

The first order of business is replacing the guys wearing eight of the varsity jersey's from last season's 32-3 club that dropped a heartbreaking 34-32 decision to Benton in front of a sellout crowd at Rich Herrin Gymnasium.

Coach Shubert lost two key seniors; his son Mason Shubert and Zane Schrage to graduation. Each were first team all-south ABV.

Also gone are seniors Colton Arnold, Austin Thole, Brayden Hegger, Jake Robke, Nick Helmink and Dawson Kuper.

All eight were important, all will be missed heading into the new season.

Six-four senior forward Griffen Becker and 5-10 senior guard Kaden Rakers are returning starters for Coach Shubert with each bringing stats to the table from 2023-24.

Becker averaged five points and four rebounds for Breese Central with Rakers pitching in eight points a game.

Breese Central have some letter-winners from last winter and some others moving up the ladder.

Easton Becker, a 5-10 senior guard, was one of the JV kids from a year ago as were 6-2 senior Preston Baker and 6-4 senior Karson Korte.

Baker has made a name for himself on the football field as has Rakers as they were part of an 11-1 playoff team.

Central will have some others who will look for playing time and they should have opportunities early.

Six-two juniors Jackson Kampwerth and Bryce Weiter were listed by Coach Shubert along with 6-3 senior Anthony Huegen and 6-4 sophomore Bennett Becker.

In the short history of the basketball program at Central, the teams have amassed over 1,000-victories.

“We will have a lot of new faces this year. After graduating eight of our top 12 players and only two guys with varsity experience, our group will most likely go through a learning curve early in the season. We will have another strong senior class in terms of numbers and a junior class who will be looked upon to contribute. Kaden Rakers and Griffen Becker are our two returners with significant varsity minutes and will be looked upon to lead our team,” said Coach Shubert, who enters his 12th season as head coach at Central with a sparkling 255-88 won/loss record.

It was 2017-18 where Coach Mark Sandstrom's club won a 3A regional title and you have to go all the way back to 2000-01 to find the program's only sectional championship.

The program has produced many regular season victories but success in the state tournament has, generally speaking, been absent.

This could be the season that Columbia takes the next step and gets all the way to the state tournament.

The last three seasons the Eagles have gone 75-23 but they zero regional championships to show for it.

With the returning players this winter coming off a loss to Wesclin in the regional final at Columbia, and the graduation of key players from other teams in the division, the Eagles wear the favorites' bullseye in 2024-25.

Coach Sandstrom is in his second stint as head coach at Columbia and he should be very happy heading into the campaign with all five of his starters returning plus a couple of kids who transferred into the program with credentials.

Four-year starter 6-8 senior forward Sam Donald returns for the Eagles after a splendid junior campaign that warranted an ABV 2A first team all-south selection.

Donald will continue playing at the division one level at Bellarmine University and last year's numbers speak for themselves as he averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists per contest.

Brody Landgraf, a 6-5 junior, has also been around on the Columbia varsity as this will be his third year as a starter for Coach Sandstrom.

Landgraf added 11 points and six rebounds per game last season.

Five-eleven senior Hayes van Breusegen, is also a four-year varsity player and was seven points per game productive as a junior.

Another senior guard, 5-11 Micah James, added 7.4 points from the backcourt while four-year varsity player; 5-11 senio Logan Bosch, returns.

Coach Sandstrom added the names of senior contributors 6-4 forward Brady Hemminghaus, 6-0 guard Logan Hicks, 5-11 guard Andrew Colyer and 5-10 senior Charlie Steckler.

Then there were two transfers into the program.

Six-five junior Eddie Smajic comes to the system from across the river at St. Louis (MO.) Vianney where last season he notched 17.3 points a game for the Golden Griffins.

Vianny went 25-7 on the season and finished third in the state Class 5 tournament.

Columbia got another player move in to the district.

Five-eleven senior River Randall comes in from Dade City (FL.) as his father (Lance Randall) is a former head coach at Lindenwood University in St. Louis and is currently an assistant coach for the men's program at the University of Wisconsin.

If that wasn't enough Coach Sandstrom mentioned some juniors who could help; 5-11 guard Kyle Chudd, 5-10 guard Elliot Nelson, 5-10 guard Jase Nelson and 6-1 forward Austin Jung.

“We are really looking forward to the upcoming season. Our guys believe they have the chance to represent the South in the state tournament in March. Obviously the south is loaded with good teams and the route is difficult, but we believe our senior leadership, roster depth, and challenging schedule will have us prepared,” said Coach Sandstrom, who is 327-196 in his 17 seasons at Columbia.

For the third season in a row the Freeburg Midgets will have a different head coach.

After the departure two years ago of long-time head coach Matt Laur, top assistant Jason Hendrix stepped in to lead the Midgets.

Coach Hendrix club ended up 18-15 overall and third in the league at 5-5.

Enter the next head coach Dakota Street.

The Eldorado, Illinois native and Waterloo business man with coaching pedigree takes over the Freeburg program that didn't last too long in the 3A state tournament last winter.

The Midgets beat Cahokia but then lost to Mascoutah, 66-44 at home in the regional semifinals.

Four important players left via graduation, including scoring guard Cole Stuart.

Bryson Browning, Kaleb Johnston and Michael Cooper were the others missing this season.

Coach Street, who led the Waterloo Gibault girl's team last season, has some kids to work with this season at Freeburg.

The Midgets will need to have the seniors returning to stand tall against a pretty brutal schedule of games.

Six-four senior Matt Pluff and 6-foot senior Jase Brentlinger are returning starters.

Coach Street is looking for two other seniors to contribute.

Robert Fritz, a 6-3 forward and 6-2 guard Joey Pruett.

Six-ten junior center Oren Byman has high expectations along with 6-1 sophomore Brady Kerr.

Other juniors looking for minutes are 5-11 Alex Fritz and 5-9 Ashtin Hauser.

Five-eleven sophomore Dathan Krauss, 6-3 sophomore Danny Smith, 6-5 sophomore Austin Klees, and 5-9 Gentry Brentlinger should be able to fill in spots and minutes.

Two freshmen were listed by Coach Street.

Five-eight Joe Carmack, who was also a quarterback for the football team this past fall, along with 6-4 Barret Schulz.

“We have a wide variety of talent on this team with having kids from every grade being able to contribute. The future could be very bright for our program,” said Coach Street. “This is my first season at the program and we will be looking to build off the historical success of this program. We will rely heavily on our seniors, especially Matt Pluff, who we are expecting to have a breakout year! Don't be surprised if you see us having three or four underclassmen in the game at one time. The five hardest working players will find their way on the floor for us and we will be battle tested come postseason time.”

The lost seniors are Brenan Lux, Conner Tennyson, Jairen Stroud, Gavin Zimmermann and Sam Greene.

Coach Pete Colclasure enters his fourth season leading the Wildcats' program and he would love to see some improvement.

Six-four senior Noah Nix was a starter returning from 2023-24.

MiKing Ettress, a 5-10 senior, is also back after playing a key role both starting and coming off of the bench.

Six-five senior Ayden Rose earned a letter last winter as did Ryegan Warren, a 6-1 junior.

The sophomore class for Coach Colclasure features 6-2 Kaeden Bevolo as well as 6-3 twin brothers Avery and Payton Gullion.

“We will be a combination of old and young relying on our junior and senior classes along with a handful of sophomores who have shown potential to have an impact. We will rely heavily on the play of our two bigs, Nix and Rose mixing in perimeter play from our guards. Warren looks to make the turn and have an impact for us as an athletic scoring wing along with other perimeter players in Kaeden Bevolo, MiKing Ettress, and a few others,” said Coach Colclasure. “This group has shown they can compete but must stay disciplined into playing to their training and transferring what they know into game play. I look forward to coaching this group with their size and athleticism.”

“Our senior class last year was one of the best I’ve had the privilege of coaching in my 25 years with the program. They were a group of hardworking, dedicated young men who set a high standard, and replacing them won’t be easy,” said Briggs.

Seniors missing are Aiden Briggs, Evan Wells, Chris Walleck, Jackson Garman, Donavan Herrin, Michael Silas and Cade Smay.

Briggs, the coaches' son, and Walleck, were the top two scorers for the 19-13 Shells who managed a 4-6 mark in the Mississippi Division before bowing out of the postseason 48-43 in the Roxana 2A Regional championship game to rival Alton Marquette.

Two starters return for Roxana; 6-3 junior Sean Maberry and5-6 junior Trenton Hollaway, were capable scorers last year as sophomores.

Six-four sophomore Cohen Dugan and 5-9 junior Keelan Crawford will be in the running for a starting slot along with seniors Jake Newton and Noah McVey.

Aider Stemm, a 6-foot sophomore and 5-9 junior Jackson Bohenkamp are on the list as the Shells prepare for their own Thanksgiving event called “Hoopsgiving.”

“We’re excited to return two key seniors and a group of motivated players eager to make their mark. We had a tremendous summer on and off the court, with strong commitment in the weight room. If we stay healthy and our team chemistry develops as expected, we’ll be a very competitive squad this season,” said Coach Briggs.

It wasn't a pleasant journey for the East Alton-Wood River Oilers' basketball team in 2023-24.

Then head coach Kevin Gockel and his team suffered through a 4-28 season, 0-10 in the division and a quick departure from the Roxana 2A Regional with a loss to Piasa Southwestern, 47-46.

Devon Green, Malik Spiller and Kiyu Stilts were seniors for EAWR a year ago who are gone.

The four wins came against Maryville Christian, Gillespie, Dupo and Mt. Olive.

Those four programs were a combined 15-101 last winter.

New head coach Eric DeWerff takes over the program that needs a boost.

DeWerff listed eight kids he is hoping to work with to get some things accomplished in 2024-25.

Four of them are seniors.

Five-ten guard Austin Bock, 6-1 forward Harrison Smith, 6-2 forward Malikye Carter and 6-2 forward Matt Bruce were on the list.

The junior class will have 5-10 guard Alex Johnson, 6-foot guard La’twon Everage and 6-foot guard Tamarion Marshal.

One sophomore was mentioned; 6-foot guard Jordyn Spiller.

Junior William Carman will also see some playing time early along with sophomore Jace Burns and a freshman Westin Hatch.

“The kids are hard working with a willingness to listen and get better,” said Coach DeWerff.

11/28/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Head coach Maverick Taylor is eager to get going this season with reason.

The entire starting five from last season returns, which is reason enough to smile.

The Carlyle Indians were 22-11 overall a year ago and this coach believes the goals set for this club are attainable, with their sights set on postseason hardware.

“We raised the bar last year where we thought we could be. I think this year is another year where we need to continue to raise the bar and make a run in the post season. Last year we went through a low point after the mid-winter. We want to make a mark this year and be playing basketball in March,” said Coach Taylor.

Matthew Guthrie, a 6-7 senior forward, averaged 14.1 points a game as a junior to go with just over eight rebounds a night.

Six-three senior Hayden Huels also is back after averaging 11.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Jacob Ruscher, a 6-foot senior, also returns with 6-4 senior Rhettick Steinkamp and 6-5 senior Hunter Taylor.

All three averaged near seven points a game last season for Coach Taylor.

This coach emphasizes needing a strong bench and he is counting on his reserves sophomore Gannon Meyer, junior Brady Gustafson, junior Zack Persing and senior Ethan Goodin.

The bump up to 2A last season didn't help but they made it to the Breese Central 2A Regional semifinals last February before losing a close game to Pinckneyville and the postseason is on the to-do list for this coach and team.

“If we want to be better down the stretch our depth will have to contribute,” said Coach Taylor. “Guthrie and Huels will be knocking on the door of 1,000-points. Matthew (injury free) should go down as a top 3-5 scorer in school history. All these guys would put aside all that for a 2A regional to their name.”

Graduation took most of the starters and minutes from the Red Bud Musketeers from last season's 20-13, 5-5 club and Coach Dane Walter knows he will need the new ones to be ready to deal with a tough conference and overall schedule.

Red Bud lost seniors Owen Liefer, Sam Easter, Trace Wagner, Chase Lucht, Austin Krebs and Isaac Moll to graduations.

Which means besides returning starter Trent Sternberg, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth leading scorers are missing from the squad that lost to eventual regional champion Wesclin at the Columbia regional in the semifinals.

“We have some hardworking individuals who are looking to leave their mark. We will see if experience plays a part or not,” said Coach Walter.

Sternberg will open the season as a fourth-year starter for the Musketeers.

The 5-11 guard led the balanced attack last season with 13.9 points a night.

Lee Major, a 6-foot senior, is back after playing mostly junior varsity a year ago.

Six-two senior Nathan Caito was also part of the JV in 2023-24.

Chase Grohmann, a 5-8 junior, is looking at more minutes as will 6-5 junior Greyson Herriman.

Luke Quintin, a 5-6 junior, is also among the players that Coach Walter mentioned who will be moving up.

Sophomores will also be need to fill in.

Five-eleven Cooper Despain, 5-9 Landon Ruebusch, 5-10 Brayden Schlesinger and 6-2 Landon Kilpatrick.

“We will be young and with limited experience but I expect us to compete each night. We will rely on our seniors to lead us. The last few groups have built the foundation and set the expectations for Red Bud basketball. It is on this group to continue that,” said Coach Walter.

Wesclin lost a bunch to graduation, including top scorer and ABV first team all-south pick Seth Macke along with classmates Luke Tasker and Harrison Rakers.

The Warriors took out Columbia to win the 2A Regional before being drilled on the road at Benton by the host Rangers at the Benton Sectional.

Macke averaged 18.0 points and 5.3 rebounds last season.

Rakers added 6.1 points a game, Tasker tossed in 5.6 p.p.g.

All will be missed.

The good news is that there are some talented players coming back wearing Orange and Black.

The backcourt combo of Gavin Rahm and Chandler Mueller is solid.

Rahm, a 6-3 sophomore, had a splendid freshman campaign, scoring 10.8 points a game and helping out on the glass with six boards a contest.

Mueller, a 6-1 senior, notched 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing as a junior.

“We lost senior leadership and toughness from a 29-win team that won the Columbia regional last season,” said Coach Brede. “We will replace those players with a host of mainly sophomores.”

Senior Owen Szpila played in 16-games as a junior and he will have opportunities to move into the starting lineup as will the sophomore class.

Six-three sophomore Bryce Haar and 5-9 sophomore JJ Zurliene are on the list for Coach Brede as are 6-2 sophomore Eli Wellen and 6-foot Kaden Tobin.

The Warriors host a tough Thanksgiving tournament so this coach will know a lot more about his team by December 1.

One of the things that won't hold back the Chester Yellow Jackets' basketball team is a lack of athletes.

The football program has proven that over the past few seasons and Coach Chris Toledo hopes that these same kids find the right stuff to make a big move on the basketball floor in 2024-25.

Although four seniors departed (Korbin Jany, Shea Menefee, Gabe Steele and Lucas Thompson) the Yellow Jackets look to challenge for the top spot in the Illinois Division.

Four of the returning players from last winter's 13-18, 3-7 team were starters from the team that dropped its final five games, including a first round regional defeat to Belleville Althoff at the Columbia Regional.

All four are senior veterans of the hardwood wars.

Six-five forward Brendan Malley returns as will 5-9 guard Cayden Brunkhorst.

Devante Palacio, a 6-3 forward, a 5-11 guard Kolton Jany will have to switch into basketball mode after playing on the 9-2 playoff football.

Coach Toledo, who played at Chester, has some new ones who will fill roles.

Six-five senior Evan Dunning, 5-10 senior Jack Heffernan, 6-3 junior Gabe Coffman and 6-foot sophomore TaShawn Palacio will likely see early season action as this coach will try to make all the parts work together.

“We are excited for this team. We have four returning starters and Devante has started since his freshman year, Kolton since his sophomore year so we have experience,” said Coach Toledo. “We anticipate to get a lot of time out of Dunning, Peters and Palacio and could get quality minutes out of Jack Heffernan and Gabe Coffman.

With six seniors missing from last season's roster, Sparta head coach Jordan Beckley will have some preseason work to do heading into 2024-25.

James Pillers, Zach Bodeker, Jack Loesing, Darnell Smith, Chrisean Charleston, and Marcell Spivey were seniors on the club last winter.

The Bulldogs were 21-11 overall, 7-3 in the Illinois Division, and were on a seven-game winning streak before losing at Nashville in the regular season finale and then to Red Bud to open the Columbia Regional which closed the book on the season.

But a pair of starters are back and Coach Beckley looks to build upon the most recent momentum into 2024-25.

Six-one senior Damian Lanton and 6-foot sophomore Dariontez Monroe return.

Monroe was the top Sparta scorer and Lanton was second on the scoring list as they combined for 22-points a game last winter.

The rest of the starters and reserves will come from mostly unproven underclassmen.

Seniors 6-4 Jake Wesbecher and 5-9 Quintin Littlepage are the upperclassmen returning.

Two juniors; 5-9 Grant Allard and 6-0 DeQuan Woods along with sophomores 6-0 Tyrell Charles, 5-9 Eian Wallace and freshmen 5-9 DJ Hayes and 5-9 Camden Allard are part of the game plan.

The Bulldogs put together consecutive 20-win seasons in the last two years for the first time since 1968-69 and 1969-70.

“We will miss the leadership of last year’s seniors and it could take some time to adjust to new roles vacated by those guys. We’ll be undersized, especially compared to other teams in our conference, but we’ve been able to offset that the last couple years with our style of play so we hope to be able to continue to offset that deficiency to the best of our ability,” said Coach Beckley.

Jumping from an independent into a conference a few seasons ago the Okawville Rockets have yet to be much of a factor in the Cahokia Conference Illinois Division.

Coach Ryan Heck has his kids playing hard but wins have been difficult to find.

Last winter the Rockets played some teams tough but couldn't quite finish many of the jobs on the resume (schedule).

Being the only 1A school in a six-team division, Okawville finished last at 0-10 in the league and just 11-23 overall.

They managed to get to a regional championship game at Woodlawn last February where the Spartans ended the Rockets' season.

It was the second consecutive regional title game appearance without a victory.

This season the Rockets will again turn to 6-9 senior Aidan Anderson, who was an ABV first team all-south selection as a junior.

Anderson averaged a double-double with 16.3 points and 12.3 rebounds a game for Okawville last season and is a few points shy of 1,000-points for his career heading into 2024-25.

“Much like last year, we will be built around the big guy. Anderson has bulked up, he's moving well and has expanded his game a bit. We expect another strong year from him. Having a 6-9 anchor on the defense will allow us to be more aggressive defensively,” said Coach Heck.

Six-one junior Landen Shubert and 5-10 junior Ryker Obermeier return as starters from last year as does 6-foot sophomore Braylen Turner.

There will be competition for the fifth starting spot according to Coach Heck.

Six-two senior Calvin Maynard and 6-1 senior John Schaller are the top suitors.

The rest of the rotation for Okawville will be kids with limited experience.

Five-eleven senior Reid Hemann, 5-9 senior Parker Weise, 6-0 sophomore Zayden Cepeda, 5-7 sophomore Kaden Buehler and 6-6 freshman Ayden Foley.

“In order for us to take the leap I hope we are able to take, the guard play will have to improve and it will. We threw our young guards to the wolves last year. We hope to reap the rewards from that experience this season. We will have two point guards on the floor in Obermeier and Turner. Turner was fearless as a freshmen, but made some freshmen mistakes just because of size. He has grown, he has gotten stronger and he will have a nice year for us. Obermeier has had a good summer and seen his confidence grow. We are looking for him to make a much bigger impact,” said Coach Heck. “Shubert was our second leading scorer, he's another kid who has gotten stronger and is very athletic attacking the basket. Either Schaller or Maynard will take the front court spot next to Anderson. Both are capable shooters, have a little varsity experience, and are very willing to play their role.”

11/28/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Head coach Aaron Fiene has carved out quite a spot in the history of the Steeleville Warriors' basketball program in the few seasons he has been in charge.

His 2021-22 team made it all the way to the state finals, bringing back the fourth place trophy and lasting memories for everyone involved in the program.

In the Kaskaskia Division of the Cahokia Conference the Warriors have won the last four championships outright and have won or shared eight of the last nine.

Last season Steeleville went 9-1 in the league and 17-15 overall, dropping a 47-39 decision to conference rival New Athens at the Trico 1A Regional semifinals.

Coach Fiene's son Noah was the only senior on the roster a season ago and will be missed but the rest of the crew returns, including the top scorer and ABV first team all-south player Canon Ruby.

Ruby, according to Coach Fiene, will get to 1,000-points early in the season and is the leader of what appears to be a deep team that hopes to be a postseason factory in 2024-25.

Four other returning players started at least a few games a season ago.

Hayden Sternberg, a 6-3 senior, returns to the lineup for the Warriors along with classmates 6-1 Tyler Ingles and 6-1 Cale Newby.

Six-one junior Nate Witthoft also has varsity experience.

Another junior, 6-3 Conor Brown, will see the floor as a likely starter.

But the key to the season could be the reserve unit and how many good minutes that Coach Fiene can get out of them.

“All these guys are pretty good and will see varsity play. We will be deep,” said Coach Fiene

Five-nine junior Parker Fiene, 5-10 junior Mason Hill, 5-10 junior Colin Vallett, 6-2 junior Logan Bockhorn, 6-foot senior Trent Ingles and 5-7 junior Carson Rednour will be called upon to fill minutes during the pretty tough schedule.

“We will be very athletic and deep. This is a very experienced group that will work very hard. I think this will be the best defensive and rebounding team we have had in many years. We will play very fast and look to dictate the speed of the game,” said Coach Fiene, who is 134-80 heading into his eighth season at Steeleville.

The New Athens Yellow Jackets were on the threshold of something special last season as head coach Conrad Widdersheim guided his squad to a regional championship game last February.

New Athens ran into defending state champs Waterloo Gibault at the Trico Regional, falling to the Hawks, 53-45 to end the season 15-17 overall, 8-2 in the Kaskaskia.

The seniors missing from last winter were important to the late season success.

Jack Alfeldt, Ethan Range and Brandon Schatte are gone.

Range was second for New Athens in scoring with just over 10 points a game while Schatte (5.3 p.p.g.) and Alfeldt (2.8 p.p.g.) were contributors.

Two seasons ago New Athens graduated the school's all-time leading scorer (Gannon Birkner) but his mark could be in jeopardy by the end of the 2024-25 season.

Isaiah Lintker, a 6-1 senior who averaged 18-points a game as a junior, is within striking range of the record as he enters the season with 1,144-points.

The Birkner total is 1,660, which could be reached with a good campaign.

Another returning starter is 6-5 senior Tommy Dutkanych, who chipped in 5.2 p.p.g

Coach Widdersheim mentioned a couple of juniors; Will Mulholland and Cam Taylor.

Mulholland is a 5-9 guard while Taylor is a 5-10 backcourt player as they both played in a bunch of varsity games last winter off the bench for the Yellow Jackets.

Six-three junior Brady Middendorf and 5-8 junior Carson Lauer will be in the rotation along with others who hope to be involved in important minutes.

Landon Shemonia, a 6-3 senior, 5-10 junior Cole Dachsteiner and 6-3 sophomore Sawyer Sullivan are newcomers Coach Widdersheim will depend on.

Five-ten senior Gavin Gallagher and 6-1 junior Lane Kimbrell are two others with a chance for playing time for a squad that looks to dethrone Steeleville and perhaps reach another regional championship game.

The Yellow Jackets lost both regular season games against the Warriors but got the best of them in the regional semifinals.

“We will be led by Isaiah Lintker, who has been playing varsity since his freshman year. However, I think our strength will be our depth this year. I believe we can go 9 or 10 players deep with multiple boys having the ability to have big games,” said Coach Widdersheim. “The boys played their best ball at the end of the season last year, culminating with a hard-fought loss against Gibault in the regional final. We are all looking forward to building off of that postseason run and competing in both the conference and the postseason again this year.”

Despite losing some seniors to graduation last spring, head coach Matt Reuss enters his second season as head coach at Marissa/Coulterville with a senior led group with a mix of youngsters who this coach thinks could be ready for some big things in 2024-25.

The Meteors finished fourth in the Kaskaskia Division last season with a 4-6 league mark to go with a 15-15 overall record.

M/C lost to host Trico at the 1A Regional which ended the season.
Chrisean Charleston, Tanner Middendorf and Carter Trieb were seniors from last season who are gone but the ones coming back have potential.

Ryne Rhodes, a 6-2 senior, returns for Coach Reuss.

Five-ten senior Brock Portz, 5-11 senior Landen Perry, 6-1 senior Hayden Steinwagner and 5-10 senior Jack Stewart have experience.

“Brock, Ryne and Hayden will be our scoring core again. They need to be team leaders in stats and beyond to help push us above .500 this year,” said Coach Reuss.

Coach Reuss also mentioned Tyler Chandler, a 5-10 sophomore, with other seniors 5-8 Carter Daugherty, 5-8 Fred Klingeman, 6-5 Evan Ranck and 5-11 Landen Sabo.

Five-eight Garrett Bailey is also on the list.

Promising freshmen 6-foot Kaiden Stewart and 5-7 Ky Portz also have a shot at getting minutes.

“The two freshman I expect to dress varsity and see time,” said Coach Reuss. “They bring some shooting and ball handling. Portz has the athleticism to overcome his lack of size. I expect Chandler, Ranck, and Perry to have more varsity time.”

Marissa/Coulterville won the Zeigler-Royalton Mid-Winter Classic but then closed the season by losing seven of its final nine games.

“Our young players need to be ready to contribute when their number is called. We will need to lighten some of the minutes load that relatively few players carried last year. We lost two seniors both of which started many games for us and played their part on the team. Neither of those seniors lit up the stat-book but both of them were important to our defensive system and played key parts in our roster last year. We will need people to fill those roles,” said Coach Reuss.

The Lebanon Greyhounds went from a 2-25 season in 2022-23 to a more respectable 8-22 finish last winter.

They once again have a new head coach as Ayinde Bennett takes over the program and immediately he must replace the leader in scoring from a year ago.

Senior Drew Horn led the team with 16.0 per game and he has graduated along with another senior, Robert Zimmerman.

Junior point guard DeVaughn Ware was a starter as a sophomore a year ago for the Greyhounds and he returns.

Kyle Noud and Deion Washington are sophomores who will also step into minutes this season for Coach Bennett.

Two senior holdovers; Nicholas Burger and Kaegen Strang, are also suiting up and the junior group consists of Aidan Ellis, Amare Ellis, Blake Goetter, and Leon Johnson.

Joseph Corbitt, Dylan Grimm, and Kaiden Wheeler are the other sophomores looking for varsity minutes.

Two freshman; Alyjah McAllister and Bricyn Young, could also end up with important minutes before the season is finished.

“We are still in rebuild mode, but I truly believe that we will be competitive and win more games than last year. All of our players will have an impact on the out come of the season,” said Coach Bennett.