Marlow adds third all-state honor
Peterson, Cooper earn 1A top spots; Ritzel, Laur make 2A 1st team

04/04/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE – One final honor has put a bow on the career hardware haul for Webber Township senior Nathaniel Marlow.

The 6-3 senior guard was named Associated Press first team all-state

The numbers are monumental and historic.

Marlow is now ranks second on the all-time scoring list in IHSA history for boy's basketball, falling just 86-points short of the record set by Tamms High School legend Charles “Chico” Vaughn of 3,358-points from 1954 to 1958.

He is now just the seventh player in IHSA history to reach 3K in points scored.

Nathaniel was also named the Steve Tappa Illinois Media 1A Players of the Year.

Another of the first team players from the ABV area and also a first team A Baseline View standout is 6-6 senior Gage Peterson of Waltonville.

Peterson, also a four-year starter and three time member of the ABV 1A all-south team, received his second spot in the AP after an honorable mention spot last winter.

He paced the Spartans this season with 17.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game.

He is the Waltonville program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,170-points and his team set a school record with a 30-5 final record after reaching a sectional championship game.

Woodlawn's Kyle Cooper, also a 2K career scorer, finished up his prep career with 2,297-points after averaging 17 points, four rebounds and four assists a game as a senior guard for the 29-4 Cardinals.

He, Peterson and Marlow were first team AP 1A all-state picks.

Six-one junior guard Nick King averaged 15 points a game for the Goreville Blackcats in leading his club to a second place finish in the state tournament.

Teammate 5-10 senior Zech Green scored 16 a contest for Goreville in their 34-5 season.

King was a second-team pick while Green made the honorable mention list.

Tuscola senior Logan Kurtz, a 6-2 senior guard, netted 19.6 points per game while averaging four rebounds a game for the 28-7 Warriors.

Kurtz is heading to Eastern Illinois University as a preferred walk on and was honored with a second-team mention in the AP list.

Lawrenceville also had a record breaking season and 6-5 senior Jayden Goff was part of the third place run.

He averaged 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds for the 35-3 squad.

Sectional finalist Altamont was represented by 6-4 senior Kade Milleville,

Milleville posted 14 points and eight rebounds for the 24-11 club that lost to Lawrenceville in the Macon Meridian 1A sectional title game.

Two underclassmen from the ABV area were honored with selections.

Woodlawn 6-3 junior Luke McKay averaged 14 points and five rebounds for the Cardinals while Sparta 6-foot junior Dariontez Monroe posted numbers worthy of recognition.

Monroe was at 16 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Bulldogs as his team won their first regional championship since 1991 and shattered the score record for victories with a 30-5 finish.

Both were named Honorable Mention.

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Six-three senior Maddox Ritzel of Nashville added to his hardware haul this season with a spot on the Associated Press 2A first team.

Ritzel finished up with 2,186 career points.

Maddox scored 23.6 points per game this past winter, finishing the campaign with 805-points this season, for the 31-3 Hornets.

Another first team ABV pick who got AP all-state commendation was 6-8 senior forward Ty Laur of Pinckneyville.

The numbers speak volumes as Laur finished up his prep run with a 21.5 points per game senior season average while grabbing 10.2 rebounds a contest.

The SIU Carbondale recruit also posted 3.5 assists a contest and ended up with 1,228 career points for the Panthers' 20-14 team.

Maddox and Laur both were first-team picks.

Breese Mater Dei senior guard Gavin Peppenhorst was also impressive this past season and for his career with the Knights.

The 6-2 senior posted impressive stats with a 23-points a night to go with seven rebounds and set the program record with 739-points this winter.

Peppenhorst was named second-team AP all-state.

Six-four senior Colton Hawkins of Carterville is another of the ABV players who hit the board on the honorable mention list after leading his Lions to a sectional title game.

He netted 15 points, 7.2 rebounds and handed out 4.1 assists as a senior.

Staunton's Isiah Laux, a 6-2 junior, was also impressive in 2025-26 and received spot on the HM list..

Laux collected 16.3 points, four rebounds, 2.3 assists and hit 103 3-point shots for the 29-4 Bulldogs.

Wesclin's Gavin Rahm is another junior who shined in 2025-26.

He led the Warriors to a 24-8 mark and topped the squad with 23-points, seven rebounds and has 1,680-points heading into next season.

Anna-Jonesboro's Kaleb Gore also threw down some impressive figures this past season for the Wildcats.

The 6-6 junior posted 20.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and was an 88 percent foul shooter while breaking the school record with a 55-point game.

North Mac's Collin Etter, led his Panthers to a regional championship game and posted 14.5 points and 9.4 rebounds for the 24-9 finish.

Tolono Unity got to the 2A state finals where they finished third thanks to a great group of seniors led by 6-4 senior forward Coleton Langendorf, who scored 1,013-points for his career and finished up with 12.3 points and 8.2 rebounds a contest.
Class 2A
First team
Josh Humbles, Manual, 78
Keison Peoples, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, 77
***Ty Laur, Pinckneyville, 71
***Maddox Ritzel, Nashville, 71
Jayden Riley, Yorkville Christian, 62
Second team
KeShaun Manney, Bloomington Central Catholic, 53
Cooper Knowles, West Hancock, 52
Cason Newton, Byron, 42
***Gavin Peppenhorst, Mater Dei, 42
Tyjuan Hunter, Hope Academy, 40
Honorable mention (all other players mentioned on more than one ballot)
Latrell Kelly, Farragut, 38; Jace Allensworth, Quincy Notre Dame, 32; ***Gavin Rahm, Wesclin, 31; ***Kaleb Gore, Anna-Jonesboro, 20; Keaton Graves, Clinton, 15; ***Isaiah Laux, Staunton, 15; ***Coleton Langendorf, Tolono Unity, 14; Julian Rice, Riverton, 13; Aydon Jensen, Tri-Valley, 12; Reggie Postlewaite, Manual, 11; ***Colton Hawkins, Carterville, 11; Aiden White, Westville, 9; ***Collin Etter, North Mac, 6.

Class 1A
First team
***Nathaniel Marlow, Webber Township, 98
Luke Blackford, Springfield Calvary, 79
DJ Laye, Chicago Marshall, 79
***Gage Peterson, Waltonville, 69
***Kyle Cooper, Woodlawn, 63
Second team
***Nick King, Goreville, 56
Bryson Mossman, Jacksonville Routt, 60
Parker Krogman, Lanark-Eastland, 49
Sam Edmondson, LeRoy, 36
***Logan Kurtz, Tuscola, 35
Kyler Owens, Orion, 35
Honorable mention (all other players mentioned on more than one ballot)
***Jayden Goff, Lawrenceville, 32; Zion Braimah, Pecatonica, 25; Tyler Smith, Manley, 19; Jerry Hahn, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 17; Lane Eilerman, Calhoun, 16; ***Zech Green, Goreville, 14; ***Kade Milleville, Altamont, 12; Luke Townsend, Armstrong-Potomac, 12; Nolan Price, Woodland, 9; ***Dariontez Monroe, Sparta, 8; ***Luke McKay, Woodlawn, 6.
*** ABV area players.