11/22/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The 2025-26 Greater Egyptian Conference will have one noticeable absence with the season begins.

Long-time and successful coach Jon Brown won't be storming up and down the sidelines for Crab Orchard.

The mentor retired this past spring and for the first time since 1996, the Trojans will have a different head coach.

Coach Brown, the ABV “Coach of the Year” in 2011-12, finished his career at the Williamson County school with a 551-316 and took home hardware in three regionals during his years at the helm.

His teams won or shared nine GEC regular season championships and four tournament titles.

In an era of coaches skipping from one school to another, Coach Brown was at Crab Orchard for 30-years.

Tyler Hatton, the school's AD, takes over the program.

Last season the Trojans ended up 21-8 and lost to GEC rival Hardin County in the semifinals of the Crab Orchard Regional.

Coach Hatten has some work to do with four starters missing from that squad.

Hardin County is the defending league champs, finishing the regular season slate with a 7-0 mark for Coach Rodney Lane.

The Cougars made it to another regional title game before losing to sectional champs Mounds Meridian and return everyone in uniform from a year ago.

Galatia and head coach Zack Essex have had a nice two season run.

The Bearcats posted 21-12 and 23-8 totals respectively since this coach arrived and the success should continue.

Gallatin County and mentor Matt Lawler lost some important players to graduation and will look to some youngsters to step up.

Norris City-Omaha-Enfield head coach Jordan Johnson finished an “Even-Steven” 15-15 a year ago, which included a GEC Tournament championship.

Nearly everyone returns for the Fighting Cardinals as they look for their first regular season title since 2021.

Carrier Mills-Stonefort finished just 4-23 in 2024-25, lost five seniors to graduation and a key player to transfer heading into the season.

Wildcats' head coach Drake Patton still has work to do with a program that hasn't hoisted the GEC championship banner since winning five-consecutive titles from 2006-2010.

Thompsonville will be missing three seniors from last season but they return a group of kids who have experience starting games.

Head coach Kevin Smith will also have some talented newcomers to work with.

Pope County didn't win a conference game in 2024-25 and ended up just 5-22 overall but Coach Jim Simmons keeps the Pirates competitive in most seasons.

The other big news that comes into play this season in the Greater Egyptian Conference is that they league voted back in August of 2024 to go back to the old GEC set up of two conference games, home and away, for all the schools in boy's and girl's basketball beginning this season.

Each of the eight member schools will play each other twice, 14-total games, to decide the regular season championship.

The top two teams heading into the season on paper, Hardin County and NCOE, will open their season's against each other at Norris City-Omaha-Enfield on November 25.

Head coach Rodney Lane at Hardin County has had some pretty salty teams over the years, winning four regular season league titles and a pair of tournament championships in his time in Elizabethtown.

If you were going to project a GEC champion in the preseason, the Cougars would likely be the top choice.

Hardin County finished first in 2024-25, going unbeaten while they completed a rugged campaign at 18-12.

A lopsided loss to Mounds Meridian in the Crab Orchard Regional title tilt closed chapter.

While most other coaches watched a parade of kids leaving the program last spring, Coach Lane has nearly every varsity minute from last season returning.

Hardin County will have depth as this team could go at least 10-deep in their rotation.

The Cougars took lumps early in 2024-25, losing their first five games to Anna-Jonesboro, Benton, Goreville and Harrisburg (twice) to start the season.

However the Cougars picked up some good wins, including a victory over West Frankfort at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

They only lost to one team that had a losing record (2A Massac County).

The returning seniors all have participated in multiple varsity contests in the last two seasons heading into 2025-26.

Landon Fricker is one of the four seniors returning for Coach Lane.

The 6-foot guard has been part of the glue that has held this group together and produced consecutive 18-win seasons for the Cougars.

Five-nine senior guard Christian Winter also returns with a wealth of experience along with teammates and classmates 6-2 forward Nate Massie and 6-foot forward Caden Heberer.

As with most seniors, they are team leaders for the underclassmen.

The junior class is very large in numbers for Coach Lane.

Jacob Gibbons, a 6-foot forward for the Cougars, is another of the players listed that will be important as well as 6-2 forward Bryden Banks.

Those two started games last winter for Coach Lane.

Others in the crowded class of juniors are 5-9 guard Tucker Mayfield, 5-7 guard Kase Fulkerson, 5-9 forward Braxton Davis, 6-foot forward Gavin Headlam, and 6-foot guard Gavin Belford.

Some of the sophomores coming back got into varsity match-ups as freshman.

Xavier Whooper, a 5-11 guard, stepped up in some big games last year and provided key minutes.

Six-two forward Nick Vanslyke along with 5-11 forward Travis McDowell, 5-6 guard Colin Shortland, 5-8 guard Jacob Leroy and 5-9 forward Kaleb Orman will give Coach Lane a lot of options and provide a pretty good JV lineup, also.

“We have a lot of kids coming back but so does NCOE. We won the title last season and we hope to be right there again this year,” said Coach Lane.

For head coach Jordan Johnson, being able to start preseason practice with nearly every player from last season returning will make the team goals a bit more lofty.

Norris City-Omaha-Enfield has all five starters and key reserves back from its 15-15 club that ended up tied for second in the GEC at 5-2.

The top highlight from last season was the GEC tournament week, where they topped Thompsonville, Crab Orchard and Galatia to take home the title of the 74th annual.

The Fighting Cardinals lost nine of their games to teams that won over 20-games.

They got shown the door in the first round of the Christopher Regional by Sesser-Valier to end the year.

This season, however, should come with great expectations, something that this mentor is looking forward to.

The five returning starters are all seniors and ready for their shot at not only a GEC championship, but also success outside of the league.

Six-two senior Jaxen Simmons returns for NCOE.

So does 6-4 senior Owen Russell and 6-2 senior Conner Graves.

This trio gives the Cardinals some size and length on both ends of the floor.

The backcourt features guard Javan Garrett, a 5-8 senior, and 5-11 senior Caden Sexton.

All are varsity veterans looking for a special season.

Like some of the other teams in the league, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield appears to have some kids ready to come off of the bench and give valuable minutes of rest for the starters.

Five-eight senior guard Landon Garrison and 6-1 senior forward Shaun Edwards are on the list.

Coach Jordan added some underclassmen names for the competition for time on the floor.

Five-ten junior Brody Warren and 5-6 junior Kaygen Basinger were mentioned.

Three additional players from the sophomore class will be part of the roster come opening night against Hardin County in perhaps the most important GEC contest of the season.

Jack Melton, a 6-1 sophomore, 6-1 sophomore River Chaney and 5-9 sophomore Rhett Wehlermann should see minutes as will a pair of freshmen; 5-7 Jaden Healy and 6-foot Aven Scala.

For better or for worse, with the new GEC conference scheduling in place, there will be less opportunities to play other programs.

“We have fairly high expectations entering this season. We have all of our starters returning from a team that won 15 games and the GEC tournament championship. We also have some underclassman who have really grown and improved their skills during the off-season. We will be a much deeper team this year which will give us more freedom to push the tempo and play much more aggressive on both ends,” said Coach Johnson, who played his high school basketball at NCOE.

It will be a bit odd to look at the Crab Orchard sidelines this season and not see a familiar face leading the basketball Trojans.

Head coach Jon Brown finished up his 30-years as a head coach last spring when he announced his retirement.

As the longest tenured head coach in the Greater Egyptian Conference, fans came to know him and his coaching style to be entertaining to say the least.

Each year his Trojans were one of the top scoring teams in southern Illinois and his kids always had the “green” light when it came to shooting 3-point shots.

He will be missed by the fans and, more importantly, the kids that he helped grow into young men.

His successor is Coach Tyler Hatton, who takes over a club missing four starting seniors from last winter.

Those seniors were successful, winning two tournament championships last season (Elverado, West Frankfort).

Seniors Cameron Clark, Carter Watts, Cameron Dawes and Rylan Brotherton were part of the 21-8 team that finished 5-2 in the GEC and made it to the regional semifinals last February.

The untested kids, for the most part, will need to step up from the junior varsity to take on the challenge of varsity contests.

The one returning starter for the Trojans is 6-2 sophomore Fisher Watts.

He started a bunch of games for Crab Orchard last winter as a freshman.

The first one off of the Trojans' bench last season was 5-10 sophomore Brayden Mausey, who as a freshman logged a bunch of playing time.

Noah Kennedy, a 5-11 junior guard, moved from Vienna to Crab Orchard last year and got into some important contests as a sophomore.

He will spearhead the offense for the Trojans at point guard.

There will be four seniors on the roster that will have opportunities to secure minutes.

Six-six senior Alex Taylor will provide some size for Crab Orchard.

Charlie Ford, a 6-4 senior, will also provide size and defense along with Taylor in the paint.

Five-ten guard Harley Cagle and 5-6 guard Ayden Bell, will be a part of the varsity minutes, especially early in the season.

Coach Hatton is looking at some sophomores and freshmen to provide depth and important time on the floor.

Logan Parks, a 6-1 freshman and 5-7 freshman Cayden Travelstead will be important for Crab Orchard as will 6-1 sophomore Dawson Poland and 5-9 sophomore Gavin Shaw.

Any combination of these kids could be in the opening night lineup when they travel to the Elverado Thanksgiving Tournament to defend their championship.

“Losing four starters and a Hall-of-Fame coach is going to be a huge challenge. It's almost like we are completely starting over, but we played a lot this summer, and once the kids figured out what I want from them, we really competed well. I know by the end of the season we are going to be a much different team and we are going to shock a few schools,” said Coach Hatton. “We are going to be a super young team with only having two kids with any real varsity experience. However, we are very athletic and we have some kids who can score. I think we are going to surprise some teams this year. I'm really excited to see the growth Watts, Kennedy and Mausey make this year stepping up from role players. I also am excited for those seniors to get their shot and see what they can do for us.”

Galatia head coach Zack Essex has been a shot in the arm for the Bearcats' program since arriving two seasons ago.

Before he took the program's reigns, Galatia had not finished above .500 since 2010-11.

Under his leadership, the Bearcats have produced consecutive 20-win seasons (21-12, 23-8) for a 44-20 record.

Coach Essex will have some uniforms that will need filled as five seniors, who were a big part of the resurgence, have moved on.

Eli Hankins, Connor Ammon, Cameron Miller, Nathan Sanders and Jake Allen were the 12th graders lost to graduation.

Hankins was the conference MVP and he, Ammon and Miller all joined the 1K point club.

Three-thousand points is a lot of production to lose in one season.

With one starter back and some key kids moving up to varsity, this mentor is looking find out quickly what he has as his team embarks on the 2025-26 schedule.

Will Puckett, a 6-1 senior, is the lone returning starter.

According to Coach Essex, Puckett will anchor the defensive end of the floor and assume the leadership role for some new teammates.

Another senior returning is 6-foot Gavin Horton.

The junior group features five kids that have a bit of experience swimming in the varsity pool.

Six-foot forward Conner Campbell got into some contests as a sophomore off of the bench.

Colin Jenkins, a 6-foot junior guard, was also mentioned as someone who earned minutes a year ago and some varsity starts.

Five-eight junior guard Easton Fowler, who moves back to the district after a year at Carrier Mills-Stonefort, is expected to help out.

The injury bug has affected the play of Kael Krelo, a 6-1 junior, the past two seasons.

Coach Essex is hoping for a healthy season and contributions from him.

Another junior mentioned, 5-11 James Bridewell, will also play a key role for the Bearcats.

Galatia will have four sophomores who were part of the varsity a year ago.

Isiah Plumlee, a 6-2 guard, was the leading scorer for the junior varsity.

Kam Wood, a 5-10 sophomore, is a point-guard who led the JV to a 14-2 mark last season.

Another sophomore; 5-8 guard Kale Stricklin, was mentioned for the Bearcats.

Six-two sophomore Elijah Turner will likely move up and provide more size.

“This group will be our key players coming in at the varsity level. Defensive activity and buying into a new offense and schemes will be what determines our success. We have an entire new group of kids coming in as the main core and we do not expect to take a step back. We will implement our offense and defense around our new strengths and we will work even harder to get where we need to be to achieve what we expect to achieve,” said Coach Essex. “This is not a rebuild but rather a retool as we will change key components of our offense and defensive schemes to accommodate what will make us successful. We know how tough our conference is as there are three teams who pretty much bring everyone back. We know what we are up against and we will work to be ready for the new era of Galatia basketball having had to replace five seniors and four starters.”

Thompsonville showed marked improvement last season with an 11-20 record after a just a 4-28 mark from 2023-24.

They produced some good wins, most notably against Cairo, last winter and they ended up 2-5 in the GEC.

Coach Kevin Smith got the most out of his club and they could take a step towards the .500 mark with the returning talent returning for 2025-26.

The Tigers lost a trio of seniors but have a bunch of talent returning.

The missing seniors, Skyler Lindhorst, Gavin Sandy and Colin Peebels, will be missed but according to Coach Smith, the cupboard is far from bare.

There is just a single senior; 6-2 forward Liam Reagan, who returns for the Tigers.

Reagan will be a four-year starter when the season takes off.

Thompsonville has a group of juniors who were part of a bunch of varsity minutes as 10th graders.

Five-ten junior guard Mace Ridgeway returns for the Tigers.

Mason Marino, a 6-2 junior forward, and 5-10 junior guard Lucas Blades are back.

Other juniors back are 5-10 guard Logan Matheny and 5-9 guard Bradyn Gaither.

Reagan, Marino and Ridgeway all have a chance at getting to 1K career points.

The sophomores returning include 5-10 guard Jamesdon Pritchett-Mayberry and 6-foot guar Braxton Householder.

The diamonds in the rough for Thompsonville will be a strong group of freshmen coming in that excelled at the junior high level.

Five-eleven Keegan Kempf, 5-5 Carter Alexander, 6-foot Ronnie Duncan, 5-9 Liam Tucker, 5-8 Riley Mullins & 5-11 Xavier Haremski will get a chance at varsity minutes, and will add depth to the Tigers' roster.

“With four returning starters, this is one of the most experienced teams we've had in my five years as coach. We feel like we have a chance to be very competitive in a very good GEC. The guys have had a really good summer. We "played up" a lot more this summer against a lot of 2A schools, and very good 1A teams, to help prepare for the season. The boys have worked extremely hard since the end of last season, in the weight room and on the court. This is a special group of young men who are a pleasure to coach. We're looking forward to the season,” said Coach Smith.

Six seniors and most of the PT disappeared via graduation, including four-year starter Grant Jackson and classmates Elliott Glover, Alex Sauls, Logan Brannon, Gage McGhee and Thacker Fromm.

The Hawks, with Coach Lawyer in his first season, got some important victories and ended up 4-3 in the GEC standings.

They picked up a first round regional win before falling to Mounds Meridian in the regional semifinals at Crab Orchard.

The top returning player for the Hawks is 6-1 senior Jordan Montgomery.

Another player who started some games a season ago is 5-10 junior Jaxon Carney.

The rest of the projected roster are underclassmen and mostly untested.

Coach Lawler referred to some juniors he expects to step forward.

Six-three forward Max Brockett, 5-11 guard Talan Smith and 6-foot guard Brenden Brown will return.

The Hawks will have some sophomores on the chart; 5-11 guard Aiden Combs was a member of the varsity roster last winter as a freshman.

Look for Caston Wood, a 5-9 guard and 5-10 guard Elliot Page to be part of the plan.

Six-four forward Casen Steele will be difficult to ignore as he will give Gallatin County some size while 6-foot Wyatt Goebel will also be available in what looks to be a deep bench.

“We are a very young team with one senior. I believe that we have the potential play 10 or 11 guys. Our one senior, Jordan Montgomery, will be very important to us as a leader of the team. We will lean heavily on our young guys within the rotation. The sophomore and junior kids are going to play a lot of basketball. The expectation is to get better everyday in practice and in games. I think that NCOE and Hardin County are the top teams in the conference. I think we can compete with both of them. The Greater Egyptian Conference should be very competitive this year,” said Coach Lawler.

After a pretty competitive 2023-24 season, the Pope County Pirates slipped down the GEC totem-pole, falling into the cellar.

Coach Jim Simmons' squad managed just five victories, and none of them were in conference play.

Following a season opening win over Johnston City at the Elverado Thanksgiving Tournament, the Pirates lost 11 of their next 12 games and it didn't get much better the rest of the winter.

Pope County dropped the regional first round game against Hardin County to close 2024-25 at 5-22, 0-7.

Coach Simmons sent away four seniors from last winter, including top scorer 6-3 senior Eli Presser.

The others; Ethan Burkhead, Braden Taylor and Chris Webb, are also out.

The ones coming back have work to do to change things around.

The top returning player is 6-4 senior Hunter Steele for the Pirates.

Six-foot senior guard Alfred Simmons is another of the Pope County players who has varsity experience.

Those are the only two upperclassmen that Coach Simmons will work with in 2025-26.

Two juniors; 5-11 guard Drake Taylor and 5-10 forward Drake Holmes, are part of operation.

Sophomores on the list include 6-5 forward Grayson Fritch, who should make a varsity impact.

Six-four forward Bryson Steele and 5-8 guard James Leva also get a mention from Coach Simmons.

Two other ninth graders; 5-11 guard Kaiden Holmes and 5-8 guard Jasper Kruep, round out the returning players from last season's varsity roster.

“We need to continue to have a team effort and team-first attitude,” said Coach Simmons.

The first season as head coach for Drake Patton at Carrier Mills-Stonefort was a learning experience for everyone involved in the program.

The Wildcats have struggled in the past few seasons and the five players who started last season were seniors, so they're no longer available.

Logan Daughenbaugh, Ellijiah Taylor, Skyler Collins, Carson VanDyke and Nate Shafer were seniors and gone.

There were no juniors on the team last season, meaning that the kids coming back will have a couple of years of varsity games ahead of them.

CM-S finished just 4-22 in 2024-25, they started 2-11 in their first 13 games and never quite recovered.

The only GEC win was against Pope County and three non-conference wins over Dongola, Shawnee and Cobden.

Coach Patton returns some kids but is missing a couple of others who transferred from the program.

Kamarion Ward moved to Harrisburg and Easton Fowler moved back to Galatia.

But Coach Patton has some talent to work with.

Six-three junior forward Cainaan Sumner has some experience from his sophomore season.

The same can be said for 5-11 junior guard David Edwards.

The pair are the only ones who accumulated much of the varsity minutes.

“These guys saw significant minutes off the bench last year and look to take starting spots this year,” said Coach Patton.

The competition in the early practices will determine who will fill the empty uniforms.

Six-one sophomore forward Byntley Hull and 6-foot guard TJ Funaro are on the short list.

Five-ten guard Cody Furlong, and 6-4 forward Josh Keene will also be in the picture.

Six-one guard Tyler Skaggs and 6-1 forward Chayse Dunn were also mentioned by Coach Patton.

“We are looking to continue to get better year to year. Last year we won two more games than the year before. We are going to look to use our length and quickness this year and get after it on the defensive end with more pressure,” said Coach Patton. “We are hoping to have a more balanced offensive attack this year and get three or four players in double digits.”