CHASING LEAGUE TITLE … Archbold senior Cade Brenner drives to the bucket in a game at Delta last season. Brenner is the top returning scorer in the NWOAL as the Bluestreaks bring back all five starters from a year ago. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Two teams that finished in the bottom half of the NWOAL figure to be near the top during the 2023-2024 campaign.
Both Archbold and Evergreen return all five starters from last season and bring back eight letterwinners as they will be two of the more experienced teams in the NWOAL.
Patrick Henry, league runner-up last season, also brings back a strong group from last season led by sophomore Mack Hieber, as they look to build off of last year’s appearance in the Division IV regional semifinals.
Defending league champion Wauseon is on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to returners from last year.
The Indians bring back just one starter in senior guard Tyson Rodriguez as veteran coach Chad Burt will have one of the most inexperienced squads he has had in his 16 years at his alma mater.
Here are the previews for each team in order of their finish in the NWOAL last season.
1. Wauseon (16-8, 6-1 NWOAL; Lost in Division II district semifinals to Rossford 38-21)
HEAD COACH: Chad Burt (16th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Landon Hines, Jude Armstrong, Jack Leatherman, Ethan Borton
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors- Tyson Rodriguez (12.0 ppg), Trey Parsons (2.5 ppg), Braden Vajen, Connor Keefer, Logan Patterson
NEWCOMERS: Juniors – Avery Fruchey, Ryan Neff, Seth Richer, Nicholas Stinner, Nathaniel Stinner, Ethan Schnitkey, Carter Gype, AJ King
STRENGTHS: “We have a group that is hard working and eager to learn. We are very inexperienced at the varsity level, but they are excited to follow up on the success from previous years and have been competing hard in practice.”
WEAKNESSES: “We graduated a group of four seniors that made tremendous contributions both on and off the court. They will be difficult to replace. Team ball handling will be a point of emphasis and a major concern.”
“We will need to develop our perimeter skills to be successful offensively as we return very little scoring from last year.”
“We have very little experience competing at the varsity level so we will need to adjust to the speed and physicality of the game quickly.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We have many new faces in new roles. We have won 16 or more games for 9 of the last 10 years and have a group of kids that are eager to compete and establish themselves at the varsity level.”
“We are inexperienced in some key positions, but they are a coachable group and will continue to grow and develop as the season progresses.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “Overall, the league will be as balanced and competitive as it has been in a long time with a number of teams capable of winning the league title. PH, Archbold, Evergreen, Liberty Center, and Bryan return the bulk of their rosters.”
“Swanton returns one of the best big men in the area along with perimeter talent. Delta is always extremely well coached and is looking to build on last year’s success.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 2 – Archbold (H); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Liberty Center (H)
2. Patrick Henry (20-6, 5-2 NWOAL; Lost in Division IV regional semifinal to Marion Local 56-42)
HEAD COACH: Bryan Hieber (4th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Gavin Jackson (4.5 ppg, 2.0 apg), Kaden Rosebrook ) 4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, Aiden Behrman (4.7 ppg, 2.7 ppg), Drew Rosengarten (2.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Landon Johnson (3.0 ppg, 2.6 apg), Nash Meyer (8.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg-Out for season / football knee injury); Thomas Smith (3.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg); Junior – Lincoln Creager (11.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg); Sophomore – Mack Hieber (7.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Junior – Jaden Punches; Freshman – Reid Creager
STRENGTHS: Scoring, coachability, work ethic, athleticism
WEAKNESSES: Overall depth and size
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We lost a lot of length and toughness to graduation. If we want to be competitive again this year, we will need guys to step up in those areas.”
“We will be very limited on our prep time leading up to the start of the season due to our football team’s success. 90% of our basketball players (in grades 9-12), play football.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “As always, the NWOAL will feature elite competition. I look for a lot of parity in our league again.”
“Archbold and Evergreen return all 5 of their starters, so I would start with them at the top of the league. Wauseon has a good core back from their league championship team as well.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: (Tentative) December 5 – Elmwood (H); January 11 – Swanton (A)
3. Swanton (18-6, 4-3 NWOAL; Lost in Division III district semifinal to Wayne Trace 41-29)
HEAD COACH: Bruce Smith (3rd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Luc Borojevich (14.5 ppg), Cole Mitchey (11.9 ppg), Hayden Callicotte (9.6 ppg), Drew Smigelski (5.4 ppg), Jake Robinson, Kayden Davis, Ryan O’Shea
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Charlie Wood (5.6 ppg), Brennon Mersing
NEWCOMERS: Freshmen – Evan Reinhard, Gio Ruiz; Sophomores – Brady O’Shea, Connor Mitchey
STRENGTHS: “We hope to develop our young team as quickly as possible when league play begins in January so we can be competitive.”
WEAKNESSES: “We only return about 6.0 ppg and just two letterwinners so we obviously lack experience.”
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are depending on several young players to help us be competitive.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “I expect Archbold, Evergreen, and Patrick Henry to be very strong. Wauseon returns an excellent guard in Tyson Rodriguez, Bryan returns a lot of letterwinners, and Liberty Center will be physical and deep.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 1 – Lake (A); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Patrick Henry (H)
4. Liberty Center (15-9, 4-3 NWOAL; Lost in Division III sectional final to Swanton 60-51)
HEAD COACH: Greg Badenhop (12th Season)
SENIORS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Aiden Hammontree (7.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG), Matthew Orr (2.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg), Zane Zeiter (4.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg), Riley Chapa (4.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Landen Kruse (7.3 ppg, 4.3 apg, 3.0 spg, 2.6 apg), Colton Kruse (3.1 ppg”, Trenton Kruse (2.8 ppg), Seth Navarre (3.8 ppg); Junior – Gavin Geahlen (9.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
NEWCOMERS: Senior – Aiden Tallent; Juniors – Grady Miller, Camden Robinson, Blake Garber; Sophomore – Hunter Spangler
STRENGTHS: “We return our leading scorer (Gavin Geahlen) and our two-year starting PG (Landen Kruse), so those two will lead the charge for us on both ends of the floor this year.”
“With Trenton, Colton, and Landen Kruse all back, our perimeter defense should be outstanding once again; those three allow us to extend our pressure when needed.”
“Gavin Geahlen and Seth Navarre at the two forward spots give us some scoring versatility as they both have the ability to score the ball inside and out.”
WEAKNESSES: “Perimeter shooting will once again be an area where we need some newcomers to step up (Grady Miller, Cam Robinson, and others).”
“With the loss of some key guys, rebounding is an area of concern. Our depth is also something that will be tested for the first time in a few years.”
“We’ll need some younger/unproven guys to step up into roles they haven’t played before for us to create that good bench depth we’ve had in previous years.
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are once again hoping to build off the tremendous success of our football team.”
“Majority of our players come to us from football so they already understand what type of commitment, energy, and toughness it takes for a team to be successful. It is our goal to take that same mindset and keep it rolling into basketball season.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “It will be a very balanced NWOAL again this year. I think you have to give the preseason nod to Patrick Henry with the amount of talent they return.”
“You have the perennial contenders in Archbold and Wauseon right there as well with some nice pieces returning for both of those programs. We also hope to be in that conversation, playing for an NWOAL title, come crunch time in February.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 15 – Wayne Trace (H); January 11 – Wauseon (A)
5. Archbold (13-11, 4-3 NWOAL; Lost in Division III district semifinal to Emmanuel Christian 58-51)
HEAD COACH: Joe Frank (6th Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: None
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Cade Brenner (19.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg), Jayden Seiler (11.0 ppg), Stephen Diller, Jerry Rodriguez; Juniors – Sonny Phillips (7.0 ppg), Chase Miller, Micah Nofziger, Evan Wendt
NEWCOMERS: Juniors – Madden Valentine, Broden Piercefield, Jayden Gensler
STRENGTHS: Experience, ballhandling, shooting
WEAKNESSES: Rebounding, team defense
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are excited for the upcoming season. We are hoping to play at the level which we played at the end of last season.”
“We have a lot of experience returning and a group of young men who are hungry for success. We hope to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season and to make a nice tourney run.”
“Our defense and rebounding will be the keys to our success as a team this season.
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “I really think the NWOAL will be very balanced this year. I see it being wide open this year and we will have to be ready to play every night.”
“There won’t be any “easy wins in the league this year. The league is full of great players and coaches, which will make for a memorable season.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 2 – Wauseon (A); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Bryan (H)
6. Delta (17-6, 3-4 NWOAL; Lost in Division III sectional final to Wayne Trace 63-40)
HEAD COACH: Matt Brighton (3rd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Bryce Gillen (13.0 ppg), James Ruple (7.0 pgg), Nolan Risner ((9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Bryar Knapp (6.0 ppg), Aiden McQuillin, Bradyn Ruffer
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Justin Ruple (7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Jude Gibbons (2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg), Luke Reinhard (1.5 ppg), John Brasher
NEWCOMERS: Juniors – Brady Moor, Wyatt Gibbons, Walter Hallett, Ethan Huffman; Sophomores – Alex York, Tyler Ruple
STRENGTHS: Team balance, depth, work ethic
WEAKNESSES: Overall team experience, team size
SEASON OUTLOOK: “Our goal is to get better every day at practice. We look to improve through our day-to-day team competition, and that will help prepare us for our league and non-league schedule.”
“We have a group this year that is very hungry for success, and we look to continue to build our program in a positive way.”
“Even though it is tough losing six seniors, we are excited to have new guys earn roles and make an impact at the varsity level.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “The NWOAL is a very competitive league with a number of great coaches. The play is physical and there are many players who can execute at any time during a game, and that has helped guide our off-season workouts.”
“We have worked hard in the weight room as well as finishing around the basket. We are hoping that the work our players have put in this off-season helps us compete with other teams in our league.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 1 – Pettisville (H); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Evergreen (A)
7. Evergreen (13-11, 2-5 NWOAL; Lost in Division III sectional final to Emmanuel Christian 89-53)
HEAD COACH: Jerry Keifer (30th Season)
TOP RETURNERS FROM LAST SEASON: Seniors – Eli Kiefer (16.1 ppg), Tyson Woodring (10.5 ppg), Drew Gillen (8.4 ppg), Riley Dunbar (5.6 ppg), Blade Walker (3.2 ppg)
STRENGTHS: Ballhandling, depth, rebounding
WEAKNESSES: Inside scoring, post defense
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We return five starters and eight letterwinners from last season so experience should be a positive for us.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: 1. Patrick Henry, 2. Archbold, 3. Wauseon, 4. Liberty Center, 5. Swanton, 6. Evergreen, 7. Bryan, 8. Delta
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 1 – Clay (H); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Delta (H)
8. Bryan (5-18, 0-7 NWOAL; Lost in Division II sectional semifinal to Maumee 46-34)
HEAD COACH: Brock Homier (3rd Season)
LETTERWINNERS LOST FROM LAST SEASON: Evan Cox, Ayden Pelz, Joe Watson
RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Seniors – Sam Herold, Jase Kepler, Karter Brown, Maddox Langenderfer, Dylan Koenig; Junior – Carter Dominique
NEWCOMERS: Seniors – Noah Huard, Eliyahs Oberlin; Juniors – Mason Welling, Landon Bassett, Gavin Jessing; Sophomore – Jack Kennedy
STRENGTHS: Experience, comfortability
WEAKNESSES: Size, deep bench
SEASON OUTLOOK: “We are looking to get better every single day we are in the gym. We are going to pride ourselves on our energy, attitude, and effort.”
LEAGUE OUTLOOK: “We have yet to win a game in the league and that is a goal of our teams this year.”
ABOUT THEIR SCHEDULE: Season Opener: December 1 – Edgerton (A); NWOAL Opener: January 11 – Archbold (A)
