PLAYERS TO WATCH

Tyson Hughes, Ambrose
Lincoln Mathis, Ambrose
Ben Beglinger, Cole Valley Christian
Eli Kingery, Cole Valley Christian
Beau Bristol, Compass Charter
Jayden Horn, Compass Charter
Eli Ankeny, Marsing
Jace Chadez, Marsing
Cutter Beus, Melba
Rylan Frank, Melba
Landon Mills, Nampa Christian
Donovan Wiles, Nampa Christian
Colton Frates, New Plymouth
Heath Jarboe, New Plymouth
Blake Hansen, North Star Charter

Written by: Will Hoenike

Melba won 25 games last season and reached the 2A state championship game. Cole Valley Christian won 21 games and won the tournament’s consolation title. New Plymouth won 19 games, reaching the 2A play-in game before being eliminated one game short of the state tournament. Those three teams combined to go 35-7 in Western Idaho Conference play and six of those seven conference losses came to each other.

Each of those teams have key holes to fill coming in to the 2023-24 season but any of the three could pose a real threat to the rest of the WIC.

For Melba, the conference’s player of the year, Braden Volkers, is gone. Kaden Dayley and Gabe Shaffer, two of the team’s top defenders, are both gone. Cole Valley Christian must find a replacement for all-conference standout Max Myers. New Plymouth listed ten players on its varsity team last season – five were seniors.

For Melba, all-conference selection Cutter Beus returns to lead a talented Mustang team that will have to find some new standouts if it plans to return to the 2A state tournament.

“Cutter Beus will be a key player and one that is extremely hard to stop,” said Spencer Trappett, the sixth-year head coach in Melba. “We will have several other players that will step up and be great defenders and hard to shut down on offense.”

Senior Sylvan Spence and juniors Rylan Frank and Carsten Volkers are expected to fill key spots in the Melba rotation.

For Cole Valley Christian, head coach Dan Waldeck returns all-conference selections Eli Kingery (1st Team) and Ben Beglinger (honorable mention). But that duo isn’t alone. Sam Overton, Hunter Graham, and Carson Russell are three other seniors who will be returning for the silver-and-blue-clad Chargers, which won ten of its final 12 games last season to claim the 2A state consolation trophy.

New Plymouth returns a lot of pieces that, on paper, spell success. There’s a talented post presence in senior Heath Jarboe, efficient point guard play in senior Colton Frates, additional size in 6-foot-4 senior Landon Christensen and 6-foot-5 sophomore Ashton Robinson, a strong shooter in sophomore Tracen Tripple, and critical additional skill and speed in junior guard Derik Walker and junior forward Riley Hegerhorst.

“We return four starters from a team that won 19 games last year. We are going to be really good offensively, we will be a lot of fun to watch,” said veteran head coach Jeff Lavender. “We need to become a better defensive rebounding team and overall better defense if we want to beat the best teams.”

A team that multiple coaches singled out as a possible darkhorse is the Ambrose Archers. The team returns a talented backcourt in senior Tyson Hughes and junior Lincoln Mathis along with seven other returning varsity players which should open the door for a step forward in the WIC. Head coach Ken Sugarman likes his team’s physical and mental maturation from last year to this year and his squad should be a threat from the three-point line.

Nampa Christian returns All-Conference honorees Donovan Wiles and Landon Mills to a team that won 16 games last season. Seniors Addison Taylor and Jack Kren, along with junior post player Tanner Compton, give the Trojans important depth that should make them a difficult team to beat on a nightly basis.

Marsing coach Tim Little likes his team’s scoring depth. A three-guard rotation of senior Eli Ankeny, junior Jace Chadez, and sophomore Juan Diego Ponce combined to average nearly 30 points per game last winter. Ponce in particular got hot in the district tournament, averaging 17 points per game in postseason play.

“We have many options offensively this year, which will be a change for us,” Little said. “Any given night could witness more than one of the top 8 players finishing with double digit points.”

North Star Charter and Compass Charter will be looking to take steps forward in conference play. Compass Charter has a new head coach in Shane Tolman and a number of young players, led by junior guards Mason Bennett, Kellen Walbuck, and Thore Lucas. North Star Charter also has a new head coach, Terry Thomas, who would like to play fast. Senior guard Blake Hansen and juniors Nico Garcia and Kyle Wheeler will be instrumental in the Huskies’ ability to execute the gameplan.