PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Maren Brushey, Cole Valley Christian
Vienna Westhuis, Cole Valley Christian
Payson Bratcher, Fruitland
Kennedy Fitch, Fruitland
Stella Heck, Homedale
Tiana Sorenson, Homedale
Emma Ormsby, McCall-Donnelly
Izzy Tinney, McCall-Donnelly
Haylo Collingwood, Payette
Sianna Gable, Payette
Evie Dolton, Weiser
Ellie Shirts, Weiser
Written by: Jonah Wockenfuss
The 4A Snake River Valley Conference is up for another tight race this season.
Last season, four teams were withing two games of each other in conference standings leading to some tight races.
The big question will be whether Fruitland can defend the top spot in their respected conference or will another team emerge as the new leader?
FRUITLAND
The Grizzlies finished first in 4A District III last season along with winning the District Championship and making it to the State Tournament. The 4th year head coach and former coach of the year Willie Lake is looking to cap off another season at the top of the Snake River Conference as they finished last year with an overall record of 13-11 and a conference record of 8-2.
The Grizzlies have four key players returning this season including senior guard Madison Hillman. Unfortunately for Fruitland, they are losing a key player Aleksi Drollinger who was last year’s All-Conference Player of the Year.
“Our strength offensively will be our speed, quickness, and athleticism,” says Lake. “We have to value the basketball much better… We left far too many possessions on the table.”
Coach Willie Lake is looking to run a fast-paced but smart and efficient offense going into this season.
On the defensive end, Lake states, “Our strength will be our speed and quickness regardless of what defense we show.” He also goes on to say, “We have to pressure people with discipline.”
It seems that coach Willie Lake is looking to play fast and aggressive but to also stay smart and disciplined.
Overall, the Fruitland Grizzlies are looking to have another successful season despite losing key players like Aleksi Drollinger. They are looking to run with pace but also stay disciplined which was Willie Lake is taking seriously. Lake closed with, “I’m super excited to see how quickly these kids can assimilate themselves in a varsity environment. I think it’s going to be fun to be this young.”
WEISER
The Wolverines finished second in the Snake River Valley Conference last season with an overall record of 16-6 and a conference record of 7-3. The Wolverines will be led by the six-year head coach Laraine Harrison.
The Wolverines have three key players returning this season including senior Ellie Shirts who made the All-Conference First team along with senior Evie Dolton who made the All-Conference Honorable Mention last season. The Wolverines are losing some key players as well including Kailee Lerew who made the All-Conference First team last season.
When asked about offense, coach Harrison states, “We are a scrappy team, we like to transition and move the ball up the court quickly looking for the easy shots/layups if we can.” Coach Harrison also stated, “We have to become more of a threat from the outside. We also need to do a better job with our free throw percentage.”
Offensively, it seems that the Wolverines are going to push the ball in transition and play with pace along with cleaning up certain areas including perimeter shooting and cashing in on free throw opportunities.
On the defensive end, Coach Harrison states, “We like to put the pressure on.” Coach Harrison is also counting on players like Sophie Shirts to fill in for Kailee Lerew’s shoes on the defensive end. Coach Harrison also stated, “We need to be a little smarter about staying out of foul trouble.”
Overall, the Wolverines are looking to have a fast-paced, scrappy team making things difficult for the opposing team. Coach Harrison states, “We need to stay healthy and play together as a team.”
MCCALL-DONNELLY
Mcall-Donnelly finished third place in the Snake River Valley Conference with an overall record of 15-12 and a conference record of 7-3. McCall-Donnely will be led by first year head coach Hunter Onthank.
McCall-Donnelly is losing the sister trio of Shilah, Lexi, and Rylee Arnold who helped lead McCall-Donnelly to receiving a trophy in last year’s state tournament. But even with those losses, coach Onthank has confidence with the current team. “We have a lot of diversity this year as far as height, positions, and skill set, so we think we are going to be able to expand some of the things that we do,” says coach Onthank.
When asked about this year’s ‘X-Factor’, Onthank answered, “The X-Factor of our season will be if we can replace the players we lost from last year’s team.” He went on to say, “Our new players will need to get up to speed quickly and ready to play a very tough schedule.”
McCall-Donnelly will have to battle a lot of adversity this season with first time head coach Hunter Onthank along with a young and inexperienced roster. We will have to wait and see what this young McCall-Donnelly team can do in this upcoming 2025-26 season.
COLE VALLEY CHRISTIAN
Cole Valley finished in fourth last season in the Snake River Valley Conference with an overall record of 13-12 and a conference record of 6-4. Cole Valley will be led by the now sixth year head coach Matt Beglinger.
Cole Valley has some key players returning including senior forward Vienna Westhuis and senior forward Maren Brushey who both were awarded with the All-Conference Second Team last season. Senior guard Ella Bradley will also be returning to help create a solid trio for this upcoming season.
On the offensive end, coach Beglinger is looking to play with lots of movement. “This senior-heavy group brings a lot of court experience and savvy. They move well together and anticipate each other’s movement,” says Beglinger. Beglinger also states, “I would like to be less dependent on the three for our scoring.” It is clear that Beglinger values on and off ball movement and values teamwork instead of independent basketball.
Defensively, coach Beglinger would like to make opposing offenses uncomfortable with different defenses thrown out on them. Beglinger states, “We have some players who are just wired for defense.” He mentions senior guard Abbie English as a tone setter on the defensive end.
When asked about the ‘X-Factor,’ Beglinger stated, “Health. Several of our key players struggled with injuries last year.” Overall, Cole Valley is looking to have a great season led by the seniors and this experienced Cole Valley team.
HOMEDALE
Homedale finished fifth in the Snake River Valley Conference last season with an overall record of 7-15 and a conference record of 2-8. Homedale will be led this year by the 4th year head coach Benji Sorenson.
Homedale is losing no key players this season, but they will be retaining key players like senior Tiana Sorenson, Stella Heck, and Belen Asumendi. This team will be experienced and looking to bounce back from a tough season last year.
Offensively, coach Sorenson states, “We want to play with pace. Our strength is quickness and experience in the starting lineup.” When playing with pace, there is a higher risk of turning the ball over which coach Sorenson clearly understands which is one thing they want to limit this season.
Defensively, coach Sorenson and Homedale have similar goals as the offense. Sorenson states, “Quickness is our strength and this year with some depth we hope to extend that defense.” With more depth, that will allow Homedale to play at a quicker pace to tire out the opposing offenses.
Overall, Homedale is looking to have a great season with four starters returning this season and if everyone can buy into the system, this team can be a very tough, deep basketball team.
PAYETTE
Payette finished sixth in the Snake River Valley Conference last season with an overall record of 4-18 and a conference record of 0-10. Payette will be led by third year head coach Mike Boudreau.
Some key players retuning for Payette this season are senior guard Sianna Gable, junior wing Haylo Collingwood, senior guard Victoria Walker, and junior post Emmie Atkins. Sianna Gable last year earned the First Team All-Conference honors along with Haylo Collingwood earning Honorable Mention All-Conference.
Some key players Payette will be losing this season are Erin-Marie Auxier and Bella Nunez who were two senior guards for them last season.