NE KS Top Breakout Candates

<p>Whether it’s because they’ve matured, honed their skills in the offseason, or stepped out of the shadow of a graduating senior, there are plenty of guys at small schools to watch for breakout seasons next fall. Because you never know who’s going to break out, they’re listed in alphabetical order.</p> <p>Here are the Top Breakout Candidates in Northeast Kansas for 2020-21 (players are listed by their grade next school year):</p> <p><strong>Maddox Decker, senior, Santa Fe Trail:</strong></p> <p>The Chargers lose a ton in the departure of <strong>Killian Spoonemore</strong> and <strong>Andrew Berckefeldt</strong>. While the 5-foot-9 Decker won’t bring the size of those grads, he does have scoring ability. He led the Chargers with a 15.5 average and showed he could bust out for more, like the 28 he put up on Iola. Decker will need to take on a leadership role for Santa Fe Trail to improve on its 10-10 record</p> <p><strong>Nathan Hawk, senior, Valley Falls:</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-5 Hawk teamed with 6-foot-3 senior <strong>Tyler Lockhart</strong> to give the Dragons good size for a 1A team last year. With Lockhart and sophomore stud <strong>Avery Gatzemeyer</strong> as the primary options, Hawk stayed within the flow. But he is tough in the paint, can shoot from deep and run the floor. He’s a threat to block shots and is an athletic defender. Offensively, he showed what he’s capable of with 21 points against Oskaloosa and 24 against Troy.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="891930" first="Reese" last="Holaday"], junior, Holton:</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-1 guard is a sweet shooter who didn’t score a ton as a sophomore. He mainly was a support to all-Big Seven performer <strong>Kale Purcell</strong>. But he was the Wildcats’ second leading rebounder and averaged 6.4 points per game. He has a lot more to his game than he’s shown so far. Watch for him to really emerge as a junior.</p> <p><strong>Matt Kuglin, senior, McLouth</strong></p> <p>McLouth loses dynamic guard Tayshawn Barfield and standout big man Jaxson Pope. Kuglin earned honorable mention in the Northeast Kansas League in their considerable shadow. He’ll be called on to do much more in their absence.</p> <p><strong>Dayton Logan, senior, Mission Valley:</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-5/230 pound Logan can overwhelm opponents, and he’s athletic to boot. He averaged 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds for the Vikings, good for second team all Flint Hills League. He is just as likely to knock down 3-pointers as he is to pound it down in the low post. Now with the graduation of <strong>Jake Benortham</strong>, Logan will step into the senior leader role.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="891916" first="Noah" last="McCullough"], junior, Ottawa:</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-1 guard played in the shadow of seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="958332" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="885572" first="Cade" last="Gollier"]</strong>. But he earned Frontier League honorable mention for the Cyclones. Not needed to score a ton, he was efficient, shooting 60% from the field. He averaged 9 points and led the team with 7.5 boards a game. His diverse game saw him average 2.6 assists and 2.1 steals as well. With Johnson and Gollier no longer in the lineup, watch for McCullough to become one of the best in the Frontier League.</p> <p><strong>Trevor Quaney, junior, Burlingame:</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-6 Quancey will be one of the leading bigs in northeast Kansas next year. He averaged 11.4 points and 9.0 boards after posting 7 and 7 as a freshman. With his size and another year of development, Quancey could take a huge leap as a junior. Burlingame was 10-9 last season, but could make a big improvement with Quancey becoming even more dominant.</p> <p><strong>Bo Reeves, senior, Rossville:</strong></p> <p>Rossville has had a rough couple of years, going just 4-17 in 2019-20 after going 2-18 the previous season. The 6-foot-4 junior Reeves was one of just a couple of bright spots. As a support to leading scorer <strong>Kaleb Badura</strong>, Reeves didn’t score a ton, but he’s big and athletic enough to be a stud in various sports. Now with Badura gone, Reeves will be the Bulldogs’ number one option.</p> <p><strong>Brooks Whaley, senior, Rock Creek:</strong></p> <p>The 5-foot-9 junior wasn’t asked to score a lot. Not with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889475" first="Dawson" last="Zenger"]</strong> around. But he did enough of everything else to earn first team all Mid-East League. He’s a scrappy and athletic defender who poses enough of a threat to help Zenger get opportunities. He was a big part of the chemistry that helped Rock Creek improve into one of the best teams in the state. Now with another key piece in <strong>Nolan Churchman</strong> gone, Whaley will be asked to do a lot more.</p>