Preseason All-Conference Teams: River Valley South

Preseason Player of the Year: 2022 Carter Harmsen Carter Harmsen 6'5" | SF Mid-Prairie | 2022 State IA , Mid-Prairie

Harmsen and Wilton’s Caden Kirkman Caden Kirkman 6'8" | PF Wilton | 2023 State IA both have excellent arguments for this honor, but we’ll give the edge to Harmsen, who is the best player on a Mid-Prairie team that we expect to be the best in the division this season. He’s a talented playmaking wing who can score from all three levels.

First Team

2022 Carter Harmsen Carter Harmsen 6'5" | SF Mid-Prairie | 2022 State IA , Mid-Prairie: 18.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 75.2 FT%

In addition to his dominant scoring, Harmsen is also a talented passer who can take over games with his court vision and creative passing skills. He’s a player who can take bigger defenders off the dribble, post up smaller defenders, or anchor down in the high post and act as a distributor.

2023 Caden Kirkman Caden Kirkman 6'8" | PF Wilton | 2023 State IA , Wilton: 18.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals, 4.3 blocks, 53.6 FG%

Kirkman’s numbers last season as a sophomore are eye-popping, and he’s only getting better. An agile 6-7 big man with excellent hands, footwork, and great touch with either hand around the bucket, he’s an absolute force at this level. Oh, and he blocked over four shots a game.

2022 Coltrae Kerschen Coltrae Kerschen 6'4" | SG Regina | 2022 State IA , Regina: 11.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 39.6 3P%

Another Kerschen at Regina who can shoot the lights out, Coltrae’s 61 made 3-pointers last season were 14 more than the next closest player in the division. He’s a knockdown shooter off the catch who is working to improve his shot-making off the bounce. 

2024 Holden Arnaman Holden Arnaman 6'3" | PG West Branch | 2024 State IA , West Branch: 5.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.0 steals

Arnaman was a solid role player last year for the Bears, starting at point guard as a freshman for a team that won the division. He’ll be the focal point of the attack this year. Coming off a strong summer with All-Iowa Attack, he looks primed to take over and produce at a high level for the Bears as a scorer and facilitator. 

2023 Nolan DeLong Nolan DeLong 6'0" | SG Durant | 2023 State IA , Durant: 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals

A 6-0 guard, DeLong accounted for over a third of the Wildcats scoring last season while also leading the team in rebounds. If he can improve his efficiency, 20 points a game is well within reach this season.

Second Team

2022 Caleb Wulf, West Liberty

2022 Thomas Gould, West Branch

2023 Alex Bean Alex Bean 6'1" | PG Mid-Prairie | 2023 State IA , Mid-Prairie

2023 Garrett Hollenback, Durant

2022 Jackson Hull, Wilton

Honorable Mentions

2022 Bob Ryan, Tipton
2022 Ethan Kos, Mid-Prairie
2022 Charlie Crigger, Regina
2022 Jahsiah Galvan, West Liberty
2022 Peyton Miller, West Branch
2022 Will Cavanagh, Mid-Prairie