Week One: New Names (2024/2025)

<p><strong>2024 Cael Bracewell (Colfax-Mingo)</strong></p> <p>The 5-10 lead guard caught our attention when he nearly posted a triple-double in the Tigerhawks’ season-opening win over Chariton, scoring 11 points with 10 rebounds and 9 assists. He has remained near the top of the assist category around the state so far this season, showing good court vision and a propensity for getting others involved. He hasn’t shot the ball very well yet, but if he can continue to get others involved at a high clip, he’ll be someone to monitor, and he’ll find himself on our updated rankings coming later in the month.</p> <p><strong>2024 Sawyer Stout (Keota)</strong></p> <p>Keota lost a ton of production off of last year’s team, so we were curious to see who would step up and become this group’s go-to scorer, and it has been Stout so far. A 5-10 off-ball guard, he’s averaging 16.5 points and leads the team with 11 made 3-pointers. The efficiency has cooled off a bit after a hot start to the year, but he’s the next in a line of Eagles guards who have a penchant for scoring in bunches.</p> <p><strong>2024 Evan Vittetoe (Keota)</strong></p> <p>While Stout has been the standout on the perimeter, Vittetoe has been stellar in the paint and on the glass, averaging 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game, including 3.8 offensive. He’s undersized as a forward, coming in at just 6-1, but he plays with physicality and has a nose for the basketball. He’s finished efficiently around the bucket and shot it well from the free-throw line so far, indicating there may be some potential to extend his range a bit.</p> <p><strong>2024 Mekhi Benton (Central City)</strong></p> <p>The Wildcats are winless so far, but Benton has been a standout, averaging 18 points and 7.3 rebounds, including 3 offensive boards a night. He’s a big, 6-4 forward who does a good job controlling the painted area on both ends of the floor. He has good hands and is a solid finisher around the rim. He’ll need to keep improving his footwork and post moves as well as extend his range, but he’s been a solid leader for a very young Wildcats team that has just one senior on the roster.</p> <p><strong>2025 [player_tooltip player_id="1174816" first="Toryn" last="Severson"] (Madrid)</strong></p> <p>A 6-3 scoring guard with good size, Severson had a huge debut, scoring 28 points on 9-13 shooting, including 5-6 from 3, along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a blowout win over Ankeny Christian. He’s kept up that strong production so far, averaging 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists a game. His ability to score from all three levels at an efficient clip, while also contributing across the board, will make him a player that we’ll be keeping close tabs on throughout the year and over the next four years. It’s obviously still ridiculously early in his career, but he’s on pace to be one of the state’s elite scorers.</p> <p><strong>2025 Zach Driscoll (MFL-Mar-Mac)</strong></p> <p>Another freshman guard that had a monster debut, Driscoll had 33 points on 11-17 shooting (5-6 from 3) in their opening win over Waukon. He has the ability to create his own looks, but he also moves well off the ball and has a quick, smooth release on his jumper. His production slowed down a little bit in the next two games of his career, averaging 15 points in those two, but that is still fantastic production from a freshman guard. </p> <p><strong>2025 Emiliano Barrantes (Grand View Christian)</strong></p> <p>The next in a long line of bigs to come through GVC, Barrantes is a 6-8 forward who has gotten off to a strong start for the Thunder, averaging 9 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. His offensive game is still very much a work in progress, but you can’t teach size, which will make Barrantes an intriguing prospect to monitor moving forward. </p> <p><strong>2025 Thomas Meyer (Clear Lake)</strong></p> <p>A 6-4 forward, Meyer has given the Lions a secondary scoring option alongside [player_tooltip player_id="682292" first="Carson" last="Toebe"], which was very much needed. He has gotten off to an efficient scoring start, averaging 12 points on 56% shooting. As he continues his progression, adding more range to his game will be the next step. But he has good size and length, and has a knack for scoring at a high level.</p>