The Gopher Conference Preview
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Hayfield and Maple River are on the thrones and that will continue. Kenyon-Wanamingo and NRHEG made a run last year and will look to take another step. Today it’s the Gopher Conference Preview! Conference Commentary Top Ten in State: Hayfield, Maple…
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Continue ReadingHayfield and Maple River are on the thrones and that will continue. Kenyon-Wanamingo and NRHEG made a run last year and will look to take another step. Today it’s the Gopher Conference Preview!
Conference Commentary
Top Ten in State: Hayfield, Maple River
Hayfield won a state title for the second year in a row, and they have enough to make another run including last year’s Class A Player of the Year in Isaac Matti Isaac Matti 6'1" | SG Hayfield | 2023 State MN . They are right there and ready to roll. Maple River is a Class AA top ten team with three returning all league players. What’s even better is that one is a PG, one is a big, one is a wing, so there is experienced quality talent all over.
Compete with Most: Triton, Randolph, NRHEG, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, USC, WEM
Triton and Randolph both have a few starters returning and both have a chance to push for the runner-up spot in the West. Randolph actually won the second match-up last year and has a bit more experience back at each spot. Daxter Lee will keep NRHEG in a good spot and there are some young guards that will step in a play good roles but with four starters graduated NRHEG won’t quite be what they were, but still good. JWP losing Landon Dimler Landon Dimler 6'5" | SG Mankato West | 2024 State MN to a transfer to Mankato West after a 15-12 year would be close to triggering a rebuild but JWP still has starters coming back and the league is not incredibly deep so they can still win a decent amount of games. USC lost their best player but has half their line-up back including a couple starters. WEM lost seniors but they were an injured team last year so some younger guys got time. What they will be is kind of a mystery.
Rebuilding: Kenyon-Wanamingo, Bethlehem Academy, Blooming Prairie, Medford
Kenyon-Wanamingo lost a huge senior class that was very good and the heart of the program. There are a few pieces returning to still be good but you don’t lose that type of senior class and not have to rebuild some. BA won ten games last year but only four league games and they lost their best few players to graduation. They will likely take a step back. The Blossoms leaned on their best player Drew Kittelson last year a lot, and they won four games. Drew is gone so it’s a rebuild.
22-23 Conference Predictions
Power Rankings
- Hayfield
- Maple River
- Randolph
- NRHEG
- Triton
- Kenyon-Wanagmino
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton
- USC
- Waterville-Elysian Morristown
- Bethlehem Academy
- Blooming Prairie
- Medford
East
- Hayfield
- Randolph
- Triton
- Kenyon-Wanagmino
- Bethlehem Academy
- Blooming Prairie
West
- Maple River
- NRHEG
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton
- USC
- Waterville-Elysian Morristown
- Medford
Preseason All Gopher Conference
First Team
Isaac Matti Isaac Matti 6'1" | SG Hayfield | 2023 State MN of Hayfield (sr)
Mason Schirmer Mason Schirmer 5'9" | PG Maple River | 2023 State MN of Maple River (sr)
Ethan Pack Ethan Pack 6'1" | SG Hayfield | 2023 State MN of Hayfield (sr)
Will Sellers Will Sellers 6'1" | SG Maple River | 2023 State MN of Maple River (sr)
Hayden Niebuhr Hayden Niebuhr 6'7" | C Maple River | 2023 State MN of Maple River (sr)
Second Team
Daxter Lee of NRHEG (jr)
Zander Jacobson Zander Jacobson 6'6" | PF Minnesota Valley Lutheran | 2024 State MN of Hayfield (jr)
Quinn Sabila of Randolph (sr)
Memhis James of JWP (jr)
Tyson Cooreman Tyson Cooreman 6'4" | SF Randolph | 2023 MN of Randolph (sr)
Third Team
NIck Bushlack of USC (sr)
AJ Higginbottom of Kenyon-Wanamingo (sr)
Pierce Petersohn Pierce Petersohn 6'5" | SG Triton | 2026 State MN of Triton (soph)
Sam Olson of NRHEG (jr)
Karson Lindsay of JWP (sr)