The Skyline Preview

Maranatha Christian Academy and New Life Academy were the class of the league a season ago and come into the 2022-23 as favorites once again. Here is your Skyline Conference Preview!

Conference Commentary

Top Ten in State: New Life Acaemy

New Life Academy is on the short list of favorites to win Class A basketball this year. They lost only one starter and one rotation player overall from a group that played in the Class A Final Four. There is wing scoring to replace from that one player (Kollin Kaemingk) but the Eagles should have more than enough returning pieces to fill that void as this is a senior dominated group this season. In fact, so many of their players will have improved to the point that we think they should certainly be in the final four again, maybe in the title game!

Top Ten in State Potential: Concordia Academy, Maranatha Christian Academy

Concordia Academy is a top 25 area team right now in Class AA and with a really nice senior group, some good health, and a nice run, they could have an outside shot at being a top ten team at some point this year. It’s a really nice senior group that may have lost a good transfer, but has some really good team basketball players returning that are loyal to what they have built. MCA has a returning all league player in Bailey Mcdonald Bailey Mcdonald 6'2" Maranatha Christian Academy | 2023 MN , they have a real up and comer in Drew Balentine Drew Balentine 6'1" | PG Maranatha Christian Academy | 2024 State MN , and there are several returning experienced returning players. Like many in this league they were bit but the “transfer portal” but they have enough talent to enter the season as a top 15 team in Class AA.

Compete with Most: St. Agnes, St Croix Lutheran, St Croix Prep, Cristo Rey Jesuit

There are two ways to look at St. Agnes who went 18-10 last year with a young team: 1) they have three really good players returning that should make them competitive and around .500, or 2) think of what could of been had the “transfer portal” not led to their top scorers going to South St. Paul. You will be happier looking at it from number one and that is the best way to do it. St. Agnes will be a solid team this year as Andrew Weber Andrew Weber 6'0" | CG St. Agnes | 2024 State MN is a really good guard entering his upperclassmen years.

St. Croix Lutheran only won seven games last year and they lost their leading scorer. That said, Crusaders have the rest of their team back so they should be a handful of wins better this season. The other St. Croix names team, St. Croix Prep, was steady throughout last season and good in their league. With three starters back and a foundation of a quality program now built, they should have another good year. Maybe not a contending at the top year, but a good year. For comparison, they have about the same amount of players back from their rotation as St. Agnes, but St. Croix Prep beat St. Agnes twice last year finishing a game ahead in the table.

Cristo Rey Jesuit played so many young guys last year that it was kind of their start in a phase and this year they should take that next step. The good news is they have good young talent that is now experienced and that will win more games, the bad news is they won two games last year so it’s still a work in progress that should be trending in the right way.

Rebuilding: Nova Classical, Trinity

Nova lost senior starters and got much younger after going 7-21 last season and not winning a league game. They are still in the building phase but they have a good junior class of talent. Trinity relied heavily on three players and all three of those players have graduated. Trinity was really good defensively last season and they could be again, but scoring will be tough with most of their point production gone.

22-23 Conference Predictions

1. New Life Academy
2. Maranatha Christian Academy
3. Concordia Academy
4. St. Croix Prep
5. St. Agnes
6. Cristo Rey Jesuit
7. St. Croix Lutheran
8. Nova Classical
9. Trinity School

Preseason All Skyline Conference

First Team

Aj Greene Aj Greene 6'1" | PG Concordia Academy | 2023 State MN of Concordia Academy (sr)

Max Briggs Max Briggs 6'0" | PG New Life Academy | 2023 State MN of New Life Academy (sr)

Erick Reader Erick Reader 6'8" | C New Life Academy | 2023 State MN of New Life Academy (sr)

Bailey Mcdonald Bailey Mcdonald 6'2" Maranatha Christian Academy | 2023 MN of Maranatha Christian (sr)

Andrew Weber Andrew Weber 6'0" | CG St. Agnes | 2024 State MN of St. Agnes (jr)

Second Team

Corey Dotson Jr Corey Dotson Jr 6'5" Cristo Rey Jesuit | 2024 MN of Cristo Rey Jesuit (jr)

Jaiden Neish of St. Croix Lutheran (jr)

Austin Woolf of New Life Academy (sr)

Tyler Huebsch Tyler Huebsch 6'0" | SG New Life Academy | 2023 MN of New Life Academy (sr)

Luc Swanson Luc Swanson 6'0" | SG Concordia Academy | 2023 MN of Concordia Academy (sr)

Third Team

Colton Hendricks of New Life Academy (sr)

Benjamin Raymond of Concordia Academy (sr)

Bjorn Benson Bjorn Benson 5'11" | SF St. Croix Prep | 2023 MN of St. Croix Prep (sr)

Patrick Akoussan Patrick Akoussan 6'4" | SG Cristo Rey Jesuit | 2024 State MN of Cristo Rey Jesuit (jr)

Matthew Bluford Matthew Bluford 5'10" | PG Maranatha Christian | 2023 State MN of Maranatha Christian Academy (sr)

Fourth Team

Jarory Purnell of Maranatha Christian Academy (sr)

Nolan Davis Nolan Davis 6'3" | SF St. Agnes | 2025 State MN of St. Agnes (soph)

Drew Balentine Drew Balentine 6'1" | PG Maranatha Christian Academy | 2024 State MN of Maranatha Christian Academy (jr)

Omar Whittaker Omar Whittaker 6'1" Cristo Rey Jesuit | 2025 MN of Cristo Rey Jesuit (soph)

Isaiah Bluford Isaiah Bluford 5'8" | PG Maranatha Christian | 2023 State MN of Maranatha Christian Academy (sr)

Paul Plasch Paul Plasch 6'2" | PG St. Agnes | 2023 MN of St. Agnes (sr)

Fifth Team

Christian Nelson of St. Croix Prep (sr)

Silas Revenaugh of Nova Classical (jr)

Miles Nelson Miles Nelson 5'11" | PG Cristo Rey | 2024 MN of Cristo Rey Jesuit (jr)

Cade Hanson of St. Croix Prep (sr)

Luke Olson of Concordia Academy (jr)

Si Gawrich of St. Croix Lutheran (sr)