VISAA D2 Preview: Contenders

With the high school season right around the corner, it’s time for us to do some previews for who we think will compete for some of the state championships. We continue with private school, taking a look at our picks for who we think will win the state championship and who could possibly compete with them.

Here’s a look at our picks for contenders in the VISAA D2 classification.

Preseason Favorite: Miller School

The Mavericks are the clear favorite this year with cross-town rival Blue Ridge moving up to D1, as they’ve consistently one of the only teams that were able to compete with the Barons over the past 8 years. Head Coach Jack Meriwether has a deep and talented group that check all the boxes and will be very difficult to match up with.

Senior wing and George Mason commit Austin Ball Austin Ball 6'7" | SF Miller School | 2023 State #203 Nation VA leads this group and the 6’6” wing is one of the best shooters and athletes you’ll come across in the state. Junior big man Eli DeLaurier Eli DeLaurier 6'8" | C Miller School | 2024 State #173 Nation VA is a high major big man who is starting to turn the corner and does a little bit of everything for his team on both ends of the floor.

Senior point guard Jordan Horne Jordan Horne 6'1" | PG Miller School | 2023 VA will be key as he’ll be leaned upon to do most of the ball handling and set the tone on both ends of the floor. Seniors Will Bonde Will Bonde 6'7" | PF Miller School | 2023 State VA and Wilson Hagen Wilson Hagen 6'5" | SG Miller | 2023 State VA round out the starting lineup and provide more shooting, and I expect juniors Reece Hagy Reece Hagy 6'4" | SF Charlottesville | 2024 VA and Ed Harrison Ed Harrison 6'6" | PF Miller School | 2024 State VA to add additional size and shooting as well.

Contenders

Steward School

Coming off of a trip to the Final Four last year, Steward has some changes with a new coach and their best guard having left, but they still have the talent and size to compete in this classification. Liberty commit Curtis Blair is a scoring machine who can isolate and get to spots to score the ball with ease, and he’s able to make tough shots most players can’t even imagine. Junior big man Owen Gray Owen Gray 6'10" | C Steward | 2024 State VA provides size and athleticism, and senior guard and CNU commit Teven Smith brings shooting and perimeter defense to the table as well. Guard play will be key for them, as they’ll need someone to step up and initiate the offense this year.

Peninsula Catholic

The Knights are coming off of a big season last year and looking to continue the momentum into a run to Virginia State this year. They have the firepower, led by senior guard Stylz Gardner Stylz Gardner 5'11" | CG Peninsula Catholic | 2023 State VA who can fill it up in bunches and from all over the court. Junior point guard EJ Joyner EJ Joyner 5'8" | PG Menchville | 2024 State VA gives them a playmaking guard along with fellow junior Malcolm Velmar, and they’ll lean upon guard play and playing fast to negate their lack of size.

Virginia Academy

VA Academy has yet another coach this season, and while there’s a lot we don’t know about them we do know that they will have a lot of size and athleticism to bring to the table. The twin tower duo of 6’8” athletic freak Callum Crossman Callum Crossman 6'8" | C Virginia Academy | 2023 State VA and 6’7” bully big David Solomon provide a yin and yang aspect in the post that will be hard for teams to matchup with, and they’re going to make you play with physicality and toughness every time you’re on the floor with them.

Dark Horse Contenders

Norfolk Collegiate

Norfolk Collegiate is a very young squad with a lot of potential moving forward, but this year could be the year you see them start to take those strides. They’re led by a group of sophomores including 6’5” wing Justin Burroughs, 6’0” point guard Kai Robinson, 6’2” guard Savion Samlal and 6’4” combo Khalil Caple Khalil Caple 6'4" | CG Norfolk Collegiate | 2025 State VA , all of which are rapidly improving and will be a problem to matchup with later in the season.

Hargrave

While Hargrave is known more for their post grad team, this year’s high school team could be a dark horse candidate in a year where D2 is down. They have great guard play in senior Troy Giles Troy Giles 6'0" | CG Hargrave Military Academy | 2023 State VA and junior Timayahs Bracey Timayahs Bracey 6'0" | SG Hargrave | 2023 VA who both can fill it up and make others better, and the high motor hybrid forward Dante Kearse Dante Kearse 6'5" | SF Hargrave Military Academy | 2023 State VA is going to give them a productive mismatch against slower big men.

VES

While we don’t know much about what VES has in store this year, we can bet that they’ll have a team ready to go out and compete as they always do. They’re big up front with senior big man Efe Serkoglu and junior big Billy Koudelka Billy Koudelka 6'9" | C Virginia Episcopal | 2024 State VA who compliment each other very well, and if they can play through their bigs and limit teams offensively they’ll be a tough team to matchup with.