West Central Trojans
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The Trojans are just a day away from the season’s first game. They play at #3 Dell Rapids on Friday. West Central is led by Jacob Sittig, a reputable coach, and his teams always play a good brand of basketball.…
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Continue ReadingThe Trojans are just a day away from the season’s first game. They play at #3 Dell Rapids on Friday. West Central is led by Jacob Sittig, a reputable coach, and his teams always play a good brand of basketball. The Trojans are a Class A team in Region 3 and they always play a stacked schedule. Let’s take a deep dive into West Central Hoops!
Head Coach: Jacob Sittig
Career Record: 8 Seasons – 85-90 (28-55 in Dakota XII Conference play)
2021-2022 Season: 17-5 (8-2 Dak XII) Lost in the Region Semifinals to Madison, 75-69. JV finished 12-4 (6-4 Dak XII)
Top Returning Players
Carter Schmeichel (2023) |6’1 G| 12 varsity games played – 2.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2 apg, 1.1 spg
He was playing rotation varsity minutes last season before a season-ending back injury in January. Carter has a great knack and IQ for the game. It is almost as if he sees things before they happen. Carter is a great scorer inside the 3-point line but an even better defender. Schmeichel may not be the leading scorer, but he may be the most important player on the team.
Owen Heath (2023) |6’3 F| 2.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .8 apg – Played in all 22 varsity games
He is a big strong player who can play inside and outside on offense. Owen is capable of putting it on the floor and attacking the rim. He can also be sneaky good from 3pt land. Heath will be relied on heavily on the boards and defending the opponent’s best post player.
Up-and-Coming Players
Erik Seten (2023) |6’1 G| 8.3 points per JV game – 9 Varsity Games Played
Erik is a senior who has been biding his time for a chance to prove himself on the varsity, and this year should finally be his year. Erik has put in a ton of work in the offseason. He is a very capable shooter from 3 but has a nice all-around game. He lead the lead in scoring this summer and was second in scoring on the JV last season.
Trevin Price (2024) |6’0 G| 3.6 points per JV game
He is an up and coming guard who will be relied on to play major minutes at the PG position. Price can attack the basket well and he has great basketball savvy. After only playing garbage minutes on varsity last season, Trevin could easily be moved into the starting lineup this season.
Brodie Herr Brodie Herr 6'4" | SF West Central | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’2 F| 4.4 points per JV game – 10 Varsity Games Played
He saw limited minutes last season on the varsity as a sophomore. Herr played more minutes early in the season when the varsity had players out due to injury. Brodie is a very versatile player. He can shoot the 3, attack the basket, and cuts very well off the ball. The team will look to Herr to carry a decent amount of the scoring load.
Crew Heier Crew Heier 6'4" | SF West Central | 2024 SD (2024) |6’4 F|
He and his family are new to Hartford and West Central this season. Crew had a great summer for the varsity team proving his worth on both offense and defense. Heier could be the team’s best 3 point shooter but can also score around the basket. Along with Owen Heath, Crew will be asked to guard the opponent’s main post players and also have a big impact on the boards.
Dylan Stromer (2023) |6’1 F| 4.3 points per JV game – 16 Varsity Games Played
He saw spot varsity minutes last year as a junior and more so at the beginning of the season when varsity rotation players were injured. Dylan has always been known as the best rebounder on the team, especially on the offensive end of the floor. His scoring role will increase this season and Stromer will be relied upon to guard opponent’s more versatile and lengthy wing players.
Connor Eich (2023) |6’0 F| 4.2 points per JV game – 8 Varsity Games Played
He is a glue guy/blue collar player. The way Connor affects the game doesn’t always show up in the box score. Eich is a great leader and teammate. He will be asked to be the steady player who always does the right thing and is in the right spot. His offensive game has developed over the offseason and he may show spurts of being able to score in multiple ways for West Central.
Carter Tetzlaff Carter Tetzlaff 6'0" | SG West Central | 2025 State SD (2025) |6’0 G|
He started the summer as a JV player, but as the summer progressed, it became clear that Carter will most likely play very meaningful minutes this season as a rotation player. Tetzlaff can shoot it very well from the 3pt arc and also score attacking the basket and with his midrange game. He could be relied on to be a serious scoring threat off the bench.
Next In Line To Earn Playing Time
Dylan “Deuce” Sherard (2023) |5’9 G|
Trey Even (2023) |6’2 F|
Xzavian Ferris (2023) |5’10 G|
Paden Schulte (2024) |5’11 G|
Liam Schmeichel (2025) |6’0 G|
Season Overview from coach Jacob Sittig
“As you can see from the player info above, the varsity team is having to replace major players from last year’s team who went 16-4 in the regular season and who some think was the best West Central Boys Basketball team since the state championship team of 2001. Eight very important seniors from a year ago are gone and new players will have to step into big roles. Luckily, we have eight more seniors coming up in the ranks, along with very solid junior and sophomore classes.”
“We plan to still play fast on the offensive side of the floor and we will most likely have many different leading scorers throughout the season. We will have to be very solid on the defensive end of the floor though as we will not be quite as talented on offense. We will “fill our glass” on the defensive side of floor hopefully leading to good offense on the other end. If we can do this, the varsity could once again see a season with an above .500 record, which would be impressive considering the conference we play in and the fact that we graduated 91% of our scoring and 77% of our rebounding from a year ago.”
Coach Sittig’s Prediction on Dak XII Conference
(Not including West Central)
1) Dakota Valley
2) Dell Rapids
3) Sioux Falls Christian
4) Lennox
5) Tea Area
6) Vermillion
7) Madison
8) Elk Point-Jefferson
9) Canton
10) Tri-Valley
Coach Sittig’s Top Teams in Class A
(Not including West Central)
1) Dakota Valley
2) Sioux Valley
3) Dell Rapids
4) Sioux Falls Christian
5) St. Thomas More
6) Lennox
7) Winner
8) Groton Area