Substate Preview: 1A-7
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District 13 The favorite: It would be an upset if any team in the district stays within a running clock of Grand View Christian here. The Thunder are just that good, and their draw here appears to be completely overmatched.…
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Continue ReadingDistrict 13
The favorite: It would be an upset if any team in the district stays within a running clock of Grand View Christian here. The Thunder are just that good, and their draw here appears to be completely overmatched. This is a team that has beaten a solid 5A school from Missouri, a really good, athletic team from Milwaukee, and has great in-state wins over Hudson, Roosevelt, Treynor, Roland-Story, AHSTW, Charles City, and Aplington-Parkersburg. Playing as an independent, they’re able to play whoever, wherever, and have taken full advantage of that, beefing up their schedule and still getting through unblemished. Senior guards Josh Sanderson Josh Sanderson 5'10" | PG Grand View Christian | 2023 State IA (18.9, 8.7 assists) and Frankie Chiodo Frankie Chiodo 6'0" | SG Dowling | 2023 State IA (16.4, 30.9 3P%) are the top scoring options, but it’s the overwhelming size of sophomore Emiliano Barrantes Emiliano Barrantes 6'9" | PF Grand View Christian | 2025 State IA (13.1, 9.5 rebounds), senior Daniel Tobiloba Daniel Tobiloba 7'0" | C Grand View Christian | 2023 State IA (12.9, 13.5 rebounds, 4.3 blocks), and junior Noah John Noah John 6'3" | PF Grand View Christian | 2024 State IA (11.2, 9.2 rebounds) that makes this group nearly impossible to beat at this level. That trio goes 6-9, 7-0, 6-5, respectively. A dominant defensive team that swarms opponents, flies all over the floor, and has an eraser in Kennesaw State-bound Tobiloba at the backend, this is a group that would also compete for titles in 2A and 3A this season.
The biggest threat: Lenox, the district’s #2 seed, is the most likely opponent for GVC in the district final. The Tigers are led by a trio of double-figure scorers in sophomore Gabe Funk Gabe Funk 6'1" | SG Lenox | 2025 State IA (18.6, 9.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists) and seniors Keaton England (15.2, 39.8 3P%) and Samson Adams (10.9, 36.4 3P%). As a team, they’re shooting 36.8% from behind the arc, and they’d need to knock down 12-15 3-pointers if they want to have a chance at the shocking upset. But if anyone in the district is going to do it, it’s Lenox.
The dark horse: The other team at the bottom of the bracket with the best chance at reaching the district final is Stanton, another team with a trio of double-figure scorers in Nolan Grebin Nolan Grebin 5'10" | PG Stanton | 2024 State IA (16.9), Evan Gettier (13.4), and Joshua Martin (10.0).
Players to watch
2023
Josh Sanderson
Josh
Sanderson
5'10" | PG
Grand View Christian | 2023
State
IA
, Grand View Christian
2023
Frankie Chiodo
Frankie
Chiodo
6'0" | SG
Dowling | 2023
State
IA
, Grand View Christian
2023
Daniel Tobiloba
Daniel
Tobiloba
7'0" | C
Grand View Christian | 2023
State
IA
, Grand View Christian
2024
Noah John
Noah
John
6'3" | PF
Grand View Christian | 2024
State
IA
, Grand View Christian
2025
Emiliano Barrantes
Emiliano
Barrantes
6'9" | PF
Grand View Christian | 2025
State
IA
, Grand View Christian
2025
Gabe Funk
Gabe
Funk
6'1" | SG
Lenox | 2025
State
IA
, Lenox
2023 Keaton England, Lenox
2023 Samson Adams, Lenox
2024
Nolan Grebin
Nolan
Grebin
5'10" | PG
Stanton | 2024
State
IA
, Stanton
2025 Evan Gettier, Stanton
District 14
The favorite: Despite being the district’s #2 seed, we think that ACGC is the best team in the district and will pencil them in as the favorite to come out of it. Five players average at least 8.3 points a game for the Chargers, led by senior guard Brock Littler Brock Littler 5'8" | PG ACGC | 2023 State IA (16.3, 4.2 assists) and junior Lance Bunde (12.3). A balanced team that shares the ball and does a pretty good job limiting turnovers, they’ve played a much tougher schedule than Ankeny Christian Academy, which could be significant in the district final.
The biggest threat: Ankeny Christian Academy is the top seed in the district, but they’ll have a tricky semifinal game against either CAM or Coon Rapids-Bayard. Junior forward Cade Wierck Cade Wierck 6'6" | PF Ankeny Christian | 2024 State IA (13.5) leads a deep group of scoring threats, with eight other players averaging between 3.8 and 9.4 points a game. Like ACGC, they’ve done a good job limiting turnovers this season, and they pound the offensive glass hard, which helps offset their poor perimeter shooting numbers by gaining extra possessions. This is a deep team that plays really hard and will defend well.
The dark horse(s): This is one of the deepest districts in 1A, with five teams that we could see taking home the district title. We’ll start with IKM-Manning, who has played the toughest schedule of the bunch according to BC Moore. Four players averaging between 8.5 and 12.0 points a game, led by junior Ross Kusel (12.0) and freshman Ben Ramsey Ben Ramsey 6'0" | PG IKM-Manning | 2026 State IA (11.9). They’ve had some solid wins (Treynor, Coon Rapids, Tri-Center), and some head-scratching losses (Audubon). CAM swept the season series against Coon Rapids-Bayard, led by a trio of double-figure scorers in Seth Hensley (15.8), Sam Foreman (13.0), and Chase Jahde (11.6). Always an athletic team that plays solid defense and gets to the bucket, the Cougars put a lot of pressure on opposing teams on both ends of the floor with their style of play. Coon Rapids-Bayard is allowing just 46.3 points a game, and they have a dominant freshman wing in Cal Heydon Cal Heydon 6'4" | SF Coon Rapids-Bayard | 2026 State IA (19.7), a do-it-all 6-4 wing who can take over games and is capable of being the best player on the floor on any given night. Lance Clayburg (12.5, 8.3 rebounds) is a physical, athletic forward who finishes effectively, and the Crusaders generally seem to pull off an upset or two in postseason play.
Players to watch
2023
Brock Littler
Brock
Littler
5'8" | PG
ACGC | 2023
State
IA
, ACGC
2024 Lance Bunde, ACGC
2024
Cade Wierck
Cade
Wierck
6'6" | PF
Ankeny Christian | 2024
State
IA
, Ankeny Christian Academy
2024 Ross Kusel, IKM-Manning
2026
Ben Ramsey
Ben
Ramsey
6'0" | PG
IKM-Manning | 2026
State
IA
, IKM-Manning
2023 Seth Hensley, CAM
2023 Sam Foreman, CAM
2026
Cal Heydon
Cal
Heydon
6'4" | SF
Coon Rapids-Bayard | 2026
State
IA
, Coon Rapids-Bayard
2023 Lance Clayburg, Coon Rapids-Bayard
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Grand View Christian vs. ACGC
ACGC has some players who can knock down 3s, and they’ll need to do so in bunches if they want to pull off a shocking upset and advance to the state tournament. This one likely lacks much drama, with Grand View Christian cruising to the state tournament behind a dominant defensive effort.