Teams from every corner of Louisiana to the next will battle Friday (with a couple Thursday early birds) for berths in next week’s state tournament at McNeese State in Lake Charles. The levels of competition and drama have ratcheted up…
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Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log inTeams from every corner of Louisiana to the next will battle Friday (with a couple Thursday early birds) for berths in next week’s state tournament at McNeese State in Lake Charles.
The levels of competition and drama have ratcheted up with each stage of the postseason thus far from last week’s first round to now what appears poised to be a memorable slate of quarterfinals.
Here are the five games on the schedule that most caught our attention among the nonselect divisions.
No. 5 Ouachita at No. 4 Walker (Division-I)
A pair of Class 5A semifinalists from a year ago will square off Friday to battle for one spot in that round next week. The programs, both perennial contenders, haven’t met since a 2019 semifinal that Walker won, 53-48. The Wildcats will be waiting with a group led by seniors
Warren Young
Warren
Young
6'1" | CG
Walker | 2023
State
LA
Jr.,
Kedric Brown
Kedric
Brown
6'0" | SG
Walker | 2023
State
LA
, Ja’Cory Thomas,
Mekhi Varnado
Mekhi
Varnado
6'3" | SF
Walker | 2023
State
LA
and Brandon Bardales. The Lions take the trip south led by the senior trio of forward
Jonathan Bradshaw
Jonathan
Bradshaw
6'4" | SF
Ouachita | 2023
State
LA
and guards
Jordan Davis
Jordan
Davis
6'1" | PG
Ouachita | 2023
State
LA
and James Ross with Trevon Bradford a highly ranked junior.
No. 5 Rayville at No. 4 Patterson (Division-III)
Perennial power Rayville will take one of the weekend’s longest treks, more than four hours south to Patterson. Senior guards Camron Smith, Getaydreyan Foster and Zephaniah Elmore, senior big man Clay Thompson, junior
Kaleb Jackson
Kaleb
Jackson
5'7" | PG
Captain Shreve | 2026
State
LA
and sophomore
Lantavious Murphy
Lantavious
Murphy
6'3" | SG
Rayville | 2025
State
LA
will try to help lead the Hornets back to their seventh straight semifinal appearance, including a streak of five straight title games from 2017 to 2021 and back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. Patterson is already the deepest it has been into a playoff run in that span. The Lumberjacks get the benefit of home-court advantage, though, where they are 7-2 in the playoffs dating back to that 2016 quarterfinal appearance — compared to 0-5 on the road. Senior forward
Josiah Jennings
Josiah
Jennings
6'4" | SF
Patterson | 2023
State
LA
, a Mississippi College football signee, is the headline prospect for Patterson, with junior big man Demond Davis, senior guard Kendall Francois, junior guard Khylin Brooks and sophomore guard Carlos Brooks Jr. rounding out the lineup.
No. 6 Doyline at No. 3 Fairview (Division-IV)
A pair of Panthers squads from small rural schools will help kickoff the quarterfinal round Thursday, with the winner punching its first semifinal ticket since Doyline’s 2020 state championship. Both teams have had each of the past two seasons end in the quarterfinals. Doyline is 1-4 in quarterfinals the past five years, with Fairview 0-3 the past three years. But each set of Panthers has a talented, battle-tested upperclassman group eager to push forward for more. Doyline is led by combo guard
Jamaria Clark
Jamaria
Clark
6'2" | CG
Doyline | 2023
State
LA
, who has been one of Louisiana’s most unstoppable scorers all season, and junior teammates
Keidric Clark
Keidric
Clark
6'4" | SG
Doyline | 2024
State
LA
and
Broox Swain
Broox
Swain
6'5" | PF
Doyline | 2024
State
LA
. Fairview
No. 8 Northshore at No. 1 New Iberia (Division-I)
Two of Louisiana’s highest-ranked junior prospects will take the same court Friday as explosive guard
Kohen Rowbatham
Kohen
Rowbatham
6'1" | PG
Northshore | 2024
State
#239
Nation
LA
leads his Panthers to New Iberia to face
Wayne Randall-Bashay
Wayne
Randall-Bashay
6'4" | SF
New Iberia | 2024
State
LA
and the Yellow Jackets after their respective second-round survivals: Northshore by two points in double overtime against in-town rival Salmen, and New Iberia by one point on a Randall-Bashay game-winner against East Ascension. Seniors Gabriel James and
Tyrell Yates
Tyrell
Yates
6'3" | SG
Northshore | 2023
State
LA
join Rowbatham in the Panthers’ backcourt, with James Bridges on the wing and stretch big Dawson Knox providing front-court versatility. Joining Randall-Bashary on the home side are the senior trio of
Christian Walker
Christian
Walker
6'0" | PG
New Iberia | 2023
State
LA
,
Kylan Dugas
Kylan
Dugas
5'9" | PG
New Iberia Senior High | 2023
State
LA
and
Jayden Westley
Jayden
Westley
6'3" | SF
New Iberia | 2023
State
LA
and fellow juniors
Austin Delahoussaye
Austin
Delahoussaye
5'9" | PG
New Iberia | 2024
State
LA
and Kentravion Smith as some of the Yellow Jackets’ other standouts. The senior trio of
Landon Strother
Landon
Strother
6'2" | SG
Fairview | 2023
State
LA
, Brett Jinks and Brennan LeJeune meanwhile headline the Fairview group awaiting in Grant.
No. 9 Franklin Parish at No. 1 Wossman (Division-I)
Former district rivals will meet for the first time since Jan. 18 last season in Winnsboro, which itself was the first meeting since the three times during the 2018-19 season. Wossman has reached the past seven state tournaments, including runner-up finishes in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022. Big forward
Kamron Coleman
Kamron
Coleman
6'8" | PF
Wossman | 2023
State
LA
and shooting guard
Juvian Keys
Juvian
Keys
6'2" | SG
Wossman | 2023
State
LA
are highly ranked senior prospects for the Wildcats, with junior point guard
Cordell Payne
Cordell
Payne
5'9" | PG
Wossman | 2024
State
LA
and wings
Jordan Comanche
Jordan
Comanche
6'7" | CG
Wossman | 2024
State
LA
and
Krystian Lewis
Krystian
Lewis
6'3" | CG
Wossman | 2024
State
LA
and a sophomore trio of
Antron Mason II
Antron
Mason II
6'1" | CG
Wossman | 2025
State
LA
,
Kesean Hines
Kesean
Hines
6'2" | SF
Wossman | 2025
State
LA
and
Andrew Ross
Andrew
Ross
6'0" | CG
Jersey Village | 2025
State
LA
all on the Prep Hoops Louisiana 2025 prospects list. Meanwhile, in his second year back at the Franklin Parish helm, a coach Lonnie Cooper, a Louisiana Basketball Hall-of-Famer for his playing career at McCall High and Louisiana Tech, has the Patriots in their first quarterfinal since 2019 after a missed 2020 postseason and back-to-back first-round exits in 2021 and 2022. Multisport standout Javion White, an underrated football prospect, is a veteran standout with Cooper’s son, sophomore forward Drew Cooper, also a baseball standout, and freshman power forward Chris Addison, also an intriguing young football and basketball prospect to watch, also already among the Franklin Parish’s players to watch.