Way Too Early Class 4A Top Five

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Summer school and AAU club basketball have all completed and as fall league approaches, we thought we'd go over our notes and start taking a look at the 2023-24 season. Rosters obviously won't be settled until late November and there is still plenty of transfer action bound to happen, but here's a way-too-early look at our pre-season top five teams in 4A (listed alphabetically).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Baker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No longer a secret from Eastern Oregon, Baker should be considered one of the favorites in 2023-24. Head coach Jebron Jones has practically his entire roster back from last year's squad and the Bulldogs will score early and often. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1380947' first='Isaiah' last='Jones'] should once again be a handful for teams to match up with and senior wing and recent Eastern Oregon quarterback commit [player_tooltip player_id='1565733' first='Paul' last='Hobson'] will be launching daggers from the perimeter. One of the top athletes in the state at any class or grade, sophomore Rasean Jones, will have an expanded role and seniors <strong>Hudson Spike</strong> and <strong>Giacomo Rigueiro</strong>, and juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2819976' first='Jaxon' last='Logsdon']</strong> and <strong>Grant Gambleton</strong> all got major minutes from arguably the deepest roster in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cascade</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite the fact an experienced and well-decorated senior class moves on, Cascade still stands as perhaps the team to be in 4A. The reason why is head coach Justin Amaya has a group of returnees that were simply waiting their turn to shine. The strength lies in the junior class as guards [player_tooltip player_id='1368277' first='Landon' last='Knox'], [player_tooltip player_id='1953757' first='Kaiden' last='Ford'], [player_tooltip player_id='1910902' first='Droiy' last='Comstock'], and wing/post [player_tooltip player_id='1368253' first='Anthony' last='Best'] all played major minutes on last year's squad and each of them got even better during the summer months playing together on school and AAU teams. The Cougars have been on top the last couple of seasons; a third ring would not be a surprise in the least.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crook County</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cowboys made a splash at the 4A level last season making it to the state tournament and they've got the horses to ride on back to Forest Grove. The senior trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1111365' first='Eddie' last='Freauff'], [player_tooltip player_id='1111368' first='Tyson' last='Martinez'], and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1111367' first='Logan' last='Matthews']</strong> may be as good a threesome as any in the entire state and each got better during the off-season. Freauff - a recent football commit to Oregon - was Tri-Valley MVP and earned First Team All-State honors last season. Starter <strong>Kiernan Teasdale</strong> is also back for head coach Jason Mumm, who will also turn to guys like senior <strong>Zachary Levesque</strong> and a number of up-and-coming sophomores as Crook County looks to build on its 4th place finish last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Seaside</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A traditional power, Seaside missed out on the trip to Forest Grove last year but it would be a surprise if they didn't get it done in 2023-24. Junior wing/post [player_tooltip player_id='1277130' first='Austin' last='Palmer'] - the returning Cowapa League player of the year - is back and his ability to score both inside and out will be awfully hard to contend with. The surrounding cast includes experienced seniors such as <strong>Caleb Langmo</strong>, <strong>Ruger Thompson</strong>, and <strong>Kyler McCleary</strong> and junior guard <strong>Jordan Westerholm</strong> will get minutes. Head coach Bill Westerholm has been doing this for quite some time and as one of the winningest coaches in 4A, should have the Seagulls in contention from start to finish.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Marion</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In what is arguably the top conference in all of 4A, North Marion appears to have what it takes to not only challenge for Oregon West Conference supremacy but also achieve a state tournament appearance. A huge reason why is they have the league's player of the year back in junior [player_tooltip player_id='1368276' first='Cole' last='Hammack']. The junior point guard dominates the game from the point guard spot and is primed to have another huge season. Hammack isn't the only guy back for head coach Tully Wagner as sharp-shooting <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1908826' first='Dawson' last='Schrenk']</strong> is also returning in the backcourt. Senior <strong>Carter Reilly</strong> served as one of the captains last year and the Hartenstein brothers, Reece and Cade, will have increased roles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Other schools considered: Astoria, Henley, Gladstone, Marist, Philomath, The Dalles</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->