Preseason All-Conference Teams: NICL West
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Preseason Player of the Year: 2025 Jalen Kirkpatrick Jalen Kirkpatrick 6'6" | SF Grundy Center | 2025 State IA (Grundy Center) Grundy Center should be considered a pretty heavy favorite in this division, and Kirkpatrick is the Spartans’ best player,…
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Continue ReadingPreseason Player of the Year: 2025 Jalen Kirkpatrick Jalen Kirkpatrick 6'6" | SF Grundy Center | 2025 State IA (Grundy Center)
Grundy Center should be considered a pretty heavy favorite in this division, and Kirkpatrick is the Spartans’ best player, making him a pretty easy selection for this honor heading into the season.
First Team
2025 Jalen Kirkpatrick Jalen Kirkpatrick 6'6" | SF Grundy Center | 2025 State IA (Grundy Center): 16.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 49.0 FG%, 41.2 3P%
A versatile 6-6 wing who can impact the game in a number of ways, Kirkpatrick is the leading returning scorer in the division and will be the focal point of a Grundy Center attack that should be the best in the league. He can create for himself and his teammates, score inside and out, and defend multiple positions.
2025 Tiernan Vokes Tiernan Vokes 6'4" | SF Grundy Center | 2025 State IA (Grundy Center): 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 53.4 FG%, 42.1 3P%
A long 6-4 wing who can really shoot it from deep, Vokes buried over 42% of his 3-point attempts as a sophomore for the Spartans while also contributing in nearly every other category on the stat sheet. He’s a key piece in a loaded 2025 class at Grundy Center.
2024 Landen Neuroth (East Marshall): 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 49.1 FG%
Neuroth is a 5-10 guard who loves to attack the rim, with nearly 91% of his shot attempts coming from inside the arc last season. He puts pressure on opposing defenses with his combination of speed and ball-handling.
2024 Lane Luiken Lane Luiken 6'2" | SF South Hardin | 2024 State IA (South Hardin): 11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 37.9 3P%
Luiken was the Tigers’ best perimeter shooting threat last season and will be the focal point of the offensive attack this year after four double-figure scorers graduated. He can shoot it off the dribble or the catch and displayed some solid secondary playmaking ability as well last season.
2025 Drew Eilers Drew Eilers 6'3" | PF Gladbrook-Reinbeck | 2025 State IA (Gladbrook-Reinbeck): 7.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 57.1 FG%
With the top three scorers from last year’s team graduated, there will be a lot of open opportunities for Eilers, an efficient 6-3/6-4 big man. He has soft hands and good touch around the rim, and the offense will need to flow through him and Isaac Clark this season.
Second Team
2025 Brayden Wallis Brayden Wallis 6'4" | SG Grundy Center | 2025 State IA (Grundy Center)
2024 Tate Jirovsky Tate Jirovsky 6'5" | PF Grundy Center | 2024 State IA (Grundy Center)
2024 Isaac Clark (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)
2025 Brody Zinkula (Grundy Center)
2024 Colin Gordon (Grundy Center)
Honorable Mentions
2024 Gabe Nederhoff (AGWSR)
2025 Traven Wheeler (South Hardin)
2024 Austin Vaverka (Gladbrook-Reinbeck)
2025 Leland Hamilton-Youngbird (East Marshall)