OHSAA DI Preseason Watchlist: NW

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Division's II, III and IV, we released our top 10 and then broke down our watchlist teams. In Division I we're going to break down the watchlist teams first and leave the suspense for our top 10 rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lima Sr</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This team has dominated Northwest Ohio over the past few seasons and return their 2025 duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1475110' first='Jekel' last='Cotton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1432045' first='Jagger' last='Hutchins']. With freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2140877' first='Shawn' last='Foster'] set to take over as the point guard, the Spartans have plenty of top end talent. Combine that with the usual toughness that Quincey Simpson teams play with and Lima Sr will be a tough out once again this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toledo St John's</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After making it to Dayton last season, Toledo St John's will once again have one of the top teams in NW Ohio. [player_tooltip player_id='1827695' first='Race' last='Kowalczyk'] is a breakout candidate as a Sophomore with upperclassmen like [player_tooltip player_id='1679929' first='Jaylen' last='Murphy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2225037' first='Jayden' last='Jones'] at the guard position around him. This team always finds a way to win close games and play their best basketball as the year winds down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toledo St Francis</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The addition of the Horton brothers helps give some size to St Francis as point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1605229' first='Jameson' last='Heck'] will have more talent to set up as a Junior. This team has improved year over year and I expect a big step up this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sandusky</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Making the move from Division II to Division I, Sandusky had an excellent season last year but will face stiffer playoff competition with this move. 2025 trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1672052' first='Jason' last='Henlon'], [player_tooltip player_id='1672053' first='Kobe' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2281014' first='Aa'Zoriyon' last='Bonner'] will allow this team to remain competitive this season. Their unique style of play with a fast tempo and relentless pressure could also pose some issues for opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->