OHSAA DIII Watchlist Part 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're making preseason rankings of each Division to get a sense of where some of the top teams stand in each Division with the best chance to make it to Dayton. While the top 10 teams we think will have the edge, these are some more teams to watch out for heading into the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Garaway</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An always tough out come playoff time, Garaway always has familiar faces on both the football and basketball teams that are physical and play with a winning mentality. While they graduate all four all conference selections including the Roden twins, Garaway returns Jenson Garber, Gabe Amicone and Blaine Raber this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">West Muskingum</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After one of the best seasons in recent memory, West Muskingum is hoping to replicate that same success in 2023-24. Jake Anton and Conner Hill should help keep this team competitive in the MVL.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Point</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pointers return star [player_tooltip player_id='1833522' first='Caleb' last='Lovely'] from a district champion squad that had some big wins in the always competitive OVC. While big man Jackson Childers transferred to expression prep, this still should be one of the top teams in southeast Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ironton</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>OVC rivals with South Point, Ironton has a lot of talent coming from their always dominant football program. Shaun Terry and Braden Schreck are both returning Juniors who should put up even more impressive numbers this winter. Can their 2025 class show Ironton is capable of winning big on the hardwood? Time will tell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">North Adams</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pulling off an upset of Minford to win the district title, North Adams return a tough guard duo in [player_tooltip player_id='1068243' first='Bransyn' last='Copas'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1958384' first='Jayce' last='Rothwell']. With those two leading the offense, they'll be a tough out in the playoffs once again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Versailles</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Connor Stonebraker is a huge loss after he won MAC player of the year as a senior but returning their two second team all-conference selections in Aj Griesdorn and [player_tooltip player_id='2856512' first='Drake' last='Ahrens'] makes me confident Versailles will once again be one of the top Division III teams in southwest Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->