Eastern Kansas League Sees Lots of Turnover

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Eastern Kansas League will see a huge shakeup this year as so many good players graduated, and yet so much talent returns. The outcomes in this league will have a huge impact on 6A, 5A and 4A hoops come playoff time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eastern Kansas League Preview:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Preseason Player of the Year:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1461338' first='Joey' last='Matteoni'], 6-foot-8 forward, 2024, Blue Valley (pictured):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This guy has been a huge part of the Huskies' success the past two seasons. Now he's the team leader. He will probably see his stats ramp up even higher than the impressive double-double he averaged as a junior. But he also will face stiffer defensive efforts now that he's the go-to guy. He has the speed and athleticism to be tough to slow down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Preseason Team of the Year: St. Thomas Aquinas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How can you not pick Blue Valley Northwest? Sure they will be one of the teams to beat in 6A, but they did lose some pretty signficant pieces, most notably Prep Hoops #1 2023 Grant Stubblefield. So we're going with the 5A team that looks completely loaded, particularly in the 2025 class. They potentially have great size, great playmaking ability and depth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Player to Watch:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaron Lashley</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2024, Blue Valley North:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Valley North graduates just about everyone from a really strong team last year. Lashley is the leading returner after a strong junior season that ended in the 6A Final Four. He's a powerful post player who crashes the boards and can manhandle an opponent on the block.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other Top Players (in alphabetical order):&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jackson Bonzcynski,</strong> 6-foot guard, 2024, Blue Valley Southwest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1588381' first='London' last='Burton'], 6-foot guard, 2025, St. Thomas Aquinas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1300838' first='Jacob' last='Fritz'], 6-foot-3 guard, 2024, Blue Valley Northwest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1378443' first='Wyatt' last='Lewis'] 6-foot-2 guard, 2024, St. Thomas Aquinas</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eli Lovich</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2024, Blue Valley West</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1756338' first='Dean' last='Markes'], 6-foot-3 forward, 2024, Blue Valley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rising Star:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1588347' first='Will' last='Goode'], 6-foot-9 center, 2025, St. Thomas Aquinas:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This monster is gaining steam as one of the highest recruited 2025s in the state. His team is loaded and he is ready to become a dominant force as a junior. In a league full of good big men, he will take a back seat to no one this year. He's got the fundamentals and size to go with the work ethic to be big time the next two seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Others Rising Stars (in alphabetical order):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1548924' first='Brooks' last='Baughman']</strong>, 6-foot-5 forward, 2026, Blue Valley Northwest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1530221' first='Ayden' last='McGibboney'], 6-foot-3 forward, 2026, Blue Valley Northwest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2327580' first='Eli' last='Mick']</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2026, Blue Valley Southwest</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2393797' first='Tate' last='Nagy']</strong>, 5-foot-9 guard, 2025, Blue Valley West</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->