Substate Preview: 1A-8
In this article:
District 15 The favorite: Madrid has been ranked within the top 3 in the class for a large majority of the season, and for good reason. They enter postseason play hot, winners of 11 straight, and that includes really good…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDistrict 15
The favorite: Madrid has been ranked within the top 3 in the class for a large majority of the season, and for good reason. They enter postseason play hot, winners of 11 straight, and that includes really good wins over Panorama, Des Moines Christian, Earlham, and ACGC. After getting a taste of the state tournament in a narrow quarterfinal loss to North Linn last season, the Tigers have been on a mission this year and have to be considered a heavy favorite in this district. They’re led by a trio of juniors – Toryn Severson Toryn Severson 6'4" | SG Madrid | 2025 State IA (22.7, 51.3 FG%), Brody Buck Brody Buck 6'0" | SG Madrid | 2025 State IA (17.1, 50.9 FG%), and Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz 5'8" | PG Madrid | 2025 State IA (16.2, 7.0 assists). All three are good perimeter shooters who can play with or without the ball in their hands. Each is capable of creating looks for themselves or their teammates, and they have great chemistry. Severson is the best player in the district, and you could argue that Buck and Ortiz-Alaniz are the second and third best players in the group. They’ve swept potential district final opponent Panorama and have played a significantly tougher schedule than Coon Rapids-Bayard, the #2 seed.
The biggest threat: The #2 seed in the district is Coon Rapids-Bayard, a solid defensive team that is allowing 47.1 points a game. They hold solid wins over Exira-EHK (twice) and ACGC, and have one of the best players in the substate in sophomore forward Cal Heydon Cal Heydon 6'4" | SF Coon Rapids-Bayard | 2026 State IA (20.5, 8.8 rebounds), a 6-5/6-6 do-it-all combo forward who can score inside and out, defend multiple positions, and create plays for his teammates. Senior forward Cade Behrens (13.0, 6.2 rebounds, 41.8 3P%) is a floor-stretching big who can help provide space for Heydon to operate, and freshman guard Caden Oswald (7.7, 4.0 assists) has proven himself to be a reliable ball-handler. Getting the semifinal at home, where they are 11-1 this season, is a huge boost for the Crusaders.
The dark horse: Panorama is actually the higher ranked team by BC Moore’s power rankings in comparison to Coon Rapids-Bayard, but having to go on the road for the semifinal bumps them down to the “dark horse” category. The Panthers are a high-powered offensively team that is led by seniors Braylon Dawes Braylon Dawes 5'11" | SG Panorama | 2024 State IA (16.6, 3.9 assists) and Maddox Hammerstrom Maddox Hammerstrom 6'0" | CG Panorama | 2024 State IA 912.8, 5.6 assists), and freshman Trey Boetcher (11.1). They’re averaging nearly 66 points a game and while they give up quite a few points defensively, they play a style that forces turnovers and they could make things interesting with their athleticism. They were swept by Madrid, but those losses were by 6 and 15 points, so they know that they can play with the Tigers.
Players to watch
2025
Toryn Severson
Toryn
Severson
6'4" | SG
Madrid | 2025
State
IA
, Madrid
2025
Brody Buck
Brody
Buck
6'0" | SG
Madrid | 2025
State
IA
, Madrid
2025
Fabian Ortiz-Alaniz
Fabian
Ortiz-Alaniz
5'8" | PG
Madrid | 2025
State
IA
, Madrid
2026
Cal Heydon
Cal
Heydon
6'4" | SF
Coon Rapids-Bayard | 2026
State
IA
, Coon Rapids-Bayard
2024 Cade Behrens, Coon Rapids-Bayard
2024 Ryan Bower, CAM
2026 Collin Bowe, CAM
2025 Chase Jahde, CAM
2024
Braylon Dawes
Braylon
Dawes
5'11" | SG
Panorama | 2024
State
IA
, Panorama
2024
Maddox Hammerstrom
Maddox
Hammerstrom
6'0" | CG
Panorama | 2024
State
IA
, Panorama
2027 Trey Boetcher, Panorama
2025 Bode Wyman, Griswold
2025 Peyton Cook, Griswold
2024
Edward Miller
Edward
Miller
6'7" | PF
Audubon | 2024
State
IA
, Audubon
2025 Jonathan Bergmeier, Glidden-Ralston
2027 Trevon Keely, Paton-Churdan
2025 Pierre Glenn, Woodward Academy
District 16
The favorite: Exira-EHK is the #2 seed in the district, but given the fact that they’ve swept top-seed Woodbine, we’re making the Spartans the favorite in this district. Both of those wins over the Tigers came by double digits (16 and 11 points). Seniors Cash Emgarten Cash Emgarten 6'3" | PF Exira-EHK | 2024 State IA (17.5) and Aiden Flathers (13.6, 48.0 3P%) lead a deep stable of scoring threats for a Spartans team that ranks 11th in scoring offense, putting up 69.2 points a game. Emgarten is a tough, physical guard who is at his best when he’s playing downhill and attacking the rim, while Flathers is the team’s most dynamic 3-point shooter, burying 49 3s this season at an extremely efficient clip. Jaiden Pettepier (7.3, 43.3 3P%) and Josh Nelson (10.9, 38.9 3P%) provide additional perimeter shooting, and Jackson Radcliff (9.8, 7.0 rebounds) has been strong in the paint.
The biggest threat: Woodbine is the district’s top seed, and for good reason, as they enter postseason play with a 18-2 record (have a game against 4-15 St. Albert Thursday night, so probably 19-2). They’ve beaten everyone on the schedule outside of Exira-EHK, and have largely been dominant in those games, with only two games decided by single digits. This is a young team, with two juniors, two sophomores, and a freshman making up their top five scorers. Carter Gruver Carter Gruver 5'10" | PG Woodbine | 2025 State IA (20.9, 4.3 assists), a skilled and quick junior guard, leads the team in scoring and assists, while freshman wing Landon Blum Landon Blum 6'5" | SG Woodbine | 2027 State IA (13.6) is a high-upside, athletic wing who can score from all three levels. Jax Pryor Jax Pryor 6'3" | PF Woodbine | 2026 State IA (10.1), Carson Kelley Carson Kelley 6'3" | PF Woodbine | 2025 State IA (9.7), and Brody Pryor Brody Pryor 6'2" | SF Woodbine | 2026 State IA (8.2) are the other players of note here. The Tigers can score in bunches, but they’ll need to get over the hump against Exira if they want to reach the district final.
The dark horse(s): There are two potential sleepers in the district, and they’re sleepers for different reasons. We’ll start with Riverside, who has a dominant scorer in Grady Jeppesen Grady Jeppesen 6'0" | SG Riverside | 2024 State IA (25.1, 7.4 rebounds), a three-level scorer in the backcourt who can take over a game and drop 35 on any given night. Having that type of explosiveness makes any team dangerous. The other team is Tri-Center, with senior big man Christian Dahir (11.5, 10.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks) providing the type of size and rim protection that teams in the district could struggle with. Freshman guard AJ Harder AJ Harder 6'0" | PG Tri-Center | 2027 IA (16.4, 5.2 assists, 41.7 3P%) is also a skilled scorer who can get hot from deep and carry this team for stretches.
Players to watch
2025
Carter Gruver
Carter
Gruver
5'10" | PG
Woodbine | 2025
State
IA
, Woodbine
2027
Landon Blum
Landon
Blum
6'5" | SG
Woodbine | 2027
State
IA
, Woodbine
2025
Carson Kelley
Carson
Kelley
6'3" | PF
Woodbine | 2025
State
IA
, Woodbine
2024
Cash Emgarten
Cash
Emgarten
6'3" | PF
Exira-EHK | 2024
State
IA
, Exira-EHK
2024 Aiden Flathers, Exira-EHK
2025 Josh Nelson, Exira-EHK
2024
Grady Jeppesen
Grady
Jeppesen
6'0" | SG
Riverside | 2024
State
IA
, Riverside
2026
Nicolas Ballenger
Nicolas
Ballenger
6'0" | SG
St. Albert | 2026
State
IA
, St. Albert
2027
AJ Harder
AJ
Harder
6'0" | PG
Tri-Center | 2027
IA
, Tri-Center
2024 Christian Dahir, Tri-Center
2024 Tony Racine, Essex
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Madrid vs. Exira-EHK
Madrid has been on a mission to get back to the state tournament and make some noise after getting a taste of it last season. Toryn Severson Toryn Severson 6'4" | SG Madrid | 2025 State IA is the best player on the floor, and the skilled 2025 class of the Tigers makes enough plays to lead Madrid back to Des Moines.