OHSAA Division II Preseason Rankings: 6-10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is less than a month away and it's time to preview which teams we think have the best shot of making it to Dayton for the state championships in all seven Division's. In this article we'll preview teams 6-10 in our preseason rankings for Division II.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Toledo St John's</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a season of change for Toledo St John's as they joined the Detroit Catholic league with Toledo Central Catholic and Toledo St Francis. They held their own against tougher competition. While they lost some key seniors to graduation, [player_tooltip player_id='1827695' first='Race' last='Kowalczyk'] is back and I expect him to be one of the top players in northwest Ohio this winter. The Titans also have good size with some football players and other impressive athletes. If they can compete for a regional and state title, they'll need to find shooting to replace what Jaylen Murphy brought last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">7. North Canton Hoover</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An experienced team that returns a lot of senior talent, [player_tooltip player_id='2458393' first='Robert' last='Oster'], [player_tooltip player_id='2458392' first='Crew' last='Cain'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2300372' first='Zac' last='Braucher'] are key pieces for the Vikings. I also expect 2027 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2371442' first='Hunter' last='Hershberger'] to take a big step as a Sophomore. The Federal League is always tough to predict but I'd be surprised if North Canton Hoover didn't finish in the top half of the standings this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">8. Winton Woods</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was a tough team for me to predict because when I watched them this summer 2028 star Kam Mercer was a very key piece for them. He's left for Huntington Prep but there is still a lot of talent on this team. [player_tooltip player_id='2052130' first='Emontae' last='Weah'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2316118' first='Nate' last='Dawson'] are key upperclassmen returners for this team. They added guard transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1580475' first='Cash' last='Ingram'] from nearby Fairfield and out of state transfer Christian Wilkins from North Carolina. I'll buy into the talent this team has and expect them to be peaking come playoff time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">9. Columbus Northland</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The back-to-back champs of the Columbus City League lost guard King Kendrick to an out of state transfer this offseason. However, the Vikings return big [player_tooltip player_id='1503915' first='Nehemiah' last='McMorris'] and 2026 guard duo [player_tooltip player_id='2476431' first='Diante' last='James'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2113258' first='Jaden' last='Shoultz']. If James and Shoultz take the next step this season, they won't skip a beat and continue to try and prove that Columbus City League runs through them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">10. Toledo St Francis</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another Toledo school competing in the newly expanded Detroit Catholic League, Toledo St Francis caught my eye last season. The Horton brothers [player_tooltip player_id='1705954' first='Alan' last='Horton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1943725' first='Logan' last='Horton'] provide a unique challenge for teams without the necessary size to keep them off the boards and scoring in the paint. Senior guard Jamison Heck helps you win high school basketball games with his leadership, defensive toughness and ability to take care of the basketball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->