OHSAA Division IV Preseason Rankings: 1-5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA season is just about a month away from tipping off and we're going to be previewing the top teams in each Division to take a look at who has the best chance of winning it all in March. In this article we'll be taking a look at the top five teams in Division IV from our preseason rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Kettering Alter</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending Division II state champions were dominant in their playoff run and look to be dominant once again on paper. [player_tooltip player_id='1432016' first='Rj' last='Greer'] is back alongside [player_tooltip player_id='1432055' first='Charlie' last='Uhl'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1497738' first='Matt' last='Lunne'] at the forward positions. This team also exceled at moving the basketball last season with guards who were unselfish and could make shots, that's the key pieces they'll have to find to be as good this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Cincinnati Wyoming</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The core 4 2026 pieces are all a year older as Cincinnati Wyoming looks to take that next step. A blowout playoff loss to Kettering Alter in the regional final showed just how far their core still has to go. But with another year worth of experience to gain, I'm putting them at number two in the rankings as guys like [player_tooltip player_id='1888254' first='Kellen' last='Wiley'], [player_tooltip player_id='2366691' first='Devin' last='Evans'], [player_tooltip player_id='1925832' first='Darren' last='Gray'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2366692' first='Carlyle' last='Billingsley'] have the talent to close the gap this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Youngstown Ursuline</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Irish made it to the final four where they also fell victim to a dominant Alter Knights run. While they lose a couple pieces from last season, their 2027 trio of [player_tooltip player_id='2144204' first='Jaylen' last='Gunther'], [player_tooltip player_id='1761782' first='Jace' last='Riccardo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2377846' first='Noah' last='Bell'] is a great foundation to build on. I'll be curious how they look as the key pieces to their attack this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Akron Buchtel</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The wildcard of the Division, Buchtel is relying on out of state transfers in [player_tooltip player_id='2476490' first='Nico' last='Mack'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2341295' first='Chris' last='Powell'] to get them back in the state title mix. They have the talent on paper to compete with anybody but they'll need the pieces to mesh throughout the season. A team people will be keeping their eyes on closely. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Cleveland Glenville</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A senate league team out of Cleveland, Glenville is known for being a football powerhouse but they've quietly won a lot of basketball games over the past few years. With size in the frontcourt with [player_tooltip player_id='2052131' first='Lorenzo' last='Staley'] and transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1617867' first='Xavier' last='Vickerstaff'] plus junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1845820' first='Theo' last='Castro'], Glenville has the talent to make noise in northeast Ohio this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->