Prep Hoops Wisconsin has you covered for Midwest Players Classic

The beautiful La Crosse Center once again will be the site for the 16th annual Midwest Players Classic, set for Friday and Saturday and featuring top teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

Prep Hoops Wisconsin will cover the event with tweets (@wisbbyearbook) during the games and complete wrap-up details in the days following the event.

Here is a quick breakdown of games with tickets available at the door:

Friday, January 17
At La Crosse Center

1:00 p.m. -- North Crawford (11-0) vs. St. Ambrose Academy (0-10)
Skinny: A complete mismatch on paper as the experienced and undefeated Trojans battle the inexperienced and winless Guardians. North Crawford is led by stellar senior guard Andrew Munson Andrew Munson 6'1" | PG North Crawford | 2025 State WI (6-1), a four-year varsity performer, and junior Cullen Jacobus Cullen Jacobus 5'10" | PG North Crawford | 2026 State WI (5-7). North Crawford sits on top of the Ridge & Valley Conference standings and is one of the top Division 5 teams in the state. St. Ambrose Academy coach Chris Zwettler will be coaching his 999th career game with most of those outings coming when he was the head coach at Edgewood. St. Ambrose plays an independent schedule and is in its second year as a stand-alone program after cooping with Abundant Life Christian for many years.

2:30 p.m. -- Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (6-7) vs. Regis (8-4)
Skinny: Regis will play at Stanley-Boyd in a big Cloverbelt West game on Thursday night so the Ramblers might come in a bit weary against a Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau squad that has a below .500 record but has played a solid schedule. Regis' strength is its backcourt with freshmen DJ Cooper DJ Cooper 5'11" | PG Regis | 2028 State WI (5-11), junior Blake Risler Blake Risler 6'3" | SG Regis | 2026 State WI (6-3) and senior Owen Weisenberger Owen Weisenberger 6'0" | PG Regis | 2025 State WI (6-0) all capable of having big offensive nights. Sophomore Joey Brahmer Joey Brahmer 6'2" | SG Regis | 2027 State WI (6-3) also has played well for Regis. G-E-T is led by junior point guard Mason Brone Mason Brone 6'3" | PG Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau | 2026 State WI (6-3), who has excellent size for a lead guard and competes with tenacity and possesses a very good feel for the game.

5:30 p.m. -- Aquinas (11-1) vs. Fall Creek (5-5)
Skinny: Aquinas sustained its first loss after 11 straight wins last Tuesday, dropping a 68-64 decision at Mississippi Valley Conference rival Onalaska. The Blugolds boast one of the state's better junior guards in Logan Becker Logan Becker 6'3" | CG Aquinas | 2026 State WI (6-3) and have also received strong play from junior Finley Strom Finley Strom 6'4" | PG/SG Aquinas | 2026 State WI (6-3) and sophomore Calvin Bahr Calvin Bahr 6'4" | SG Aquinas | 2027 State WI (6-4), among others. Fall Creek has played a strong schedule and meets Cloverbelt West counterpart McDonell Catholic Central on Thursday. The Crickets have good an emerging post player in sophomore Miles Schmidgall Miles Schmidgall 6'7" | SF Fall Creek | 2027 State WI (6-7).

7:00 p.m. -- Rice Lake (9-2) vs. Stewartville, Minn. (11-2)
Skinny: Rice Lake won eight games in a row to start the season before dropping Big Rivers Conference outings to Eau Claire Memorial and Hudson. The Warriors are led by senior point guard Zach Orr Zach Orr 5'11" | PG Rice Lake | 2025 State WI (5-11), the son of long-time Rice Lake coach Kevin Orr. Senior Evan Strand Evan Strand 6'3" | SF Rice Lake | 2025 WI (6-3) and junior Will Svendsen (6-3) also are key performers for Rice Lake. Stewartville is one of the top teams in Class AAA in Minnesota.

8:30 p.m. -- Stevens Point (8-5) vs. Mankato East, Minn. (12-1)
Skinny: Stevens Point came into the season with high expectations, and the Panthers might meet some lofty goals the rest of the way. But coach Jon Krull's squad is off to somewhat of a slow start with five losses. Seniors Trent Chandonais Trent Chandonais 6'1" | CG Stevens Point | 2028 State WI (6-1), Baraka Makalin Baraka Makalin 6'2" | CG Stevens Point | 2025 State WI (6-2) and Jerrin Suehs Jerrin Suehs 6'3" | SG Stevens Point | 2025 State WI (6-3) form a solid trio of leaders for Stevens Point, which recently had Pacelli transfer Jaydon Awe Jaydon Awe 6'9" | SF/C Stevens Point | 2025 State WI (6-9) gain eligibility. Awe, who recently scored his 1,000th career point, gives Stevens Point some much needed length and athleticism near the basket. Mankato East is one of the top Class AAA squads in Minnesota and is averaging 81.5 ppg.

Saturday, January 18
At La Crosse Center

9:15 a.m. -- Luther (7-4) vs. Winona Cotter, Minn. (4-7)
Skinny: Three players average in double figures for Luther of the Coulee Conference. They include senior Will Huelskamp Will Huelskamp 6'5" | PF Luther | 2025 State WI (6-5) at 16.9 ppg, senior Synclair Byus Synclair Byus 6'3" | SF Luther | 2025 State WI (6-3) at 14.5 ppg and junior Brody Greeno Brody Greeno 6'4" | PF/SF Luther | 2026 WI (6-4) at 10.3 ppg. The Knights won their first seven games of the season, but enter the contest with the Ramblers of Winona Cotter on a four-game losing streak.

10:45 a.m. -- Holmen (9-3) vs. Rochester Lourdes, Minn. (2-9)
Skinny: Holmen is one of the state's better shooting teams and can space the floor with five players who can connect from three-point range. The Vikings suffered their first loss in Mississippi Valley Conference play on Thursday at La Crosse Central. They have several capable scorers, including Kaiden Wilber Kaiden Wilber 5'11" | PG Holmen | 2025 WI (16.2 ppg), Alex Berget Alex Berget 5'11" | PG Holmen | 2026 State WI (14.5 ppg) and Keenan Eisermann Keenan Eisermann 6'1" | PG Holmen | 2025 State WI (13.8 ppg), among others. Rochester Lourdes comes into the outing with a 2-9 record and are led by Sam Theobald at 17.8 ppg.

12:15 p.m. -- Mount Horeb (12-0) vs. Caledonia, Minn. (11-2)
Skinny: The matchups between clubs from Wisconsin against teams from Minnesota continues in this one as two of the better squads from each state square off. Mount Horeb has one of the more exciting players in the state in junior guard Josh Manchester Josh Manchester 6'4" | SG Mount Horeb | 2026 State WI (6-3), who is averaging 31.8 ppg and is a threat from well beyond the three-point arc. Caledonia is a traditional power in the Gopher state and is led by senior Mason King, who is averaging 18.4 ppg.

1:45 p.m. -- Onalaska (11-2) vs. Lake Mills (9-2)
Skinny: Two teams playing at a high level will face each other as the Hilltoppers of Onalaska compete against the L-Cats of Lake Mills. Onalaska handed Aquinas its first loss of the season earlier this week and the Hilltoppers also turned back Waunakee over the Christmas break. Coach Craig Kowal has two sons on the team who play big minutes in junior Ian Kowal Ian Kowal 6'3" | CG/SF Onalaska | 2026 State WI and freshman Tyler Kowal Tyler Kowal 5'11" | PG Onalaska | 2028 State WI . Senior Broden Steiner Broden Steiner 6'5" | SF/PF Onalaska | 2025 State WI leads Onalaska in scoring at 17.2 ppg. Lake Mills has a physically strong and athletic team led by senior wing AJ Bender AJ Bender 6'3" | CG Lake Mills | 2025 State WI (6-3), who has committed to NCAA Division II Minnesota State Mankato. Junior Brady Benish Brady Benish 6'0" | SG Lake Mills | 2026 State WI (6-0) and sophomore Tyler Wollin Tyler Wollin 6'4" | SF Lake Mills | 2027 State WI (6-4) also are key performers for the L-Cats.

3:15 p.m. -- River Falls (8-3) vs. Kaukauna (8-3)
Skinny: Top teams from the Big Rivers (River Falls) and Fox Valley Association (Kaukauna) meet with both teams searching for a big non-league win in order to improve their seed for the WIAA playoffs. Brody Gaetz (19.2 ppg), Preston Johnson Preston Johnson 6'2" | PG River Falls | 2025 State WI (11.0 ppg) and Eli Johnson Eli Johnson 6'4" Edgewood High School | 2028 WI (11.1 ppg) are the leaders for River Falls, which has a new coach this season in Zach Turpin. Kaukauna is led by a pair of NCAA Division I players in senior Keegan Van Kauwenberg Keegan Van Kauwenberg 6'3" | CG Kaukauna | 2025 State WI (Green Bay commit) and junior Andrew Jensen Andrew Jensen 6'9" | PF Kaukauna | 2026 State WI (Marquette and Toledo offers).

4:45 p.m. -- Marshfield (7-4) vs. Waunakee (11-2)
Skinny: This game promises to be one of the better of the Midwest Players Classic as both teams are enjoying big seasons and are threats to advance to the WIAA Division 1 State Tournament. Marshfield does have four losses, but a couple of those setbacks came against out of state teams. Plus, the Tigers just regained the services of junior forward Chris Pohl Chris Pohl 6'8" | PF/SF Marshfield | 2026 State WI (6-8), one of the top players in Wisconsin's 2027 class. Senior Brooks Hinson Brooks Hinson 6'2" | PG Marshfield | 2025 State #251 Nation WI (6-2) is the leader for Marshfield and has committed to NCAA Division II Northern Michigan. Waunakee is in first place in the Badger Large Conference and has a strong senior class anchored by Kaden MacKenzie Kaden MacKenzie 6'4" | CG Waunakee | 2025 State WI , Eli Selk Eli Selk 6'4" | SG Waunakee | 2025 State WI , Trey Murray and Jack Elickson.

6:15 p.m. -- Eau Claire Memorial (9-2) vs. Linn-Mar, Iowa (7-2)
Skinny: Eau Claire Memorial's losses have come to two outstanding teams in Milwaukee Academy of Science and Appleton North at the Rick Majerus WBY Shootout. The Old Abes are on top of the Big Rivers Conference and have a deep, experienced and tough-minded senior class led by Wesley Mboga Wesley Mboga 6'4" | SF Eau Clairie Memorial | 2025 State WI , Cooper Jesperson Cooper Jesperson 6'4" | SG Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 State WI , Julius Clark Julius Clark 6'0" | SG Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 State WI and Bryce Hedtke Bryce Hedtke 6'2" | CG Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 State WI . Linn-Mar is led by South Dakota State recruit Davis Kern.

7:45 p.m. -- Wisconsin Lutheran (12-0) vs. Breck, Minn. (6-6)
Skinny: Wisconsin Lutheran has the longest current winning streak in Wisconsin as the Vikings have won 42 in a row dating back to last season when they won the WIAA Division 2 state championship. The Vikings have two stellar senior leaders in Isaiah Mellock Isaiah Mellock 6'1" | CG Wisconsin Lutheran | 2025 State WI and Alex Greene Alex Greene 6'4" | SF Wisconsin Lutheran | 2025 State WI and a pair of NCAA Division I prospects in junior Zavier Zens Zavier Zens 6'7" | SF Wisconsin Lutheran | 2026 State WI and sophomore Kager Knueppel Kager Knueppel 6'9" | SF/SG Wisconsin Lutheran | 2027 State #112 Nation WI . Breck has played a very challenging schedule and owns a 74-34 win over La Crosse Central. Breck's top player is senior Miles Newton (6-5).

9:15 p.m. -- Altoona (4-6) vs. La Crescent, Minn. (7-7)
Skinny: Former Western Wisconsin Technical College and De Soto coach Eric Wuensch is the first-year head coach at La Crescent, which owns wins over both Winona High School and Winona Cotter this season. Altoona has been a bit up and down this season, but has a pair of promising young players in sophomores Greysen Becker (17.7 ppg) and Owen Gunderson Owen Gunderson 6'0" | SG/PG Altoona | 2027 State WI (16.4 ppg).