Class 1A: First-Round Preview and 5 Players You Need To Know

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The brackets for the 2025 New Mexico boys state basketball tournament were announced by the NMAA on Sunday night. Here is a preview of all eight first-round matchups in Class 1A + 5 Players You Need to Know. All 8 first-round games will be played on Saturday, March 8 (weather permitting).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Grady (16) at Logan (1)</strong>: If you ranked all the ‘Dynamic Duos' in the state, Logan's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717249' first='Hayden' last='Bruhn']</strong> (19.5 ppg; 11.8 rpg) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717329' first='Mason' last='Wallin']</strong> (19.1; 8.2) would be near the top. The 6-foot-7 Bruhn and 6-foot-5 Wallin combine for 38.6 points and 20.0 rebounds per game. They're the major reason Logan (22-3) is the No. 1 seed and the favorite to lift the blue trophy on March 15. Grady (10-13) has lost twice to Logan this season by 33 and 32 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1687877' first='Deakin' last='Ragland'] is Grady's leading scorer at 9.9 ppg. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gateway Christian (9) at Cliff (8)</strong>: Another intriguing 8 vs. 9 game that could go either way. Gateway Christian (21-8) finished tied for second in District 1A-4 behind Melrose. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2306011' first='Grady' last='Munson']</strong> is a talented young player. He is averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game. Cliff (22-6), a small town located northwest of Silver City along Route 180, battled Magdalena all season long in District 1A-2, but lost a district playoff game and the district tourney title game to the Steers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dora (12) at Roy/Mosquero (5)</strong>: District regular season champion Roy/Mosquero (21-6) headlines a group of four teams from District 1A-5. However, the Blue lost the district tourney championship game to Cimarron. Six-foot-2 sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833929' first='Ethan' last='Hazen']</strong> (14.1 ppg; 7.0 rpg) leads a balanced offensive attack for Roy/Mosquero. &nbsp;Dora (13-15), a small village located south of Portales in Roosevelt County, finished tied for second in District 1A-4 behind Melrose.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quemado (13) at Magdalena (4)</strong>: Magdalena (23-5) has lost just one game since Jan. 10 as they swept the District 1A-2 regular season (won playoff vs. Cliff) and tournament titles. Six-foot-5 senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1580325' first='Joseph' last='Zamora']</strong> can score from anywhere on the floor, even beyond the arc, and he rebounds well (7.2 rpg). Magdalena is looking to reach the 1A final for the second straight year. They'll face district rival Quemado (14-13) in the first round. Quemado finished third in district 1A-2 after a win one, lose one type of season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pine Hill (14) at Fort Sumner/House (3)</strong>: Fort Sumner/House is the defending Class 1A champions but they face potentially dangerous Pine Hill in the first round. Fort Sumner/House battled Logan all season long in District 1A-6 but fell short in the end, losing a wild district tournament title game, 104-87. Fort Sumner/House is capable of scoring a lot of points. Pine Hill, the District 1A-1 regular season and district tournament champions, is led by Class 1A's top scorer (per MaxPreps) in senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1914013' first='Channing' last='James']</strong> (23.5 ppg), a remarkably accurate shooter and 3-point artist. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Alamo Navajo (11) at Cimarron (6)</strong>: Cimarron (21-7), which upended top-seeded Roy/Mosquero in the district tourney title game, comes into the tournament red hot having lost just two games since Jan. 11. Both losses were to Roy/Mosquero. Alamo Navajo (21-7), located in Magdalena, is led offensively by junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717324' first='Scotty' last='Guerro']</strong> (17.1 ppg) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2695189' first='Andy' last='Pino']</strong> (16.3 ppg; 10.5 rpg). The Cougars finished second in District 1A-3 behind Mountainair but prevailed in the district tournament title game. Alamo Navajo faces a long trip to Cimarron, but has the weapons to ride home with an upset win. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mountainair (10) at Maxwell (7)</strong>: Located just 10 miles from the geographic center of New Mexico, District 1A-3 champion Mountainair (20-7) also faces a long trip to northern New Mexico. The Mustangs saw their 9-game winning streak snapped by Alamo Navajo in the District 1A-3 tourney title game. Sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833906' first='Brody' last='Brazil']</strong> leads Mountainair in scoring at 15.0 ppg. How good was District 1A-5? Maxwell (21-6) finished third in the district standings yet is the No. 7 seed. However, the Bears have lost three of their last four games, so they'll need to right the ship quickly. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Springer (15) at Melrose (2)</strong>: Melrose (22-5) is good at sports. The football team won the 8-man state championship in November and now the hoops team is the No. 2 seed for the 1A state tournament. The Buffaloes have lost just one game since Jan. 20 and that came to top-seeded Texico. Springer (13-16) received a burst of publicity in January when freshman sharpshooter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2839492' first='Pablo' last='Romero']</strong> drained 16 3-pointers (11 in the third quarter) against Reserve for a new single game state record. That record, though, was broken a month later. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5 Players You Need To Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1548692' first='Ayden' last='Clavel'], Roy/Mosquero</strong>: Now a senior, Clavel has been playing varsity hoops since he was an 8^th-grader and has scored nearly 1,500 points in his career. Remarkably consistent. Roy/Mosquero's second leading scorer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2695192' first='Zephaniah' last='Guerro'], Alamo Navajo</strong>: The junior is an important cog in Alamo Navajo's machine, especially rebounding and defense. He's averaging 10.4 points and 14.2 rebounds per game, including nearly seven per game on the offensive glass. Clearly, he loves to mix it up underneath the basket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694511' first='Aydin' last='Kotara'], Logan</strong>: Kotara's main job is to distribute the basketball to [player_tooltip player_id='1717249' first='Hayden' last='Bruhn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1717329' first='Mason' last='Wallin'] and score just enough to keep defenses honest. He does a good job at both things. He averages 9.3 poi9nts and 4.5 assists per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833935' first='Marcos' last='Sisneros'], Mountainair</strong>: Second on the Mustangs in scoring at 13.2 points per game, but he's also an excellent rebounder (8.6 ppg) and defender (2.4 spg). He's a key for Mountainair to pull the upset at Maxwell. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2163543' first='Jeffrey' last='Stuteville'], Magdalena</strong>: One of the best No. 2 scorers in Class 1A. Stuteville averages 12.7 and 8.9 rebounds per game serving as the perfect sidekick to [player_tooltip player_id='1580325' first='Joseph' last='Zamora']. Together, they make Magdalena a dangerous basketball team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2803673,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/GlEz3ExWMAAFrmd.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/GlEz3ExWMAAFrmd.png?w=853" alt="" class="wp-image-2803673" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Twitter</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>   </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->