State Tournament Preview: Class 2A Breakout Candidates

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2026 PG Thomas Childs (Grand View Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 6-1 point guard who can really shoot it from the 3-point line, Childs often gets overshadowed by the Thunder's "Big Three", but he's a deadly shooter if you leave him open (39.3 3P%), and he's also a talented playmaker who is dishing out 4.0 assists per game. If GVC is going to go on a run in this loaded field, they'll need someone outside of the Barrantes-Hoben-Scharnberg trio to step up and Childs may be that guy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025 SF [player_tooltip player_id='2820148' first='Ryker' last='Thoren'] (Grundy Center)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another guy who gets a bit overshadowed by the star players on his roster is Thoren, a scrappy glue guy who does a little bit of everything for the Spartans, he's averaging 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 53-50-58 shooting splits. His toughness and willingness to pound the offensive glass helps get valuable extra possessions for his team, huge in state tournament games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 PF [player_tooltip player_id='2906478' first='Parker' last='Masteller'] (Jesup)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-4 sophomore forward will have his hands full trying to protect the paint against a really good Western Christian attack, but he has had some really good flashes throughout the postseason, and if the J-Hawks are going to pull off the upset and make a run in Des Moines, he'll need to provide a real presence in the paint on both ends of the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025 SG [player_tooltip player_id='2820130' first='Peter' last='Young'] (Treynor)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Young has good size in the backcourt at 6-2, which allows him to get his shot off uncontested, and he'll need to knock down some shots from the arc if the Cardinals are going to make a run. Teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1978103' first='Alec' last='Lovely'] gets most of the attention, and deservedly so, but Young is the type of shooting threat who could get hot and make 3-4 3s in a quarter and turn a game on its head.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2026 SG [player_tooltip player_id='1943626' first='Sawyer' last='Spence'] (Union)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Spence comes off the bench to provide some shooting for the Knights, knocking down 35 3-pointers on the season. Like Young for Treynor, he's the type of shooter who can get really hot and flip a game in a hurry, and if Union is going to continue their surprising run through 2A postseason play, Spence will need to knock down some shots off the bench.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2027 SG [player_tooltip player_id='2407223' first='Keagen' last='Winterfeld'] (Unity Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sensing a theme here? Winterfeld may just be the best shooter in the 2A field, which is a field loaded with quality shooting threats. The sophomore guard is knocking down 52.3% of his 3-point attempts, and his ability to space the floor helps free up some lanes for his teammates, who love to attack off the dribble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2025 PG Bryson Childress (West Lyon)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Childress provides some secondary playmaking and ball security for the Wildcats, posting a 2.42 assist-to-turnover ratio. He's not going to overwhelm you with his talent, but he's the type of scrappy two-way player who will make winning plays.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2028 SG [player_tooltip player_id='2772345' first='Tayden' last='Moret'] (Western Christian)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moret has had some explosive stretches for the Wolfpack, providing a real scoring spark off the bench for the defending champs. The freshman can score from all three levels, averaging 7.4 points on 52-39-77 shooting splits.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->