Wisconsin’s top 17U club teams (Final Edition)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the large majority of players, the club-circuit season ended Sunday with the final tournaments/events being held at various locations throughout the country.<br><br>Here is the Prep Hoops Wisconsin final season team rankings at the 17U (class of 2026) level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>STARTING FIVE</strong><br><br><strong>1. [program_tooltip program_id='2076218' first='Wisconsin' last='Playground Club'] (27-8)</strong><br>The Playground Club went 3-3 during the final leg of the Under Armour Association circuit last weekend in Chicago. The squad enjoyed a strong season and registered a big win over state-rival [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] in May. [player_tooltip player_id='1552512' first='Zavier' last='Zens'] of Wisconsin Lutheran, LaTrevion Fenderson of DME Academy, [player_tooltip player_id='1561913' first='Henry' last='Gruetzmacher'] of Brookfield Central, [player_tooltip player_id='1781157' first='Rashaad' last='Davis'] of Nicolet, [player_tooltip player_id='1749722' first='Jakari' last='Smith'] of Milwaukee Bradley Tech, [player_tooltip player_id='2224532' first='Sam' last='Pitrof'] of Racine Lutheran and [player_tooltip player_id='1753977' first='Jayden' last='Ragland'] of Brown Deer all had strong showings at different times this spring and summer for PGC. <br><br><strong>2. [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] EYBL (20-17)</strong><br>After losing a play-in game to Mac Irvin Fire for the Peach Jam last Monday, [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] competed last week in the Peach Invitational, posting a 4-3 record with a lineup that did not include either [player_tooltip player_id='2045256' first='Yusef' last='Gray Jr.'] of West Allis Central or Vaugh Karvala of Bella Vista Prep by way of Oregon High School. Still, [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] managed to win some games behind the outstanding play of [player_tooltip player_id='1561888' first='Josh' last='Manchester'] of Mount Horeb. He went for 42 in a victory over All-Ohio Red and scored in double figures in each outing for Herro. [player_tooltip player_id='2613959' first='Kinston' last='Knueppel'], a class of 2028 prospect from Wisconsin Lutheran, also had some solid showings for [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] at the Peach Invitational. <br><br><strong>3. [program_tooltip program_id='2076433' first='Kevon' last='Looney Power 5'] 3SSB (17-20)</strong><br>Power 5 traveled to California for the adidas 3SSB event and dropped four of five games, including three by three points or less. In the lone victory -- a 67-64 decision over Jalen Green Elite -- [player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='LaMont' last='Hamilton'] of Racine St. Catherine's went for 26 points, followed by [player_tooltip player_id='1561869' first='Matthew' last='Kloskey'] of Wauwatosa West with 18, [player_tooltip player_id='2400094' first='Jaden' last='Hardiman'] of Milwaukee Juneau with nine points and nine rebounds, Jaxson Moss of Racine Park also with nine points and nine rebounds, and [player_tooltip player_id='1561889' first='Amare' last='Hereford'] of Beloit Memorial with five points, five rebounds and three assists. Hereford led Power 5 in scoring over the weekend by averaging 18.0 ppg while Hamilton ranked second on the squad in scoring at 16.6 ppg.<br><br><strong>4. [program_tooltip program_id='2076033' first='Wisconsin' last='Playmakers'] New Balance Prelude32 (28-4)</strong><br>The Playmakers concluded a successful season in Memphis and entered the New Balance P32 tournament as a three seed. However, the Playmakers lost to Showtime Ballers 80-66 in the quarterfinals. The squad then rebounded with a impressive 77-69 win over Gateway behind 20 points each from [player_tooltip player_id='1973116' first='Bryce' last='Ott'] of Oshkosh North and [player_tooltip player_id='1973149' first='Chris' last='Pohl'] of Marshfield. Ott had an impressive weekend of the Playmakers as he added NCAA DII offers from both Drury and Upper Iowa.<br><br><strong>5. [program_tooltip program_id='2480703' first='24:' last='UP'] Under Armour Rise (29-13)</strong><br>This squad won a remarkable 29 games during the spring/summer and played much of the last half of the season without [player_tooltip player_id='2391091' first='Tyler' last='Tiutczenko'], the talented 6-foot-7 forward from Pewaukee who missed time with an injury, but still managed to pick up a recent NCAA DII scholarship offer from Winona State. 24:UP went 2-4 last weekend in Chicago to conclude its season. In a 71-51 win over Indiana Game, [player_tooltip player_id='2677080' first='Zavier' last='Castillo'] of Greendale had a big game with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Also in that contest, [player_tooltip player_id='1561893' first='Caden' last='Gustafson'] of Waterford finished with 13 points, Jake Valey of New Berlin Eisenhower added 10 and [player_tooltip player_id='2500051' first='Omar' last='Fofana'] of Saint Thomas More had nine points and five steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THE NEXT FIVE</strong><br><br><strong>6. [program_tooltip program_id='2076501' first='Chapman' last='Basketball Academy'] North Elite (27-11)</strong><br>It was a hard finish for the CBA North Elite as they fell by two points and one point in their final two contests. Full Package Black posted a 58-56 win over CBA while WM Premier registered a 66-65 triumph. [player_tooltip player_id='2045263' first='Kayden' last='Schultz'] of Plymouth, [player_tooltip player_id='1970502' first='Cade' last='Dirkse'] and JJ Zavatchin of Oostburg, [player_tooltip player_id='2224503' first='Brennen' last='Hackbarth'] of Sheboygan Lutheran and [player_tooltip player_id='2303643' first='Cal' last='Loose'] of Port Washington, among others, had strong seasons for this talented squad.<br><br><strong>7. [program_tooltip program_id='2076501' first='Chapman' last='Basketball Academy'] Gold Elite Puma NXT (20-11)</strong><br>Unlike most of the other programs in the state, CBA Gold Elite will play this upcoming weekend in the Puma Finals in Florida. Coach Joe Chapman's squad went 2-2 last weekend in the Puma event in Texas. [player_tooltip player_id='2116495' first='Cahlil' last='Jones'] of Germantown had an outstanding weekend as he was featured in several write-ups for the Puma circuit.<br><br><strong>8. [program_tooltip program_id='2076023' first='Wisconsin' last='Academy'] Hibner (23-11)</strong><br>The [program_tooltip program_id='2076023' first='Wisconsin' last='Academy'] Hibner squad won three of five outings at the Recruit Look event in Chicago to complete a very good season with a 23-11 record. As usual, Academy was led by its two stars -- [player_tooltip player_id='1561944' first='Jacob' last='Hibner'] of Stoughton and [player_tooltip player_id='2025184' first='Wes' last='Rahn'] of Lakeside Lutheran. Hibner had 29 points and Rahn added 18 in a loss to Mid Pro that ended the season for the team. Also playing well in Chicago for Academy were [player_tooltip player_id='1561895' first='Collin' last='Branch'] of Milton and [player_tooltip player_id='1874980' first='John' last='Grimes'] of Middleton.<br><br><strong>9. [program_tooltip program_id='2512324' first='Wisconsin' last='Legends'] (22-4)</strong><br>The Legends finished their first year with a 17U squad with a 3-1 record at the NY2LA event in Milwaukee. [player_tooltip player_id='2400924' first='Noah' last='Maniscalco'] of De Pere went off for 34 points in a win over Mercury Elite while Jake Bookter, also of De Pere, had 21 points in a 66-65 win over [program_tooltip program_id='2137315' first='CBA' last='South'] Black. Bookter also had 26 points in a win over All In Athletics while [player_tooltip player_id='2400083' first='Leo' last='Weber'] of Notre Dame contributed 11.<br><br><strong>10. [program_tooltip program_id='2078835' first='Wisconsin' last='Swing'] Recruit Look (20-19)</strong><br>The Swing went 3-2 at the Recruit Look event in Chicago to close out its season. [player_tooltip player_id='2045300' first='Broker' last='Buschor'] of Darlington played well for the Swing as he consistently hit perimeter jump shots for this squad. [player_tooltip player_id='1561900' first='Brody' last='Gilbertson'] of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, [player_tooltip player_id='2492565' first='Luke' last='Paddock'] of Elkhorn and [player_tooltip player_id='2391088' first='EJ' last='Salettel'] of Beaver Dam, among others, also had strong showings in Chicago for the Swing. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->