OHSAA Division VI Preseason Watchlist

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is about a month away and in this article we'll take a look at some Division VI teams who just missed the top 10 of our preseason rankings. We'll update these rankings consistently throughout the season and while these teams didn't quite crack our top 10, they are some of the first teams we'll consider bumping up if some projected top teams slip up early in the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Maumee Valley Country Day</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After losing 7 footer Ty Lewis to OTE, Maumee Valley Country Day is going to rely on their back-court duo of [player_tooltip player_id='2125750' first='Keeran' last='Stokes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2126199' first='Jeybrehm' last='Price'] to lead the way. This 2027 class at Maumee Valley Country Day has a ton of experience playing together and should compete for the TAAC title. After winning a district title last season, expectations are high once again for the Hawks in 2025-26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Marion Local</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state runner up last season graduates a large core of seniors who dominated on both the gridiron and hardwood together. That leaves a younger group of Flyers ready to stretch their wings and see how high they can soar this winter. 2027 wing forward [player_tooltip player_id='2792237' first='Kale' last='Ahrens'] is the most experienced player returning from last season and he'll be looked to be a leader this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kirtland</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Are we talking football or basketball with these last two mentions? Another football powerhouse, Kirtland made a run all the way to the state semifinals where they fell short in a thriller to state champion Monroe Central. [player_tooltip player_id='2567161' first='Lucas' last='Renfro'] is a marquee name to know for the Hornets who will look to end this fall with another football state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Grand Valley</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the sleeper programs in northeast Ohio, 2027 wing guard [player_tooltip player_id='1828950' first='Carter' last='Turk'] has been a steady presence for Grand Valley who won 21 games last season. With another year of experience for Turk and company, I expect Grand Valley to approach or exceed 20 wins again this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Beaver Eastern</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the highlight stories this fall on the gridiron, just wrapping up an unbeaten regular season and SOC title, the Beaver Eastern Eagles likely won't skip a beat going from football to basketball this year. Led by Boston Webb, I expect Beaver Eastern to compete for a conference and regional title in southeast Ohio this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->