6A: South Salem Saxons – 2025-26 Season Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As the high school season approaches, rosters are being released and I'm going to be previewing each team from the 6A and 5A levels. I'll go over each team's key players going into this coming season, list the returners/newcomers, and key departures. Here is the preview of the South Salem Saxons (6A) of the Central Valley Conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head Coach: Kip Ioane (2nd Season at SSHS)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last Season's Record: 13-13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Players</strong>: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1687840"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-691f890657063"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The future Oregon State baseball standout proved to be a scoring threat on the basketball floor in Salem. Scott simply is a good shooter and scorer that effectively utilizes his strength and acumen to either find space to get off his shot or use the dribble to create and score over or through defenders. He ended up leading the Saxons in scoring during the week. (JT)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1671256"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-691f890657109"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Unselfishly looks for others first, using his IQ, court vision, next-level decision making to deliver pinpoint passes for buckets. Capably showed that he could score as well, capably knocking down shots with touch out past three-point range. With his 6-foot-2 size, proved to be a triple-double threat with his ability to score, rebound, and dish out assists. (JT)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2892510"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-691f89065718a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The rising senior forward nicknamed "Pookie" is a tremendous athlete and he fully utilized these gifts in a win over Sunset. Offensively he got most of his 14 points either in transition or off crashing the offensive boards - he finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds - but where Fleener really excelled was on defense. At 6-foot-3 he uses a quick leap, length, and excellent timing to be an extremely effective shot-blocker and he finished the game with 5 rejections. (JT)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Returners: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Litchfield (Class of 2026)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2539890' first='Brett' last='Gill'] (Class of 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gabe Lyatuu (Class of 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Newcomers</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teagan Brown (Class of 2026, Transfer from Sprague)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kacedro Rogers (Class of 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aiden Rodridguez (Class of 2029)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wyatt Timmerman (Class of 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bryson Valentine (Class of 2028)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grant West (Class of 2026)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Greer (Class of 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sam Johnson (Class of 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bryce Ingebrigtsen (Class of 2027)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miguel Andrade (Class of 2026)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Departures</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elliot Carmichael (Graduated)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2130317' first='Ryan' last='Collier'] (Transferred to Central)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2356234' first='Jack' last='Lapray'] (Transferred to West Salem)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Additional Contributions by Jed Tai</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->