OHSAA Division III Preseason 6-10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA basketball season is a few weeks away from tipping off and Prep Hoops Ohio is posting preseason top 10 rankings in each Division to give our readers the scoop on which teams are most likely to contend for a state championship this winter. In this article we'll take a look at teams ranked 6-10 in our preseason rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Cincinnati La Salle</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>La Salle gave last year's state runner up Cincinnati Aiken a major scare in the regional semifinals before giving up a lead in the final minute and falling short. 2028 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2721843' first='Cj' last='Davis'] has taken a major leap this summer and they have some physical players across the board like 2027 center Shemari Scales. The Lancers are in for six battles in the GCL-South this regular season, but in Division III they avoid all their conference rivals in the postseason.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">7. Hawken</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got to see Hawken at Coach Burns mega scrimmage last weekend and their trio of guards are as talented as it gets in Division III. Seniors Greg Price and DaRon Hill are joined by Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2719875' first='Ice' last='Taylor'] to form a trio that can produce at a high level against almost anybody. Hawken had a surprise run to the final four in Division IV last season, beating Ursuline and NDCL in districts before taking down Elida and Jonathan Alder in the regionals. I thought last year was a year early for the Hawks to compete at a statewide level and with all the returning talent this season, expectations should be even higher this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">8. Akron Garfield</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Akron Buchtel has ran the Akron city league for years now but I think Garfield should be the favorites to unseat the Grifs from the throne. [player_tooltip player_id='2288383' first='Rayshawn' last='Hamilton'] is a star and he's surrounded by hungry athletes with a high motor, size and defensive ability. After an impressive 2024-25 season, Akron Garfield made some noise this summer and will look to carry that momentum into this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">9. Goshen</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team that battled the injury bug last season, Goshen has a lot of talent returning with [player_tooltip player_id='2021052' first='Tyler' last='Owens'] leading the way his senior season. Owens is one of the most skilled bigs in the state and should allow Goshen to spread the court or post him up and force double teams from help-side defenders. Goshen also has Braylon and [player_tooltip player_id='2408971' first='Carter' last='Settelmayer'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2532133' first='Graham' last='Roark'] in the backcourt, giving them enough talent at that position to compete Vs the best in southwest Ohio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">10. Columbus Centennial</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The stars are a program on the rise with a marquee name in the 2026-2028 classes. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1617822' first='Angelo' last='Diedalis'], Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2532413' first='Keon' last='Bonner'] and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2530331' first='Cam' last='Johnson'] all made impacts at the varsity level last year and return ready to achieve even more this winter. After a 19 win season, a 42 point playoff loss Vs Bishop Hartley should leave a sour taste in their mouth making them hungry for more this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->