Trailways East Preview 2025-26

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final 2024-25 Standings:</strong><br><br>1. Oakfield 13-1 (21-8); 2. Horicon 10-4 (15-11); 3. Dodgeland 9-5 (16-9); 3. Wayland Academy 9-5 (13-8); 5. Central Wisconsin Christian 7-7 (13-14); 6. Hustisford 4-10 (7-16); 6. Lourdes Academy 4-10 (7-20); 8. Valley Christian 0-14 (4-20).<br><br><strong>2025-26 Picks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>1. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/oakfield/">Oakfield</a></strong> -- Even though Oakfield lost two double-figure scorers to graduation in Mitchell Moser (5-9, 14.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Davis Dercks (6-4, 13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg), coach Jason Collien's lineup appears to still have the necessary firepower to win another league title. Winners of the past two league crowns, the Oaks have four key players back from a 21-8 squad. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2447322' first='Bo' last='Bijl'] (6-7, 12.3 ppg, 13.0 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='2836864' first='Broede' last='Collien'] (6-1, 10.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2447325' first='Brayden' last='Glugla'] (6-3, 12.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) along with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2381484' first='Xavier' last='Mielke'] (5-10, 4.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg) provide a strong nucleus for the Oaks. <br><br><strong>2. Horicon</strong> -- Finishing in second place behind league-champion Oakfield a year ago, Horicon figures to make another strong push toward a league title with four starters back for coach Jay Wald. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1561875' first='Barrett' last='Meyer'] (6-1, 17.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='3020296' first='Jay' last='Graven'] (6-0, 11.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='3020304' first='Christian' last='Schwartz'] (5-10, 6.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3020302' first='Logan' last='Robenhorst'] (6-3, 1.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg) provide a very strong nucleus for the Marshmen, who finished 15-11 last season. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='3020301' first='Reed' last='Vorlob'] (6-1, 1.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3020299' first='Quin' last='Jackl'] (5-10, 4.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg) also return.<br><br><strong>3. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/lourdes-2/">Lourdes Academy</a></strong> -- The Knights might be the most improved team in the league after slipping to 7-20 a year after sharing the league crown with Oakfield. Five starters and several top backups return for coach Brett Baehman. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2917033' first='Parker' last='Slusarski'] (5-11, 4.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='3020741' first='Quin' last='Ruark'] (6-0, 3.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2637715' first='Brady' last='Ridenour'] (6-2, 3.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg) along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2514254' first='Harlan' last='Kuehn'] (6-3, 9.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2637713' first='Jackson' last='Buttke'] (6-0, 8.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg) are returning starters. Other key returnees include senior [player_tooltip player_id='3020747' first='Ryder' last='Mullen'] (5-10, 2.2 ppg) along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='3020742' first='Brady' last='Bauer'] (6-2, 5.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2140955' first='Lucas' last='Neuens'] (5-10, 3.6 ppg).<br><br><strong>4. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/school-district-of-dodgeland/">Dodgeland</a></strong> -- Replacing four starters will be a hurdle to overcome for third-year Dodgeland coach Jason White. Leading scorer and rebounder Kaden Fillmore (6-5, 15.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg), now play at nearby Marian University, will be especially difficult to replace. Nonetheless, guard play and effort are strong areas for the Trojans. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2389774' first='Trewyn' last='White'] (5-9, 7.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg), the son of the head coach, is the lone returning regular. Some young players figure to step into big roles for Dodgeland, including juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2917052' first='Brayden' last='Bunkoske'] (5-9, 3.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3019718' first='Cody' last='Crist'] (6-3, 1.5 ppg) along with sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='2917048' first='Noah' last='Kohn'] (5-9, 2.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2893790' first='Sawyer' last='Ninmann'] (6-0, 1.4 ppg).<br><br><br><strong>5. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/central-wisconsin-ch/">Central Wisconsin Christian</a></strong> -- On paper, the Crusaders might be headed for a rebuilding season after finishing 13-14 last winter. But on the floor, Central Wisconsin Christian appears to be a team capable of beating any other squad in the Trailways East. Coach Josh Gibbons has some returning experience to mix with talented newcomers from a 20-2 JV1 squad. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='3019384' first='Lawson' last='Phillips'] (5-9, 4.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='3019385' first='Landon' last='Smits'] (6-2, 6.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3019383' first='Carson' last='Mulder'] (5-9, 4.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg) will contest for starting spots along with junior [player_tooltip player_id='3019378' first='Dylan' last='Buwalda'] (6-1), sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='3019376' first='Caleb' last='Ten Napel'] (6-0) and Brennan Schaumburg (6-4), and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='3027707' first='Connor' last='Buteyn'] (5-10).<br><br><strong>6. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wayland-academy/">Wayland Academy</a></strong> -- Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2637721' first='Mario' last='Padilla'] (6-2, 9.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg) did the dirty work for Wayland Academy last season and he's back to clean the glass, score in the post and use his physicality to defend frontline opponents. Padilla is the most experienced performer for coach P.J. Osvald, although juniors [player_tooltip player_id='3022826' first='Barry' last='Karai'] (6-1, 3.4 ppg, 2.1 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3022829' first='Bogdan' last='Babenko'] (6-3, 2.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg) both saw lots of action off the bench for the Big Red. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='3022824' first='Liam' last='Menning'] (6-0, 1.9 ppg) and junior Illia Babenko (6-3) also return.<br><br><strong>7. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/valley-christian-hig-2/">Valley Christian</a></strong> -- Second-year coach Isaiah Gumness is hopeful Valley Christian can improve on its 4-20 record of a year ago behind the return of three starters. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='3022683' first='Mathias' last='Behling'] (5-10, 12.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), [player_tooltip player_id='3022680' first='Derek' last='Wallace'] (5-5, 5.4 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3022676' first='Rylan' last='Koller'] (6-0, 5.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) figure to log major minutes once again for the Warriors. Also back are senior [player_tooltip player_id='3022681' first='Isaiah' last='Hyvonen'] (5-10, 3.7 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id='3022678' first='Kaleb' last='Richardson'] (5-10, 2.9 ppg).<br><br><strong>8. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/hustisford/">Hustisford</a></strong> -- Caleb Tracy is the new varsity coach at Hustisford and has the difficult task of going head-to-head with the solid programs in the Trailways East without four starters from a year ago. The only players back with extensive experience for the Falcons are senior [player_tooltip player_id='3020349' first='Chandler' last='Wegner'] (5-11, 2.5 ppg) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='3020347' first='Bryson' last='Brusveen'] (5-11, 3.4 ppg). Lack of size and experience are both major concerns.<br><br><strong>Top Returning Scorers</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1561875' first='Barrett' last='Meyer'] (Horicon) 17.8 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2447322' first='Bo' last='Bijl'] (Oakfield) 12.3 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2447325' first='Brayden' last='Glugla'] (Oakfield) 12.1 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3022683' first='Mathias' last='Behling'] (Valley Christian) 12.1 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3020296' first='Jay' last='Graven'] (Horicon) 11.8 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2836864' first='Broede' last='Collien'] (Oakfield) 10.7 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2514254' first='Harlan' last='Kuehn'] (Lourdes) 9.9 ppg<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2637721' first='Mario' last='Padilla'] (Wayland) 9.6 ppg<br><br><strong>Projected All-Conference Teams<br>First Team</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1561875' first='Barrett' last='Meyer'], 6-1, Sr., Horicon<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2447322' first='Bo' last='Bijl'], 6-7, Sr., Oakfield<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2447325' first='Brayden' last='Glugla'], 6-3, Sr., Oakfield<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2514254' first='Harlan' last='Kuehn'], 6-3, Jr., Lourdes Academy<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3019385' first='Landon' last='Smits'], 6-2, Sr., Central Wisconsin Christian<br><br><strong>Second Team</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2836864' first='Broede' last='Collien'], 6-1, Sr., Oakfield<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2389774' first='Trewyn' last='White'], 5-9, Jr., Dodgeland<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3020296' first='Jay' last='Graven'], 6-0, Sr., Horicon<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2637713' first='Jackson' last='Buttke'], 6-0, Jr., Lourdes Academy<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2637721' first='Mario' last='Padilla'], 6-2, Sr., Wayland Academy<br><br><strong>The Big Five</strong><br><br><strong>Best Shooter:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2836864' first='Broede' last='Collien'], Oakfield<br><strong>Best Defender:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='3020296' first='Jay' last='Graven'], Horicon<br><strong>Best Rebounder:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2447322' first='Bo' last='Bijl'], Oakfield<br><strong>Best Collegiate Prospect</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='2447322' first='Bo' last='Bijl'], Oakfield<br><strong>Most Improved: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3022826' first='Barry' last='Karai'], Wayland Academy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->