2025-26 6A Preview - Portland Interscholastic League

The 2024-25 season is upon us and PrepHoops Oregon has you covered. We're doing pre-season previews for all of the 6A leagues across the state, giving you some insight into the teams and players you should be watching this year. To be quite frank, the PIL is down compared to previous seasons but it still features at least a couple of state title threats and the conference race is going to be extremely competitive. Here's how we see it turning out.   League Predictions   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Benson</li>   <li>Grant</li>   <li>Wells</li>   <li>Jefferson</li>   <li>Lincoln</li>   <li>Cleveland</li>   <li>Roosevelt</li>   <li>McDaniel</li>   <li>Franklin</li> </ol>   Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='1606557' first='Dache' last='Acelar'], Benson   All-League Predictions: Acelar; Malu Niko, Benson; Muhammad Carter, Wells; Khalel Jackson, Jefferson; Miles Novy-Hidelsey, Lincoln   Top Sleeper/Newcomer: [player_tooltip player_id='2910099' first='Kendall' last='Hopkins-McGlothen'], Benson   State Tournament Threats: None   Other Post-Season Teams: Benson, Grant, Wells, Jefferson, Lincoln, Cleveland   Analysis   When it comes to returning players, Benson has the most with varsity experience. First and foremost, the Astros bring back the only First Team All-League honoree in [player_tooltip player_id='1606557' first='Dache' last='Acelar'] (18.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.8 apg, .420 3pt%) who is primed to have a big senior season. While the solid shooter and scorer is a four-year veteran of the PIL wars he's not alone as the younger players also have experience. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2132803' first='Richad' last='Hudson'] (19,3 oog, 5.1 rpg, 4.6 apg) had a big spring and summer and is ready for a jump up in production running the point. Sophomore forwards [player_tooltip player_id='2286069' first='Dreison' last='Malu Niko'] (15.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg) and JP Parnell-Patton (7.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.6 apg) are also back to man the frontline and Daylen McKelvey (8.6 ppg5.0 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2737304' first='Warren' last='Bott'] (4.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) will have larger roles. The real wildcard for head coach Earl Clark will be freshman Kendall Hopkins-McGloten, a smooth lefty scorer who some feel may be the best newcomer n the state.   No team in the PIL was hit harder by the transfer portal than Grant, but head coach Sean Brownhill isn't shedding any tears. The Generals still return a number of key players from last year's team and add a couple of key newcomers that will keep them in league title contention. The top returnees as sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='2427519' first='Jacob' last='Harper-Grant'] (9.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id='2427509' first='Malik' last='Mason'] (7.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg), both of whom had tremendous varsity debuts as freshmen. Both grew physically and with their games over the summer and will be heavily counted upon. A couple of sophomore transfers will step directly into the starting lineup as [player_tooltip player_id='2427522' first='Jaylen' last='Mills'] (from Central Catholic) will run the show at the point and lanky [player_tooltip player_id='2485547' first='Jamarea' last='Sanders'] (4.3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, .704 fg% at Roosevelt) will be on the wing. 6-foot-5 freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2744610' first='Abraham' last='Cogan'], who ranks among the top freshen in the state, should be an instant contributor with his length and athleticism for a team that's definitely very young but very talented.   The biggest news for Wells during the off-season was the decision of athletic big man Muhammad Carter (10.5 ppg) to stay in Southwest Portland. That was music to the ears of head coach Max Tresize, who has some other returnees that should have the Guardians in the upper half of the league. Carter has the natural talent to be one of the top players in the state and could very well post a double-double this season. He'll have plenty of help as the guard tandem of senior [player_tooltip player_id='2844556' first='Ahmad' last='Surur'] (11.3 ppg) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2388950' first='Blake' last='Karman'] (7.0 ppg) is one of the better backcourts in the PIL. Both can get hot from the outside - with Karman one of the more underrated shooters in the entire state. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2539806' first='Sufyan' last='Carter'] (4.3 ppg) will have an bigger role in the offense - the starting lineup is solid so the key for the Guardians will be their depth.   Head coach Rob Smaller is now in year two of his rebuilding of the once-and-still proud Jefferson program and with the players he has returning combined with some newcomers, the Demos are ready to return to the playoffs. One transfer he's particularly excited about is [player_tooltip player_id='2132790' first='Kahllel' last='Jackson']. "KJ" comes over to Jeff after a couple of years playing at Rosemary Anderson Prep and he'll be a physical and athletic matchup problem for opponents. Running with him in the backcourt will be [player_tooltip player_id='2539809' first='Victor' last='Jackson'] (10.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg, .356 3pt%), who proved last year as a freshman he can really put the ball in the basket, and [player_tooltip player_id='1602193' first='Jaamir' last='Roberson'] (7.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.2 apg), a steady presence with his ball-handling and senior leadership. [player_tooltip player_id='2693425' first='Qai' last='Gresham'] (4.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg) is back to patrol the paint for the Demos and look for newcomers such as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2026488' first='Kingston' last='Paschal'] and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2910085' first='Kaidence' last='Lee'] to create some buzz.   There's a change at the top at Lincoln with Kalin Waling and the first-time head coach is ready to lead the Cardinals with plenty of energy. He's got some tools to work with a number of experienced players but the biggest one he has in his bag is the return of senior [player_tooltip player_id='2351856' first='Miles' last='Novy-Hildesley'] (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, .532 fg% in 2023-24). The strong and athletic 6-foot-6 wing/post sat out last season due to injury but comes back for his senior year of basketball ready to make up for lost time. He's a matchup nightmare physically and is an all-league candidate. Guard Thomas Carney (8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, .380 3pt%) returns with plenty of experience and his ability to knock down shots and handle the ball will be critical to Lincoln's success. Junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2757025' first='Quinn' last='Hanson'] (11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) provides some scoring punch along the baseline and senior wing Eli Harari (5.2 ppg, .389 3pt%) adds more shooting to the mix.   Cleveland will be an intriguing team to watch in 2025-26 - mainly due to the fact the Warriors have one of the top rising big men in [player_tooltip player_id='2747483' first='Andrew' last='Haas'] (6.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, .534 fg%). The 6-foot-7 lefty worked hard on his game to get more aggressive on the offensive end and is primed to be a dominant force this season in league play - expect him to at least double his averages from last season. Head coach Sam Glasgow has a solid roster of guys surrounding Haas to provide support, with senior guard Patrick Duque (5.0 ppg, .444 3pt%), junior [player_tooltip player_id='2757030' first='Jack' last='Vella'] (0.8 ppg), and forwards [player_tooltip player_id='2393008' first='Sigi' last='Stacey'] (5.1 ppg) and Colin Kruse (1.8 ppg) all returnees capable of putting up numbers. As always the Warriors will be well-prepared and well-coached and especially tough to play at home.   Two years after making it to the 6A state finals, Roosevelt is in full rebuild mode in 2025-26 after graduation and transfers gutted what would have been a playoff contending roster. That's not to say head coach Jamarr Lawson isn't still gunning for the post-season but it's going to take a roster full of youth and newcomers to grow up in a hurry. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1602195' first='Lucas' last='Moreira'] (3.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, .603 fg%) and [player_tooltip player_id='2747480' first='Andrew' last='Kim'] (3.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg in 10 games) will be counted on heavily to be main cogs in the offense, while younger players such as sophomores [player_tooltip player_id='2534757' first='Cameron' last='Harris'] (0.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg) and freshman point guard Tyvelle Hill (younger brother of former Roughrider great Terrence) will also be key players. Brothers and out-of-state transfers Jaylen Metcalf and [player_tooltip player_id='2125569' first='Tylen' last='Metcalf'] along with senior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2958327' first='Juma' last='Whatley'] (5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg at Gresham) should be solid rotation pieces.   While once again McDaniel projects as a bottom-tier PIL team, head coach Arron Boone has continued to grow the Mountain Lion program slowly and they may surprise some people this season. Individually, senior [player_tooltip player_id='2286311' first='Weiming' last='Zhu'] could be the biggest surprise of them all as the 6-foot-4 senior showed this summer great improvement in his game. Seniors Trae Crawford and Antoione Roberson are also back from last year's squad, as is sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2766270' first='Enzo' last='Arias'].   Another program going through a rebuild is Franklin, who starts fresh under Conor Mullany. The former McKay coach - one of the youngest big school coaches in the state - isn't afraid of the challenge and has been hard work establishing his culture with the program. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='2519296' first='Emiliano' last='Lazcano-Villanueva'] is a two-year starter and seniors Hayden Shoemaker and Ben Nimo have some experience, but basically the rest of the roster is new. A name to keep an eye on is freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2910106' first='Roman' last='Gerts'], who at 6-foot-9 with mobility and length represents the future of the Lightning.

The 2024-25 season is upon us and PrepHoops Oregon has you covered. We're doing pre-season previews for all of the 6A leagues across the state, giving you some insight into the teams and players you should be watching this year. To be quite frank, the PIL is down compared to previous seasons but it still features at least a couple of state title threats and the conference race is going to be extremely competitive. Here's how we see it turning out.