2025-26 6A Preview - Pacific Conference

The 2025-26 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. For years, the Pacific Conference has been a three-bid playoff league and while we don't see that changing, the race for who earns those three spots - especially the third one - will be intense. Here's how we see it turning out.   League Predictions   <ol class="wp-block-list"> <li>Sherwood</li>   <li>Forest Grove</li>   <li>Newberg</li>   <li>McMinnville</li>   <li>Century</li>   <li>Liberty</li>   <li>Glencoe</li> </ol>   Player of the Year: [player_tooltip player_id='1606063' first='Brody' last='Rygh'], Sherwood   All-League Predictions: Rygh; [player_tooltip player_id='2132836' first='Avery' last='Johnson'], Sherwood; [player_tooltip player_id='1687834' first='Andwele' last='Bridges'], Forest Grove; [player_tooltip player_id='2356522' first='Kasen' last='Lariz'], Forest Grove; [player_tooltip player_id='2737307' first='Greysen' last='Castaneda'], Newberg   Top Sleeper/Newcomer: [player_tooltip player_id='2554985' first='Jack' last='Thompson'], Newberg   State Tournament Threats: Sherwood   Other Post-Season Teams: Forest Grove, Newberg   Analysis   Since joining the Pacific Conference one constant has remained - Sherwood will be the favorite to win the league title. That's the case again in 2025-26 as head coach Rahim Tufts has the elite talent for the Bowmen to not only bring home the conference championship but also make a run at the Chiles Center. The attack begins with senior swingman [player_tooltip player_id='1606063' first='Brody' last='Rygh'] (17.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, .561 fg%, .377 3pt%) who was the league's player of the year last season. The athletic 6-foot-4 can do it all on the basketball floor and he won't be alone. Also returning and ready to continue elevating his game is junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2132836' first='Avery' last='Johnson'] (11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.3 spg, .572 fg%). The 6-foot-2 lefty is extremely difficult to defend with his ability to attack the basket and finish at the rim and is also a candidate for league player of the year honors. Running the point will be senior Riley DeBorde (3.0 ppg, 0.8 apg) and adding size inside will be fellow senior, 6-foot-7 Jonah Furino (1.2 ppg). Junior Judah Dressler (0.5 ppg in 4 games) comes up from leading the JV squad next season and adds versatile scoring to the mix. Sherwood may not be as deep or experienced off the bench as previous years but will still have some solid contributors with seniors Nathan McArthur (0.0 ppg in 4 games) and transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1687835' first='Brooks' last='Carter'] leading the way.   This year could be the season that Forest Grove breaks through as a contender. At the very least head coach Marc Roche has at his disposal two of the league's best players in seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1687834' first='Andwele' last='Bridges'] (17.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.2 apg, .364 3pt%) and [player_tooltip player_id='2356522' first='Kasen' last='Lariz'] (10.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .429 3pt%). The 6-foot Bridges is on track to be the school's all-time leading scorer and can drop 20+ points every single night, scoring at all three levels. The 6-foot-4 Lariz possesses a deadly lefty stroke from long range, but improved on his ability to get to the basket and finish. Beyond this duo, contributions will be made by committee from a group that lacks varsity experience. Junior post Colin Jones will man the middle and provide rebounding and defense with toughness, while fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id='3076544' first='Asher' last='Case'] and Travis Hale are solid athletes. The development of sophomore Deklund Hoyt (1.5 ppg in 2 games) will be one to watch as the season progresses.   Newberg was one of the youngest teams in all of 6A last season but the lumps the Tigers took will pay off in 2025-26. One shining star back for head coach Brett Vernon is sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2737307' first='Greysen' last='Castaneda'] (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 spg), a versatile two-player who led 6A in steals last season. He's a first team all-league candidate. The team's second option on offense will be senior [player_tooltip player_id='2554985' first='Jack' last='Thompson'], who transferred in after spending the past two years in Texas. At 6-foot-7, he's the tallest player on the team but in addition to being able to finish at the rim he can step out and knock down threes in bunches. Seniors Parker Sellner (5.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg), Colton Seifert (3.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg), and Luke Greller (4.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and are experienced players back in the fold and look for juniors Preet Singh (4.4 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2927037' first='Ben' last='Davis'] (2.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg), and Harrison Ramsey (1.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.1 apg) to also contribute as Vernon has the depth to throw out a number of different looks on the floor.   Now in year two at the helm at McMinnville, head coach Tucker Coil has a squad consisting of both returnees and newcomers that will compete for a playoff spot. The leading returning scorer is Dylan Ferrua (10.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.8 apg) a proven inside-outside threat but others will need to step up. The size is there as 6-foot-7 senior [player_tooltip player_id='2967332' first='Tomas' last='Merlier'] (2.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) improved over the summer and 6-foot-4 [player_tooltip player_id='2683982' first='Bryce' last='Herrick'] (4.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg) will form the frontline, along with 6-foot-6 transfer Xander Gurash, the son of new Linfield head coach Elijah Gurash. Guard play will be key as junior Cayd Howard and senior Kaeden Chapman (0.5 ppg in 2 games) will be expected to step up despite their limited varsity experience.   It's another year for the dean of all Pacific Conference coaches Scott Kellar and as long as he's been around Century has been competitive. The Jaguars are extremely young this year though so they could be a year away from being the playoff team they typically are. The key returnee is senior Jace Willett (7.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .444 3pt%). The 6-foot-4 wing and baseball standout is a good athlete with a sharp shot from the perimeter. He'll be leaned on heavily as well as junior 6-foot-9 big man [player_tooltip player_id='2737296' first='Adam' last='Walkenhorst'] (3.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 0.6 bpg, .592 fg%) who has continued to come along with his development. Look for his production to at least double from last year. Other than senior Xavier Duran (1.1 ppg in 8 games) the rest of the lineup is new. Junior transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2047154' first='Kota' last='Truong'] arrives with varsity experience having played at Aloha and young guards such as sophomores Trey Jones and [player_tooltip player_id='2539804' first='Ryder' last='Owens'] will be thrust into big roles.   It's a rebuilding year at Liberty as the majority of head coach Mike Gregory's squad is fresh to varsity play. One guy that is back is [player_tooltip player_id='2844558' first='Trey' last='Thomas'] (8.0 ppg, 0.9 apg, .351 3pt%) and the senior guard will be heavily relied upon for his shooting and passing abilities. Expect his statistical output to at least double in practically every category. Outside of him, seniors Mekhi Perry (2.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and Amaury Silvia (0.6 ppg, 0.6 rpg), and junior Luke Newport (0.3 ppg) return with any kind of experience as the rest of the squad will be from last year's JV and freshman teams.   It's a new era at Glencoe as Maurice Williams takes over as head coach, and after taking St. Helens to respectability he hopes to do the same with the Crimson Tide. It won't happen overnight though as graduation and transfers have gutted a roster that had more promise after the completion of last season. Two guys that do come back that will be impactful will be senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2204991' first='Jacob' last='Diaz'] and junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2737295' first='Andrew' last='Darrington'] and expect both to be among the leading scorers on a nightly basis. Some younger guys to keep an eye on include sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2388694' first='Kamarion' last='Andrade']-Selden and freshman Jamire Thompson.

The 2025-26 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. For years, the Pacific Conference has been a three-bid playoff league and while we don't see that changing, the race for who earns those three spots - especially the third one - will be intense. Here's how we see it turning out.