Iowa Class 4A Mid-Season Title Favorites: Cedar Falls

Jaydon Kimbrough waits at the free throw line. Photo: Eliot Clough / Prep Hoops

Eliot Clough January 25, 2026 @ 04:25 PM

Kicking off a series of at least three schools per class that have the best chance at winning the state title. We begin with Iowa's largest schools, Class 4A.   The Case For the Tigers   Cedar Falls has been nothing but dominant to start the 2025-26 season, not only going undefeated, but winning 11 of their 13 games by double-digits and seven of those victories coming by 20 or more points. The single-digit wins came against perennial power, Linn-Mar and another 4A contender loaded with Division I athletes, Waukee Northwest. The Tigers can score, and they play some of the best defense in the state, making them the now-routine No. 1 team in the state-wide <a href="https://prephoops.com/iowa/team-database/">Power Score</a> rankings.   Led by seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1765553' first='William' last='Gerdes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1777914' first='Jaydon' last='Kimbrough'], the forward-guard duo is one of the highest scoring pairs in Class 4A, as Gerdes averages 20.8 points per game (PPG), and Kimbrough adds 18.9 PPG. Gerdes, a UNI commit, has improved in almost every area he needed to since last season. Adding strength and playing like more of a true big, Gerdes is averaging more rebounds and more blocks per game. He's also added to his bag of skilled big attributes, dishing out more assists, and seemingly becoming more confident in his three-point shot. Shooting a whopping 72.8% from the field, Gerdes remains a near automatic bucket every time he gets a paint touch.   Kimbrough, a Winona State commit, is playing like a Division I-worthy hooper, commanding the Tiger offense and being the lead guard that every state championship team needs in scoring, defense and leadership. Ball-dominant in a good way, Kimbrough is the type of player that can go get a bucket when his team needs it and uses his athleticism to help defend the perimeter. He's also shooting 46.1% from three.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/AveryQuad/status/2008677571630952773?s=20 </div></figure>   The rest of the team includes Waterloo West transfer and fellow starting guard, [player_tooltip player_id='1765505' first='Parker' last='Berns'], who is one of my favorite secondary ball-handlers in the state. An uber-composed, never-too-high, never-too-low senior that can initiate the offense, knock down shots and get to the rim, having Berns as another playmaking guard that most schools in the state don't have the luxury of starting alongside an Iowa Mr. Basketball candidate in Kimbrough. Don't forget the experienced [player_tooltip player_id='1765549' first='Leyton' last='Wolf'], fellow forward and AAU teammates with Gerdes for the [program_tooltip program_id='2246861' first='Murray' last='Elite'], Wolf plays a more physical brand of basketball, and he's willing to do the dirty work to compliment Gerdes on offense. He can also guard the big man of opposing teams, willing to get physical and play tough. He adds 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and an impressive, vision-displaying and team-leading 4.8 assists per game.   The Tigers may not be littered with double-digit scorers, but they're deep and unselfish, with ten players that have appeared in at least eight games this season. Consistently one of the best programs in 4A, the Tigers have won a ton of games under head coach Ryan Schultz, including two state titles and making an appearance in Des Moines last postseason.

Kicking off a series of at least three schools per class that have the best chance at winning the state title. We begin with Iowa's largest schools, Class 4A.