2A Bracket Preview: Picking Game-by-Game Ahead of State

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Picking who wins each matchup, and the eventual 2A state champion before the games start next week in Des Moines.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/03/1a-bracket-preview-picking-game-by-game-ahead-of-state/">1A Bracket Preview: Picking Game-by-Game Ahead of State</a><br><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-6.51.52-PM.png"></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3533052,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-7.04.04-PM.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-01-at-7.04.04-PM.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-3533052" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Quarterfinals:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A clean sweep of 1-4 seeds head to the semis, thanks to proper seeding by the IHSAA. Kuemper Catholic gets revenge and exorcises the demons of last year's substate upset, defeating Union Community after they upset the Knights on their way to the state tournament last season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Treynor pops Grundy Center in a lopsided four vs. five-seed matchup, Unity Christian beats Western Christian for a second time this season and Regina Catholic handles Aplington-Parkersburg in the first round with their size and athleticism. No upsets, as far as we can see. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Semifinals:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is where I make my "2A Mid-Season Title Favorites" list look a little silly. In the midst of writing the series and including Kuemper, the Knights were rolling through the latter part of their regular season schedule, and flat-out dominating anyone and everyone they faced -- including defeating 3A state title contender, Storm Lake -- and doing all of that without, arguably, their best player, [player_tooltip player_id='1765503' first='Brock' last='Badding']. The Knights looked primed for a state title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After narrowly escaping Roland Story, 54-48 at home last week, it doesn't look like so much of a sure thing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All the while, Treynor has been on a tear, winning ten in a row after dropping back-to-back losses in mid-January. They've won nine of those ten by double digits, with the lone single-digit victory coming against Blair, an opponent from Nebraska. Their most recent win came over Underwood in the substate final, avenging one of their three losses from the season with a 54-34 victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cardinals have the size and scoring to keep up with Kuemper, and if 6-foot guard [player_tooltip player_id='1978103' first='Alec' last='Lovely'] gets going, he'll be tough to stop. Treynor gets the upset in the semis to head to the title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regina and Unity could be the title game before the title game, if this is how it all shakes out. Between [player_tooltip player_id='2419768' first='Tate' last='Wallace'], [player_tooltip player_id='2419815' first='Will' last='Litton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2523886' first='Ben' last='Wade'], the Regals' front court has quite a bit of depth, size and scoring ability. While Wallace and Litton will likely be Division I football recruits, Wade, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward will presumably follow the same path on the court, holding offers from Drake and UNI.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming from the other side of the state is Unity Christian, who has largely plowed through their schedule this fall, dropping its in-state only loss to the 3A reigning champs, MOC-Floyd Valley. With the program's all-time leading scorer, [player_tooltip player_id='2413578' first='Dylan' last='Bosma'] and a slew of six players on their roster that stand at 6-foot-4 or taller, the Knights are as formidable as anyone in the class. Bosma and [player_tooltip player_id='2419800' first='Tyce' last='Van Donge'], one of those 6-foot-4 players on the roster, are each shooting over 40% from three, as well. Unity is too strong and too deep. They advance to the final to take on Treynor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Championship:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bosma and his supporting cast out of Orange City are too deep, and too efficient. Between Bosma's 18.3 points and the combined 39.5 points the Knights get from Van Donge, Keagen Winterfield and [player_tooltip player_id='2413600' first='Austin' last='Wieringa'], this Unity squad is loaded with scoring firepower. Not only that, but Van Donge and Wieringa combine to grab 15.9 rebounds per contest, and their top five scorers eac average over a steal per game, making them an opponent that out-scores <em>and </em>out-hustles the competition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Treynor's magical run comes to an end by way of running into the buzz saw that is Unity Christian, and the Knights get their second state championship ever, winning for the first time since 2019. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->