Missing You: Elite Players We Won’t See In The State Tournament

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unfortunately, not every elite player in New Mexico is given the opportunity to showcase his skills in the state tournament. Here are 11 talented players we won't see when the action gets underway Saturday:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693652' first='Kaileb' last='Atencio'], Penasco</strong>: One of the top players in northern New Mexico. Atencio was superb for the Panthers this season, averaging 20.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.5 steals per game. He concluded his career with over 900 points and nearly 250 rebounds. But Penasco finished 12-16 overall, 4^th in District 2A-5 behind Mesa Vista, Mora and Escalante, all of whom got into the tournament. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833741' first='CJ' last='Granados'], Dexter</strong>: Also the athletic and strong-armed QB for the Dexter football team, Granados averaged 22.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Demons. But Granados needed more help from his teammates. Dexter finished 12-13 overall, 1-5 in District 3A-4 and lost their final five games (and 7 of last 8) to drop out of tournament contention.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694458' first='Bryce' last='Johnson'], Manzano</strong>: What happened the Manzano? The Monarchs lost 15 of their last 17 games to fall out of 5A tourney contention. Johnson averaged 13.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game and connected on 61 3-pointers but didn't get enough support from his teammates. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Daniel Marrufo, Chaparral</strong>: Only one team from four-team District 4A-3 made the state tournament, district champion Silver. That means we won't see Marrufo in the tournament even though he enjoyed a solid senior season by averaging 14.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to lead the Lobos in both categories.. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2026077' first='Elijah' last='Martinez'], Cibola</strong>: The Cougars had a rough go this season trying to compete against the top three teams in the state in their district. Martinez is one of the top players in the Albuquerque Metro Region. He averaged 23 points and 4 assists per game this season. But Cibola finished 11-16 overall and lost six of its last seven games to fall out of tourney contention. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827378' first='Ty'Shawn' last='Nieto'], Zuni</strong>: A late season six-game winning streak wasn't enough to save Zuni. Nieto averaged close to a double-double: 9.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Teammates averaged more points per game, but Nieto was the best all-around player. Zuni finished 14-15 overall, 6-6 in District 3A-1. It wasn't enough. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ismael Ontiveros, Hondo Valley</strong>: Averaged over 22 points per game for Hondo Valley. Excellent 3-point shooter, connecting on nearly 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Hondo Valley finished a respectable 16-11 overall, but third in District 1A-3. It wasn't enough to receive an at-large berth. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2693644' first='Rylee' last='Pahl'], Cloudcroft</strong>: Per MaxPreps, Pahl is the state's second leading scorer, averaging over 22 points per game. In one six-stretch in late January, he scored 30+ points three times. Despite Pahl's best efforts, though, Cloudcroft (13-14) finished third in District 2A-3 behind Mesilla Valley Christian and Mescalero Apache and didn't receive an at-large berth. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300000' first='Bryant' last='Scales'], Legacy Academy</strong>: After an outstanding football season for the Silverbacks, Scales excelled on the hardwood as well. Averaged over 22 points and 9 rebounds per game. But Legacy Academy struggled to a 10-17 overall record, 5-5 in District 2A-2 and was left out of the Class 2A playoffs. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2697813' first='Tyler' last='Todorovic'], NMSOD</strong>: Few people probably realize the New Mexico School for the Deaf fields a basketball team in District 1A-5. But competing against the likes of Cimarron, Roy/Mosquero and Springer, NMSOD struggled to a 1-9 district record. Todorovic, though, averaged 21 points and 7 rebounds per game. But NMSOD didn't receive and at-large tournament berth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2217079' first='Charlie' last='Wills'], Eldorado</strong>: Perhaps the best player not appearing in the 5A state tournament. Wills was sensational for Eldorado this season, averaging nearly 18 points and shooting over 50 percent from the field in district play. Eldorado's season boiled down to what some thought was a state tournament play-in game against Santa Fe on Feb. 25. Turns out it was. The Demons won, 44-41, and got the No. 16 seed over the Eagles. We have one more season to watch Wills before he heads to the next level. New Mexico Highlands has offered. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Junior SZN ✅ 23 PPG 4 ASTS 3 REB 2 STLS <br>Senior year ⏳<br>AGTG 🙏 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Godsplan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Godsplan</a> #3 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DontForget?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DontForget</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hooper?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#hooper</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ballislife?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ballislife</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KJ_Ford4?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KJ_Ford4</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SebastianNoel47?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SebastianNoel47</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VinceWalker20?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VinceWalker20</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachJamesJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachJamesJ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BROD35?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BROD35</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KennyTripp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KennyTripp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachLuber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachLuber</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/mike_sotsky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mike_sotsky</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelD34?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MichaelD34</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachEricOlen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoachEricOlen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/eb_ericb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@eb_ericb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/One11Hoops?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@One11Hoops</a>… <a href="https://t.co/hxfShVCMUT">pic.twitter.com/hxfShVCMUT</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='2026077' first='Elijah' last='Martinez'] (@ElijahMtz2027) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElijahMtz2027/status/2029403784385073445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Built to last. Trusted every minute. 🦅<br>Led the way when it mattered most.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EldoradoEagles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EldoradoEagles</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IronEagle?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IronEagle</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DistrictPlay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DistrictPlay</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IDMyAthlete?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IDMyAthlete</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BuiltNotGiven?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BuiltNotGiven</a> <a href="https://t.co/EJLM6hEjsH">pic.twitter.com/EJLM6hEjsH</a></p>&mdash; IDMyAthlete (@idmyathlete) <a href="https://twitter.com/idmyathlete/status/2025665978751754266?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2026</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->