Mt. Vernon-Plankinton Titans: Season Review

Time to talk Titan hoops!   The Mt. Vernon/Plankinton Titans put together a season defined by resilience, growth, and flashes of standout play. Under the steady leadership of head coach Jason Helling, the Titans battled through a competitive schedule to finish with a 10–12 record—one that tells only part of their story.   Throughout the year, MVP showed grit in close contests and continued to develop as a cohesive unit, setting the stage for future success. In this season review, we break down the numbers that shaped their campaign and dive into a compelling Q&A session that offers deeper insight into the team's journey.   "I was very happy with our Varsity Program this year. We were a little inconsistent but one thing we always did was compete. I felt like we competed harder in every game we played this year. Defensively, we really turned things around and finished the season giving up the 2nd fewest PPG in the history of our COOP. Offensively, we had more balance with an inside presence, but still struggled to execute against some of the better teams on our schedule. Our seniors are going to be missed. We will graduate 7 great young men who have done a great job of setting a standard as to what we coaches expect from the players in our program." -Jason Helling   See below for Titans info and a closer look at what made this group memorable.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/image_91d802.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/image_91d802.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-3572682" style="aspect-ratio:1.3230130384267826;width:282px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1842251" style="aspect-ratio:1.601917788902207;width:249px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Statistical Leaders   [player_tooltip player_id='2824327' first='Tyce' last='Feistner'] - 22 gp, 36.2 FG%, 42.5 eFG%, 3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3430567' first='Mason' last='DeGeest'] - 22 gp, 32.1 FG%, 39.3 eFG%, 1.8 rpg, .6 apg, .8 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3102556' first='Derrick' last='Fletcher'] - 22 gp, 32.7 FG%, 41.1 eFG%, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3287826' first='Camden' last='Stahl'] - 22 gp, 35 FG%, 35.8 eFG%, 3.5 rpg, 1 apg, 1.6 spg   Cole Sandland - 22, 37.1 FG%, 42.9 eFG%, 1.8 rpg, .9 apg, 1.2 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3028024' first='Mason' last='Karst'] - 22 gp, 54.2 FG%, 54.2 FG%, 7.8 rpg, .7 apg, 1.2 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3102560' first='Riley' last='Mayer'] - 21 gp, 41.7 FG%, 43.8 eFG%, 4.1 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.5 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3028027' first='Trysten' last='Eide'] - 17 gp, 30 FG%, 40 eFG%, .5 rpg, .2 apg, .2 spg   Walker Van Gorp - 15 gp, 35.7 FG%, 35.7 FG%, 1.1 rpg, .2 spg   [player_tooltip player_id='3102620' first='Sawyer' last='Williams'] - 10 gp, 20 FG%, 30 eFG%, .7 rpg, .4 apg, .3 spg   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/QA.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/QA.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-2508303" style="width:242px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   With Coach Helling   PHD: What are some of your best memories from off the court?   "Our kids are great with the underclassmen. The interactions during our Tiny Titans practices/games, as well as their ability to interact with our water-boys. They truly are great role models. Another great experience was our preseason alumni game. This showed them that their legacy will last a lot longer than just this season."   PHD: Can you talk about a time when you and the team overcame adversity?    "I think our Region game against MCM was a good example of this team's grit. We got down 17-3 after the first quarter and trailed 25-7 at half. It would have been really easy for them to quit, but they didn't. They used our press to create problems for the other team and eventually crawled back to within 3 (had a chance to make it 1 but missed a layup). We didn't come out on top, losing by 5, but it wasn't because the boys quit."   PHD: Who was your most improved player?    "[player_tooltip player_id='3028024' first='Mason' last='Karst'] - Mason has been injured for the majority of his HS career, but was finally able to get a full season in during his senior year. He was a force for us inside. We could count on him to rebound the basketball, protect the rim, and provide a scoring punch on the interior."   PHD: Who were a few of your hardest workers?   "It is hard to pinpoint who our hardest worker was because they all competed. If I had to pick, I would say either [player_tooltip player_id='2824327' first='Tyce' last='Feistner'] or Walker VanGorp.  Those two (along with everyone else) played relentlessly."   PHD: Can you talk about your seniors?   "Our rotation this season included 6 seniors. We will only return 1 player who received consistent minutes, so scoring and understanding of defensive concepts are going to be big in a basketball sense. However, all the intangibles are going to be what we miss the most."   PHD: Who was your top post player?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2824327' first='Tyce' last='Feistner'] would be our more complete player this year. We relied heavily on him to score the basketball for us and he did that extremely well.  In most games Tyce was faced with some kind of junk defense and still managed to score 20 ppg."   PHD: Who was your best defensive player?   "[player_tooltip player_id='3102560' first='Riley' last='Mayer'] was typically asked to guard the opposing team's best offensive player and [player_tooltip player_id='3287826' first='Camden' last='Stahl'] would have been our most intelligent defensive player."   PHD: Were there any memorable buzzer-beaters, upsets, or clutch performances?   "Both of our contests against Hanson were come-from-behind victories that required clutch performances from players on our team. In the first contest, Tyce kind took over in the 4th quarter, making a big 3-point shot to put us ahead by 1 in the final minute."   PHD: What lessons from this season go beyond basketball?   "Our guys this season embraced roles better than any team we have had in a long time. They weren't worried about who got credit; they just wanted to win."   PHD: Can you talk about an assistant coach?   "Our program is blessed to have two great assistant coaches. Aj Kortemeyer coached our C team and Kyle Bruinsma coached our JV. Both of these guys played huge roles in the success of our program. Aj spent a lot of time in practice making sure our C players understood basic concepts of basketball, such as how and when to move on offense and what our defensive philosophy was. Kyle helped make sure the JV was prepared and ready when called upon to contribute at the Varsity level. I'm not sure what every other program in the state has, but we are lucky to have these men at MVP."   PHD: Any last comments/thoughts on the season?   "It's pretty uncommon for a school our size to lose 15 players in two years, but that is what we are tasked with heading into next season. The 7 seniors who will be leaving our program have displayed the type of character and work ethic that will hopefully motivate our underclassmen to continue moving our program forward."   BEST OF LUCK TO THE TITANS THIS OFFSEASON!!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/image_91d802.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/image_91d802.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-3572682" /></a></figure>

Time to talk Titan hoops!