1A Way-Too-Early Title Contenders: Marquette Catholic

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taking a look at teams that could compete for the state championship in their respective classes in the 2026-27 season, now moving to 1A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team that just constantly reloads and sends squads to the state championship game, Marquette Catholic is a program that simply can't be counted out from the 1A title conversation. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sure, they lose two of their top three scorers, but, potentially the most important player on the team, [player_tooltip player_id='2906540' first='Louis' last='Gonner'] is back for his final year of eligibility. One of the more composed guards in the state and a basketball player that doesn't necessarily bring the physical attributes to the table, but just flat-out makes winning plays, Gonner is the type of player that youngsters just learning about the game should watch and take notes on. Unselfish, not turnover prone and always willing and able to take the last shot for the Defenders, Gonner is the type of player that, no matter the class or situation, a team can always find a role for. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Putting up 11.2 points, 4.6 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 50.2% from the field and 73.7% from the free throw line, Gonner is a point guard that gets the job done in every way. Able to create shots for himself and others, while also stepping up in big moments -- like hitting the game-winner in over time to send MC back to the state tournament in the substate final -- Gonner is the winning point guard a team needs to be a consistent winner and title contender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Bound_IA/status/2027921306935611900?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Bound_IA/status/2027921306935611900?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Defenders return three other players that scored 9.9 points or more per game, as Marquette Catholic fielded one of the more evenly-balanced scoring squads last season, fielding six players that scored between 9.9 points and 11.7 points per contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Those returning include junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2828832' first='Taegin' last='Smith'], junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='3344000' first='Canden' last='Weber'] and sophomore wing, [player_tooltip player_id='2523923' first='Tate' last='Kueter']. Amongst the trio, Keuter grabbed 5.6 rebounds per game, Weber snagged 1.7 steals per contest and Smith shot a team-leading 43% on 186 attempts from deep last season. Two sizeable sophomores are set to return, as well, as 6-foot-7 Ricky Booker and 6-foot-4 David Marshall are each back, and if they move from reserves to key pieces of the rotation, that would help the Defenders mightily. An excellent supporting cast that is made of players that have a chance to take another big step forward in 2026-27, Marquette Catholic should be a team to be reckoned with once again, as they seek the first title in program history. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->