Capitol North Preview 2026-27

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final 2025-26 Standings</strong><br><br>1. Lake Mills 10-0 (26-3); 2. Lakeside Lutheran 7-2 (18-7); 3. Columbus 6-4 (18-8); 4. Lodi 4-6 (17-10); 5. Waupun 2-7 (2-22); 6. Poynette 0-10 (10-16)<br><br><strong>2026-27 Picks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/lake-mills/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/lake-mills/">Lake Mills</a> -- Tackling its fifth consecutive Capitol North championship most definitely is within the grasp of Lake Mills, a WIAA Division 3 State Tournament participant the past two seasons. Three regulars from its 26-3 squad are back in 2026-27, led by four-year starter [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'] (6-3), a football recruit for Winona State and one of the top all-around athletes in the state's 2027 class. Wollin averaged 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds en route to earning Player of the Year laurels in the league. He enters his senior season with 1,148 career points. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2505500' first='Collin' last='Christian'] (6-2) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2436993' first='Jenner' last='Wellman'] (5-11) also return for the L-Cats. Christian is a dependable player on both ends of the floor and averaged 14.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg while Wellman had a strong frosh campaign, averaging 6.6 ppg and 3.1 rpg. Wellman did sustain a torn ACL injury in the L-Cats sectional-final win over Lancaster. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2757619' first='Mason' last='Gray'] (6-0) and [player_tooltip player_id='3020650' first='Ben' last='Nordby'] (6-3) along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='3564920' first='Cam' last='Hack'] (6-0) and [player_tooltip player_id='2751649' first='Cam' last='Benish'] (6-0) will contend for starting spots for a team that once again will play stellar team defense and share the ball. <br><br>2. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/lodi/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/lodi/">Lodi</a> -- Lodi piled up 17 wins last winter and brings back three starters, led by double-figure scorers [player_tooltip player_id='2425632' first='Kale' last='Schneider'] (6-3) and [player_tooltip player_id='2140883' first='Bennett' last='Nyquist'] (6-3). Schneider earned first-team all-league honors after averaging 16.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg while Nyquist added 10.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg to a high-octane offense that averaged 66.2 ppg. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2807499' first='Silas' last='Seffrood'] (6-0) also started a year ago and figures to an improved player this time around with that year of experience under his belt. Coach Ben Leistico also welcomes back two of his top reserves from a year ago in seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2140906' first='Colton' last='Waller'] (6-0) and [player_tooltip player_id='3229125' first='Ace' last='Hoffmann'] (6-4). Both averaged around 4.2 ppg and figure to contend for starting spots along with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2399514' first='Keaton' last='Waldsmith'] (6-5), senior [player_tooltip player_id='3229119' first='Logan' last='Leistico'] (5-8) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='2401715' first='Maxwell' last='Oberling'] (6-7). Depth are outside shooting are definite assets for the Blue Devils. <br><br>3. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/lakeside-lutheran/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/lakeside-lutheran/">Lakeside Lutheran</a> -- Todd Jahns stepped down as the head coach at Lakeside Lutheran last spring and former assistant Austin DeNoyer has since taken over. DeNoyer inherits a program that is long on success and tradition, but short of varsity experience. The five starters from an 18-7 squad graduated, including top scorer and rebounder Wes Rahn (6-8), who netted 16.8 ppg and 11.4 rpg and now is playing at Minnesota-Duluth. Five seniors are back and all earned playing time off the bench so the cupboard isn't entirely bare. That group includes [player_tooltip player_id='3180255' first='Oliver' last='Povich'] (5-11), [player_tooltip player_id='2381448' first='Micah' last='Robinson'] (6-4), [player_tooltip player_id='2912900' first='Jacob' last='DeCleene'] (5-11), [player_tooltip player_id='3180262' first='Jeremiah' last='Koester'] (6-2) and [player_tooltip player_id='3180252' first='Ezra' last='Abram'] (6-6). Junior [player_tooltip player_id='3736606' first='Hans' last='Korth'] (6-2) also figures to contend for significant playing time as the Warriors look to parlay their strong culture into more success in 2026-27.<br><br>4. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/columbus/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/columbus/">Columbus</a> -- The Cardinals appear depleted at first glance as all five starters from last year's 18-8 squad graduated. However, the young talent in the Columbus program is impressive and helped the Cardinals JV1 team to 22 wins in 24 games. And others, such as sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='3462335' first='Samuel' last='Powers'] (6-5), played primarily for the varsity team, giving coach Jeffrey Downing some hope for keeping Columbus among the better teams in the Capitol North. The aforementioned Powers came off the bench as a freshman and averaged 2.8 ppg and 2.6 rpg. He is the most experienced player in the program, but there is some depth with junior [player_tooltip player_id='3513168' first='Landen' last='Wiersma'] (6-4), sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='3654513' first='Liam' last='Riese'] (6-3) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2781179' first='Max' last='Pederson'] (6-1) all expected to play important roles. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='3654511' first='Gavin' last='Schultz'] (6-1), [player_tooltip player_id='3735835' first='Grady' last='Corrado'] (6-1) and [player_tooltip player_id='3654508' first='Ben' last='Towne'] (5-11) also figure to be in the mix. <br><br>5. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/waupun/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/waupun/">Waupun</a> -- Kristofer Chwala, who served as the head coach at Waterloo last season, takes over the coaching responsibilities at Waupun with a team capable of making life miserable for its Capitol North opponents. There is some experience back for the Warriors, spearheaded by senior [player_tooltip player_id='2386334' first='Finn' last='Katzenberger'] (6-3) and junior [player_tooltip player_id='3476038' first='Elijah' last='Ewerdt'] (6-0). Katzenberger led Waupun in scoring at 10.3 ppg while Ewerdt ranked second on the squad at 9.7 ppg. Other key returning players include seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2441548' first='Landyn' last='Hawkinson'] (5-11) and [player_tooltip player_id='3476041' first='Landon' last='Derksen'] (5-9) along with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='3476035' first='Tymon' last='Aalsma'] (6-3) and [player_tooltip player_id='3022773' first='Owen' last='Kloosterboer'] (6-4). The Warriors boast some physicality along with a strong desire to improve upon a 2-22 finish of a year ago. <br><br>6. <a href="https://prephoops.com/team/wi/poynette/" data-type="link" data-id="prephoops.com/team/wi/poynette/">Poynette</a> -- Coach Cody Odegaard guided the Pumas to 10 wins a year ago, but the losing streak within the Capitol North Conference reached 28 in a row as Poynette finished 0-10 in league play. Poynette looks to be improved in 2026-27, but moving up in the league standings is extremely difficult given the talent and traditions at the other five schools in the loop. Still, Poynette will go to battle with a potent one-two scoring punch as [player_tooltip player_id='2815618' first='Easton' last='Ripp'] (6-2) and [player_tooltip player_id='2828652' first='Paceler' last='Moll'] (5-10) both averaged in double figures last winter. Ripp's stat line is particularly impressive as he contributed 16.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 2.8 apg while Moll added 10.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 3.6 apg. The Pumas will look to senior [player_tooltip player_id='2829007' first='Gage' last='Hartman'] (5-8), junior [player_tooltip player_id='2828673' first='Connor' last='Raymond'] (6-0) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2432362' first='Jordan' last='Tjugum'] (6-2) to turn in productive seasons in addition to Ripp and Moll. <br><br><strong>Top Returning Scorers</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'], Lake Mills (17.8 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2815618' first='Easton' last='Ripp'], Poynette (16.9 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2425632' first='Kale' last='Schneider'], Lodi (16.6 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2505500' first='Collin' last='Christian'], Lake Mills (14.9 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2386334' first='Finn' last='Katzenberger'], Waupun (10. 3 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2828652' first='Paceler' last='Moll'], Poynette (10.2 ppg)<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140883' first='Bennett' last='Nyquist'], Lodi (10.0 ppg)<br><br><strong>Projected All-Conference Teams<br>First Team</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'], 6-3, Sr., Lake Mills<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2505500' first='Collin' last='Christian'], 6-2, Sr., Lake Mills<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2425632' first='Kale' last='Schneider'], 6-3, Sr., Lodi<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2815618' first='Easton' last='Ripp'], 6-2, Sr., Poynette<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2386334' first='Finn' last='Katzenberger'], 6-1, Sr., Waupun<br><br><strong>Second Team</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2436993' first='Jenner' last='Wellman'], 5-11, Soph., Lake Mills<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140883' first='Bennett' last='Nyquist'], 6-3, Sr., Lodi<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3476038' first='Elijah' last='Ewerdt'], 6-1, Jr., Waupun<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3462335' first='Samuel' last='Powers'], 6-5, Soph., Columbus<br>[player_tooltip player_id='3180255' first='Oliver' last='Povich'], 5-11, Sr., Lakeside Lutheran<br><br><strong>The Big Five</strong><br><strong>Top Shooter: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2425632' first='Kale' last='Schneider'], Lodi<br><strong>Top Defender:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'], Lake Mills<br><strong>Top Rebounder:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='2346694' first='Tyler' last='Wollin'], Lake Mills<br><strong>Best Collegiate Prospect:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='3462335' first='Samuel' last='Powers'], Columbus<br><strong>Most Improved: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2386334' first='Finn' last='Katzenberger'], Waupun</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->