Midland Empire Conference Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Missouri continues its preseason conference previews with a look at the Midland Empire Conference. St. Joe Lafayette won a district championship last season while Bishop LeBlond was a Class 2 Final Four participant. Maryville, Chillicothe and St. Pius X should also field solid teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>THE STARTING FIVE</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1162927' first='Camden' last='Bennett'] (Lafayette): A 6'3" 2023 Missouri Western recruit who returns after leading the Irish to conference and district championships. As a junior, he averaged 20.1 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. He is a physical offensive player who can score at all three levels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1161313' first='Caden' last='Stoecklein'] (Maryville): A 6'0" 2023 point guard who will be a four-year starter for the Spoofhounds. As a junior, he averaged 14.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 76 percent from the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1579852' first='Grant' last='Redd'] (St. Pius X): A 5'9" 2024 point guard who is an excellent playmaker with the ability to score. As a sophomore, he averaged a team-high 14.6 points a game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Griffith Bonderer (Chillicothe): A 6'3" 2023 wing who plays a solid all-around game. He was an All-Conference selection after averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 51 percent from 3-point range as a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1165635' first='Mikey' last='Thomas'] (Lafayette): A 6'1" 2023 guard who returns after earning All-Conference honors last season. As a junior, he averaged 13.4 points and four rebounds while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free throw line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BEST OF THE REST</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1070117' first='Keaton' last='Stone'] (Maryville)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Denver Bomann (Benton)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Landon Winder (Chillicothe)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wyatt Brandsgaard (Chillicothe)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1170160' first='TJ' last='Best'] (Cameron)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Daylin Cruickshank (Cameron)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ethan Dudeck (Savannah)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carson Schmidt (Benton)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Max Ervie (St. Pius X)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1162364' first='James' last='Mathew'] (Chillicothe)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Derek Quinlin (Maryville)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1424401' first='Myles' last='Bachali'] (Benton)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->