Big Graduation Losses to Affect 4A Teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Losses to graduation will create a lot of change to the top teams in 4A. Sometimes it's in quantity of players who graduate. Sometimes it's in the quality of a couple of players who depart. 4A has examples of each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the AA schools who face the biggest losses to their rosters, as well as some players who might be able to step into those leadership roles:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hugoton:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sometimes it's not the number of players who graduate. Sometimes it's the quality of players who graduate. State champ Hugoton loses two all-state caliber players in 27^th ranked <strong>Ryle Riddlesperger</strong> and 44^th ranked <strong>Carson Bennett</strong>. Those two guards were an electric combo that spearheaded a deep and talented roster. Whether the returners can work the same kind of magic remains to be seen. But they have pieces in place: point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1300809' first='Dasean' last='Lewis']</strong> (pictured), versatile guys like <strong>Griffin Heger</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1378448' first='Emmett' last='Gaskill']</strong> and some size in <strong>Isaac Martin</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387756' first='Izeyah' last='Harris']</strong>. Hugoton will be really good again next year. But the loss of Riddlesperger and Bennett will be huge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bishop Miege:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miege seems to be good every year despite graduation losses. That will probably be the case once again next season. But it's always hard to envision overcoming the kind of losses like the Stags are experiencing. <strong>Aidan Wing</strong>, 16^th in the 2023 class, was a playmaker and athletic difference maker. Transfer guard <strong>Jason Rodriguez</strong>, ranked #21, was an experienced and flashy distributor. The Stags also had #56 <strong>Daegan Jensen</strong> and a supreme winner in <strong>Mac Armstrong</strong>. That depth helped them cope with the injuries that hampered the electric <strong>Patrick McCallop</strong>, #33. You never quite know who Miege has waiting in the wings, but the top returners are seniors <strong>Naeem Coppage</strong> and <strong>Justyce Betts</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wellington:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Crusaders had a great senior class of depth and talent that they will have to replace. <strong>Jack Wright </strong>wound up the team leader after being ranked #105 during the season. <strong>Banks Hinshaw</strong> was ranked #62. They were supported by experienced guards <strong>Malachi Rogers </strong>and <strong>Cope Henry</strong>. That group led a program turnaround, going to state after winning just six games as juniors. The group that will try to keep that momentum will be led by [player_tooltip player_id='1962891' first='Carter' last='Burnett'], a 6-foot-3 forward with a lot of versatility and talent.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Other 4A teams with significant losses:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hayden:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joe Otting</strong>, #36 and <strong>Jake Mueller</strong>, #60</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Holton:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ty Snyder</strong>, #108 and <strong>Matthew Lierz</strong>, #115</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->