Substate Preview: 3A-5
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The favorite: Solon earned the top seed in this substate by winning their first 18 games and rolling to an impressive 20-1 regular season. The Spartans have been fantastic on the defensive end this year, allowing just 47.6 points a…
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Continue ReadingThe favorite: Solon earned the top seed in this substate by winning their first 18 games and rolling to an impressive 20-1 regular season. The Spartans have been fantastic on the defensive end this year, allowing just 47.6 points a game, second in the class. They’re a long, athletic team that has held 11 opponents to fewer than 50 points this year, and with the way they fly around the court on the defensive end, open looks are never easy to come by. On the offensive end, Jake Benzing Jake Benzing 6'2" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA (17.3, 36.2 3P%) leads a quartet of seniors who average in double figures, giving the Spartans a balanced attack. Vince Steinbrech Vince Steinbrech 6'2" | SF Solon | 2024 State IA (14.9, 62.8 FG%), Rylen Stiegelmeyer Rylen Stiegelmeyer 6'1" | SG Solon | 2024 State IA (11.3, 37.8 3P%), and Gehrig Turner (10.6, 35.1 3P%) are the other big offensive weapons, while fellow senior Austin Knight (3.0, 4.1 rebounds) isn’t a big scoring threat, but he’s one of their best defenders, using his length and athleticism to impact the game on that end of the floor. With their bevy of scoring options, and a strong, athletic, defensive-minded group, they’ll be tough to beat here.
The biggest threat: The #2 seed in the substate, Clear Creek Amana, has played really good basketball since the holiday break, going 12-2 during that stretch, including a sweep of likely semifinal opponent Williamsburg. The Clippers are led by junior wing Andrew Rotzoll Andrew Rotzoll 6'1" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2025 State IA (16.3, 44.4 3P%) and senior guard Haiden Hardy Haiden Hardy 6'2" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2024 State IA (13.8, 4.7 assists), a pair of big-time scorers whose games complement each other well. Rotzoll is a knockdown shooter off the catch, while Hardy is at his best when he’s playing downhill and attacking off the dribble, getting the defense to collapse and finding open shooters. Robert Meade (9.3) and Brody Clubb Brody Clubb 6'3" | PF Clear Creek Amana | 2025 State IA (6.3) provide some size and physicality in the paint, while Cale Berry Cale Berry 6'2" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2025 State IA (8.7), Brock Hilsman (6.6), and Ethan Vice Ethan Vice 6'1" | SG Clear Creek Amana | 2026 State IA (5.8) are all viable scorers on the perimeter as well. This is a deep team filled with good scoring threats, ranking 12th in the class in scoring at 67.0 points a game.
The dark horses: Senior wing Derek Weisskopf Derek Weisskopf 6'3" | SG Williamsburg | 2024 State IA (20.2, 8.1 rebounds) may be the best player in the substate, and that makes Williamsburg an intriguing sleeper team here. Weisskopf, who will play linebacker at Iowa, is a fantastic athlete who can take over games on both ends of the floor with his ability to defend multiple positions, score from all three levels, and control the glass. Junior guard Grant Hocker Grant Hocker 6'3" | SF Williamsburg | 2025 State IA (10.1, 3.0 assists) has emerged as a solid playmaker on the perimeter, and senior Kellen Cockrell Kellen Cockrell 6'6" | PF Williamsburg | 2024 State IA (10.0, 7.9 rebounds) is a big, athletic forward who can control the paint on both ends of the floor. The Raiders were swept by Clear Creek Amana, but those two losses came by a combined eight points, so there should be plenty of reason for optimism for the Raiders in a third meeting. And, if they get by the Clippers, they just beat Solon last week.
There is an interesting team in the 4-5 game with a player that could potentially give Solon some trouble, and that team is Keokuk. In sophomore big man Jaxon Clark Jaxon Clark 6'7" | C Keokuk | 2026 State IA (20.0, 11.9 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 63.6 FG%), the Chiefs have a dominant interior scorer and rim protector who can score around the bucket against the Spartans. Keokuk played Solon to a 9-point game in the postseason last year, so they know that they can play with the Spartans, and with the huge jump in development that Clark has made, they could be dangerous. Senior wing Diego Garcia Diego Garcia 6'2" | SF Keokuk | 2024 State IA (13.3, 4.3 assists) is an athletic playmaker in the backcourt, and Brenton Hoard Brenton Hoard 6'2" | SG Keokuk | 2025 State IA (12.4) and Tramell Smith Tramell Smith 6'1" | SG Keokuk | 2025 State IA (7.9, 46.3 3P%) give them some shooting to put around Clark.
Players to watch
2024
Jake Benzing
Jake
Benzing
6'2" | SG
Solon | 2024
State
IA
, Solon
2024
Vince Steinbrech
Vince
Steinbrech
6'2" | SF
Solon | 2024
State
IA
, Solon
2024
Rylen Stiegelmeyer
Rylen
Stiegelmeyer
6'1" | SG
Solon | 2024
State
IA
, Solon
2024 Gehrig Turner, Solon
2025
Andrew Rotzoll
Andrew
Rotzoll
6'1" | SG
Clear Creek Amana | 2025
State
IA
, Clear Creek Amana
2024
Haiden Hardy
Haiden
Hardy
6'2" | SG
Clear Creek Amana | 2024
State
IA
, Clear Creek Amana
2025 Robert Meade, Clear Creek Amana
2024
Derek Weisskopf
Derek
Weisskopf
6'3" | SG
Williamsburg | 2024
State
IA
, Williamsburg
2025
Grant Hocker
Grant
Hocker
6'3" | SF
Williamsburg | 2025
State
IA
, Williamsburg
2024
Kellen Cockrell
Kellen
Cockrell
6'6" | PF
Williamsburg | 2024
State
IA
, Williamsburg
2026
Jaxon Clark
Jaxon
Clark
6'7" | C
Keokuk | 2026
State
IA
, Keokuk
2024
Diego Garcia
Diego
Garcia
6'2" | SF
Keokuk | 2024
State
IA
, Keokuk
2025
Brenton Hoard
Brenton
Hoard
6'2" | SG
Keokuk | 2025
State
IA
, Keokuk
2024
Payton Hagans
Payton
Hagans
6'0" | SG
Mount Pleasant | 2024
State
IA
, Mount Pleasant
2026
Christian Stacy
Christian
Stacy
5'11" | SG
Mount Pleasant | 2026
State
IA
, Mount Pleasant
2024
Nathan Stroud
Nathan
Stroud
6'5" | PF
Mount Pleasant | 2024
State
IA
, Mount Pleasant
2024
Hunter Cresswell
Hunter
Cresswell
6'3" | PF
Fort Madison | 2024
State
IA
, Fort Madison
2025
Logan McDole
Logan
McDole
6'3" | SF
Washington | 2025
State
IA
, Washington
2026 Drew Conrad, Washington
2025 Carter Will, Davis County
2025 Hayden Utt, Davis County
SUBSTATE FINAL PREDICTION
Solon vs. Clear Creek Amana
Williamsburg certainly has an argument for upsetting CCA and reaching the substate final, but we’ll side with the chalk here and set up a second meeting between these teams (Solon won 58-46 back on December 12). This is an interesting matchup between a dominant defensive team and an explosive offensive team. The game generally slows down a bit in the postseason, especially the deeper you get, which plays to the advantage of Solon. The Spartans have more offense than they did last year, and the defense to frustrate CCA here. Solon advances to the state tournament for the first time in eight years.