OHSAA Division III Watchlist

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the OHSAA basketball season just weeks away from officially tipping off, it's time to rank our preseason top 10 teams in each Division of the state to give our readers the opportunity to learn about the teams we expect to compete for a state title this spring. In this article we'll take a look at the northeast Ohio squads who just missed our top 10 preseason ranking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Youngstown Ursuline</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A team that's no stranger to postseason success, Ursuline went to the final four while their 2027 core were freshman. Now [player_tooltip player_id='2144204' first='Jaylen' last='Gunther'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2377846' first='Noah' last='Bell'] are juniors and the unquestioned leaders of the Irish program. Moving up from Division IV to Division III will be tough but this is still a dangerous team in both the regular season and playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lutheran West</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Longhorns have had a lot of shuffling around in their program with guys like [player_tooltip player_id='2204949' first='Kendyll' last='Compton'], Aj McGuinea and [player_tooltip player_id='2703762' first='Tink' last='Shelton'] all leaving for public schools across northeast Ohio. [player_tooltip player_id='2125729' first='Aiden' last='Monroe'] is a main piece of the program as a versatile wing who stood out at the Prep Hoops Expo. The Longhorns always have some role players who compete and are a tough defensive team. Not as talented as some of their previous groups but I expect them to catch some teams by surprise this winter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Akron Hoban</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2443749' first='John' last='Johnson'] is the marquee name to watch on the Knights as the primary perimeter scoring option for their team. [player_tooltip player_id='1773220' first='Sam' last='Greer'] is a senior committed to Ohio State for football and the last remaining player from their 2023 OHSAA Division I state championship squad. We'll see if Greer decides to play any basketball for the Knights this winter, they are still in the OHSAA football playoffs as the top seed in Division II Region 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bedford</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I got to see Bedford at Coach Burns mega scrimmage and their team has a lot of athleticism and are very tough defensively. Aj McGuinea helps give [player_tooltip player_id='3043990' first='Kevin' last='Woodgett'] a running mate as a scorer and Bedford can ugly things up with their tenacity and aggressiveness on the defensive end of the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brush</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Flying under the radar after sending numerous players to the Division I level since Chet Mason was in charge, the Arcs will have a new look squad this winter. Reggie Smith is a name to know who should play a major role in the paint but I'm excited to learn about some new players getting the opportunity to shine at the varsity level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Padua</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another team I caught at the Coach Burns mega scrimmage, the Bruins have an impressive 2029 guard duo of [player_tooltip player_id='3043991' first='Jai'Den' last='Gambrell'] and Geo Smith. Antione Wooten is a talented and athletic junior guard and there's some other younger pieces who should play key roles. Padua had some impressive wins at the scrimmage and have a competitive schedule this winter for their young guys to grow and learn.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->