A Look at the COC East

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Missouri continues its previews of selected conferences with a look at the Central Ozark Conference East Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The East Division is paced by rivals Kickapoo and Nixa, who are expected to be strong once again. Nixa advanced to the Final Four of the Class 6 state tournament last season. One of their biggest wins along the way was a buzzer beater over Kickapoo in the district championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>THE STARTING FIVE</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1872262' first='Reese' last='Kimrey'] (Kickapoo): A 6'1 2026 point guard who is one of the best players in the SWMO area. He is a tough lefty who runs the show and creates buckets. As a junior, he averaged 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in earning All-State honors. He is headed to Northwest Missouri State next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2194413' first='Adam' last='McKnight'] (Nixa): A 6'4 2027 forward who has been a pillar of strength inside for the Eagles for the past two seasons. He averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds in leading the Eagles to a third place finish in the Class 6 state tournament. He is also an All-State quarterback in football.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2334904' first='Kylan' last='Pickren'] (Ozark): A 6'5 2027 wing player who is one of the more entertaining offensive players in the SWMO area. He has good physical strength and he can score from all three levels. He averaged 20 points a game as a sophomore last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2701109' first='Joelle' last='Rover'] (Glendale): A 6'2 2027 guard who is one of the most dynamic athletes in the SWMO area. He is a slashing driver who can finish above the rim. Gen can also shoot it from the perimeter. As a sophomore, he 20 points, five rebounds and two assists a game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2114722' first='Elijah' last='Nabors'] (Kickapoo): A 6'1 2026 guard who is an excellent athlete who excels in all facets of the game. He attacks the basket well and he can shoot it from 3-point range. He can also create offense for himself and for his teammates as a playmaker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BEST OF THE REST</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":3046728,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Brayden-Rubidoux.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/Brayden-Rubidoux.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-3046728" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1883051' first='Brayden' last='Rubidoux'] 6'1" Kickapoo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2967596' first='Randy' last='Flint'] 6'1" Nixa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brock Thompson 6'3" Kickapoo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1641833' first='Vincent' last='Mhire'] 6'1" Kickapoo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2966365' first='Tryton' last='Jackson'] 6'3" Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jacan Seals, Glendale</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ty Kellis 6'2" Nixa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jacob Harmon 6'4" Ozark</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2966432' first='Owen' last='Seitz'] 5'10" Nixa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mason Huber, Lebanon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Antwan Givens, Lebanon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2552529' first='Rylee' last='Tan'] 6'0" Kickapoo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2475690,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_5105.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/IMG_5105.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2475690" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2528045' first='Hendrix' last='Haymes'] 6'6" Ozark</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2348198' first='Mar'Kel' last='Houston'] 6'4" Glendale</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2410997' first='Jerome' last='Shelton'] 6'3" Waynesville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2952120' first='Will' last='Winn'] 6'4" Kickapoo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nehemiah Wright 6'7" Glendale</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harrison Howe, Lebanon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2028</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2875179,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/IMG_2390.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/IMG_2390.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2875179" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2868943' first='Nathaniel' last='Green'] 6'4" Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2857037' first='Braylon' last='Smith'] 5'10" Nixa</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2533598' first='Lincoln' last='Catlett'] 6'4" Glendale</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>******</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2029</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2889081,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/IMG_3414.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/IMG_3414.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2889081" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2918965' first='Brandon' last='Brown'] 5'10" Ozark</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Outlook: Kickapoo gets the early nod from us in the conference race with the return of the stellar set of four starting guards, led by Kimrey. They will be tough to defend as they can spread the court and they can all handle the ball and shoot it. Nixa will be still in the mix with the inside presence of McKnight and the speedy Flint leading the backcourt. Ozark and Glendale can be a threat on any given night as they each feature a tremendous bucket-getter in [player_tooltip player_id='2334904' first='Kylan' last='Pickren'] (Ozark) and [player_tooltip player_id='2701109' first='Joelle' last='Rover'] (Glendale). Both are capable of putting up huge numbers. Central is starting over, but they have an excellent player to building around in the dynamic [player_tooltip player_id='2966365' first='Tryton' last='Jackson'], who is one of the best athletes in the conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->