8 1/2 weeks & Counting until the 2025-26 Hoops Season Tips Off !!!

[pfloyd]

I enjoy All of high school sports, BUT my heart belongs to Boys Basketball Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... last season was nothing short of outstanding for SEOhio basketball with South Webster, Minford, Eastern Pike coming within a game of The Show @ the University of Dayton ... seemingly every year passes with the thought "we'll never see teams/players like we saw this past season" BUT teams/programs/players seem to fill the void with equally talented players or better ... the 2025-26 season I am confident will be the same - players will step up, teams will come together, the programs/coaches who have "got it done" seemingly year after year will not let us down ...

... I'm working on Pfloyd's Elite 8 in Southern/Southeast Ohio - Preseason ... my plan is to release the preseason rankings Oct 31st - the first allowed day of BBK practice/coaching ...

... My question for the masses ( I know, not many SEOPS posters are on the BBK site yet BUT) :

Which are YOUR front runners to win the leagues around SEOhio in the 2025-26 campaigns?

Leagues:

SOC 1
SOC 2
SOC 3
FAC
SHAC Big School Div
SHAC Small School Div
OVC
SVC
MSL
MVL
TVC Ohio
TVC Hocking

[BallDontLie]

Shac big school will come down between Eastern or North Adams. Eastern loses Barber but coach Beucler will find a way to make it work. NA loses a talented senior group that won 3 district titles but the kids coming up have loss maybe 5 combined games at the jv level. Will be interesting to see how they do. Lynchburg-Clay will have Denver Clinton enter his senior year, he’s been a top 5 leading scorer in the conference the last 2 years they also have some younger athletic pieces. West Union will continue to improve. Ripley will look to win a few more than last year.


The small school is going to be a war. The small school teams have more returning starters than the big school. Fairfield will be the favorite to win the small school but Fayetteville and Peebles will have pieces to contend. Manchester and Whiteoak both return a lot and can make some noise too. I don’t think there will be any team finish undefeated in the league this year.

[pfloyd]

Shac big school will come down between Eastern or North Adams. Eastern loses Barber but coach Beucler will find a way to make it work. NA loses a talented senior group that won 3 district titles but the kids coming up have loss maybe 5 combined games at the jv level. Will be interesting to see how they do. Lynchburg-Clay will have Denver Clinton enter his senior year, he’s been a top 5 leading scorer in the conference the last 2 years they also have some younger athletic pieces. West Union will continue to improve. Ripley will look to win a few more than last year.


The small school is going to be a war. The small school teams have more returning starters than the big school. Fairfield will be the favorite to win the small school but Fayetteville and Peebles will have pieces to contend. Manchester and Whiteoak both return a lot and can make some noise too. I don’t think there will be any team finish undefeated in the league this year.

... good stuff BallDontLie ! ... when has the Eastern Brown & Norht Adams NOT been factors in the Big school division of the SHAC ... Barber's loss is a tough fill for EB, Coach Beucler will come up with a body for sure but not sure it will be just one guy with all that Barber brought to the table ... last years jv teams for EB and NA were 2 of the best anywhere in SEOhio - each will add to their respective teams ... I agree Lynchburg Clay will be a team to watch with Clinton's senior campaign ... in the small school division - Fairfield will be the team to beat with Peebles being in the mix with a much improved team for Coach Arey ... I'm going to keep an eye on Manchester in the early part of the season as well ...

[JJMD24]

SOC III
Minford: A lot of new faces for Minford this season after graduating one of the best senior classes to ever play at Minford along with Coach Shoemaker retiring. This will be a group that will defend every night and will get better as the season progresses. The big question for them is who will step every night and be their consistent scorer? Reeder, Donahoe, Johnson, Glenn or someone else? A potential tournament run in D5 again?

South Webster: Like Minford they also graduated some great players. I was really disappointed to hear about Beau Stephens injury as I though that he was going to have a monster of a senior season. SW has Barnard, McClintic, Bennett and a highly talented freshman group led by Large that will play big time minutes this season. Has to be a favorite in D7 for another trip to OU.

Valley: Surprised a lot of people last year with a good run that included an upset of previously undefeated Chesapeake @ Peake. I look for this group to contend every night with a junior group of Dunham, Conaway, Lundy, Clark and Bender with Copen as the only senior on the team to go along with a well-rounded and talented sophomore class that includes Franke, Stuart, Howard and Keller. If they can stay healthy, they will be a force in D6 along with West.

Waverly: Super talented young team with a new energetic coach. This team led by Kage Alexander will be a force every night along with shooting by Hurt and athletic presence of the twins and Russell. Don’t sleep on the freshman Keesee as he is legit as well. Another D4 tournament run looks very likely.

West: This is one of the most talented teams in the area along with Burg and Waverly. Led by McIntire(Wolfenbarker) and Kegley, this team will get up and down the floor and pressure the rim offensively. Super athletic with good size and a great shooter in Adkins. Their 1-3-1 with great size in Miller as well will be a force every night. D6 powerhouse.

Wheelersburg: This will be a team that could be led in scoring by a different player each game. Rucker, McGraw and Bivens are the regular names that everyone knows but I also believe that Doerr and Xavier Miller will have monster seasons as well. Their only weakness will be a deep run in the football playoffs. Once they rid themselves of their football legs, this team will make a deep D5 tournament run.

[burgpirater]

just to piggy back off what JJMD24 said --- the soc3 is freaking loaded!!!

Minford on paper is the "worst" in the conference but they aint gonna be anywhere near as bad as ppl think. They have enough athletes to upset some teams in the conference. Outside the conference they'll be just fine. Webster losing stephens hurts but they're still very good. West is loaded and the favorite to win d6 district. Valley returned everyone and be very good. Burg returned a lot gonna be very good. Waverly best starting 5 in league but are they still a year away?

wouldnt shock me to see the winning team in conference be like 7-3 or even 6-4, gonna be crazzzzyyyy competitive league.

[burgpirater]

oh and portsmouth gonna be very solid. Returned a lot from last year and return Adkins from injury. Im telling you that kid is a stud!!! Pair him w Connie Thomas and you got a heck of a 1-2 tandem and a loaded freshman class w atleast 2 of them ready to contribute varsity right now

[BuckeyeBlood]

Portsmouth should be very good this season. returning are C. Thomas, Woods, Parker, Dukes, Johnson, Scurlock and Logan Adkins from injury. A nice incoming freshmen class where Berry & Greene can play right away and contribute, M. Thomas & Livingston may also get some time and will provide depth. I would not be shocked if Berry leads them in scoring, I think he will have one heck of a high school career. 2nd year under Smith and in his system, return a lot of talent, have an extremely talent fresh group coming in, could be a good season for the men of Troy.

[tigerfan765]

What's everyone thinking about the soc 2
Eastern loses Leist,Davis and Richardson
Symmes loses Smith and Jones
Western loses Haggy and Janes
Northwest keeps a lot but loses Vice
Oak Hill loses a lot and colben transferred to meigs
South Gallia keeps a lot including stowers

[MightyIronOakFan]

What's everyone thinking about the soc 2
Eastern loses Leist,Davis and Richardson
Symmes loses Smith and Jones
Western loses Haggy and Janes
Northwest keeps a lot but loses Vice
Oak Hill loses a lot and colben transferred to meigs
South Gallia keeps a lot including stowers

What happened to Stowers?

[danicalifornia]

What's everyone thinking about the soc 2
Eastern loses Leist,Davis and Richardson
Symmes loses Smith and Jones
Western loses Haggy and Janes
Northwest keeps a lot but loses Vice
Oak Hill loses a lot and colben transferred to meigs
South Gallia keeps a lot including stowers

What happened to Stowers?

Pretty sure nothing, it says "keeps" for SG

[danicalifornia]

No offense to the Minford group, but I'm guessing the positive commenters did not watch a second of the JV group from a year ago. They may be athletic, but they are going to massively struggle in league play.

I'll also be surprised if Wheelersburg has more than one league loss, unless Stephens is able to come back at all, that could help the Jeeps knock off the Pirates.

[danicalifornia]

The SVC probably runs through Frenchtown again this season, as they return the best player in the league in Fitch and a bevy of outstanding on ball defenders led by Zickafoose. Rebounding will be an issue for the Shermans, which is where I can see Zane Trace getting them if it happens, just for McCullough's motor.

ZT will have very little depth, but should have a very good tandem once again this year. Huntington will be much improved, led by Hirsch. Westfall is probably the 3rd best team, but only if they play a shred of defense.

Adena, PV and SE are way down and Piketon could really struggle if Henry isn't able to get back from his football injury.

[MightyIronOakFan]

What's everyone thinking about the soc 2
Eastern loses Leist,Davis and Richardson
Symmes loses Smith and Jones
Western loses Haggy and Janes
Northwest keeps a lot but loses Vice
Oak Hill loses a lot and colben transferred to meigs
South Gallia keeps a lot including stowers

What happened to Stowers?

Pretty sure nothing, it says "keeps" for SG

Yep, Can't read. After reading all of those loses, I guess I just assumed, lol. He is on my travel team and hadn't heard anything.
Thank you

[pfloyd]

Great information everyone !!! When I started REALLY looking at the SOC3, then reading JJMD24's breakdown - the pfloyd tour will be spending a lot of time in the Southern most point of the SE District this season ... Portsmouth had a great summer season - trojandave's rundowns over the summer had PHS climbing the preseason notes for sure and they are going to be deep! giving them the ability to keep the 94 ft defensive heat on opponents ... what a great night in night schedule this season in the SOC3 ... might just be the year of the small school divisions in Pfloyd's Elite rankings ! although Unioto, Marietta, Fairfield Union, Miami Trace will have a say in that for sure ... keep the info coming as that Oct 31 first official practice date is getting closer and closer !!! ...

[Lovehoops4]

I enjoy All of high school sports, BUT my heart belongs to Boys Basketball Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... last season was nothing short of outstanding for SEOhio basketball with South Webster, Minford, Eastern Pike coming within a game of The Show @ the University of Dayton ... seemingly every year passes with the thought "we'll never see teams/players like we saw this past season" BUT teams/programs/players seem to fill the void with equally talented players or better ... the 2025-26 season I am confident will be the same - players will step up, teams will come together, the programs/coaches who have "got it done" seemingly year after year will not let us down ...

... I'm working on Pfloyd's Elite 8 in Southern/Southeast Ohio - Preseason ... my plan is to release the preseason rankings Oct 31st - the first allowed day of BBK practice/coaching ...

... My question for the masses ( I know, not many SEOPS posters are on the BBK site yet BUT) :

Which are YOUR front runners to win the leagues around SEOhio in the 2025-26 campaigns?

Leagues:

SOC 1:
SOC 2:
SOC 3:
FAC:
SHAC Big School Div
SHAC Small School Div
OVC
SVC
MSL
MVL
TVC Ohio
TVC Hocking

soc 1: ND
soc 2: Symms valley
soc 3: the burg
Fac: Miami trace
Shac big: eastern brown
Shac small: Fairfield
Ovc: Chesapeake
Svc: Unioto
Msl: Hamilton township
Mvl: Tippecanoe
TVC oh: meigs
TVC Hoc:southern

[trojandave]

BuckeyeBlood did a very good job with his overview of the Trojans. From watching Portsmouth this summer, I believe that PHS must play at a fast tempo to fully take advantage of their athleticism. FR Mekhi Berry had recovered from his foot injury that he sustained in June. That is a huge factor in any success Portsmouth will have, because he had a great summer of basketball, improving in all aspects. The freshmen class will have a big impact on the varsity. PHS went 7-15 last season, but the 2 leading scorers are coming back, and Adkins has the ability to average around 15 PPG.

Here is an unofficial roster for the basketball Trojans, with a few notes included. Note that this roster is unofficial, and may not be what it will be come December. Some who played last season may not choose to play.

Connie Thomas...............5-10 SR......leading scorer last season 17 PPG
Daequan Woods..............5-10 SR......2nd leading scorer last season 13 PPG
Logan Adkins..................6-2 SR.......did not play due to injury, now healthy
Dontavion Parker.............5-10 SR
Olynshay McKinley...........6-5 SR.......gives the Trojans a solid post presence
Tyreke Lewis.................5-9 SR
Tyshon Henderson...........6-1 SR
Kaleb Johnson...............6-1 SR........starter last season
Leland Scurlock.............5-10 SR
Crisshawn Dukes.............6-0 JR......will challenge for starting spot on varsity
Tyson Craft...................5-11 JR.....leading scorer on JV team last season
Jay Lofton....................5-9 JR
Fernando Poxes..............5-9 JR
JJ Henderson................5-10 JR
Jayden Harrington..........5-8 JR
Joe Greene...................6-0 FR.......most likely starter on varsity
Mekhi Berry...................6-3 FR.......most likely starter on varsity
Manny Thomas...............5-7 FR
Liam Livingston..............6-2 FR
O'Ryan (First Name?)........6-0 FR

For most of the summer, the starting 5 was Mekhi Berry, Joe Greene, Connie Thomas, Daequan Woods, and Crisshawn Dukes.

The freshmen won the 8th grade OVC championship last season, going undefeated. Look for quite a few of the freshmen to play both JV and varsity.

Right now, I have Chesapeake and Gallia Academy as the favorites in the OVC. Portsmouth could challenge, but it will probably come down to how the freshmen contribute.

Fairland and Ironton have new coaches.

[art_vandelay]

SOC III
Minford: A lot of new faces for Minford this season after graduating one of the best senior classes to ever play at Minford along with Coach Shoemaker retiring. This will be a group that will defend every night and will get better as the season progresses. The big question for them is who will step every night and be their consistent scorer? Reeder, Donahoe, Johnson, Glenn or someone else? A potential tournament run in D5 again?

South Webster: Like Minford they also graduated some great players. I was really disappointed to hear about Beau Stephens injury as I though that he was going to have a monster of a senior season. SW has Barnard, McClintic, Bennett and a highly talented freshman group led by Large that will play big time minutes this season. Has to be a favorite in D7 for another trip to OU.

Valley: Surprised a lot of people last year with a good run that included an upset of previously undefeated Chesapeake @ Peake. I look for this group to contend every night with a junior group of Dunham, Conaway, Lundy, Clark and Bender with Copen as the only senior on the team to go along with a well-rounded and talented sophomore class that includes Franke, Stuart, Howard and Keller. If they can stay healthy, they will be a force in D6 along with West.

Waverly: Super talented young team with a new energetic coach. This team led by Kage Alexander will be a force every night along with shooting by Hurt and athletic presence of the twins and Russell. Don’t sleep on the freshman Keesee as he is legit as well. Another D4 tournament run looks very likely.

West: This is one of the most talented teams in the area along with Burg and Waverly. Led by McIntire(Wolfenbarker) and Kegley, this team will get up and down the floor and pressure the rim offensively. Super athletic with good size and a great shooter in Adkins. Their 1-3-1 with great size in Miller as well will be a force every night. D6 powerhouse.

Wheelersburg: This will be a team that could be led in scoring by a different player each game. Rucker, McGraw and Bivens are the regular names that everyone knows but I also believe that Doerr and Xavier Miller will have monster seasons as well. Their only weakness will be a deep run in the football playoffs. Once they rid themselves of their football legs, this team will make a deep D5 tournament run.

jjmd24: Great rundown...SOC III is gonna be sick this season! Not many big men in the league this season, but mostly fast/athletic teams. Look for alot of games in 60s-70s.

And like burgpirater said, Minford not going to be the automatic W many people expecting. They still got some athletes, but going to have to play a different style of basketball than what we've seen last few seasons.

Right now, I'd say:

1. Burg
2. West
3. SW
4. Valley
5. Waverly
6. Minford

5 of 6 teams all capable of winning District Championships.*

[Hookshot]

Who are the best independents in Southeast Ohio?

[pfloyd]

Who are the best independents in Southeast Ohio?

Correct me on this information if I'm wrong ...BUT I believe the Twin State League no longer exists from last season - Warren, Marietta, Fort Frye & Point Pleasant ... I guess my answer to the independent question from Hookshot - Did the 3 Ohio teams - Warren/Marietta/Fort Frye join new leagues or did they become "Independents"? IF they became "Independents" - Marietta is going to be outstanding in basketball this season - they will debut in Pfloyd's Elite 8 top 5 when the preseason rankings come our Oct 31st ... Warren will struggle early as 100% of their offense is being replaced with JV/Freshmen team players from last season (be it the freshmen and JV's went 39-0) ... BUT look out for the Warriors after January 1st as the coaching staff will have players "figuring out" how to play at the varsity level, players will "figure out" how to score at the varsity level, players will "figure out" how to play D at the varsity level ... Warren out of the box will play a talented Logan team and top Southern Ohio SOC3 Portsmouth West team at Warrens the Warrior Clash at the Coliseum the 28, 29th of November ...

[Hoopster98]

oh and portsmouth gonna be very solid. Returned a lot from last year and return Adkins from injury. Im telling you that kid is a stud!!! Pair him w Connie Thomas and you got a heck of a 1-2 tandem and a loaded freshman class w atleast 2 of them ready to contribute varsity right now

Adkins a stud based off of what? Did not play last year and put up small numbers at Burg. He is athletic but I just don't see him being that good to put Portsmouth over the top. I think the freshman will struggle due to speed and strength of the game. Being successful in the summer is good but let's just face it, it's summer ball. I think the Trojans will finish .500 this season or a little above with a 1st round tournament exit.