Boys basketball teams looking forward to the 2025-26 season

The 2025-26 boys basketball season has arrived.

Ashtabula County teams and Madison will battle throughout the season in pursuit of conference championships and beyond.

Here’s a look at the teams, in alphabetical order:

Conneaut

The Spartans are seeking improvement from last season’s team which went 1-22 overall.

Key returners for coach Joe Dunn are senior point guard Cayson Hayes, 5’8”, and junior guard Alden Goudge, 5’10”.

Seniors, center Noah Sigley, 6’1”, point guard Jayden Hook, 5’11”, and guard Ethan Sironen, 5’8” are among other key players for the season.

Junior forward Yadiel Perales Cruz, 6’1”, and sophomores, guard Caden Webb, 6’2”, and Jacob Thompson, 6’0”, will look to help the squad.

“Looking to rebuild for another year, instill grit, teamwork, hard work and effort in the team,” Dunn said. “We’re switching up a lot of offensive things to put our players in better positions to score.”

Dunn is also emphasizing stopping the opposition.

“Our main focus this year is on the defensive side of things,” he said. “Our goal is to have the best defense in our conference [Chagrin Valley Conference Lake Division].”

Edgewood

Coach Jay Bowler is excited for the 2025-26 season.

“Our group has been together for a long time, and they are a hardworking bunch,” he said.

Returning players for the Warriors consist of seniors Mason Thorr, Geno Measel, Logan Mezak, Zar Triplin and Deven Christine and sophomore Dallas Patterson.

Last season, Thorr earned Division IV All-Ohio honorable mention honors.

Juniors Sevi Chapman and sophomore Paul Siler are key newcomers.

“We know our county and our conference are extremely competitive from top to bottom, so we’re approaching the year with a humble mindset and a focus on daily improvement,” Bowler said. “Our goal is pretty simple, to compete at a high level every night, continue to grow as a team, and put ourselves in position to win in the county and contend in our league. Nothing will be easy, but we believe if we stay committed to the fundamentals, play unselfishly, and trust our depth, we can make this a successful year.”

Bowler likes the depth of his team.

“We can play a lot of guys on any given night, and different players have the ability to step up and impact the game,” he said. “We’re excited for the journey with this group. They are good kids, they work hard, and they’re fun to coach.

“And as always, one of the highlights of our season will be our Special Olympics fundraiser game — something our program takes a lot of pride in and looks forward to every year.”

Geneva

Key players for first-year coach Connor Zimmer this season are seniors Caden Proy, 6’2”, Noah Hicks, 6’1, Bryce Peet, 5’10”, Nate Cziszar, 6’2”, Dylan Shaef, 6’, Antonio Rivera, 5’11”; junior Danny Freeman and sophomore Matt Oros, 6’3”.

Last season, Proy earned honorable mention Division III All-Ohio honors.

“As long we control the possession battle, we will be a hard team to beat,” Zimmer said. “We aren’t worried about the outcome for any game. As long as we focus on the process and what it takes to be a great team, the outcome will speak for itself.”

The Eagles shared the CVC Lake title last season with Madison and Jefferson.

Grand Valley

The Mustangs had a special 2024-25 season, finishing 21-4 overall and capturing Northeastern Athletic Conference and Division VI sectional championships.

GV lost to Dalton 61-54 in the Northeast 3 district final at Salem.

All-Ohio players, junior Carter Turk, 6’5” (second team), and sophomore Solomon Schultz, 6’3” (honorable mention) lead the way for this season.

Turk, who averaged 21 points and nine rebounds per game, was selected the D-VI Northeast Lakes Player of the Year last season.

Schultz averaged 13 points per contest. In addition, senior four-year starter Payton Plizga anchors the Mustangs’ defense.

Key newcomers include senior Anthony Eason, 5’8”; juniors Evan Skrtic and Logan Giddings, both 5’10”, Liam Hart, 6’2”, Alex Chudzik, 5’7”; and sophomore Cooper Plizga, 6’.

“We expect to be competitive in the county and in our league on a nightly basis,” coach Justin Turk said. “We really pushed our limits with our non-conference schedule [Rocky River, Smithville, Perry, Edgewood, Lakeside and Jefferson] to better position us for postseason play.”

The Mustangs are scheduled to play at Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

“We were accepted to play in OHSAA’s Shot Clock Shoutout weekend on 12/28 vs Rocky River [DIII] as one of the featured teams in the state,” Turk said. “We know our record may not be as good as last year, but the schedule we will play will better prepare us for a long postseason [run]. We don’t hide from the fact that our goal is a District Championship this year.”

Jefferson

The Falcons went 20-5 overall, 8-2 in the CVC Lake last season, which tied Geneva and Madison for first place. Jefferson fell to Akron Buchtel 54-44 in the Division IV district final at Wooster.

Anthony Covetta, who set the county career scoring record last season, was among those players who graduated.

Joe’l Navarro is only returning senior with varsity experience.

Two other returning seniors, Dyllan Shelter and George Dzura, will be in the mix with many juniors and sophomores.

“We will see who steps up,” coach Rob Pisano said. “With the lack of varsity experience, we need to play with a lot of energy and gain experience and confidence as the season goes on. Take it game-by-game and let it play out as long as we play with intensity and heart.”

Lakeside

The Dragons are seeking improvement from a four-win 2024-25 campaign.

Key returners are Jarez Osborne, Luis Flores, Jack Flores, Drequan Bradley and Tristan Ovak.

Terry Brown and Sway Padilla have returned after playing at Jefferson.

“Our outlook for this year is challenging,” coach Bill Osborne said. “We expect that every game will be difficult, and that in each game, our players will have to play their best in order to be victorious. There are no easy games on our schedule.”

Madison

The Blue Streaks captured a share of the CVC Lake title last season with Jefferson and Geneva.

First-year coach Taylor Miller returns seniors, forward Parker Williams, 6’3” and guard Josh Pekar, 5’9”, and junior forward Brendan Titman, 6’.

Last season, Williams averaged 6.8 points and four rebounds per game, while Titman brings back 6.1 per outing.

Juniors, guard Luke Laurie, 6’ and forward Mason Nusker, 6’4” and sophomore guard Luke Gibbons, 5’10” are other players to watch this season.

“We have a young core that continues to gain confidence with experience,” Miller said. “Our ultimate goal is winning another conference title.

“The keys to that will be defensive execution and limiting our own turnovers. I’m excited to continue watching this group learn and grow together.”

Pymatuning Valley

The Lakers basketball program went through multiple changes in the offseason.

PV went 14-10 (9-6 in the Northeastern Athletic Conference) and reached the district tournament in Division V.

“A great group of seniors, two juniors have moved on, my co-pilot for the last decade Ricky Walters stepped down as JV coach, but we’ve been focused on the abundance of talent and resources we still have,” coach Ryan Shontz said.

It starts with sophomore honorable mention All-Ohio choice and captain Justin Britton, who broke the 3-point record held by his brother, Tyler, in his freshman season, and averaged 15 points per game last season.

Seniors Chase Guysinger and Alex Simon are two other senior returning starters, both seniors in the front court, Chase Guysinger and Alex Simon are two other returning seniors.

“We round out the starting five with two new faces — junior captain Andrew Wludyga and freshman standout Noah Dubic,” Shontz said. “Andrew and Noah, our backcourt, may be inexperienced, but they are supremely talented and boast high basketball IQ. I’m really excited to watch their growth through this season.”

Filling out the roster will be senior Trent Harvey, who can play every position, and juniors Will Baugher and Owen Karbacka.

“We feel very fortunate to have such amazing kids from such a small school,” Shontz said.

Other notable additions to the PV basketball program are PV graduate Tanner Rhoades coaching the JV team, and Jeff Compan is assisting Shontz.

“The biggest addition to the program has been Ricky Walters assuming athletic director duties with the retirement of Mel Nowakowski,” Shontz said. “Todd [Neczeporenko, freshmen coach] and I can’t wait for the community to see the new court that Mr. Walters put together for us.”

Saint John

Key returners for the Heralds, who finished 14-10 last season, consist of senior forward Donald Crawford, 6’2”; junior guard Chase Newsome, 5’10” and sophomore guard Gus Petros, 5’9”.

Forward Jack Collins, a Madison transfer, and guard Augie Pugliese, who comes from Lakeside, are newcomers to the team. Both are juniors. Collins is 6’6” and Pugliese 6’.

Junior guard Jaylin Streit, 5’10”; sophomores, forwards Carlo Fasano, 5’11”, and Tyree Steit, 6’2”, Joey Crawford, 6’2”; guards Collin Edison, 5’10”, TJ Chatman, 6’1” and freshman forward-center Carter Beck, 6’1”, are other players who will look to make an impression on the court this season.

“We are a young team,” coach Curtis Turner said. “We have one senior. My main goal is to develop these young guys this year.

“Because we are so young, every game is going to look different. I expect my more experienced guys to lead the young group. The one thing to look forward to is these guys will play hard to the end.”