Milestones and Records (25-26)

MILESTONES

1000 POINT SCORERS

Player	Year	High School	Opponent	Date
Cooper Albrecht	2027	Wabeno-Laona	Phillips	Thurs. Feb. 19, 2026
Mylo Albrecht	2026	Northland Pines	Mosinee	Thurs. Feb. 12, 2026
Brodi Anderson	2026	Washburn	Hurley	Fri. Feb. 13, 2026
Isaac Asmus	2026	Aitkin	Pine City	Fri. Dec. 5, 2025
Isaiah Aulie	2026	Pine River-Backus	Blackduck	Thurs. Jan. 15, 2025
Tyler Barrows	2026	Eau Claire North	Eau Claire Memorial	Tues. Feb. 20, 2026
Julian Beckstrand	2026	Barnum	Pine City	Tues. Feb. 24, 2026
Gunner Bennin	2026	Pickford	Brimley	Fri. Feb. 6, 2026
AJ Bessler	2026	Nevis	Duluth Marshall	Tues. Dec. 2, 2025
Jack Bottoms	2027	Hibbing	Rock Ridge	Tues. Feb. 17, 2026
Lawrence Bowstring	2026	Deer River	Chassell	Fri. Feb. 13, 2026
Lee Brooks	2026	Duluth Denfeld	Duluth Marshall	Fri. Feb. 27, 2026
Carter Brown	2027	Duluth Denfeld	Cherry	Fri. Feb. 13, 2026
Canton Chrisman	2027	Wabeno/Laona	Edgar	Mon. Dec. 29, 2025
Aaron Christenson	2027	Drummond	Webster	Thurs. Jan. 29, 2026
Josh Daavettila	2027	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Chassell	Thurs. Feb. 5, 2026
Zac Edwards	2026	Barron	Unity	Wed. Feb. 4, 2026
Devon Feck	2026	Rhinelander	Tomahawk	Tues. Feb. 10, 2026
Lucas Hansen	2026	Hayward	Cameron	Mon. Feb. 9, 2026
Aiden Hause	2026	Prentice	Stratford	Fri. Feb. 13, 2026
JJ Heikkinen	2026	Phillips	Athens	Tues. Dec. 16, 2025
Jed Henderson	2026	Rib Lake	Greenwood/Granton	Tues. Mar. 3, 2026
Ryan Henri	2026	Mellen	Watersmeet	Mon. Feb. 16, 2026
Brock Hurst	2026	Barnum	Pine City	Tues. Feb. 24, 2026
Drew Johnson	2026	Ely	Deer River	Mon. Feb. 2, 2026
Emmit Johnson	2027	Lake Holcombe	New Auburn	Fri. Feb. 6, 2026
Ty King	2026	North Dickinson	L'Anse	Tues. Feb. 17, 2026
Dominic Kopacz	2026	Flambeau	Lake Holcombe	Sat. Jan. 13, 2026
Soren Lilly	2027	Braham	East Central	Fri. Feb. 6, 2026
Colten Lotts	2026	New Auburn	Birchwood	Thurs. Feb. 12, 2026
Easton Lurvey	2028	Three Lakes	Mellen	Mon. Feb. 23, 2026
Cooper Michalski	2026	Chequamegon	Washburn	Tues. Dec. 2, 2025
Quincy Pfender	2026	Newman Catholic	Crandon	Mon. Jan. 5, 2026
Lucas Pfiffner	2026	Newman Catholic	Northland Lutheran	Thurs. Feb. 19, 2026
Caleb Rombach	2027	Grantsburg	Frederic	Fri. Feb. 6, 2026
Riley Schultz-Becker	2026	Athens	Edgar	Fri. Dec. 12, 2025
Treve Stoffel	2026	Mosinee	Tomahawk	Fri. Feb. 20, 2026
Jax Sullivan	2026	Littlefork-Big Falls	Northome/Kelliher	Mon. Jan. 12, 2026
Joey Sutherland	2026	Grand Rapids	Hutchinson	Sat. Dec. 6, 2025
Glendon Thompson	2026	Barron	Spooner	Tues. Feb. 17, 2026
Quinn Widiker	2026	Webster	Frederic	Fri. Feb. 20, 2026
Walker Winkelman	2026	Wabeno/Laona	Gillett	Sat. Jan. 3, 2026

2000 POINT SCORERS

Player	Year	High School	Opponent	Date
Isaiah Asuma	2027	Cherry	Barnum	Mon. Jan. 19, 2026
Noah Asuma	2026	Cherry	Duluth Marshall	Tues. Dec. 9, 2025
Jaxon Boschee	2026	Bemidji	Moorhead	Tues. Jan. 10, 2026
Ray Brau	2027	Hibbing	Grand Rapids	Fri. Mar. 13, 2026
Jack Davies	2026	Ely	East Central	Sat. Jan. 3, 2026
Tyler Eklund	2026	Braham	Mora	Tues. Jan. 20, 2026
Ethan Marta	2026	Westwood	Houghton	Fri. Feb. 19, 2026

SCORING RECORDS

Player	Year	High School	Record
Calvin Anderson	2026	Superior	1380+ points
Isaac Asmus	2026	Aitkin	1629+ points
Jaxon Boschee	2026	Bemidji	2000+ points
Jack Davies	2026	Ely	2200+ points
Evan Lord	2026	Prentice	1657+ points
Ethan Marta	2026	Westwood	2000+ points
JT Schlaefer	2026	Assumption	1408+ points
Liam Tourtillott	2026	Dollar Bay	1683+ points

Week 5 Team Rankings (25-26)

MICHIGAN (UPPER PENINSULA)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Westwood	1	10-0	64.5	39.1
2	Menominee	3	7-1	72.9	46.0
3	Dollar Bay	2	7-1	65.8	43.9
4	Crystal Falls Forest Park	4	7-2	64.1	47.4
5	Houghton	5	8-1	70.4	41.0
6	Pickford	6	8-0	64.1	38.8
7	Kingsford	8	5-4	57.9	47.4
8	Wakefield-Marenisco	9	8-1	64.3	49.2
9	Marquette	NR	5-4	64.8	57.1
10	Stephenson	7	6-2	54.4	43.6

MINNESOTA (NORTHEASTERN)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Nevis	2	8-0	80.0	47.3
2	Hibbing	3	9-2	77.1	56.7
3	Cherry	1	9-2	74.8	63.9
4	Bemidji	4	6-4	79.2	71.4
5	Deer River	10	6-2	74.6	43.6
6	Barnum	6	8-2	74.0	46.2
7	Mora	7	5-3	73.2	43.4
8	South Ridge	NR	8-2	74.0	63.0
9	Two Harbors	5	9-2	71.2	55.0
10	Esko	NR	6-6	75.8	53.8

WISCONSIN (NORTHERN)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Rhinelander	2	8-1	64.3	43.9
2	Superior	1	9-1	75.3	50.9
3	Marathon	3	8-0	68.9	47.5
4	Hudson	4	6-3	61.2	54.3
5	Hurley	7	8-0	71.7	39.3
6	Webster	8	8-0	69.0	44.3
7	Northwestern	5	4-3	60.3	54.7
8	Prentice	9	6-2	69.3	44.6
9	River Falls	NR	5-4	69.6	66.0
10	Wabeno/Laona	10	7-2	61.1	46.2

Five Takeaways - Copper Mountain/Skyline Showcase (2025)

After watching the 2025 Copper Mountain/Skyline Conference Showcase at Michigan Tech University, I've come to the following five conclusions/thoughts:

1) The youth was on full display Tuesday night, and the UP appears to be in good hands moving forward. In Michigan, if you are a Division 4 school with less than 100 kids, 8th graders are allowed to play high school basketball. Baraga's Sawyer Hendrickson didn't play in the 1st quarter, but provided a spark when he got in for the 2nd quarter and played the remainder of the game. Hendrickson finished the game with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Crystal Falls was without their best player, so freshman Lyle Price had to take the load of ball handling. So much so that Dollar Bay ended up denying him the ball after the first 3 minutes of game time. Price finished the game with 7 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Dollar Bay had two freshman in the starting lineup, Tyler Jaehnig and Noah Tourtillott. Both players had moments during the game where they looked really good. Jaehning finished the game with 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 steal. Noah Tourtillott finished with 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Stephenson had one freshman, Evan Ruleau, who saw significant minutes for what was a previously unbeaten team. Ruleau finished the game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. The last underclassmen for this section is sophomore Blake Lebo from Lake Linden-Hubbell. Lebo had probably the most impressive game of any of these underclassmen, he finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 steals.

2) L'Anse is sophomore dominated, and they are on the rise. Three sophomores started for L'Anse, and another two came off the bench to play meaningful minutes. We didn't talk about them in the previous section because the team needs it's own topic. They are now 5-2 after the event with loses to Houghton and Norway. Sam Lee is the known name in that group after he was named All-Conference in the Copper Mountain as a freshman. Although he really struggled to get his shot going, he greatly impacted the game in other ways finishing with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Talan Larson and Kale Cichosz were the other two sophomore guards who started for the Purple Hornets. Larson was an All-UP selection as a freshman a season ago. Miles VanAlstine came into the game and hit 3 threes right away against the Norway zone. Maysen Thompson was the last sophomore to get in the game, with limited minutes. There is lots of room for their youth to grow the remainder of the season, which seems to give them the feel of being a very dangerous team. Add in senior Keegan Davidson, who was an All-UP selection last season and it makes them more interesting. They had some growing pains last season, and probably lost to Norway due to just being a younger team on Tuesday night. Way too early to be discussing this, but two years from now could be a very good season for L'Anse if they are able to stay together and have all five of those players in the program still.

3) Dollar Bay and Crystal Falls Forest Park was a nice playoff teaser game. It was a back and forth game and went to overtime, what more could you ask for as the night cap of a showcase? It's very possible that both of these teams win their District and have to square off again in the playoffs in the Regional Final in Negaunee with a trip to the Michigan Division 4 Quarterfinals on the line. Crystal Falls Forest Park played without their best player, Vic Giuliani and if it wasn't for a late three pointer by Baron Colbert they would've left Houghton with a victory. Crystal Falls Forest Park juniors, Dax Huuki and Izaiah Tarter, both carried some of the scoring load and got things going later in the game to help the Trojans get the lead. With no seniors on the roster, Crystal Falls Forest Park should be primed to be competitive for another year. To play devil's advocate, Dollar Bay didn't get their best performance from Liam Tourtillott, who is one of the better players in the UP currently. Dollar Bay could get more out of a few of their players, including their freshman that were listed above. Their starting junior, Baron Colbert played very well, but if he develops a little more throughout the season he could become a real difference maker for them by playoff time. If you ask me, it seems like Lakeview Memorial Gymnasium in Negaunee will probably be packed once again come March!

4) Getting to the Breslin Center is going to be a battle. It's never easy to win come playoff time, and this Regional always seems to be tough regardless of what team played the best all season. Dollar Bay and Crystal Falls Forest Park stand out as the favorites to win their Districts and and meet in the Regional to make it to East Lansing. But that doesn't mean they are the only ones who have a chance. Bessemer, Felch North Dickinson, L'Anse, Norway, Stephenson, and Wakefield-Marenisco all appear to be teams to keep eyes on who could pull an "upset" of the two previously names schools. It would be great to have a team make it down state and come home with a State Championship in Division 4. Since Michigan switched to divisions for the 2018-2019 season, Ewen-Trout Creek and Munising are the only two UP schools to come home with hardware. Ewen-Trout Creek dropped a heartbreaker in overtime to Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian in 2022, and Munising knocked off Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian the following season to win the Championship. I'll always cheer for the small public school from the UP to go to the Breslin Center and beat a private school from the Lower Peninsula!

5) We need more events like this put on by conferences! This was the second year of this event and people need to make sure that it continues to grow. Imagine a whole day of basketball and you get more of the conferences involved. While at the event I was told about how Calumet, Hancock, Houghton, and Jeffers got together and did a similar event a few weeks ago. But those teams all play each other in the regular season regardless. Events like this are fun for the fans and make it worth the drive (I watched four games and paid for a $7 ticket). Both conferences had quality teams and players there, and it seemed like all of the games were evenly matched (the largest winning margin was 9 points). Imagine something like this with the Lakeland and Marawood Conferences in Wisconsin, or the Arrowhead and Polar Conferences in Minnesota. Highlighting both conferences and giving a mid-season atmosphere of what could be some potential state playoff matchups is a fun way to keep everyone excited during the dog days of winter. My biggest complaint with this event is that Michigan still plays quarters instead of making the switch to halves like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Christmas Tournament Schedule (25-26)

CARNEY-NADEAU TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Carney-Nadeau High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Hannahville vs. Superior Central (5:00)

Rapid River vs. Carney-Nadeau (6:30)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Consolation Game (3:30)

Championship Game (6:30)

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CHISHOLM TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Chisholm High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin vs. South Ridge (3:00)

North Woods vs. Chisholm (5:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

TBA

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CLAYTON/PRAIRIE FARM TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Prairie Farm High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Bruce vs. Solon Springs (1:30)

Flambeau vs. Clayton/Prairie Farm (4:30)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Flambeau vs. Solon Springs (1:30)

Bruce vs. Clayton/Prairie Farm (4:30)

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CROSBY-IRONTON TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Crosby-Ironton High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Deer River vs. Proctor

Fond du Lac Ojibwe vs. Crosby-Ironton

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

TBA

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EDGAR HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Edgar High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Crandon vs. Menominee Nation (12:00)

Wabeno/Laona vs. Edgar (6:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Menominee Nation vs. Wabeno/Laona (2:00)

Crandon vs. Edgar (6:00)

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INTERNATIONAL FALLS TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: International Falls High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Bigfork vs. Littlefork-Big Falls (5:00)

Lake of the Woods vs. International Falls (7:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Bigfork vs. Lake of the Woods (1:00)

Littlefork-Big Falls vs. International Falls (3:00)

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LUCK TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Luck High School

Monday, December 29. 2025

Frederic vs. Saint Croix Falls (2:00)

Clear Lake vs. Luck (5:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Clear Lake vs. Frederic (3:30)

Saint Croix Falls vs. Luck (6:30)

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MENOMONIE TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Menomonie High School

Monday, December 29. 2025

New Richmond vs. Merrill (3:00)

Antigo vs. Menomonie (7:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Antigo vs. New Richmond (1:00)

Merrill vs. Menomonie (3:00)

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RICE LAKE TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Rice Lake High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Saint Croix Central vs. Tomah (5:00)

Cumberland vs. Rice Lake (6:30)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Consolation Game (5:00)

Championship Game (6:30)

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STRATFORD TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Stratford High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Manawa vs. Owen-Withee (5:30)

Berlin vs. Stratford (7:15)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Consolation Game (5:30)

Championship Game (7:15)

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SUPERIOR HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Superior High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Cherry vs. River Falls (4:00)

Moose Lake-Willow River vs. Superior (6:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Consolation Game (2:00)

Championship Game (4:00)

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TOMAHAWK HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: Tomahawk High School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Marion vs. Spencer (4:00)

Montello vs. Tomahawk (6:00)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Consolation Game (4:00)

Championship Game (6:00)

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UMD HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT

Hosted at: University of Minnesota-Duluth

Monday, December 29, 2025

Forest Lake vs. Hudson (3:00)

Chisago Lakes vs. Duluth East (4:45)

Duluth Denfeld vs. Esko (6:30)

Cambridge-Isanti vs. Hermantown (8:15)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Esko vs. Hermantown (3:00)

Duluth East vs. Hudson (4:45)

Cambridge-Isanti vs. Forest Lake (6:30)

Chisago Lakes vs. Duluth Denfeld (8:15)

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WOOD CITY CLASSIC

Hosted at: Cloquet Middle School

Monday, December 29, 2025

Mesabi East vs. Pine City (1:00)

Cromwell-Wright vs. Cloquet (4:30)

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Cromwell-Wright vs. Mesabi East (2:45)

Pine City vs. Cloquet (6:15)

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COPPER MOUNTAIN V SKYLINE SHOWCASE

Hosted at: Michigan Tech University

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Baraga vs. Stephenson (2:30)

Lake Linden-Hubbell vs. Powers North Central (4:00)

L'Anse vs. Norway (5:30)

Crystal Falls Forest Park vs. Dollar Bay (7:00)

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RIVER FALLS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Hosted at: River Falls High School

Friday, January 2, 2026

La Crosse Logan vs. Prescott (3:30)

DC Everest vs. River Falls (5:30)

Saturday, January 3, 2026

DC Everest vs. West Salem (12:30)

La Crosse Logan vs. River Falls (2:30)

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LAKE SUPERIOR CLASSIC

Hosted at: Duluth East High School

Saturday, January 3, 2026

Grand Rapids vs. Zimmerman (11:00)

Fridley vs. Superior (12:30)

Blake vs. Cherry (2:15)

East Central vs. Ely (3:45)

Cambridge-Isanti vs. Hibbing (5:15)

Forest Lake vs. Duluth East (7:00)

Week 4 Team Rankings (25-26)

MICHIGAN (UPPER PENINSULA)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Westwood	1	7-0	65.9	41.4
2	Dollar Bay	4	5-0	67.8	38.2
3	Menominee	5	4-1	66.8	48.2
4	Crystal Falls Forest Park	2	5-1	66.5	43.7
5	Houghton	7	7-1	70.8	42.9
6	Pickford	NR	6-0	64.8	34.5
7	Stephenson	NR	6-0	57.8	43.7
8	Kingsford	NR	5-2	56.4	44.3
9	Wakefield-Marenisco	8	6-1	62.3	48.6
10	Bessemer	NR	5-1	59.7	37.7

MINNESOTA (NORTHEASTERN)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Cherry	4	7-0	75.3	55.6
2	Nevis	8	7-0	80.1	49.0
3	Hibbing	1	6-1	79.6	52.4
4	Bemidji	2	4-2	82.2	70.5
5	Two Harbors	NR	7-0	74.6	43.6
6	Barnum	NR	5-1	74.0	46.2
7	Mora	NR	4-1	73.2	43.4
8	Pine River-Backus	NR	4-1	74.0	63.0
9	Mountain Iron-Buhl	NR	4-1	71.2	55.0
10	Deer River	NR	4-1	75.8	53.8

WISCONSIN (NORTHERN)

Rank	High School	Last Rank	Record	PPG	DPPG
1	Superior	1	8-0	74.3	50.0
2	Rhinelander	2	6-1	63.6	43.9
3	Marathon	10	6-0	68.7	49.8
4	Hudson	NR	4-2	58.0	50.8
5	Northwestern	4	2-1	67.7	54.0
6	Turtle Lake	8	6-0	72.8	51.5
7	Hurley	NR	6-0	73.7	38.0
8	Webster	NR	6-0	69.0	44.3
9	Prentice	NR	5-3	69.1	44.6
10	Wabeno/Laona	NR	4-1	60.0	49.0

25-26 Conference Previews - Great Northern (MI)

Team Previews:

Escanaba Eskymos (2024-25 season: 9-14 overall, 2-6 conference, 4th)

Graduated their 2nd-Team All-Conference selection in Javon Stevenson. Taylor Asgaard was an All-Conference Special Mention selection as a junior last year. Asgaard was also an All-UP Honorable Mention pick. 

Gladstone Braves (2024-25 season: 7-17 overall, 0-8 conference, 5th)

Their best players were sophomores and freshman last season, which was a bad combination for how senior dominated the conference was. The lone sophomore who was a 1st-Team All-Conference player was Lonnie Davey. The 5'10" guard averaged 20 points per game, while shooting 38% from three point range last season. Only one freshman was named to the All-Conference list, and it was the 5'9" point guard Alex Prins from Gladstone

Kingsford Flivvers (2024-25 season: 22-4 overall, 7-1 conference, t-1st)

Graduated two impactful players who are going to be tough to replace, Gavin Grondin and Morgan Sleik. The good news is that they bring back three All-Conference selections from last season; Jack Kriegl (2nd-Team), Jett Buckley (Honorable Mention, and Owen Olkkonen (Honorable Mention). The 5'10" Kriegl was also an All-UP Honorable Mention selection last season. 

Marquette Sentinels (2024-25 season: 22-4 overall, 7-1 conference, t-1st)

Last year's All-UP Team of the Year. All-UP Player of the Year, Jacob MacPhee, is gone, and so are Kyler Sager and Jaxon Jurmu who were also All-UP players. They did have one other All-UP player, and luckily he is back for his senior season; 6'5" Connor Fierstine. Ford Richardson (Minnesota-Duluth football commit) was an Honorable Mention All-Great Northern last season. Pavel McCutcheon (Grand Valley State football commit) is 6'7" and provides some size for the Sentinels. Marquette should benefit from successful JV and freshman programs, they went a combine 14-1 in Great Northern play last season.

Menominee Maroons (2024-25 season: 13-12 overall, 4-4 conference, 3rd)

The Maroons return two seniors who were both All-Conference selections last season. Tanner Theuerkauf (1st-Team) and Darrent Butler (2nd-Team). Theuerkauf averaged 16.6 points per game as a junior and was All-UP First Team for the second straight season. Dylan Beal is a junior who was a Special Mention selection in the Great Northern last season. Four other seniors on the roster this season.

Projections:

1. Menominee

2. Marquette

3. Kingsford

4. Gladstone

5. Escanaba

Conference Overview:

Menominee seems to have one of the older and more experienced teams in the conference, with potentially the best player in the conference. The biggest concern is can they make that big of jump from 13-12 to winning to conference. Marquette lost a lot of their scoring from last season, but have a large senior class and have had success at all of their program's levels. They always have enough talent coming through the program, it will mostly be how long will it take to mesh after losing three very important pieces last season. Kingsford returns enough talent from last season, in some players who were younger last season. Three players who were good for them last season, but a lot of talent was lost for the Flivvers. Gladstone should be better, but size is going to be an issue still. They are still younger than most of the teams in the conference. They might be a year away from being competitive at the top of the conference. Escanaba always seems to have good athletes, but it hasn't translated over to the basketball side lately. They could finish 4th in conference again, but anything higher than that seems unlikely.

Conference MVP: Tanner Theuerkauf (Senior) - Menominee

Other Players to Watch:

Taylor Asgaard (Senior) - Escanaba

Dylan Beal (Junior) - Menominee

Darrent Butler (Senior) - Menominee

Lonnie Davey (Junior) - Gladstone

Connor Fierstine (Senior) - Marquette

Jack Kriegl (Senior) - Kingsford

Alex Prins (Sophomore) - Gladstone

Games to Watch:

Westwood @ Kingsford (12/8/25)

Menominee @ Crystal Falls Forest Park (12/16/25)

Marquette @ Westwood (1/27/26)

Menominee @ Iron Mountain (2/2/26)

Houghton @ Marquette (2/10/26)

25-26 Conference Previews - Copper Mountain

Team Previews:

Baraga Vikings (2024-25 season: 15-7 overall, 8-3 conference, t-4th)

Daniel Connor gives the Vikings some of the only real interior presence in the conference. The 6'5" forward was an Elite Team selection in the conference as a junior, and All-UP 2nd team. Joseph Fish and Landon Smith both return after being named to All-UP Honorable Mention (Smith made Honorable Mention All-Conference as well). Fish and Smith are both listed at 6'2", giving more size to go with the 6'5" post (Daniel Connor). If they can replace Nolan Hendrickson's production, they could push for a top three position in conference.

Bessemer Speedboys (2024-25 season: 16-10 overall, 7-4 conference, 6th)

The Speedboys got hot to end the season and won six straight games before falling to Crystal Falls Forest Park, who made it to the State Semi-Finals. They beat all three teams who tied for the conference title in that stretch (Dollar Bay, Ewen-Trout Creek, and Wakefield-Marenisco). 6'3" Leland Hollenbeck was a 2nd-Team All-Conference selection as a junior. Jayden Verrett and Cayden Harju were both Honorable Mention All-Conference as sophomores. If they can carry momentum over from the end of the season, they could be a dark horse to win the league.

Chassell Panthers (2024-25 season: 4-19 overall, 1-10 conference, t-10th)

After a tough season, the Panthers do have two All-Conference selections returning from last season, Brayden Larson and Grady Olson. They did graduate one other All-Conference selection, Thomas Loukus. Loukus also happened to be their lone senior on the roster. They had a total of five players on the roster who were freshman or eighth graders. 

Dollar Bay Blue Bolts (2024-25 season: 20-5 overall, 9-2 conference, t-1st)

Their best players last season were juniors and sophomores, that gives them a ton of experience coming back. The Blue Bolts had a tremendous turn around, improving their win total by 10 from 2023-2024 to 2024-2025. Liam Tourtillott and Calen Kentala were 1st-Team All-Conference selections, with Baron Colbert being named to the 2nd-Team. Bessemer beat them in overtime to end their season early, but I assume they will be ready to defend the title.

Ewen-Trout Creek Panthers (2024-25 season: 17-6 overall, 9-2 conference, t-1st)

Graduating two 1st-Team All-Conference selections is tough for anyone (Austin Gordon - Conference MVP & Caden Besonen - Conference DMVP). Brody Majurin is the lone All-Conference selection remaining on the team. The sophomore guard is going to have to become a leader quickly to replace the previous names. E-TC is known for their basketball, so I'm sure they have some other young players ready to step in and contribute. It might be tough in a year where other teams have a ton of experience coming back, but expect them keep themselves in the mix.

Jeffers Jets (2024-25 season: 7-16 overall, 5-6 conference, 7th)

Graduated their only All-Conference selection in Landon Larson from last season. Jeffers has been consistent at the top of the conference in recent years, so it's tough to imagine a world where they aren't in the top half of the conference. With that being said, most of those years they have had a known player on the roster returning. Could this be the year they are in a bit of a rebuild?

Ironwood Red Devils (2024-25 season: 14-7 overall, 8-3 conference, t-4th)

Two All-UP selections graduated from last season, Axton Ruotsala and Nick Miskovich. Along with them, All-Conference selection Landon Buerger graduated. Brendan McCullough is their returning All-Conference selection, and stands at 6'2". 

L'Anse Purple Hornets (2024-25 season: 10-14 overall, 4-7 conference, t-8th)

Started last season out with a four game winning streak, even got to a 5-1 record. Unfortunately, they ended the season losing 11 out of their last 13 games. Now sophomore, L'Anse was a young team last season, with two freshman being some of their biggest contributors. Now sophomore, Sam Lee was an All-UP 2nd-Team selection. Returning Keegan Davidson (senior) and Talan Larson (sophomore) were All-UP Honorable Mention last season. I'm not sure they are ready to compete for a conference title, but they should move up slightly.

Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes (2024-25 season: 2-21 overall, 1-10 conference, t-10th)

Josh Daavettila was a 1st-Team All-Conference selection, even with the Lakes struggles last season. He was the only All-Conference selection for the team. Even with Daavettila back as a junior, it seems that size and depth are going to be major concerns for Lake Linden-Hubbell. It will be a younger group with more than likely only three upperclassmen. 

Ontonagon Gladiators (2024-25 season: 7-16 overall, 4-7 conference, t-8th)

Jack Nelson was an All-Conference selection last season and returns for the Gladiators. Unfortunately they two other selections in Jerry Majurin and Carson Uotila. 

Wakefield-Marenisco Cardinals (2024-25 season: 14-10 overall, 9-2 conference, t-1st)

All-Conference selection Chase Lane comes back for his junior season. He was also an All-UP Special Mention selection last season. They do return one other All-Conference selection in Brock Pangrazzi, a 6'4" sophomore forward. Pat Perron was their other All-Conference selection, but he graduated. A scorer and some height makes for a good combination in the conference. 

Watersmeet Nimrods (2024-25 season: 4-17 overall, 1-10 conference, t-10th)

It wasn't a great season for Watersmeet, and now you add in that they lost their only All-Conference selection in Blake Shively. 

Projections:

1. Dollar Bay

2. Wakefield-Marenisco

3. Baraga

4. Bessemer

5. L'Anse

6. Ewen-Trout Creek

7. Ironwood

8. Jeffers

9. Chassell

10. Lake Linden-Hubbell

11. Ontonagon

12. Watersmeet

Conference Overview:

Dollar Bay has the momentum from last season, if it can carry over they should be a tough out with this senior class. Wakefield-Marenisco, Baraga, Bessemer, and L'Anse all have talented players returning that should all be impactful enough for their teams to compete at the top. In that order is mostly based on how much proven talent they have returning. The next wave is teams that lost a lot of talent. Ewen-Trout Creek should be able to manage to stay in the top half of the conference. Ironwood always seems to find players that keep them competitive. Jeffers just doesn't have that returning dominating person that they usually have. The last wave of teams is kind of the unproven group. Chassell and Lake Linden-Hubbell have returning players, but their teams struggled last season. Ontonagon and Watersmeet both struggled, but both lost talent from last year.

Conference MVP: Liam Tourtillott (Senior) - Dollar Bay

Other Players to Watch:

Daniel Connor (Senior) - Baraga

Leland Hollenbeck (Senior) - Bessemer

Caleb Kentala (Senior) - Dollar Bay

Chase Lane (Junior) - Wakefield-Marenisco

Sam Lee (Junior) - L'Anse

Games to Watch:

Ironwood @ Hurley (12/4/25)

Munising @ Bessemer (12/5/25)

Powers North Central vs. Baraga @ Michigan Tech (12/30/25)

Houghton @ Dollar Bay (1/9/26)

Calumet @ L'Anse (2/2/26)