Prospect Watch: Trent Champagne (2019)
Class of 2019 guard Trent Champagne of St. Charles West is a big combo guard who has been evolving into a force on the offensive end over the course of his career.
The 6’3″ Champagne brings excellent size to the point guard position and he combines it with the ability to get buckets from a variety of spots on the floor. He has attracted collegiate interest from a number of schools such as William Jewell, Lindenwood, Rockhurst, University of Chicago, Nebraska Weslyan, Johns Hopkins and several other schools.
He enjoyed a very productive summer playing with TEM Select 17U, a group of underrated but very good high school players who held their own against some excellent teams on the grassroots circuits. Champagne more than held his own against some top guards from around the region with his ball handling and scoring.
“TEM Select has been a great program for me,” Champagne said. “They allow me to play my game and we’ve gotten a lot better since I was 15. Playing against top competition gave me a chance to showcase my skills.”
As a junior at West, Champagne averaged 19 points, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals while making 51 3-pointers and shooting 81 percent from the free throw line. His bread and butter shot is the pull up jumper from 15 feet, which he makes with great consistency. His size and elevation on the jumper makes it very difficult to defend.
“I had a huge growth spurt going into my sophomore year, so I knew the mid-range game would elevate my game to the next level,” he said. “I started working on different moves to use to get to my spots. I’ve used my mid-range game to help my overall game and my ability to score at three levels.”
The remaining goal for Champagne is help return the Warriors to their winning ways. They have a strong winning tradition that is usually led by a standout guard. After a 10-16 campaign in 2018, Champagne is eager to turns things around in his senior year.
“I would like to win a conference championship and a district championship,” he said. “We want to improve on last year’s season and I want to end my career with a lot of team success.”