10th Region Pre-Season Preview: Team Rankings
As we gear up for another exciting season of Kentucky High School Basketball, the 10th Region is ready for another action-packed year. Throughout the region, teams are looking to solidify their spot as one of the sixteen teams who make it to Rupp Arena. Below is an team preview on each of the seventeen teams in the 10th Region.
1. George Rogers Clark – Winchester, KY – 2018 Record (29-5 overall, 15-2 region, 8-0 district): The Cardinals are looking to claim the region this year, as Clark County is bringing back a lot of their offense. Key returners Jordan Graham and Brennan Canada who combined for 24.8 ppg and 10.4 rpg last season, are pre-season favorites to lead their team to represent the 10th in March. Also, the Cardinals are looking for other role players to have a greater impact on their team this season, that being; KJ Rucker, Jared Wellman, and Jehdon Jenkins. GRC are favorites to win the 40th District and gain a top seed in the region tournament. With an impressive district record last season, look for GRC to continue that success and control their district once again. Although, this may be the year the Cardinals face better competition as Montgomery Co. and Paris return stronger caliber teams.
2. Campbell County – Alexandria, KY – 2018 Record (29-6 overall, 15-0 region, 6-0 district): Campbell County has been the big dogs of the 10th Region for the past 5 years, with an overall 124-43 record and 4/5 of those seasons with 20+ wins. Coach Russell returns starters Reid Jolly and Drew Wilson, to continue their recent success and defend their region championship. Reid is looking to lock his name in for one of the top players in the region, last year averaging 18 ppg and 10 rpg. The Camels graduated 4 seniors who had big roles on their team, in order for Campbell to reach another Sweet 16, role players are going to be needed to have a larger impact on the Camels this season. Campbell County, with one of the largest enrollment sizes in the region, has the players to compliment Jolly and Wilson. Look for seniors Andrew Helton and Tanner Lawerence to have impactful seasons.
3. Scott – Taylor Mill, KY – 2018 Record (23-10 overall, 8-5 region, 3-3 district): Scott is looking to have another interesting year and compete for another 10th Region title this season. Returning the core of their team, Scott is loaded with seniors who are eager to get the season going. Coach Fromeyer has to be excited with the guys he has, senior key returners include Trey Meister, Chad Ohmer, Kyren Simpson, Nathan Joyce, and David Hunter. The Eagles are looking to get their team back to Rupp Arena for the second time since joining the 10th Region and have all of the tools to make it there. Due to their location, Scott plays a mixture of games with teams in the 10th Region and the more local 9th Region, who has very tough competition. One of the top stories to watch will be how Scott competes with region foe Campbell County, who in the last 5 years have a competition record of 2-11, Scott owns a 20-17 record vs. Campbell since 1998.
4. Pendleton County – Falmouth, KY – 2018 Record (24-8 overall, 16-5 region, 6-0 district): If you keep up with Kentucky High School Basketball, you’ve heard of the incredible story of Dontaie Allen. Pendleton County is home to our #1 2019 Kentucky prospect and has high hopes to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. Dontaie is in line to surpass 3000 career points this season and continue his journey to the Kentucky Wildcats after this season. In order for the Wildcats (Pendleton) to obtain a 14 year goal region championship quest, several role players are going to need to rally around Allen. Senior Cody Sullivan and junior Clay Monroe will need to step into larger shoes and provide offense, presuming Donatie will be guarded accourdingly. Pendleton looks to repeat as 38th District champions, but will face resistance from Harrison Co. and Robertson Co. as both teams return core players.
5. Mason County – Maysville, KY – 2018 Record (17-14 overall, 7-8 region, 5-0 district): After a few disappointing seasons that Mason County has recently had, the Royals are looking to bounce back under new head coach Brian Kirk. Once Region powerhouse, Mason County looks to regain interest in their program and get back to the 15 time region champion status. Under new direction, Coach Kirk looks to senior Jaylen Lofton to put Mason County back in contention. Also; junior Xylon Frey, recent St. Patrick transfer Jake Swolsky, and sophomore Jeremiah Jones look rejuvenate this program. An interesting story to keep up with this season is when Augusta comes to Maysville on December 17th, as Coach Kirk coaches against his former team. Mason County is in line to have control of the 39th District, as the rest of their district isn’t as strong this season. The Royals host the 10th Region tournament and hope to not have an early exit at their home fieldhouse.
6. Paris – Paris, KY – 2018 Record (23-8 overall, 14-6 region, 5-3 district): Paris looks to rebound after a disappointing region loss to Scott in last years 10th Region tournament. After losing senior Eric Johnson to graduation, Paris will need senior guard Travis Strings to continue his success into this season, averaging 11.5 ppg and 4.6 ppg. Like many of the other teams above, Paris has other key returners who could make an influence on how this season goes. Senior Jalen Byars and junior Jamuan Clark need to have good seasons for the Greyhounds to make noise come February. A key matchup for this season will be their battles with crosstown rival Bourbon Co., last season Paris won both matchups and look to keep the ball rolling this season. As stated in GRC’s preview, the 40th District is the strongest its been in years and Paris looks to overhaul the 40th.
7. Harrison County – Cynthiana, KY – 2018 Record (11-21 overall, 6-10 region, 2-3 district): Harrison County would like to turn around a disappointing season last year. Winning only 11 games, Coach Kendall would like to see his team improve. Seniors Spencer Free and Quenton Turley look to bring Harrison back to contention and have a showdown with Pendleton Co. for the 38th District title. Also, Harrison will need help from seniors Thomas Thompson and Blake Price if Harrison is to gain a top seed in the regional tournament. The most prominent outlook that can be explained is that Harrison brings back its best team in recent years, so we should anticipate big things out of Cynthiana. Since the 2013/14 season, Harrison compiles a record of 60-97 and has qualified for a regional tournament appearance each of those 5 years. Although, Harrison hasn’t be able to make it past the second round of the tournament, this could be the year Harrison surprises the region and competes as the dark horse team.
8. Montgomery County – Mt. Sterling, KY – 2018 Record (13-16 overall, 5-11 region, 2-5 district): Coach Daniel and the boys from Mt. Sterling are looking to make their first regional tournament appearance in 2 years. Arguments could be made that the 40th district is the most competitive in the 10th Region. Montgomery County has struggled the past two years and has puzzled me as to why it is. The Indians have had strong teams and have been competitive all season long, just around tournament time they can’t get the job done. Coach Daniel returns a senior loaded team and is looking to change their previous year outcomes. Seniors Myron Ralls, Pharoah Davis, Will Cockrell, and Jonathan Kosier are ready to bring Montgomery back to contention. Also look to see how Augusta transfer Austin Eichenberger impacts this hungry MoCo team this season. Tournament time will be a big test for the Indians as GRC and Paris return talented teams, unfortunately only two teams from each district get to compete in Maysville.
9. Bishop Brossart – Alexandria, KY – 2018 Record (15-12 overall, 7-5 region, 2-3 district): Brossart being one of the smaller schools in our region, plays a schedule to par. Playing only around 7/27 games last year against big school opponents (Ryle, Campbell Co., Mason Co., Scott, Holmes, Harrison Co.) Brossart lacked some of the experience to compete come district and region tournament time. Generally the Mustangs fall short in the district tournament, being behind Campbell Co. and Scott. Coach Code looks to get his team back in the mix for the first time since 2014. Similar to Harrison Co., Brossart could be the region dark horse this year, returning a familiar core to their team, could shock the region this year if they somehow get past their opponents in the 37th District. Junior Ethan Eilerman and Senior JD Schumacher lead the Mustangs this season and will generate most of their offense. Look for Seniors Brian Duffy and Bryson Wieland to contribute heavily to the team as well.
10. Robertson County – Mt. Oliviet, KY – 2018 Record (20-10 overall, 13-3 region, 1-3 district): Robertson County took its program to a whole different level last year. Winning the small school “10th Region All A Championship” beating out Paris in a thriller. Although Robertson was a contender to win the 38th District, they failed to qualify losing to Pendleton in the first round. The Black Devils lost 3 seniors to graduation last year, equaling 19.1 ppg worth of offense. Robertson returns a relatively young team but that doesn’t mean they are down this year. Junior Alex Schalch and Sophomore Sebastian Dixon are looking to lead Robertson to the 10th Region tournament from their absence last year. Robertson will have to prove themselves come post-season time, the lack of schedule strength could really hurt Coach Kelsch’s team, not scheduling any of the top contenders leads to inexperience with younger players. Robertson has high hopes to contend with Harrison Co. and Pendleton Co. come February.
11. Bourbon County – Paris, KY – 2018 Record (12-19 overall, 5-9 region, 1-6 district): The Colonels looked to turn their team around with the signing of new head coach Lamont Campbell two seasons ago, but finished with a disappointing 12-19 record in 2017 and 10-20 last year. Bourbon County lost a lot of key players in their program the past couple of years and are looking to build their team around senior Zach Workman. The Colonels also have good a good supporting cast in Billy Murphy and Brycen Collins. In order for Bourbon County to take their program up a notch, Coach Campbell is going to have to rally this team to compete in district play which will give them confidence going into February. The post-season will be a proving ground for this team and their hopes are to make a regional tournament appearance for the first time since 2015.
12. Nicholas County – Carlisle, KY – 2018 Record (10-17 overall, 6-10 region, 1-4 district): Nicholas County has been in the bottom half of the region for over 10 years now. Since 2008 the Blue Jackets have only had one season over 15 wins and the trend seems to continue for the foreseeable future. Coach Botner has been with the program for 3 years and has a record of 34-50 as their head coach. With Pendleton, Harrison, and Robertson all elevating their program, Nicholas County just seems to be a bit out of touch with the rest of the region. Nicholas hasn’t been to a regional tournament since 2000 and the disappointment continues season after season. The Blue Jackets look to beat Robertson County to get the 3rd seed in the region, hopefully playing Harrison in the semifinals, getting a win, then qualifying for a low seed in the region tournament. That is the ideal situation for Coach Botner’s team, but again, that is unlikely to happen. Nicholas returns high scoring playmakers in Brady Switzer and Morgan Planck, but they will need some help from the rest of the squad if they want to avoid an early departure again come post-season time.
13. Bracken County – Brooksville, KY – 2018 Record (5-25 overall, 1-17 region, 1-3 district): Hopefully Bracken County is ready to put last season behind them, going from a 17 win season in 2017 to a 5 win season last year, is not the outcome Coach Hinson wanted. Only time will tell if last season was just a fluke or is a storm is brewing in Brooksville. Anyways, Bracken County is my second place team to come out of the 39th District (which is randomly drawn and defeats the purpose of a regular season) but, prepares to face any test the random draw brings them come February. This year only Mason County and St. Patrick are on the schedule, so we won’t be able to gauge their comparisons to Augusta. Coach Hinson returns seniors Tad Fisher and Mason Tucker who hope to carry Bracken past their struggles last year. A win count over 10 this season is a huge step in the right direction for this program. Mason Co. still remains favorites to win the region, but to be fair, anything can happen in this district.
14. Augusta – Augusta, KY – 2018 Record (12-15 overall, 4-10 region, 2-2 district): Augusta simply edges over Calvary due to their 6 point victory over the Cougars last season. From all of the pre-season news, Augusta is in a downward trend lately, losing head coach Brian Kirk to district foe Mason County and losing a leading scorer to Montgomery County. From a school who only has around 250 students (PK-12 so a low amount of high schoolers), Augusta lost 5 seniors to graduation last year, which has to be detrimental to a school of that size. With the hiring of new head coach Roger Newton, Augusta looks to compete this season and earn a favorable draw come post-season time.
15. Calvary Christian – Covington, KY – 2018 Record (19-12 overall, 5-10 region, 3-5 district): You’re probably wondering why a 19 win team is so low in our rankings. Needless to say Calvary impressed many people last year, but it’s still too early to solidify them as a contender in any aspect. Due to being a low enrollment school, Calvary schedules other under preforming teams and their record implicates those wins. Calvary played region contenders (Campbell, Scott, Pendleton, and Brossart) and lost by 20+ to all of them. So we will need another season to watch Calvary preform and prove to the region why they belong in the top 10. Returning is of the regions top scorers Mason Rusch (26.7 ppg), the Cougars look to build a team around him. Consistently coming in 4th place in the 37th District, Calvary is looking to up their game and qualify for a regional tournament for the first time since joining the 10th Region. Unfortunately Campbell, Scott, and Brossart all bring back loaded teams so the Cougars hopes are very slim.
16. St. Patrick – Maysville, KY – 2018 Record (11-20 overall, 3-10 region, 1-4 district): St. Patrick is now at the end of the Swolsky era. Losing Ben to graduation and Jake Swolsky to Mason County, St. Patrick now has to go into rebuild mode and figure out how to compete in the 39th District this season. Coach Rigdon returns Patrick McKay one of the more crafty guards in the region, and hopes to build a new team around him after losing 7 players to graduation. Hopefully Coach Rigdon can have his team figured out here by the end of next month so we can see where he stands when games start. The Saints play a very difficult schedule for the caliber of their team and the region is looking forward to what they have to offer.
17. Silver Grove – Silver Grove, KY – 2018 Record (2-24 overall, 0-9 region, 0-3 district): Silver Grove once again is out of contention for any post season tournament, only bringing in 15 wins over the past 3 years. Coach Haney and his team play a very low tier schedule so hopefully his squad can have a 10 win season. Senior Christian Kersey looks to have another year scoring over 10 ppg. Don’t look for anything special to come out of the Grove this season.