The Teams:
Cedar Falls (23-3): The Tigers look to make another appearance at Wells Fargo again this year after a State Semi-final appearance last year. Before losing to Ankeny in the State Semi-final, the Tigers only lost a pair of games to Waterloo West in the regular season. Leading scorer
Landon Wolf
Landon
Wolf
6'5" | CG
Cedar Falls | 2021
State
IA
(11.8 ppg), leading rebounder
Chase Courbat
Chase
Courbat
6'9" | C
Cedar Falls | 2021
State
IA
(6.7 rpg) and leading assister
Trey Campbell
Trey
Campbell
6'4" | PG
Cedar Falls | 2022
State
IA
(4.4 apg) will bring back 45% of the Tigers scoring.
Joe Knutson
Joe
Knutson
6'8" | PF
Cedar Falls | 2021
State
IA
, a Truman State commit will accompany the UNI commits and look to take Cedar Falls back to the state tournament. Be ready for head coach Ryan Schultz and the Tigers to be at the top of MVC again this year.
Cedar Rapids Washington (4-18): CR Wash grabbed wins against Bettendorf, Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City Liberty, and a win against a very good Monticello team. The Warriors played in a ton of close games last year, losing five games by five points or less. The Warriors return three starters from last years lineup.
Traijan Sain
Traijan
Sain
6'5" | SF
Cedar Rapids Washington | 2023
State
IA
(5.2) started 21 games and had a solid freshman season for the Warriors. Sain will be joined by seniors
Quincy Underwood
Quincy
Underwood
6'3" | SF
Cedar Rapids Washington | 2021
State
IA
(10.3) and
Henry Clymer
Henry
Clymer
6'4" | SF
Cedar Rapids Washington | 2021
State
IA
(8.8). With another year of experience under their belt and the return of three starters, look for the Warriors to have a better season in 2020-21.
Dubuque Wahlert (7-15): The Golden Eagles put together a 7-15 record last year, before losing a tight game against Mount Vernon in the substate semifinal. With the graduation of
Jake Schockemoehl
Jake
Schockemoehl
6'2" | CG
Wahlert Catholic | 2020
State
IA
(19.8),
Cael Schmitt
Cael
Schmitt
5'10" | PG
Wahlert Catholic | 2020
State
IA
(16.3), and
Isaac Ripley
Isaac
Ripley
5'11" | SG
Wahlert Catholic | 2020
State
IA
(9.2), Wahlert will look to Nick Bandy (5.4) and
TJ Fowler
TJ
Fowler
5'9" | PG
Wahlert Catholic | 2021
State
IA
(8.8) to carry the load. They will need some new faces to step up this season if they are looking to improve their record from last season.
Iowa City High (9-13): The Little Hawks turned in a middle of the road 9-13 season in 2019-20, but are looking forward to the upcoming season as they bring back four of their five starters. However they lose their 6’3″ all-around guard
Keshawn Christian
Keshawn
Christian
6'2" | SG
Iowa City High | 2020
State
IA
, who averaged 15.1 ppg and 7.8 rpg (led the team in both categories). The Little Hawks will return seniors
Kolby Kucera
Kolby
Kucera
6'4" | SF
City | 2021
State
IA
(5.6),
Andre Miller
Andre
Miller
6'4" | SF
City | 2021
State
IA
(5.2),
Byron Benton
Byron
Benton
6'0" | CG
City | 2021
State
IA
(9.0), Raphael Hamilton (3.6), and junior
Jamari Newson
Jamari
Newson
6'2" | PG
Iowa City | 2022
State
IA
(8.1), who all started over ten games. With an experienced lineup coming back, look for City High to be more competitive against the top teams in the league.
Iowa City Liberty (10-13): The Liberty Lightning graduated their leading scorer and rebounder,
Andre Brandon
Andre
Brandon
6'6" | PF
Iowa City Liberty | 2020
State
IA
, who averaged 12.5 and 6.8 in the respective categories, along with two other seniors who saw significant playing time. The Lightning will have a senior heavy lineup this season as they bring back four players who started the majority of the season.
Ira Hazeltine
Ira
Hazeltine
5'11" | SG
Liberty | 2021
State
IA
(7.1),
Basil Aldoss
Basil
Aldoss
6'2" | SF
Liberty | 2021
State
IA
(7.7),
Kelby Telander
Kelby
Telander
6'5" | SF
Iowa City Liberty | 2021
State
IA
(11.8), and
Ethan O’Donnell
Ethan
O’Donnell
6'4" | SF
Liberty | 2021
State
IA
(6.9) will lead the charge. After appearing in eighteen games as a freshman, Savion Taylor will most likely step into a bigger this year as well.
Linn-Mar (10-13): The Lions were another team that lost a lot of close games last, having lost six games by less than ten points.However, they graduated four of their five starters who accounted for 73% of their scoring. Top returnees will be senior
Pearson Martin
Pearson
Martin
5'8" | PG
Linn-Mar | 2021
State
IA
(5.9), and junior Cam Guenther (4.3). Seniors
Evan Martin
Evan
Martin
5'8" | PG
Linn-Mar | 2021
State
IA
(3.1) and Luke Passmore (2.4), along with junior Andrew Knipper (1.1) will be asked to step into bigger roles this season. The Lions will also look to
Jaxson Young
Jaxson
Young
6'2" | SG
Linn-Mar | 2022
State
IA
, a 6’1″ forward from the class of 2022, to contribute next season.
Prairie (14-8): Posing a 8-7 record in the league and a pretty solid season, Prairie finished third in the Mississippi division behind Cedar Falls and Dubuque Senior. The Prairie Hawks will miss their big fella in the middle this season, as center
Gabe Burkle
Gabe
Burkle
6'7" | PF
Prairie | 2022
State
IA
(10.5) is out with an injury. Prairie brings back 62% of their scoring, including second leading scorer
Elijah Ward
Elijah
Ward
6'2" | CG
Prairie | 2022
State
IA
(9.9). 6’5″ guards
Caden Stoffer
Caden
Stoffer
6'5" | SG
Prairie | 2021
State
IA
(5.8) and Jackson Nove (3.2), who both saw significant playing time last season, will also return for the Prairie Hawks. Fellow sophomore,
Jake Walter
Jake
Walter
5'10" | CG
Prairie | 2022
State
IA
(7.4), will return with Ward and help carry the load. Look for a similar season this season from the Prairie Hawks.
Western Dubuque (5-17): After a dismal season last year, West Dubuque brings back their top two scorers in
Dylan Johnson
Dylan
Johnson
6'6" | SF
Western Dubuque | 2021
State
IA
(15.8) and
Garrett Baumhover
Garrett
Baumhover
6'0" | PG
Western Dubuque | 2021
State
IA
(12.8). Johnson led the Mississipi Division in points scored last season with 348, and Baumhover was third in the assists (82) and steals (40) categories. Joining these two will be Tommy DeSollar (4.2), who saw some good playing time last season. The Bobcats will need some help from some other roles players they look to improve from last season.
Projected Order of Finish:
- Cedar Falls
- Prairie
- Iowa City High
- Iowa City Liberty
- Cedar Rapids Washington
- Linn-Mar
- Western Dubuque
- Dubuque Wahlert
Analysis: Cedar Falls brings back three starters and two others who saw significant playing time from a team last year that came back from Wells Fargo with a third place trophy. The Tigers and the Prairie Hawks in Cedar Rapids return quite a bit from last year and should be atop the standings. Iowa City High, Iowa City Liberty, and CR Wash will all be in a race for the middle spots in the division. Linn-Mar, Western Dubuque, and Wahlert will all look to improve from their dismal seasons last year.
Preseason Player of the Year:
Landon Wolf
Landon
Wolf
6'5" | CG
Cedar Falls | 2021
State
IA
, Cedar Falls (2021): 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 48.9% from the field, and 91.4% from the free-throw line. The fourth-ranked player in the class of 2021 will look to build off a fantastic year last year.
Players to Watch:
Chase Courbat
Chase
Courbat
6'9" | C
Cedar Falls | 2021
State
IA
, Cedar Falls (2021)
Trey Campbell
Trey
Campbell
6'4" | PG
Cedar Falls | 2022
State
IA
, Cedar Falls (2022)
Elijah Ward Elijah Ward 6'2" | CG Prairie | 2022 State IA , Prairie (2022)
Jake Walter
Jake
Walter
5'10" | CG
Prairie | 2022
State
IA
, Prairie (2022)
Dylan Johnson Dylan Johnson 6'6" | SF Western Dubuque | 2021 State IA , Western Dubuque (2021)
Garrett Baumhover
Garrett
Baumhover
6'0" | PG
Western Dubuque | 2021
State
IA
, Western Dubuque (2021)
Quincy Underwood
Quincy
Underwood
6'3" | SF
Cedar Rapids Washington | 2021
State
IA
, Cedar Rapids Washington (2021)
