Girls Preview

Another fantastic year in the Twin Valley with top-caliber competition and three teams qualifying for the state tournament.  All three teams also won their first round games and advanced to the semifinals before the Covid threat abruptly ended the season. Hanover and Centralia in Class 1A and Valley Heights in Class 2A all ended their season on a high, but also a huge what-if. Hanover also repeated as regular season TVL champs while Valley Heights took the TVL tourney title. Overall, eight teams finished with a winning record and it's shaping up to be another great year for the best small classification league in the state.

Valley Heights returns four of five starters for the second straight season and is loaded with talent and experience. That includes a pair of all league performers in Emma and Cat Toerber. The Mustangs have a strong supporting cast and nice blend or size and shooting to showcase on the floor. 

HANOVER had six seniors on the team last year that played in every game and accounted for 37 of their 48 points and 16 of their 26 rebounds per outing. But the Lady Cats reload quickly and still have several varsity contributors and several other athletes anxiously awaiting their varsity turn.

DONIPHAN WEST had only one senior on the roster last year and returns perhaps the deepest team in the league with a ton of talent and experience. The Lady Mustangs don't have much height but great guard play and a potent perimeter attack.

FRANKFORT returns four senior starters this year  and looks to challenge for a top spot. Coach Brian Ebert also has more size to work with than most TVL foes. Mariah Broxterman is a standout athlete on the hardwork with a handful of fellow seniors ready for another great campaign.

CLIFTON CLYDE is coming off a year when they posted the second most wins in school history. They finished third in the TVL and lost three senior starters. Two seniors return including Mallory Callihan who posted 15 points and 8 rebounds per game. Frontcourt depth will come from underclassmen this year for Coach Kieran Wurtz.

Doug Thompson is the new girls coach at WASHINGTON COUNTY this year, but he has six solid seniors back to anchor the group including top TVL performer, Alyssa Kern.

The CENTRALIA girls were fourth in the TVL last year but had 19 wins including a great comeback in the opening round of state against Cunningham. Entering year number 11, Coach Roger Holthaus is just two wins shy of 200 but also has only two starters back among six total letter-winners. The Panthers will rely heavily on their talented sophomore class to keep battling in the top half of the TVL.

WETMORE has a new girls coach this year as Adam Mass takes over, but inherits one of the best forward duo's in the area with six-footers Kenzie Strathman and Regan Osterhaus.

The BLUE VALLEY Rams graduated a strong senior class that included a couple girls now playing college hoops. Yet, Coach Matt Schreiber returns a trio of starters. The Rams don't have much proven depth and will rely on the freshman class to contribute this winter. 

Despite losing three starters, LINN is a team that could be improved with a four-year starter starting post in Faith Beikman (6'1) and third-year starting point guard in Kyrah Peters who scored nearly 10 points per game last year as a sophomore. Several other sophomores and juniors with a year of varsity seasoning should help the Bulldogs climb the ladder.

AXTELL is a young team that will likely play several freshman with less than 10 girls out his year for Coach Abby Stueve. The Eagles do return three girls with some starting experience but will also battle of huge lack of height on their young roster.

Derek Jasper is back for year number 24 with the TROY girls and has only a couple seniors on the roster this year coming off a three-win season. Despite a huge lack of size, the Trojans hope this is the year they start to show more consistency and compete while turning the program around. 

ONAGA has a new coach this year as Craig Boswell takes over for a team that posted one lone win last season. The Lady Buffs do have several new players back out and return three starters that all have a couple varsity campaigns under their belt.

Boys Preview

More dominance and super competitive games with some great boys teams again last year in the Twin Valley League. Even without the split in Class 1A, prohibiting a few more teams from advancting to a state tourney, the TVL showed plenty of fire-power.  Valley Heights won the TVL Tournament and also qualified for 2A State Tournament, while Frankfort notched a league high 20 wins and returned to the 1A State Tourney for the first time since 2012. It was Centralia that won the regular season League title as one of eight teams that posted double-digit wins. There are no classification changes to any TVL teams this year, but there are FIVE new boys coaches entering the 2020-21 season.

VALLEY HEIGHTS only had one senior that saw significant varsity minutes and bring the rest of their team back that went 18-7. The Mustangs are also very motivated after their great football season was abruptly ended before a potential playoff run because of Covid complications. The Mustangs do have a new coach in Cale Green, but return a phenomenal backcourt of Cameron Beardsley and Jackson O'Toole plus five other seniors that all have years of varsity experience making this team a favorite again in Class 2A.

One of the few teams that could challenge Valley Heights this year is CLIFTON CLYDE who won 16 games a year ago and has an extremely deep bench with nine returning varsity performers that are all upper-classmen, including six that have starting experience. Aiden Rudolph and Wyatt Lange (6'6) earned top league honors last year and along with Jarik Weiche and Tee Koch, all scored between 7-11 points per game last winter.

Also returning a pair of All League selections is WASHINGTON COUNTY,  HANOVER  and FRANKFORT who look to contend for a top spot in league and post season.  All three teams also have  new coaches, but plenty of fire-power to lead the new system. Emmitt Jueneman and Blake Hynek are back for Hanover while Drew Buhrman and Kobe Hoover return as third-year starters for the Tigers and Frankfort welcomes back Gavin Cornelison and Aiden Gerstner. Hanover has a new coach for the first time in 25 years as Cory Jensen takes over for Kim Lohse. The Wildcats only had three seniors on the roster last year and have great size and athletic ability. Robert Smith is the new coach for Washington County who may not have quite as much depth. Frankfort, who went 18-4 after a slow start and 9-1 to end last year, is now led by Coach Ben Steinlage. The Cats lost only two seniors and have eight of their top nine players back this year, although they are a team that isn't blessed with the height like most of these other top TVL squads. 

And then there is CENTRALIA, who is the defending league champs and seems to always find a way to compete. The Panthers must reload under Coach Cole Alderfer after losing five seniors. They only return to starters and three letter-men. Still, Centralia has capable athletes and quickness and athleticism to hopefully make up for their lack of size.

TROY and WETMORE  are teams that return almost everyone from last year and look to improve their win total after both teams won six total games last season. Griffin Weber and Jerrit Norris were double digit scorers for the Trojans last year as underclassman while Wetmore is a smaller team that was led by Braden Henry, who earned league kudos scoring 14 points per game as a sophomore and Kael McQueen who added 11 points and outing.

DONIPHAN WEST and AXTELL are fighting numbers in their program big-time.  Doniphan West brings everyone back from last year, minus their big man that didn't go out, but the Mustangs only expect eight players out for high school ball, none of which averaged double figures scoring last year.  Axtell might only have seven players on their roster. Isaac Detweiler burst on the scene as a freshman and scored 10 points per game for the Eagles.

After winning 15 games last season, BLUE VALLEY has more to replace than almost every other TVL team as they lost eight seniors and only return one varsity starter. The Rams will rely on several sophomores this year in a rebuilding mode. 

Both ONAGA and LINN have new coaches this year as Michael Voelker takes over the Bulldogs and Luke Baxter returns after a two-year hiatus to again lead the Buffalos. Linn has two senior starters back to build around while Onaga has no seniors on the team and will look to improve with their sophomores and juniors building off the experience of last year.