Hanover won the TVL a season ago, but their season came to a bitter end in the Class 1A-DII state championship in Great Bend as the Wildcats watched a game-winning buzzer beater by Greeley County keep them from clinching the title. No other TVL teams got past the opening round of the state tournaments, but Troy made their first appearance in Dodge City at the Class 1A-DI state tournament since 1998. The Trojans fought hard but had a tough matchup against the eventual champion Olpe. Expect a lot of good teams to battle to very end of games for the limited number of spots in the state tournaments again this year. 2022-23 is going to be a wild and wacky ride!

The AXTELL Eagles come off a third place finish in the league with an 8-4 league record and an overall record of 12-11. Eighth year head coach Jayson Tynon gets all five starters back this season and are primed for another top-three TVL finish. One area they will hope to improve this season is their perimeter shooting. They don’t have a lot of size, but they bring a lot of athleticism. The Eagles should be a very fun team to follow this season.

After a 10-12 season in 2021-22, BLUE VALLEY will look to get over the .500 hump with four returning starters. They will try to play fast with eighth-year head coach Blake Fronce. Blue Valley is a guard-heavy team with one of the best backcourts in the TVL. They can score on anyone and are a lot of fun to watch. The Rams will need to step up on defense if they want to get a good number of wins in league play this season.

CENTRALIA finished barely over .500 with an 11-10 record and were able to win the TVL Tournament. First-year head coach Nick Evans gets two of last year’s starters and four total letterwinners back for this season. With the athletes they have, they will look to play fast this year and build off momentum the team was able to generate during the summer.

CLIFTON-CLYDE is another team that likes to play small ball with a lot of depth at the guard position. Last year, the Eagles went 16-7 after a solid start but came out of their Christmas break a bit sluggish. Head coach Justin Steinbrook’s team was able to kick it into high gear at the end of February and finished their season strong. This year, they will hope to win some close games after losing a few of them last season. 

Last year was a promising season for FRANKFORT, but they had a lot of injuries and ended up placing fourth in league play at 8-4. Head coach Ben Steinlage loses 95% of the team’s minutes from last year’s team, so they will need to start over from scratch. Some of the players on the bench were able to get some good experience filling in for injured players, so some of them got some good looks in varsity play.

DONIPHAN WEST will hope to turn things around quickly after losing a lot of players on a senior-dominated 2021-22 team. The Mustangs get just one starter back with three total letterwinners returning. Head coach David Johnson will have his work cut out for him, but anything is possible in the wacky world of the Twin Valley League.

HANOVER fell short of a state championship on a heartbreaking three-point buzzer beater that went in for Greely County. The Wildcats finished 24-2 including a TVL title. Their only other loss came in the TVL Tournament Championship game against Centralia. Third-year head coach Cory Jenson has now won back-to-back league titles but now leads a team that lost a lot of teams to graduation from last year.

The 2021-22 season was not too kind to LINN with a final record of just 3-17 and a winless 0-12 TVL record. The experience the team got fighting through adversity will prove to be invaluable as they hope to make strides towards having a better season under third-year head coach Michael Voelker. They lost just one senior to graduation and have a promising class of freshmen coming in. Things are looking up for the Bulldogs this season.

ONAGA loses a few key players from last year’s team that finished ninth place in the league with a 3-9 record. A lot of things will have to go right for 12th-year head coach Luke Baxter to get the Buffaloes their first TVL title since 1994, but they will be a respectable opponent all year long. Onaga is a smaller team, but they have some sharpshooters they will hope to get into a rhythm early.

TROY is coming off their first state appearance since 1998 and a runner-up finish in league play with an overall record of 16-8. Head coach Jonathan Rodvelt gets some solid scoring and overall well-rounded athletes back for this season. The Trojans’ crowd made Troy a very challenging place to play as they went unbeaten in home games in 2021-22. They hope to channel some of that magic for this season and be a threat to win the TVL once again this year.

VALLEY HEIGHTS will be hoping to make significant improvements this season to avoid a similar record to last year at 2-10 in TVL play and 4-18 overall. Third-year head coach Cale Green looks to channel some of the magic of their 2020 team that won the TVL Tournament title and the sub-state title. With an uber-competitive TVL league this season, the Mustangs will look to be competitive and hang with some of the top teams.

It was tough sledding last season for WASHINGTON COUNTY with a finish of 1-13 in league play and 3-17 overall. They lost five seniors to graduation but bring back two starters this year. The Tigers are a team that will fight with everything they got with some good guards that have a lot of experience. Head coach Robert Smith enters his seventh season with Washington County and will hope things go much better this year.

WETMORE was a pleasant surprise with a 14-8 regular season and a league record of 6-4. Most of their losses were by five points or less, so there was still more to be desired. They will enter a new era as Reuben Sullivan takes over the program as the team’s new head coach. He will get to coach some players that played on the football team, which comes off one of its best seasons in decades. With their experience and athleticism, expect the Wetmore Cardinals to not go away quietly this season.

2022-2023 TVL Boys Predictions
Clifton Clyde 
Troy 
Axtell
Blue Valley 
Centralia 
Valley Heights 
Hanover 
Wetmore 
Washington County 
Frankfort 
Onaga 
Linn
Doniphan West