MANSFIELD — There are very few basketball programs in Richland County that can match up to the teams coming in at No. 16 and 17 of the Richland 25.
Let’s meet them as they both expect championship seasons in 2024-25.
Six straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championships kind of speak for themselves.
The Shelby Whippets are in the middle of one of the most special eras in program history with their dominance in the MOAC, and that shouldn’t change in 2024-25. Shelby does lose Sarah Reiser, Maggie Bogner, Alexis Booker and Mallary Gundrum so there will be a question mark around leadership heading into the 2024-25 season. But the veteran players the Whippets have coming back should step right in.
It all starts with two-time All-Ohioan Eve Schwemley, who is back for her senior year after averaging 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.2 assists per game as a junior when she earned special mention All-Ohio, first team All-Northwest District, first team All-District 6, first team All-MOAC, MOAC Player of the Year and News Journal Player of the Year honors. The day after the Whippets were upset in the sectional championship game, Schwemley was back in the gym shooting, and it is that kind of lead-by-example approach that will have the Whippets just fine this season.
They will also be just fine because of a veteran supporting cast. Shelby will have eight seniors on the roster this year including Trinity Baker, Alyssa Booker, Charlie Niese, Sophia Long, Lexi Mohn, Serena Ramsey and Alyssa Niese along with Schwemley. Ramsey had a breakout year last year averaging 7.2 points, second best on the team, and four rebounds. She has had a great summer and could emerge as a possible All-Ohio candidate.
Baker is coming off of an ACL injury that kept her out her entire junior year, but as a sophomore, she was sensational. She has a great shooting touch and handles the ball well so expect her to have a big senior year. Booker is a great role player who always plays hard.
Charlie Niese and Long are two players who will have exciting senior years. Niese is a great point guard who averaged five points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals last year. She quite literally did it all. Long is one of the most underrated players in all of Richland County. She averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals last year but is super athletic and can change the game on a dime.
Lexi Mohn is an exciting player at 5-foot-11 and can extend the floor with her shooting touch from the outside. If there was one player I could see having the biggest breakout season for the Whippets, its Mohn.
Youngsters Natalie Kennard, Erica Winkle and Braylee Sturts will add depth to an already deep roster. The Whippets are going to be loaded.
Even though the Tygers lose seven seniors from last year’s Ohio Cardinal Conference runner up and sectional championship team, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the 2024-25 Mansfield Senior boys basketball program.
Duke Reese, Jahmere Dotson-Thomas, Jermaine Bradley Jr., Ja’Ontay O’Bryant, Karion Lindsay, Melo Smith and Ahmaan Thomas depart the program better than they found it and will be difficult to replace. What they brought was veteran leadership and a lot of depth up and down the lineup.
But what the Tygers have returning is exciting. It all starts with two-time All-Ohioan Kyevi Roane who averaged 17.9 points and seven rebounds as a junior last season, which earned him special mention All-Ohio, second team All-Northwest District, first team All-District 6 and first team All-OCC honors. Roane has been the heart and soul of the Tygers the last two years. Expect him to pull out all the stops to do something special in his senior season.
Then comes two super athletic and talented young guards in juniors DJ Corbin and Rashad Reed Jr. Reed averaged 8.8 points and had 19 steals as a scrappy two-way guard who is bound for a huge season in 2024-25. Corbin came on strong in the second half of the season and earned seven starts down the stretch. He averaged 6.8 points and came up with 26 total steals. With those two handling the ball and playing pressure defense, the Tygers will be in great shape.
Mansfield Senior will also have a super athletic forward in Ny Petty, who has all the tools to have a big senior year. Petty can jump out of the gym and should be an impact player this year. Junior Carter Kessler has a nice mixture of size and athleticism that will make it difficult to keep him off of the floor. Also remember the names Ryan Au and Andrew Brooks. Au is a shooter, and Brooks was a freshman last year but will make a major impact this season.
Incoming freshman Kaylen Brooks is producing headlines as one of the top-ranked freshmen in the country. His skills are far beyond his age, and he should find himself on the varsity roster for the Tygers this winter.
With everything they have coming back, the Tygers fully expect to compete for an Ohio Cardinal Conference and district championship.
Madison Boys Soccer
This one might be the biggest snub of this year’s Richland 25. Generally, the Richland 25 includes teams that won a championship last year and while the Rams didn’t, they should be considered a championship contender this year. With a move down to Division III thanks to the OHSAA’s division expansion, Madison will not have to compete in Division I anymore and the OCC championship is wide open.
The Rams went 12-4-2 last year and return a boatload of talent headlined by Joey Walker who scored a team-high 22 goals and handed out eight assists. Randy Jamieson is also back after scoring seven goals and handing out 10 assists. Tre Fava (five goals, four assists), Julius Walker (four goals, four assists), Zach Davies (three goals) and Ashton Taylor (three goals, two assists) will all return. The Rams have a monster junior class of 10 players who all saw action last year as sophomores.
This might be the best team the Rams have had in a long time.
Mansfield Christian Girls Basketball
The Flames had a bit of a down year last year thanks to a youth movement with just three seniors on the roster. But there is a lot to love about the future of this program. They will bring back three seniors, six juniors and three sophomores to go along with an incoming freshman class than runs 16 players deep and features a group that has worked closely with head coach Megan Young over the years with her daughter on the team.
It may take another year or two, but the Flames are an up-and-coming team that needs to be closely watched.
jfurr@gannett.com
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