After pouring through oodles of statistics, all-state, all-conference and all-area teams, last year's state tournament bracket and plenty of postseason rankings, we have uncovered our South Platte Valley Conference projections for 2025-26.
North Platte St. Patrick's run to 20 wins and a Class D1 Boys State Basketball Championship came up short a year ago with its 59-53 quarterfinal loss to Bancroft-Rosalie at the Devaney Center.
But the return of junior Ben Heirigs and several other key contributors keep the Irish in the conversation for South Platte Valley Conference and state tournament hardware in 2025-26. Heirigs averaged 18.4 points and 4.2 rebounds to earn Second Team Class D1 All-State honors in both the Omaha World Herald and the Lincoln Journal Star.
The 5-foot-11 guard added 58 assists, 37 steals and a couple of blocked shots to his stat line. Fellow junior Peyton Kramer ripped the cords for 6.8 points and pulled down 7.8 rebounds and blocked 13 shots on the year for Irish coach William O' Malley while seniors Sutton Tickle and Trey Furmanski combined for 15.2 points and 8.9 boards a contest.
Bridgeport returns senior Gage Nein and juniors Landon Dean and Hayes Watts all of whom averaged double figures a year ago while senior Logan Levick chipped in 6.9 points a contest for Sean Sterkel who guided the Bulldogs to an 18-9 record in 2024-25.
Enough of my rambling. Enjoy!
Boys South Platte Valley Conference
North Platte St. Patrick's (19-7)
Bridgeport (18-9)
Kimball (17-9)
Valentine (12-11)
Perkins County (19-5)
Mitchell (10-14)
Chase County (11-11)
Hershey (4-20)
North Platte St. Patrick's
2024-25 Record: 19-7
Record Over Past Decade: 184-76
2024-25 Postseason: 0-1 | Lost in Class D1 Quarterfinals
Head Coach: William O'Malley
Top Returning Players:
Junior Ben Heirigs | 5-foot-11
18.4 Points | 4.2 Rebounds | 58 Assists | 37 Steals | 2 Blocked Shots
Second Team Class D1 Omaha World Herald | Second Team Class D1 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Peyton Kramer | 6-foot | Center
6.8 Points | 7.8 Rebounds | 29 Assists | 28 Steals | 13 Blocked Shots
Senior Sutton Tickle | 6-foot-1
9.5 Points | 5.4 Rebounds | 36 Assists | 61 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
HM Class D1 Omaha World Herald | HM Class D1 Lincoln Journal Star
Senior Trey Furmanski | 5-foot-11 | Point Guard
5.7 Points | 3.5 Rebounds | 129 Assists | 36 Steals | 2 Blocked Shots
Bridgeport
2024-25 Record: 18-9
Record Over Past Decade: 188-73
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Sean Sterkel
Top Returning Players:
Senior Gage Nein | 5-foot-10 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
11.1 Points | 3.1 Rebounds | 85 Assists | 52 Steals | 5 Blocked Shots
HM Class C1 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Landon Dean | 6-foot-3 | Center | Power Forward
10.3 Points | 6.7 Rebounds | 32 Assists | 25 Steals | 7 Blocked Shots
HM Class C1 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star
Senior Logan Levick | 6-foot-1 | Shooting Guard | Forward
6.9 Points | 5.8 Rebounds | 27 Assists | 25 Steals | 9 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention Class C1 Omaha World Herald
Junior Hayes Watts | 5-foot-8 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
13.2 Points | 3.4 Rebounds | 55 Assists | 31 Steals | 2 blocked Shots
Kimball
2024-25 Record: 17-9
Record Over Past Decade: 87-133
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Trevor Anderson
Top Returning Players:
Senior Ryker Behrend | 5-foot-9 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
10.9 Points | 3.0 Rebounds | 64 Assists | 45 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
HM Class C2 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Senior Trevor Fuss | 5-foot-9 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
10.4 Points | 3.9 Rebounds | 51 Assists | 34 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
HM Class C2 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Senior Braxton Miller | 6-foot-1 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
8.9 Points | 3.2 Rebounds | 61 Assists | 45 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
HM Class C2 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Valentine
2024-25 Record: 12-11
Record Over Past Decade: 46-165
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Randy Kluender
Top Returning Players:
Senior Isaac Cronin | 6-foot-5
14.6 Points | 7.5 Rebounds | 21 Assists | 44 Steals | 36 Blocked Shots
HM Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star | Third Team All-Southwest Conference
Junior Dominic Beebout | 5-foot-10
13.7 Points | 3.5 Rebounds | 71 Assists | 39 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Trystan Beebout | 5-foot-8
7.5 Points | 3.0 Rebounds | 65 Assists | 29 Steals | 3 Blocked Shots
Perkins County
2024-25 Record: 19-5
Record Over Past Decade: 138-101
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Corey Potts
Top Returning Players:
Senior Colton Kroeker
Mitchell
2024-25 Record: 10-14
Record Over Past Decade: 110-139
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Chris Klein
Top Returning Players:
Senior Clayton Shultz | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
11.3 Points | 3.7 Rebounds | 29 Assists | 43 Steals | 3 Blocked Shots
HM Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star | HM All-Western Conference
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Waymond Banks | Center
7.6 Points | 7.2 Rebounds | 26 Assists | 33 Steals | 12 Blocked Shots
First Team All-Western Conference | First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Junior Michael Placencio | Guard | Small Forward
6.0 Points | 2.3 Rebounds | 66 Assists | 44 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
HM All-Western Conference | HM All-Western Trails Conference
Junior Klayten Thomas | 5-foot-10 | Guard | Small Forward
5.2 Points | 2.0 Rebounds | 21 Assists | 21 Steals | 3 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Chase County
2024-25 Record: 11-11
Record Over Past Decade: 118-117
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Chris Bartels
Top Returning Players:
Senior Noah Rau | 6-foot-5 | Center
10.7 Points | 5.2 Rebounds | 20 Assists | 21 Steals | 6 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Lukas Fries | 5-foot-7 | Guard | Small Forward
7.8 Points | 2.8 Rebounds | 20 Assists | 22 Steals | 12 Blocked Shots
Hershey
2024-25 Record: 4-20
Record Over Past Decade: 113-121
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Dustin Jorgenson
Top Returning Players:
Senior Aiden Truesdale | Point Guard
HM Class C2 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Cole Murdock | 6-foot-1
Honorable Mention Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Junior Houston Hill | 6-foot-4 | Small Forward | Shooting Guard
Honorable Mention Class C2 Lincoln journal Star
