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 Western Trails Conference projections for 2025-26.
Following a 63-55 loss to Sidney in the Class C1-10 Subdistrict Final last February, Sean Sterkel's Bridgeport boys basketball team went to overtime with eventual Class C1 runner-up Omaha Concordia before falling 54-47 to conclude the season with an 18-9 record despite the two-game skid that followed 11 straight wins.
Following a long off season, the Bulldogs look like a team that could go a long way in 2025-26. Sterkel returns juniors Hayes Watts and Landon Dean and senior Gage Nein after all three were pegged as First Team All-Western Trails Conference honorees.
Seniors Nik Weibert and Logan Levick both received Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference honors a year ago. Watts returns after averaging 13.2 points and 3.4 rebounds last winter while adding 55 assists, 31 steals and a couple of blocked shots to his stat line.
Nein bolstered the Bulldog attack with 11.1 points and 3.1 boards a contest and 85 assists, 52 steals and five blocked shots on the year while Dean added 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game to go with 32 assists, 25 steals and seven blocked shots. Weibert and Levick, meanwhile, combined for 10.8 points and 7.9 boards a contest a year ago.
If there is another club in the Western Trails Conference that can push Bridgeport, or even knock them down a peg, it appears to be Kimball who returns a strong roster of its own following a 17-9 campaign in 2024-25.
Senior Ryker Behrend returns as Trevor Anderson's leading scorer after the 5-foot-9 guard ripped the cords for 10.9 points and 3.0 rebounds a contest while contributing 64 assists, 45 steals and a blocked shot. Senior Trevor Fuss posted a stat line that included 10.4 points and 3.9 boards a game and 51 assists and 34 steals and a blocked shot on the year.
Senior Braxton Miller and junior Greg Bingham, meanwhile, combined for 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds a contest a year ago.
Enough of my rambling. Enjoy!
Boys Western Trails Conference
Bridgeport (18-9)
Kimball (17-9)
Mitchell (10-14)
Hemingford (13-10)
Gordon-Rushville (6-17)
Bayard (6-17)
Morrill (16-9)
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:
Junior Hayes Watts | 5-foot-8 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
13.2 Points | 3.4 Rebounds | 55 Assists | 31 Steals | 2 Blocked Shots
HM Class C1 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C1 Lincoln Journal Star
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Gage Nein | 5-foot-10 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
11.1 Points | 3.1 Rebounds | 85 Assists | 52 Steals | 5 Blocked Shots
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Junior Landon Dean | 6-foot-3 | Center | Power Forward
10.3 Points | 6.7 Rebounds | 32 Assists | 25 Steals | 7 Blocked Shots
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Nik Weibert | 5-foot-9 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
3.9 Points | 2.1 Rebounds | 33 Assists | 37 Steals | 0 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Logan Levick | 6-foot-1 | Shooting Guard | Forward
6.9 Points | 5.8 Rebounds | 27 Assists | 25 Steals | 9 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
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
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Braxton Miller | 6-foot-1 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
8.9 Points | 3.2 Rebounds | 61 Assists | 45 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
First Team All-Western Trails Conference
Senior Trevor Fuss | 5-foot-9 | Point Guard | Shooting Guard
10.4 Points | 3.9 Rebounds | 51 Assists | 34 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Junior Greg Bingham | Small Forward | Power Forward
3.4 Points | 4.0 Rebounds | 15 Assists | 21 Steals | 5 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
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
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 Trails Conference
Junior Michael Plesencio | Guard | Small Forward
6.0 Points | 2.3 Rebounds | 66 Assists | 44 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
Honorable Mention 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
Hemingford
2024-25 Record: 13-10
Record Over Past Decade: 126-106
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Shannon Brennan Vogel
Top Returning Players:
Junior Tayten Haas | 6-foot
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Junior Carson Haas
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Gordon-Rushville
2024-25 Record: 6-17
Record Over Past Decade: 131-98
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Randy Hurlburt
Top Returning Players:
Senior Daniel Martins | 6-foot-1 | Shooting Guard
13.2 Points | 6.2 Rebounds | 91 Assists | 69 Steals | 6 Blocked Shots
HM Class C2 Omaha World Herald | HM Class C2 Lincoln Journal Star
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Sophomore Braylon Holston | 6-foot-1 | Forward
11.7 Points | 8.7 Rebounds | 7 Assists | 13 Steals | 13 Blocked Shots
Junior Kannon Leeper | 5-foot-10 | Shooting Guard | Point Guard
6.7 Points | 2.0 Rebounds | 66 Assists | 39 Steals | 7 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Bayard
2024-25 Record: 6-17
Record Over Past Decade: 98-131
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Michael Simons
Top Returning Players:
Senior Anderson Gaarder | 6-foot-3 | Small Forward
7.3 Points | 6.3 Rebounds | 16 Assists | 38 Steals | 7 Blocked Shots
Junior Connor Posey | 6-foot | Forward
7.8 Points | 5.8 Rebounds | 45 Assists | 22 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Sophomore Wyatt Edmunds | 6-foot-2 | Small Forward
7.5 Points | 6.6 Rebounds | 7 Assists | 20 Steals | 12 Blocked Shots
Senior Noah Manka | 6-foot | Shooting Guard | Small Forward
7.8 Points | 3.0 Rebounds | 35 Assists | 35 Steals | 3 Blocked Shots
Honorable Mention All-Western Trails Conference
Morrill
2024-25 Record: 16-9
Record Over Past Decade: 108-117
2024-25 Postseason: Did Not Qualify
Head Coach: Terry Lofink
Top Returning Players:
Junior TJ Munroe | 6-foot | Small Forward
1.7 Points | 3.2 Rebounds | 10 Assists | 29 Steals | 4 Blocked Shots
Senior Jackson Adkins | 6-foot-3
1.2 Points | 2.0 Rebounds | 7 Assists | 10 Steals | 1 Blocked Shot
Senior Patrick Owens | 5-foot-9 | Power Forward
1.8 Points | 0.2 Rebounds | 1 Assist | 0 Steals | 0 Blocked Shots
