2025 Tournament Day 1 Previews
Loveland vs Badin
11/28 12:30 pm
Badin was 19-7 a year ago while Loveland was 17-9. Both teams were district champions; Loveland in Division II and Badin in Division III. And, both squads return significant firepower from those squads.
Coach Ben Cosgrove will be in his first season at the helm for Badin, taking over for C.J. Fleming, who is now head coach at Mason. Cosgrove has been in the Badin system for 10 years, and he’ll see a lot of familiar faces. The Rams return 10 players from last season’s district championship team, plus two others who sat out last season. In all Badin will have 12 seniors on this year’s roster. Eli Stroud was starting point guard last year while averaging 9 points per game. Carson Lowe was last year’s leading rebounder while averaging 7 ppg. Chandler Tyler, an Alabama baseball recruit, was the teams’ best defender.
Coach Rob Reis enters his 11th year at Loveland. He has three starters returning from last year’s district championship team who will look to lead the team this year. Chase Martin is a 6’1” senior who led the Tigers with 17.7 points a game last year. Blake Carrington averaged 9 and Jewel Vorbroker 8 a game a year ago.
This game should be a great opener for the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic. Both teams are coming off good seasons and return key players, so expectations are high. Both teams play in tough conferences so they are used to playing hard, physical games. Both teams have some guys who can shoot. It should be an exciting, intense, tight battle.
Lakota East vs Chaminade Julienne
11/28 2:15 pm
Lakota East and Chaminade Julienne both played in the original Ohio Valley Hoops Classic in 2014 at Wilmington College, and East has made 8 appearances overall, while CJ has made 5. But, they have never met each other in the event, and in fact, this may be only the second ever meeting despite the two schools being in pretty close proximity.
Chaminade has a rich tradition having won two state championships, and making eight final four appearances, the latest coming in 2023. Charlie Czabo’s team finished 15-9 a year ago including wins over highly regarded Wyoming and Trotwood Madison. The Eagles graduated five seniors, but Coach Czabo is excited about this year’s team. CJ will be led by a pair of 6’3” wings in Chase Jones and Anthony Clemons. Caden Hatcher played major minutes last year and will take over at point guard. Czabo expects guards Deng Majack and Reco Vaughn, both 6’2”, to be impact players. And, as always, the Eagles will bring their trademark tenacious defense to the battle.
Coach Clint Adkins’ Thunderhawks were 17-8 a year ago. Guard Trey Perry took his immense talents to Miami of Ohio. But, Adkins is excited about his young group. Sophomore guard Brady Bowman is a hard-nosed player who is receiving some looks from D-1 programs. JJ Smith is a 6’4” soph with lots of potential. Ashton Washburn, Brody Hayes, and Isaiah King all played last year and will be expected to step into bigger roles. Senior Luke Shaw returns after missing last season with an injury. And, like CJ, you know the Hawks will be bringing the defensive energy.
Both coaches highly respect the opponent. And both coaches fully expect it to be a battle. Judging from previous OVHC appearances, it is safe to assume they are correct!
Taft vs Maysville
11/28 4:00 pm
Maysville won the school’s first state championship last season as they took home the Division IV title. In 2024 the Panthers lost in the state finals to Alter. The Panthers return their entire starting lineup from last year’s team, and they will have their sights set squarely on a third straight appearance in the finals. Their opponent, the Taft Senators, are no strangers to the state tournament. The Senators’ most recent appearance came in 2022 when they took home a Division III state title. Needless to say, this is a big time showdown, as both teams now compete in Division IV and could very well meet again in March.
Maysville is led by 2025 Division IV player of the year, Gator Nichols. The 6’0” senior guard is a great shooter and passer, and a fearless competitor. He has several Division II offers and is getting some looks from Mid Majors. Jordyn Watson, Cane Roerhig, and Landon Iden all started a year ago, and all have offers from Division III schools.
Taft finished last season at 16-7, and they return seven of the top eight scorers from that team including 6’4” guard Keion Griffin who earned first-team all-state honors last season as a sophomore. Fellow junior, Monsana Torbert a 6’2” guard, was honorable mention all state last year. Lorenzo McMullen, Jo Jo Pouncy, Kingston Ross, Jaionte Jones, and Herman Walker all played major minutes. Antawn Hinton, a first-team CMAC player at Aiken last season, is now at Taft and expected to play a key role.
This game has all the makings of a highly entertaining contest. Both teams are capable of playing on the last weekend of the season. Both teams have talent. Both teams like to play fast. Both teams are well-coached. It is exactly the kind of game that the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic loves!
Mt. Vernon-Fortville vs Lebanon
11/28 5:45 pm
The most anticipated individual matchup of the entire event may take place in this game. Mt. Vernon is led by Purdue commit Luke Ertel, considered by many to be the best senior in Indiana. Ertel led the Marauders in nearly every category last year averaging 22.7ppg, 6.4 reb., 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals. He turned heads when he scored 36 points in leading the Indiana Jr. all-stars to a victory over the Indiana senior all-stars last summer. Lebanon has its own do everything star in 6’1” sophomore JaShawn Coffey. Like Ertel, he led his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals on the season. And, also like Ertel, he turned heads on the summer circuit. The super soph already holds offers from several mid-major programs and is being courted by high major teams.
Ertel and Coffey won’t be playing alone, however. Mt. Vernon is coming off a 21-6 season which saw them advance to the state semi-finals before falling in a one possession game to eventual state champion Jeffersonville. Along with Ertel, the Marauders return two other starters in 5’10” senior Elijah Parra and 6’7” junior Max Vise. (Parra will not be available in the OVHC) Lebanon was 13-11 a year ago, losing to St. Xavier in the district finals. Along with Coffey, seniors Luke Faler, Jack Sako, and junior Logan Schmenk all played major minutes last season.
Both coaches are excited for their first ever appearance in the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic, and both voiced lots of respect for their opponents. ‘Mt. Vernon is a very good team, and there is a reason Luke Ertel is going to Purdue’, said Lebanon Coach Nathan Chivington. Mt. Vernon Coach Joe Bradburn said, ‘We look forward to coming to a high level event in our neighboring state and competing against a quality opponent’.
(In an amusing twist, Mt. Vernon will play Lebanon, Ohio on Friday in the OVHC then take on Lebanon, Indiana back in the Hoosier state on Saturday night)
Little Miami vs Fairfield
11/28 7:30 pm
Fairfield and Little Miami will close out the Friday session of the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic. Both teams find themselves in somewhat similar situations. Both teams finished the regular season at 15-7 last year. Little Miami lost to Princeton in their first playoff game, while Fairfield won three postseason games before losing to Lakota West in the Regional finals. Each team was hit hard by graduation, and both will be seeing how this year’s squad will shape up when they hit the floor at Mason Arena.
For Fairfield, Riley Cunningham, Peyton Jones, Jake Akbar, and Trevor Davids played significant minutes last season, but none averaged more than 3.2 points per game. 6’8” Demaceo Bronston also returns, but likely won’t play in the OVHC due to injury. For Little Miami, junior Cade Wojnicz averaged 7.1 points per game. 6’3” senior Max Green played significant minutes last season.
Both teams will look to newcomers to provide firepower this season. For Scott Kerr’s Panthers, senior Jase Hatte can be a major factor if he can stay healthy. Junior Adam Tarnowski has a good upside. According to Coach Kerr, freshman Austin Stahl will likely be a scholarship player at some point and could be a major contributor this year. At Fairfield, coach D.J. Wyrick thinks three transfers could make a big impact this year. 6’4” senior Phil Emory averaged 10 points per game at Colerain last season. 6’0” senior Cam Arrington averaged 15 a game at Milford. 6’5 sophomore Caiden Jones scored 5 a game at Hamilton. If Wyrick can successfully integrate the newcomers with the holdovers, Fairfield could have another great year.
Whichever team has jelled the most under veteran coaches Kerr and Wyrick will have the advantage in this early season matchup.