Cooper's Andy Johnson was named the NKAC Division I Player of the Year. Photo provided | Charles Bolton

The northern Kentucky boys basketball coaches have voted on their top 10 teams and players leading into the 2024-25 season.

The regular season gets underway Dec. 2.  

Top 10 teams:

  1. Newport – The Wildcats are the back-to-back 9th Region champions and went 32-4 last season before falling to Campbell County in the first round of the KHSAA State Tournament. Despite the loss of star player Tay Kinney to prep school Overtime Elite in the offseason, they gained Cooper transfer Yamil Rondon and return two starters, James Turner and Griffin Starks, who provided a combined average of 14 points and nine rebounds a game.
  2. Covington Catholic – It will be the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Colonels’ will have a new leader of the program. Replacing head coach Scott Ruthsatz is former CovCath standout Jake Thelen. The team will have to replace Caden Miller, who led the team with 15.3 points and 10.5 rebounds a game and Brady Hussey, who brought in 13.7 points per game. A deep junior class is highlighted by key returners Cash Harney and Athens McGillis, who will be relied on more after combining for 25 points last season.
  3. Cooper – The Jaguars have been so close to adding another 9th Region Championship trophy to their collection, but have fallen to Newport in the title game the last two seasons. With the loss of Yamil Rondon to Newport and Shaun Pouncy to graduation, Andy Johnson will carry the load, averaging 15.3 points a season ago. They also bring back Jaidan Combs and Isaiah Johnson, who started in at least 30 games.
  4. Lloyd Memorial – Coming off a 9th Region tournament semifinal season for a third straight year, the Juggernauts have the pieces to potentially make it further. South Carolina commit EJ Walker comes back after putting up 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds. They also return nearly all of their production from last season, due to just one senior on the team.
  5. Ryle – The Raiders nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the state, going down to the wire with Newport in the quarterfinal round of the 9th Region tournament. The good news for Ryle is that they return three of their five starters, including leading scorer Landon Lorms.
  6. Conner – Due to Matthew Otte stepping down after eight seasons as the head of the Cougars, Nathan Browning comes over from Boone County after winning 9th Region KABC Coach of the Year. Browning will have plenty to work with as 93% of the scoring from last season is back.
  7. Campbell County – The Camels ended George Rogers Clark reign on the 10th Region last season and defeated Newport in the first round of the state tournament before falling to state runner-up Harlan County in the quarterfinals. They do lose key contributors Conner Weinel and Broc Sorgenfrei, but Garyn Jackson, the hero from their postseason run, returns, averaging 11.7 points.
  8. Holy Cross – The Indians are poised for a big season under second-year head coach Ricardo Johnson. They return all but one player and bring back leading scorers Nate Rominger, Will McElheney and Luke Arlinghaus, combining for nearly 40 points a game last season.
  9. Highlands – The Bluebirds lost their top two scorers, Nathan Vinson and Brayden Moeves. Vinny Listerman is expected to take on a bigger role as the top returning scorer.
  10. Simon Kenton – The Pioneers finished runner-up of the 8th Region tournament last season. With the loss of Travis Krohman, Jay Bilton and Bode Stone are two players to keep an eye on. Bilton averaged 10.2 points, Stone 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Top 10 players:

Lloyd Memorial’s EJ Walker will be headed to South Carolina after his senior season. File photo | Charles Bolton

  1. Andy Johnson, Cooper – Johnson had a huge summer, picking up several D-1 offers before committing to the University of Illinois-Chicago. Only playing in 10 games last season due to an injury, he still made an impact with 15.3 points and 6.1 rebounds a game.
  2. EJ Walker, Lloyd Memorial – The South Carolina commit was dominant last season with 16.9 points and 11.1 rebounds a game.
  3. Garyn Jackson, Campbell County – Jackson was the hero for the Camels, knocking down the game-winning shot against Harrison County in the 10th Region Championship to send the team to the KHSAA State Tournament. He averaged 11.7 points, shot 43.4% from three and 64.7% from the field.
  4. James Turner, Newport – Turner has continued to attract D-1 schools, with his most recent offers coming Duquesne and Georgia State, along with a Power 4 offer, Penn State. He averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds last season.
  5. Athens McGillis, Covington Catholic – McGillis was surgical from behind-the-arc a season ago, drilling 58 threes to go with 13.8 points a game.
  6. Yamil Rondon, Newport – Rondon makes his way over from Cooper where he averaged 13 points a game. With Tay Kinney leaving Newport, Rondon’s role potentially expands for the Wildcats.
  7. Cash Harney, Covington Catholic – As the starting quarterback for the football team, Harney will have nearly the load on the basketball team. He averaged 11.7 points last season.
  8. Griffin Starks, Newport – In his first season with the Wildcats, Starks averaged 5.3 points and shot over 50% from the field. The sophomore already has offers from Ohio University and Penn State.
  9. Jack Sullivan, Beechwood – Sullivan comes back as the leading scorer for the Tigers at 15.1 points a game. He also led the team in rebounding with 4.7 rebounds.
  10. Landon Lorms, Ryle – While Lorms has a lot of success on the football field, he isn’t shabby on the basketball court either. Starting all 31 games, he had a team-high average of 16.1 points.

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