Highlands seeks its first boys 36th District title in nearly four years, while defending champion Newport copes with losing two more top players.
Bellevue hired a coach from within, and Newport Central Catholic and Dayton deal with major graduation losses.
District games to watch include: Highlands at NewCath, Jan. 24; Highlands at Newport, Feb. 6; and two Bellevue-Dayton meetings – Jan. 5 at Dayton and Feb. 3 at Bellevue’s Ben Flora Gym.
Here’s a look at the district:
Newport (19-11 in 2024-25)
The Wildcats have won the last three district titles, and head coach Rod Snapp is having fun.
“We have a really good group of kids, and they’re sponges, and they’re just taking everything in,” Snapp said.
This summer, however, was maybe not so enjoyable – James Turner and Griffin Starks joined former Wildcat Taylen Kinney in leaving Newport for high-level prep school programs. Turner and Starks averaged 14.2 and 10.8 points a game, respectively.
“It’s unlike anything that probably anybody’s ever experienced at any high school,” Snapp said “I would say you lose three kids like that, of course it’s going to hurt, and especially when you lose size like that, it’s 6-8, 6-9. But with that being said, we’ve definitely 100% moved forward.”
Junior Amontae Lowe is back; he averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.
Lowe has been a backup to Kinney and former Wildcats Jabari Covington and Deshaun Jackson – mainstays on the Newport teams that won the Ninth Region in 2023 and 2024.
“Let’s see what (Lowe) does this year,” Snapp said. “The expectation for him … is high.”
Senior Irvan Nichols averaged 4.4 points last year. He transferred to Holy Cross in late July – and then returned to Newport a few weeks later.
“He’s a wiry, lefty, athletic kid,” Snapp said. ”And hopefully, he’s locked in at Newport, and hopefully he’s going to get everything he has and have a decent senior year.”
The Wildcats also added some size in 6-4 senior Davae Andrews-Glover, who transferred from Lockland.
Highlands (18-13 in 2024-25)
In the 1990s, Kevin and brother Andy Listerman played for their father, Covington Catholic assistant coach Mike Listerman – part of a Colonels team that won the Ninth Region in 1992.
Kevin Listerman is the dad/coach now, and he’ll experience what Mike did decades ago – his sons, senior Vinny and sophomore Dom are together.
“I don’t know about dreaming about it, but I know I’m very blessed to have both of them on the bench this year,” Kevin said. “I’m excited because I got to live it from the son and brother perspective, and now I get the good fortune to live it from the father perspective.”
Kevin Listerman says Dom and Vinny compete against each other – just like he and Andy did decades ago.
“You know, they know how to push each other’s buttons and push them in the right way,” Kevin said. “And, you know, I know that they are each other’s biggest fans.”
A season ago, the Bluebirds had no seniors. This year, there are seven, and three averaged in double figures with another knocking on the door – Finn Bouldin (13.2 points a game), Nathan Rickard (12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and a 69% field goal percentage) and Vinny Listerman (10. 3 points). Owen Ebert averaged 9.3 points a game.
Highlands hasn’t won the district since 2022; the Bluebirds finished second to Newport the last three years. Listerman said trusting the “process” – giving the best effort every day, adding value by doing things you don’t see in the stat sheets, and remembering it’s a long season with ups and downs aplenty – is the main objective.
“And I think we’re going to surprise some people with the way that our guys have grown since the end of last season,” Listerman said. “Not necessarily physically, but just in their understanding of the game and how they play together. And you know, hopefully those things translate to late-game toughness and finding the ways to win close games that maybe last year we didn’t quite finish.”
Bellevue (10-20 in 2024-25)
The Tigers didn’t have to search far to find their new coach – Tommy Sorrell was Bellevue’s girls coach for 17 seasons from 2008-25. The decision to coach the boys was easy – especially since his children, TJ and Taytem – graduated.
“With them graduating, I just thought it was the best time for me to step down,” Sorrell said. “And then the boys’ job came open, and so I talked to my wife and we talked about it. And I ended up applying for the boys’ job and getting it.”
Bellevue’s offense slid last year from 66.5 points a game in 2023-24 to 49.6, and the defense allowed 61.1.
There’s some good news. Bellevue’s top four scorers are back: seniors Arion Stuckey (11.3 points and a team-high 11.2 rebounds), Adam Kues (9.9 points) and Tristan Woodyard (8.9 points) and sophomore Jordan Watson (8.9 points).
“What a lot of people will know is how great of a shooter (Stuckey) is,” Sorrell said. “He’s a great three-point shooter. He’s got great hands, great feet, so we plan to use him inside-outside this year.”
Defensively, look for Bellevue to play mostly man-to-man. Sorrell said senior Deriance Roper and junior Reggie Rolland are good on-ball defenders.
Bellevue has four goals this season: a winning record, win the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference Division III tournament, win the Ninth Region All “A”, and reach the postseason regional.
“These next few weeks, they’re going to be drinking out of a fire hose, so to speak,” Sorrell said. “Just learning new terminology, new philosophies, offenses, defenses, sets.
Newport Central Catholic (12-17 in 2024-25)
Fifth-year coach Jake Luhn is selfish, but in a good way.
Luhn was in Campbellsville Nov. 21 watching the Thoroughbred football team in the Class A quarterfinals, but he’s happy to wait for his entire roster won’t be complete until after the basketball season starts Dec. 2 against Walton-Verona.
“We won’t get football back at your earliest right before our first game, but I’m rooting for them,” Luhn said. “Hopefully we don’t even get them until after games have started. You know, selfishly, obviously, I want them all the time, but I want them to go finish 15 years of football on a high note and then come join us.”
NewCath’s biggest challenge is replacing five of last season’s top seven scorers, but Luhn sees positives.
“This will be our most inexperienced group since I’ve been here in terms of actual varsity minutes,” Luhn said. “But they have a chance to be our most skilled group … Our goal is very extraordinary effort with a discipline that allows us to be connected on both sides of the ball.”
Senior Jack Gearding leads the returning players with 8.3 points (including 36.2% of his 3-pointers) a game, and senior John Luhn averaged 4.8 rebounds.
Two senior football players, Eddie Bivens and Will Sandfoss (who has committed to Marshall), return to basketball after skipping last season. Joining them are a pair of Highlands transfers, Thomas Messmer and Jack Stevie, with juniors Luke Louder and TJ Ruschman battling for impactful minutes.
Luhn calls the early games “the messy middle.”
“Everything we do is going to be focused on playing our best basketball in February,” Luhn said. “It’s just going to take some time for us to pull together the newcomers, the football players, and then obviously, those that have been practicing with us.”
Dayton (6-25 in 2025 last season)
The Greendevils got a late start – much of the team played football, and full-squad practice didn’t begin until this week.
It’s been a rough time at Dayton – no winning season since 2011-12’s 14-13 record and a 2-12 start last year with no two-game winning streaks. Coach Darian Witherspoon seems undaunted.
“I know we got some guys with chips on their shoulders, and we know down here, we’re always doubted it and other schools call us to get get wins, but we’re good to prove them wrong,” Witherspoon said.
What Dayton wants won’t be easily attainable – last year’s top five scorers graduated. Witherspoon has high hopes for his sophomores, including Malachi Kennedy (4.6 points, 3.6 rebounds) and Mykah Foster (4.0 and 2.2), who are the top two returnees in both categories.
If you didn’t notice Kennedy’s football numbers, you weren’t paying attention – he ran for 1,509 yards and 18 touchdowns, caught 40 passes for another 656 and five scores and made 58 tackles.
“Athletic-wise, you look at the kid and he looks like a senior,” Witherspoon said. He’s already filled out and stuff like that.”
Foster ran for 467 rushing yards and five touchdowns, added 274 receiving with another five scores, and made 45 tackles.
“Mykah Foster, I think, could take a tremendous leap this year as well,” Witherspoon said. “… and he’s just always wanting to be in the gym, getting better.”
Witherspoon said junior Anthony Hull could have a good year.
“He had a little growth spurt,” Witherspoon said. “He played basketball all spring all summer, and he’s just really been in the gym.”