The 32nd boys basketball district has had two constants over the last decade, Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona at the top of it.
The Pioneers have won six district titles over the last 10 seasons, the Bearcats with four. In only four of those years, the two haven’t seen one another in the district title game.
Will it be the same for the 2025-26 season?
Here’s a look at the district below:
Simon Kenton (24-7 in 2024-25)
The Pioneers lost to eventual state semifinalist South Oldham at the buzzer in the region tournament and now look at replacing six of their top nine in the rotation due to either graduation or transfer.
They also won’t have the luxury of funneling things in defensively to a sizeable big like Gabe Dynes or Bode Stone like they have the past few years. Still won’t change much for the Pioneers in Independence.
“No doubt those guys really take up space but we will continue our style of play,” Pioneers coach Trent Steiner said.
They’ll look to continue to be stingy defensively, allowing just 45.5 points per game last season while letting it fly offensively, averaging nearly 20 three-point attempts per game, which accounted for 40% of their shots.
As far as replacing what was lost, that starts with Braylon Bilton, expected to have a big breakout junior season. Bilton started to take on a bigger role towards the end of his sophomore campaign and will see an even bigger role this year. The twitchy guard is the younger brother of recent graduate Jay Bilton, who manned the point guard position for years for the Pioneers.
“He has done everything physically to prepare himself,” Steiner said. “We have a few other players that will help him out too.”
Eddie Marx and Will Scobee will be two others Steiner will lean on. The two bring perimeter shooting, combining to knock down 70 trey balls last season.
Christian Bounds, Noah Hardcorn, Xavier Lindenschmidt and Aidan Thomas should also fill in the rotation. Liam Heeger, Billy Dennis and Nolan Stone will also vie for playing time.
One thing that Steiner hasn’t had to worry about? Motivation. After seeing their season end at the buzzer to the Dragons in the region tournament, they’re hungry to get back to their 2024-25 level, even if it comes with a lot of turnover.
“No doubt the ending hurt pretty bad,” Steiner said. “We have kids that want to play and now its their turn. Everyone thinks that winning is easy. From outside it might even appear to be, but the people in the arena, so to say, have to figure out what works for them and this years team. The people that have come before them have laid the foundation and set the expectations; its this teams turn to build on it.”
As the page turns to a new year, Steiner feels the key is players buying into their roles whole heartedly, something he says he’s been blessed with over the last several years.
Walton-Verona (21-13 in 2024-25)
The program’s all-time leading scorer is gone as are a seven-member graduating class, but the cupboard isn’t necessarily bare for the 2025-26 season for the Bearcats.
Aaron Gutman took his 2,050 points, 675 rebounds and 143 three-pointers made to the University of Evansville. So did 73% of the offensive output amongst all the seniors that graduated.
They do return four from a nine-man rotation in Adam Gutman (Aaron’s younger brother), Wyatt Shearer, Duece Shearer and Cole Dryden.
Tatum Thornberry, Blake Gamble and Kolton Searp will also fill in important roles this season. Of the seven mentioned, don’t expect any of them to be the Aaron Gutman role as the featured scorer on a nightly basis.
“This should be a very balanced group,” Hester said. “I believe any of our top seven guys could lead us in scoring on any given night. Two years ago, we had five guys average nearly 10 points per game or more and I think we could see that happen again with this year’s team.”
Collective efforts is what it will take for the Bearcats to be successful this year. One in which the goals remain the same…make a run at an All “A” state title and position themselves for the district tournament where they’ll have a chance to play at Henry County for the region tournament.
As far as their consistent fast pace of play they’ve continued to roll out over the years? That won’t change either.
“Our team identity has always been built around playing with pace and creating as many quality possessions as possible,” Hester said. “That won’t change. We want to get out in transition to get layups or threes.”
Grant County (10-18 in 2024-25)
The Braves are coming off a 10-18 season and lost three seniors in Brett Jones first season at the helm.
They’ll look to lean on Nathaneal Hamm and Braylen Flamini as the top scoring returnees. Braiden Beach, Trent Blake and Cade Wagner also return as rotational pieces from a season ago.
While the Braves have been unable to win a district title since 2015, they’ve reached the championship game three times in that span, the last one coming in 2023.
Williamstown (5-25 in 2024-25)
Coming off a five-win campaign last year, the Demons lose leading scorer Owen Taylor and three other seniors. Expected returning leading scorer JaVonte Yangoua is also not on the KHSAA roster.
The Demons will be young, with just one junior on the roster mixed in with two sophomores, eight freshman and five middle schoolers.