The Times boys basketball preview: A look at Flanagan-Cornell, Fieldcrest, Sandwich and our Little Ten teams

With boys basketball season starting across the state Monday, here is a look at the 2024-25 season for teams across The Times coverage area.

Editor’s note: Season previews for Marquette, Woodland, Seneca, Ottawa and Streator’s boys basketball teams appear in separate articles.

Flanagan-Cornell

Coach: Brian Yoder (16th season)

Last season: 20-13 overall, 6-6 Heart of Illinois

Top returners: Logan Ruddy, G, jr.; Connor Reed, G, sr.; Seth Jones, PG, sr.; Mason Rich, G, sr.; Blake Ruddy, F, sr.; Elijah Detwiler, F, sr.

Top newcomers: Rudra Patel, G, sr.; Riley Wallace, G, jr.; Darren Howell, G, jr.; Caleb Fromherz, F, sr.

Worth noting: The Falcons graduated a solid class last season that included Kesler Collins, a career 1,000-point scorer/1,000-rebound club member, but return a strong seven-member senior class. Logan Ruddy (9.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Reed (8.2 ppg, 3.7 apg), Jones (5.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.7 apg) and Rich (last season’s sixth man) will be asked to lead the way for Flanagan-Cornell. “Each player brings something to the table, and they are a close-knit group,” Yoder said. “We hope to pride ourselves on playing solid defense and taking care of the basketball. We have some streaky shooters that are capable of putting the ball in the hole. Our coaching staff is looking forward to the season and we can’t wait to get started.”

Fieldcrest

Coach: Jeremy Hahn (3rd season)

Last season: 33-2 overall, 12-0 Heart of Illinois

Top returners: Ed Lorton, G, sr.; Jordan Heider, G, sr.; Jackson Hakes, C, sr.; Isaac Kpa, F, sr.

Top newcomers: Kash Klendworth, G, jr.; Braden Hahn, G, jr.; Layten Gerdes, G, jr.; Kayden Eilts, F, jr.; Eli Gerdes, G, jr.; Drew Overocker, G, so.

Worth noting: The Knights graduated several key players from last year’s team that set a program record for wins at 33-2 and advanced to a sectional final, but Fieldcrest also returns multiple key contributors. “Like nearly all programs, we have lofty goals each season,” Hahn said. “The players have nearly unanimously said they would like to finish at the top of our conference and go as far as possible in the state tournament.” Lorton (10.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, Times All-Area third teamer) has a shot at 1,000 career points, Heider (5.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.2 spg) “creates so well for others and himself ... and will be a center hub of our offense,” and Klendworth is “a very polished shooter/scorer,” Hahn said. “Offensively, we are working to be an efficient group. With a lot of new faces at the varsity level, we are still working to identify roles and style of play. Spacing and ball movement will be key for us.” He said the Knights are still developing a defensive identity. “We will work toward being able to apply pressure on the ball and hopefully extend that pressure full court,” Hahn said. “Rim protection is also a work in progress and will likely be done by committee. We don’t have a 6-6 guy ready to block a ton of shots, but [we] have some length (6-3 to 6-4) and big bodies who do a good job of maintaining position and rebounding.”

Leland

Coach: Patrick Torman (4th season)

Last season: 8-21 overall, 1-9 Little Ten Conference

Top returners: Gunnar Nelson, G/F, sr.; Geno Schwager, F, sr.; Austin Todd, G/F, sr.; Joe Clifford, G, sr.; Gunnar Swenson, G/F, jr.

Top newcomers: Hayden Spoonmore, G, so.; Declan Brennan, F, so.; Larson Huss, F, so.; Jonah Mason, G, fr.; Cameron Leifheit, G, fr.; Jackson Torman, G, fr.’ Tyler Hickman, F, fr.

Worth noting: The Panthers will most likely lean on Nelson (9.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, Times All-Area honorable mention), Schwager (8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Austin Todd (6.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) this season. “We had a lot of success last season winning eight games, up from two wins the season before,” Torman said. “We look forward to starting the season at the Thanksgiving tournament at Ashton-Franklin Center where we made it to the championship game last year and took home a second-place trophy. We followed that up with a consolation trophy at the LaMoille Christmas Tournament. We have all the tools we need to make this one of the most successful seasons that Leland basketball has seen in a long time.”

Serena

Coach: Dain Twait (11th season)

Last season: 31-4 overall, 10-0 Little Ten Conference

Top returners: Beau Raikes, G, sr., Matthew Farrell, F, sr.; Payton Twait G, jr.

Top newcomers: Blake Hjerpe, F, sr.; Finn Rosengren, F, jr.; Cash Raikes, G/F, jr.; Ian Watkins, G, jr.; Wyatt Stone, F, jr.; Ethan Stark, G, so.; Nolan Muffler, F, so.; Carter Meyer, F, so.; Hendrix Johnson, F, so.; Tucker Whiteaker, G/F, fr.

Worth noting: The Huskers lost four Times all-area members in Tanner Faivre, Carson Baker, Hunter Staton and Richie Armour to graduation off one of the best teams in program history that fell in the sectional finals. Beau Raikes (5.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.9 assists), the fifth starter last season, returns and will be asked to shift to a leadership role. Dain Twait said Farrell (1.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg) is a very steady player, Hjerpe will be a nice addition in the post and his son, Payton (1.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg), will manage the point-guard spot. “Last season was one of the best in Serena history and we lost four really good players, but I expect this season’s upperclassmen to step up,” Dain Twait said. “We’ll also have Finn, Hendrix and Tucker in the post, Cash at a guard, and we expect big things from them. We expect to compete for the conference and a regional championship again. We have different pieces and different players but will still get up and down and still play hard-nosed Husker basketball.”

Somonauk

Coach: Curt Alsvig (6th season)

Last season: 16-16 overall, 5-5 Little Ten Conference

Top returners: Brock Sexton, G, sr.; Weston Hannibal, F, sr.; Silas Johnson, F, sr.; Aldo Resendez, F, sr.; Aiden Hopkins, F, sr.; Landin Stillwell, G, jr.

Top newcomers: Anthony Reynosa, Jeremiah Rhea, Cole Gudmunson, Nolan Kerley, Alex Hoffman, Jordan Arroyo

Worth noting: The Bobcats return Sexton (11.6 ppg, 3.5 apg) and Hannibal (7.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg), along with Johnson, Resendez, Hopkins and Stillwell, all of whom Alsvig expects to lead the way. “I fell we will be competitive in every game and will look to push for the top spots in conference play,” Alsvig said. “This is a great group of young men, and we look forward to starting the season at the inaugural Serena Hardwood Tip-Off Thanksgiving tournament.

Newark

Coach: Kyle Anderson (3rd season)

Last season: 12-20 overall, 6-4 Little Ten Conference

Top returners: Dylan Long, sr.; Payton Wills, sr.; Reggie Chapman, jr.; Cody Kulbartz, jr.

Top newcomers: Jackson Walker, sr.; Austin Reibel, so.; Jimmy Kath, fr.

Worth noting: The Norsemen return four of their best players, including three starters, who finished the season strong, going 9-8 in January and February. Anderson believes that Long will be one of the league’s best players. The 6-foot-3 senior averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists last year. Wills, a 6-2 senior, does a little bit of everything for the Norsemen, with 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals a game as a junior. Chapman, 5-8, is a quick, physical guard, who can shoot the 3. Kulbartz, a 6-5 junior who averaged 3.6 points and 4.3 rebounds, is a tough matchup inside. They’ll be complemented by a couple of young players who will get varsity time. “We have solid length and height with Wills, Kulbartz and Long and should be a very solid shooting team as long as we take good shots,” Anderson said. “Will have some moments of growth as some players adapt to new roles and we play a very tough nonconference schedule but hope to build on last year and try and compete at the top of the conference.”

Earlville

Coach: Gerald Fruit (7th season)

Last season: 28-5 overall, 9-1 Little Ten Conference

Top returners: Adam Waite, F, sr.; Easton Fruit, PG/F, sr.; Gavin Guelde, G/F, sr.

Top newcomers: Grady Harp, G/F, sr.; Adin Hensley, G, jr.; Landen Tirevold, G, jr.; Jonathan Anderson, F, jr.; Scott Brandt, G/F, jr.; Colton Fruit, G, so.; Brock Yarbrough, G/F, so.; Logan May, F/C, so.; Hunter Schubbe, G/F, so.

Worth noting: The Red Raiders lost three starters and their top two scorers from last year’s team that set a program record for wins but do return a pair of starters in Waite and Easton Fruit. “We have players coming back with experience, and we have some players up and down the roster who are wanting to have a successful year and are working hard to achieve our goals,” Gerald Fruit said. “I believe we will be competitive this year. I would like to see us have 20-plus wins, finish top three in the Little Ten and do well in tournaments.” Waite (10.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg) is expected to be an offensive leader along with Easton Fruit and Guelde. “I believe we will have a disciplined offense,” Gerald Fruit said. Defensively, he expects to “not let the other team get anything easy.” “I believe we are a team that will grow as the year goes on. While we have experience, I believe some of the less experienced players will develop and contribute during the season.”

Sandwich

Coach: Matt Chalfin (1st season)

Last season: 18-13 overall, 10-4 Kishwaukee River Conference

Top returners: Dom Rome, F, sr.; Quinn Rome, C, sr.; Simeion Harris, G, sr.; Brady Behringer, F, jr.

Other returners: Griffin Somlock, G, jr.; Diego Gomez, G, sr.; Nick Michalek, G, jr.; Noah Campbell, G/F, sr.; Jyff Baran, G, sr.

Top newcomers: EJ Treptow, F, so.; Kai Pon, G, sr.; Nolan Oros, G, jr.

Worth noting: Chalfin took over as head coach in September. The 2011 Sandwich graduate who played at his alma mater coached freshman and JV in Plano the past few years and before that coached at the middle school level in Mendota. He takes over a Sandwich program that returns four of five starters from a team that finished third in the KRC and looks to compete for a league championship. The Indians bring back a wealth of size, three players 6-foot-5 and over, but need to develop steady guard play after graduating all-conference guard Chance Lange. Dom Rome was an all-conference pick as a junior, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds. Twin brother Quinn Rome averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds, Harris 6 points and 4 rebounds and Behringer 4 points and 4 rebounds. Chalfin calls Harris and Behringer game changers defensively who will both look for more scoring opportunities. “A lot of senior leadership on this team with returning juniors that played good minutes as sophomores last year,” Chalfin said. “Look for Griffin Somlock and Nick Michalek to provide a scoring spark and the Rome twins to be our steady presence in the paint. Great mix of talent looking to compete for a conference championship and regional championship.”