By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports writer
The high school basketball teams that won 9th Region championships last March were voted No. 1 in coaches polls for the upcoming 2023-24 season that gets under way in 19 days.
Cooper took the top spot on 14 of 15 ballots submitted to the NKyTribune by girls basketball coaches. Newport was the top vote-getter in a poll conducted by the Northern Kentucky Boys Basketball Coaches Association in October.
Both teams won a region title last season with mostly underclassmen in the starting lineup, but their leading scorers did graduate. Whitney Lind of Cooper was recruited by Lehigh University and Marquez Miller of Newport is now at Georgetown College.
Newport’s top returning starters are guards Taylen Kinney and Jabari Covington and forward James Turner, who were all voted among the top 10 boys players in Northern Kentucky by local coaches.
Kinney, a 6-foot point guard, was tabbed as the area’s top player. He’s being recruited by several Division I college teams, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, Illinois, Dayton, Louisville, Cincinnati and Xavier.
The Cooper girls have four returning seniors who saw action in every varsity game over the last two seasons when the Jaguars won back-to-back region titles. Two of those senior veterans — Liz Freihofer and Logan Palmer — have played in more than 100 varsity games since they were eighth-graders.
Freihofer, who was named most valuable player in the 9th Region tournament last season, has accepted a scholarship offer from Eastern Kentucky University.
The other girls teams among the top five in the coaches poll are Ryle, Holy Cross, Notre Dame and Highlands. Last season, Ryle was 9th Region runner-up and Holy Cross was the All “A” Classic small-school state champion.
Simon Kenton, the 8th Region girls champion last season under first-year head coach Brenden Stowers, was voted No. 6 by the coaches. The Pioneers have four of the five starters back from that title-winning team.
In the boys poll, Covington Catholic was voted No. 2 followed by Cooper, Lloyd and Highlands. In the 2023 9th Region tournament, Cooper won close games against Highlands and CovCath to reach the final and lost to Newport on a last-second shot.
One of the season opening boys games on Nov. 27 will be No. 6 Simon Kenton at No. 2 CovCath. That game will feature two coaches among the leaders on the Northern Kentucky career wins list. Scott Ruthsatz has a 337-73 record in 12 seasons at CovCath. Trent Steiner has a 321-261 record in 20 seasons at Simon Kenton.
N. Ky. high school basketball preseason coaches polls
GIRLS TOP 10 TEAMS
(First place votes in parentheses)
1 – Cooper (14) 149, 2 – Ryle (1) 131, 3 – Holy Cross 115, 4 – Notre Dame 100, 5 – Highlands 88, 6 – Simon Kenton 66, 7 – Dixie Heights 57, 8 – Conner 55, 9 – Newport Central Catholic 19, 10 – Campbell County 16. Others receiving votes: St. Henry 14, Walton-Verona 9, Brossart 4, Scott 1, Boone County 1.
BOYS TOP 10 TEAMS
1 – Newport, 2 – Covington Catholic, 3 – Cooper, 4 – Lloyd, 5 – Highlands, 6 – Simon Kenton, 7 – Campbell County, 8 – Newport Central Catholic, 9 – Scott, 10 – Ryle.
BOYS TOP 10 PLAYERS
1 – Tay Kinney (Newport), 2 – EJ Walker (Lloyd), 3 – Yamil Rondon (Cooper), 4 – Nathan Vinson (Highlands), 5 – Brady Hussey (CovCath), 6 – Travis Krohman (Simon Kenton), 7 – Shaun Pouncey (Cooper), 8 – James Turner (Newport), 9 – Jabari Covington (Newport), 10 – Henry Thole (Villa Madonna).