By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cutting down the nets after winning the 9th Region boys basketball championship game is a thrill five seniors on the current Covington Catholic team have never experienced. The Colonels lost in the region semifinals the last three years and watched the title games from the stands.
That’s not supposed to happen this season, according to a preseason poll of Northern Kentucky coaches. They all voted CovCath as the No. 1 team in the area and expect the Colonels to carry off the 9th Region championship trophy in March.
CovCath has three senior starters returning from last season when the team finished with a 24-8 record. All three of them had double-figure scoring averages with shooting guard Athen McGillis providing 20.6 points per game followed by senior point guard Cash Harney at 15.8 and senior forward Donovan Bradshaw at 12.4.
The addition of transfer student Braeden Myrick put another proven scorer in the CovCath lineup. The junior guard averaged 19.1 points per game for Mason County last season with 107 of his 202 field goals coming on 3-point shots.
CovCath coach Jake Thelen has high expectations for the “elite trio” he’ll have in the backcourt.
“All three can score from all three levels, make plays for others, and bring a high basketball IQ,” Thelen said. “Just as important, they’re all accustomed to winning and competing at a high level.”
McGillis was voted Northern Kentucky’s top player in the preseason coaches poll. He made a verbal commitment with Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, the team that won the 2025 NCAA Division II championship.
Harney and Bradshaw, who were also voted among the area’s top 10 players, missed most of preseason practice because they were on the CovCath football team that made it to the third round of the state playoffs this month.
Dylan Gaiser and Cash Myers are also making the late transition from football to basketball. Thelen said both of those guards “bring a hard-nosed, physical edge with their defense, rebounding, and competitiveness.” Junior guard Teegan Stava is another experienced player in the CovCath rotation.
Here’s a rundown of the other teams voted among the top 10 in the Northern Kentucky preseason coaches poll:
2. Holy Cross Indians
With the top three scorers returning from last year’s 17-12 team that made it to the 9th Region tournament, Holy Cross coach Ric Johnson expects a more successful season.
The Indians’ offense will once again revolve around Luke Arlinghaus, Brady Gabbard and Nate Rominger, three seniors who averaged 12.9, 12.7 and 12.6 points per game.
Rominger also averaged 8.2 rebounds while Arlinghaus and Gabbard made a combined total of 103 3-point goals. Max Hunt, a 6-foot-5, 235 pound junior, is another varsity veteran the team can rely on.
Last season, Holy Cross lost five games by margins of five points or less, including a 50-47 loss to Newport in the region tournament. The Indians appear to have the talent and experience to reverse that trend this season.
3. Highlands Bluebirds
The Bluebirds have gone 0-4 in 9th Region tournament games since winning state and region championships in 2021, but this year’s team could be title contender.
Coach Kevin Listerman has four of the top five scorers back from last year’s 18-13 team that had the highest points-per-game average (71.8) in Northern Kentucky and averaged 7.1 3-point shots goals game.
The returning players listed with their scoring averages are senior forward Nathan Rickard (12.2) and senior guards Finn Bouldin (13.2), Vinny Listerman (10.3) and Owen Ebert (9.3). Listerman, the coach’s son, is a three-year starter at point guard.
“With the experience this group has, and the complementary skill sets of our guys, I expect to push the pace even more this year,” coach Listerman said. “We have a hungry group who wants to put their stamp on our program.”
4. Conner Cougars
Three players with double-figure scoring averages carried Conner to an 18-10 record last season, but the only one returning is senior Finn Louden, who averaged a team-high 17 points and shot 49 percent from the field.
“Great young man who consistently just gets it done,” Conner coach Nate Browning said of Louden. “Very tough and one of the most fierce competitors I have ever coached.”
The Cougars’ other senior veterans are center Holten Raider and guards Logan Back and Brady Bushman, who averaged 7.7 points last season. Tyler Warner heads the list of underclassmen.
“We have a great group of young men who give 110% every single day,” Browning said. “If we can continue buying in every day and working to get better individually and as a team, the sky is the limit for us.”
5. Ryle Raiders
The Raiders made it to the 9th Region tournament the last two years with Landon Lorms as the team’s scoring leader, but he graduated last spring.
The returning starters on coach Nick Dorning’s roster are 6-foot-5 senior post player AJ Davis, junior shooting guard Holden Smith and senior point guard Anthony Coppola, who has been on the varsity team since he was an eighth-grader.
“Anthony is an excellent facilitator of the ball,” said Dorning. “He is a strong, committed defender and his basketball acumen is high.”
Last season, Coppola averaged 10.5 points followed by Davis at 9.7 and Holden at 8.3. They also provided a combined total of 12.4 rebounds per game to help the Raiders post a 16-13 record.
“Our guys appear to have a great chemistry and feel for each other, and they compete at a high-level in practice,” Dorning said.
6. Campbell County Camels
During his exceptional freshman season, Austin Davie posted team-high averages of 17.9 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 52.2 percent from the field for 22-10 Campbell County.
“Austin is an extremely skilled player who is only getting better,” coach Brent Sowder said of the 6-foot-6 swing player. “He can score at all three levels and is improving defensively.”
The Camels’ top returning senior is 6-foot-4 forward Lucas Anthrop, who averaged 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds. Braden Elam is a 6-foot-8 junior who provides a presence in the paint at both ends of the floor.
In the backcourt, sophomore Cade Anthrop appears to be the leading candidate for point guard. Xander Guy is another sophomore who will see more playing time.
Cade is a physical guard who can finish with contact,” Sowder said. “Xander does a little it of everything.”
7. Simon Kenton Pioneers
The playing time Braylon Bilton got as a sophomore starter last season makes him the centerpiece that coach Troy Steiner will build a team around for the upcoming season.
Bilton averaged 7.3 points and shot 47.2 percent from the field as a backup guard for the Pioneers, who won 17 of their last 20 games to finish with a 24-7 record and ranked fourth in the state with a 45.6 defensive average.
“Bray is a gifted scorer at the high school level,” said coach Trent Steiner. “He has the ability to get to the rim and finish whenever he wants.”
Junior guard Eddie Marx is the team’s only returning starter and senior guard Will Scobee played in 31 games off the bench. They averaged 5.4 and 4.9 points with combined total of 70 3-point goals.
“Eddie is the most experienced player based on minutes from last season,” Steiner said. “He has gained strength and confidence at the end of the season and throughout the summer.”
8. Lloyd Juggernauts
The Juggernauts made it to the 9th Region final for the first time since 1996 last March with four seniors in the starting lineup, including leading scorer and rebounder EJ Walker.
The only starter back from that 26-6 team is senior point guard Anthony Blaacker, who is getting Division I college offers after averaging 15.3 points and shooting 59.2 percent from the field last season.
Coach Michael Walker expects Isiah Golsby and Billy Lewis, two seniors who saw action in 30 games off the bench, to step into significant roles this season.
Most of their teammates have little or no varsity experience and several of them are football players who have missed most of preseason practice.
“We are young and looking to improve everyday,” said Juggernauts’ coach Walker.
9. Dixie Heights Colonels
The disciplined style of play that Scott Code established in his first season as head coach of the Colonels resulted in some impressive numbers last year. They shot 53 percent from the field and limited opponents to 51 points per game to post a 21-10 record with five of the losses by nine points or less.
Two of the starters returning from that team are 6-foot-6 center Hunter Seng and 6-foot-4 small forward Max Rubemeyer, who had combined averages of 20.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Senior point guard Tyson Metzger will be the floor leader once again.
“All of them can score double figures in points on any given night.” coach Code said. “In addition, all three of them have improved their abilities to defend at a high level, so they give maximum effort on both ends of the floor.”
10. Beechwood Tigers
Putting the ball in the basket is one thing Beechwood did quite well last season when the Tigers shot 50 percent from the field overall and hit 41.8 percent of its 3-point attempts.
Even though the top three scorers on that 16-12 team graduated, coach Ross Hart expects the offense to be just as efficient this season with returning starters Owen McCormack and Kinsgton Brockett leading the way.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Owen and Kingston both take the next step in their game offensively,” Hart said of the duo that averaged 8.3 and 6.5 points per game last season when the Tigers won their first 9th Region All “A” Classic title since 2018.
Brockett, a 6-foot-4 forward, is also the team’s best defensive player. The leading candidates to join him in the starting lineup are sophomore Dylan Topmiller and 6-foot-3 senior Quinten Knasel, who transferred from Covington Catholic.