Freshmen Stepping Up

The names Brayden Hermsdorf and Vaughn Karvala, you can’t say one without the other. The two Panther freshmen tower above their classmates both coming in at 6’5. Both athletes have played key roles so far coming off the bench and even starting a few games for the Panthers.

Both Brayden and Vaughn had high expectations coming into their freshman season. Brayden said, “It’s fun, I feel as though I am meant to be playing varsity.” 

According to Vaughn, “I get a sense of privilege from the coaching staff. I feel like I belong.” 

Oregon Panthers head coach, Chris Siebert, also commented on Brayden and Vaughns expectations coming into the season.

 "We knew we had two very talented players.  They had shown their talent for a long time, and proved it all summer.  At the same time,  we knew they were freshmen and would go through growing pains.  They both have performed better than we could have imagined.”

Last year the Panthers had a historic season winning regionals and finishing with a record of 23-5 including 3 postseason victories, before falling to Westosha Central in the quarterfinal. 

Brayden reflected on last year's team compared to this year, “Everyone expects us to succeed right away as a team and as players," Brayden said. "But what they don’t understand is that we are not fully developed yet.” 

Vaughn said, “They [fans] hold us to a high standard and sometimes doubt us.” 

Going from playing kids their age to now playing kids 2-3 years older than them has given Vaughn and Brayden some trouble. 

“I used to be the biggest and strongest and now I have to switch up my play style.” Being a 6 '5 center in 8th grade made it very easy for Brayden to dominate but now going against guys just as tall and as athletic as him has made it more challenging. 

“I felt like I could do anything and now I've needed to change my playstyle and put in more effort,” Vaughn commented.

Playing varsity sports at a young age brings on a lot of nerves. Brayden and Vaughn have both had a lot of growing pains throughout their first season. 

“As a shooter, I would be very nervous early, but I have started to get used to distractions and the student sections,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn agreed, “Their experience has helped and they’ve guided me along.”

Brayden and Vaughn have been given a bigger role because of three suspensions to Panther starters. 

“They [Suspended players] are a huge part of the team,  they were fun to play with, and they made my job a lot easier. I also felt a little excited because it would mean more playing time.” 

Vaughn seemed more disappointed, “I lost a lot of trust due to the suspensions and I feel like they threw it away.” 

Brayden agrees that this year has been more than what they originally expected. “I expected to play some, Coach Siebert told us that it was a learning year but I didn’t expect this big of a role.” 

Vaughn's said, “I didn’t think I'd play this much and it came as a shock to me.”

The future is bright for Brayden and Vaughn, who are already playing big roles in their freshmen year, they are expected to take a big leap over the next 3 seasons according to Coach Siebert. 

“We have high expectations for both of them to work hard and keep improving.  The sky's the limit if we keep pushing for it. They have had great Freshmen seasons, but are capable of far more over the next three seasons. How much we can improve over the offseason will be huge for next season and moving forward for both the two of them but also our program.”

“I feel that it’s overwhelming for me to improve and rush to improve, I’m also scared that it might move fast," said Brayden.

Vaughn had a similar response, “I need to just keep putting up work over the next 3 years and need to live up to expectations.”

Basketball photos by Eddie Brognano: https://eddiebrognanophotos.smugmug.com/