Mid Term Grading - Mid Willamette

Comparing my pre-season Prep Hoops outlook to reality, half way through league play.   

West Albany

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 1st

Reality - 1st

My mid term grade: A

Bulldogs have largely been unchallenged with the exception of an early 3 point win over Crescent Valley, and a recent game against Central that was competitive for about 3 quarters. They'll be tasked with keeping the energy up for each game as they prepare for post season play at home. Luckily they'll be afforded the luxury of nursing a few bumps, bruises & illness with their deep roster of Jonah Lasselle, Tyson Walker, Grey Nieman, Robert Southard, Brett Gilles, Koda Fredricks & Ares Boulware. 

Corvallis

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 2nd

Reality - 3rd

My mid term grade: B

Spartans are sitting at 7-2 and performing about where we thought they'd be. They're a game out of second place and if a few bounces go their way in the back half of conference play, you never know... Faisal Alsharif & Logan Gutches have provided a lot of scoring, and Nick Swenson & Simeon Arthur have increased their production as well since January.

Central

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 3rd

Reality - 2nd

My mid term grade: B

I went back and forth between Corvallis and Central for that 2nd spot early on, eventually settling on Corvallis due to their depth. Turns out Central has just as much. We all know Jack Holestine would ball out and put on a show, but Ryan Burgett & Lucas Haines have been huge factors with their successful 8-1 record. The emergence of Tyler Olafson has also not gone unnoticed and gives them yet another weapon teams have to plan against.     

Crescent Valley

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 4th

Reality - 5th

My mid term grade: B

Raiders are currently 5-4 and share the same record with Lebanon, with the Warriors owning the head-to-head. They're doing about as well as they can given their injury situation. They're on a 3 game skid and with West Albany up next they'll have to be at their best. Luckily they'll get a reprieve thereafter where they can build on some momentum where Kavanaugh Jensen & Wyatt Kevan can continue to shine.

Lebanon

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 5th

Reality - 4th

My mid term grade: B

One of my sleeper picks is paying off. Warriors are 4th and made their way into a guaranteed spot that they'll cling to as long as possible. They got a favorable stretch coming up where they have the opportunity to build a few wins and create some separation from Crescent Valley. In no small part their success has hinged on the offensive firepower of Logan Large & Gunner Miller. They are one of the highest scoring duo's in the state. Add Ryan Robinson & Finn Vandenbos into the mix and you got a ceiling that keeps getting higher.

Woodburn

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 6th

Reality - 8th

My mid term grade: C

No question the Bulldogs have struggled this year. They're Currently 2-7 in conference play and the silver lining here is that there's a solid group of juniors to help out Anthony Figueredo. Derrick Aguirre has been someone to lean into this year and be a top performer. Mason Pickett & Logan Pankey are other bright spots with a lot of upside for the future.

South Albany

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 7th

Reality - 7th

My mid term grade: A

Another team that's finding their identity, the Redhawks are a modest 4-5 & currently in 5th place and not completely out of the picture. They're only 1 game out of contention and the way Brody Terrell & Griffin Zink have been playing, anything is possible in the back half of play. 

Silverton

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 8th

Reality - 8th

My mid term grade: A

Silverton is also sitting at 4-5, and even at 8th place, only find themselves 1 game back from making for an interesting storyline as they aim for the top 4. This squad has a very balanced attack with Chase Dominguez, Mark Bailey, Sam Haugen, Luke Horner & Gavin Wavra. Any given night, any one of these guy's can cause problems for the opposition. 

McKay

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 9th

Reality - 10th

My mid term grade: B

Figured it would be a contested battle between McKay and Dallas for the south end of the conference. McKay is still looking for their first win, and it can't be that far off. They gave Corvallis a run last Friday and was within a couple late in the game. They still have that fight in them.

Dallas

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 10th

Reality - 9th

My mid term grade: B

The Dragons got the best of McKay to capture their first conference win a little more than a week ago. Officially, their first league win since Feb 20, 2024. A streak of 26 games finally broken! Lukas Lawless has been a bucket getter this season for them, as has Tristan Porter.

Mid Term Grading - Midwestern

North Eugene

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 1st

Reality - 2nd

My mid term grade: B

The Highlanders stumbled early in league play dropping a close one to Crater, then following that with a back-to-back loss to Thurston. They've since gone on a 4 game win streak that'll culminate with a rematch with Thurston on 2/3. Win or lose they'll be fine. They'll still be a top 8 team and with a high power offense featuring Jordan Gray, Damon Keith, Zach Fisher, Dae Dae Ireland & Jayden Robinson, teams will want to avoid this squad.

Thurston

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 2nd

Reality - 1st

My mid term grade: B

Everyone knew it was either going to be North Eugene or Thurston. At the midpoint Thurston still reigns supreme over the Midwestern with a perfect 6-0 record and a #4 ranking. I don't expect much to change with the possibility of a split with North Eugene. Thurston just quietly keeps on winning. As expected, Lucas LaBounty & Treyson Hill have been the clutch duo, but what has been a surprise is the exceptional play from Leofatu Felipe that makes the Colts even more unstoppable.  

Crater

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 3rd

Reality - 5th

My mid term grade: C

Probably the biggest surprise in the 5A world is the high level Crater has been playing at. Slowly and methodically accumulating a 11-1 non conference record, then shocking the world with a 1 point win over North Eugene in the league opener was wild. They followed that up with 2 straight losses to Ashland and Thurston but still find themselves in a favorable position in the second half of league play. Julien Grant & Malachi Barlow are both having an all-league type of season, Tucker Hopkins has made for a nice third option, and their big Gobind Khalsa has been putting up solid production. 

Ashland

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 4th

Reality - 4th

My mid term grade: A

Playoff aspirations are within reach! The Grizzlies are currently 4th with a 3-3 record in a tightly contested Midwestern. They gave Crater a reality check in one of the bigger upsets of the year. They'll have to plan on doing that again to one of the teams ahead of them to keep that traction, even if it means just grabbing an at-large, which they had in their possession last week. Quillian Tourzan & Isaac Matsdorf will need to continue their breakout season for that to happen.

Churchill

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 5th

Reality - 3rd

My mid term grade: C

I'll admit I was a little off on Churchill. I thought there were too many changes from last season that would prohibit a foundation for them to keep being successful. They're doing just fine. 4-2 in league tied for the 2nd best record, and they played North Eugene tight the first time. Ryan Gutierrez continues to terrify teams, TJ Wright has established himself as a threat and Madison Bradshaw & Luke Babbitt have filled their roles better than expected.   

Eagle Point

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 6th

Reality - 7th

My mid term grade: B

Eagles are still looking for that 1st league win, their best opportunity looks to be against Springfield, where they lost the first time around 54-61.

Springfield

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 7th

Reality - 6th

My mid term grade: B

The Millers broke a 45-game league losing streak dating back to the 21/22 season when they beat Eagle Point a couple weeks ago. A couple standouts on this squad are Noah Solo & Lejhaun Henderson.

Mid Term Grading - NWOC

Parkrose

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 1st

Reality - 1st

My mid term grade: A

No surprises here at #1. I’m still going with my prediction that their loss against Tualatin at the LSI would be their last loss of the season. A lot of these guys have sacrificed the “me” for the “we” and it’ll pay off at Linfield. As expected, Fuzzy has been great along with Keone Gates, Keion James & Varryk Hardges. Their solid contributions have been consistent all season long. The two big surprises were the addition of Jayden Hall who we’re all very familiar with now, and freshman Victor Norris.

Centennial

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 2nd

Reality - 3rd

My mid term grade: B

A slight miss here. They’re currently sitting 3rd by way of a tie-breaker over Wilsonville at 5-3. Over the last 2-3 years they’ve had a ton of talent like Darius Andrews, Quentin Neal, Sincere Powe & Zaire Williams. With transfers JeMel Baker, Dakari Mitchell & Drake Walsh it just seems like every year it takes them a while for them to put it all together on the court at the same time, and we’re starting to see it come together now. This is a team nobody will want to be matched up against

Wilsonville

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 3rd

Reality - 4th

My mid term grade: B

Kinda nailed this one. They’re tied with centennial for 3rd, even though the Eagles own the tiebreaker at this point. I figured they’d struggle a little bit; it feels like a transition year for the Wildcats with more optimism going into next season, and to think there’s a possibility of them missing the playoffs this year, is unthinkable. They’ve got solid play from Aazzee Breaux & Jett Bruce. Luke Brainard has been holding his own in the post while Ratcliffe still recovers. Jonah Mason, Grady Weise, Brett Lyone & William Mainia have all been very dependable. This Wilsonville squad still has the pieces to make a deep run, and like Centennial, nobody will want to take their chances against them.

Canby

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 4th

Reality - 2nd

My mid term grade: C

I should have known… They’re currently 2nd, and as well as they’re playing, they’ve had some help with Centennial & Wilsonville underperforming. To be clear, they’ve beat both and are as good as they look. The LSI shook them a bit, but since late December this team has went on a tear. They should have beat West Linn and their only other loss in 2026 was to Parkrose. Their confidence has returned, they’re playing great team ball and as long as they stay healthy they’ll keep the momentum going. Jaxon Lawson & Ben Twitchell have been spectacular, Dane Edwards, Joe Roberts, Cohen Vandecoevering & Cooper Cousin all make up a starting unit that’s among the best in 5A.    

La Salle

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 5th

Reality - 7th

My mid term grade: C

A little off with this one, they’re currently 7th in league with a 3-5 record via a losing tiebreaker to Hillsboro. One Riggy on this team has proven to not be enough. He’s had to provide a bulk of the offense as anticipated, and even with all teams throwing their best defenders at him, he still scores ...a lot. Diesel Renner, Vince Farris, Levi Natwick, Sam Johnson & Matthew Tesfa have all been good, but they’ll need to be great for the Falcons to climb a bit.    

Milwaukie

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 6th

Reality - 8th

My mid term grade: C

Currently in 8th all by themselves. I thought they’d be better than last year and they most definitely are. This team will only get better and next year is when they’ll be expected to peak & make that huge jump. They’ve been somewhat competitive in league play this season, only losing by 10 to both Canby & Wilsonville, and 14 to Centennial. This Mustang team has been led by a constant and deep core anchored by Alex Lugo, CJ LaPlante, Jayden Locke, Enzo Yamashita, Hayden Aldridge, AJ Brown & Je’Meir Lampkin-Lewis 

Hood River Valley

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 7th

Reality - 5th

My mid term grade: C

Currently in 5th place at 4-4. They did this thing last season where they beat a bunch of teams they weren’t suppose to, and lost to a few teams they should have beat. They’ve cleaned up that inconsistency this year, for the most part. They did steal one from Centennial, a huge win for them but they’ll need a couple more of those in addition to beating the teams beneath them to make some noise. This Eagle team has done very well with getting the most out of their roster. JJ Poole has been hard to contain, Grant Dunn has stepped up nicely, Talon Britt, Deacon Ybarra & Cooper Wells have all provided sparks throughout league play.  

Hillsboro

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 8th

Reality - 6th

My mid term grade: C

I was way off on this one. I knew they’d be a lot better than seasons past, but I wasn’t prepared for them to be this good, this early. They even snuck into the media polls! That is an accomplishment in itself. They’re currently sitting in 6th place, and not quite dangerous enough to play spoiler, but dangerous enough that you have to gameplan against them like any of the other top teams. They’ve had solid production from AJ Garcia, Bruno Prado, Terrence Townsend & Luke Eischen to keep them competitive in most of their games.

Putnam

Prep Hoops Pre-season Rank - 9th

Reality - 9th

My mid term grade: A

There are 4 teams still without a league win in 5A and Putnam is one of them. You throw this team in the MWC or Midwestern and they probably have 4 league wins at this point. This is probably the best 0-8 team in the history of the NWOC, and because the league is loaded, it isn’t helping their cause. They have talent, Nemo Pittman is a baller and super underrated, Joel Lombard has been a beast in the paint, Carter Mitchell Dyer & Rylie Carey are leading scorers on this team and all these guys are great on the other side of the ball. Their 1st league win awaits, and I’m confident it’ll come soon.   

IMC Conference Outlook

Midwestern League Outlook

NWOC League Outlook

Mid-Willamette Conference Outlook