An All-Interstate 8 honoree over each of the last two seasons, Rochelle junior forward Brody Bruns is within reach of two major milestones as the Hubs return to the hardwood for the start of the 2025-26 boys basketball season.

Approaching 1,000 career points and Rochelle’s all-time rebounding record, Bruns led the Hubs in double-doubles last season, when Rochelle finished 13-20 and reached the Class 3A regional finals for a second straight year.

Entering his third varsity season, Bruns is seeking to expand his offensive game as the Hubs shoot for their first regional championship since 2022.

“We have size and this is the first time we’ll have more size than the other team,” Bruns said. “We can really head down to the rim and body people down there. We fell short last year and the expectation this year is to win and go deep into the postseason. I’ve been working on my jump shot since the offseason. Now, I’m able to shoot, which opens my game up more.”

Rochelle tipped off the 2025-26 season with its first practice on Nov. 10. The Hubs, who went 3-7 in the Interstate 8 last season, will play at the Strombom Tournament in Sycamore later this month.

Senior guard Van Gerber, who broke his collarbone during the football season, is almost fully healthy and said he’s hoping for clearance to play in the tournament.

“We have something to prove this year,” said Gerber, who’s entering his third year with the varsity team. “We lost two really close regional championships and that’s definitely not what we’ve wanted the last two years. Over the summer, we said we were going to win a regional and go for the sectional. We’ve set the bar a lot higher than we usually do and we’re ready to go.”

Gerber and Brode Metzger, another third-year varsity player, are two seniors to watch for when the Hubs take the court this season. In the frontcourt, the 6-foot-5 forward Bruns, along with 6-foot-7 junior forward Warren Schweitzer, are expected to take on bigger roles. While scoring wasn’t a major issue last season, preventing teams from scoring proved difficult.

“It was a defense-oriented summer,” Rochelle coach Tim Thompson said. “I don’t think scoring the basketball’s going to be difficult for us. Defending the basketball is where our biggest weakness was last year... We gave up too much dribble penetration last year and I think we’re going to be better in our man-to-man defense. We’re going to play some 1-3-1 and mix things up.”

Junior Mason Ludwig and sophomore Cohen Haedt are two second-year varsity guards returning to the Rochelle backcourt this season. The Hubs, who open the Strombom Tournament against Dundee-Crown on Nov. 26, tip off the Interstate 8 slate with a home game against Sycamore on Dec. 5.

“These kids believe there’s a way to get 20 wins and they want to compete for a regional championship,” said Thompson, who enters his 15th season and has 178 wins as head coach of the Hubs. “There are some teams in our area who’ve bumped down from 4A to 3A... We felt like we gave away that regional game last year and I think these kids are hungry for a regional title.”