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TRAC
NEWMAN
Coach: Jordan Johnston (1st season)
Last season’s record: 20-9, 11-1 TRAC East
Top returners: Brynlee Hermeyer, Sr., F; Jordan Morthland, Sr. G; Bella Trancoso, Sr. G
Key newcomers: Zoey Bulfer, Jr., G; Kennedy Rowzee, Fr., F
Worth noting: Due to COVID protocols, the Comets have been on a pause until next week. … Johnston is set to make her coaching debut. The former Rock Falls and Sauk Valley C.C. standout in multiple sports has been an assistant coach under Debbi Kelly with Newman’s volleyball team. … Morthland averaged 5.2 points per game last season and is Newman’s top returning scorer after the Comets lost Alejandra Padilla, Josie Rank and Macaire Brown to graduation. … Bella Trancoso led the team in assists last season with 3.1. … Johnston said she is not so much focused on wins and losses this year as she is on seeing improvement and getting players and coaches to get to know each other. … “There are no expectations this year,” Johnston said. “We are just glad to be back in the gym and praying for the health of all players and coaches during the season.”
ERIE-PROPHETSTOWN
Coach: Chris Brown (1st season)
Last season’s record: 3-23, 2-9 TRAC East
Worth noting: This season will be the third season of Panthers basketball. Erie and Prophetstown played separately until 2018 when the two schools, which had already been part of a co-op in football, wrestling and the spring sports, decided to be part of a co-op in every sport. … Brown takes over for Julie Schroeder-Ranz, who is now the fresh/soph coach at Sterling. … Mak Glassburn led the Panthers in scoring (7.9 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 rebounds per game) in 2019-20.
MORRISON
Coach: Kerry Grim (4th season)
Last season’s record: 1-26, 0-10 TRAC West
Top returners: Kalli Fisher, Jr., G; Anna Mickley, Sr., G; Brittney Sage, Sr., F/C; Shelby Veltrop, So., C
Key newcomers: Diana Robbins So.; Taylor Swanstrom So.
Worth noting: Last year as a freshman, Veltrop led the area in blocked shots with 3.1 per game. She also led the Fillies in scoring, averaging 10.1 points per game. … Veltrop led the team in rebounding last year as well with 8.7 per game, but Kendra Fisher also chipped in 5.1 rebounds per game.
FULTON
Coach: Mike Menchaca (eighth season)
Last season’s record: 16-15, 5-5 Three Rivers West
Top returners: Kylie Collachia, Sr., F; Liz Fish, Sr., G; Anna Jacobs, Sr. G; Ally Reed, Sr., G
Key newcomers: Lara Bielema, Jr.; Brooklyn Brennan, Fr., G; Kelsey Crimmins, Jr.
Worth noting: Fulton lost in last year’s regional final at Amboy to the host Clippers, a game the Steamers led in the second half. … Fish and Collachia were Fulton’s second- and third-leading scorers and rebounders in 2019-20, behind the now-graduated Emily Schipper. … Fulton lost Reed prior to the start of last season, but she is back now and able to provide the Steamers with strong passing and rebounding. … “We have a tough task replacing Emily Schipper, but Kylie Collachia is an outstanding forward with great hands and footwork,” Menchaca said. “Liz has been starting for me for three years now, and is our leader on the floor. Her and Kylie are who we feed off the most.”
BUREAU VALLEY
Coach: Daniel Sinclair (2nd season)
Last season’s record: 8-21, 3-9 Three Rivers East
Top returners: Madison Dye, Sr., F; Kamryn Kolb, Sr., F; Kyra Stoller, Jr., G; Paige Wagner, Sr., G
Key newcomers: Aspen Balensiefen; Jr, G; Kaleen Carlson, Jr., G; Jennifer Etheridge, Jr., F; Alexis Marques, Jr., G; Ashley Nordstrom, Jr., F; Jamie Schutz, Jr., G
Worth noting: The Storm have just three seniors, but junior point guard Kyra Stoller gained experience as a sophomore on the varsity. Stoller earned second-team all-conference honors last year. Stoller was the Storm’s top scorer (8.1 ppg) and had a team-high 3.0 assists per game, and was BV’s second-leading rebounder (5.2). ... BV placed fifth in the TRAC East last year. ... Sinclair, a former assistant, begins his second year at the helm after taking a year off. ... “We all are looking forward to finally getting back out on the court and playing. If this pandemic has taught student-athletes and coaching staff anything, it is how truly important sports are to a student-athlete’s emotional, physical and mental health. The student-athletes really needed this and we plan on making the best of the situation,” Sinclair said.
NUIC
AMBOY
Coach: Mike McCracken (14th season)
Last season’s record: 30-2, 10-0 NUIC South
Top returners: Brianna Blaine, Sr., F; Olivia Dinges, Jr., F; Gabby Jones, Sr., F; Abi Payne, Sr., G; Mallory Powers, Sr., G
Key newcomers: Madelyn McLaughlin, Sr., G
Worth noting: Payne was named first-team all-state by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association in 2020, the first Clipper to earn that honor. … Standing strong at the top of the Clippers’ hard-to-solve 2-3 zone, Payne and Powers both averaged 3.1 steals per game last season. … Amboy won the division title last year with a 10-0 mark in conference, which included a pair of regular-season wins over eventual 1A state champ Eastland. … The Clippers return their top three scorers from last year in Powers (15.7 ppg), Payne (14.5 ppg) and Gabby Jones (7.5 ppg).
AFC
Coach: Chris Jahn (9th season)
Last season’s record: 8-21, 0-8 NUIC South
Top returners: Hannah Atkinson, Sr., G; Brittney Mundell, Sr., F; Tatum Stroh, Jr., F
Key newcomers: Lyla Fike; Taylor Jahn; Lakkiah McClain
Worth noting: The Raiders are looking to replace the scoring of Camdyn Penick, who averaged 14.8 points per game last season and took NUIC South second-team honors. … Jahn, a freshman, led the team in scoring against Amboy on Feb. 11.
POLO
Coach: Jeff Grobe (13th season)
Last season’s record: 11-16, 2-6 NUIC South
Top returners: Marah Blake, Sr., F; Nicole Boelens, Jr., G; Alex Dusing Sr., F; Mallory Patterson, Sr., G; Lindee Poper, So., F; Becca Wagner, Sr., F
Key newcomers: Maddi Jones, Jr.; Emileigh Williams, Jr.
Worth noting: Blake led the Marcos in scoring last year, averaging 9.2 points per game. … Blake also led the Panthers in rebounding with 5.9 per game, with Becca Wagner averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. … Dusing averaged 15.6 points per game in 2018-19, but missed much of the 2019-20 season with an injury. She is back in the lineup this season. … The 2019-20 Marcos had just one senior, Addy Grobe.
MILLEDGEVILLE
Coach: Kurt Folk (5th season)
Last season’s record: 3-21, 1-7 NUIC South
Top returners: Rylee Matthews, Jr., F; Ali Mertz, Jr., F; Adriana Miller, Jr., G;
Key newcomers: Lily Smith, So., F; Marissa Sturrup, So., G
Worth noting: The Missiles won three games last season with a young roster consisting of three sophomores and two freshmen. That came after a winless season the year before. … Milledgeville’s roster for 2021 will feature no seniors. ... The Missiles had a tough task to open the season with a pair of games against defending 1A state champion Eastland. ... “With the abrupt and kind of unknown start to the season, the usual learning curve the first couple weeks of the season will need to be heightened,” Folk said. “We have a hard-working but young group of girls, and we will look to compete more than we have the last couple of seasons. I am excited to see everyone back on the floor. The students need and deserve this.”
EASTLAND
Coach: Nicole Brinker (6th season)
Last season’s record: 34-3, 8-2 NUIC South
Top returners: Addison Burkholder, Jr., G/F; Karlie Krogman, Sr., F; Talena Rogers, Sr., G/F; Chloe Sweitzer, Jr., G; Chloe Waller, Sr., G
Key newcomers: Delana Erbsen, Jr., G; Annika Myre, Jr., G; Kendall Preston, Jr., F; Natalie Reifsteck, Jr., G
Worth noting: The Cougars lost four of five starters from last season’s Class 1A state champions, including the school’s all-time leading scorer in Erin Henze and another 1,000-point scorer in Lydia Coatney. … Krogman became the 10th Eastland player in history to reach the 1,000-point mark when she hit the milestone Feb. 6. … Krogman averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds last year for Eastland. … Senior-laden though they were last year, the Cougars won some of their postseason games so convincingly that many of the younger players who will be making up the core of this year’s team saw playing time in key games. In Eastland’s semifinal against Tri-County, Burkholder, Waller and Sweitzer all scored four points, with Sweitzer seeing 11 minutes of playing time in the 70-28 win.
WEST CARROLL
Coach: Paul Waitkoss (fourth season)
Last season’s record: 17-15, 4-6 NUIC West
Top returners: Cora Collins, Jr., F; Madison Haynes, Sr., F; Kylie Hill, Jr., G; Tori Moshure, So., G
Key newcomers: Karissa Andrews, Fr., G; Kendall Asay, So., F; Haylee McGinnis, So., G; Olivia Shelly, So., G
Worth noting: Hill (4.5) and Haynes (3.4) were the top two area players in steals per game last season. … Haynes led the Thunder last year in both scoring (10.6 points per game) and rebounding (5.7 rebounds per game), and is second on the Thunder’s all-time rebounding list. … The Thunder had no seniors on the roster last season and return 10 players, many of whom saw significant playing time. … With 17 wins last year, the Thunder had the winningest season in program history. ... “This layoff was tough on all of us, and keeping up morale during the difficult times has not been easy,” Waitkoss said. “The good news is the learning curve with an experienced team is a little less stressful.”