Trailways-East Conference Preview - Boys Basketball

Below is a boys basketball conference preview. Included in each preview is the previous year standings, review, returning all-conference players, projected standings with writeup, a sleeper team, top players to watch, conference break out candidates.

Oakfield went undefeated in league play with Horicon dropping just its two games against the Oaks last season. Only Oakfield advanced out of the regionals however as the senior heavy group beat conference rival Central Wisconsin Christian by ten. Oakfield fell to Sheboygan Lutheran in overtime in the sectional semis.

NOTE: With the closure of the Hustisford school district, Dodgeland will serve as the co-op school for those athletes.

This upcoming season Coach Gibbons at CWC is just nine wins away from 200 in his career while Coach Collien at Oakfield sits at 99 coming into his 7th year.

Head Coach: Josh Gibbons - 12th year (191 career wins)
Lost Contributors: Landon Smits, Carson Mulder, Lawson Phillips, Zach Hoffman, Lucas Greenfield
Returners: Dylan Buwalda, 6-2, sr; Levi Phillips, 5-9, jr; Brennan Schaumburg, 6-4, jr; Caleb Ten Napel, 5-11, jr; Connor Buteyn, 5-11, soph;
Newcomers/New Contributors: Ryden Perry, 5-10, jr; Avery Navis, sr; Trayton Buwalda, 5-10, soph; Jacob Van Herwaarden, 5-10, jr; Bryce Bille, soph
Breakout Candidate: Connor Buteyn

Outlook: CWC finished a distant third last season in the Trailways-East losing all four games to Oakfield and Horicon. Josh Gibbons enters year 12 at the helm and despite losing a group of graduating seniors, there is a handful of experienced players back, including three of the top five scorers. Caleb Ten Napel was a double digit scorer a season ago while Dylan Buwalda, Brennan Schaumburg, and Connor Buteyn all played in 20+ games. Only two seniors are listed on this year’s roster, which means there is a lot of youth within the program. Adjusting to new roles and maturing on the court will only make this group stronger in February as opposed to November.

Head Coach: Brett Baehman - 5th year (52 career wins)
Lost Contributors: Parker Slusarski, Quinn Ruark, Ryder Mullen, Brady Ridenour
Returners: Jackson Buttke, 5-11, sr; Eli Halla, 5-10, sr; Harlan Kuehn, 6-4, sr; Brady Bauer, 6-0, sr; Cameron Kapral, 6-0, sr; Lucas Neuens, 5-10, sr; Henry Achterberg, 5-10, sr; Max Behnke, 5-11, sr
Newcomers/New Contributors: Liam Buttke, 5-9, soph
Breakout Candidate: Brady Bauer

Outlook: Lourdes went .500 a season ago and are almost completely intact from that squad in 2026-27. The Knights will be a senior-led team for coach Brett Baehman, something that is always a strength for any basketball team going into the season. Harlan Kuehn is a physical force down low while Jackson Buttke, Henry Achterberg, and Brady Bauer are a trio of really solid guards. The big question with this group will be the health of Lucas Neuens. If he’s back, that’s all five starters plus a handful of supporting seniors to fill out the roster. That experience and chemistry is priceless, as is the scoring balance from the first five.

Head Coach: Jason White - 4th year (42 career wins)
Lost Contributors: Parker Bridgham, Shane Joeckel, James Lindstrom, Austin Cappello, Aiden Bykowski
Returners: Collin Kruchten, 6-2, jr; Trewyn White, 5-9, sr; Sawyer Ninmann, 6-1, jr; Noah Kohn, 5-9, jr; Kiptyn Wolter, 5-5, soph; Kameron Birrenkot, 6-4, jr; JR Adkins, soph; Bryson Brusveen, 6-1, jr; Dawson Maas, 5-10, soph
Newcomers/New Contributors: Brayden Schwandt, 5-9, soph
Breakout Candidate: Sawyer Ninmann

Outlook: This is the first year of this co-op as the Hustisford students transition out of that district. With this co-op comes a deep bench with a load of players that saw extended varsity minutes for their respective teams a season ago. Collin Kruchten, Trewyn White, Sawyer Ninmann, Noah Kohn, and Kiptyn Wolter all return as starters from Dodgeland. JR Adkins, Dawson Maas and Bryson Brusveen all were regular starters for Hustisford. While head coach Jason White has a deep stable of guards to rotate through, finding the right combination and chemistry will be the biggest work throughs early on in this season.

Head Coach: Eric Felton - 1st year
Lost Contributors: Brayden Glugla, Broede Collien, Bo Bijl, JJ Laning, Carson Fisher
Returners: Xavier Mielke, jr; Henry Drazkowski, sr; Sam Krueger, sr; Mitchell Liegl, sr;
Newcomers/New Contributors:
Breakout Candidate: Xavier Mielke

Outlook: Four of five starters graduate from last year’s conference winning squad. Replacing that production will take time early on in the season for head coach Jason Collien. He will have Xavier Mielke make who started every game as a sophomore on that squad. Seniors Henry Drazkowski, Sam Krueger, and Mitchell Liegl will vie for those open starting spots in 2026-27 as will a handful of newcomers from the lower levels.

Head Coach: Jay Wald - 5th year (65 career wins)
Lost Contributors: Barrett Meyer, Jay Graven, Quinn Jackl, Christian Schwartz, Reed Vorlob, Logan Robenhorst
Returners: Isaiah Hollingsworth, 5-11, jr; Bryce Franz, 5-10 jr; Rylan Powell, 6-0, jr
Newcomers/New Contributors: Pierce Franz, frosh
Breakout Candidate: Isaiah Hollingsworth

Outlook: Like Oakfield, Horicon loses nearly everyone from the 17-win team from last year. Head coach Jay Wald will look to a trio of juniors that saw action last year in Isaiah Hollingsworth, Bryce Franz, and Rylan Powell. The inexperience of this varsity roster does leave question marks in a conference where the top teams are loaded with returning pieces. Growing pains may be in store early, but the Marshmen are young and have room to grow from game 1 to game 24.

Head Coach: Chad Urban - 1st year
Lost Contributors: Matthias Behling, Derek Wallace
Returners: Xander Osinga, 6-4, sr; Titus Weyenberg, 6-1, jr; Mason Everts, 6-1, sr; Micah Humiston, 5-10, sr; Liam Clayton, 6-0, sr; Steven Stiansen, 5-9, jr; Lucas Aggrey, 5-8, soph, Aiden Murphy, 6-10, soph
Newcomers/New Contributors:
Breakout Candidate: Xander Osinga

Outlook: The top two scorers graduated from last year’s squad, but beyond that everyone else is back for Valley Christian. Chad Urban steps in as the new head coach for the Warriors and will lean on senior big man Xander Osinga in the post. Titus Weyenberg, Mason Everts, and Micah Humiston all started games a season ago and will provide that experience on the court.

Head Coach: PJ Osvald - 18th year (105 career wins)
Lost Contributors: Mario Padilla, Regan Richardson, Nolan Cargen
Returners: Bogdan Babenko, 6-4, sr; Ilia Babenko, 6-3, sr; Barry Karai, 6-1, sr; Reece Mielke, 6-1, sr; Grant Wienman, 6-2, sr;
Newcomers/New Contributors:
Breakout Candidate: Bogdan Babenko

Outlook: Wayland struggled to just one win last year but return a good group of seniors to lead the way in 2026-27. PJ Osvald enters Year 18 with the Big Red and does so with some solid size across the board including Bogdan Babenko, Ilia Babenko, and Barry Karai. Winning the rebounding column will be key to Wayland being competitive in games.

Dodgeland/Hustisford could be a wild card team to watch atop the standings as the season progresses. The two schools combine with a stable of returning contributors back from both. If the chemistry comes sooner than later, this co-op will be an interesting squad to watch in 2026-27.

Brady Bauer, sr, Lourdes Academy
Bauer was an honorable mention all-league performer a season ago after he tallied 9.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He is a downhill threat that lives around the rim and uses his strength and athleticism to put the ball in the hoop.

Jackson Buttke, sr, Lourdes Acadmey
Buttke is the lone returning first team all-league performer in the Trailways-East. As a junior he averaged 12.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. Buttke is a multi-threat point guard that effects the game as much with his scoring ability as he does with his passing.

Noah Kohn, jr, Dodgeland/Hustisford
Kohn averaged 10.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game and earned honorable mention all-league honors. He’ll help lead the new co-op on the court with his ability to facilitate and make plays for himself and his teammates.

Collin Kruchten, jr, Dodgeland/Hustisford
Kruchten was the top scorer for Dodgeland last year, averaging 13.7 points per game. He can light it up from deep where he made 43% of the triples he shot and made 63 on the season.

Harlan Kuehn, sr, Lourdes Academy
A brute on the court, Kuehn does the dirty for work for the Knights. He averaged 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and was a second team all-Trailways East honoree. A talent on the football field, he holds a handful of offers to play that sport at the next level.

Xavier Mielke, jr, Oakfield
The lone starter back from last year’s conference championship team, Mielke’s production is likely to increase in his junior campaign. As a sophomore he averaged 6.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game and was an honorable mention all-conference selection.

Xander Osinga, sr, Valley Christian
Osinga averaged 8,2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game a season ago. The senior big man will garner plenty of attention this year in the post and open up shots and cutting lanes for the guards around him.

Caleb Ten Napel, jr, Central Wisconsin Christian
Ten Napel was a second team all-league honoree a season ago after he averaged 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Another year stronger and with an offseason of development, he could be in consideration for first team honors.

Trewyn White, sr, Dodgeland/Hustisford
White was an honorable mention all-league selection a season after he averaged 11.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game for Dodgeland. The son of head coach Jason White, he does a good job of leading the offense.