Will Aljancic leads the way for Stark County boys basketball All-Ohio selections

The Repository
·3 min read
Will Aljancic finished his high school career as Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 1,409 points.
Will Aljancic finished his high school career as Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 1,409 points.

Will Aljancic of Louisville High School is the lone Stark County boys basketball player to earn first-team All-Ohio honors in 2023. Aljancic was a first-team pick in Division I on the All-Ohio teams selected by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association, which were released this past week.

The only other area player to earn first-team honors was Braylon Wenger of Dalton in Division IV. One other area player made the second team and three were on the third team.

For Aljancic, his first-team honor in Division I comes after being special mention All-Ohio a year ago in Division II. The 6-foot-7 senior scored 22.4 points per game to lead the Leopards to a 19-5 season a year after helping them win their first district title in 29 years in 2022. He also grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game and shot 52.5% from the floor.

Louisville's all-time leading scorer with 1,409 points, Aljancic ranks 19th in Stark County history, one spot ahead of CJ McCollum. He also owns Louisville records for single-season points, career 3-pointers and single-game 3s. The District 4 coaches association player of the year, Aljancic is a University of Findlay recruit.

Also in Division I, a pair of Federal League players made the third team, Owen Woolbert of Jackson and Chance Casenhiser of Lake.

The 6-7 Woolbert, a senior, was the Federal League Player of the Year after he led Jackson to share of the league title. He averaged a team-high 14.9 points on 61.8% shooting from the floor, and grabbed 8.9 rebounds per game. Jackson went 19-7, losing to Stow in a district final. A four-year varsity letterman and three-year starter. Woolbert is a Harvard volleyball recruit.

The 6-0 Casenhiser, a junior, averaged a Stark County-high 23.5 points through regular season to go with 3.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He hot 48.6% from the floor and 77.6% from foul line. The first-team All-Federal League pick scored a school single game-record 45 points on Jan. 13 against Perry.

The area's lone second-team pick is J’Allen Barrino of Malvern in Division III. The 6-1, junior point guard scored 16.5 points per game for the 24-2 Hornets. The coaches association's District 5 Player of the Year, Barrino also averaged 5.3 assists, 4.4 steals and 4.0 rebounds as Malvern won a fourth straight IVC North championship and advanced to a fourth straight district final. Barrino, who also was the IVC North Player of the Year, shot an area-best 68.2% from the floor and 73.7% from the foul line.

In Division IV, the 6-7 Wenger enjoyed a huge season to earn his first-team spot. He scored 25.6 points per game to go with 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Dalton won a share of the Wayne County Athletic League title before winning its first district title in 21 years. He was the WCAL Player of the Year.

Teammate Jack Steiner is a third-team pick. The 5-11, senior averaged 14.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. His shooting splits were .531/.459/.898 as he became an efficient scorer while stepping in to play point guard. He averaged 18.5 points in Dalton's two district wins.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Will Aljancic leads Stark County boys basketball All-Ohio selections