Here are your South All-Stars for the 44th News Journal Classic
MANSFIELD — Here are the 11 all-stars playing for South coach Tyler Sanders and his Crestline staff in the 44th News Journal All-Star Classic at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 24, at Lexington High School.
Tickets will be $8 at the door.
Grayson Steury
School: Ashland
Vitals: 6-0 Guard
Stats: Averaged 22.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and two steals for the Arrows. Shot 39% from the field and 30% from deep while knocking down 81% of his free throws. A four-year letterman in basketball, Steury earned first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference, first team All-District 6 in Division I and second team All-Northwest District honors in 2022-23. A 1,000-point scorer.
Coach's Comment: Grayson went over 1000 career points in December of this year. He has been one of the elite shooters in the area for four years. This year he has had to adjust his role to handle the basketball more and also be able to score off the dribble. He is a very intelligent basketball player and is being recruited by several Division 3 colleges. Grayson is an outstanding kid and has been a privilege to coach. – Jason Hess.
Braxton Baker
School: Colonel Crawford
Vitals: 6-4 Guard
Stats: Averaged 19.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, one steal and one block for the Eagles. Shot 58% from the field, including 39% from deep, and 75.8% from the free-throw line. A first team All-Northern 10 Conference, first team All-District 6 and first team All-Northwest District player, Baker owns the single-game scoring record with 45 points vs. Bucyrus this season.
Coach's Comment: Braxton has been a big-time scorer for our team over the past two seasons and one of the top players in the Mansfield surrounding area. Braxton is able to shoot from 3, put the ball on floor and post up, which makes him a very good all-around player. Braxton is the next Colonel Crawford player to work extremely hard at the game of basketball year-round to develop into the player he has become as a senior. – David Sheldon.
Matthew Bland
School: Mount Gilead
Vitals: 6-0 Guard
Stats: Averaged 21.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and two assists for Mount Gilead. Shot 44% from the field, including 35.1% from 3, and 71% from the free-throw line. The four-year letterman was the KMAC Player of the Year as well as earning All-District 11 and All-Central District honors. A 1,000-point scorer in basketball, he also earned first team All-Ohio in football as a quarterback and is a two-time state qualifier in track, setting the school record in the 4x200.
Coach's Comment: Matthew is a tremendous athlete who has shown great leadership skills the last four years. He is a leader on the court and in the classroom. – Dan Strasser.
Aaron Gannon
School: Mount Gilead
Vitals: 6-3 Forward
Stats: Averaged 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 assists for Mount Gilead. A two-year letterman, he shot 39% from the field, including 34.2% from 3, and 77% from the free-throw line. A team captain in basketball, he enjoyed a lot of success in cross country and track, receiving first team All-Ohio honors in the 4x800 relay, and was part of Mount Gilead’s state championship cross country team.
Coach's Comment: Aaron is a tremendous athlete who has shown great leadership skills the last four years. He is a leader on the court and in the classroom. – Dan Strasser.
Jacob Maddy
School: Colonel Crawford
Vitals: 6-5 Post
Stats: Averaged 13.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks for the Eagles. Shot 62% from the field and 65% from the free-throw line. A first team All-Northern 10 Conference, first team All-District 6 in Division IV and third team All-Northwest District in Division IV player, Maddy earned two varsity letters in basketball, one in football and one in track.
Coach's Comment: Jacob has been made a huge impact on the Colonel Crawford basketball team this season averaging a double/double with points and rebounds. He is a true back to the basket player and great passer as well with double teams he has seen throughout the season. – David Sheldon.
Hudson Moore
School: Lexington
Vitals: 6-3 Forward
Stats: Averaged 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal for the Minutemen. He shot 43% from the field, 32% from deep and 66% from the free-throw line. A two-year team captain, Moore earned All-OCC, All-District 6 and All-Northwest District honors in 2022-23.
Coach's Comment: Huds is a great leader and player for Lex basketball. Our most complete player who is able to play and defend all five positions on the floor. He has been a big part of our program over the last four years and would be a great representative for this game. – Scott Hamilton.
Cainen Allen
School: Wynford
Vitals: 6-0 Guard
Stats: Averaged 11.9 points, 5.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals for the Royals. Shot 45% from the field, 38% from 3 and 60% from the free-throw line. The N10 leader in assists, he earned second team All-Northern 10 Conference, honorable mention All-District 6 in Division III and honorable mention All-Northwest District.
Coach's Comment: Cainen is the third leading scorer on a team that has four double-figure scorers. He leads our team and the N10 in assists per game at 5.3 per night. His leadership on the floor has helped us to the outstanding record we have this year. Cainen is a tremendous ball handler and passer. A deadly shooter from three, shooting at a 39% clip which is 5th in the N10. Cainen was also an all-league performer on the baseball field, helping lead Wynford to the N10 title on the diamond last spring. – Mike Smith.
Nathaniel “Chunky” Haney
School: Mansfield Senior
Vitals: 5-8 Guard
Stats: Averaged 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and two steals for the Tygers. Shot 40% from the field, 36% from deep and 75% from the free-throw line. Earned All-Ohio Cardinal Conference honors and is an OCC champion in the long jump. Earned three letters in basketball and two in track.
Coach's Comment: Chunk is a dynamic athlete, who plays the game with tremendous heart and effort. He’s made several big shots throughout his playing career and has developed into one of the top on-ball defenders in this area. – Marquis Sykes.
Griffin Baker
School: Mansfield Christian
Vitals: 6-4 Forward
Stats: Averaged 11.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, two assists, one block and one assist for the Flames. First team All-Mid-Buckeye Conference, second team All-District 6 and honorable mention All-Northwest District. He was an All-Ohio goalie in soccer where he was second team all-region.
Coach's Comment: Griffin is a great kid to have on your team. He is very coachable and does what is asked of him. He is a team-first type of athlete always putting his teammates ahead of himself. It has been a great pleasure to coach him his junior and senior years. He can shoot the 3 very well but is a little hesitant to shoot it. He does most of his work inside the paint and on the boards. He is a hard worker never complaining and a great kid to have around. He plans on playing soccer in college at Pensacola Christian College in Florida. He was a transfer his junior year so he had to sit the second half of his junior season. He has been our second-leading scorer this season and leads us in rebounding. – Cary Craner.
Trevor Shade
School: Crestline
Vitals: 5-8 Guard
Stats: Averaged 9.4 points, two rebounds, 2.1 assists and one steal for the Bulldogs. Shot 40% from the field, 38% from deep and 70% from the free-throw line. He earned second team All-Mid-Buckeye Conference honors and was also an honorable mention all-league football player.
Coach's Comment: Trevor is our silent leader. He leads by example and does everything the right way. Takes zero shortcuts and works hard to make his teammates better. His defense has grown so much over the last year and has shot the 3-pointer at a very high percentage. He is the definition of a team player. – Tyler Sanders.
Isaiah Perry
School: Crestline
Vitals: 6-0 Guard
Stats: Averaged 14 points, four rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals for the Bulldogs. Shot 47% from the field, including 32% from 3, and 70% from the free-throw line. Earned first team All-Mid-Buckeye Conference, second team All-District 6 and honorable mention All-Northwest District in Division IV. Earned three varsity letters in basketball.
Coach's Comment: Isaiah is a hard worker and does whatever he can to be the best he can be. He is always the most competitive person on the court. He takes times after practice to help his JV guys work on different parts of their game. Our program is better off having his leadership and him come through it the last four years. On top of that he is our best player and is always focused on by opposing teams. He is our leading scorer and often times guards the best player on the other side of the ball. – Tyler Sanders.
South coach: Tyler Sanders, Crestline
Resume: Spent five season at Crestline and became the first coach to lead the Bulldogs to five consecutive years with a tournament win. Ranks fourth all-time in wins at Crestline with 54 and is just one of four coaches to win a tournament game in four consecutive seasons. He led the Bulldogs to their first winning season in 23 years and first win over Wynford in 24 years. His 45.4 win percentage is third best in Crestline history. He had three consecutive winning seasons from 2019-22, the program’s first three-year winning stretch since World War II.
jfurr@gannett.com
740-244-9934
Twitter: @JakeFurr11
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Here are your South All-Stars for the 44th News Journal Classic
