Smithville player, coach rewarded on NE Inland All-District boys basketball list

The NE Inland All-District boys basketball team was released March 9, and it was Smithville headlining the list with a sweep of the Division VI top honors.

Winning their first Wayne County Athletic League outright title since 2009 and first title since 2023, the Smithies finished with a league record of 12-2. Smithville played Andrews Osborne March 7 in the district finals and fell 54-44 to finish with a record of 19-5.

One of the teams key members all year was junior guard Brennan Piatt, who averaged 16 points, 5.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds, earning co-Player of the Year with Mineral Ridge’s Chase Moore. Guiding the Smithies from the bench was Corey Kaufman, and for leading Smithville back to the district final, he was named Coach of the Year.

Smithville senior Jax Riggenbach was selected to the Div. VI first team after averaging 15.1 points, and sophomore Brady Sidle was selected second team all-district. Sidle averaged 9 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds, and Isaiah Lee, who averaged 9.7 points, was tabbed honorable mention.

Also in Div. VI were Dalton’s duo of Carter Hignight and Cody Hofstetter, who both earned honorable mention selections.

In Div. V, Norwayne got a second-team selection in Jaxson Gasser, who hit the game-winner to beat Keystone at districts and averaged 12.8 points, while Brendan Hall and Cole Gasser were named honorable mention.

Also in Div. V, Johnny Telloni led Chippewa, averaging 17.7 points, and Triway's Jalen Hackett averaged 14.8 points as both picked up second-team honors.

Picking up Div. V honorable mention selections were Cam Hall (Chippewa), Evan Yoder (Waynedale) and Luke Lorentz (Waynedale).

Orrville nabbed a share of the Principals Athletic Conference crown and was led by senior Breylon McDuffie, a second-team selection after averaging 10.8 points. Joining him as all-district for the Red Riders on the HM list were Brayden Cox and Malakhi Gray.

In Div. III, Wooster finished with a record of 9-14 and was led by Adrian Jelks, who was selected honorable mention.

Lowen Ferguson and Drew Badertscher paced locals in Div. VII with first-team selections. Ferguson was one of Hillsdale’s leaders with an average of 16 points, and Baderstscher led Central Christian with an average of 17.4 points. The Falcons clinched their fifth district title in program history and made back-to-back trips to regionals with an 80-70 win over McDonald on March 7.

On the second team, Kael Lewis (Hillsdale) and Ruben Carr (Central Christian) represented the area while Hillsdale’s Knox Lewis was tabbed honorable mention.