Smithville's Piatt named WCAL Player of the Year

The Wayne County Athletic League announced its all-league awards recently for boys basketball, and there weren’t many surprises. League champion Smithville took home the Player of the Year, as junior Brennan Piatt led the way, averaging 16 points, 5.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds.

Joining Piatt on the first team was teammate and another one of the league’s elite players, Jax Riggenbach. The senior posted a final line of 15.1 points per game.

Coming in second in the league race without the WCAL’s best player in Braylon Arnold, who was out all year with an injury, Norwayne stayed in the hunt all the way until the end. Jaxson Gasser, who shone in the OHSAA playoffs and really took on an extended role this past season, averaged 12.8 points. For his efforts, Gasser earned first-team honors.

Hillsdale caught fire, putting together a run to the Division VII state semifinals after finishing third in the league, and was led by first-team selections Lowen Ferguson and Kael Lewis. Ferguson averaged 17.3 points and 5.2 assists, and Lewis finished with an average of 16.5 points.

Rounding out the WCAL first team were Waynedale’s Evan Yoder, Dalton’s Carter Hignight and Chippewa’s Johnny Telloni.

Smithville's Brady Sidle and Isaiah Lee, Norwayne's Cole Gasser and Brendan Hall, Hillsdale's Knox Lewis, Wayendale's Braedon Lorentz and Dalton's Cody Hofstetter were named to the second team.