This story is sponsored by Victory Apparel
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
A total of 12 players from Central Wisconsin earned accolades on the 2020-21 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State Boys Basketball Teams.
Auburndale senior Hunter Wright was a first-team selection on the Division 4 team.
Wright, the Marawood Conference South Division Player of the Year, led the conference in scoring at 18.2 points per game with 42 3-pointers made and while shooting 54 percent from the field. He also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game as well for the Eagles.
Three other Marawood South players were honorable mention selections on the Division 4 team – Edgar’s Kyle Brewster and Drew Guden, and Marathon’s Jaden Koeller.
Guden and Brewster helped lift Edgar to the Marawood South title and an appearance in the WIAA Division 4 state tournament. The duo’s stats were almost identical, with Guden averaging 14.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while making 52 3-pointers. Brewster averaged 14.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest, with 48 3-pointers.
Koeller averaged a team-high 14 points per game for Marathon, while making 54 3-pointers.
Also making Division 4 honorable mention was Abbotsford’s Cade Faber. Faber, a first-team all-Marawood Conference North Division choice, averaged 20.7 points and 14.2 rebounds per game for the Falcons.
Wisconsin Valley Conference Player of the Year Dylan Lisitza of Wisconsin Rapids was an honorable mention selection on the Division 1 team.
Lisitza led the WVC in scoring at 19.5 points per game, with 23 3-pointers in conference play. He was also third in the conference in assists with 47 and sixth in rebounding with 65.
Three area players were honorable mention on the Division 2 squad – Mosinee’s Cyle Kowalski, Medford’s Peyton Kuhn, and Merrill’s Nathan Woller.
Woller averaged 14.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for Merrill, which finished fourth in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Kuhn was the Great Northern Conference Player of the Year for conference champion Medford, scoring 19.2 points per game with 72 made 3-pointers.
Kowalski, a first-team all-GNC move averaged 17.7 points, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game for Mosinee, which finished third in conference.
Athens’ Cooper Diedrich, Greenwood’s Westen Schmitz, and Port Edwards’ Quinton Tranel were honorable mention on the Division 5 team.
Diedrich averaged 18.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Athens, earning co-Player of the Year honors in the Marawood Conference North Division as the Bluejays won the conference championship.
Schmitz helped Greenwood to a third-place finish in the Cloverbelt Conference East Division, averaging 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
Tranel averaged 19.1 points, 7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game, leading conference champion Port Edwards in all of those categories. He shot 55 percent from the field and 71.7 percent at the free throw line for the Blackhawks, who reached the WIAA Division 5 sectionals.
The teams included 10 first-team selections for each of the five divisions, as well as honorable mention choices. Teams were placed in the divisions that they originally were slated to be in prior to the season. With a number of schools not playing this season, teams may have moved up a division during postseason play.
St. John’s Northwest Academies senior Brandin Podziemski was named Mr. Basketball in Wisconsin after averaging 35.1 points, 10 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 4 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game for the Lancers, who finished 21-7.
Podziemski made 108 of 249 3-point attempts (43 percent), shot 60 percent overall from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line, finishing with 2,154 career points in three seasons at St. John’s. He has narrowed his college choices down to Illinois, Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Vanderbilt and Wake Forest, according to wissports.net.
2020-21 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State Teams
Division 1
First team: Hayden Doyle, sr., Brookfield East; Luke Healy, sr., Hudson; David Joplin, sr., Brookfield Central; John Kinziger, so., De Pere; Bryan Parzych, sr., Wauwatosa East; Jackson Paveletzke, jr., Kimberly; Tanner Resch, sr., Sussex Hamilton; Joe Reuter, sr., Chippewa Falls; Seth Trimble, jr., Menomonee Falls; Mac Wrecke, so., Hartland Arrowhead.
Honorable mention: Grant Asman, sr., Kimberly; Luke Bara, sr., Muskego; Will Boser, jr., Eau Claire Memorial; Carter Capstran, sr., Franklin; Steven Clay, jr., Menomonee Falls; Jacob Dietz, sr., Neenah; Mason Dopirak, sr., Manitowoc; Jake Fisher, jr., Oconomowoc; Jay Hinson Jr., Wauwatosa East; Jalen Keago, sr., Oshkosh North; Chad Kron, sr., Eau Claire North; Dylan Lisitza, sr., Wisconsin Rapids; Ben Nau, sr., Brookfield Central; Maximus Nelson Jr., Appleton North; Ben Olson, jr., Sun Prairie; Jasin Sinani, sr., Oak Creek; Alexander Singleton, sr., Wauwatosa East; Carter Thomas, jr., Neenah; Brendan Weis, sr., Janesville Parker.
Division 2
First team: Nate Abel, sr., Beaver Dam; Mason Dorn, sr., Seymour; Jayden Jackson, sr., Whitefish Bay; Kobe Johnson, sr., Glendale Nicolet; Zac Johnson, sr., River Falls; Gavin McGrath, sr., Onalaska; Cade Meyer, sr., Monroe; Milan Momcilovic, so., Pewaukee; Cameron Palesse, sr., Waukesha West; Marcus Tomashek, jr., Ashwaubenon; Max Weisbrod, jr., DeForest.
Honorable mention: Joey Berezowitz, sr., Burlington; Drew Biber, sr., Cedarburg; Josiah Butler, jr., Fox Valley Lutheran; C.J. Campbell, jr., New Richmond; Jack Campion, jr., Milton; Victor Desmond, sr., Onalaska; J.T. Dougherty, sr., River Falls; Brock Heffner, sr., Grafton; Ashton Janowski, jr., Pewaukee; Jordan Johnson, sr., Elkhorn; Danilo Jovanovich, jr., Whitehall; Cole Kalander, sr., Holmen; Sam Kick, sr., Onalaska; Cyle Kowalski, sr., Mosinee; Peyton Kuhn, sr., Medford; Logan Landers, sr., Cedarburg; Parker Lawrence, sr., Hortonville; Carson Leuzinger, jr., Monroe; Cael McGee, sr., Stoughton; Christopher Morgan, jr., Kaukauna; Jonah Rindfleisch, sr., Wisconsin Lutheran; Jack Rose, jr., Westosha Central; Kevin Sandman, sr., Wilmot; Josh Terrian, jr., Pewaukee; Tre Valeriano, sr., Milwaukee Pius XI Catholic; Brandt Wilson, sr., Sauk Prairie; Nathan Woller, sr., Merrill; Prentice Young Jr., Wisconsin Lutheran.
Division 3
First team: Charlie Bender, sr., Lake Mills; Quentin Bolton, sr., Shoreland Lutheran; Luke Haertle, jr., Lake Country Lutheran; Sam Haese, sr., Wrightstown; Tyrese Hunter, sr., Racine St. Catherine’s; Clayton Jenny, sr., Edgerton; Kamari McGee, sr., Racine St. Catherine’s; Brandin Podziemski, sr., St. John’s Northwest Academies; Donovan Short, jr., Denmark; Gabe Siller, sr., St. Croix Central.
Honorable mention: Mason Anderson, sr., Ellsworth; Levi Birkholz, so., Lakeside Lutheran; Riley Brooks, so., Ripon; Gus Foster, jr., Big Foot; Dillon Garthwaite, jr., Dodgeville; Matthew Hansen, sr., Wrightstown; Hunter Ingles, sr., Winneconne; Wes Keller, sr., Richland Center; Ronald Kirk, sr., Whitefish Bay Dominican; Jared Lessman, sr., St. Croix Falls; Jeremy Lorenz, so., Brillion; Jordan Malmlov, so., Prescott; Melvin Medina Ortiz, sr., Somerset; Ryan Nixon, sr., East Troy; Jackson Pettit, sr., St. Croix Central; Cade Stachura, sr., Omro; Brennan Timm, sr., St. John’s Northwest Academies; Trey Traeder, sr., Lodi; Landon VanCalster, jr., Freedom; Barrett Witt, sr., Wisconsin Dells.
Division 4
First team: Andrew Alia, jr., Kenosha St. Joseph; Carter Lancaster, sr., Darlington; Adam Larson, sr., Fennimore; Derek Lindert, jr., Pardeeville; Donald McHenry, sr., Milwaukee Academy of Science; Jack Misky, sr., Cuba City; Richie Murphy, sr., Cameron; Antuan Nesbitt, sr., Racine The Prairie School; Craig Ward, jr., Marshall; Hunter Wright, sr., Auburndale.
Honorable mention: Kyle Brewster, sr., Edgar; Braden Crubel, so., River Ridge; Cade Faber, sr., Abbotsford; Taber Fawley, sr., Phillips; Nik Feller, sr., Poynette; Joah Filardo, jr., Mineral Point; Cal Fisher, so., Deerfield; Drew Guden, sr., Edgar; Brady Ingersoll, so., Ladysmith; Jaden Koeller, jr., Marathon; Jack Martens, sr., Cumberland; Noah Miller, sr., Ozaukee; Caleb More, sr., Oconto; Carter Olson, jr., Cuba City; Luke Olson, sr., Fall Creek; Aidan Ottery, sr., Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs; Gavin Proudfoot, jr., Onalaska Luther; Cayden Rankin, sr., Darlington; Austin Weis, sr., Cameron; Josh Woller, sr., Oconto; J.P. Wolterstorff, sr., Eau Claire Regis.
Division 5
First team: Travis Alvin, jr., Randolph; Sam Grieger, jr., Randolph; Peter Gustafson, sr., Monticello; Dylan Kuehl, sr., Hustisford; Gavin Ralph, sr., Wauzeka-Steuben; Hank Reader, sr., Bangor; Jacob Rowe, sr., Rio; Preston Ruedinger, sr., Oshkosh Lourdes Academy; Kyle Steien, sr., Blair-Taylor; Casey Verhagen, jr., Sheboygan Lutheran; Matthew Waldera, sr., Blair-Taylor.
Honorable mention: Max Beyer, jr., Lena; Marshal Bukowski, sr., Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran; Dominick Cummins, sr., Benton; Cooper Diedrich, jr., Athens; Tristen Harder, sr., New Auburn; Griffin Hart, sr., Cambria-Friesland; Nick Higley, sr., Eleva-Strum; Zane Langrehr, sr., Bangor; Stephen Munson, jr., North Crawford; Westen Schmitz, sr., Greenwood; Pierson Schneider, sr., Rio; Kobe Smit, sr., Cambria-Friesland; Brendan Strenke, jr., Turtle Lake; Ashton Swanson, jr., Seneca; Eli Talsma, so., Hurley; Quinton Tranel, sr., Port Edwards; Ryan Zimmerman, sr., Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran.