Players to Watch:

Tyson Hughes, Ambrose
Lincoln Mathis, Ambrose
Eli Kingery, Cole Valley Christian
Max Myers, Cole Valley Christian
Jared Alger, Compass Charter
Braden Ankeny, Marsing
Nacho Margarito, Marsing
Cache Beus, Melba
Braden Volkers, Melba
Dante D’Orazio, Nampa Christian
Devon McDaniel, Nampa Christian
Connor Hawker, New Plymouth
Tracen Tripple, New Plymouth
Max Wheeler, North Star Charter

Written by: Will Hoenike

Last spring, the Melba Mustangs made a bit of a surprise run. Despite a 21-2 record, the team entered the 2A state tournament in March as the 4th seed before edging conference rival Ambrose in the opening round, upsetting the top overall seed (North Fremont) in the semifinals, and then topping St. Maries for the 2A state championship.

Is an encore in the cards for the Mustangs?

After being awarded the state-title banner, Melba finished the season with a 24-2 record but is replacing the reigning conference co-player of the year in Joe Reiber and all-conference honoree Dillon Stosich. However, the sting is eased with the return of all-conference selections Braden Volkers (now a senior) and Cache Beus (a junior) along with a number of talented role players that should give the Mustangs a good chance to compete for a repeat championship at the 2A level.

“We will have multiple players that can score anywhere on the court,” said Mustangs’ head coach Spencer Trappett. “We will have the ability to set a fast-paced game and score in the transition game.”

Beus in the paint and Volkers on the perimeter figure to be two of the team’s top scoring options. Junior Tucker Lowber has the ability to stretch defenses from the three-point line as well. Juniors Cutter Beus and Noah West add depth and talent upfront while seniors Kaden Dayley and Gabe Shaffer provide defensive strength.

Ambrose won 21 games last season and, though the Archers need to replace the conference’s other co-players of the year in Johnny Sugarman, it’s a young program with strong days ahead of it. Head coach Ken Sugarman’s program includes 30 players – 23 of which are either freshmen or sophomores. When Sugarman was asked what his team could do better this season over last season, he replied simply, “more wins.”

Also angling for more wins this season are New Plymouth and Marsing. The Pilgrims have a pair of senior guards, Connor Hawder and Zander Granden, to lead the way but also welcome freshman sharpshooter Tracen Tripple to the attack.

“We will be an up-tempo team that will shoot the three-ball a lot,” said New Plymouth head coach Jeff Lavender. “We have five players that will have the green light to shoot the ball from deep. We also have one of the most explosive bigs in our conference in 6-foot-5 junior Heath Jarboe.”

Marsing head coach Tim Little also has a talented post presence in senior Braden Ankeny. Ankeny led the team in rebounding as a sophomore and now, as a junior, has added a mid-range jumper to his offensive arsenal. His game should compliment another returning starter, junior Nacho Margarito, nicely. Another junior, Dusty Engle, has nice range on offense and Little marvels at his court vision.

“We return a very young team. We have many options offensively this year, which will be a change for us,” said Little. “Any given night could witness more than one of the top eight players finishing with double-digit points.”

Second-year head coach Dan Waldeck has an impressive group in the backcourt for Cole Valley Christian this season, headlined by all-conference returners Max Myers and Eli Kingery. Ben Beglinger also returns for the Chargers after averaging ten points per game as a sophomore, along with senior Toby Kingery, as the team looks to jump forward from the 16 wins it collected last season.

Nampa Christian is looking to replace a pair of all-conference performers in Carson Atwood and Caden Yett but, as usual, the Trojans’ roster is packed with solid athletes who are ready to contribute. Seniors Dante D’Orazio and Devon McDaniel are a pair of versatile seniors expected to play key roles for head coach Matthew Gregory.

A pair of dark-horse candidates in the conference are North Star Charter, a new team to the league after competing at the 1A Division 1 level last season, and Compass Charter. Compass returns senior guard Jared Alger to lead a young squad and North Star welcomes back senior Max Wheeler, who was a first-team All-League performer at the 1A Division 1 level last season after averaging 16 points and five rebounds per game.

Though Melba has the tools to be a 2A power in 2022-23, there are plenty of threats within the Western Idaho Conference. The team just missed sending three teams to the state tournament last year (Melba and Ambrose qualified automatically while Nampa Christian lost in the state play-in game). It’s not hard to envision the conference getting a third team into the bracket this winter.