Pre-Season ICAC Rankings

By Will G. and Wyatt H.

Another year, another season of basketball. This year, the Inter-County Athletic Conference will be a group to watch, as it will be one of the most competitive conferences in the Central Illinois area. 

Here is a ranking of who we believe will be the best teams in the ICAC. 

1. Illini Bluffs 

The projected #1 team going into this season is Illini Bluffs. After being ranked #1 in the state in the 1A conference, the Tigers have high hopes of winning the conference this year. Losing starter Brandon Coats puts IB at a disadvantage, but junior Jayden Washington and the rest of the starting line up will work together to fill this hole. 

All State and First Team ICAC Hank Alvey returns with ICAC Honorable Mention Wyatt Hendel, as well as Second Team Toby Cooper and Second Team Devon White. Coaches Clay Vass, Trey David and Joe Waters have also added a new member to the coaching staff, alumni and former player Taylor Bruninga. Taylor played D1 basketball at Illinois State University and will be a great help to the Tigers. 

As long as the Tigers maintain their style of play the entire season, it will definitely be a successful one, with high possibilities at a deep run in the postseason. 

2. Peoria Christian 

The team we believe is the second ranked team is Peoria Christian. Last season, the Chargers finished with a record of 24-11 in regular season and 5-2 in the conference. 

Peoria Christian is a solid team, doing well on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. On offense, the Chargers like to get out aggressively and try to outrun their opponents in the transition game. 

Continuing the fast-paced play, they like to play up-in-your-face defense, preventing their opponents from having a chance to think and causing a lot of turnovers in their favor. The Chargers lost a few senior starters from last year, including First Team ICAC Kitan Isawumi and Honorable Mention Adam Pepper. Key returning players include First Team ICAC Malachi Persinger, Jameson Fischer and Drew Gohring.

The head coach in charge of leading the team is Jason Persinger who has been coaching at the helm of the well-established program for 6 years now. The Chargers have won the ICAC Tournament for the past two years and will fight for the number one spot. The loss of some key players though will hurt, but Malachi Persinger could lead the Chargers to another conference win. 

3. Delavan 

The Delavan Panthers had a pretty solid season last year, finishing with a record of 15-17 in the regular season and 5-3 in conference. They should be able to have another successful season, as they didn’t lose any senior players last year and should have everyone returning. 

Not losing players works in their favor, allowing their chemistry to continue to grow and allowing the team to progress without having to start from scratch. Some key players for the Panthers are Second Team ICAC Cooper Hansen, Second Team ICAC Micah Brockhouse and Senior Forward Zach McLean. These seniors will help guide the underclassmen and any potential newcomers. 

If everything goes right for the Panthers, second year Head Coach Dan Hansen could be looking at a very successful season.

4. Brimfield

Ranked fourth on our list is Brimfield. They also had a solid season with a final record of 14-17 in the regular season and a 5-3 record in conference play. The Indians lost First Team ICAC Senior Forward Oliver Heinz, but have returning starters that include Second Team ICAC Drew Kieser and Camden Blodgett to pick up where they left off. A chance at the ICAC title is likely for the Indians, but it will be difficult. 

5. Elmwood 

Last year, the Trojans went 22-10 overall with a 6-5 record in conference play. This team has strong upside potential and could crack the top 3 if their players come together. 

The Trojans’ notable players that graduated were First Team ICAC Zach Howerton and Honorable Mention Brendan Williams. Younger talent will be leading this team with only a few upperclassmen returning, including Second Team ICAC Bo Windish and Layne Durst.

Josh Fugitt brings his young talent team into the ICAC conference looking for a middle finish. With this young team, it’s hard to predict where they would end up, but it will likely be in the middle of the pack. 

6. Peoria Heights 

Peoria Heights went 11-18 overall and 3-10 last year in the ICAC Conference. They are 6 on our ranking with high upside again because of the young talent that can explode for them. If the young talent can’t perform, though, it may be another middle-end finish for the Patriots. 

Leading the Patriots are Second Team ICAC Camron Williams and Senior Finn Heath. Peoria Heights will be mostly run by Juniors, but the few Seniors should come up as the leaders propel the team as best as they can. 

Jimmy Jordan is coming into his seventh year of coaching at Peoria Heights and looking at the bottom of the barrel in the ICAC Conference. Again Just like Brimfield there is upside for the young team but are hard to predict since young players are unpredictable.

7. ROWVA 

ROWVA/Williamsfield is 7th on our rankings. The Cougars had a successful season last year with a final record of 21-10, which might make it a surprise for them to be this low. This rank is due to them losing key seniors Forward Graham White and Guard Adam Kohl, who were a big part of their success last season. 

They could have a successful year again since they have returning players, including Guard Lewis Sams and Forward Riley Danner. The Cougars very easily could make a run for the conference championship, as head coach Bob Anderson is notorious for having very good teams, and this could be one of them. 

As the season progresses, we will get to see how good this ROWVA team can be, and hopefully they can live up to their potential. 

8. North Fulton 

Last, but not least, on our rankings is North Fulton. The Wildcats are looking to bounce back from last season after finishing with a record of 6-22. 

Losing seniors Stryker Strait and Quentin McCallister is definitely going to hurt the Wildcats, but the loss won’t be devastating, as they still have Jace Weaver, Kaden Bowles Jr. and Brody Thum returning, who all played significant minutes last season. 

Now another year older and more mature, these players can be notably better and can help the Wildcats compete in the conference. It may be another struggle year for the Wildcats, but with more experience that the younger players can get, they will be able to become better players. In the meantime, a last place finish in the ICAC Conference seems realistic for the Wildcats this year.