Class 3A Boys Basketball District Predictions
Basketball games kicked off November 27th. We dive into each District and predict the winner of each district. Remember for Class 2A you now must just be ranked inside the top 32 of the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index to make it to Regionals or win your District. District winners also host if they are ranked inside the top 16 of the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index. This will be a quick article but expect later in December a full breakdown.
Metro-Conf-LP=District 1
1. Manual
2. Stargate School
3. Yuma
4. Forge Christian
5. William Smith
6. Prospect Ridge
7. Lotus School
District 1 will be a combination of the Metro, Confluence, and Lower Platte League. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. Manual is my pick to win District 1. Manual returns key pieces from last years team including their top scorer. Depth must step up this year to avoid being pushed off the crown. Stargate School, Yuma, and Forge Christian are the main challengers. Forge Christian is my dark horse pick. They are your defending State Champions and I doubt they will rebuild and more reload.
My predictions for Metro-Conf-LP
League Champion: Manual
Regional Contenders: Manual, Stargate School, Yuma, Forge Christian
Dark Horse: Forge Christian
Player of the League: Deshawn Fox Sr. Manual
Others to watch for: Marquell Marquez Sr. Manual, Dylan Perkins Sr. Stargate School, Hunter Roark Jr. Stargate School, Brody Sheffield So. Yuma, Peyton Miller Sr. Forge Christian, Francisco Ortiz Sr. William Smith, Augustine Osei Sr. William Smith, Ezekiel Bote Jr. Prospect Ridge
(No stats lotus school)
Frontier=District 2
1. Lake County
2. Bruce Randolph
3. Bennett
4. Platte Canyon
5. Pinnacle Charter
6. Kipp Collegiate
District 2 will be the schools from the Frontier League. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. The Frontier District could be one of the weaker districts in class 3A. I expect to see 2 maybe 3 teams get to regionals. Lake County is my pick to win the Frontier District. Lake County will lose some key pieces but return a pair of 10.0 ppg scorers that could help anchor a younger team. Bruce Randolph and Bennett I think could challenge for the league crown. Both teams have key pieces back but will look to take a step forward. Platte Canyon is my dark horse pick and a team who could also push for regionals.
My predictions for Frontier
League Champion: Lake County
Regional Contenders: Lake County, Bruce Randolph, Bennett, Platte Canyon
Dark Horse: Platte Canyon
Player of the League: Hayden Von Boeckman Sr. Bruce Randolph
Others to watch for: Isaiah Martinez Jr. Lake County, Jonathan Valdez Sr. Lake County, Daniel Torres So. Bruce Randolph, Owen Stiers Jr. Bennett, Brody Hawes Jr. Bennett, Trevor Kirklin So. Platte Canyon, Jack McMahen Sr. Platte Canyon, Caleb Arellano So. Pinnacle, Ronaldo Sandoval Sr. KIPP Collegiate
IML-SJ-SP=District 3
1. Centauri
2. Ignacio
3. Montezuma-Cortez
4. Crested Butte
5. Bayfield
District 3 is the Intermountain League, San Juan, and Southern Peaks League teams from Class 3A. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. Centauri is my pick to win District 3. They return their leader from last season but will look for some depth to take steps forward. Ignacio and Montezuma-Cortez I believe will be the main challengers to Centauri. I also think Crested Butte could be in discussion for a regional berth. My dark horse pick is Bayfield. They lost a very good senior class but could have some solid pieces returning.
My predictions for IML-SJ-SP
League Champion: Centauri
Regional Contenders: Centauri, Ignacio, Montezuma-Cortez, Crested Butte
Dark Horse: Bayfield
Player of the League: Chaz Holman Sr. Centauri
Others to watch for: Kallon Russel Sr. Centauri, Troy Sowards Jr. Centauri, Kaleb Anderson Sr. Centauri, Tay Wheat Jr. Montezuma-Cortez, Caidin Leonard Jr. Montezuma-Cortez, Miles Frost Sr. Montezuma-Cortez, Riley Davis Sr. Crested Butte, Weston Miller Sr. Crested Butte, Porter Donahue Sr. Crested Butte, Lincoln Williams Jr. Bayfield
(No stats Ignacio)
Black Forest-Santa Fe=District 4
1. Peyton
2. Thomas MacLaren
3. Fountain Valley
4. Rocky Ford
District 4 will be a combination of the Black Forest Leagues & Santa Fe. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. My pick to win the District 4 tournament is Peyton. Peyton will lose some key pieces but return their #2 scorer to be the leader. Depth must step up to avoid being caught from the rest of the district. Thomas MacLaren I think is the main contender in this District. Thomas MacLaren lose their top scorer but have plenty back to push Peyton. Fountain Valley is my dark horse pick. The also lose their top scorer but return 3 of their top 5 scorers.
My predictions for Black Forest-Santa Fe
League Champion: Peyton
Regional Contenders: Peyton, Thomas MacLaren
Dark Horse: Fountain Valley
Player of the League: Ayden Breese Sr. Peyton
Others to watch for: Michael Perry So. Peyton, Sam Montgomery Sr. Thomas MacLaren, Jake Frisbie Jr. Thomas MacLaren, Beckett Shannon Sr. Thomas MacLaren, Ke Shen Jr. Fountain Valley, Jaden Lopez-Hardy So. Fountain Valley, Alex Marchand-Fierro Sr. Rocky Ford
Patriot=District 5
1. Highland
2. Strasburg
3. Platte Valley
4. Estes Park
5. Liberty Common
6. Brush
7. Timnath
8. Frontier Academy
9. Wellington
District 5 will be the Class 3A Patriot League. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. My pick to win the District 5 tournament is Highland. Highland lose their top scorer but return a trio of scorers all over 9.0 ppg. Highland will look for a deep tournament run this season. Strasburg and Platte Valley I believe are the main challengers to Highland. I think Strasburg has the best chances at catching Highland and their game could be very high scoring. Estes Park, Liberty Common, Brush, and Timnath could all be regional contenders. Brush is my dark horse pick. Brush lose a big senior class and I am interested to see what the underclassmen bring to the court.
My predictions for Patriot
League Champion: Highland
Regional Contenders: Highland, Strasburg, Platte Valley, Estes Park, Liberty Common, Brush, Timnath
Dark Horse: Brush
Player of the League: Sawyer Morgan Jr. Highland
Others to watch for: Carson Steinke Sr. Highland, Jacob Wares Sr. Highland, Landen Martin Sr. Strasburg, Tyce Bollers Jr. Strasburg, Austin Velasco Sr. Strasburg, Braylon Edstrom Sr. Platte Valley, Talyn Short Jr. Platte Valley, Ryland Reetz Sr. Estes Park, Donavyn Meulener Sr. Estes Park, Carson Ford Sr. Liberty Common, Pierce Richardson Jr. Liberty Common, Sawyer Albert Sr. Brush, Grant Becker Sr. Brush, Tanner Mock Jr. Timnath, Luke Jacobson So. Timnath, Jackson Steward Sr. Frontier Academy, Alexis Mendez So. Wellington
Tri-Peaks=District 6
1. Vanguard
2. Banning Lewis
3. Woodland Park
4. Salida
5. Rye
6. Florence
7. St. Mary’s
8. Buena Vista
9. C.S Christian
10. Ellicott
11. Atlas Prep
District 6 will be the 3A Tri-Peaks. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. District 6 in my opinion is one of the tougher Districts. They have possibly 9 teams that could be fighting for berths into regionals. I think This district has at least 7 teams who could possibly push to win the district crown. This district will be a battle. Vanguard is my preseason pick to win the district. Vanguard does lose some talent from last season including 2 of their top 5 scorers. Vanguard does return the rest of the roster including a trio of 9.0 scorers and higher. Their depth could be the difference for them this season. Banning Lewis, Woodland Park, Rye, and Salida I think are the main contenders for the league crown. Florence, St. Mary’s, Buena Vista, and C.S Christian are regional contenders, and we could get a surprise from this group to push towards the top of the standings. Salida is my dark horse pick. Salida is your runner up from last season. They lost a great senior class but have a solid group coming back that could surprise a few teams. They could be dangerous by the end of the season.
My predictions for Tri-Peaks
League Champion: Vanguard
Regional Contenders: Vanguard, Banning Lewis, Florence, Woodland Park, Salida, Rye, St. Mary’s, Buena Vista, C.S Christian
Dark Horse: Salida
Player of the League: Nathan Morris Sr. Vanguard
Others to watch for: Cameron Rowney Sr. Vanguard, JJ Wetters Jr. Vanguard, Joseph Bjegovich Sr. Banning Lewis, Ben Early Sr. Banning Lewis, Tyson Robertson Sr. Banning Lewis, Caden Howard Sr. Woodland Park, Bryce Broeker Sr. Woodland Park, Daniel Edgington Sr. Salida, Kason Westphal Jr. Salida, Brandon Benz Sr. Rye, Jay Graham Sr. Rye, Codah Graber Sr. Rye, Gage Goodall Sr. Florence, Garrett Royer Sr. Florence, Ely Ferrara Sr. St. Mary’s, Jackson Lewis Sr. St. Mary’s, Josh Padrnos Sr. St. Mary’s, Kaden Schell Jr. Buena Vista, Julian Lopez-Olsen Jr. Buena Vista, Jace Velasquez Jr. C.S Christian, Jeremiah Schmidt Sr. C.S Christian, James Burgeois Sr. Ellicott,
Western Slope
1. Meeker
2. Cedaredge
3. Grand Valley
4. North Fork
5. Gunnison
6. Roaring Fork
7. Olathe
District 7 is the Class 3A Western Slope League. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. Meeker is my pick to win the Western Slope District. Meeker returns 4 of their top 5 scorers including 3 who had over 10.0 ppg. Depth must take a big step forward this season for Meeker if they plan on a deep run this season. Cedaredge I believe is the main challenger to Meeker. Cedaredge lose some key talent but return their leader from last season. Grand Valley, North Fork, and Gunnison could be regional contenders. All 3 of those teams lose key talent but have some back to possibly push for a regional spot. Gunnison is my dark horse pick. They did not post stats last season, but they were young at some spots. They could take a step forward this season.
My predictions for Western Slope
League Champion: Meeker
Regional Contenders: Meeker, Cedaredge, Grand Valley, North Fork, Gunnison
Dark Horse: Gunnison
Player of the League: Jace Mobbley Sr. Meeker
Others to watch for: Jonathan Fitzgibbons Sr. Meeker, Ryan Sullivan Sr. Meeker, Luke Maxey Sr. Cedaredge, Logan Tullis Sr. Cedaredge, Andrew Horner Jr. Grand Valley, Porter Ostermiller Jr. Grand Valley, Nick Poutre Sr. North Fork, Moss Inman Jr. North Fork, Noel Richarson Sr. Roaring Fork, Miguel Lara Sr. Olathe, Froilan Mendez Sr. Olathe
(No stats Gunnison)
Mile High-Foothills
1. SkyView Academy
2. Windsor Charter
3. Machebeuf
4. Clear Creek
5. Dawson School
6. Lyons
District 8 is a combination of the 3A Mile High League & 3A Foothills League. Remember all District Tournaments will be seeded by the CHSAA Seeding and Selection Index unless a different seeding criteria is agreed upon. Winning your district is the one way to guarantee your berth into the state tournament. I think District 8 will be very tough this season with 5 of the 6 teams returning key pieces and possibly pushing for regionals. SkyView Academy is my pick to win the district 8 tournament. SkyView Academy returns 4 of their 5 top scorers from last season including their top 2. Windsor Charter, Machebeuf, and Clear Creek will all be contenders this season. Windsor Charter and Machebeuf return their top scorers, but I have depth concerns for both teams. Clear Creek is my dark horse pick. Clear Creek returns a pair of 10.0 ppg scorers and some depth. If they can get their starting 5 to round out, they could be a dangerous team.
My predictions for Mile High-Foothills
League Champion: SkyView Academy
Regional Contenders: SkyView Academy, Windsor Charter, Machebeuf, Clear Creek, Dawson School
Dark Horse: Clear Creek
Player of the League: Ball Kellen Jr. Windsor Charter
Others to watch for: Kyle Cosart Sr. SkyView Academy, Isaac Dove Jr. SkyView Academy, Brodie Funk Jr. SkyView Academy, Andrew Schams So. Windsor Charter, Brody Unruh Sr. Windsor Charter, Kibre Sibhat Sr. Machebeuf, Miles Edgar-Parchman Jr. Machebeuf, John Menke Jr. Machebeuf, Collin Hendrickson Sr. Clear Creek, Tyler O’Brien Sr. Clear Creek, Jackson Parker Sr. Dawson School, Peter Ernest Jr. Dawson School, Caleb Christiansen Jr. Lyons, Harper Leino Sr. Lyons
Regional Predictions
I am going to pick the 32 teams I think qualify for Regionals. Remember to qualify for Regionals you either need to win your District or be in the top 32 of the CHSAA Seeding & Selection Index after Districts.
District 1- 4 teams
Manual, Stargate, Yuma, Forge Christian
District 2 -2 teams
Lake County, Bruce Randolph
District 3- 3 teams
Centauri, Ignacio, Montezuma-Cortez
District 4- 2 teams
Peyton, Thomas MacLaren
District 5- 6 teams
Highland, Strasburg, Platte Valley, Estes Park, Liberty Common, Brush
District 6- 8 teams
Vanguard, Banning Lewis, Woodland Park, Salida, Rye, Florence, St. Mary’s, Buena Vista
District 7- 4 teams
Meeker, Cedaredge, Grand Valley, North Fork
District 8- 3 teams
SkyView Academy, Windsor Charter, Machebeuf
MileHigh Prep Report 