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WBCA announces 2023 Division 5 Boys Basketball All-State Team

03/20/2023, 11:00am CDT
By WBCA

McDonell Central senior Eddie Mittermeyer

Newman Catholic senior Mason Prey and Wauzeka-Steuben senior Seth Bunders are repeat selections on the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 5 All-State squad.

Prey and Bunders are the lone repeat honorees on the Division 5 squad while senior Tristian Lynch of Green Bay NEW Lutheran, sophomore Ayden Phillips of Almond-Bancroft and senior Eli Talsma of Hurley all moved up from the honorable mention list.

Prey, a versatile 6-foot-4 guard and the all-time scoring leader in Wausau history with 1,872 points, averaged 22.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists while leading Newman Catholic to a 26-4 record and the Division 5 state crown. Prey plans to play basketball in college, but has not made a decision on which school to attend. 

Bunders, a dynamic 6-foot-0 guard who spent his freshmen and sophomore years at Almond-Bancroft before moving to the Wauzeka-Steuben district, averaged 25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 5.0 steals while helping the Hornets to a 21-7 record. The UW-Platteville recruit finished his four-year prep career with 1,742 points. 

Lynch (6-6) earned unanimous first-team all-league honors in the Packerland Conference and averaged 22.7 points and 8.5 rebounds. He scored 1,508 points and grabbed 635 rebounds during his four-year high school career.

Phillips (6-6) led the Central Wisconsin South Conference in scoring at 19.7 ppg while ranking second in rebounding at 10.5 rpg. The physical and athletic forward helped Almond-Bancroft to a 20-6 record. 

Talsma (6-3) was voted Player of the Year in the Indianhead Conference. He averaged 27.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 52 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free-throw line. Talsma scored 2,130 points during his prep career. 

Jaydon Awe of Pacelli is one of the better sophomores in Wisconsin. The 6-7 forward was named Player of the Year in the Central Wisconsin South Conference and shot 53 percent from the field and 64 percent from the foul line. Awe averaged 17.4 points, 16.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks while helping Pacelli to the league title and a 24-4 record.   

Junior Isaiah Kastern (6-5) of Solon Springs helped his team to a 26-2 record and a sectional-final appearance. Kastern's strong play in the lane helped the Eagles win the Indianhead Conference title with a 17-0 record. The explosive Kastern averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds.

McDonell Central Catholic senior Eddie Mittermeyer (6-0) made more three-point shots (126) than any other player in the state this season. He shot 43 percent from outside the three-point arc and averaged 20.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists while helping McDonell to a 29-2 record, the Cloverbelt West Conference title and a runner-up finish in the WIAA Division 5 State Tournament. Mittermeyer plans to play college basketball at UW-Superior. 

Junior Ryan Popowich (6-4) of Bruce was voted Player of the Year in the Lakeland East Conference. The active and versatile forward averaged 23.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.2 steals while helping Bruce to a 20-5 record and second-place finish in the league standings to Prairie Farm. 

Senior Cullen Rauls (6-0) of Fall River turned in an outstanding season after missing his junior year with an injury. The skilled backcourt performer helped Fall River to the title in the Trailways West Conference and was named the league's Player of the Year. Rauls led Fall River to the WIAA Division 5 State Tournament and averaged 17.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists.  

WBCA Division 5 All-State

Jaydon Awe, Soph., Pacelli
Seth Bunders, Sr., Wauzeka-Steuben
Isaiah Kastern, Jr., Solon Springs
Tristian Lynch, Sr., Green Bay NEW Lutheran
Eddie Mittermeyer, Sr., McDonell Central Catholic
Ayden Phillips, Soph., Almond-Bancroft
Ryan Popowich, Jr., Bruce
Mason Prey, Sr., Newman Catholic
Cullen Rauls, Sr., Fall River
Eli Talsma, Sr., Hurley

Honorable Mention

Ahmad Badwan, Jr., Salam
Rex Blaine, Sr., Benton
Mike Bowen Jr., Jr., Heritage Christian
Jacob Ganga, Sr., Elkhart Lake
Nathan Gibbs, Sr., Port Edwards
Canan Huss, Sr., McDonell Central Catholic
Aiden Janke, Sr., Athens
Emmitt Konieczny, Jr., Columbus Catholic
Conner Krach, Sr., Newman Catholic
Anthony Martin, Sr., Southwestern
Elijah Meerstein, Sr., Green Bay NEW Lutheran
Evan Payne, Sr., Seneca
Diego Perez, Jr., Wayland Academy
Ashton Pfaff, Sr., New Lisbon
Isaac Seidel, Sr., Newman Catholic
Sam Udelhofen, Sr., Potosi
Colin Vieth, Sr., Fall River
Gavin Wunderlin, Jr., Potosi
Tommy Zakovec, Sr., Mellen

Tag(s): News Archive  BBB News  All-State