The Upstate 20 & Weekly All-Upstate (Class D)

THE UPSTATE 20, comprehensive team rankings for all areas of the Empire State north of NYC, is back for a new installment. The dog days of winter are upon us, and I think from players to coaches to parents to me, we’re all feeling it. The key… who’s surviving and maintaining their approach?

Current rankings, Class D notes, and more:

*** Note: I will include this prior to every ranking list for every class because it’ll always be someone’s first time reading the EST class rankings. All NYSPHSAA & non-NYSPHSAA ‘Federation’ schools north of NYC & Long Island are considered. Also, it isn’t called ‘The Upstate 20 and some more’ so I don’t include an honorable mention list, but approximately 35 teams are currently under consideration for this class. ***

How quickly the tables turn. A main point in the previous installment was about a team emerging after they beat Edmeston/Morris. All *Brenna Bolton* & crew did was flip the script convincingly last week and pop back on the *Upstate 20* list in their highest spot of the year.

1.) Chateaugay (10)
2.) Stamford/Jefferson (4)
3.) LaFargeville (3)
4.) Panama (6)
5.) Elba (5)
6.) Sherman (6)
7.) Harrisville (10)
8.) Batavia Notre Dame (5)
9.) CG Finney (5)
10.) Bolton (7)
11.) Northville (2)
12.) Saratoga Catholic (2)
13.) Avoca-Prattsburgh (5)
14.) Franklinville (6)
15.) Richfield Springs/Owen D. Young (4)
16.) Edmeston/Morris (4)
17.) Sackets Harbor (3)
18.) Charlotte Valley/Schenevus (4)
19.) Schroon Lake/Newcomb (7)
20.) Edwards-Knox (10)

Big Jumpers: none

New Entries: Edmeston/Morris (re-entry), Edwards-Knox (re-entry)

NOTES

For a second straight week, conversation starts with the “anyone’s game” Tri-Valley League of Section IV, which if nothing else, continues to provide entertainment. It’s someone different every week in that league, and this installment, it was Edmeston/Morris doing the damage. I just watched them lose to Cherry Valley-Springfield 49-38 the week before, and this past Wednesday, they turned around & beat them 57-28. Insane flip. That was 24 hours removed from them registering a big 43-39 victory over Laurens/Milford, subsequently knocking both of those teams out of this U-20 installment & putting E/M back in business. Brenna Bolton and the gang had a tremendous stretch. Who will it be next?
And a welcome back to Edwards-Knox, who seem to have turned a corner after a rough start to the season. E-K lost its first six games – part of it was challenging schedule, part of it was just perplexing – but they’ve gone 5-2 since, with the losses to Harrisville (currently ranked #7) and a two-point loss to Class A Gouverneur. Nice wins for them over Hammond, Hermon-DeKalb, and Canton in recent weeks. The Fosters may be finding something.

RESULTS OF NOTE (Jan 20-25) (current U-20 Class D teams in bold)

1/20: Edmeston/Morris 43, Laurens/Milford 39
1/20: Canisteo-Greenwood (C) 59, Avoca/Prattsburgh 28
1/20: Moriah (C) 53, Schroon Lake/Newcomb 36
1/21: Edmeston/Morris 57, Cherry Valley-Springfield 28
1/21: Bolton 53, Seton Catholic 31
1/21: Schroon Lake/Newcomb 54, Chazy 32
1/21: Oakfield-Alabama (C) 54, Elba 40
1/22: Richfield Springs/ODY 53, Laurens/Milford 43
1/22: Sherman 34, Westfield (C) 20
1/22: Panama 54, Maple Grove (C) 46
1/22: Chateaugay 67, Madrid-Waddington (C) 36
1/22: Mechanicville (B) 57, Saratoga Catholic 47
1/23: Stamford/Jefferson 68, Cooperstown (C) 54
1/23: Avoca/Prattsburgh 55, Fillmore (C) 41
1/24: LaFargeville 41, Watertown IHC 34

WEEKLY ALL-UPSTATE (Jan 20-25)

Brenna Bolton (Edmeston/Morris 2027): No one in Class D had the kind of week that Brenna had individually & Edmeston/Morris had as a team. It was a big one for them, with clashes on consecutive days against league foes Laurens/Milford & Cherry Valley-Springfield, teams they had already lost to in previous nonleague contests. Things went well the second time around for E/M. Brenna averaged 22.7 PPG in a 3-0 week that also included a lopsided win over Sharon Springs, and most notably, she hit 5 threes & reeled off a game high 31 points in a 57-28 Wednesday win over CV-S, a stunning turnaround against a team that beat them 49-38 just nine days prior.

Olivia Hartwell (Schroon Lake/Newcomb 2026): Most teams statewide had kind of a light week, but not Schroon Lake/Newcomb, who reeled off three games in four days, starting with the most challenging & swinging toward matchups more heavily in their favor as the week progressed. As has often been the case this year, Olivia was a potent producer across the board. She averaged 23 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 4.3 SPG in their 2-1 week, which started with 19 points in a 53-36 loss to Section VII Class C heavy favorite Moriah and also included a 29 point/4 rebound/4 assist/7 steal outing in a 54-32 win over Chazy.

McKenna Hoyt (Stamford/Jefferson 2026): Welcome to the weekly installment of “how’s McKenna doing?”. In fairness, you’d expect this kind of dominance from a Division I commit in Class D basketball, and the Longwood signee hasn’t disappointed in her senior campaign. The powerful 6’0″ forward delivered another monster stat line in S/J’s lone game of the week, a 68-54 win across section lines at Cooperstown. She produced numbers that we’d call impressive if it was the cumulative of 2 or 3 games but was just one night’s work for her, something that’s been pretty commonplace for her – 36 points, 28 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Kiera Loberg (Panama 2026): And speaking of big numbers, Kiera has produced at a particularly high clip over the last few weeks in the Southern Tier of WNY. The standout guard averaged 26.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 4 SPG in a 2-0 week that pushed their current winning streak to 6 games. In the more noteworthy matchup of last week, a 54-46 win over Maple Grove that was competitive throughout, Kiera finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals.

Sophia Ryan (Saratoga Catholic 2027): The Saints of Spa Catholic take their lumps at times during the regular season, but as a Class D team in the Wasaren League – a conference that features two of NY’s top Class C teams and a Section II contender in the Bs – it’s to be expected, and you hope for growth through competition to be conditioned for a different level of play come time for Class D playoffs. Sophia has shown in various avenues, scholastic & beyond, that she can go with whoever. The potent lead guard averaged 28.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4 APG, and 3 SPG in a 1-1 split last week, but perhaps the loss was the most notable as she went off for 32 points with 9 boards & 4 steals in a competitive 57-47 decision against Mechanicville, the aforementioned Class B contender.