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. ***
- 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.