Boys basketball: Berks IV team-by-team previews
2023 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Oley Valley Lynx
Coach: Chad Walters, first season.
Last season: 11-1 Berks IV champ, 19-7 overall.
PIAA classification: 3A.
Last D3 playoff appearance/victory: 2023/2023.
Key losses: All-Division PG Jaden Kelly, all-division G/F Keith Neal, G Chase Rubendall.
Top players: 6-0 Jr. G Ben DeBalko, 6-4 Sr. F Davey Turchi.
Key players: 5-6 Sr. G Johnny Turchi, 6-3 Jr. C/F Tristin McFarland, 5-8 Sr. G Sean Hoffman, 6-4 Sr. C Carter Smith, 6-1 Sr. F Spencer Haines, 5-9 Soph. G Nick DeBalko, 5-8 Soph. G Luke Turchi, 5-8 Soph. F Gryffin Cappellano.
Outlook: The Lynx have claimed two of the last three division titles and are in line to win another, though it may not be as smooth a ride as the last. Matt Barrell, head coach for 10 seasons, stepped down for personal reasons just before the start of practice. His replacement, Chad Walters, wasn’t with the program last season, though he’s a veteran on the bench and closely connected to the program. They won’t have the same depth as last year after graduating three starters. They’ll lean heavily on proven scorers Ben DeBalko and Davey Turchi to get it done.
Brandywine Heights Bullets
Coach: Dave Mosely, third season, 18-28.
Last season: 5-7 league, 11-12 overall.
PIAA classification: 3A.
Last District 3 playoff appearance/victory: 2023/2020.
Key losses: All-Division G Jayden Kantner, G Noah Walakovitz.
Top players: 5-11 Soph. G Nate Winkler, 5-11 Soph. F Scotty Ray, 5-11 Jr. G Tommy Clark.
Key players: 5-8 Soph. G Brecken Hermany, 6-1 Soph. F Cody Levengood, 6-1 Sr. F Jackson Croft.
Outlook: The Bullets ended last season as the early division favorite but took a couple major hits in the offseason when their top two scorers transferred, Jayden Kantner to Muhlenberg and Noah Walkovits to Muhlenberg. They were part of a young core that could’ve carried the program for years. There’s still lots of young talent on board, just not as much. They’ll be small and could struggle on the boards – they lost two-thirds of their rebounds to transfers and graduation — but they can shoot it: Nate Winkler hit 23 3’s last season and Scotty Ray shot nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Antietam Mounts
Coach: Mike Green, 11th season, 141-118.
Last season: 5-7 league, 13-12 overall.
PIAA classification: 2A.
Last D3 playoff appearance/victory: 2023/2023.
Key losses: All-Division F Jovan Hollis, F Noah Archambault, G Jowen Reyes-Rodriguez.
Top players: 6-4 Soph. Julious Williams, 6-0 Soph. G AJ Scheifly.
Key players: 5-9 Jr. G Shawn Raffety, 5-11 jr. F Denzel Severino, 5-10 Jr. G Andrew Marrero, 5-5 Soph. G Noel Coste, 5-9 Soph. G Jakob Shrem, 6-0 Soph. F Camrin Kauffman.
Outlook: Think you’ve had a rough year? TheMounts graduated three starters from a district finalist, saw a fourth transfer, and learned their home court was ruined by a flood. Longtime coach Mike Green will quickly find out how his team handles adversity because there’s no shortage of it right now. They’ll still be competitive and have a chance to make districts for the 12th straight year. Emerging post man Julious Williams will buoy them inside, Shawn Raffety will provide an outside threat and promising guard AJ Scheifly will stand out on both ends of the court.
Kutztown Cougars
Coach: Eric Luckenbill
Last season: 3-9 league, 7-15 overall.
PIAA classification: 3A.
Last D3 playoff appearance/victory: 2022/2019.
Key losses: All-Division C Andrew Fleming, F Myles Schmidt.
Top players: 5-9 Sr. G Phoenix Kellogg, 5-9 Sr. G E.J. Miranda.
Key players: 6-0 Sr. G/F Chase Franks, 6-3 Sr. F Kole Schuler, 6-5 Jr. F Colten Mathias, 5-7 Jr. G Marcelle Lewis, 6-1 Soph. G/F Chris Bergstrom, 5-11 Soph. G Andre Lane.
Outlook: The Cougars are starting over after graduating four starters – representing 85 percent of their points – and undergoing an offseason coaching change. Kutztown grad Eric Luckenbill takes over as head coach and knows he has his work cut out to make the team competitive within the division. They expect to get solid play from point guard Phoenix Kellogg, outside shooting from EJ Miranda, and help from multi-sport athletes such as Colten Mathias, Kole Schuler, and Chris Bergstrom.
Tulpehocken Trojans
Coach: Nate Miller, second season, 5-17.
Last season: 0-12 league, 5-17 overall.
PIAA classification: 3A.
Last District 3 playoff appearance/victory: 2022/2022.
Key losses: All-Division G David Bednarczyk, PG Nolan Sweitzer, G Brayden Sweitzer.
Key players: 6-5 Sr. F Lucas Werner, 6-1 Jr. G/F. Aidan Schwalm, 6-1 Soph. F/C Marcus Matias, 5-10 Soph. G Aaron Wilson.
Outlook: Trojans were hit hard in the offseason with the graduation of four starters – including 1,000-point scorer David Bednarczyk – and the transfer of Brayden Sweitzer, who landed at Conrad Weiser after working his way into the lineup last season as a freshman. Lucas Werner and Aidan Schwalm each played in every game last season but other than that the squad is severely short on varsity minutes.
