Scoring champ Yadiel Cruz fronts All-Berks boys basketball team (updated with all-division teams)
2024 Berks basketball coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Berks Conference scoring champ Yadiel Cruz of Reading High fronts an all-new All-Berks team.
After the Berks Conference coaches picked an all-senior lineup a year ago, this year’s elite team includes seven first-time selections, with four seniors, two juniors and a sophomore.
The seniors are Cruz and Nick Chapman Reading High, Josh McKoy of Berks Catholic and Kevin Saenz of Exeter.
The juniors are Shermar Killen of Muhlenberg and Madyx Gruber of Wilson.
Kingston McKoy is the lone sophomore; the last 10th-grader named Player of the Year was Lonnie Walker IV, in 2015.
Matt Coldren of league champ Wilson is Coach of the Year for the fifth time. He was also named after winning county titles in 2021, 2020, 2014 and 2007.
Cruz showed promise last season, his first with the Red Knights, but took his game to another level this season. He became the Red Knights’ go-to guy and is leading the league in scoring at 22.4 points per game, the highest by a Reading player since Donyell Marshall set the program record by averaging 24.8 per game in 1991. Only Stu Jackson, Bill Jankans and Marshall have averaged 22 points per game at Reading.
(Tim Macrina photo)
Cruz, a 6-2 senior, moved to Reading from the Dominican Republic last season and earned a starting role early in the season. He was eventually moved into a reserve role and provided a scoring spark off the bench as the Red Knights won county, district and state titles.
Cruz is a versatile player who can score at all three levels, is a threat in the transition game and highly effective on cuts to the basket. He is shooting 71.4 percent from the foul line, has a team-leading 45 3-pointers and leads his team in rebounds.
Kingston McKoy made the Saints the team to beat in the Berks Conference with his all-around passing, ballhandling and defensive skills before he was lost for the season with a broken leg Jan. 23 against Reading High.
McKoy averaged 14.9 points, with a career-high of 29 in an overtime win at Trinity in late December. The Saints lost three times without him, most recently to Wilson in the Berks Conference semifinals.
Chapman, a 5-10 senior, averages 10.9 points per game but brings so much more to the team, especially on defensive where he is arguably the best perimeter defender in the league. He shoots 76 percent from the foul line, is second on the team in steals and third assists.
As his coach, Francis Camara said, stats don’t nearly define Chapman’s impact.
“(What he does for us) is beyond numbers,” Camara said. “He makes a huge impact in the game. (There) are winning players, guys who impact the game without you having to look at the stat sheet. You feel their impact. You can see their impact. That’s Nick Chapman.”
Josh McKoy, a 6-4 senior, has taken his game to a new level since his brother was injured. Relied on to score more, the mobile center has delivered, with a career-high 33 points one game after Kingston was injured, 28 against Daniel Boone and 27 in the Berks quarterfinals against Antietam.
(Tim Macrina photo)
He has averaged 19.8 points over the last nine games and is at 17.4 for the season, fourth-highest in the league. He’s also taken over a bigger share of the ballhandling and remains a key defensive presence in the post.
McKoy, who topped 1,000 career points late last month, was an all-division pick as a junior with the Saints and an all-division pick in Berks IV with Antietam as a sophomore.
Saenz, a 6-4 senior, was an all-division pick last season on the Eagles’ District 3 championship team but has taken on a new role – actually a couple new roles – as a senior. He was moved from the wing to point guard and has been key is seeing the Eagles lead the league in scoring and 3-pointers.
He has also upped his scoring, from 11.1 per game to a team-leading 17.1, fifth-highest in the league. He has hit 41 3’s in 22 games; last year he made 39 in 34 games.
(Tim Macrina photo)
Saez leads the Eagles in assists, at six per game, is third on the team in rebounding and is hitting better than 40 percent of his shots from 3-point range.
Gruber, a 5-11 junior guard, was an all-division pick as a junior. He’s played a bigger role this season and keyed the Bulldogs run to the Berks championship last week, with a career-high 31 points in a semifinal win over Berks Catholic and the game-saving defensive play in the final seconds against Reading High.
Gruber is averaging 11.5 points per game, second on the team, and is tied for the team lead with 34 3’s. He averaged 19.3 points over the three Berks playoff games.
He leads the team in steals and assists.
Killen, a 6-2 junior, saw little playing time last season but has emerged as one of the league’s most-improved players.
He can do it all on the court: Score, rebound, handle, and defend. When he’s at the top of his game, as he was in a 29-point performance in a win over Reading High, he can carry his team.
“When he plays like that, he’s best player in the county,” said Muhls coach Matt Flowers. “His body is unmatched. When you’re that size and can handle the ball, it’s pretty good to see.
Killen is averaging a team-best 16.1 points, has 18 3’s and is shooting 70.2 percent from the foul line.
He scored 20 or more points eight times, including against Fleetwood in the league quarterfinals when he had 23.
Coldren led the Bulldogs to a late-season resurgence that saw them knock off Exeter, top-seeded Berks Catholic and second-seeded Reading High for the Berks Conference championship. After three straight losses in late January and early February, Wilson takes a four-game winning streak into the District 3 Class 6A Tournament Tuesday at Cedar Crest.
Earlier this season Coldren became just the fifth boys coach in Berks basketball history to win 400 games, following John Silan of Kutztown (and Wilson), Lloyd Wolf of Holy Name, Snip Esterly of Berks Catholic (and Central Catholic) and Reggie Weiss of Wilson. Coldren both played for and coached for Weiss at Wilson.
Coldren is in his 23rd season at Wilson, where he has won 408 games, five league championships, four division championships and a District 3 championship in 2020. His team went 28-1 that season, the best record (by winning percentage) in program history. His 2006-07 team went 29-5, matching the program record for victories.
Coldren’s teams have had eight 20-win seasons, more than any coach in program history.
2023-24 All-Berks First Team
| Nick Chapman | Reading High | Senior |
| Yadiel Cruz | Reading High | Senior |
| Madyx Gruber | Wilson | Junior |
| Shermar Killen | Muhlenberg | Junior |
| Kingston McKoy | Berks Catholic | Sophomore |
| Josh McKoy | Berks Catholic | Senior |
| Kevin Saenz | Exeter | Senior |
All-Division 1
| Correll Akings | Wilson | Sophomore |
| Jeremiah Camara | Reading High | Freshman |
| Alex Collado | Muhlenberg | Senior |
| Matt Koehler | Gov. Mifflin | Junior |
| Weshly Rosario | Reading High | Sophomore |
| Malik Osumanu | Reading High | Senior |
All-Division 2
| Brendan Gaines | Daniel Boone | Junior |
| Reece Garvin | Exeter | Senior |
| Donovan Gingrich | Conrad Weiser | Junior |
| Alex Kelsey | Exeter | Senior |
| Matt Knight | Twin Valley | Junior |
| Parker Nein | Berks Catholic | Senior |
All-Division 3
| Danny Fleischood | Wyomissing | Sophomore |
| Dominic Giuffre | Schuylkill Valley | Senior |
| Nate Herb | Fleetwood | Senior |
| Aiden Soumas | Fleetwood | Senior |
| Hunter Svoboda | Fleetwood | Senior |
| Jacob Zimmerman | Schuylkill Valley | Senior |
All-Division 4
| Ben DeBalko | Oley Valley | Junior |
| Colten Mathias | Kutztown | Junior |
| AJ Scheifly | Antietam | Sophomore |
| David Turchi | Oley Valley | Senior |
| Julious Williams | Antietam | Junior |
| Nate Winkler | Brandywine Hts. | Sophomore |
Honorable mention
| Division 1 | ||
| Kyle Archie | Muhlenberg | Senior |
| Daquan Burgess | Reading High | Senior |
| Andrew Galantuomo | Gov. Mifflin | Junior |
| Jayden Kantner | Muhlenberg | Junior |
| Luke Levan | Wilson | Junior |
| Stephen Mayo | Gov. Mifflin | Junior |
| Division 2 | ||
| Brady Altimar | Berks Catholic | Sophomore |
| Aidan Dauble | Exeter | Sophomore |
| Armanni Dominguez | Berks Catholic | Senior |
| Brady McKee | Conrad Weiser | Junior |
| Brady Murray | Exeter | Junior |
| Carter Schmidt | Twin Valley | Sophomore |
| Division 3 | ||
| Liam Hilburt | Fleetwood | Senior |
| Joseph Martin | Hamburg | Senior |
| Aiden Schippers | Wyomissing | Senior |
| Tyler Shuey | Hamburg | Junior |
| Luke Spotts | Schuylkill Valley | Junior |
| Ty Werley | Hamburg | Junior |
| Division 4 | ||
| Tommy Clark | Brandywine Hts. | Junior |
| Seamus Coffin | Brandywine Hts. | Senior |
| Shawn Raffety | Antietam | Junior |
| Kole Schuler | Kutztown | Senior |
| Aidan Schwalm | Tulpehocken | Junior |
| Johnny Turchi | Oley Valley | Senior |
