Preseason Super 10 Rankings for the 2025-26 Iowa High School Boys Basketball Season
The 2025–26 Iowa boys basketball season opens with no clear favorite. Valley just finished a third straight Class 4A title and graduated its entire starting five, thus leaving the top tier wide open. Several programs return major scoring threats, while others bring back experienced cores from breakout runs, and a few feature rosters that resemble small-college lineups in terms of size and depth. Here’s how the Super 10 shapes up ahead of the first tip-offs on December 1.
Waukee Northwest
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This group looks loaded with Division I potential, and the return of Colin Rice and Landon Davis keeps expectations high after a 23-4 finish and a run to the 4A title game. Opponents saw how Rice controlled the tempo last season and how Davis carved out reliable scoring chances, and both are returning with more experience. Mack Heitland and Isaiah Oliver supply scoring depth that the team leaned on during its postseason run.
Cedar Falls
Credit: The Gazette
A 22-3 season created confidence that stays intact even after Anthony Galvin graduated. William Gerdes and Jaydon Kimbrough cleared the 300-point mark last year, and Cedar Falls has a habit of developing replacements who can keep a system rolling. Programs like Link Academy and IMG Academy operate nationally, and Cedar Falls works similarly on a local scale, which keeps this team in the mix.
Storm Lake
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Storm Lake produced a 22-2 record and exited the 3A quarterfinal by only six points, which turned heads. Jaidyn Coon enters the season as a Creighton commit, and Cameron Boyd returns as an anchor. Four of the team’s top five scorers are back.
ADM
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Last season was special for ADM when the team reached the state tournament for the first time in more than a dozen years and advanced to the semifinals. Graduation took away two important seniors, but Hudson Lorensen, Trey Bryte, and Hudson Shull form a trio of reliable scoring options. A 22-5 record didn’t look like a fluke, and the returning pieces help it stick.
Waukee
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Waukee’s 18-7 record didn’t live up to its ceiling, but the foundation remains solid with leading scorer Evan Jacobson back. Pete Craig made noise as a freshman and brings size and energy into his sophomore season. Jai White and Max Roach started every game last season; they provided this group with the kind of continuity that teams like Archbishop Stepinac and Sierra Canyon use to build national relevance.
Decorah
Credit: The Gazett
No player in Iowa returns with a stat line as heavy as Cael LaFrentz’s 700-plus points, 300-plus rebounds, and 88 blocks. Those numbers change scouting reports before the ball even tips. Decorah didn’t depend only on him, though, since teammates Noah Milburn, Peyton Webb, and Trevor Kuennen created a balanced supporting cast during a 22-2 season.
Prairie
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Prairie ended last season at 19-5, and the returning scoring punch from Austin Joens and Will Wehr helps cover for the seniors who moved on. Tae Alexander showed flashes of growth and now steps into an expanded role. Prairie played tight, organized basketball last season and brings back enough scoring to keep pushing forward.
St. Edmond
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The Gaels fell in the 1A semifinal to eventual champion Madrid, but every major scorer returns from a 23-4 season. Hunter Horn leads a lineup that caused problems for opponents with its balance. St. Edmond resembles programs like Brewster Academy or Long Island Lutheran in that it emphasizes productivity across the board rather than relying on a single dominant scorer.
Kuemper Catholic
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A 22-2 regular season ended earlier than expected in substate play, but that doesn’t erase the fact that five players scored 200 or more points. Four of them return: Rayn Clair, Dylan Schon, Brock Badding, and Griffin Glynn. This kind of shared scoring load makes Kuemper Catholic dangerous because defenses don’t get the luxury of focusing on a single threat.
Dowling Catholic
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Dowling finished 15-8, but the returning core tells a more interesting story. Five of the team’s six leading scorers are back, each with at least 100 points last season. Maddox Coppola, Charlie Crane, and Noah Martens give the Maroons a balanced lineup that looks stronger with another year of experience.