2022-23 PIAA Writers ALL-STATE boys teams: All classes
Written by: Dell Jackson on May 3, 2023
Ed note: Each year the PA writers select All-State Teams. David Kehler , LLhoops contributor, was one of the main organizers along with Mike Gross, LNP. LLhoops.com did have a vote this year. Special thanks to John Walk, LNP, for coordinating nominations for the LL and Lancaster County Schools not in the LL. Enjoy!
2022-23 PENNSYLVANIA ALL-STATE BASKETBALL TEAMS
CLASS 1A
1st Team
Vinnie Cugini 6’ 1” senior Aquinas Academy*
Pace Prosser 6’ 1” junior Berlin Brothersvalley
Alier Maluk 6’ 11” sophomore Imani Christian Academy
Jaydis Kennedy 6’ 3” senior Geibel Catholic
Jack Bracken 6’ 4” junior Harmony Area
Craig Jarvis 6’ 1” junior Berlin Brothersvalley (tie)
Cameron Keyser 6’ 5” senior Jamestown Area (tie)
2nd Team
Drew Hoffman 5’ 11” senior High Point Baptist Academy
Xavier Spears 6’ 3” junior Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg
Derek Litzelman 6’ 1” senior North Penn-Liberty
Dame Givner 6’ 1” sophomore Imani Christian Academy
Daniel King 6’ 3” senior Linville Hill Christian Academy
Matt Stanley 5’ 11” senior Union Area
3rd Team
Ryan Blubaugh 6’ 1” senior Berlin Brothersvalley
Avery Kopcha 5’ 11” junior Mount Calvary Christian
Mason Kargo 5’ 11” senior Portage Area
Jack Swider 6’ 5” senior Phil-Mont Christian Academy
Adam Straub 6’ 3” senior Elk County Catholic
Lorenzo Gardner 6’ 4” junior Monessen
*Class 1A Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Tanner Prosser, Berlin Brothersvalley
CLASS 2A
1st Team
Davion Hill 6’ 2” senior St. John Neumann Regional Academy*
Camden Hurst 6’ 2” senior Lancaster Mennonite
Shea Champine 6’ 1” senior Bishop Canevin
Cameron Lindsey 6’ 3” junior Aliquippa
Jackson Hubbard 6’ 2” senior Sayre Area
Ross Eyer 6’ 5” senior Muncy
Cam Hurst- LMHS
2nd Team
David Weaver 6’ 7” senior Lancaster Mennonite
Brad Felix 6’ 3” senior United
Nathan Lapp 6’ 1” senior Dock Mennonite Academy
Richie Preston 6’ 5” senior West Middlesex Area
Marcus Cleveland 5’ 11” senior Leechburg
Kyree Latimer 6’ 3” junior Constitution
David Weaver, Lancaster Mennonite. Mark Palczewski Photo.
3rd Team
Donovan Walker 6’ 1” senior Aliquippa
Tyree Turner 6’ junior Greensburg Central Catholic
Jordan Hesdon 6’ senior Clarion-Limestone
Tanner Zawada 5’ 10” sophomore Mahanoy Area
Jake Mattocks 6’ 3” senior Mercer Area
Zaki Alston 6’ 4” senior Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter (tie)
Franco Alvarez 6’ 5” junior Greensburg Central Catholic (tie)
*Class 2A Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Seth Buckwalter, Lancaster Mennonite
Coach Buckwalter, Lancaster Mennonite.Mark Palczewski Photo.
CLASS 3A
1st Team
Makhai Valentine 6’ 3” senior Steel Valley*
Adam “Budd” Clark 5’ 10” senior West Catholic
Zion Stanford 6’ 5” senior West Catholic
Patrick Haigh 6’ 4” senior Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic
Blake Morningstar 6’ 5” senior Wyalusing Valley
Garrett Harrold 6’ 4” senior Penn Cambria
Blake Morningstar, Wyalusing Area
2nd Team
Connor Spratt 6’ 2” senior Seton LaSalle Catholic
Owen Schlager 6’ 2” sophomore Trinity
Bryce Robson 6’ senior Deer Lakes
Joseph Roth 6’ 5” junior Ellwood City
Damon Curry 6’ 5” junior Franklin
Jacen Holloway 6’ 5” senior Devon Prep
3rd Team
Karson Dominick 6’ 1” junior North Penn-Mansfield
Danny Nemitz 5’ 10” senior Mid Valley Secondary Center
Lucas Orchard 6’ 4” senior Devon Prep
Terek Crosby 6’ 2” junior Yough
Nasseem Wright 6’ 6” junior Math Civics and Sciences Charter
Jude Haigh 6’ 4” sophomore Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic
*Class 3A Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Miguel Bocachica, West Catholic
CLASS 4A
1st Team
Robert Wright III 6’ junior Neumann-Goretti*
Brandin Cummings 6’ 4” junior Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter
Meleek Thomas 6’ 4” sophomore Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter
Rodney Gallagher 6’ senior Laurel Highlands
Sultan Adewale 6’ 8” senior Neumann-Goretti
Izaiah Pasha 6’ 5” senior Cardinal O’Hara
2nd Team
Max Hurray 6’ 1” junior North Catholic
Jake Karnish 6’ 2” senior Fleetwood
Bryce Epps 6’ senior South Allegheny
Keondre DeShields 6’ 3” senior Laurel Highlands
Khaafiq Myers 5’ 11” junior Neumann-Goretti
Elijah Hamilton 6’ 5” senior Octorara (tie)
Duce Jackson 6’ 6” senior Collegium Charter (tie)
Elijah Hamilton, Octorara
3rd Team
Cole Miller 6’ 3” senior Clearfield Area
Austin Bausman 6’ 4” senior Eastern York
Nyerre Collins 5’ 10” senior Greater Johnstown
Bradyn Foster 6’ 8” junior Highlands
Dean Coleman-Newsome 6’ 4” senior Archbishop Carroll (tie)
Zach Kirk 6’ junior Octorara (tie)
Zion Moore 5’ 11” sophomore Belle Vernon Area (tie)
*Class 4A Player of the Year
Zach Kirk, Octorara
Coach of the Year
Mike Bariski, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter
CLASS 5A
1st Team
Justin Edwards 6’ 7” senior Imhotep Charter*
Thomas Sorber 6’ 9” junior Archbishop Ryan
Ahmad Nowell 6’ 1” junior Imhotep Charter
Royce Parham 6’ 9” junior North Hills
Rahmir Barno 5’ 11” senior Imhotep Charter
Darren Williams 6’ 4” junior Archbishop Ryan
2nd Team
Jackson Hicke 6’ 5” senior Radnor
Anthony Caccese 6’ 7” senior Exeter Township
Trey Grube 5’ 11” senior Manheim Central
Kareem Diaz 6’ 4” senior Murrell Dobbins
Daemar Kelly 6’ 5” senior Penn Hills
Tasso Sfanos 6’ 2” senior Mars Area
Tasso Sfanos, Mars Area
Trey Grube. Manheim Central Mark Palczewski Photo.
3rd Team
Julian Pagan 6’ 3” senior Pocono Mountain West
Hayden Pardoe 6’ 5” senior Central Mountain
Zyion Paschall 5’ 10” senior Exeter Township
Jake Sambuchino 5’ 11” senior Cathedral Prep
Malachi Thomas 6’ 4” senior Milton Hershey
Kevin Rucker, Jr. 6’ 5” junior Bonner-Prendergast
*Class 5A Player of the Year
Coach of the Year
Matt Ashcroft, Exeter Township
CLASS 6A
1st Team
Ruben Rodriguez 6’ 2” senior Reading*
Xzayvier Brown 6’ 1” senior Roman Catholic
Jalil Bethea 6’ 4” junior Archbishop Wood
Nick Coval 6’ 2” junior Parkland
Braeden Shrewsberry 6’ 3” senior State College
Dylan Blair 5’ 11” senior Downingtown West
Ruben Rodriguez, Reading: Photo by Hosh Posh
2nd Team
Jacob Nguyen 6’ 4” sophomore Spring-Ford Area
Sam Brown 6’ 2” senior Lower Merion
Quidire Bennett 6’ 3” senior Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Greg Guidinger 6’ 7” junior Central York
Jaron McKie 6’ 2” sophomore St. Joseph’s Prep
Nadir Myers 6’ 2” senior Upper Darby
3rd Team
Aris Rodriguez 6’ 5” senior Reading
Nasir Washington 6’ 3” senior Penn Wood
Myles Grey 5’ 10” senior Reading
Jonathan Anderson 5’ 9” senior New Castle
Donovan Fromhartz 6’ 4” sophomore Downingtown West
Miguel Pena 6’ 3” senior Hempfield (tie)
Jermal Stewart-Herring 6’ 3” senior Roman Catholic (tie)
*Class 6A Player of the Year
Miguel Pena, Hempfield. Mark Palczewski Photo.
Coach of the Year
Rick Perez, Reading
Rick Perez, Reading HS
CLASS NON-PIAA
1st Team
Christian Bliss 6’ 4” junior George*
Andrew Phillips 6’ 4” senior Malvern Prep
Will Riley 6’ 7” sophomore Phelps
Dellquan Warren 6’ junior Keystone Academy
Ryan Williams 6’ 3” junior Malvern Prep
2nd Team
Luke Bevilacqua 6’ 11” sophomore George
Jordan Dill 5’ 11” freshman Germantown Friends
Will Sydnor 6’ 8” junior First Love Christian Academy
Khali Horton 6’ 6” senior Keystone Academy
Kevin McCarthy 6’ 3” junior Episcopal Academy
3rd Team
Devin Booker 6’ 4” sophomore Cristo Rey
Matt Gilhool 6’ 11” junior Westtown
Matar Diop 6’ 10” senior Keystone Academy
Macon Emory 6’ 7” junior Perkiomen
Bahsil Laster 6’ 5” junior Academy of the New Church
*Class Non-PIAA Player of the Year
Matt Gilhool
Coach of the Year
Tom Baudinet, Perkiomen
Thoughts on Teams/Players
By Mike Gross
The all-state teams and coaches of the year were selected through nominations and voting by a panel of sports media members from around the state. The top vote-getter in each class was that classes’ player of the year.
Imhotep became a basketball power almost as soon as the school opened in 1998. This season was special even by the Philadelphia charter school’s usual standard, as reflected in voting for the Pennsylvania Sportswriters All-State team, announced Wednesday. Imhotep’s Justin Edwards, a Kentucky recruit, was named Class 5A player of the year after the Panthers rolled to the state 5A title, outscoring five state-tournament opponents by an average of 35 points per game.
“We met all our goals – winning our league, district and state,’’ Imhotep coach Andre Noble said. “On top of that, winning the City of Palms (a national-level tournament in Florida), the first Pennsylvania team to do that.’’
The Panthers finished 30-3 against a national schedule, and were ranked in the top 10 in the country by most rankings. Edwards, a 6-8 forward, was all-state for the third time and 5A POY for the second year in a row. He is the third-ranked player in the country by ESPN, 24/7 Sports and Rivals.com.
“Justin has gotten better every year,’’ Noble said. “He’s working on getting stronger, … they have grown men in the SEC.” Ahmad Nowell and Rahmir Barno, Imhotep’s starting guards, also made the 5A first team. Barno is headed for Division I Florida Gulf Coast. Nowell, whom Noble predicted will be, “the best player in the state next year,’’ has offers from Kansas, Kentucky, Auburn and Tennessee. A trio of junior D1 recruits joined the Imhotep threesome on the 5A first team: 6-9 Thomas Sorber of Philadelphia Archbishop Ryan, 6-9 Royce Parham of Pittsburgh North Hills (28 points and 11 rebounds per game), and 6-4 Darren Williams of Archbishop Ryan.
Imhotep’s state final had no drama, but the Class 6A and 4A games, at Hershey’s Giant Center last month, were classics, and impressed the voters. 6A state champion Reading boasts the 6A player of the year, Rider-bound senior guard Ruben Rodriguez (22.2 ppg), first-team all-state for the third time. Teammates Aris Rodriguez and Myles Grey made the third team. State finalist Philadelphia Roman Catholic, which lost an intense final 63-56 in overtime to Reading, placed point guard Xzayvier Brown (St. Joseph’s recruit) on the first team along with Jalil Bethea, a high-major recruit from Archbishop Wood in Philadelphia, superb shooters Nick Coval of Parkland (22.6 ppg) and Braeden Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) of State College.
The 4A final, in which Lincoln Park Charter edged Neumann-Goretti 62-58, may have been the best pure 32 minutes of basketball of the weekend, and featured five all-state selections. The player of the year is Robert Wright III of Neumann-Goretti, a 6-0 junior point guard bound for Baylor and, next year, for Monteverde Academy in Florida.
Lincoln Park’s top guns, 6-4 Pitt-bound senior guard Brandin Cummings and 6-4 sophomore Meleek Thomas, made the first team. Thomas, who averaged 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists, was a breakout star of the postseason and holds offers from Connecticut and Duke.
Also on the 4A first team: four-time all-stater and West Virginia football recruit Rodney Gallagher of Laurel Highlands, Neumann-Goretti big man Sultan Adewale and senior swingman Izaiah Pasha of Cardinal O’Hara.
The 3A player of the year is repeat first-teamer Makhai Valentine of Steel Valley, a 6-3 senior guard who scored 36 points per game with a high of 63.
State 3A champion Philadelphia West Catholic had two first-teamers, 6-5 Temple recruit Zion Stanford and point guard Budd Clark, who scored 32 on 16-of-18 shooting from the field in the state final.
State 2A champion Lancaster Mennonite put 6-2 senior guard Camden Hurst (21.7 ppg) on the first team for the third time. He was edged out for 3A Player of the Year by Davion Hill (34.3 ppg) of St. John Neumann, a four-time all-stater who dropped 50 in a one-point loss to Lancaster Mennonite in the first round of states.
The Class A player of the year is Vinnie Cugini of tiny Aquinas Academy, who broke the 30 year-old WPIAL career scoring record with 3,189 points, averaging 43.7 points and 11.9 rebounds as a senior. Cugini, headed for Pitt-Johnstown, was also all-state as a junior and sophomore.
Also in the A first team from state champion Imani Christian: 6-11 sophomore Alier Maluk, the 16th-ranked sophomore in the country, with offers from LSU, Ohio State and Oregon.
The player of the year on the non-PIAA team is Christian Bliss of the George School, a 6-4 junior repeat all-state selection with college offers from Villanova and Penn State.
Coaches of the year: Reading’s Rick Perez in 6A, Matt Ashcroft of state finalist Exeter in 5A, Mike Bariski of Lincoln Park in 4A, West Catholic’s Miguel Bocachica in 3A, Seth Buckwalter of Lancaster Mennonite in 2A, Tanner Prosser of state finalist Berlin Brothersvalley in A, and Tom Baudinet of Perkiomen in non-PIAA.
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