HILLDALE BOYS PREVIEW

“Next Man Up’ will be the motto this year for the Hilldale Hornets as they hit the hardwoods for the 2025-2026 basketball season.

“We graduated eight seniors and have one starter returning so it will be a year for lots of new players to gain experience and learn as the season progresses,” said head coach Hunter Harrison. “We’ll have eight seniors who will need to step up and play bigger roles than they have had to in the past and we’ll need some of our underclassmen to step up and play at a high level.”

The Hornets who finished 12-13 last year before falling the regional finals, will rely on senior guard Jordan Rodriguez (5-11) who averaged five points and three assists a game last year.

“Jordan is three-year starter for us who has been a facilitator and defensive sparkplug all three years,” said Harrison. “This will be his year to step up and led us offensively as well as being a strong senior team leader. He will draw the best player defensively from our opponents and be a catalyst for our offense.”

Other seniors for the Hornets who will be expected to make contributions and demonstrate good leadership qualities are forward Dawson Fields (6-1), guard Matthew Ashwood (6-0), guard Zachary Smith (5-11), forward Ryan McCormack (6-0), center Gracen Hall (6-5), and forward Julian Reid (6-3). A trio of juniors will also look to get into the lineup including forward Isaiah Linker (6-1), Elijah Linker (6-1), and guard Case Leach (5-11).Freshmen who will be on a learning curve this year as they get adjusted to the high school game will be Caleb Barnoskie (6-3), Weston Thomas (6-1) and Jarrett Hoffman (5-10). Harrison also has his eye on sophomore Kyce Jimenez (6-0).

“Kyce has an extremely high ceiling with an opportunity to come into our team and be a tremendous help handling the basketball,” said Harrison. “He has elite court vision and an outstanding ability to get to the rim. We expect a big year for Kyce this year and moving forward.”