News, Politics, and Culture from 14843

Bald Eagle on the Canisteo River, by Janie Ferguson

Sixth Annual Way-Co Hall of Fame Showcase takes place Saturday with 10 teams (updated with more team previews)

Author: Share:

The Hall of Fame Showcase is all day on Saturday with five games and 10 teams. Bill Collmer interviewed all 10 coaches and brings you this interesting feature on each team.

Since they all earned the right to play in this elite Showcase, Collmer’s focus was “how did you build your program to get to this level.” He also has interesting notes, stats and quotes along with photos.

Here is the schedule followed by the preview:

     Showcase Schedule

Date – Saturday, Dec 6th, 2025

Noon– Corning-IV vs. Olean-VI

1:30 – Elba vs. Wayland-Cohocton

3:00 – Elba vs. Canisteo-Greenwood (Girls)

4:45 – Hornell vs. Canisteo-Greenwood

6:15 – Honeoye vs. York

By BILL COLLMER, Hornell Sun Senior Sports Writer

WAYLAND — Ten boys and girls High-School Basketball teams will help kickoff the 2025-2026 Basketball season Saturday December at Wayland-Cohocton High school in the Sixth Annual Way-Co Hall of Fame Basketball showcase.

There will be five games — four boys and one girls game.

Some of the top small school and large school teams in the state will take the floor with proceeds benefiting the Wayland-Cohocton Athletics Hall of Fame. There will be three teams from the Livingston County Athletic Association, Two from the Genesee Region, two from Steuben County one from the Finger Lakes West. One from Section Four and one from Section Six.

Floyd and Betsey Farley.

Dedication

This year’s Showcase is dedicated in memory to long time Steuben County Basketball Official and loyal high school basketball fan Floyd Farley. Farley passed away in July of 2020. From 1960-1993 Farley officiated high school basketball games, he was a life member of the IAABO Board #156 Steuben County Officials Board. He was the first ever official from Steuben County to officiate at the New York State high school basketball championships in Glens Falls. Even after he retired Farley mentored new officials and was always available to give advice to other officials when he was needed. For 48 years, the Floyd P. Farley Sportsmanship Award has been given to the Steuben County school that demonstrates the best sportsmanship throughout the basketball season, as voted on by the officials.

Farley worked as a Meat Cutter during the day at A&P, Acme, Super Duper and he retired from Wegmans. He was well known for his own sausage recipe. Many people would stop by the counter to talk about the big game the night before.

Farley was on a game with Tom Hagadorn at Alfred University in 1988, it was the Class D State Qualifier Avoca versus Prattsburgh. Avoca’s Kenny Button hit a half-court shot to win the game as time expired.

“An AU basketball player was running the clock. He never set the automatic horn. Floyd and Tom ran off the floor. He shot it after the buzzer should have gone off. They heard about it while running off the floor. Prattsburgh fans were yelling loud and clear,” Legendary former Prattsburgh Coach Jim Burke claims.

“Floyd and I talked about it a couple of times years later.  We were down about 20 at halftime. We had the ball with 10 seconds left and Jeff Stratton stepped on the baseline on our end. I believe Kenny was just inside halfcourt when he shot the ball,” Burke added

Tom Hagadorn officiated in Steuben County for ten years and did many games with Floyd Farley during that time. He knew they made the correct call as Button shot the ball before tim ran out.

“My favorite memory of working with Floyd was that game at Alfred University. With the game tied and clock ticking down a half-court shot was launched.  With the ball clearly in the air, the buzzer sounded.  The ball went in to win the game, Basket good and we were out of there!  Only much, much later were we told the automatic switch to sound the buzzer wasn’t on and the clock operator sounded the buzzer when he saw 00 on the clock.  Neither of us had any knowledge so basket was good anyway, buzzer ends the game.  Very memorable,” Tom Hagadorn said.

Tony Falco was a referee in Steuben County for 31 years and might not have ever done it if it wasn’t for Farley’s encouragement.

“I was working at the local Super Duper in Hornell and Floyd ran the meat department (still the best hot sausage ever) and he knew that I officiated YMCA men’s league along with Sunday School games, so he suggested I give High School a shot and classes started in late September,” Falco said. “One of the best decisions I ever made as I had a great time officiating basketball in Steuben County, made so many friends while doing it. I could go on and on with some war stories and discussions in the locker room, or our trips I got to make to Glen Falls with Floyd and Ivan Cranmer. Some great times for sure!”

Falco worked a lot of games with Farley over the years and worked Farley’s last game in 1993.

 “I officiated many games with Floyd, especially starting out as being the new guy on the block, he was always there to take the heat from coaches from my blunders. He never blinked or complained about that,” Falco said. “I believe I officiated his last game before he retired which was 7th & 8th grade game for the YMCA tournament we did every year,” Falco said.

“As a new official, having Floyd around along with Ivan, and Lenny Caruso meant the world for me personally as you could always talk about things, especially why some fouls were called and some were not. I think having those veterans, especially Floyd being part of Board # 156 was a great thing!  Certainly, helped my officiating career. Because of Floyd, that’s how I got involved with High School officiating,” Falco added.

Even after he retired Farley stayed involved as much as he could, even if he was just a fan in the stands.

“When Floyd retired, he would come into my business I owned in Hornell and always ask where I was the night before, how things went (good and bad). I know personally, Floyd meant the world to me as mentor and a friend. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to tell him that due to his untimely death but I know I wouldn’t have had the officiating career I had if it wasn’t for Floyd,” Falco said.

“I refereed with Floyd many times, and I always enjoyed it!  Floyd enjoyed his officiating and had a wonderful way about him with his fellow officials, players, and coaches.  I always felt Floyd’s goal was to provide the best situation possible for the game to be played.  He realized how important officiating was took his job very seriously,” Hagadorn said.

One thing constantly said about Farley was he was officiating for all of the right reasons and everyone that knew him, knew that about him.

“You could not have picked a better person than Floyd to honor at your Showcase!  He was a class person who wanted to do the best job possible for the kids!!,” Hagadorn added.

 Returning Players of the Game

Four of the five Players of the game from last season are back with their respective teams this year.

York Senior Yerial Diaz-Pena, Wayland-Cohocton Junior Alexander Fedorchuk, Canisteo-Greenwood Senior Carson Chaffee and Corning Sophomore Nolyn Proudfoot are all back for this year’s Showcase.

The 2025 Showcase features a little bit of everything, a team that lost in the State Championship game last season. A girls team who has lost in the State Semifinals two years in a row. Two teams with All five starters back from last year that are hungry. Several players boys and girls who have already surpassed 1,000 career points.

We’ll also look at how did these schools get to where they are? How are they Sectional Champions and competing for State Championships? It all starts with the youth programs, modified programs and off-season programs. Basketball is a year-round sport and these schools know that and are utilizing everything available to them to help be successful.

  Game One Corning-IV vs. Olean-VI, Noon start time.

Corning from Section Four and Olean from Section Six will kick things off for the 2025 Showcase. Corning won Section four Class AAA Sectionals last season. Their season ended in Regionals losing to New Rochelle from Section one. Olean from Section Six is a statewide powerhouse after years of dominating Class B the Huskies moved up to Class A in 2023 and won sectionals in 2024. They lost in the Class A2 Semifinals last season.

The Corning Hawks feature Sophomore Nolyn Proudfoot who enters his fourth year on varsity.

Proudfoot became the first player in Section IV history to surpass 1,000 career points as a Freshman last season. Kyler Stevenson also returns for the Hawks giving them two explosive veteran scorers.

Junior Carter Proudfoot also returns and had a big summer on the AAU Circuit, the older Proudfoot is a big-time shooter from outside and lockdown defender.

Nolyn Proudfoot is ranked 147 by MADE Hoops. And is currently the third ranked player in New York State in the Class of 2028. He’s already being scouted by several D1 schools, representatives from one college located in New York from the Atlantic 10 Conference visited Corning in September to watch a Proudfoot workout. He was also invited to invite only Camps at two other D1 Colleges in New York one from the ACC and the other from the State Capital. His first official D1 offer came in early October from the University of San Diego. The Toreros are coached by former UCLA Coach Steve Lavin and play in West Coach Conference.

At a AAA School you have a lot of kids to choose from and it isn’t always easy.

“We return 10 players from last year’s roster. Most of the players were with us all year. We had 20 kids’ tryout, with 5 of them being potential JV Starters just to get a look at them and have them compete with our returning varsity team. They will probably practice with us all year and then start in JV games and then bring them up during the post season. We will keep 12 players on the Varsity Roster,” Corning Varsity Coach Mike Johnston said.

Corning has a busy off season.

“We open the weight room Monday through Thursday during the Summer months. We play in Summer League in Waverly with 12 teams including ourselves at both the Varsity and JV level. We also have kids that play AAU, NEPA, and GIAC weekly,” Johnston said.

With such a large school there are a lot of younger players in the school district.

“We do a youth clinic during the winter and will also have Former Syracuse star Eric Devendorf, run a clinic this winter. We used to run a Youth League for grades 3-4, 5,6 for Corning Elementary students but it just got to be too much to prepare my Varsity team and run the league every Saturday. I make sure that our Varsity /JV and Modified teams run the same concepts on Offense and Defense and that the terminology is the same at all levels,” Johnston added.

One addition to the Coaching Staff last season was Section IV Hall of Fame Coach Bill Hopkins who coached at Edison, Corning East & Elmira Notre Dame. Hopkins is the Director of the Shoot the Lights out basketball camps.

“He was a big asset last season and a wealth of knowledge,” Johnston said.

OLEAN RETURNS two-sport standout Mykell Rivera who is also the star of the Huskies Football team. Rivera was a league All-Star last season leading the team in scoring. Olean has been a powerhouse in New York for many years. Coach Tim Kolasinski enters his seventh season as the Huskies Coach. Kolasinski took over for Hall of Fame Coach Jeff Anastasia.

“I grew up in a small town just north of Olean and was able to meet Jeff Anastasia through a practicum I did with him while I attended St. Bonaventure University. I started my teaching career down south and when I came back to the area, I started working with him and the basketball program,” Kolasinski said.

Kolasinski was no stranger to the program when he took over as the Varsity Coach as he spent the previous 13 seasons working under Anastasia as an Assistant Coach and J.V Coach.

Olean has been a dominant force in not only Section Six but statewide for many years, so what is the secret to their success?

“I will always give credit and thanks to our players. We have been lucky to have good coaches at the youth, modified and JV levels in the past, but it really comes down to the fact that we have been blessed to have good players who are also good kids that work really hard. I think it also helps that the success of the program breeds a natural desire for younger players to want to continue in the footsteps of those teams,” Kolasinski said.

“We attend a couple of team camps in the summer (Penn State Behrend and Alfred University) and look for any other opportunities to play,” Kolasinski added.

There’s no doubt that Olean’s go to guy is Rivera.

“It is hard to gauge Mykel’s improvement as he was pretty good for us last year. I know he played a lot this past summer and he has aspirations of playing at the next level. He definitely wants to carry a lot of the responsible for our success on his shoulders this season and I think he is capable of doing so,” Kolasinski said

Kolasinski isn’t very familiar with his opponent Corning.

“I really do not know much about Corning-Painted Post except for Nolyn Proudfoot and I really haven’t seen him play. I know they had a very strong year last season and will be a very tough opponent for us,” Kolasinski said.

Game Two Elba vs. Wayland-Cohocton 1:30 p.m.

Game number two will feature Elba versus the host Wayland-Cohocton Golden Eagles who will meet up for the fourth consecutive year in the Showcase. After taking the first two meetings, Way-Co defeated the Lancers in last years Showcase to pick up their first win in the Showcase while handing Elba their first loss in the Showcase as they had come in 4-0.

Wayland-Cohocton was much improved overall last season and with several key players back they hope to take yet another step and have a successful season under third year Coach Brandon Davis.

Davis has been holding a basketball camp every summer and has his players playing year-round and his hard work is starting to payoff.

“This past summer’s Basketball Camp was our best one yet. We had around 65 kids between our two camps, which makes it the largest camp we have had since I’ve been running it. We had five of our returning varsity boys come and help with the camp. It was awesome to see their interaction with the kids and help grow their love for the game,” Wayland-Cohocton Coach Brandon Davis said.

Davis has his boys playing in Summer League’s and attending team camps.

“We try to do as much off season work as possible. Once again, this summer, we competed in the LCAA Summer League and did pretty well. We got some great numbers coming out to these and it is a great time to try and get our main offense down, as well as mix some lineups up and give some of our players coming up from JV a chance to try and see the Varsity speed. We also took a few of our JV and Varsity players to Alfred University to compete in their team camp. We went 3-3 over the weekend in the Varsity division with a lot of JV kids,” Davis added

Davis is slowly starting to build the youth program and is have some success.

“Our youth program has been growing over the last two years. We have a board with a mix of Girls and Boys coaches, including myself, who have tried to expand our opportunities for as many grade levels as we can. During my first year, we had just a 4-6 grade boys’ team and a 5-6 grade girls’ team, and now with the help of some coaches and awesome parents, we provide an opportunity for grades 3-6 for boys and girls teams,” Davis Said.

Davis is helping oversee the program as a whole and has a good relationship with the coaches at all levels.

“I feel that having constant communication with all of the coaches within the program is critical to a program’s success, also while giving the coach their own freedom to see what works for them, and possibly use that at the next level. I try to be as involved in the younger groups as I can be. Obviously, JV playing before the Varsity helps being able to see the athletes in a game setting, but with Modified it can be difficult. I try to attend as many Modified games and practices as I can during their season, but with it only being a little under two months long, it can be difficult,” Davis said.

With several returning players Davis is excited about this years team and their potential.

“All of our returners have done a fantastic job of continuing to work on their game over the offseason. As a team, we competed in some spring leagues, summer leagues, and some team tournaments against some great competition to help prepare us. Alex Fedorchuk, along with our returning LCAA All-Star Cole Hanggi and only returning Senior Josh Stanley, helped lead the charge to get other players coming to these opportunities,” Davis Said.

Davis is pretty familiar with Elba at this point.

“Elba is always so competitive. They have a rich history of basketball and their community eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball. Coach Zambito always has their guys in the gym and working hard, and I think that’s a testament to the type of program he runs. They are a hungry group, and my guys are looking forward to the challenge of playing a competitive, basketball driven school out of the gate,” Davis said.

“Wayland Cohocton will be a nice test for us right out of the gate. They are a class B school who knocked us around a little bit last year. They return some nice players as guards who really gave us a hard time when we played them last showcase. We have a ton of respect for Way-Co and are looking forward to tipping off with them again,” Elba Coach Ciaci Zambito said.

ELBA RETURNS all but one player from last years team, with their top players all back expectations are high for the Lancers and now veteran Coach Ciaci Zambito. The quarterfinal loss to eventual Champion left a bad taste in their mouths and Elba got right to work.

“I have always said that the best thing I personally can do as a coach at the high school level is give my guys the opportunity to improve, by simply getting them into the gym,” Zambito said.

“Starting the week after we were knocked out of sectionals last season, we started to have open gym workouts twice a week. Now I know that this won’t be the case every year, but because we essentially bring everyone back (and add a few) we wanted to get right to it. We got into a spring league at Batavia High School. We played against Pembroke, Albion, Attica, Notre Dame, and Leroy. We finished 9-1 in that league,” Zambito Added

Elba played in a summer league at Batavia Notre Dame high school versus schools such as Notre Dame, Byron-Bergen, Albion, Holley and Royalton Hartland. Where they finished 9-1 in that league as well.  Four Elba players played on AAU Travel teams in the Spring and Summer.

Zambito is also involved with the younger Basketball programs at Elba.

“We try to be as involved in our youth and modified programs as possible. It really does all start with them. With their seasons taking place right in the heart of our season it gets a bit tricky, but we do our best to stay involved,” Zambito said.

Zambito welcomes several newcomers to the team this season

“Our newcomers this season include Brady Werth. He is a 6’3″ Junior Guard/Forward. He will start for us immediately. He was forced to play JV last season as he transferred from Kendall last year, and was pulled up to play on their Varsity team as a freshman, making him ineligible to play Varsity for me last year. To say that I am excited to have him is an understatement. We also have a 6’3″ Sophomore forward Alex Rascoe. Alex began playing the sport two seasons ago. Last season he played on our JV team and was incredibly raw. His skill jumps out at you. He worked super hard all offseason polishing up his game and will also be an impactful player for us this season. Alex and Brady are going to be pivotal for the Lancers this year,” Zambito said.

Game Three: Elba vs. Canisteo-Greenwood Girls, 3 p.m.

The Elba girls are back in the Hall of Fame Showcase this year after defeating Hornell in their only other appearance in 2019. The Lady Lancers are one of the most dominating small school girls teams in all of Western New York, their 17 Sectional Championships are tied for the most in Section Five history. They entered the State Final Four last season with a record of 23-0 but fell to Northville from Section II for the second straight season. Elba lost three seniors off last years team but return two of their top players in Lydia Ross and Brea Smith. Several other girls will be asked to step up this season to continue the programs dominance.

Coach Charlie Pangrazio has been in Girls Program for 18 years and for the past four years he’s been the Head Coach.

At Elba they don’t rebuild, they reload.

“Our success I truly believe stems from our youth program. We have many great parents through the years who have Coached our young players the basics of basketball and what it takes to be successful on the court,” Elba Coach Charlie Pangrazio said

“Both our Modified and JV teams are very competitive. We are blessed with two great Coaches, (Marci Redband and Jenna Bird) both played for Elba. I can’t say enough as to how important they are to our success.  Many of our girls go to Coach Tom Redbands Basketball camp, it is a great camp and our girls truly get better from it. Coach Mckenzie “Bezon” Hill also has helped our girls with personal training sessions over the summer. Amazing Coach and great teacher of the game. During the off-season. We will run open gyms every week until the fall sports start. Many of our girls play on AAU teams. I Coach Football during the fall and we are always finding ways to get our girls gym time to work on their game,” Pangrazio added.

With 17 Sectional Championships and history of success the expectations are high at Elba.

“We start every year knowing we have to work harder than the year before to get to the level we want to be successful. The girls come in with high expectations, they know if they want to win it’s not easy.  Our main goal is to be in every game and be competitive, win or lose,” Pangrazio said.

Pangrazio has scouted his opponent the Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers.

“We have watched films on C-G and they are good. They move fast up and down the court on both defense and offense. They have a well-Coached and balanced team, it will be a great game to start our season,” Pangrazio said.

The Canisteo-Greenwood Lady Chargers were one of the youngest teams in all of Section Five last season. They return all but one player off last year’s B2 Semifinalist team. All-State guard Bailey Mullen is back for her senior season. Mullen led the team in most offensive categories last season averaging a double-double on the season. Known as the Badger for her ferocious defense Mullen is the team leader and is looking to lead her team to the first sectional championship in program history.

Canisteo-Greenwood had a busy off-season since their season ended in the Sectional Semifinals. Coach Collin Button also is the Girls Varsity Soccer Coach and an assistant Coach for the Girls Flag Football team in the spring.

“The girls played in the Bath-Haverling and RIT summer leagues. Our girls competed in the Cal-Mum JV tournament and won the championship. The girls traveled together and played in multiple AAU tournaments. They played in a handful of 3-on-3 tournaments as well.  With the help of the parents, the kids had many open gyms to keep improving. (the parents definitely stepped up when I was coaching spring soccer). We encourage anyone to come to open gyms, but typically it is just the older kids.  The kids have played almost every week this offseason in some capacity. They are a special group that are committed to getting better in the offseason,” Canisteo-Greenwood Coach Collin Button said.

New to the team this season is Senior Payton Bentley a Transfer from Hornell. Bentley was part of three straight sectional championship teams at Hornell and was selected All-State last season after helping lead the Lady Red Raiders to the State Championship game.

Also new to the Chargers Roster are Freshman Gracen Mahaney and 8th Grader Kara Mahaney. Both played Varsity for Arkport-Canaseraga last season helping lead them to the Steuben County League Championship. Kara averaged 15.4 PPG as a seventh grader last season and is a lights out Shooter. Both played AAU and Summer League Basketball with the Lady Chargers and should fit right in with their teammates.

“Payton, Kara, and Gracen fit very nicely. The Mahany girls have been friends with many of our players since they were in elementary school, so the transition has been very smooth. Payton is so friendly and fits in very nicely with our girls. She is a natural leader and seems to be a great teammate,” Button said.

After playing in Class B2 last season the Lady Chargers are in C1 this season, which looks like it could be a very tough bracket come sectional time. Last years B2 Champion Lyons is in C1 along with C Champion Bloomfield and runner up Dundee-Bradford. C-G put together a brutal non-League Schedule to help prepare for sectionals. Games with defending sectional champions Bloomfield, Elba, & Section IV AA Champion Horseheads along with Wellsville, Corning, C.G Finney, Canandaigua, Hamburg, Fillmore, Jamestown & Penn Yan are some of their non-League games.

 Game Four Canisteo-Greenwood vs. Hornell  4:45 p.m.

The Canisteo-Greenwood Varsity Boys team had a stellar season last year under first-year Coach Brandon Beers. The Chargers lost to eventual Class B2 Sectional Champion East-Rochester 46-44 on a buzzer beater in the Semifinals. The Chargers played a tough non-league schedule to help them go on a long sectional run. The Chargers return four of five starters this year and their sixth man and have put themselves in a position to get right back in contention for that elusive Sectional Championship which would be the first in school history.

All-State Senior Carson Chaffee is back for his senior season to help lead the Chargers. Chaffee the reigning Steuben County League MVP had a great summer representing Section Five on Rochester’s team in the BCANY (Basketball Coaches Association of New York) Summer Festival in early August at Monroe-Woodbury High School. The boys team went 6-0 and won the Championship game 66-60 over Central. Chaffee hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help pull away after the game was tied at 52. Chaffee finished the game with 10 points. The title was the first for the Rochester boys since winning back-to-back Championships in 2015 and 2016.

“I was able to follow Carson at BCANY this summer and I was so impressed with his dedication and how well he played.  It was amazing for our young guys to see what you can accomplish if you are willing to put the work in.  Carson works on his game day in and day out,” Canisteo-Greenwood Coach Brandon Beers said.

Webster-Thomas Coach Chris Barrett Coached the Rochester boys in the Summer Hoops Festival and Carson Chaffee made a good impression on Coach Barrett.

“I absolutely loved coaching Carson; he just has an easygoing/charismatic personality that makes him such a great teammate. He absolutely has a little nasty streak when the ball goes up though. He competes so hard on both ends. Offensively, he is so effective at all three levels. He makes catch and shoot 3s, has one of the best mid-range/pull up games in section Five (maybe the best), and will take smaller guards into the post and just punish them. He made some huge shots in the final against a Syracuse team loaded with division 1 talent. Biggest thing for me about Carson however, he constantly plays the right way. He will ALWAYS make the extra pass when it’s needed, sets great screens, cuts really hard, sprints the floor. He doesn’t play like he’s the “star”. He wants to play the game the right way on every possession. I don’t know where he projects at the next level, personally I think he’s better than anyone in Rochester realizes, probably a top Five player, but I know that wherever he goes he’s going to be an immediate impact player,” Chris Barrett said.

Canisteo-Greenwood had another big off-season and want to play at the Blue Cross Arena in March.

“We had a solid offseason this summer where we were able to play in several summer leagues in Rochester and attended an amazing team camp at Alfred University.  Our offseason was a different than last year because we had several guys playing AAU.  Carson Chaffee and James Smith both played AAU for City Rocks.  Carson Chaffee played on the EYCL team that qualified for the EYBL Peach Jam tournament.  James Smith traveled the City Rocks Made Hoops circuit and was able to get a lot of really good experience.  We had several open gyms this summer where the guys showed up and competed.  We also attended the Alfred University team camp which I highly recommend.  They do a great job helping both players and coaches,” Beers said.

Beers is an assistant Coach with the J.V boys team and tries to help out with the Modified boys when he can.

“I am not as involved as I would like to be but I do attempt to attend modified practices when I am able to.  I am very lucky to have engaged parents who are giving their time to help our younger kids coming through the program,” Beer said.

Beers was able to Coach a group of younger players over the summer including his son Jack.

“I was able to coach a group of C-G JV kids this Spring and summer.  We traveled to AAU tournaments in Buffalo, Macedon, and the JV boys played in the Livingston County Varsity League where they posted an impressive .500 record.  I am very excited for the young group of kids we have coming up through and I think there is potential to see a few of them up on the varsity team this year.  Some of the young guys to keep an eye on this year are Gideon Stewart (9th grader), Jack Beers (8th grader), Chase Cavanaugh (10th grader), Tyler Crandall (10th grader) and Liam Radka (9th grader).  These boys show up day in and day out and work really hard,” Beers added.

“I always hear about the Canisteo-Greenwood vs. Hornell Rivalry game but behind the scenes it never seems like that. Coach Scholes has done so much to help me and I’m constantly looking to him for advice. He is an amazing Coach who puts out great teams’ year after year. He has established a program in Hornell that I admire. I’m excited to play them he has a great group of players, “Beers said.

Hornell is back in the Showcase this season, the Red Raiders lost leading Scorer P.J Picco but return several key players from last season’s Sectional Semifinalist team including Athletic guard Demayne Dixon and the last of the Picco Brothers Marco Picco.

One immediate disadvantage for the Red Raiders this season is their gym is under construction, so they’ll be playing all of their home games at Alfred University. In the meantime, off season workouts and open gyms have been complicated to schedule without a gym in Hornell to use.

“We have always tried to get the kids into the gym for open gyms.  Some teams have been gym rats and they always want to be in there.  This year has been more of a challenge with the construction going on at the school,” Hornell Coach Kirk Scholes said.

“We play in a summer league every year.  We used to go to Penn Yan years ago when I first started and then we caught on at Bath for a few years.  Then in 2019 we started going to St. John Fisher because I thought the competition would be good for us.  We go up there and really learn about ourselves.  We sometimes get humbled, and it’s been good for us to go up there and get challenged by some bigger schools and some big-time athletes,” Scholes added

Team camps are a big part of Hornell’s Off-Season program.

 “We went to the AU team camp and played six games over a weekend. Again, another situation where I can kind of evaluate the pieces and see what we have.  I think sometimes that summer events are as much for me as they are for the kids. I get a feel for the next group and can kind of see some of our strengths and weaknesses,” Scholes said.

Hornell’s youth program and YMCA League are big part of Hornell’s success.

“I try to get down to our local YMCA every weekend during the season.  But honestly, I go down just to support the kids and watch them play.  A lot of them know me from being at the school as a 4th grade teacher. I’m grateful for the coaches that volunteer and help the youth in our community.  For years, Larry Vetter coached the 5th and 6th grade travel team and I never had to worry about those kids’ learning fundamentals.  Last year, we had Brian Dyring and Eric Kerr coach the 3rd and 4th grade team and I know those kids were learning and getting better,” Scholes added

Other coaches in the program are a valuable asset and Hornell has had some good ones.

“I’ve been blessed to have some really good JV and modified coaches that have helped the program tremendously during my tenure.  I trust them to teach our principles/fundamentals more than anything.  I see our JV team pretty much every day during the season.  Sometimes we share the gym, sometimes we may practice together and obviously I get to see them for pretty much all of their games.  Sean Curran has been great to have.  He has a huge knowledge of the game and he has good relationships with the kids when they come to varsity.

I think having good assistants is one of the most important things as a coach.  I’ve had Mike Wilkinson for the last 14 years and we work very well together.  We see the game very similarly and having that sounding board has helped me so much over the years. He’s always been the guy that would spend three hours with me breaking down tape and putting a game plan together.  I also really enjoyed having Joe Flint around for the three years I had him.  He was so knowledgeable and always brought great ideas to the table.  Trusting your assistants in practice and in games is so important that many young coaches struggle with,” Scholes concluded.

Hornell is practicing at the new Boces gymnasium at the Wildwood campus most days.  

Not having their own gym to practice or play games in this season will be interesting.

 “It won’t be easy, but the first thing I said to the kids when we met is that we aren’t going to make excuses.  It’s about our mindset and how we go about our business.  We have to play basketball whether every game is on the road or not.  We would play anywhere.  It doesn’t matter if we are in Alfred, Wayland, Canisteo, or at the park.  We just want to play.  I hope it brings us closer together as a team and that we have some grit about us as the season goes on,” Scholes said

Scholes doesn’t think it will have any effect on him as a coach.

“I don’t think it has any impact on me.  Just more road trips.  More late nights.  But it’s basketball season and I can coach anywhere,” Scholes said

Sophomore Ben Woolever has been working hard in the off-season playing AAU and working out with C.L.I.P Hoops out of Rochester coached by Hornell native Rob Stedman.

“Ben may be the hardest worker I’ve ever had.  He’s relentless in accomplishing his goals.  He wants to be great and he’s putting in the time to get there.  He’s an old-fashioned gym rat.  He’s the kid that is up before the sun to head to the gym to shoot and lift.  He’s went to clinics and camps all summer and fall.  He’s put in the work and he has put himself in position to have a big season this winter,” Scholes said.

A newcomer to the varsity team is Freshman Tyrone Buchanan.

 “Tyrone has improved.  He’s learning and getting better every day.  He’s going to get thrown in the fire early and we will see how he adjusts to varsity basketball.  He’s a tremendous athlete and he loves to compete.  He will have some ups and downs, but we are hoping he’s going to be a nice addition to our team this winter,” Scholes added.

With the loss of leading scorer P.J Picco, Deymayne Dixons and Marco Picco’s roles will change this season.

“We will need Deymayne & Marco to not only score but also facilitate.  They can also be an A+ defenders.  Probably the biggest area I need them to step up is as leaders. They are both tremendous athletes and will have big games for us this season.  I like that they have experience on and off the ball and have the ability to take a game over.  We are stressing for them to keep the ball moving early and trust that it will come back. They are going to get plenty of opportunities I’m looking forward to watching them play their senior season and see where they can lead us,” Scholes said

With not a lot of size on the roster, Scholes is looking to try a different approach this season.

“We are going to be small.  We will play Five guards a lot of the time.  We know that we will have some disadvantages in some games, but I also think we may have some advantages as well.  We will be quick, space the floor with shooting and have numerous ball handlers,” Scholes said.

In their only meeting last season in Hornell Canisteo-Greenwood won 55-44 but the game was a lot closer than the score indicates and it was in front of a packed house with lots of intensity.

“Canisteo-Greenwood is a very good team that is very well coached.  They return four starters from last year’s team and have a lot of varsity experience on their roster.  They have a kid in Carson Chaffee that is a heck of a player.  He’s athletic, he’s long, he’s got great touch around the rim, and he’s added to his game this summer.  They also have Thomas Sirianni, Kevin Sirianni, and James Smith that are tough.  They are all good players that knock down shots, play good defense, and make winning plays.  We know we will have our hands full early in the year with York and Canisteo-Greenwood right out of the gate.  We will learn about ourselves a lot.  Both teams bring back a lot of guys and it will be a great challenge,” Scholes said.

Game Five Honeoye vs. York 6:15 p.m.

Honeoye had a Hoosier like season last year, the Bulldogs lost their season opener to Finger Lakes West League Rival South Seneca 65-60. They would go on to win their next 25 games before losing in the Class C State Championship game to undefeated Bernie-Knox-Westerlo 63-47.

With much of the roster returning including First Team All-State Selection Landon Washburn expectations are now high for Coach Robb Delisanti and his Bulldogs.

Washburn played alongside Carson Chaffee in the BCANY Hoops Festival in early August on the Rochester team for Coach Chris Barrett.

“Landon is another kid that was just a joy to coach for reasons similar to Carson. So unbelievably skilled with great size makes Landon an absolute matchup nightmare. We played him a lot at the point or the Two during BCANY and he was just so unselfish. Shares the ball so freely and sees the entire floor so well. Can again score at all three levels (he was 50% from 3 over the six games at BCANY), and his size makes other teams have to decide how they’re going to guard him. When he was guarded big, he didn’t settle and beat his man to the rim for easy shots or to find teammates. Plays with a contagious energy/edge. Will do all the little stuff that coaches love. Again-he’s going to be interesting to watch where he ends up in college but because his size/skill combination he’s going to be very sought after and should make an immediate impact on a program.  He constantly plays the right way. He will ALWAYS make the extra pass when it’s needed, sets great screens, cuts really hard, sprints the floor. He doesn’t play like he’s the “star”. He wants to play the game the right way on every possession,” Chris Barrett said

Overall, both Landon and Carson are absolutely tremendous kids and players. Honestly, both changed my mind on small school basketball a bit. Being the coach at an AA county school, I wasn’t sure how some of the guys from class B and C would look against some of the best players in the state but both of those guys made me realize how good some small school talent is. Both are easily top ten players in the area and have really bright futures,” Barrett added.

As a team Honeoye got right to work after the season ended and haven’t stopped. They played in a Spring League, a Summer League at St. John Fisher College, the Livington County Summer League, they attended two team Camps at Oswego and Alfred University and played in a Fall League. 

Between J.V and Varsity, they have six kids that play on AAU Travel teams.

“I work closely with JV and Modified teams Due to our lack of gyms, JV and Varsity have to practice together. I run our youth program and biddy ball. I think we have it going in the right direction, hopefully,” Honeoye Coach Robb Delisanti said.

They also have a couple of sessions in the fall and spring with former Prattsburgh and D’Youville star Mason Putnam and with former McQuaid and Coastal Carolina standout Jack Leasure.

 “I think it is good to have them work with someone besides me,” Delisanti added

“We do morning workouts Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings before school starts, September, October, April, and May. We only get 4-6 kids because most of them play a spring or fall sport.  I do this instead of open gym because if the girls or boys have a game we wouldn’t have anyone show up,” Delisanti said.

Delisanti is very familiar with his Showcase opponent York.

“York will also be loaded and have depth that most teams in class C do not have. They all can shoot it and they also have the potential to represent class C in the state tournament,” Delisanti said.

York returns most of their roster from last season, however long time Coach Ed Orman Jr. Left York to take a job as Athletic Director at Honeoye Falls-Lima. Assistant Coach Joe Stella will take over the reins with an experienced and veteran group of players who he’s very familiar with. Stella has been with the program for over 20 years.

York played the role of Cinderella last season, entering sectionals as the No. 7 seed with a record of 9-11. They won their first-round game then defeated No. 2 Seed Cuba-Rushford, No. 3 Seed Batavia Notre-Dame and No.4 Seed Bolivar-Richburg to win the Sectional Championship. They then defeated Class C1 Champion Alexander in the State Qualifier. They then met up with C3 Champion Honeoye and led much of the game before Honeoye closed the game on a 14-0 run to defeat York 52-42.

“Our coaching staff and our team were probably the only people in Livingston County or Section 5 that thought we had a chance to win sectionals last year. It was an amazing run and fun to be a part of. As everyone knows, we struggled at times throughout the regular season. We were a good team that had costly turnovers, couldn’t secure a rebound and missed a lot of bunnies at crucial times in most of our losses. We finally put it all together for our sectional championship run and it was so much fun. The boys all played great and I know they are looking forward to this year. I just hope they don’t forget how much hard work they put into that Cinderella run,” York Coach Joe Stella said.

Not much will change from Orman to Stella as their philosophies are the same.

This year will be business as usual. you don’t just replace a legendary Coach like Eddie Orman Jr fortunately, Ed has taught me everything I know about coaching high school basketball. With all that he’s taught me, I’m confident in my ability to lead these young men to a successful season. We are not looking to re-create the wheel. We are just looking to build on our success from last season,” Stella said.

Like the other teams playing in the Showcase, the Off-Season and Youth programs are a big part of York’s Successful Basketball program.

Olean Huskies  

Coach: Tim Kolasinski 7th Season

Last Season: 12-9 Lost in the Class A2 Sectional Semifinals 58-38 to Lackawanna

Numbers: Averaged 51.4 PPG, Opponents 50.5 PPG

History Lesson:  Have won 19 Sectional Championships: Class AAA in 1954, Class AA in 1968 & 1969. Class B in 1995, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 & Class A2 in 2024. New York State Champions in 2008 & 2016 in Class B.

Returning Starters: Two

Key Returners: 6’4” Sr. Mykell Rivera 15.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.8 SPG, 74.2% FT

                              6’4” Sr. Joe Mest 8.9 PPG, 37 3-pointers.

                              6’0 Sr. Adrian Bohdanowycz 2.5 PPG

                              6’6” Sr. Dominic Giovine 8.4 PPG,

                              6’3” Sr. Taylor Teachman

Top Newcomers:    Fr. Dominick Meyers

                                Jr.  Connor Hogle

Fun Facts: In 32 Seasons Hall of fame Coach Jeff Anastasia and his Olean Huskies teams won 21 league championships, 14 Section VI titles, made 12 trips to the regionals, seven appearances in the NYSPHAA Class B Final Four and won two New York State championships The 2015-16 team set Olean High School records for most wins and most consecutive wins (28) in school history. Anastasia retired in 2019 with an active 78-game home winning streak.

Coach Kolasinski Says: “Our expectations every year are to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season and to come as close to our potential as possible. As a group, I know our guys would really like to try to get back to Buffalo State this season and challenge for a sectional title, but it is always a tough road to get there.”

Showcase History: This will be their first appearance in the Hall of Fame Showcase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Corning Hawks

Coach: Mike Johnston 19th year

Last Season: 18-4, Won Section IV AAA Championship, Lost in the Class AAA Regional Semifinal to New Rochelle 64-51.

History Lesson: Corning West won Class B Sectionals in 1998, Corning-Painted Post won Class AA Sectionals in 2017,2022 & 2025. Originally a Section Five School Corning won Sectional Championships in Section Five in 1924, 1926, 1930, 1933, 1936, 1939, 1940 & 1965.

Honors:  Nolyn Proudfoot became the first boy’s player in Section IV history to reach 1,000 varsity points by his freshman season, helping Corning to the Section 4 Class AAA title. He finished the season at 1,082 points while shooting 50.2% from the field and 39% from 3-point range.

More Honors: Nolyn Proudfoot was named Eighth team All-State last season. Kyler Stevenson was named 12th Team All State in Class AAA.  

Key Returners:   Sophomore Guard Nolyn Proudfoot23.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.8 APG

                            Senior Guard KylerStevenson 15.8 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.2 APG

                            Junior Carter Proudfoot    8.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG 2.0 APG    

Top Newcomers:  There are no newcomers on the team this season.

Fun Fact: Kyler Stevenson has committed to play Basketball at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Coach Johnston Says: We have a nice group of kids coming back We return 10 kids who were on the roster a year ago and four starters. We know we lost some pretty good kids as well to graduation, but the kids have put in a lot of hard work in the offseason.

Showcase History: Corning is 1-1Lost to Hornell 63-59 in 2023, defeated Hornell 57-45 in 2024.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elba Lancers

Coach: Ciaci Zambito 11th year 118-69

Last Season: 4-18, Lost to Fillmore in the Quarterfinals 71-47

Numbers: Averaged 47.6 PPG, Opponents 61.2 PPG 

History Lesson: Have won four Sectional Championships, most recently in 2017.

Returning Starters: Three

Key Returners:   Sr. Nicholas Scott 17.0 PPG

                            So. Ryan Marsceill 13.0 PPG     

Top Newcomers: Jr. 6’3” Brady Werth (Transfer from Kendall)

                              So.6’3” Alex Rascoe

                              Jr. Brayan Castaneda

                              Jr. Skylar Chamberlain

                              Sr. Brendan Porey

                             Sr. Emilo Rosales

Fun Fact: Brady Werth played on varsity for Kendall as a Freshman but had to play J.V last year as a Transfer.

Coach Zambito says: We are looking to get back to being a top tier team in our League, that is once again, very competitive. After that, it’s always the standard to get to Blue Cross Arena to compete for a sectional title. 

Showcase History: Elba is 4-1 in the Showcase theyDefeated Avoca 56-53 in inaugural Showcase. Defeated Jasper-Troupsburg in year two 57-50.  Defeated Wayland-Cohocton in the third Annual Showcase 52-26, defeated Wayland-Cohocton in the fourth Showcase 41-35. Lost to Wayland-Cohocton 56-40 last season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wayland-Cohocton Golden Eagles

Coach: Brandon Davis 3rd year

Last Season: 7-14 Lost to Livonia 75-46 in the first round of Sectionals

History Lesson: Class CC Sectional Champion in 1995. Class B2 Champion in 2012

Numbers: Averaged 43.9 PPG, Opponents 53.3 PPG

Key Returners:   Jr. Alex Fedorchuk 13.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.0 SPG

                             Sr. Cole Hanggi 10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.3 APG

                             Jr. Ethan Bauer    6.7 PPG 4.4 RPG

                             Sr. Orion Walker 6.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG

Top newcomers:   So. Jacy Drum

                               Jr. Kameren Lanz

                               Jr. Dawon Stephens

Coach Davis Says: “Many of our players enjoyed strong Fall seasons, and we’re looking to carry that momentum into the Winter. After a long offseason that included spring and summer leagues as well as multiple team camps, we feel ready for the challenge of competing in an always tough LCAA. If we stay confident and focused through the bumps of a long season, we believe we can bring a renewed energy back to Wayland-Cohocton basketball.”

Fun Fact: Senior Cole Hanggi was a LCAA First team All-Star last season.

Showcase History: Way-Co is 1-4Lost to Hornell in inaugural Showcase 67-41, Lost to Wellsville 53-34 in Second Annual Showcase. Lost to Elba 52-26 in the 2022 Showcase and lost to Elba 41-35 in 2023. Defeated Elba 56-40 last season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elba Lady Lancers   

Coach: Charlie Pangrazio 4th Season 72-23

Last Season: 23-1, Section V Class D Champion, lost in State Semifinals to Northville.

History Lesson: Have won two Straight Class D2 Sectional Championships and 17 overall. 2012 NYS Class D State Champions finishing 25-0.

Numbers: 64.0 PPG, Opponents 39.4 PPG

Returning Starters: Two

Players to Watch:  Sr. Lydia Ross Elba (10.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 SPG)

                                       Sr. Brea Smith (11.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG)

                                       Jr. Brynn Stackhouse

                                       Jr. Ava Buczek

Top Newcomers:  So. Madison Lowe

                                Jr. Madison Marks 

                                Jr. Kaelin Ball

Fun Fact: 21 of their 23 wins last season were by double figures.

Coach Pangrazio Says: “We lost three starting seniors from last year’s team and we will have three new starters eager to show what they can do. We will be a younger team, but all have played basketball together for several years, it Should be a fun season.”

Showcase History: Elba is 1-0, Defeated Hornell in inaugural Showcase 55-47 in 2019

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers

Coach: Collin Button 2nd Season

Last Season: 11-11, lost to Lyons in B2 Sectional Semifinals

Numbers: Averaged 47.6 PPG, Allowed 41.4 PPG

More Numbers: Bailey Mullen enters her senior season with 1,027 Career points & 606 Rebounds.

History LessonThe Chargers are still searching for their First Sectional Championship.

Key Returners: Senior Bailey Mullen 14.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, & 4.0 SPG

                              Freshman Anna Mitchell 7.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG,

                           Freshman Paris May 7.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.2 APG,

                           Junior Kora Button 2.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG

                             5’10” Junior Harlie McCafferey 5.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG,

                             Freshman Mackenna Mullen 6.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG,

Top Newcomers: 5’10” Sr. Payton Bentley (Transfer from Hornell) 10.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.6 BPG, & 1.2 SPG. (716 Career Points)   

                                 8th Grader Kara Mahaney (Transfer from Arkport-Canaseraga) 13.4 PPG (286 Career points)    

                               Freshman Grace Mahaney (Transfer from Arkport Canaseraga) 8.8 PPG    (371 Career points)

                              5’10” 8th Grader Adalyn Andrus

Coach Button says: “The girls are all working very hard as we implement some new system items and get our team chemistry rolling.  I have not had a chance to scout Elba, as I know things have changed some for them from last year. I am sure I will get some time to watch film from last year to get a feel for their tendencies,”

Fun Fact: Bentley was named eighth team All-State last season in Class B at Hornell. Bailey Mullen was selected to the tenth team All-State in Class B; she was a First Team Steuben County All-Star. Paris May and Anna Mitchell were both second team All-County last season as 8th graders.

Showcase History: This is Canisteo-Greenwood’s first Appearance in the Showcase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers

Coach: Brandon Beers 2nd season

Last Season: 17-5, lost to East-Rochester in the B2 Sectional Semifinals 46-44

Numbers: Averaged 63.0 PPG, Opponents 45.8 PPG 

More Numbers: Carson Chaffee enters his senior year with 1,069 Career points.

History Lesson: Canisteo never won a sectional championship. Greenwood won four straight sectional Championships in class D from 1981-1984. They haven’t won sectionals since combining schools in 2004.

Returning Starters: Four

Key Returners: Sr.Thomas Sirianni14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG

                        Sr. Carson Chaffee23.0 PPG, 9.0RPG

                        Sr Kevin Sirianni6.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG

                       JrJames Smith6.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.1 SPG

                       Sr Jackson O’Brien2.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.2 SPG

Top Newcomers: Jr. Abe Lewis

                               Jr. Jacob Mitchell

                               So. Vincent Hall-Inzinna

                               So. Chase Cavanaugh

                               Fr. Gideon Stewart

                               8th Jack Beers

Coach Beers says: Our expectations are to go out and give every game everything we have. I believe this group can be special if we can buy into giving out best effort every game. I have a great group of kids and hope that the hard work they have put in pays off for them.”

Fun Facts: Carson Chaffee was named 2025 Steuben County League MVP and 10th team All-State last season in Class B. Canisteo-Greenwood has gone undefeated in Steuben County League play for two straight years.

Showcase History: C-G is 1-0, Defeated Marcus Whitman in 2024 Showcase 56-47

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hornell Red Raiders

Coach: Kirk Scholes 16th Season

Last Year: 14-8, lost to World of Inquiry in Sectional Semifinals 68-35. 

History Lesson: Won Class A Sectionals in 1931, Class AA in 1945, 1953 & 1988. Won Class B2 in 2013

Numbers: Averaged 62.2 PPG, Opponents 53.8 PPG

More Numbers: Coach Kirk Scholes has won 227 games as coach at Hornell

Key Returning players  Sr. Demayne Dixon

                                         Sr. Marco Picco

                                         So. Ben Woolever

Top Newcomers:  Fr. Tyrone Buchanan

                               So. Elliot Klees

Fun Fact: Hornell won the first-ever Section Five boys basketball championship in 1931

Coach Scholes says: “I think I have a team that is going to be scrappy.  We are going to try to play our style.  We need to share the ball, read the defense, and defend as a unit.  We are looking forward to the chance to compete!”

Showcase History: Hornell is 2-1,Defeated Wayland-Cohocton in inauguralShowcase 67-41. Defeated Corning 63-59 in 2023. Lost to Corning 57-45 in 2024.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

York Golden Knights

Coach: Joe Stella 1st Season

Last Year: 14-12, Won Class C2 Sectionals. Lost to Honeoye in the State Qualifier 52-42.

History Lesson: Won Class B Sectionals in 1939, Class C3 in 2012 & 2022. Won C2 in 2025

Numbers: Averaged 59.8 PPG, Opponents 55.1 PPG 

Returning Starters: Five

Key Returners:      Sr. Parker Bonafede 18.0 PPG9.0 RPG (LCAA 1st Team All-star last season, 4th Team All-State in Class C)  

                                   Jr. Yerial Diaz Pena 9.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.0 APG

                                   Jr. Mason Parsons 8.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG

                                   Sr. Ryan Brady 7.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG

                                   Jr. Zach Bauer 5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 APG

Top Newcomers Fr. Caleb Gavin

                            Jr. Lincoln Mitrano

                            Jr. Trent Englert

Fun Fact: Coach Stella has been with the boys basketball program for a long time as the Varsity Assistant Coach and seven years as the JV Head Coach (2011-2018), winning over 100 games and four consecutive JV Cal-Mum Christmas Tournament Championships.

Coach Stella says: “My expectations for this team are for us to be the best we absolutely can be at the end of the season. We may hit a few bumps throughout the season as our schedule is pretty tough, but that’s the way we want it. We want to play good teams to help prepare us for another sectional run. These have been our expectations for years and I’m not looking to change much from our past success,”

Showcase History: York is 3-2, TheyLost to Prattsburgh 71-69 in inaugural Showcase. Lost to Avoca-Prattsburgh 59-45 in the second annual Showcase, Defeated Avoca-Prattsburgh 77-69 in 2022, 77-48 in 2023 and 57-48 last season.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honeoye Bulldogs

Coach: Robb Delisanti 8th Season

Last Year: 25-2, Lost in the Class C State Championship Game 63-47.

History Lesson: Won Class D Sectionals in 1957, Class C Sectionals in 1983,1985, 1990,1991,1992, 1997, & 2025

Numbers: Averaged 72.1 PPG, Opponents:49.5 PPG Opponents shot 35% from Field

More Numbers: Landon Washburn enters his junior season with 1,352 Career points.

Returning Starters: 6’5” Jr. Landon Washburn 26.9 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 4.4 APG and 3.1 SPG,

                                              Jr. Braiden Schneider 10.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.3 SPG

                                             Jr. Dylan Washburn 10.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG  

Top Newcomers:  Jr Kevin Schmitt

                                 So. Kyle Schmitt

                                 Jr. Garrett Goethals

                                 Jr. Eli Stumbo

                                 Jr. Collin Downs

                                 Sr. Tyler Scheele

                                 So. Lou Basile

                                 So. Treyton Brining

                                 Jr.  Christian Cornish

Fun Fact: Landon Washburn recorded six double-doubles last season and dropped a career-high 47 points in an 82-58 victory over Red Jacket. He joined the 1,000-point club last season after a 36-point outing against Livonia and topped off Honeoye’s historic season with its first state final appearance in program history. He was Selected first All-State in Class C by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

Coach Delisanti Says: “Class C will be loaded this year and now that Class C is split into two classes versus three, the road to a sectional title will be much tougher than last year with 17 teams in a class versus 11 or 12. I expect Fillmore, York, Notre-Dame, Oakfield-Alabama, Pavilion, Genesee Valley Belfast, Arkport-Canaseraga, Honeoye, and Northstar to all compete for the title”

Showcase History: This is Honeoye’s first Appearance in the Showcase

Previous Article

Wellsville’s Emma DeJonge enjoys summer internship overseas

Next Article

Be prepared: Bitter cold, subzero wind chills, polar vortex

You may also like