Southeast Iowa- Now that the basketball season has officially concluded for all our Southeast Iowa teams, it is time to take a look at the boys’ All-Substate teams.
In Class 1A Substate 5, there were six members of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference selected to the team. WACO’s Hunter Hughes made the squad as he averaged 15.6 points per game and finished his career with 1,139 points.
Holy Trinity Catholic’s junior guard Luke Hellige earned a spot on the team after leading his team to the Substate championship game in large part due to his 23.9 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game. Hellige also became the Crusaders’ leading scorer and broke the record for most points in a game with 45.
Jackson Lanz claimed a spot for Wapello as he was a one man show for the team, averaging a double-double a night with 23.6 points and 11 rebounds.
Liam Delaney of Burlington Notre Dame had a stellar season as the Nikes almost defeated Winfield-Mt. Union in the district championship. Delaney was the leading scorer as he shot nearly 50% from the field and averaged 17.6 points a night.
Lastly, the Substate champions, Winfield-Mt. Union, had two players named to the team in standout seniors Abram Edwards and Cam Buffington. Abram Edwards collected 13 double-doubles over the course of the season as he averaged a double-double for the first time in his career. Edwards finished with 1,145 career points, 893 rebounds, and 190 career blocks.
Buffington, despite missing the first couple games of the season, led the team in scoring as he averaged over 19 points per game and finished his career with 1,634 points and 800 rebounds. The two helped lead the Wolves to their first state tournament berth since 1996.
Winfield-Mt. Union head coach Klay Edwards nabbed Coach of the Year for Substate 5. In his five seasons at the helm, Edwards has led his team to a 77-37 record as the Wolves have picked up 20-plus wins in two of the past three seasons.
For Class 2A, West Burlington’s historical run culminated in two All-Substate 4 players and a Coach of the Year honor. Mason Watkins earned a spot on the team after leading the team in scoring with 21.9 points per game as the junior tallied his 1,000-career point in the Substate championship game against Cascade.
Brady Martin also secured a spot on the team as the point guard of the state bound squad. Martin shot 45.3% from the field and finished his career with over 1,000 career points.
Lastly, Cody VanFleet was named Coach of the Year for Substate 4 after leading his squad to a 22-1 record in his fourth season at the helm. VanFleet brought West Burlington their first ever state tournament appearance.
Moving to Class 3A, Mt. Pleasant’s Payton Hagans has been named to the All-Substate team for back-to-back seasons. The senior finished his career with 1,205 points as he averaged over 20 points per game the past two seasons. After averaging 22.8 points per game and 2.3 steals per game, Hagans earned Southeast Conference Player of the Year.
Jaxon Clark of Keokuk also made the All-Substate 5 team after averaging a double-double for the season with 19.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.
For a full look at the 2024 All-Substate honorees follow this link: All-Substate Teams