Travis Perry of
Lyon County (Eddyville) was already the leading candidate for Small Town National Player of the Year before the 2023-24 season began based on his status as the all-time leading scorer in the state of Kentucky.
Perry clinched the honor by putting on a performance for the ages in the Sweet 16 state championship tournament. Lyon County became the smallest school to win the single-class title in Kentucky since 1992. The 6-foot-2 senior guard earned tournament MVP honors along with the Mr. Basketball award by the state coaches association.
The Kentucky commit heads a group of 30 players selected for the Small Town All-America Team. Players are chosen based on their honors accrued at the state level, senior and career statistics and the success of their team in postseason play.
Ryan Perry, the father of Travis, is the Small Town National Coach of the Year. Although he had never coached a high school team prior to taking over at Lyon County in 2019-20, Perry led Lyon County to the Sweet 16 championship in just his fifth season and has a record of 141-30 over that span.
To be considered for inclusion on the Small Town All-America Team, players attend schools that have an enrollment of less than 1,000 students from towns with a population of less than 10,000.
Travis Perry helped Lyon County become the smallest school to win a state title in Kentucky's single-class format since 1992. (Photo: Eugene Alonzo)
Jack Benter, Brownstown Central (Ind.)
6-8 | Forward | Senior
Purdue-bound forward led Brownstown Central to a Class 2A state
championship and a No. 2 ranking in the Small Town Top 25. Benter scored 2,550 points in his career and averaged 25.6
points per game and 7.4 rebounds.
E.J. Paymon, Raymond (Miss.)
6-9 | Forward | Senior
MaxPreps Mississippi Player of the Year, Paymon led
Raymond to the Class 4A state championship. He averaged 23.8 points, 9.1
rebounds. 4.6 assists and 3.5 blocks per game on the year. He is headed to play
at Mississippi State.
SMALL TOWN NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Travis Perry, Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.)
6-2 | Guard | Senior
Named Mr. Basketball in Kentucky as well as the Sweet 16 MVP, Perry broke the state career scoring record as a junior and finished his career with 5,481 points. He averaged 29.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.9 steals as a senior in leading Lyon County to the Kentucky Sweet 16 championship and a 36-3 record.
Grayson Rigdon, Benjamin (Texas)
5-11 | Guard | Junior
The national leader in scoring at 45.1 points per game, Rigdon led Benjamin to the Class 1A state championship game and a 24-2 record. Rigdon had a high of 72 points in a game and earned all-state honors. He was also all-state in football while leading Benjamin to a 15-0 record and a six-man championship.
Colin White, Ottawa-Glandorf (Ottawa, Ohio)
6-6 | Center | Senior
Named the Division III Player of the Year by the Ohio Sportswriters Association, White is a three-time all-state selection and led Ottawa-Glandorf to the state semifinals. He averaged 24.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Headed to Ohio State, White finished his career with 2,027 points.
Second Team
Dayton Forsythe, Dale (Okla.)
6-2 | Guard | Senior
Led
Dale to a 31-2 record and its third state championship in his career.
The Oklahoma signee averaged 20 points and six rebounds per game.
Jadis Jones, New Madrid County Central (Mo.)
6-5 | Forward | Senior
Averaged 27.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per
game in leading the Eagles to their second straight Class 3 state championship. Finished career with 2,298 points.
Jordan McCullum, Harriman (Tenn.)
6-7 | Center | Senior
Named
the Class 1A Mr. Basketball by vote of the state coaches and
sportswriters, McCullum finished his career with over 2,000 points. He
averaged over 27 points per game as a senior and will play at Murray
State.
Trent Noah, Harlan County (Harlan, Ky.)
6-6 | Forward | Senior
A
five-year starter, Noah led the state in total points this year with
1,167 and helped Harlan County reach the Sweet 16 championship game against
Lyon County. Noah averaged 29.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and
finished his career with 3,707 points.
Kase Wynott, Lapwai (Idaho)
6-6 | Guard | Senior
The
state's career scoring leader with 2,962 points, Wynott averaged 36 .0
points, 13.9 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game in leading Lapwai to the school's
13th state championship. He had a single-game high of 68 points to set a
state record. He will play at Utah State.
Third Team
Keitenn Bristow, Holliday (Texas)
6-9 | Center | Senior
Posted 24.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game in helping Holliday put together a 34-game win streak en route to the Class 3A state semifinals.
Jared Harris, Silsbee (Texas)
6-4 | Forward | Senior
Ranked
as one of the top players in the state of Texas, Harris earned Class 4A All-State honors while leading Silsbee to a state runner-up finish. Averaged 21.4
points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Michael Howard, Plattsburg (Mo.)
6-4 | Forward | Senior
The
Class 2 Player of the Year in Missouri was one of the leading
scorers in the country this year at 34.4 points per game. He also
averaged 13.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while leading the Tigers to a
25-6 record. He finished his career with 2,546 points.
Logan Kilbert, Sierra (Tollhouse, Calif.)
6-4 | Guard | Senior
The
all-time leading scorer in the Central Section of California with 3,334
points, Kilbert is a three-time Northwest Sequoia League MVP and he led
Sierra to four straight league championships. He has a single-game high of 71 points. Averaged 30.2 points per game this season while leading Sierra
to a 24-10 record.
Javen Poindexter, Red Level (Ala.)
6-2 | Guard | Senior
The
leading scorer in Alabama and the second-leading scorer in the nation
behind Rigdon, Poindexter had a high game of 71 points and averaged 38.2
points per game. He was a Class 1A All-State selection and finished his
career with 3,194 points.
Fourth Team
Hank Alvey, Illini Bluffs (Glasford, Ill.)
6-9 | Center | Senior
Led Illini Bluffs to a 33-4 record and Class 1A quarterfinal appearance, averaging 18.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocked shots per game. A
Lehigh commit, Alvey played soccer and was likely the
tallest goalkeeper in the state, if not the nation.
Isaac Asuma, Cherry (Iron, Minn.)
6-3 | Guard | Senior
Led Cherry to a Class 1A state championship and finished
his career with 3,308 points (10th in state history), 1,259 rebounds and 951 assists.
Marcus Glock, Wahoo (Neb.)
6-4 | Forward | Senior
The
honorary captain on the Class C1 All-State team by the Journal Star,
Glock led Wahoo to the state championship while averaging 23.4 points
and 5.9 rebounds per game. He had a high game of 54 points and ended his
career with 1,710 points.
C.J. Ingram , Hawthorne (Fla.)
6-4 | Guard | Junior
Averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists
and 3.7 steals per game in leading Hawthorne to the Class 1A state championship. He also quarterbacked the school's football team to a pair of state championships.
Kedrick Simmons, Booneville (Miss.)
6-6 | Forward | Junior
Named
the Class 3A Player of the Year, Simmons led Booneville to its
third straight state championship. He averaged 18 points, six rebounds
and two assists per game.
Fifth Team
Jay’Shaun Johnson, Franklin (La.)
6-0 | Guard | Senior
Headed
to Grambling on a football scholarship, Johnson was the Class 2A Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association after
leading Franklin to a state championship. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.2 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.5
rebounds per game.
Ryan Moesch, Chittenango (N.Y.)
6-2 | Guard | Junior
The
leading scorer in New York at 37.1 points per game, Moesch was a Class C All-State player last year and is in the running for state
classification player of the year honors this year. He had two games
over 50 points this year with a high of 55.
Jaxon Mueller, Stillwater (N.Y.)
6-5 | Center | Senior
One
of the top three-sport athletes in New York, Mueller was
all-state in football as a running back and is a highly-regarded first
baseman in baseball. In basketball, Mueller led Stillwater to the Class B
state championship and a 27-1 record while averaging 19 points per
game.
Joseph Roth, Ellwood City (Pa.)
6-5 | Forward | Senior
One
of the top swimmers in the state, Roth is a seven-time medalist at the
WPIAL and PIAA championships. In basketball, Roth led Ellwood City to a
WPIAL championship as a freshman and finished his career with 2,109
points. Averaged 25.2 points, 14.6 rebounds, 6.1
assists, 2.9 blocked shots and 2.1 steals per game. He is headed to Ohio State as a
swimmer.
Asher Williams, Bonners Ferry (Idaho)
6-5 | Forward | Junior
Averaged 28.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in leading Bonners Ferry to its first state championship.
Sixth Team
Isaac Andrews, Wapahani (Selma, Ind.)
6-1 | Guard | Senior
The
all-time leading scorer in Delaware County, Andrews led Wapahani to the
semi-state playoffs before losing to Brownstown Central. He averaged
24.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and finished his
career with 2,151 points.
Mason Bechen, North Linn (Troy Mills, Iowa)
6-1 | Guard | Junior
In
leading North Linn to a Class 1A state championship and a 26-1 record,
Bechen earned all-state honors and averaged 21.3 points, 5.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Nic Navarre, Zillah (Wash.)
6-7 | Center | Senior
Averaged 17.2 points per game and earned Class 1A tournament MVP honors, leading Zillah to a 27-0 record in 2023-24 and 69-7 over the past three seasons.
Pace Prosser, Berlin Brothersvalley (Berlin, Pa.)
6-2 | Guard | Senior
Averaged 25.5 points per game en route to finishing career with 2,281. He also threw for 4,917 career
yards as a quarterback and has a career batting average of .439.
Prosser led Berlin to a 28-3 record and a runner-up finish in Class
1A.
Brady Shoulders, Lyon County
6-6 | Forward | Senior
Although
Lyon County had the state's top player in Perry, it was not a
one-man team. University of Tennessee-Martin recruit Shoulders
also earned all-state honors after averaging 17.5
points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
