Meet the Springfield area's top boys high school basketball juniors entering 2023-24

It would be difficult to find many areas that are more proud of their boys' basketball than the Ozarks and we should be in for another great year across southwest Missouri.

A few of the biggest names from recent years return for their junior years. The best players include those who earned all-state and conference player of the year honors.

With tip-off for the regular season quickly approaching, here are the top players in southwest Missouri heading into the season.

Bryden Baxter, Fair Grove

Baxter is one of the better athletes at the school and he's split quarterback duties and is a standout on the basketball court. The Eagles are coming off a 19-9 season that ended in a tough district against rival Strafford in overtime. Fair Grove should be one of the better teams in the area, again, with what it has returning with Baxter being one who can score from anywhere on the court.

Gardner Casey, Bolivar

The Liberators are going to look a lot different this season with Kyle Pock being out of the lineup for the first time since his freshman year. With Pock now at Northern Iowa, Casey could be depended on even more as a 5-foot-11 guard who has active hands defensively and will shoot it from deep.

Collin Clark, Greenwood

Clark has been one of the best young players in the Ozarks over the last few seasons and he will be seen as one of the best overall athletes in the area heading into his final two years. The star Blue Jays point guard averaged 19 points, four rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season while averaging 50.7% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc. You're going to see his name a lot over these next two years.

Tegen Curley, Marshfield

Curley is one of the Ozarks' top prospects heading into the 2023-24 season and he's already committed to playing for Austin Peay. The 6-foot-7 wing is a good shooter and is someone who works his tail off at both ends of the court. He's a really good athlete for his size and his development was aided by the late, great Rob Yanders. He's going to be a really good one for the next couple of years.

Isaac Dalton, Ava

We're used to seeing Ava players with the Dalton last name play big-time hoops for the Bears. This one is the latest as he's another big player capable of putting up big numbers and double-doubles every night. He was a second-team All-South Central Association performer as a sophomore.

Keion Epps, Central

Epps is in line to be the standout performer for a Central team that should be among the area's best in 2023-24. Epps' fantastic sophomore season saw him average 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. He has great court vision to set up his teammates and himself for scoring opportunities. Epps will knock down the 3 and do some dirty work inside. He should have an expanded role heading into this season which should have The Pit rocking.

Cohen George, Ozark

George is a big, athletic 6-foot-10 forward for Ozark and he should be in line to have an expanded role for the Tigers this year. Last season, he averaged four points and 3.6 rebounds per game playing in Ozark's up-tempo style. He led the Tigers in plus/minus and blocks.

Elias Govan, Parkview

Govan could turn into one of the Ozarks' best over the next two seasons. He's a great athlete at 6-foot-6 and he's only getting better heading into his second year under Jack Simpson. Govan was second on the Vikings in scoring last season at 11.8 points per game while leading the team with 7.6 rebounds per game.

Brenley Hagewood, Republic

Hagewood is another junior who has the opportunity to step into a starring role. He was one of the Ozarks' best last season while playing alongside Ahlante Askew and he will be at the top of opposing scouting reports this season. Hagewood led the Tigers last season in scoring at 16.1 points per game He made 43.2% of his shots from deep making him one of the most dangerous players in the area.

Taner Hicks, Hillcrest

Hillcrest had a few of its top performers from its breakout season graduate but it retains one of its youngest stars from a team that won its first district title since 2015. Hicks is coming off a season in which he averaged 11 points per game. He was a clutch player in the postseason as he averaged 13 points and shot 53% from the field. He's going to get his time in the spotlight.

Holton Keith, Webb City

Keith showed he is one of the bright, young players last season as he stood out as a sophomore for the Cardinals. He averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 boards and four assists per game as a sophomore. The 6-foot-1 point guard should continue to make a name for himself over the next two years.

Peyton McDaris, Norwood

McDaris is the next stud to come out of Norwood. He's a shooting guard who holds an offer from Milwaukee — where former Catholic standout Zach Howell is playing. McDaris is another Yanders kid who is one of the tougher defenders in the area, he can shoot it from anywhere and has some fancy moves when he gets around the basket.

Hudson Roberts, Ozark

The Arkansas baseball commit has turned into one of the better basketball players in the area as well. He led the Tigers in scoring last season at 16.1 points per game. He was a 42.4% 3-point shooter last season.

Spensar Seiger, Fair Grove

Seiger should continue to be among the leaders for Fair Grove. He and Baxter form one of the better junior duos in the area. He's a tough 6-foot-3 guard who is capable of leading the Eagles in scoring when needed.

Jackson Shorter, Kickapoo

With all the graduations on Kickapoo's roster, Shorter is set to step into an expanded role for the Class 6 state runners-up. Shorter had a role on last year's team, which his older brother was the star of, and was someone who did whatever was asked of him. This year, he'll be pushed into more of a featured role as a wing who can rebound and get it done in the post. He's also adding more perimeter shooting to his game which could add up to a big next two seasons.

Eli Stokes, Cassville

Stokes is a big 6-foot-8 presence in the Wildcats' frontcourt. He's great on the defensive end as he'll block and challenge shots with ease. At his size, he's also established himself as an excellent rebounder.

Cody Voysey, Strafford

Voysey has been one of the best players in the Ozarks since he first laced them up. That will continue as he goes into his junior year at Strafford. Voysey is one of the area's elite shooters. He averaged 16 points per game last season. Voysey made 43.4% of his shots and 32.5% from deep. Those numbers are all on track to get better as he's pressed into even more of a starring role following the graduation of AK Rael.

Bryce Walker, Central

Walker has the potential to be one of the area's breakout players. He averaged 8.7 points last season while shooting 66.7% on his shots from 2-point range. He stands at 6-foot-5 and should continue to grow into a player to keep an eye on for what should be a really good Bulldogs squad.

Jarrett Zerby, Mount Vernon

Zerby is currently one of Mount Vernon's top athletes and he brings it to the basketball court. He's a top receiver on the football team and he's a great outside shooter on the basketball court. With a few more wins while bouncing back from a 6-19 season, we should hear Zerby's name a bit more this year.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area top junior boys high school basketball players 2023-24