2025 Hillsdale County boys basketball MVP watchlist and voting poll

HILLSDALE COUNTY — The 2025 boys basketball season is right around the corner, and there's plenty of talented hoop stars returning to the court this winter for each Hillsdale County (ISD) school.

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Let's take a look at one returning player from each area basketball team we believe will be in the running for the 2025-26 Boys Basketball MVP award at the end of the season.

This is our MVP watchlist for the 2025-26 boys prep hoops season and let us know which athlete your predicted favorite to be the MVP at the end of the season in the voting poll down below. We will highlight the winner of the poll with a special video shoutout once the season gets underway. Vote as many times as you would like from now until Thursday, Dec. 4.

MVP Watchlist

Our top five MVP contenders

• Connor Hill - Hillsdale Academy - Senior: The 6-foot-5 center returns to help lead another Academy district and conference title run this winter for second-year coach Dustin Scharer. Hill averaged 11 points and five rebounds a game on his way to a first team all-league and first team all-area honors last year. Hill was an important piece to Hillsdale Academy's league title run in 2024-25. The Colts fell short of expectations in the 2025 postseason, losing to Concord in the district finals. Hill will be the key to another double-digit win this season for the Colts.

• Caleb Blonde - Jonesville - Junior: After earning first team all-league his freshman year, Blonde earned Cascades Conference dream team honors and Hillsdale Daily News all-area dream team honors. He was the only underclassmen to be on that list of five athletes. He helped lead Jonesville boys basketball to 12 wins in 2024-25. He hit 34 percent from 3-point range and made 58 3-pointers. He was 73.5 percent from the free throw line. His 16.9 points a game was one of the top averages in Hillsdale County. He earned honorable mention all-state from the Michigan Sports Writers.

• Conner Arsenault - North Adams-Jerome - Senior: Averaging 13.43 points a game in 2024-25, returning senior Conner Arsenault helped lead North Adams-Jerome to nine wins last season, second team all-conference honors and first team all-area honors. This included three straight wins at the end of the season, including playoff win. Arsenault is one of the best facilitators (51 assists in 2024-25) in Hillsdale County while also being a dynamic scorer. Arsenault looks to lead North Adams-Jerome to a breakout campaign in 2025-26.

• Seth Williams - Waldron - Senior: Averaging 15 points a game, returning senior Seth Williams helped lead Waldron boys basketball to an 18-7 record last winter and a district title trophy that the school had been seeking to earn for more than a decade. Williams' 178 total rebounds, 40 steals and 27 blocks make him one of the best defensive players in Hillsdale County boys basketball. He earned both first team all-league and all-area honors for his efforts last season. He also got a D4 honorable mention all-state nod from the Michigan Sports Writers. The 6-foot-7 center will look to lead Waldron back to a title in 2025.

• Brayden Wright - Reading - Senior: The 5-foot-11 point guard Brayden Wright will be the key returning senior captain that will lead coach Bret Kerspilo's Ranger boys basketball team this winter. The Rangers had a disappointing campaign in 2024-25 but not due to the play of Wright. Wright averaged 15.9 points a game, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He shot 49 percent from the field and earned a 66-percent make rate from the free throw line. He earned all-league honorable mention but came in as a first team all-area selection in the annual dream team awards.

Contenders to watch

• Luis Castro-Thilo - Camden-Frontier - Senior: Thilo earned honorable mention league and dream team honors this past season. Castro-Thilo had a field goal percentage of 39 and averaged 9.1 points a game. His 2.7 steals per game makes him one of the top returning defensive playmakers in the SCAA East.

• Ryan Bernard - Hillsdale - Senior: Bernard was one of the top breakout playmakers for the Hillsdale boys basketball team in 2024-25. The team won 12 games last winter, including a district title win over league rival Hudson. Bernard was integral to the breakout campaign. He averaged 11.77 points, 6.14 rebounds a game. Bernard had a 63.58 field goal percentage. He earned honorable mention dream team honors last season. He had three straight games with 19-plus points last winter.

• Harrison Sands - Hillsdale Will Carleton Academy - Junior: 6-foot-6 Junior returning center Harrison Sands earned second team all-league and honorable mention dream team honors last season helping lead WCA to a conference title, the first in school history since the 2012-13 season. Sands helped the team win 17 games with 10.2 points, 7.73 rebounds a game.

• Gavin Gutting - Litchfield - Sophomore: Sophomore Gavin Gutting had his freshman season cut short after his open-heart surgery late in February. Before his health journey, Gutting was a primary playmaker for the Litchfield Terrier boys basketball team, and he ended the year having earned the team's lone all-league honor from the SCAA East.

• Jake Drawe - Pittsford - Senior: Pittsford boys basketball lost all three of its all-league honorees to graduation this past spring. The team returns with some uncertainty heading into the 2025-26 season hoping to replicate its 12 wins from last year. However, they will have one of the best athletes in the County anchoring their efforts this season. Senior Jake Drawe is off of successfully leading Pittsford football to back-to-back league titles and its second straight playoff appearance, as well as earning the 8-player MVP award.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: 2025 Hillsdale County boys basketball MVP watchlist and voting poll