NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: YOUTHFUL WYALUSING EXCITED TO TAKE A STEP UP THIS SEASON (November 29, 2025)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
After two years in the wilderness Wyalusing boys’ basketball is hoping to have a bounce back season as they load up on youthful talent that saw some success at the JV level last season.

“We went through a lot as a group last year,” said Wyalusing coach Brent Keyes. “I think it only brought us closer together. I think this group really gets a long, and I think that is only going to help us, but let’s not make excuses, we weren’t good enough last year to to win varsity basketball games. Ultimately, that’s why we didn’t win varsity basketball games. This year we’re built to be able to compete.”

Many NTL teams are going through youth movements of their own, making this year wide open across the league, and Wyalusing’s lone season, Mason Culver, acknowledges’ those difficulties.

“It’s tough some days because, obviously, they’re at a different level than us,” he said. “Practices can get slow, but they definitely like being here. They love being here, and that’s all you can ask from them. They’re definitely going to get better, and I’ve seen them get better.”

The Rams are looking to increase their energy on the court, and share the ball the on offense, which they hope will get them to their goal.

“11-11,” Culver said about their record. “We want to be at that .500 mark for sure, that’s the bare minimum that we need to get. That’s the standard that we need to meet.”

They have a big junior class that is looking to take the next step this year. Many of them have seen the varsity court already, and they’re hoping to use that experience this season.

“I feel like people are underestimating us,” returning point guard Shay Gartland said. “We put a lot of work in, and they just don’t know how hard we’re going to come out and play.”

Last year Gartland was the sophomore taking his lumps on the court, this year he’s hoping to give some of those back.

“I think we’re learning how to develop our style of play, and play off of that,” he said. “Really, we just need to get buckets, just get to the hoop.”

Tyler Caplan, his backcourt running mate, believes their experiences at team camp this summer and summer league in Waverly has made a different.

“We worked on being able to make the right passes, make a smart decision, not make the wrong choice,” remarked Caplan. 

He, too, believes the struggles from last season have made the Rams closer.

“I think it made us a lot tougher, helped us a lot to be stronger in the head,” Caplan said. “Helped us to be able to battle through anything that comes our way.”

Up front juniors Myles Kershner and Jared VandeMark will be holding down the fort. They may not have the size of some teams, but they believe they can make up for that.

“Communication is needed all throughout the court, especially on defense,” VandeMark said. “We’re a lot more focused, a lot more put together.”

They might have a leg up on teams that are rebuilding since they already went through that last season.

“We know the competition that’s awaiting us,” said VandeMark. “We know how to prepare for them.”

The junior class is seven players deep, and they believe that’ll be an asset this year and next.

“There’s just so much positivity,” Kershner said about last year’s run on JV. “All the kids were connected because we played with each other for years. It just felt so good to actually have a connection with our teammates, and that’s going to transform in varsity. It’s going to be good for us.”

He believes they’ll look to play a very fast style.

“We’re working on getting up in transition because we’re a really quick team,” Kershner said. “Most of us can shoot it pretty well, so we’re trying to be able to kick the ball out more.”

Keyes knows they’re not the biggest team, but he believes they have ways of making up for it.

“We do have a couple big bodies in there, and the kids are pretty athletic,” he said. “They can jump decent, and run up and down the floor well. I think we’ll present a little bit bigger than we look, but we’re going to play a certain style, and I’m OK that we’re not big. It’s going to take a team effort rebounding, and taking care of some of those types of things when we have to guard the post.”

He also believes they’re still a work in progress overall, but feels this team will put the program on an upward trajectory as the league goes into a bit of a flux around them.

“The one nice thing about our league is we have some coaches now that have been in their spots for a while,” Keyes said. “We’ve had some continuity in that coaching kind of community, and I think the guys do a really nice job. I wouldn’t sit here and say that there’s one team that we can just go beat, but I do expect us to be competitive, and I think it’s going to be an exciting winter here in the NTL. There’s going to be a lot of close games, and then it will be who handles those late game situations, who can get better at those little things to be the most consistent. That’s our goal, we’re going to try to get a little more consistent, and see how many of those situations we can turn into wins.”

ROSTER (Grade)
Mason Culver (12)
Myles Kershner (11)
Parker Cunningham (11)
Tyler Caplan (11)
Shay Gartland (11)
Jared VandeMark (11)
Owen Brown (11)
Bradyn Johnson (11)
Aidan Neiley (10)
Noah Kilmer (10)
Camron Cole (9)
Mitchell Gesford (9)
Cody Tuttle (9)
Noah Moss (9)
Isaiah Matson-Adoo (9)
Jonathan Baker (9)
Ayden Price (9)
Dillon Gonsauls (9)
Dominic Trowbridge (9)
Tristan Meisch (9)
Gage Tinna (9)

SCHEDULE
Dec. 2 at Susquehanna, 7 p.m.
Dec. 11 vs Canton, 7 p.m.
Dec. 13 vs Benton, 7 p.m.
Dec. 16 at NEB, 7 p.m.
Dec. 18 vs Sayre, 7 p.m.
Dec. 22 vs Troy, 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 at CMVT, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 6 - at Wellsboro, 7 p.m.
Jan. 8 at NPM, 7 p.m.
Jan. 13 vs Athens, 7 p.m.
Jan. 15 vs Towanda, 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 at East Juniata, 1:30 p.m.
Jan. 21 at Williamson, 7 p.m.
Jan. 23 vs NPL, 7 p.m.
Jan. 26 at Athens, 7 p.m.
Jan. 28 at CV, 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 30 at Troy, 7 p.m.
Feb. 2 at Towanda, 7 p.m.
Feb. 4 vs Wellsboro, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6 vs NPM, 7 p.m.
Feb. 10 at Sullivan County, 7 p.m.



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