2024 MHC Program Year In Review: York Ballers
August 12, 2024 by Brian Flinn
With the MHC season being done and the awards handed out, we take a look back at what year two of the MADE Hoops Circuit. How did a program’s season fare and who helped lead their teams up until Summer Finale? Assuming players stay within a program, what players are poised for a star making season in year three of the league? Today we start with The York Ballers; The only program with final four teams in two different age groups and the reigning 17U champions.
With the 17U team going on a run and winning the championship, a ton of attention has been rightly paid to lead guard Ben Natal and Defensive POY Ben Rill. While “The Bens” certainly helped power things, players such as Carter Wamsley and Chase Schmucker consistently produced throughout the season. 6-foot-8 big man Elijah Espinosa looked like a real breakout candidate in Baltimore before committing to Mount Saint Mary’s as a member of the class of 2024. Shooting guard Wayne Fletcher was a major part of the offense before going down with injury and looks like a PSAC priority recruit at the bare minimum. Because of the injuries and departures, York was never truly whole in the regular season and finished with the 11 seed before running through the Finale bracket.
The 16U team went on a run in their own right, also making the final four before getting knocked out at Summer Finale. Point guard Ryan Jackson has been impressive all MHC season and is at Central York with Natale and Rill. It wouldn’t be totally surprising to see one of the 2025s decide to reclass sometime over the next year and by extension, be back for the title defending run next season. Guards Jackson Slater and Isaiah White are both guys who had big weekends at different points in the season and will likely take a large step forward if they’re with York in the spring. Coming into Finale as the 17 seed, York’s ability to play as a unit helped them spring a couple of upsets and could be the start of something bigger from this group.
The extended future in the program is bright as well. Despite an early exit for the 11 seed at Summer Finale, Kyler Landis and Ryan Maus were one of the better playmaking and scoring backcourts at the 15U level all year. Wing Jayzen Gant has some intriguing long term potential to go with his athleticism and versatility. Forward Brekin Lasher follows in the footsteps of Rill is Wamsley in the sense that he plays bigger than he is, can guard down low, and can also space the floor.
Again, trying to predict an AAU team's roster or outcome in August is an impossible task, but the York Ballers had a strong debut on the MADE Hoops Circuit and appear to have the culture and players in the program that will allow them to contend for years to come.