It’s a new era at Dawson Springs, but the cupboard isn’t totally bare as Matt Fraliex takes over the reins of the Panther basketball program.
Two starters return from last year’s 17-16 squad that earned a berth in the 2nd Region tournament for the first time since 2017.
But the losses were significant — 2nd Region Coach of the Year Mickey Blue, 2nd Region Player of the Year Rex Blue and Dawson’s all-time leading scorer Montgomery Johnston are all gone.
Still, numbers are solid in the program at one of the region’s smallest schools.
“We have a great group of young men that are part of the program this year,” said Fraliex, a former Caldwell County standout who spent the last two seasons coaching at Crittenden County. “We’re really trying to build a team mentality where it’s a lot of guys. It’s a lot of pieces that are all put together that all play their part — and every day come in and do what they need to do and play their roles. And sometimes if their role gets a little bigger, they’re able to step up to the challenge.”
Leading the way for the Panthers in 2025-26 will be senior forward Jaydon Plunkette and junior guard Easton Bourland.
Bourland averaged 9.5 points and Plunkette netted 9.1 a game last season.
Freshman guard Noah Riley also saw some time last season.
Deacon Dever added 7.7 points a game last season for the Panthers and brought some size in the middle last. However, Dever transferred to Madisonville-North Hopkins for his senior season.
“Jaydon Plunkette, Easton Bourland and Noah Riley, those were guys that were a part of a central piece of what was being built under Coach Blue,” said Fraliex. “And he really set the foundation for what it could be. And we’re going to continue to build off of that.
“But you know, I’m going to have my own kind of spin on it. It’s no disrespect to him. But it’s really kind of the way that I want to play and the way that I like to play. We know right now we don’t have a Rex Blue or we don’t have a Gummy Johnston. But we have guys that are, you know, very good at what they do. And so we want to make sure that we utilize their skills to the best of their abilities.”
Fraliex said the Panthers have a core of about seven players that will likely get most of the minutes this season.
“That group is made up of Jaydon Plunkette, Cooper Burge, who’s a (senior) transfer from Madisonville. We have Noah Riley, Easton Bourland. And then that fifth spot is going to be taken up by either Trevor McKnight, who’s a senior who’s been a part of the program for years now. He hasn’t really gotten his opportunity, but he’s going to get his opportunity this year. Or Ethan Slayton, who is coming in here from being homeschooled the last couple of years. But he brings a lot of athleticism, but he’s still really raw in learning the game.”
Fraliex is hoping his guys can push the pace offensively this season.
“We want to be able to play a fast, up-tempo style. I really like to put as many points on the board as we can. And we feel we have the pieces to be able to do that.
“We’ve got guys that have had a lot of big games in their careers. You have Jaydon Plunkette, who’s a 1,000-points scorer here at Dawson. He’s a leader, both on and off the floor for the team.
“And then you got guys that are able to fill in different pieces.
“Easton Borland had some big games last year. Noah Riley has an opportunity to have big games. Cooper can come in and play well so can Ethan Slayton. Trevor can give us some good minutes.
“So we’re looking to play as fast as possible, but we also want to be disciplined to where if we need to slow the ball down and run sets and be able to run in offense, we can do it.”
If the pieces fall into place, Fraliex thinks the Panthers could advance in postseason play again this year.
“Well, obviously we’d like to continue to build off of what was done last year. Jaydon and Easton got the opportunity to play for a district championship last year. I know they both really, really wanted to win it. And that’s one of our goals this year.
“If we could find ourselves in the 7th District championship, you never know what could happen after that. You get yourself in the region tournament and you get a really good draw. Then, you know, you could find yourself playing for a chance to go to Rupp (for the state tournament), because that’s what happened with Madisonville.
“Dawson beat Madisonville last year. Madisonville got a really good draw in the region and were playing Henderson in the championship game.
“Competing in the 2nd Region and the 7th District is something we want to do, but, you know, we also want to compete in the All A. I’d love for these boys to get the opportunity to go to Owensboro and represent Dawson in the All A state tournament.
“We feel like we’ve got a team that can compete in the region and be able to do that.”
Dawson Springs will tip off the 2025-26 season at home on Monday against Whitesville Trinity.
