A new year brings a new look for Madisonville-North Hopkins, which must retool after making a run to the 2nd Region championship game last season.
“We graduated six last year, so lots and lots of new faces,” said head coach Caleb Nelson, who guided the Maroons to a 17-13 mark in 2024-25. “Not all new to us, but some new to us, but really just all great young men and we’re excited to get things rolling.
“We’re just excited for the opportunity for our guys to get out and compete against somebody other than themselves,” he added. “We’ve got a tough schedule ahead. We’ve got some guys that are eager to get some varsity in-game experience. We’re not the most experienced team in the region, but definitely excited for the opportunity to get out there and compete. And we’ve got a group of guys that are hungry that want to play hard.”
Despite losing six seniors from last year’s squad, the Maroons also saw guard Lemontae Ratcliff transfer to Daviess County for his senior season, after missing last year with an injury. Another player, junior guard Peyton Smith, is now at Hopkins County Central.
However, while some players left, others showed up at Maroon Gym.
Madisonville picked up junior guard Lake Sumner, who played at Hopkins Central last year. In addition, forward Deacon Dever moved from Dawson Springs to Madisonville for his senior season.
But Nelson says he doesn’t know what the Maroons’ starting lineup will look like yet.
“Yeah, absolutely not. We’ve got guys that come in and compete in practice every day. We’ve talked, and everybody’s got an opportunity to go out there and make the most of the opportunities they get.
“As far as starters go, there’s not a lot of anything that we’ve talked about just yet, but we’ll get the season tipped off on Dec. 1, and we’ll see what it looks like when we roll it out.”
Sumner scored 11.2 points a game at Hopkins Central last season while shooting 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 79.4 percent from the free throw line.
Dever netted 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds a game last yer at Dawson Springs.
Sophomore Orion Underwood is the top returning scorer for Madisonville after getting 2.1 points a game in limited varsity action.
“Really, we talk about controlling what we can control,” said Nelson. “Our energy, our attitude, our toughness, and our guys showed in the first scrimmage against Murray that they’re willing to do those things. We weren’t perfect in those things, but we showed a lot of growth in that.
“One thing that was very telling that was measurable from that is when we had a guy hit the deck, whether it would be on a free throw, or we’re getting on the ground on the floor after a loose ball or something. We had four teammate jerseys there to pick him up when he was getting up off the ground. And it’s something we talk a lot about and just how we’re better together than we are by ourselves. And that’s really indicative of these guys and how much joy they play with, how much they love each other, and it’s just a good sign for our culture and where we’re at.”
Madisonville has won 16 straight 7th District championships, but that string could get a test this season. Many observers have Hopkins County Central as not just the district favorite, but a contender for the 2nd Region championship as well.
But the Maroons don’t figure to give up that title run without a fight.
Madisonville begins the regular season Monday night with a trip to Union County.
