All-RTC4 boys basketball: Rochester point guard Bowers is player of the year

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

RTC4 Boys Basketball Player of the Year Drew Bowers

The Rochester boys basketball team was playing Eastern in the sectional when the Eastern defender who was guarding Drew Bowers turned his head briefly.

Bowers zipped right behind him, took a pass and went in for an uncontested layup.

The Eastern defender who lost track of Bowers was a rarity.

When watching Drew Bowers play basketball in 2024-25, it was hard to take your eyes off him.

As a result, Bowers, the Zebras’ senior point guard, is our RTC4 Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Bowers led the Zebras with his 16.9 scoring average, and he also led the team in assists (3.6 per game) and steals (3 per game). He was a first-team all-Three Rivers Conference pick and the only player to make the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Senior Honorable Mention All-State list.

He also had the best single-game performance of the year when he scored 48 points against Caston Jan. 28. In the fourth quarter of that game, even when seemingly everybody in the gym was focused on him, he kept scoring.

And in the Eastern game, he delivered a 34-point effort in a 64-51 win on a night in which others struggled to hit.

Bowers also led the Zebras to a 17-6 record, and of the teams that Rob Malchow has coached, this was probably one of the best that did not win a sectional. Two of their losses were to eventual state champion Manchester, another was to Class 3A regional champion Maconaquah, and yet another was to Class 1A regional champion Triton. 

Though the season did not end with the Zebras or any other area teams holding up a sectional trophy, it was still a year of outstanding performances, and the following All-RTC4 team reflects those outstanding performances.

We would like to thank area coaches for sending us their box scores and stats and for sharing their opinions with us after games.

Having said that, this list is ours and ours alone, and we take full responsibility for this list.

Luke Stults Stephen Akase Ian Cooksey Lane Hook

• Drew Bowers (Rochester) (RTC Player of the Year) – Bowers improved his shooting and scoring, but he was also a defensive demon, turning steals into past break baskets for himself and his teammates.

• Luke Stults (Argos) – Stults, a 6-5 senior, was a walking double-double, and he averaged 21 ppg even though every team’s scouting report was geared to stop him and even though he took a physical pounding in the post most every game.

• Stephen Akase (Tippecanoe Valley) – Akase, a 6-6 junior, averaged 13 ppg and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game, and against Valley’s tough schedule, he often had to handle the opponent’s top big man.

• Ian Cooksey (Tippecanoe Valley) – Cooksey led Valley with 14.4 ppg, and a 28-point night against Jimtown in the Indiana Northern State Conference title clincher was the highlight. Cooksey also improved his ballhandling and could score off dribble penetration and in the midrange, and he was an underrated defender.

• Lane Hook (Caston) – Hook gave us hints of how good he was as a freshman in 2023-24. As a sophomore, he flourished. He averaged 13.5 ppg and a team-best 6.5 rebounds. He’s a tough cover because he is 6-4 with a hard-to-stop half-hook in the post, and he can also step out beyond the arc and hit the 3-pointer.

Second team

• Blain Sheetz (Tippecanoe Valley) – Blain Sheetz was the heart and soul of the Vikings. There were many nights in which he, and not Akase or Cooksey, was Valley’s best player. He was a gritty, physical defender; a strong rebounder; an underrated passer; and a guy who could finish around the basket. Every team can use a player like Blain Sheetz.

• Will Malchow (Winamac) – Malchow led Winamac in scoring and rebounding with 13.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg, and he came on at the end of the season. On a team that did not have a true center, Malchow stuck his nose in the middle of the paint and finished at the rim even though he was barely six feet tall. He could also score off dribble penetration.

• Logan Mollenkopf (Caston) – Unless you obtained a program, you would never guess that Logan Mollenkopf is a freshman. He is so savvy and makes the right decisions with the ball in his hands always, and he has a smooth lefty jumper, but he has good footwork and can score in the post and midrange. He and Hook like a top scoring duo for the next two years.

• Brendan Hines (Winamac) – Winamac improved from 12 wins last year to 15 this year, and Hines was a big reason why from his point guard spot. He could initiate offense for himself or teammates like Malchow and Justin Potthoff, and he was also a top 3-point shooter.

• Tanner Reinartz (Rochester) – Reinartz got off to a better start to the season with his shooting than he did last year, and that carried forward for the rest of the season. He was second on the team with his 11.3 ppg and led the team with 5.3 rpg.

Honorable mention

• Justin Potthoff (Winamac)

• Owen Prater (Rochester)

• Aidan Quillen (Pioneer)

• DeOndre Hamilton (Tippecanoe Valley)

• Davis Cowan (Tippecanoe Valley)

• Bryce Baugher (Rochester)

• Zhayne Hellums (Argos)

• Micah Rans (Pioneer)

• Reed Sommers (Caston)

• Jaybin Hines (Winamac)

• Jonas Kiser (Rochester)

• Shiloh Rine (Pioneer)

• Gavin Mollenkopf (Caston)

• Braylon Jackson (Culver)

• Noah Miller (Pioneer)

RTC4 Boys Basketball Players of the Year

• 2021 – Kyle Reinartz (Rochester)

• 2022 – J.J. Morris (Argos)

• 2023 – Tayde Kiser (Tippecanoe Valley)

• 2024 – Sean Richard (Argos)

• 2025 – Drew Bowers (Rochester)