The 6th region this year I feel like is the most wide open region in the state and is going to be so much fun covering it thru out the year. I legit think 10 teams could make a run at going to Rupp Arena from this region this year. Evangel Christian won the region last year and lost a whole lot from that team but they have got some good young kids coming in and will still be a contender even with all the departures. There was a lot of kids transferring in and out in this region so will be lots of new faces on new teams. Let's dive into it.

Top 10 players

Ferlandas Wright 6'7 SO Fairdale

Dayvone Harrison 5'9 JR Jtown

Ben Tshaka Mukadi 6'8 SR Evangel Christian

Wade Kramer 6'4 SR Holy Cross

Neyko Jenkins 5'8 SO Prp

Brandon Heath 6'1 JR Butler

JJ Sutton 6'4 SR Fern Creek

Michael Ray Stinnett 6'4 SO Fairdale

Eric Gondol 6'6 SR Evangel Christian

Noah Glover 6'1 SR Fern Creek 

Team Rankings

1. Fairdale - It is hard to imagine ranking a team that lost 8 seniors number 1 in the region but here we are. let's first start with the Bulldogs new coach Michael Stinnett as he comes over from Beth Haven which also means he brings his son Michael Ray Stinnett with him and as a Sophmore I believe he will be te best shooter in the region. I have always been a big fan of coach Stinnett and I know he will do a great job here. The other main contributions will come from Ferlandas Wright a 6'7 very athletic Sophmore and Kamari Roberts a Sophmore point guard transfer from John Hardin. This Sophmore trio will put Fairdale in contention for the next few years. This team will be young but super talented.

2. Jeffersontown - This summer Jtown got hit hard when Cameron McDaniels transferred to Huntington Prep. Then they got a great transfer themselves in Dayvone Harrison a junior from Moore that is electric and can score from all over the court. They also got transfers Cayon Gaines and Joseph Jones to add to the mix. With these three transfers this team is very talented.

3. Fern Creek - The Tigers return three starters from last year in Noah Glover, Tahj Boston, and Lekendrick Morris. They also bring in a new coach in Roy Sutton who will be bringing his son JJ Sutton over from KCD with him. Fern Creek also has 6'8 Rick Mata who will be a force inside.

4. Evangel Christian - Evangel won their first ever regional championship last year but did lose two of the top players in the region in Doerr and Tilley. But I assure you that there is still plenty of talent there for coach Larry Miller to work with. It starts with 6'8 Ben Tshaka Mukadi who will be a force inside. Then there is a very good outside shooter in Andy Conway as well as a foreign exchange student from Spain in Eric Gondol. They also have a couple of very good middle schoolers in Kamden Thompson and Tony Wheat.

5. DeSales - The Colts lost 9 players from last years team including Damone King and Brady Cummins. They will rely heavily on senior guards Prince Kahnplaye and Marshall Miller. They also have Brandon Williams and Cameron Bischoff returning.

6. Holy Cross - The Cougars lost 8 seniors and their head coach from last season. It will be hard to replace the two standouts in Jacob Hand and Mike Loftis but however they did get a huge transfer from Atlanta Georgia area in 6'4 Guard Wade Kramer. Avery Roy  will also be a big contributor. The player to watch for now as well in the future is a freshman Jordan Jackson who I believe will be the best freshman in the city if not the state. Holy Cross is my sleeper team to watch in the region and will be coached by former University of Louisville Assistant Mark Lieberman.

7. Butler - Butler lost one of the best players in the region from last year in Dayton Williams. They do return two starters in Santana Anderson and Michael Jones. The Bears will also rely very much on three transfers as well as they bring in Brandon Heath from Web Dubois, Adrian Wilder from St. X and Jaion Hansberry from Trinity.

8. PRP - The Panthers had a losing season last year which is very rare for them and I do not see that happening again this season. They have a lot returning from last season and with them being a year older and being in the system they will only improve. Prp got what I feel was the biggest addition of any team in the region last year as Neyko Jenkins a sophmore guard who averaged nearly 20 points a game transferred in from Iroquois. He is the top returning scorer in the 6th region and should have a monster season.

9. Bullitt East - Bullitt East is well coached as Jason Couch does a nice job. They will be lead by two returning players in Nate Wilson and Kylan Richie.

10. Moore - I was ready to have Moore as my sleeper team and top 3 in the region but then Dayvone Harrison transferred to Jeffersontown. The mustangs still have some talent in Bruce Sweeney and Ellis Leslie.

11. North Bullitt - The Eagles had a rough season last year but do return almost all of their scoring and being a year older and more experience they will be much improved. They return Kaylen Alexander, Cayden Gibbs, Dylan Hornback, Lucas Vaughn among others.

12. Southern - Anthony Johnson and DaMaury Streater will be looked upon to play much bigger roles for the Trojans this season.

13. Bullitt Central - Sophmore AJ Lee I think will end up being a nice player.  The Cougars also will rely on Dawson Kremzar.

14. Doss - The Dragons have several players returning in Makur Reclow, Kennez Jones and Keyon Woods. I am hearing they may have actually got a couple of transfers that would rise them up the rankings but can not confirm.

15. Western - The Warriors return Josiah Lawson and Julius Edmonds. If they find pieces to go along with them they would move up the rankings.

16. Valley - Valley lost a ton of seniors and will look to rebuild and reload their roster.

17. Iroquois - The Raiderwolves lost six seniors but their big blow was losing Neyko Jenkins who was their leading scorer as he transferred to PRP. They have very little Varsity experience returning. They will rely on D'Anthony Ortiz and JaVontae Harding.

18. Whitefield Academy - Whitefield was winless in the region last year but do have a lot of players back including Gavin and William Dowdle, Jaxon Morris and Dallas Bryant.

One correction on my preview. Western does not have Julius Edmonds or Josiah Lawson they are both still at Trinity and them listed on Western Roster on KHSAA was a mistake.

I’ll go this route for the 6th:

1. JTown as the have a loss in Cam McDaniels but added a SQUAD in clouding Prince Kanplaye from DeSales.

2. Fairdale as the addition of Coach Stinnett and his straight shooting son will mix well with returners

3. Butler like many others they lost a star but added great pieces to a nice returning crew.

4. Evangel big losses in Doerr and Tilley but the big man in the middle and some sneaky good guards will give them a chance to repeat

5. Fern Creek long and athletic. Will give most teams trouble. JJ can play.

6. PRP last season was a mirage. This team with the addition of Jenkins has a legit shot at the region title.

Those 6 are the top choices to represent the region in Rupp. It’s as wide open as a Louisville region has been in a long time!

Best of the rest (in order): Bullitt East, Holy Cross, North Bullitt, Moore, DeSales, 

J-Town 19th and Evangel 24th in Courier-Journal preseason coaches poll. Been awhile since 6th Region this low in rankings.

Yeah the region seems a little down but it is wide open.

Will make for some good basketball this February and March!

The sixth region seems to be very wide open this year. I'll take J-Town and Fairdale as the two favorites. I think that is pretty clear. I said months ago that J-Town was maybe the most intriguing team for me coming into the season. Fern Creek and Evangel should be dangerous as well. This is maybe the one region where you could say for every team "I want to see some results first." because there has been so much movement for so many teams. 

Bump.

DeSales topped Oldham County 66-62 in a scrimmage tonight (8 min quarters). The Colts led 26-9 with a little over five minutes to go in the second quarter before OC got into a good rhythm.