CSLV: Summer Hoops, Several D1 College Commits and Summer Happenings
Tadic Commits to Denver; Gibson Earns Honor for Milikin.
Sisters Kellie Braase (Wheeling head coach, maiden name Kuzmanic), Stephanie Kuzmanic (New Trier assistant) and Deanna Kuzmanic (Maine West head coach), all sisters, pose for a photo at the Maine West girls basketball summer league. Photo via Stephanie Kuzmanic.
OF NOTE
Always looking for grad catch-up subjects! Email me at kalebcarter4256@gmail.com or drop me a DM on twitter (@CSL_Varsity or @Kaleb_M_Carter) to tell me about a college athlete who excelled in 2022-2023 or stands to play at a high level this coming fall.
SUMMER HOOPS NOTABLES
BOYS
New Trier won the City/Suburban Summer League that was hosted by Loyola Academy.
Niles North’s Yaris Irby (2025) came up with some clutch play late in a 49-48 Vikings victory over Springfield Southeast.
Glenbrook South’s Nick Taylor (2024) has been garnering some attention, playing as the primary scorer for the Titans the past few weeks and picking up an offer from Lewis University. Anestis Hadjistamoulou (2025) will likely be one of the more improved players in the CSL this coming season.
Panayiotis Sotos (2026) seems to be a riser for Maine South.
Highland Park’s Griffin Killeen took charge with 14 points in a 47-42 win over Montini.
Glenbrook North’s Owen Giannoulias and Sam Lappin are going to be an excellent guard duo this coming season and are leading the Spartans to a strong summer.
GIRLS
Maine South has been rolling this summer.
DID YOU SEE?
IHSBCA all-state honorees from the CSL
Brendan Stressler, New Trier,
Hank Liss, Evanston
Charlie Parcell, Maine West
Spencer Geake, Glenbrook North
Niles West’s Nikola Tadic committed to Denver for swimming.
Evanston’s Miles Granjean, who won the 100 hurdles at 3A state this past season and owned the best time in the event in the state this season (13.99), recently recorded a time of 13.77 at the USA Track and Field Association Meet.
New Trier Baseball’s Graham Mastros recently committed to Saint Louis University.
Josh DeLuca, a writer for Journal & Topics Media, profiled some coaches’ thoughts about Niles West moving to the CSL North this season.
Via @nnvikingsoccer on Twitter.
“Wonderful evening for District 219 as Niles North and Niles West Soccer squads battle to a 5 goal thriller in front of an entertained crowd. The Vikings came back to win 3-2 but the future looks bright for both schools!”
Maine West football showing love to the school’s athletic boosters for their new shed.
Former Niles West cross country head coach Pat Savage was inducted into the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference Hall of Fame.
Here are some of the Daily Herald’s top shots of GBS and GBN this past scholastic year.
The Record North Shore wrote about Highland Park’s new head boys soccer and boys swim and dive coaches.
Former Niles West girls basketball coach Kyle Breheny will become the girls coach at Saint Viator.
A girls summer soccer team featuring players from Maine South, Niles North and Niles West is enjoying success.
GRAD CATCH-UPS
Niles West graduate Kyle Gibson, who plays at Milikin, was named the top defensive third baseman in the country by the ABCA. As a sophomore this past season, he had only 2 errors for a .983 fielding percentage. He also hit .399 with 16 extra-base hits, 29 RBIs and recorded a .513 on base percentage.
New Trier graduate Alex Calarco, most recently a starting player for Northwestern baseball, announced his intent to transfer to Maryland.