With a recent jamboree outing opening the month of December, the Wayne High boys basketball program will be gearing up for the 2025-26 campaign over the weekend.
Head coach Rob Sweetland will be entering his 13th and final year leading the Blue Devil boys as he is set to retire at the end of the school year.
"The team played in some team camps at Morningside and Tekamah to name a couple and also competed in two weekend AAU tournaments," said Sweetland. "The younger players played in the Norfolk Y league."
Assisting coach Sweetland, who has 30 years of overall coaching experience, will be Adam Hoffman and Jack Belt along with volunteer assistant Wes Blecke leading the group of 26 players.
This year's seniors include Jace Jorgensen, Drew Reinhardt, Drew Miller, Brodey Munter and Parker Patefield.
Conditioning, led by the team, started on Nov. 10 along with playing pick-up games at the Activity Center on their own prior to the first week of NSAA winter sports practices on Nov. 17.
"We have been focusing on team defense - tinkering with different types of man coverage and installing some zone defenses," said Sweetland. "The team has been working on early offense and flowing into some good action off of transition."
Goals being set by the coaches include showcasing improvement as the season progresses, be competitive in every game and be able to execute down the stretch in the final three minutes of games.
The Blue Devils lost three key contributors in Colson Nelsen, Gavin Redden and Kaden Keller. Each produced on both ends of the court.
Coach Sweetland highlighted his top returners.
Jace Jorgensen - "could be a double-double type of player. He is a good playmaker and a good passer."
Jaxson Kneifl - "hit over 50 3’s for us last year and we are looking for the same kind of output from him as well as a guy who can get to the paint."
Drew Reinhardt and Brodey Munter - "were guys that gave us minutes last year and who's role will increase into starter positions this year."
Theo Claussen - "is a big sophomore who has shown signs of explosiveness. We will need him to be more consistent with his effort and production. "
The Blue Devil boys will also look to a lot of their younger guards who will eventually step into key roles but may be a little undersized to help this year.
"We are hoping guys like Chase Nelson, Drew Miller, and Maddux Heithold can give us some quality minutes off the bench," said Sweetland.
Senior Jace Jorgensen (guard/forward) first picked up the sport around fourth grade and highlighted what he worked on over the off season.
"Perfecting my craft and working on my shot," said Jorgensen. "Playing together, new guys in the lineup, just learning everybody's strengths."
Jorgensen is looking forward to enjoying his last year playing the sport he cherishes the most with his teammates.
Some team goals include making a statement on the defensive side of the ball.
"Excited to be at home for our first game, should be a good atmosphere," said Jorgensen. "We appreciate the support throughout the entire year."
Coach Sweetland will be looking for more play execution in the second half of games.
"We had a lot of success in the first halves of games last year," said Sweetland. "The ones we lost - we got wore down and didn't finish. This year we will have a lot of close games, so the importance of getting in shape and staying focused in the fourth quarter will be key."
Wayne High is coming off a 21-6 season falling one win shy of a state tournament berth.
The Wayne High boys joined their girls program with a Dec. 1 road jamboree at Howells-Dodge in Dodge.
NSAA action will begin for the Blue Devils on Friday, Dec. 5 hosting Battle Creek (girls open at 6:15 p.m.).
"We need to continue to gel on the defensive end," said Sweetland. "We will need to communicate our coverages and put ourselves in the right positions in order to be successful."
Wayne will then visit Ponca on Dec. 6 (girls open at 6 p.m.)
"We want the fans to know that they will see a team that plays together and plays hard," said Sweetland.
