Raiders aim for fourth straight winning season

Having lost three starters to graduation, the Arcadia boys basketball team has a fair number of new roles to figure out as they seek to post a winning record for a fourth consecutive season.

Like most teams, who must deal with the inevitable roster turnover that comes with high school basketball, there are no shortage of questions for the Raiders to answer heading into the 2025-26 season. Fortunately for them, they do bring back a handful of experienced players, including a formidable guard pairing who can serve as the team’s foundation.

Junior Carter Wegman and sophomore Deklyn Grzadzielewski give Arcadia an experienced 1-2 punch in the backcourt after both were members of the team’s main starting lineup a year ago. Grzadzielewski was second on the team at 10.1 points per game and Wegman was third with 9.3 points per game. Grzadzielewski and Wegman were also number one and two on the team in assists per game, averaging 3.0 and 2.4 assists, respectively.

Those two lead the charge after the Raiders lost a trio of regular starters to graduation: leading scorer Kaiden Rotering (15.5 ppg) in the backcourt and the team’s two leading rebounders, Ted Teske (8.3 rpg) and Nolan Smith (6.9 rpg), in the frontcourt.

“Our returning players bring a lot of competitiveness and energy to our team. We return two guards in Carter Wegman and Deklyn Grzadzielewski who form a tough, 1-2 backcourt,” said Arcadia head coach Ryan Sonnentag. “These guys are building upon the standard that has been set the past couple of years by our graduated players. Last year, the seniors brought athleticism, toughness and rebounding size to our team — all three areas where we will have to work hard at improving day in and day out for this team.”

Sonnentag says there are six guys on the team capable of starting and that their starting lineup will be a mix of Grzadzielewski, Wegman, senior power forward/center Max Blaschko, senior power forward Jerson Sanchez, junior small forward Jonah Slaby and junior guard Trevor Pronschinske.

Blaschko and Pronschinske earned five and two starts, respectively, last season and were each part of the regular Raider rotation, thus bringing that extra bit of experience to boost this year’s group.

“Along with Carter and Deklyn, a couple guys stepping up into roles left by last year’s seniors are ready to make a big jump,” Sonnentag said. “Guys like Trevor Pronschinske, who had a great summer of work, Jonah Slaby and Jerson Sanchez, coming off a state run with our soccer team, bring the potential to make leaps this year.”

Sonnentag praised his team’s chemistry and willingness to learn, highlighting their perimeter play as a likely strength and the roster’s lack of size as a main question mark to deal with. As usual, his expectation is for the Raiders to be competitive in the Coulee Conference with an eye toward peaking come tournament time in March.

“Our strength this year is our guard play and perimeter shooting. It’s no secret when you look at our team that we’re not the tallest, so we have to play to our strengths,” Sonnentag said. “Our biggest question mark will be rebounding night in and night out against bigger, more athletic teams. It’s going to take all five guys on the floor battling on the glass for us.”