2024-25 Jay County boys basketball preview

Fast facts

•The Patriots last earned a sectional title in 2010-11 and have only made the championship game twice since then. Jay County has won a total of three sectional games over the past 10 seasons.

•Jay County returns 36.4% of its scoring from the 2023-24 season after graduating five players and having two more choose not to come back.

•Coach Jerry Bomholt enters the season with a career record of 594-386 (.606 winning percentage), leaving him just six victories shy of 600 wins.

Projected lineup

Jayden Comer - Guard

Eli Dirksen – Guard

Carter Fugiett – Guard

Drew Schemenaur – Guard

Gradin Swoveland – Guard/Forward

Tucker Griffin – Forward

Aiden Phillips – Forward

Cole Forthofer – Forward/Center

Kade Sommers – Forward/Center

Key departures

Liam Garringer

8.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 spg, 1.9 apg

Trevin Dunnington

4.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 spg, 0.5 apg

Wesley Bihn

4.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.6 spg, 0.5 bpg

Ben Crouch

3.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 apg

Key returners

Gradin Swoveland

9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.6 spg, 2.5 apg

Jayden Comer

3.8 ppg, 1.0 spg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg

Eli Driksen

2.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.5 spg

Aiden Phillips

1.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.6 spg, 0.3 bpg

2023-24 season

After claiming two of the first three games, the Patriots dropped eight straight games over the span of 49 days. A five-game winning streak got them within two games of .500, but a 1-5 stretch to close the season ended them at 8-14 for the second consecutive losing season. Jay County tied for second in the Allen County Athletic Conference after going 4-2 with losses to Adams Central and Heritage. JCHS struggled against sectional opponents, dropping games to New Castle, Yorktown and Delta by an average of 19.75 points in four games. Overall, the Patriots lacked consistency, resulting in over 10 different starting lineups being used during the season.

Games to watch

Saturday, Dec. 14, vs. New Castle

Tucker Griffin’s previous team took down the Patriots twice last season, including in the sectional opener. This will be an early measure on if JCHS has improved.

Friday, Dec. 20, at Delta

Despite losing a large chunk of its production, Delta claimed the sectional title en route to a semi-state appearance.

Saturday, Dec. 11, vs. Adams Central

ACHS claimed the ACAC regular season and tournament crown without dropping a game in conference. If Jay County wants to make a run at the conference, it’ll need to pick off the Jets.

Saturday, Feb. 1, at Blackford

The Patriots’ former JV and assistant coach, Aaron Daniels has taken over the job in Hartford City this season. This will be his first time coaching against JCHS.

Coach Jerry Bomholt says

“This team has the most upside of any since they set the record (2021-22). We have size, we have shooters and we have pretty good ball handlers. If we can intensify our play defensively and rebound we’ll be a very, very good basketball team. … We feel like we have 10 kids we can get production from, so we’re going to be a little bit deeper than we have in the past. And then there’s ever a couple more kids that as the season goes may get a look from us. There’s going to be a lot of competition for positions, a lot of competition for playing time. I’ve always felt like competition was a good thing. We really do have all the ingredients. We just have to make sure we play at a high level. It should be a lot of fun.”