Led by Head Coach Matthew Smith, the Boulder High Boys Basketball team finished last season one seed away from making the state playoffs. It was a season of almosts—among many close games, they lost in a last-second heartbreaker to Fairview. They hope to build upon last year’s successes this winter.
However, they are missing a few crucial pieces from last year’s team. The loss of Kyle Blauch, ‘24, was a particularly harsh blow. Blauch led the team in blocks last season, as well as surpassing 1000 points over his career. Five other impactful players also graduated last year.
On the positive side, Dominic Trudgeon, ‘25, is back on the court this season. A varsity player in his freshman and sophomore years, Trudgeon was sidelined last season with an injury. However, the setback developed him into a better leader, as he became an assistant coach on the Panthers’ bench.
Trudgeon’s return is a boon to the team’s success and confidence. “Dom being out last year left a massive hole,” says Coach Smith. “He has been our best defender and solid leader during his time here at Boulder. I have been super excited to watch him get his stride back and continue to be the leader he is.”
The Panthers also have the new addition of Lewis Racine, ‘25, a physical guard from Dallas, Texas. Despite only transferring at the start of the year, he calls the team “a brotherhood and a group of guys I love to compete with.”
Along with Trudgeon and Racine, the Panthers will look to returning starters Cole Morrow and Lake Smith to provide experience and energy to the squad. Morrow and Smith were named 2nd Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Conference last season, respectively. The majority of last year’s starters are gone, so some of the younger guys in the program will be expected to make a larger impact. Despite the personnel changes, Coach Smith is hopeful: “Each year is a rebuild of sorts, but it does give us the chance to open up different options and styles of play with the personnel that we have. This summer and fall has been a massive undertaking to find out who we are as a team and determine how we move forward without the big man in the middle (Blauch), the nation’s leading charge taker (Riley Stein ‘24), and one of the most dynamic guards we’ve ever had (George Schmid ‘24).”
The team is also moving to a different league this year, which will bring new opponents and new tests. Though the level of competition in the Rocky Mountain League is lower, the new conference still brings its challenges, of which Coach Smith and his staff are acutely aware: “Years past it has always been a one-game fight with all of our conference teams and now we move to a home and away against each team. Trying to beat a team twice in a season is a challenge and a lot of growing, learning, and planning occurs between games. There are a couple of teams that will be very good this season and it will be a challenge for our guys to have consistent and constant energy through league play.”
Trudgeon, for one, is unphased by the uncertainty of the new league. He says that his mentality for each game will remain the same: doing whatever he can to help the team win.
The Panthers still play many of last year’s opponents, albeit these games are now out of conference. On January 16, the team takes on Fairview, where they hope to bounce back from last year’s loss. Additionally, they play against Arvada West on January 10th at Ball Arena, the Nuggets’ home court.
