City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue & Evan Hartenstein
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CoBL was at William Tennent High School, checking in on the Panthers’ Spring League action on Wednesday night. 

Here is a notebook featuring a few of the teams we saw:

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Pennsbury youngster Clark ready to handle the rock

Brayden Clark’s teammates were effusing him with praise after Wednesday’s comeback overtime win over Pennsbury. Yes, Clark hit the tying free throws with 11 seconds left in regulation and the winning bucket in a sudden death overtime, but it was the little moments of growth that he hung his hat on after the game.

“I’m still trying to learn,” said Clark, a 2028 point guard. “I’m excited because all my coaches have a bunch of trust in me, and I’m beyond blessed to have that. Because a lot of kids they go to a school, and they want to transfer immediately, and I’m comfortable where I’m at.”

Clark was a swing player for the Falcons last season, rarely touching the floor at the start of the year before emerging as the team’s sixth man as the season progressed, becoming an important piece on a team that went 13-12, advancing to the second round of the District 1-6A tournament.

Last year’s senior group of Mike Roccograndi, Grayson Gozum, Mitchell Primola, and David Aidee all had teaching moments for the young Clark last season that have stuck with him as he prepares for his sophomore year.

“I learned a lot from them,” Clark said. “Swinging JV and varsity, that helped me a lot, learning the varsity speed more. I caught on, and I give a big shoutout to them.”

The Falcons have some talented pieces back in 2026 big man Max Manga, 2027 wing Sean Breslin and fellow 2028 guard Patrick Jajua, who wasn’t there on Wednesday. 2027 guard Brady Kent made some big plays Wednesday.

Clark will try to help bring the group together as he continues to get more comfortable at the lead guard spot.

He said his focus after getting bumped around last season was to improve his strength, and the time in the weight room has already been noticed by himself and his teammates as he isn’t being knocked off the ball.

Clark also knows from his experience last season, he’ll have one role bigger than any.

“Taking care of the ball definitely,” Clark said. “Beginning of the season, I did not play varsity, and that was mainly because I was a turnover machine. My coach told me what happened, and that helped me a lot. He don’t care about scoring points. He wants me to take care of the ball.” — Owen McCue

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William Tennent’s Stracuzzi embracing new role

Over the past few seasons, Tre Stracuzzi’s role at William Tennent has changed more than once. In his sophomore season, he spent most of his time in the corner, waiting for kick-outs and nailing threes. This past season, he shifted into one of Tennent’s primary defenders while also maintaining his knockdown shot. 

With the departure of Jayden Bright and the other graduates, Stracuzzi’s senior season may see another switch-up in how he plays his game. The SOL Freedom Division Second-Team selection knows that his opponents are well-aware of his shot, making the other facets of his game all-the-more important

“I’m trying to find different ways to score,” Stracuzzi said. “Everyone knows I can shoot - I’ll probably have to switch out my game a little bit.” 

Stracuzzi is not only an elite shooter, but is a pest on defense as well. He spent most of his time on the floor guarding the best player, completing his assignment of being lethal from deep and being a defensive menace. 

In the offseason, Stracuzzi plays AAU ball with PA Royals along with a few teammates from Tennent, a place where he can work on those skills that he could use in the upcoming season. 

His teammates, Scott Scheller, upcoming junior Evan Eiler and upcoming sophomore Teegan Stanfield all also will look to make a big impact for Tennent. 

This past season, the Panthers finished 6-4 in the SOL Freedom Division, but just 11-12 overall - a record that Stracuzzi and his guys will look to improve upon in the 2025-2026 season. They started off cold with an 0-5 record, but picked it up a notch and were able to book a postseason bid despite the slow start.

“We started the season off a little rough,” Stracuzzi said. “But I think we started to gain some strength in practice.”

That strength in practice was enough to push Tennent to a five-game win streak and eventually the district playoffs.

With the new and bigger role of Stracuzzi and his counterparts, William Tennent has the potential for a hotter start to next season that can carry momentum for a playoff push next year. — Evan Hartenstein
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CB East ready to reload again

Despite its four-year reign as SOL Colonial Division champions ending a season ago, Central Bucks East found its way back in the state playoffs in 2024-25, nearly upsetting Public League powerhouse Imhotep Charter when they got there.

For the second year in a row, the Patriots will have to have a number of new faces step up as they try to continue a long run of success under 16-year coach Erik Henrysen, who has plenty of players chomping at the bit to do so.

“It’s a huge amount of opportunity,” Henrysen said Wednesday after a win over Council Rock North. “We’ll see who can separate themselves a little bit. But we’ve been starting different lineups. It’s been good for the guys. Everybody feels like they’re getting a shot.”

2026 wing/forward Connor Mekanik is one of the few returning members of last season’s rotation. He had a big night Wednesday against CR North, and Henrysen said a lot of what the Patriots do this season will revolve around him as a player who can not just score it, but pass, rebound and defend as well.

He wasn’t the only making plays Wednesday night though.

Henryesen is excited about his group of point guards with 2026 Henry Bartchak, 2027 Quinn Slack, and 2028 Keegan Marascio all bringing something a little different to the table.

We don’t have the physicality returning, but it’s different,” Henrysen said. “We’ve got some good guard play we’re excited about.”

Last year’s CB East junior varsity team had a very successful season, and a handful from that group will have to take a leap this winter.

2027 wing Israel Schwartz could be someone to keep an eye on. Schwartz said he’s consistently sprouted since 8th grade, up to about 6-4 or 6-5 now. He knocked down threes, scored the ball inside, rebounded and rejected shots on Wednesday night and is excited to add onto his game this offseason in order to try and crack the varsity rotation.

“It really opens up opportunities, but I’m just trying to do whatever I can with my playing time, no matter if I play three minutes or if I play the whole game,” Schwartz said.

“I feel like we all play really well together. We don’t really have a star, but we all play like whoever’s night it is is going to go off and help us out.” — Owen McCue

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— The offseason may have just begun, but that doesn’t mean that coach Dean Behrens and his Pennridge squad aren’t already preparing for next season after an 11-11 campaign in 2025-26. Over the offseason so far, Pennridge has focused on improving their rebounding and defense, skills that they will need as an undersized team.

“Obviously we’re not the biggest team in the world,” Behrens said. “We need to rebound as a team. … From a defensive standpoint, we’ve got to be better collectively as a team. [It’s] not just one guy that we’re gonna expect to rebound the ball, it’s got to be all five guys.”

As a shorter team, the Rams are going to need to rely on their shooting, in which players such as Ryan Schwind have improved upon over the offseason so far. Schwind, who is entering his junior season, will have a bigger role with Pennridge after the departure of 4-year guard Xavier Peters. With Schwind’s improved shot and the teams’ focus on rebounding and defense, Pennridge has the chance to make a big leap in the 2025-2026 season.

— Neshaminy has one of the SOL’s top scorers returning in 2027 Logan Gale, and he looked ready to carry his squad on the offensive end in a tight loss to league rival Pennsbury. Along with Gale, coach Mark Tingle will have quite a bit returning in the backcourt from last season’s 11-14 squad that fell in the first round of the District 1-6A playoffs like 2026s Jason Leiva and Eriq Gold. 2027 Kenny McCarthy and 2028 Marlon Yon both had moments showing they may be ready to impact the varsity squad as well on Wednesday night. The biggest hole to fill is up front with all-league forward Max Currie soon to graduate. 2026 forward Cadenn Amati will have to play a little more inside for the undersized group next year, but he more than held his own on Wednesday against the Falcons and experienced big man Max Manga. 

“We have a bunch of returning guards, which is great,” Tingle said. “Last year, we didn’t have the experience back. This year we do. We’re missing our all-league big man, 6-5 Max Currie, that hurts, but we have a couple guys who will be able to play.”