Midcoast Standouts Could Decide High School Playoffs in 2025 26
A preseason roundup on December 4 named 10 Midcoast players as ones to watch for the 2025 26 high school basketball season, highlighting a mix of six seniors and four juniors who could tilt playoff races. Local teams from Morse to Mt. Ararat will rely on these players for scoring, rebounding and leadership, with several returning contributors carrying clear statistical resumes.
A preseason statewide roundup released December 4 highlighted 10 Midcoast players expected to drive the 2025 26 high school basketball season, underscoring the region s depth across multiple programs. The list featured six seniors and four juniors from schools including Morse, Richmond, Brunswick, Lisbon, Wiscasset, Pine Tree Academy and Mt. Ararat, with profiles that noted each player s role, last season numbers or accolades, and how they fit into team plans.
Leading the group is Bryce Bustamante of Morse, a senior guard projected to be Morse s primary facilitator and a possible leading scorer. Richmond will lean on senior guard and forward David Edwards, who averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds last season and is expected to anchor that lineup. Brunswick returns senior guard Logan Gray, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and averaged 7.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists last winter, alongside junior forward Rylan Ley, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and is poised for a breakout after averaging 6.5 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore.
Brunswick also counts on senior guard Brendan Shaw, who averaged 12.1 points per game last season and will be counted on for offense and defense. Other Midcoast standouts named include Owen Hurd of Lisbon, Dylan Root of Morse, Landin Shirey of Wiscasset, Colin Verrill of Pine Tree Academy and Logan Zoulamis of Mt. Ararat. Each player brings a combination of returning production and positional importance that could shift competitive balances within Class A, Class B and smaller school divisions.
For Sagadahoc County spectators and school communities, the list offers a map of who to watch and why. Returning scorers and versatile forwards can change game plans, influence seeding in the regular season and determine matchups in February and March. Local coaches will likely build schemes around these players while opponents prepare targeted defensive plans, increasing the tactical stakes of early season nonconference games.
The collective profiles point to a Midcoast slate with several individually strong contributors rather than a single dominant program, a distribution that typically produces tight local rivalries and uncertain playoff outcomes. As the season unfolds, tracking these ten players will provide an early gauge of which Midcoast teams have the personnel and experience to make deep postseason runs.
