The 2025-26 high school boys basketball season in Ohio is less than one month away, and area teams will be taking it up a notch.

Friday marked the first day of official practice for the upcoming OHSAA campaign, with the regular season scheduled to start Nov. 26.

Here is a look at some of the top returning players to watch this season.

Race Kowalczyk, St. John’s Jesuit

A 6-foot-7 senior guard/forward who is verbally committed to Bradley University in Illinois, Kowalczyk averaged 17.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game last season for St. John’s. He shot 51 percent from inside the arc, 40 percent from 3-point range, and 80 percent from the free-throw line.

Kowalczyk, the son of University of Toledo men’s basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk, earned first-team honors in the Catholi

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