LA PORTE CITY – Coach Eric Jesse is back for his second season coaching the Union boys basketball team. Last year, Jesse led the Knights to a 17-win season including a trip to the state tournament.

Seniors this season include Caden Sorensen, Cam Mullen, Maddux DeWinter, Tate Van Dyke, Sawyer Spence, Ethan Winnike, Henry Hegdahl, Zach Griswold, Grady Anderson, and Hunter Brustkern. Sophomores include Bryson DeWinter, Trevor Mullen, Hollis Boquist, Eli Grote, Caleb Spore, Jacob McCoy, Owen Schmitz, Wes Buckingham, and Marshawn Gasco. Freshmen include Phineas Beermann, Jace Sorensen, Tucker Smith, Tommy Spencer, Arden Oberhauser, and Anderson Karr.

“Last season the Union Knights finished with a strong overall record of 17-10, and a conference record of 7-1, capturing first place in the NICL East (the fourth in school history). The Knights also qualified for the class 2A State Tournament last year for the second time in program history and first time since 2008,” Coach Jesse said.

“The team graduated lone senior, Eric Neipert from last year’s state tournament team. It will be a challenge to replace his inside presence on both ends of the court. The Knights will try to replicate his production with what should be a team that relies on its depth. The team brings back 10 experienced seniors from last year’s roster including returning starters Caden Sorensen, Maddux DeWinter, Cameron Mullen, and Tate Van Dyke.”

“With an experienced senior class and a greatly improved sophomore class expect the Knights to compete night in and night out. When watching the Knights expect to see a team that competes extremely hard and plays extremely fast on both ends of the court! We are looking forward to seeing the growth from last year to this year!”

The Knights first game is set for Monday, Dec 1, at home against Don Bosco. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.

View the team schedule, team roster, stats, and more via the school’s Bound page by visiting https://www.gobound.com/ia/schools/union.