The Lake Oconee Academy boys basketball team began its summer workouts earlier this month.
The Titans remain optimistic about the 2025-26 season, despite losing three of their top four scorers from last year. Seniors Torin Maddox and James Wright III graduated in May, and freshman Canon Mullen, the team’s leading scorer at around 18 points per game, has transferred away.
Mullen, Maddox, Wright, and then-sophomore Jaden Hillsman accounted for most of the team’s scoring.
Lake Oconee Academy boys’ head coach Josiah Rechenbach, who is entering his fourth season with the program, emphasized the importance of having Mullen, Maddox, and Wright on the team last year.
“[They were] extremely important,” Rechenbach said. “They led us both offensively and defensively, and will be very difficult to replace.”
This summer, LOA’s boys played in a camp at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. The Titans competed against several teams, including Northeast (Macon), Jones County, Wilkinson County, Twiggs County, GMC Prep, and Central (Macon). They learned a lot about themselves during the camp.
Rechenbach got to see what some of the group’s strengths and weaknesses were.
“It was a good experience for our guys,” the Lake Oconee Academy head coach said of the camp at Georgia College. “It was a lot of learning lessons, but we competed well and improved as a group.”
Players like rising senior Corrion Jernigan, along with rising sophomores CJ Stembridge and Carson Williams, performed well at the camp. They showed how they’ve developed in the last few months. They complimented Hilsman, one of the team’s leaders heading into next season, well.
Lake Oconee Academy is also looking forward to returning guys like Keenan Parham, Cole Sandovol, Henry Hynes, and Kam Geter to continue developing and step up when it is their time to shine.
Rechenbach knows what his team faces heading into next season and remains optimistic about the future, confident that his players can handle the challenge.
He just wants to see his group continue making progress.
“We’re a work in progress,” Rechenbach said. “Our group is young and lacks experience, but they are beginning to form an identity as a group. Unfortunately, we lost about 90 percent of our scoring from last year, but guys are stepping up into new opportunities.”
This week, LOA’s boys participated in a camp at Covenant Christian in north Georgia to wrap up the summer. They will begin the 2025-26 season in November.