Lake Oconee Academy lost much of its production from the 2024-25 basketball season and aims to replace it this year.
The Titans lost their leading scorer, Canon Mullen, whose dad, Dan Mullen, accepted a job as the head football coach at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. They also lost their second and fourth leading scorers, Torrin Maddox and James Wright III, to graduation in May. Meanwhile, their third-leading scorer, Jaden Hilsman, transferred to Putnam County.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in new roles this season. We’ve lost a lot of our roster from last year,” LOA head coach Josiah Rechenbach told the Lake Oconee News. “So, we have different guys stepping up in new roles.”
The Titans have a young roster this season, with only three seniors: CJ Taylor, Corrion Jernigan, and Henry Hynes. They’re now known as the veterans on this squad, with only two juniors – Luke Martin and Kam Geter – in the mix.
Rechenbach noted that most of his roster doesn’t have much varsity experience, but he’s seen a few guys step up.
“Guys are stepping up,” he said. “Corrion Jernigan is a senior and is a leader of this team. I’m excited to see the direction his senior season takes. He’s a guy that we count on a lot defensively, but he’s also a vocal leader and a guy that the other guys can rally around.
“In addition, Kam Geter is a talented junior who handles the ball a lot for us and is stepping into an important role this year. Another guy I’m hoping to step into a big role is CJ Stembridge, who’s a sophomore wing for me and also a really talented football player. But, across the board, guys are stepping into new roles, and it’s going to be fun seeing who fills them. Last year was by committee.”
Despite losing so much from last season and returning an inexperienced roster this year, Rechenbach is confident in his team. He believes he has the pieces to make the postseason for the first time in program history.
In fact, making it to the playoffs was one of the goals the team set for itself in the preseason.
“I’m definitely big on goals and measuring our goals,” Rechenbach said. “I was at a coaching clinic one year, and a coach from Clemson was there talking about how anything you really care about needs to be measured in your program, so I’m definitely big on setting measurable goals. Our goal every year is to make the state tournament, and the last three years, we’ve lost the game to get there, so that’s a big goal for us.”
However, to do so, LOA must navigate a challenging region schedule that includes three teams ranked in Class A Division II. SandysSpiel.com ranked Greene County, Warren County, and Towns County all in its preseason top 10. The Titans will also compete with Washington-Wilkes and Lincoln County in their region.
Regardless, Rechenbach reiterated how much potential this young group has.
“With this group, I just really challenge them to try to continue to move the program forward because the guys that came before them have done that,” LOA’s head coach said. “Another challenge for this year’s group is not to make excuses about who’s not here, but focus on who is and try our best with what we’ve got.”