By PATRICK WALSH
LaShard Lowry Jr. (Fairport), Jalen Taggart (Rush-Henrietta), Levi Kulik (Webster Thomas), I’zick Reaves (Greece Athena), Connor Chapman (Canandaigua) and Caiden Evans (Greece Olympia) all garnered Monroe County Player of the Year honors for their respective divisions, the league announced.
The six players were nominated by coaches in all four divisions for their regular season efforts.
Lowry Jr. and Taggart shared the honors for Division I. Lowry Jr. averaged 22 points per game and eclipsed the 20-point mark in eight games this season, including a season-high 34 points against Hilton on December 13. He was also the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 points, finishing his career with 1,131 and good enough for 16th on the active scoring leader list. Outside of scoring, Lowry Jr. averaged five rebounds per game, second on his team, as well as dishing out five assists per game.
Taggart finished the year averaging 25.9 points per game, alongside 5.5 rebounds. The sharpshooter finished with a 42.7 three-point percentage, as well as a 48.7 field goal percentage. Taggart recorded two double-doubles this season. He poured in a season-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against eventual Section VI champion, Jamestown. The junior guard also accounted for 31 points and eight rebounds in a win over 2024 NYS Class AAA champion Green Tech (II). He led Rush-Henrietta to a Far West Regional appearance, recording a double-double in that game as well. Taggart has 1,146 career points.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM LAURA ACCIAIO.
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM JENNIFER LAEMLEIN.
Joining Taggart on the First-Team is teammate Avery Council. Patrick Emling and Jake McCarthy both received the honor from Penfield. Griffen Hopkins rounded out the team from Victor.
Kulik garnered Division II Player of the Year. The senior from Webster Thomas averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 36 percent from beyond the arc. On January 15, Kulik compiled 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks against Irondequoit. Two days later, he scored 20 points, brought down five rebounds and dished out five assists against eventual Class AAA Champion, Rush-Henrietta.
Teammate Joey Baller joined Kulik on the Division II First-Team. Lucas Karelus (Churchville-Chili), Chase Leonardo (Irondequoit), Joey Vigerzi (Gates Chili) and Hunter Streb (Spencerport) all rounded out the First-Team.
Division III Co-Player of the Year Chapman averaged 21.3 points per game for the Grey Wolves, including a season-high 33 against Greece Arcadia. The senior guard dished out a season-high eight assists against Greece Odyssey and Livonia, as well as recording a double-double against Greece Odyssey. Twice he handed out a season-high eight assists. He connected on a 54.5 percent of his shots inside the 3-point arc and converted 78.1 percent from the free-throw line.
Greece Athena’s Reaves compiled 17.0 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game to garner Co-Player of the Year for Division III. His best game came on January 15 where Reaves dropped a career-high 38 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out three assists and had two steals in a 73-67 overtime win against Canandaigua. Reaves also scored 29 points on the road against Pittsford Mendon, and led the Trojans to the NYS Class AA Semifinal this season.
Joining Reaves on the First-Team for Divsion III are teammates Ne’Sean Fowlks and I’zayah Reaves. Chapman, Xavier Smith (Greece Arcadia) and Jackson Birch (Pittsford Sutherland) completed the team.
Evans scored 24.9 points per game this season, including a pair of 43-point games against Brockport on December 12 and Eastridge on February 2 to nab Division IV Player of the Year honors. The senior racked up four double-doubles, including a 29 point, 10 rebound double-double against Canandaigua on February 3. In that game, Evans notched his 1,000th career point in the opening quarter and finished his career with 1,160 points, 14th among active scoring leaders in Section V. Evans had season-highs of 12 rebounds and nine assists against World of Inquiry.
Justin Smith and Carter Mullen both made the Division IV team from Batavia. Evans, Quinn Kailbourne (Honeoye Falls-Lima) and Michael Cathey (Greece Odyssey) rounded out the team.
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