It’s time to choose the annual summertime team that has become a staple of discussion in, well… my house, at least: Wyoming’s top returning high school players, as chosen by uniform number.
You’re probably reading this part last, if you read it at all. You’ve already jumped to the list by now, looking up the number of your favorite player to see if they were ignored. And I know, I know, I know… You think I “left someone off.” Trust me when I say no one was left off; every returning player was considered. And the decisions were TOUGH, just like they always are. Certain numbers are tough to choose because of an overload of returning talent; in particular this year were Nos. 1 and 8.
In the end, I had to make choices, because that’s what this exercise is really about. And how do you compare? I’ll simply say the process is different for every single number, in part because the players wearing each number bring different skills, and stats, to the discussion.
That doesn’t mean that players not on this list aren’t worthy of attention. There are returning all-state players who couldn’t crack this list, but players with single-digit defensive points last year who did. But that’s the beauty of a list like this. It narrows down your competition by 99%.
And if I’m a freshman this year, and No. 38 is available… I’m claiming that jersey like it’s worth its weight in gold.
(If you want to see how these teams have come together in the past, here are links to the 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 preseason teams.)
My annual disclaimer: I can’t guarantee that the numbers players wore last year will be worn again by them this year. I can’t even guarantee that they’ll go out, or that they haven’t moved since the end of last year. I used last year’s stat listings and rosters posted online to determine what jersey number players wore; if your team didn’t compile stats or didn’t post a roster, I didn’t (moreover, couldn’t) include those players. Also, at least two of these players wore more than one number last year; they’re noted with asterisks.
| Number | Name | School |
| 1 | Jhett Schwahn | Powell |
| 2 | Drew Jackson | Cheyenne East |
| 3 | Dane Steel | Sheridan |
| 4 | Micah Petersen | Cokeville |
| 5 | Jared Mangus | Lovell |
| 6 | Karsyn Gurr | Big Piney |
| 7 | Nathan Mirich | Cheyenne East |
| 8 | Alonso Aguilar | Thunder Basin |
| 9 | Mason Counter | Cheyenne Central |
| 10 | Cooper Frederick | Wind River |
| 11 | Hazen Camino | Buffalo |
| 12 | Connor Cummins | Tongue River |
| 13 | Jayce Schultz | Mountain View |
| 14 | Louden Bremer | Lingle |
| 15 | Isaiah Skalberg | Snake River |
| 16 | Eli Patterson | Buffalo |
| 17 | Cam Hayes | Cheyenne East |
| 18 | Chase Mills | Upton-Sundance |
| 19 | Ben Malone | Laramie |
| 20 | Goodness Okere | Rock Springs |
| 21 | Wyatt Trembly | Dubois |
| 22 | Kolbe Dierks | Cheyenne East |
| 23 | Ryan Arends | Thermopolis |
| 24 | Jayden Crook | Star Valley |
| 25 | Thomas Prell | Newcastle |
| 26 | Brady Roberts | Evanston |
| 27 | Wyatt Ramsbottom | Kaycee |
| 28 | Noah Sides | Natrona |
| 29 | Trevon Abraham | Powell |
| 30 | Jason Moody | Meeteetse |
| 31 | Ty Strohschein | Riverside |
| 32 | Nate Brady | Lyman |
| 33 | Quade Jordan | Encampment |
| 34 | Terran Grooms | Sheridan |
| 35 | Jonah Oard | Dubois |
| 36 | Cole Hansen | Sheridan |
| 37 | Kaison Macy | Farson |
| 38 | No returners identified | |
| 39 | Jack Melger | Tongue River |
| 40 | Zane Graft | Powell |
| 41 | Justin Castagno | Jackson |
| 42 | Carter Archuleta | Douglas |
| 43 | Alex Barker | Tongue River |
| 44 | Eli Gill | Upton-Sundance |
| 45 | Randal Reddon | Farson |
| 46 | Caiden Roberts | Buffalo |
| 47 | Logan Class | Cody |
| 48 | J.D. Holman | Glenrock |
| 49 | Jackson Asay | Cody |
| 50 | Morgan Hatch | Lyman |
| 51 | Peyton Brown* | Thunder Basin |
| 52 | Colby Olson | Cheyenne East |
| 53 | Max Gregory | Lyman |
| 54 | Zaryc Prosser | Riverton |
| 55 | Caden Parker | Thunder Basin |
| 56 | Caleb Ruff | Cheyenne East |
| 57 | Clay Merritt | Star Valley |
| 58 | Zaim Cabriales | Lander |
| 59 | Nico McQueeney | Cheyenne East |
| 60 | Jethro Awtrey | Cokeville |
| 61 | Colter Percifield | Campbell County |
| 62 | Jesse Gibson | Star Valley |
| 63 | Colten Prindle | Cheyenne Central |
| 64 | Malachy Lehnen | Douglas |
| 65 | David Merryfield | Pine Bluffs |
| 66 | Jimmy Dees | Powell |
| 67 | Wesley Downes | Lander |
| 68 | Tyler Mair | Mountain View |
| 69 | Noah Williamson | Sheridan |
| 70 | Ty Bennick | Torrington |
| 71 | Tiegen Thompson | Southeast |
| 72 | Noah Maneval | Tongue River |
| 73 | Royal Olsen | Hanna |
| 74 | Miles Packard | Buffalo |
| 75 | Lance Rabel | Buffalo |
| 76 | Coby Jones | Mountain View |
| 77 | Cooper Smith | Lingle |
| 78 | Alex Haswell | Sheridan |
| 79 | Tegen Seeds | Douglas |
| 80 | Mickey Maroni | Burlington |
| 81 | Vaun Pierson | Kaycee |
| 82 | William Beastrom* | Newcastle |
| 83 | Prescott Veigel | Star Valley |
| 84 | Jacob Ormseth | Sheridan |
| 85 | Beau Weaver | Shoshoni |
| 86 | Brenner Moore | Rocky Mountain |
| 87 | Nolan Hottell | Thunder Basin |
| 88 | Colter Hanft | Tongue River |
| 89 | Joe Bassett | Burlington |
| 90 | Vaughn Grant | Rawlins |
| 91 | Isaac Gardner | Wind River |
| 92-98 | No returners identified | |
| 99 | Tyler Ennist | Laramie |
*-Brown also wore #84; Beastrom also wore #85.
–patrick