March 11, 2026
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Rardin picks up POI award

Junior guard was team’s leader in many regards

By Ryan Stonebraker
NV junior Ty Rardin (2) fights for a loose ball with Lenox's Ashton Leonard in a boys basketball game last Tuesday in Greenfield

NV junior Ty Rardin (2) fights for a loose ball with Lenox's Ashton Leonard in a boys basketball game this season in Greenfield (Caleb Nelson)

The Pride of Iowa Conference recently released its annual all-conference boys basketball teams, and one Nodaway Valley Wolverines player earned recognition: junior Ty Rardin.

Rardin led Nodaway Valley in scoring this season with 303 points, averaging 13.2 points per game. He was also the Wolverines’ top 3-point shooter with 55 made shots. In addition, he led the team with 55 assists and 29 steals. Rardin finished second on the team with 10 blocked shots and averaged two rebounds per game. He also led the team in free-throw percentage at 71.9 percent while appearing in all 23 games.

Four players were unanimous selections to the first-team all-conference squad: Jackson Ruggles of Mount Ayr, Colton Wight of Martensdale-St. Marys, Jamison Ewing of Southeast Warren and Cael Hogan of Southwest Valley.

The Pride of Iowa Conference title was shared by Southwest Valley and Mount Ayr, which both finished 14-2 in conference play. Southwest Valley led the conference with four all-conference selections, while Mount Ayr, Martensdale-St. Marys, Southeast Warren and Central Decatur each had three selections.

Nodaway Valley finished the season 5-18 overall and 3-13 in conference play. Despite the record, the Wolverines showed improvement throughout the year, suffering six losses by 10 points or fewer. The team has improved its win total by one game in each of the past two seasons.

The Wolverines’ victories came on the road against Griswold, Wayne and Interstate 35, and at home against East Union and Lenox. Nodaway Valley won two of its final four regular-season games before closing the year with a 52-36 loss at Shenandoah in Class 2A, District 7 action.

Nodaway Valley will graduate six seniors from this year’s roster: Parker Schneider, Dyllan Shannon, Jacob Fry, Jaxon Stringer, Titus Hamer and Landon LaBarge.

Returning as seniors next season will be Rardin, Xavier Shady and Sam Miller. Players expected back as juniors include Jack Berg, Cassius Burnside, Titan Foster, Cael Strode and Evan Meisenheimer.

On the Pride of Iowa Conference first team were Ruggles (Mount Ayr), Wight (Martensdale-St. Marys), Ewing (Southeast Warren), Hogan (Southwest Valley), Paxon Applegate (Central Decatur) and Wyatt Mendenhall (Southwest Valley).

Second-team selections included Tate Dugan (Mount Ayr), Lucas Dirkx (Southeast Warren), Jack Rezac (Martensdale-St. Marys), Blake Boyd (Central Decatur), Walker Bissell (Southwest Valley) and Dawson Evans (Lenox).

Honorable mention selections were Kynzer Norman of Central Decatur, Jensen Waigand of East Union, Jack Reed of Lenox, Jack Gavin of Martensdale-St. Marys, Hayes Stogdill of Mount Ayr, Rardin of Nodaway Valley, Reece Youmans of Southeast Warren, Evan Fast of Southwest Valley and Ruger Berndt of Wayne.