The unofficial end of the high school basketball season in Trumbull County is marked annually by the Trumbull County Coaches Association's Player of the Year banquet.
This year's event is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 26 at Leo's Ristorante in Howland.
Kent State University men's basketball coach Rob Senderoff is scheduled as the guest speaker.
The Player of the Year candidates are nominated by officials from each school in the county. The winners - one boy and one girl - are selected by a media panel of representatives from the Tribune Chronicle and the Youngstown television stations. Candidates must be seniors.
This year's boys nominees are: Kenny Bolyard (Badger), Victor Sutton (Bloomfield), Austin Rimer (Bristol), Preston Sirochman (Brookfield), Ryan Miller (Champion), Michael Bornemiss (Girard), Kenny Pozega (Howland), Nick Shelton (Hubbard), Raitwann Gaston (John F. Kennedy), Matt Szorady (LaBrae), Zach McDivitt (Lakeview), Jaylen Mann (Liberty), Zach Wells (Lordstown), Matt Spitler (Maplewood), Cole O'Dell (Mathews), Austin Bucan (McDonald), Kyle Hanshaw (Mineral Ridge), Cody Dillon (Newton Falls), Zack Bailey (Niles), Nate Hancovsky (Southington) and Jesse Hardin (Warren G. Harding).
This year's girls nominees are: Sarah Bonar (Badger), Brianna Sloan (Bristol), Amy Rasoul (Brookfield), Lindsay Swipas (Champion), Courtney Kellar (Girard), Taylor Williams (Howland), Kaitlyn Evans (Hubbard), Chanel Thornton (John F. Kennedy), Ali Gagne (Lakeview), Vakeyla Merriweather (Liberty), Kaitlyn Ramsey (Maplewood), Anna Nobbs (Mathews), Taylor Stanley (McDonald), Abby Riffee (Mineral Ridge), Rachel Ellis (Newton Falls), Katelyn Mooney (Niles), Rebecca Wolke (Southington) and Anita Brown (Warren G. Harding).
Bloomfield, LaBrae and Lordstown had no girls nominees.
FRANK BUBBA CLASSIC: Another end-of-season tradition is the annual Frank Bubba Classic, a girls-boys all-star basketball doubleheader at Warren G. Harding High School.
This year's event is set for Friday, March 30.
It's always the final high school basketball game of the season and one last opportunity for the area's senior players to suit up and hit the court.
The games feature players from Trumbull and Mahoning counties squaring off. A 3-point shooting contest and slam-dunk contest also are planned.
CHALKER ALUMNI GAME: The Chalker (Southington) Athletic Hall of Fame will conduct its annual alumni basketball game on Saturday, April 7 at the new high school gymnasium in Southington.
The organization invites all alumni basketball players to participate. There will be no graduation year restrictions. Those interested in playing call Don at 330-847-0235 or Betty Sue at 330-898-4919. Businesses interested in shirt sponsorships also should call those numbers.
The women's game will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game to follow.
BROOKFIELD ALUMNI GAME: The Brookfield Athletic Department will sponsor an alumni basketball game on Saturday, April 21.
The women's game will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the men's game. Call Randy Clark at 330-509-2164 or Ken Forsythe at 330-502-0750 for more information.
TCSHOF MEETING SET: The Trumbull County Sports Hall of Fame is scheduled to meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at The Reef, 5000 East Market St., in Howland. The evening will begin with dinner.
Members are reminded to bring friends. All interested sports fans are welcome.
Call 330-637-6910 for more information.
CONTACT US: People and organizations with news or announcements for publication can email information to Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@tribtoday.com or submit it via our Virtual Newsroom at tribtoday.com. Call 330-841-1712 for more information.