College basketball preview: Latrobe grad Butler has high hopes for basketball season

Bryce Butler took the Mountain East Conference and NCAA Division II Atlantic Region by storm last season.

What will the former Latrobe standout do for an encore?

A West Liberty junior swingman who is as surefire a bet to get a double-double as anyone in the country, Butler was the MEC and Atlantic Region player of the year after averaging 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds as the Hilltoppers (29-3) won the conference title.

He was named a D2CCA All-American.

Now accustomed to D-II basketball, Butler wants to continue to fine-tune his skills.

“My expectations are to finally put everything I’ve learned the last three years together to be the best player I can be to help our team reach its full potential,” Butler said. “Control what I can control, and the rest will take care of itself.”

The 6-foot-5 Butler also was the MEC Male Athlete of the Year and was one of the country’s most durable and accurate players. He played in all 32 games and averaged 27.3 minutes while shooting 62% from the field.

He had 11 games of 20 or more points.

West Liberty will open the season ranked No. 9 in NCAA D-II.

• Another area player to keep an eye on is one of Butler’s former high school teammates, Lehigh senior Reed Fenton. The 6-4 guard played in 29 games last season and has been a key cog in the Mountain Hawks’ rotation. He averaged 4.0 points and was a spark-producing shooter.

• Brandon Stone still is searching for the right fit at the D-I level. The 6-11 forward who played at Southmoreland has another new home this season.

Stone is a senior at Delaware State now after transferring from Robert Morris.

Stone played in 23 games last season, averaging 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds over 16.5 minutes. He played at LaSalle before he came to RMU.

• On the women’s side, Laura Graytok came back for a fifth year at American University. Latrobe’s second all-time leading girls scorer, Graytok has appeared in 55 career games but has only averaged 7.7 minutes. She opted out of the 2020-21 season.

• Former Hempfield standout guard Sarah Liberatore has a new college team. She left Marshall after one year and is now at Florida Tech, a D-II program.

• Former Southmoreland and Franklin Regional standout guard Cali Konek left Charlotte and took two years of eligibility with her into the transfer portal. But she decided not to play this season.

Konek played in 40 games in three seasons with the 49ers.

Players to watch

Men

Division I

Reed Fenton, Sr., G, Lehigh (Latrobe)

Zach Rocco, Jr., G, Army (Penn-Trafford)

Brandon Stone, Sr., F, Delaware State (Southmoreland)

Division II

Ty Bilinsky, R-Fr., G, Pitt-Johnstown (Norwin)

Bryce Butler, Jr., G, West Liberty (Latrobe)

Kadyn Hannah, So., F, Cal U (Franklin Regional)

Division III

Cade Cavanaugh, So., G, Penn College (Greensburg Salem)

Mike Gaffney, Jr., G, Pitt-Greensburg (Hempfield)

Josh Kapcin, Fr., G, La Roche (Penn-Trafford)

Sean Kelly, Grad, G, York (Penn-Trafford)

Brandon Learn, Fr., G, Washington & Jefferson (Hempfield)

Matthew Marinchak, Fr., G, Pitt-Greensburg (Ligonier Valley)

Mike Noonan, Jr., F, Allegheny (Latrobe)

Ben Thomas, Fr., G, Pitt-Greensburg (Greensburg Salem)

Other

Riley Comforti, So., G, Carlow (Southmoreland)

Kiantae Robinson, Fr., G, Carlow (Monessen)

AJ Sharp, Sr., G, Carlow (Jeannette)

Brevan Williams, Fr., F, Carlow (Greensburg Central Catholic)

Women

Division I

Laura Graytok, Grad, G, American (Latrobe)

Division II

Maria Brush, So., G, Seton Hill (Franklin Regional)

Bailey Kuhns, Fr., F, Mercyhurst (Greensburg Central Catholic)

Sarah Liberatore, So., G, Florida Tech (Hempfield)

Bella Long, R-So., G, Slippery Rock (Penn-Trafford)

Abby Mankins, Fr., G/F, Seton Hill (Greensburg Salem)

Anna Rafferty, Fr., F, IUP (Latrobe)

Bella Skatell, Sr., G, Mansfield (Greensburg Central Catholic)

Gracie Spadaro, Fr., F, IUP (Southmoreland)

Maura Suman, Fr., G, Edinboro (Penn-Trafford)

Division III

Olivia Gribble, Jr., G, Marietta (Norwin)

Qitarah Hardison, So., F, Pitt-Greensburg (Monessen)

Megan Kallock, Sr., G, Grove City (Greensburg Salem)

Melina Maietta, So., G, Pitt-Greensburg (Greensburg Central Catholic)

Tiana Moracco, Fr., G, Pitt-Greensburg (Derry)

Isi Palamone, Sr., F, Mount Union (Franklin Regional)

Mara Polczynski, So., G, Grove City (Norwin)

Mackenzie Powell, So., G, Westminster (Penn-Trafford)

Brianna Zajicek, Fr., G, Illinois-Springfield (Norwin)

Other

Jada Bass, Jr., G, Carlow (Jeannette)

Jayla Wehner, Jr., G, Marian (Norwin)

Jordan Yaniga, Sr., F, Point Park (Franklin Regional)