Lucas LoPresto is the only returning starter, but Pittston Area returns enough other experience to have hopes of continuing its status as a boys basketball contender.
“We’re not starting from scratch because I think we have some good athletes,” Patriots coach Al Semenza said. “It’s going to be a very interesting team to watch develop because we have some really good team chemistry; some good athletes. I think we’ll be aggressive on defense. I think we’ll push the ball more than we have sometimes in the past.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how this group develops because I have some high hopes for them even though we have one starter back.”
LoPresto was a second-team division all-star choice by Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 coaches last season. The junior guard is already in his third season as a starter.
“He’s a super athlete — quick, aggressive,” Semenza said of the leader of Pittston Area’s WVC Division 1 football championship this fall. “He’ll be our leader.”
Along with graduated first-team, all-star Silvio Giardina, LoPresto helped the Patriots reach the District 2 Class 5A championship game and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament despite just a modest 15-10 overall record.
The Patriots went 8-4 in Division 1 to tie Hazleton Area for third place, only one game behind division champion Wilkes-Barre Area and WVC Tournament champion Dallas.
Pittston Area also brings back its first two players off the bench from last year’s district finalist and returns two other successful athletes to the basketball program.
Senior forward John Jadus and junior guard Aiden Clarke are the players moving from rotation into the starting lineup.
Stephen Barnic, a two-way starter on the championship football team, and Jacob Ivey, one of the leaders of a winning soccer team, are back on the basketball squad for their senior years.
At 6-foot-4, Jadus is an “inside presence,” according to Semenza.
Clarke is second to LoPresto among the returnees in 3-pointers and overall scoring.
“We’re looking for some offensive punch from him,” Semenza said. “He’s a hard-nosed player.”
Barnic saw some varsity playing time as a sophomore. Ivey was a junior varsity player as a freshman.
“Stephen Barnic is just one of those guys who will do anything to succeed,” Semenza said. “He’s a great teammate and does a little bit of everything for us so we’re glad to have him back in the program.”
Brayden Shotwell, a junior varsity guard with very limited varsity experience, is positioned to make an impact as a senior.
“He sees the floor well and can handle the ball,” Semenza said.
Patrick Burns, a junior guard, has some varsity experience and gives the team another outside shooting threat.
Brennan Callahan, a junior, is another 6-4 forward. He was a JV player most of 2024-25, but earned a spot on the varsity roster late in the season.
“He’s scrappy; he goes and gets the ball really well,” Semenza said.
Sophomore Alex Rosencrance, who Semenza said “can play inside or outside,” is another battling for varsity playing time.
There are eight other players who will make up the JV roster and try to land the remaining spots on the varsity bench.
