The Nate Hoops League just had an expansion draft this February. The league added two newly established teams, and it brought one player from each team into the draft so the league can shake up a little bit. This made some superteams into the league and also some exciting teams to watch. The league will officially kick off on May 7th. Before that, here is a little recap on what happened in the off-season.

First, we will talk about Kade’s team. Kade’s team is a newly established team, so he got the first pick in the draft. He grabbed a 6’4 forward in Jack Pederson. Jack is a very good basketball player; he can hit 3s and dunk on a 10-foot hoop. Just think what he can do on a mini hoop this season. Kade also grabbed a sharpshooter with his second pick in Drew Geiger. Drew only played a couple of games last season but when he did he hit the grass ball very well.

Another expansion team being added this season is Eddie Durrwatcher’s team. Eddie is new to the league, but he is very athletic so he should be dominant in the league this season. One player he got into the draft is Kelechi. Kelechi is a gifted scorer and a natural athlete. He was a leading scorer last season, so with a bigger role on Eddie’s team the sky’s the limit for him. With the last pick, Eddie picked up Nathan Vosberg. Nathan is a sharpshooter. He also has a home-court advantage on everyone so who knows what he will do this season.

Now with the next four teams, nothing has really changed that much in the off-season, so I am going to put them into an A-tier and a B tier and talk about them.

In the B tier, I have James Essery’s team. James’s team is probably the worst team in the league right now. They have Andrew Rogers, who is the best scorer in the league. They also added Will Mathiasen who is a very talented defender. James is also a very good defender, a menace on the glass, and scores efficiently. Their problem is that they don’t really have another scorer other than Rogers on the team. Hopefully, Will or James will step up big this season because their team is very fun to watch.

The last team in the B tier is Anthony Mahowald’s team. Their team lost big with a season-ending injury with Tyler Hemmesch being out and Gavan Schulte replacing him. Gavan is a gifted athlete and can score at will. Zach Mathiasen is also on the team and is a two-way player. He was a key player on the championship-winning team last year. Their last guy is Anthony Mahowald. If there was an MVP last year, it would have gone to Anthony. The reason why they are in the B tier is because of their availability. Most of their guys have commitments other than the league so they won’t be able to make it to all the games. But when fully healthy, they are a dangerous team.

The final two teams are in the A tier. The first team in the A tier is Caden Villareal’s team. Caden’s team is loaded in my opinion. Caden is a very big athletic forward who can dunk at will. My guess is that he will have a minimum of five posters this year. He is also a very clutch shooter hitting two key grass balls in the finals last year. They also added Aiden Lang. Lang was the Defensive Player of the Year last year and can lock up anyone. He also has a nice stroke to hit a few grass balls once in a while. Their last player is Brady Husmann. He was the second pick last year and was very disappointing last year. This year, however, he is looking to make a comeback and be a key player in the league. People are calling him Baby Luka this year so let’s see if he lives up to it.

The last team in the league is Will Mahowald’s team. Will’s team is loaded this year. They have star Will Mahowald. He is a force to be reckoned with down low. He will dominate in the paint this year. They also have a talented ball-handler in Logan Legatt. Legatt was battling an injury last year but was still phenomenal. He is a sharpshooter from the grass range and with his speed, he can get to the rim at will. He is also one of the best passers in the league, so it should be fun watching him dish it to his teammates. The last player they got as a steal in the draft. Dylan Simones fell to them in the draft when he was projected to go to Eddie. Dylan is the most athletic person in the league and should be a lethal lob threat. He also can shoot and lock up anyone. They are my title favorites to win this season in The Nate Hoops League.

On May 7th James’s team plays Kade’s team, Caden’s team faces Eddie’s team, and finally, Anthony’s team faces Will’s team. To keep up with the league, follow their Instagram @thenatehoopsleague.