2023-24 marked a very competitive season of boys basketball in the Capitol - South conference. The teams entered the season all fairly evenly matched, making every matchup of vital importance. It was this environment that helped shape the Marshall program to be ready for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament. The Cardinals entered the postseason prepared and came home with their third consecutive regional title.
Before that, though, Marshall tied for third in the final Capitol - South conference standings alongside Cambridge at 5-5. Conference coaches took notice of the Cardinals' abilities, naming three of them to the postseason all-conference list. Junior Kenyon Miggins repeated as a first team selection while fellow juniors Daniel Nickel and Teseo Ruelas earned second team and honorable mention, respectively.
This is nothing new for Miggins, who has been a varsity contributor since Marshall made a run to the state semifinals in 2021-22 when he was a freshman. He was the engine that made the offense go as a sophomore and repeated that responsibility as a junior, earning first team all-conference each time.
He upped his scoring per game average from 17 as a sophomore to 18.4 as a junior. This led the Cardinals in 2023-24. More than just a scorer, he also led the team in assists with 4.4 per game and finished second in rebounding average with 4.6 per game. His season-high in scoring this winter came in conference play as he pieced Belleville up for 31 points. Miggins also dropped 23 points in the Belleville rematch and gave both New Glarus and Waterloo 22 each.
Nickel graces the all-conference list for the first time in his prep career after stepping into a vital role for the Cardinals this season. Playing time was hard to come by as a sophomore, but he flourished in his role as a starter for the Cardinals this winter.
The 6-foot-3 junior led the team in rebounding average with 4.8 per game. He was also a reliable scorer with an average of 11.9 points per game, second on the team. Nickel's best scoring performance came in a conference matchup with Wisconsin Heights, where he dropped his season-high of 28 points. His two other scoring outbursts that eclipsed 20 points came against non-conference opponents, 23 at Deerfield and 22 at Clinton.
Much like Nickel, Ruelas saw his varsity role increase dramatically as a junior. He came off the bench as a spark plug three point shooter as a sophomore, but was fully entrenched in the starting lineup as a junior. He responded to his new responsibilities well.
Ruelas was another potent scoring option for the Cardinals, finishing third on the team in scoring average at 11.3 points per game. He also hauled in 4.6 rebounds, tied for second on the team, and dished out 2.4 assists per game, second most for the Cardinals. Ruelas saved his best for last, going off for 20 points in a revenge WIAA state tournament win over Cambridge. He also put up 18 in a matchup with Waterloo in the regular season. In non-conference play, he gave Brodhead his season-high of 26 points and also dished out 21 in a win over Poynette.
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2023-24 Capitol - South boys basketball all-conference selections
FIRST TEAM
Jack Erickson, senior, Belleville
Matt Buckman, junior, Cambridge
Kenyon Miggins, junior, Marshall
Max Marty, senior, New Glarus
Benny Marshall, senior, Waterloo
SECOND TEAM
Jackson Scholey, sophomore, Belleville
Drew Holzhueter, junior, Cambridge
Daniel Nickel, junior, Marshall
Brett Warrell, senior, New Glarus
Jake Roth, senior, New Glarus
Theo Schofield, senior, Waterloo
HONORABLE MENTION
Carter Scholey, senior, Belleville
Teseo Ruelas, junior, Marshall
Cade Thayer, senior, New Glarus
Cameron Tschanz, senior, Waterloo
Jon Vosburg, senior, Wisconsin Heights
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