Our First 15: Looking at numbers 11 to 25 among TR's top male athletes since 2000

It was a list that took the TR sports staff months to compile.

The Muskingum Valley’s top athletes from the last 25 years is a deep and talented list from the 12 schools within our coverage area – Morgan, Muskingum and Perry counties.

To be eligible, athletes must not have graduated earlier than 2001, which means the fall season of 2000 got the ball rolling.

Emphasis was placed on individuals who earned Division I scholarships, excelled in multiple sports and won state championships. They weren’t the end-all, be-all factors, however.

Most importantly, the “eye test” still carried plenty of weight. Some players you simply don’t need statistics or postseason awards to know they belong.

To do this, we consulted longtime area coaches, former athletes and local media personalities to cross check and collect insight. It helped us fortify our own opinions.

In the end, it left us with a highly difficult task. Inevitably, deserving players would be left out. This list is truly the best of the best.

Without further ado, here are the first 15 players on our list.

25. Jacob Horsley, Sheridan, 2012

At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, he was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and MVL Player of the Year in baseball in 2012. In football, he was a key receiver and defensive back that earned second-team All-Ohio in Division III.

Horsley was a rare three-sport All-Ohioan in Division II for the Generals, starring in football, basketball and baseball before eventually earning a baseball scholarship to Division II Ohio Dominican.

He started four years and earned All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at ODU and played locally for the Junior Pioneers. He was enshrined to the Sheridan Athletic Hall of Fame.

24. Nathan Strock, Tri-Valley, 2013

When it comes to big-game performers, few have done it like Strock. His teams won four playoff games in Division II, Region 7 from 2010-12.

A three-year starter at quarterback, the 6-4, 190-pounder led the Scotties to three straight playoff appearances before signing a scholarship offer with Kent State. He was a two-time, first-team All-Ohioan who twice engineered 99-yard scoring drives in the fourth quarter during his career.

He passed for 1,909 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions as a junior, accounting for more than 2,500 yards as the Scotties lost in overtime to Columbus Marion-Franklin in the regional finals.

The following season, he led the team to 10 straight wins in the regular season and a first-round playoff win against New Carlisle Tecumseh. But New Albany, led by Ohio State-bound Darron Lee, were too much in a 42-35 loss. Strock finished with 1,883 passing yards and completed 61 percent of his passes, throwing 20 TDs to just one interception.

Strock was selected to the Ohio North-South All-Star roster.

23. Kasey Waaland, Tri-Valley, 2005

Waaland was among the most versatile athletes in Scottie history, winning 11 letters between soccer, basketball and track during a heralded career.

He was particularly impressive as a senior, when he was second-team All-Ohio in soccer, led the Scotties in scoring en route to an MVL title and placed fifth in the 110 hurdles at the Division I state track meet. He also stood out academically, earning the Gannett-Fieldhouse Michael Amicone Sr. Scholarship that year.

Waaland was part of some of the most dominant soccer teams in league history under coach Dale Ross, teams led by first-team All-Ohioan Kolby LaCrone, a first-team All-Ohioan who played at West Virginia and later professionally.

Waaland ran track at Cincinnati.

22. Tanner Gibson, Zanesville, 2011

Gibson's flair for the dramatic during the 2010 and 2011 Division II basketball postseasons were stuff of legend on Blue Avenue, enough to earn a full scholarship to Division I Albany.

He started three years for Coach Scott Aronhalt's teams at ZHS, which included two district titles and a state tournament berth in his final two seasons.

He averaged 17.2 points and 3.5 assists per game as a senior, which included five games of 25 or more points. He was a second-team All-Ohio pick.

As a junior, he notched the game-winning layup in a comeback overtime win against Maysville, an escape act that eventually fueled a Final Four run. He carried that momentum into the state tournament, landing a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

His career at Albany was cut short due to a foot injury. He eventually transferred to Division II Bellarmine (Kentucky).

21. Matt Adams, New Lexington, 2016

When it comes to dominant heavyweight wrestlers, Adams remains the standard. And he established that in only two years.

He remains the Panthers' only state wrestling champion, winning in dominant fashion in 2016, and won another title one week later at the High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Both finals wins came against Norton's Mitch Bischoff, who defeated a three-time state champion from New York in the semifinals.

At the time, Adams was the third champion in league history behind Sheridan's Drew Carpenter and Tri-Valley's Kade Kowalski.

Adams joined the New Lexington Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023.

20. Scott Moyer, Rosecrans, 2005

Widely regarded as among the top all-around athletes in Rosecrans history, Moyer starred in football, basketball and baseball before playing at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland.

Moyer passed for more than 3,000 yards and intercepted 10 passes as a safety in a three-year varsity career, as the Bishops finished 8-2 his senior season and reached the Division VI playoffs — just their second postseason appearance in school history.

He then led the basketball team to 21 straight wins, a Central Catholic League title and Division IV regional final. It was the team's second regional berth in as many seasons.

The Bishops' upset of No. 2-ranked Sebring McKinley in the regional semifinals at the Canton Fieldhouse remains one of the top wins in school history. For that matter, so was the overtime conquest of Shadyside in the district finals a few days prior, when Moyer hit the game-winning shot. He finished his career with more than 800 points, 200 assists and 200 rebounds while shooting 40 percent on 3s and 81 percent on free throws for his career.

Following a successful baseball season in which he started at shortstop and was a first-team All-East District pick in Division IV and East District All-Star, he quarterbacked the Muskingum-Licking All-Stars to their first win in the series in five ears, earning Most Valuable Player honors.

Moyer, a member of the Rosecrans Hall of Fame, earned first-team All-Ohio in basketball and second-team All-Ohio in football, starting four years in baseball and three each in football and basketball. He was a first-team All-East District pick in Division IV and East District All-Star Game selection as a senior.

19. J.T. McFarland, Zanesville, 2014

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound McFarland was a rare four-year starter for the Blue Devils in football, when he was part of teams that won 37 games in four years and twice earned All-Ohio honors.

He was an impact player by land and air, serving as a running back and receiver during his career.

He caught 56 passes for 898 yards with 11 TDs and also had six interceptions for coach Chad Grandstaff's first Final Four team as a senior. The year prior, he set school records with 57 catches for 1,088 yards and 17 TDs, and he also ran for seven scores and averaged 21 yards on seven punt returns. For good measure, he intercepted two passes and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

He started both ways in his final three seasons, serving as a receiver and safety before earning a full ride to Division II Ohio Dominican.

Take a look back: Zanesville's 2013 football team remains one of the best in area history. Ten years later, their legacy rages on.

In basketball, he was a second-team All-Ohioan on a team that won its first 21 games before a close road loss at Massillon Jackson to end the regular season. It finished 23-2 following a loss to Pickerington Central in the Division I district finals.

At the time, McFarland was just the second player in the history of the football program to start every game as a freshman. Amazingly, he played in the Ohio North-South football and basketball games on the same weekend in 2014.

18. Ethan Heller, Sheridan, 2019

Before Heller starred for four years at Division II Concord (West Virginia) on the hardwood, he was the top player in the Muskingum Valley League in football and basketball as a senior on teams that made deep postseason runs.

In football, he completed 109 of 169 passes for more than 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns, and added more than 750 yards on the ground with 15 scores as the Generals finished a 9-1 regular season and reached the Division III, Region 11 finals.

He was first-team All-Ohio and Southeast District Player of the Year for his services — and established a new watermark for future General signal callers.

He was even more of an impact player in basketball, where he stared four years in the backcourt.

In basketball, the lefty guard started four years and became the program's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,500 points. They finally broke through to the Division II state tournament during Heller's senior year — the program's first in 58 years.

He averaged 21.9 points with 71 3-pointers that season while helping salt away multiple games at the line with an 81% free-throw percentage.

He was Southeast District Player of the Year in that sport as well but stunningly was only voted second-team All-Ohio by district chairmen the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.

He remains the only player in the history of the award to be named Times Recorder Prime Time Player of the Year in both sports.

17. Drew Rackley, John Glenn, 2016

Rackley played only basketball at John Glenn, but he had arguably the best four-year career in the MVL since former Muskie Jay Burson rewrote the record books in the mid-1980s.

Rackley, a versatile 6-2 combo guard, piled up 1,698 career points from his backcourt spot in a four-year varsity career. That included a senior season in which he led what many believe to be the best team in MVL history to a Division II state title. He was part of two other teams that reached the Athens regional, and his teams won 50 games his final two seasons.

He accepted a Division I scholarship to UNC-Asheville, where he played two years before finishing his career at Division II Charleston (West Virginia). He averaged 17.5 points per game as a senior.

16. Adam Bice, Tri-Valley, 2008

The 6-5, 265-pound Bice left midtown Dresden as one of the most dominant forces in MVL history.

He was good enough as a two-way lineman to start four years, earn first-team All-Ohio as a senior and a full scholarship to Akron, as he and classmate Cameron West were the driving forces in turning a forlorn program into a consistent winner.

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As a basketball player he was one of the area's top post players, good enough to twice earn first-team All-East District, on teams that won three straight MVL titles under coach Tim Shumaker. They were district champs his junior season.

He was a mainstay with the Zips, starting at center and tackle before being signed as an undrafted free agent by Arizona. He made the final training camp cut in 2013.

15. Bryan Gaiters, Zanesville, 2008

A true all-around athlete, Gaiters starred in football and track in All-Ohio careers in both sports before accepting a full scholarship to Youngstown State.

He started three years in football, culminated by a spot on the first-team All-Ohio squad after rushing for 1,825 yards and 26 TDs as a senior.

Included was a school-record 327-yard effort against Portsmouth at John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium. That win spurred a Division II, Region 7 playoff berth. He finished with more than 3,500 rushing yards in his career.

In track, he was among the state's top long jumpers and sprinters, and he was part of a 4x100 team with Anthony Chandler, Jordan Minnick and Nate Kaufman that broke the 43-second mark in 2008.

14. Caden Sheridan, Sheridan, 2024

Call him a throwback. In era of specialization, Sheridan was a man of all seasons, excelling in football, basketball and baseball for teams that always won.

He was a three-time, first-team All-Ohio selection as a catcher in baseball, when he led the Generals to two Muskingum Valley League-Big School Division titles and signed with Division I Morehead State. He hit .582 with five homers and 39 RBIs and 11 doubles as a junior.

He flourished as a quarterback his senior season, earning second-team All-Ohio after accounting for more than 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns in the regular season alone.

His Generals reached their first regional final in six years, which included a thrilling win against Columbus Hartley in the regional semifinals at Newark.

He didn't play basketball as a senior, but he was a key part of a Division II district final squad as a junior with his hustle and heady play switching between starter and sixth man.

He was part of more than 70 wins between baseball, basketball and football his junior and senior seasons.

13. Austin Jones, Tri-Valley, 2013

No matter the sport, Jones flourished.

He was a three-year starter at running back and linebacker for some of Justin Buttermore's most dominant grid teams, earning third-team All-Ohio as a junior and first-team as a senior for teams that won three playoff games in Division II, Region 7.

His 31-carry, 268-yard effort in a first-round playoff win against New Carlisle Tecumseh as a senior remains one of the most impressive in school history. Counting two postseason games, he finished just shy of 2,000 rushing yards as a senior; he had more than 1,300 as a junior and 1,170 as a sophomore. It left him ranked among the all-time leading rushers in MVL history.

On defense, he had a team-high 54 1/2 tackles as a senior, 10 1/2 of which were for losses.

Jones batted .514 — .563 with runners in scoring position — with 12 extra-base hits, 21 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and just three strikeouts as a junior. It earned him second-team All-Ohio in Division I by voting coaches.

As a sophomore, he placed fourth at 171 pounds in Division II in wrestling after fighting his way to the consolation finals. He also qualified for state as a senior at 195.

Jones later was a football standout at Otterbein, where he earned All-Ohio Athletic Conference as a linebacker. He has since returned to Muskingum County, where he has coached football and baseball at Tri-Valley and Zanesville.

12. Clay Cameron, Tri-Valley, 2010

Legendary football coach Justin Buttermore once called Cameron's 314-yard rushing performance in a loss to Olentangy Orange in a Division II, Region 7 playoff game the best individual effort he had seen from one of his players.

Considering some of the firepower at his disposal through the years, it was a bold statement. It was also one that spoke volumes to Cameron's all-around abilities.

Cameron was a strong-armed quarterback with the running skills of a hard-charging tailback who twice was chosen first-team All-Ohio. The 6-0, 210-pounder had more than 5,000 total yards as a quarterback on teams that reached the playoffs three times and never won less than seven times in a four-year varsity career.

He was the first Scottie to run for 1,000 yards and throw for 1,000 in the same season – and did it twice. He was also good enough to start as a freshman at receiver on a star-studded 2007 squad with some of the best offensive talent in league history, led by Cameron West and receivers Wade Warner and Ryan Householder.

His talents weren’t limited to the gridiron.

His basketball teams won three MVL titles, earning first-team All-East District and All-Ohio as a senior. He was a three-year letterman and would have scored even more if not for losing his junior season to shoulder surgery.

Among his highlights were hitting a game-winning shot against John Glenn as a senior, when he led the area in scoring at 17.3 points per game. He was first-team All-East District and special mention All-Ohio in Division I.

He signed with Akron, where he was a member of the Dean’s List. He joined the Tri-Valley Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021.

11. Josh Barrera, Sheridan, 2005

He was a hard-nosed quarterback with a big arm. He was a basketball player with point guard skills and a post man's game on the low block. He had a curveball that was unmatched.

That was Barrera.

Barrera, a four-year starter, was a first-team All-Ohio pick in baseball in Division II as a dominant left-handed pitcher that piled up a school-record 463 career strikeouts. He struck out 164 batters in 68 innings with a 0.21 ERA, allowing only 17 hits and 13 walks as a senior.

At the time, he ranked third on the state record list for single-season ERA and career strikeouts, back when the bats weren't the BBcor models of today's game. His 20 consecutive wins from 2003-05 ranked fourth, as did his 164 strikeouts in 2005. It was good enough to sign with Ohio State.

That was only part of the story.

He was an integral two-way starter on one of the most dominant football teams in MVL history during the 2004 season, when Sheridan upset top-ranked Steubenville and advanced to the regional finals in Division III.

He started four years in basketball, from running the point as a freshman to playing down low as an undersized post player as a senior. He averaged 13 points, four assists and, despite standing just 5-10, led the area in rebounding at 9.6 per game. That earned him a first-team All-Southeast District nod.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Our First 15: Looking at numbers 11 to 25 among TR's top male athletes since 2000