Edwardsville Tigers Ready For Promising Boys Basketball Season Under Coach Battas

With experienced players returning and rigorous preseason training, Edwardsville High aims for a strong start.

Colin Feeney, Contributing Sports Writer

Dec 2, 2025 4:47 PM

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EDWARDSVILLE - The boys basketball team at Edwardsville High School graduated several players with experience, but has some excellent players returning. The overall outlook is optimistic as the Tigers prepare to launch the home season at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, against Springfield.

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"We're excited to be together and get to play basketball," said Edwardsville head coach Dustin Battas. "We've been doing weight training and conditioning four days a week in the fall, and so, it's exciting to be together and start putting in an offense and defense. We've got a good group of guys, we like being around them, they like to be coached.

"We've got a good group of guys," Battas said. "They get along well, and they're very coachable. We don't have a ton of experience back from last year's good season (a year that saw the Tigers go 26-3."

The biggest losses to graduation were forward Herb Martin and Iose Epenesa, who averaged 20.5 and 9.8 points-per-game respectively, but do return junior Rowan Weller and senior sharpshooter Miccah Butler, who saw much playing time, and averaged 4.3 and 13.6 points-per-game respectively. Butler hit 95 threes last season, and is expected to be one of the area's top scorers. Senior Tucker Lindstedt also returns, and Weller, Butler, and Lindstedt will be the core of the experienced returnees for the Tigers.

A group of sophomores and juniors who didn't see that much playing time will also be counted on for the Tigers.

"We have some guys who didn't get in games as much last year," Battas said, "but got a lot of good experience in practice and playing JV games. We're trying to find the right mix of guys."

Returning seniors Devyon Hill-Lomax and Max McMicheal will add size and physicality to the team, along with incoming freshman Matthew Wilson, who's described as "a very physical kid for a ninth grader" by Battas.

"Those guys will be looking to fill the void that Iose left," Battas said, "and some of those guys can play away from the basket as well."

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Senior Brady Niemi had a very good summer, and will compete for a spot in the rotation. and continues to improve, while a mix of sophomores and juniors will also mix it up for spots in the lineup.

"It's a competitive group," Battas said, "so we're trying to find the right combination of guys, and tweak our offense and defense to fit them. But they are working hard and making practice competitive every day."

The non-conference schedule is very competitive as well, as the Tigers will play Riverview Gardens, Gateway STEM, Cardinal Ritter College Prep Catholic, and Mascoutah, among other schools, and will face the usual competitiveness of the Southwestern Conference, as the Tigers open their conference slate on Dec. 5 against East St. Louis.

The Tigers will also defend their championship in the Don Mauer Holiday Tournament at Mary Institute-Country Day School in Ladue, Mo. in suburban St. Louis, over the Holidays.

"The Southwestern Conference is always difficult," Battas said. "so we're trying to prepare for those things. We kind of have a way that we need to play in our league, so some of that will be on those seniors. But we've got two sophomores who can help handle the ball in Jaylen Wynn and Michael Donald."

The overall outlook for the Tigers is one of optimism and brightness ahead.

"I think our overall outlook is good," Battas said. "We always want to compete for postseason championships and for conference championships. I think it'll be one of those teams that definitely gets better as the year goes on. Our best basketball is probably a couple of months ahead of us, because we've got to find the right combination of guys, and we've got some guys that don't have a ton of experience. But I like where we're at, I like the ability of some of the guys, and I like the way they've been practicing so far."

Battas is looking ahead for the season to get started, and is very optimistic that the Tigers will become a good team that can make a solid postseason run.

"We just take it day-by-day," Battas said, "enjoy the process, enjoy the day-to-day coaching, and working with the guys. If we take care of the habits, the daily habits, the games tend to work out in your favor. So, we'll just keep working every day, and make sure we're playing our best basketball for the postseason."

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