Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament: 5 teams to keep an eye on in 2025 post-tournament

The Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament is our way of putting a bright and brilliant bow on the old year before ushering in the new year.

It also serves as a preview of what is to come for the local boys' basketball teams involved. Many of the teams involved will have a full slate of games in January to get ready for their respective conference tournaments at the start of February.

The Fan-Vote MVP and 10 All-Tournament selections have their teams primed for a fun 2025.

Here are five teams to keep an eye on entering the new year:

The 2024 Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament All-Tournament Team. From left to right: Kole Deck (Jackson), Brett Dohogne (Notre Dame), Kolton Johnson (Notre Dame), Ryan Jeffries (Delta), Korbin Kinder (Woodland), Nolan Fowler (Chaffee), TreSeanDre' Edwards (Cape Central), Mar'K Mills (Cape Central), and Max Snider (Scott City). Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

Scott City

A surefire way to win Fan-Voted MVP at the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament is to have a stellar first-round performance to get your name on the ballot and ride that momentum with a dedicated voting base. Kaden Lowery led the field with 26 points during a first-round thumping over Kelly and went on to win the award despite not making the All-Tournament team.

Despite a disappointing end to their tournament run, the Rams finished in fourth place after reaching the semifinal round for the first time since 2004. Coming off a year in which they set a school record for wins (22), the Rams seem better than ever, with a handful of high-scoring sophomores including Lowery and Max Snider, and the leadership in stretch-forward Kobe Watson.

A rare home matchup against Cape Central on Friday, Jan. 3, serves as a measuring stick of what to expect from Scott City entering an eight-game January slate leading up to the Scott-Miss Conference Tournament, which is hosted by Scott City.

Jackson

Kole Deck virtually single-handedly won the tournament championship for the Indians, averaging 19 points per game and tying Delta's Ryan Jeffries for the second-most total points (76) during the tournament.

It was Jackson's first tournament title since 2013, which was the start of a run of seven district championships in eight years. The Indians will have to go through Cardinal Ritter, who has won four state championships in the previous five years, in order to win their first district title since appearing in the final four in 2023.

Another telling test for Jackson will come at home on Saturday in the form of the undefeated Knights of Farmington on Saturday, Jan. 4.

Cape Central

At 4-3 against two high-tier tournaments, with a new coach at the helm, Cape Central looked vulnerable for an upset but came up short of a three-peat in round 3 against Jackson. Like Jackson, Cape Central has the toughest district to break through with Farmington and Sikeston having already prevailed against the Tigers.

Friday's road game at Scott City is just as much of a test for the Tigers as it is for the Rams, but it's just the start of a highly competitive January. The Tigers will see key matchups with rivals Jackson and Notre Dame, as well as Jefferson City and Christain Brothers College, who has recently had Cape Central's number.

Led by All-Tournament members TySeanDre' Edwards and Mar'K Mills, the Tigers will at least be competitive and entertaining.

Woodland

After winning the third place trophy for the first time as a tournament participant, it's clear that it's the best we've seen from the Cardinals.

Led by Korbin Kinder, who earned All-Tournament honors by scoring more points than anyone else (85), the Cardinals are entering the new year as one of the favorites to win the Class 3 District 2 title. The other favorite is Scott City, whom they defeated in the third place game and wont see again this season until the district tournament at Greenville.

Woodland (9-1) will be on the road for most of January, including a key contest with Notre Dame (1/11) before hosting two games leading up to the SCAA Tournament.

Chaffee

The Red Devils lost more games than they won but were no doubt victorious in earning the respect of those in attendance. Notre Dame won fifth place and Jackson won the tournament but the Red Devils were tied with the Bulldogs and actually led the Indians entering the fourth quarter.

The Red Devils enter January 4-5 but with an established scorer in Nolan Fowler and a path forward to the Scott-Miss Tournament. Chaffee has a solid opportunity to protect their home court with four favorable games this month but will truly be tested with road games at Scott City (1/10) and Leopold (7-5).

Don't forget about these guys

All-Tournament selections Kolton Johnson and Brett Dohogne give Notre Dame a chance to be dangerous on the road against rivals Cape Central and Jackson.

All-Tournament selection Preston Campbell has consolation winning Leopold as a favorite to win its first district title since 2022.

Delta will be on the road for most of January but Ryan Jeffries (76 points through three games) will make the Bobcats a threat.