Elite Stars Elgin is the 2025-2026 St. Thomas Men's League Champions. 

The Stars handed Ambrose Plumbing its first loss of the post-season in the final game 76-58 to win the Herb Hales Memorial Trophy for the first time. 

From the opening tip, the Stars came out of the gate with a dominant defensive effort. They would hold the Plumbers to just two field goals in the first quarter, and finished the openng quarter with a 12-0 run to extend a 7-6 lead to 19-6 after ten minutes. 

In the second, the Plumbers started to mount a bit of a comeback and and inside out game from Jimmy Hendricksen to both Steve Barton and Andrew Lynch from long range cut the lead to just five. WIth nine first half points, by rookie Josh Vigars, the Stars would hold a 28-23 lead at the half. 

(Matt O'Brien gets a high five after hitting a first quarter buzzer beater for the Stars)

In the third quarter, the offence turned up as both teams started to make more shots. The Plumbers made six three pointers in the third, including two each by Lynch and Barton, including Barton's second which tied the game at 46, the first time since the opening tip the game was level. 

However, as time expired in the frame, Karsten Groen snuck backdoor for a layup giving the Stars a 48-46 lead after three. 

(Tyler Annett lines up a three-pointer for Ambrose which cut the defecit to one point) 

In the fourth, with the game tied at 48, the Stars started to make a run. They took advantage of some Plumbers misses, and got out running. They would go on an 11-0 run to make the score 59-48. 

It never really got closer as the Plumbers were outscored 28-12 in the final quarter and the Stars cruised to victory. 

Mike Morrison had a game high 24 points for the Stars, wtih Vigars adding 19 and Wakefield 16. 

Hendricksen had 17 points with Barton (16) and Lynch (15) in a losing cause. 

(Elite Stars L-R, Nick Lawrence, Karsten Groen, Matt O'Brien, Rob Wakefield, Dan Scheid, Mike Morrison, Josh Vigars, absent Brian Apfelbeck) 
 

The Playoff MVP was Rob Wakefield who had 16 points in the title game, while holding opposing centre Jimmy Henricksen to 17. 

Wakefield averaged 26.3 points per game over seven playoff contests, to claim his first President's Trophy award. 

(Rob Wakefield is awarded Playoff MVP by league president Brent Lale) 

2025-2026 AWARD WINNERS

Ben Murray Trophy- League MVP

Winner- Jimmy Hendricksen 

Ambrose Plumbing centre Jimmy Hendricksen had his best season in the league in 2025-2026. The big man had previously won Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and now he has an MVP to add to his collection. As those in the league can attest, he tried to be more dominant this year and it was just so much more physically dominant than anyone else in the league. 

Presidents Trophy- Playoff MVP

Winner- Rob Wakefield

Elite Stars Elgin centre Rob Wakefield was named President's Trophy winner after leading his team to the Herb Hales Memorial Trophy.  The 3x regular season MVP averaged 26.3 ppg in the playoffs and helped shut down the league MVP in the final. 

Defensive Player of the Year
Winner- Mike Morrison

Elite Stars Elgin wing man Mike Morrison has been named Defensive Player of the Year. He is a physical defender who is assigned to lock down the opponents top offensive weapon. He uses his body and strength with great footwork. 

                                            

Rookie of the Year

Winner: Nic Roberts-Neef

The Rookie of the Year is Nic Roberts-Neef of Mackie's. The 19-year old averaged 15.4 ppg this season which was second among rookies, and was counted on to play a big man role even though he's a traditional guard or wing. He was a shot-blocking machine while being a key rebounder for the semifinalists. 

George Shaw Award- Most Improved Player

Winner- Jack Girden

Jack Girden of Cole-Munro Foods is the George Shaw Award winner for Most Improved Player. Drafted to be a scorer by the Trout, he didn't disappoint averaging a career high 25.3 ppg. Girden scored 20+ points in 15 of his 19 regular season games, and totalled 481 points, up 211 from his previous season. After one 30-point game in his previous two seasons, he hit that mark seven times in 2025-2026. 

Mike Parsons Award- Most Dedicated Player

Winner- Oliver Taylor 

Rookie Oliver Taylor has been chosen as the Mike Parsons Award winner as Most Dedicated Player. He made 24 of his team's 25 games (only work cost him a perfect season) and he often stayed late or came early to join a team which was short-handed.  A young man who "loves the game more than people know" is a great addition to the league. 

Fan of the Year

Stephanie Purgret

This award goes hand in hand with Oliver Taylor winning most dedicated.  Every game he played, she was in the stands supporting and when asked to come early or stay late, she was there cheering him on. 

Ron Barnes (Top Scorer), Herb Hales (FT Champion), 3 PT-FG leader

Winner- Ryan Pflanzer

For the sixth consecutive year, Ryan Pflanzer has won the Ron Barnes Trophy as league scoring champion. He averaged 33.0 ppg and scored 660 pts in 20 regular season games. 

Pflanzer also had the highest free throw percentage among qualified scorers going 73-84 from the line for 86.9 %

It will be a battle of the two best big men as Ambrose Plumbing and Elite Stars Elgin will play Wednesday for the Herb Hales Memorial Trophy. 

The game of the night Monday was the semifinal between the Stars and Mackie's. A back and forth affair through the entire 40 minutes, it turned into a physical war by the final minutes of the fourth quarter with the Stars coming out victorious 65-61. 

The teams were basically dead even throughout the entire match, except for one stretch in the third quarter where the Stars opened up a nine point lead. However the OrangeAde's kept batling and closed it to just one on a few occasions. 

With the score 63-61, the Stars forced a turnover to avoid a potential tying or winning shot, and Rob Wakefield came up clutch the free throw line in the final seconds, to stretch a two-point lead to four with a pair of free throws to seal it. 

Wakefield scored 29 points, dominating the offensive glass, while Josh Vigars had 11 points and Mike Morrison 11 for the winners. 

Mackie's had four players in double-figures with Nic Roberts-Neef leading the way with 16 and Taran Beekhuis adding 14. 

Ambrose Plumbing booked a ticket to the championship game for the second consecutive year with a 67-48 blowout win over Talbot Trail Phyisotherapy. The Physiotherapists came out hot opening up a 14-6 lead in the first quarter, but that was really the only time they were in control. In the second, the Plumbers made seven three-point field goals, while TTP only made three field goals total as Ambrose took a 39-26 lead into the half. They would maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way, finishing off an easy victory to stay unbeaten heading into the finals. Jimmy Hendricksen had 20 points, with Steve Barton and Tyler Annett each adding 16 for the winners. Geremey Deschutter was the only player to reach double-figures in a losing cause with 16. 

                                  

The Final Four is set in the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League after Talbot Trail Physiotherapy grabbed the last spot with a win-or-go-home victory 66-55 over Home Hardware.  

Ryan Pflanzer scored 22 of his game high 31 points in the second half, carrying his team into a semifinal matchup as the fourth seed. 

Trailing 28-24 at the half to the Home Owners, the Physiotherapists (2-3) outscored their opponent 42-27 in the final 20 minutes. 

Henry Koekuyt had 11 of his 14 in the second half, while Geremey DeSchutter added 16 for the winners. 

The Home Owners (1-4) season comes to an end, as they couln't find the bucket, scoring just seven field goals in the second half as they slipped further and further behind. 

Kamal Aizimi had 20 points and Matt Agbetiafa 10 in a losing cause. 

Ambrose Plumbing completed a perfect 5-0 round robin playoff with a 72-66 win over Cole-Munro Foods. 

In a game which had no bearing on the playoff standing, Jimmy Hendricksen had 36 points and Steve Barton 16 for the Plumbers who grab the number one seed and will face the Physiotherapists in the semfiinals Monday night. 

Rookie Oliver Taylor had a career high 27 points for the Trout (0-5) and Andrew Cole had 14 points as the defending champions finish a disappointing season. 

In what will be a semfiinal rematch Monday, Elite Stars Elgin beat Mackie's 79-72. 

Rob Wakefield had 36 points, dominating in the paint with 16 field goals as his team came back from an early defecit to win a close game. 

The Stars lead by four going into the fourth and held on to win, in what should be a good matchup Monday night. 
Josh Vigars had 11 points and Mike Morrison 10 for the Stars (4-1) who finish as the number two seed. 

Brent Lale lead five players in double figures for Mackie's (3-2) with 18 points, while Taran Beekhuis added 17 and Doug Teetzel 11. 

If anyone is interested in ordering one of the new Men's League hoodies, let me know. 

New logo, stiched on the hoodie and can be ordered in styles of Gildan, Under Armour and others. 
Made by Union Sports on Centre Street. 

Prices vary from around $65-$100 depending on type of hoodie.