Excitement builds for MVI summer league
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
As we inch closer to the return of sports here in the Mon Valley, excitement is evident about the creation of the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League.
Giving local basketball players a home this summer, the league is set to begin play with girls division games June 29 and the boys division tipping off the next day.
The MVISBL’s reach has grown throughout the region, grabbing top scholastic players along the way.
One of the biggest names to register is Laurel Highlands guard Rodney Gallagher III, who could find himself as the No. 1 pick when the draft is held in a little over a week.
But he’s not the only big name heading to Marx’s Court Time Sports Center in Elizabeth Township, the home of the league.
As of now, 22 new players have registered online to join the league. McKeesport senior Colton Kovach and South Allegheny’s Omar Faulkner give the league some new faces down in the post, standing 6-5 and 6-6, respectively.
Players from Shady Side Academy, Waynesburg Central and Washington have registered on the boys’ side.
Jaeden Hammack, a sophomore from University High School in Morgantown, has registered. Yough slasher Gamal Marballie has decided to join the league as well.
Former Grebb League sponsors BeeGraphix, Farmers Insurance, Union Cleaners and Campy’s Pizza remain. Newcomers rounding out the six teams are Elite Physical Therapy and Howard Hanna Wilson Baum.
New coaches will join as well with Elizabeth Forward High School coach Matt Loftis taking over the Howard Hanna team, McKeesport head coach Kevin Kovach taking over Union Cleaners and South Allegheny assistant Vada Epps coaching Elite.
It’s evident the league is growing fast and is a new beginning for summer hoops in the Mon Valley.
The excitement isn’t just for the boys division.
The response for the girls division has been nothing short of fantastic since the league was announced earlier this week.
A whopping 33 new players have signed up online with more expected during workouts.
Brentwood, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Yough, Elizabeth Forward, Serra Catholic, Canon-McMillan, Oakland Catholic, Woodland Hills, West Mifflin and Trinity are among the schools represented by those new registrants.
The Venick twins, who have played in the league since their freshman season, will have some Trinity teammates in the league as Alyssa Clutter and Eden Williamson have signed on the dotted line.
Grebb League alumnus and former Belle Vernon Area star Kaitlyn Slagus returns to the league as the head coach of Lee Supply, fresh off her season overseas playing professionally in Ireland. Her assistant will be former EF standout Olivia Barkley.
Players can register online at MVISBL.com or at each of the three workouts scheduled. Monday and Wednesday workouts will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Marx’s Court Time. Tuesday’s workout will be from 5 to 7 p.m.
Boys and girls workouts will be held simultaneously on separate courts in front of league officials and coaches.
The girls will hold their draft June 18 with the boys’ draft set for June 22.
For more information or to register, players should visit MVISBL.com.
