Carmel Christian
Last season, Carmel Christian finished with a 22-6 record. For most teams, that's an impressive season. However, Coach Joe Badgett has raised the bar extremely high for the program after leading them to three straight NCISAA state championship appearances, winning the last two in back to back fashion. Carmel was headed for another title run last season, but got upset by Cape Fear Academy at home in the quarterfinals.
Coach Joe Badgett lost Myles Hunter and Kenny Gwynn to graduation while Elijah Gray and Elijah Green transferred out. That being said, Carmel returns three starters in Justin Taylor, Ben Burnham, and Glenn Bynum. In addition, 6'7 Cade Tyson and 6'8 Luke Krawczyk both transferred in. This year's team again has upside and potential and will be in the conversation as one of the top teams in the NCISAA 4A classification.'
One thing is for certain, Carmel will have plenty of size and can go with a starting line-up of 6'8 Luke Krawczyk, 6'8 Ben Burnham, 6'7 Cade Tyson, 6'4 Glenn Bynum, and 6'3 Justin Taylor. This team will have a unique blend of size, skill and athleticism. Coming off the bench could be 6'7 Jackson Coffey, 6'4 Kyle Bean, 5'10 Bryson Pisacano, and 5'9 Julian Arias.
6'3 2021 Justin Taylor
Taylor will be the straw that stirs the drink for Carmel. He is a quick and athletic point guard that can equally distribute as well as score. Taylor sports offers from Elon, Mount St. Mary's, NC A&T, South Florida, and Winthrop. Taylor is a high academic prospect and is also getting interest from Cornell, Vanderbilt and Yale.
6'8 2021 Ben Burnham
Burnham is a long, slender and athletic hybrid forward. He may not look the part, but Burnham has established himself as one of the state's best shot blockers. He's bouncy and has the ability to finish with authority around the rim with slam dunks or step out and hit the midrange jumper. Burnham also just picked up a Mount St. Mary's offer to his list.
6'4 2021 Glen Bynum
Bynum is the team's glue guy. He does all the simple things that often don't show up in the box score. More importantly, he's the perfect teammate always quietly going about his business, whether it is grabbing rebounds, dishing assists, or playing tough hardnose defense.
6'7 2022 Cade Tyson
Cade is the younger brother of Clemson's Hunter Tyson. Cade has excellent length and has touch and range on his perimeter jumper. Look for Tyson to be one of the team's go to players on the offensive end of the court.