Rick Hodge brings a lengthy track record of successfully making adjustments from year-to-year, an occasionally undesirable history that might serve him especially well this season.
Platte County’s veteran coach graduated Judah Vignery in 2024 and Jaden Peterson in 2025 — two of only nine players in program history with 1,000 career points. The Pirates return just one starter in senior point guard Jayden Martin, while additional roster turnover leaves junior guard Eli Hockaday and junior forward Jordan Moore as the only other players with any varsity experience.
With an undersized and untested roster, Hodge’s adjustments might end up looking game-to-game while trying to build on the successes of recent seasons.
“I believe this will be a more unified group that plays together better on both ends of the floor,” Hodge said. “We don’t have the size we’ve had in the past, so we’re going to have to find other ways to score and defend. I could see the rotation changing as the season moves along.”
A third-year contributor, Martin played a key role as a junior for Platte County while averaging 6.7 points and 2.6 assists per game. He ranked fifth for the Pirates in scoring after breaking into the rotation late in his sophomore season.
Hockaday and Moore combined to score 11 points in limited action last season for a deep Platte County roster that produced a 10-17 record (4-10 in the Suburban Conference White Division). However, the Pirates lost in the first round of Class 5 District 8 play for a second straight year.
Platte County went 13-13 in 2023-24 and now sit three years removed from the back-to-back 20-win seasons.
In addition to Peterson, Platte County also graduated senior starters Anthony Morrison and Hayden Schultz plus contributors Brett Mueller and Cobe Pollard. The Pirates also don’t have back Braiden Stevens, Brennan McLaughlin and Jack Utz with all three focused on Division I scholarship opportunities in other sports.
Stevens led Platte County with 47 3-pointers last season and ranked second behind Peterson’s 19.6 points per game at 8.7. Morrison and McLaughlin were third and fourth in scoring with Schultz just behind Martin in the top six.
That leaves ample opportunity for senior forward Bryton Burtrum, the only other senior besides Martin on the roster, plus juniors Jacoby Keith, Jude Brown, Brock Dye, Andrew Parrish and Isaac Nelson. Hodge also expects sophomore MaCallen McMillian to contribute, especially early with Moore and Brown still finishing football season with the Pirates set to play in the Class 5 state semifinals Friday afternoon.
Platte County never won more than two in a row at any point last season after losing the final five games in 2023-2024. The Pirates have ended up with losing records two of the past three years and haven’t finished above .500 since going 22-5 in 2021-22.
