By Mike London
Salisbury Post
8th in a series of reports on local basketball teams …
GRANITE QUARRY — A 2-2 start to the 2025-26 season has been mighty encouraging for East Rowan head coach Trey Ledbetter, as the Mustangs have already produced as many wins as they did in the 2024-25 season.
As Ledbetter said recently, “All wins are good wins and all road wins are great wins.” Both of East’s early wins came on the road.
East trudged to a 2-23 final record in 2024-25, beating South Rowan in January and again in February. There weren’t many competitive games in the South Piedmont Conference for the Mustangs. There weren’t many games East had a realistic chance in after halftime. There were a lot of 70-40 nights against the bigger, quicker, deeper Cabarrus teams.
East lost a lot from that 2-23 team and not just through normal graduation ceremonies. Brody Thomas, the only double-figure scorer for East last season, transferred to South Rowan (an ACL injury has knocked him out for this season). Corbin Krider, a guard who was one of the quicker Mustangs, transferred to Carson, and is expected to have an important role on a powerhouse team with major expectations.
Ledbetter remained optimistic though all the losses and the transfers. He was confident East would be better this season because of the jumps two players — guard Logan Bradley and forward Brady Ailshie — made over the summer. While both are probably still baseball-first guys, they have become very good basketball players.
“Those two are our go-to guys, no doubt about that,” Ledbetter said. “All our guys look up to them. They’ve got some ability and they have put in a tremendous amount of work to get better. The weight room has made a difference for both of them.”
Bradley is a 5-foot-10 junior. He’s a knockdown shooter who can mix in drives when teams run him off the 3-point line and he’s also an excellent defender. He’s become like a smaller version of Carson’s Jacob Mills.
Bradley averaged a roller-coaster 7.0 points last season, with eight-double figures game mixed in with some zeroes. He’s been really good in three of East’s first four games this season and he’s shown the ability to put 20s in the scorebook.
Ailshie is a sophomore who looks to be about 6-foot-4 and is still growing. He towers now over his older brother, Harrison, the UNC baseball recruit. Ailshie can score inside and out. He’s shown some legit star power in East’s early games. He averaged 6.7 points as a varsity freshman, but he looks to be a guy who can average 15 or more for the Mustangs this time.
Augusta “AB” Brent has come out of nowhere to be a difference-maker for East. He’s been getting the Mustangs 10 points most nights, but it’s the rest of his game that’s special. A long, 6-foot-3 sophomore, he’s making steals, blocking shots and grabbing rebounds at a high rate.
“He’s been affecting every shot and every pass with his length,” Ledbetter said. “He’s going to play a very large role in our season.”
Jaden Eudy, a guard who got substantial varsity minutes as a freshman down the stretch last season, will be a key player. He’ll contribute ball-handling and defense and he’ll score in double digits some nights.
Aiden Lino, a senior point guard, has played a lot of minutes for the Mustangs and brings valuable experience to the floor.
East’s only other senior is Mason McKenzie, who did not play last season, but was a capable reserve for the 2023-24 team. McKenzie is out now with an ankle injury, but Ledbetter hopes to get him back next week.
“He gives us s0me experience and maturity that we need,” Ledbetter said.
Freshman point guard Zayden Turner already has emerged as a key piece to the puzzle for East. He’s a pass-first guy who can handle the ball and control tempo. His poise was instrumental in East’s early wins at Trinity and Wheatmore.
Jaxon Lyons is an athletic, physical sophomore who was a standout running back for the football team. He had some good moments for the varsity as a freshman.
Colton Paffrath gives the Mustangs some size off the bench, while youngsters Parker McGinnis and Shelton Goins add to East’s depth.
“We’re grinding and we’ve made some significant strides offensively and defensively,” Ledbetter said. “When you start the season with four road games, you feel pretty good about 2-2. That’s a testament to the off-season work our guys did.”
East will welcome West Davidson for its first home game on Tuesday.
