McKee, Lazicki selected first team all-state; Tucker coach of the year
The Daily Item
Historic seasons deserve historic rewards.
Both Warrior Run's Aiden McKee and Mount Carmel's Jude Lazicki became the first boys basketball players from their respective schools to be named first-team all-state on Thursday.
Both are repeat members of the Pennsylvania Sports Writers all-state team - McKee was a second-team selection and Lazicki a third-team selection a season ago.
Lewisburg's Leon Tucker shared Coach of the Year honors in Class 4A with state champion coach Jason Fisher of Devon Prep.
McKee, a 6-foot-7 center, filled up the stat sheet for the Defenders, averaging 16.2 points per game, 10.3 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2.9 assists per game this season - the third straight year McKee averaged a double-double. The Defenders finished the season at 26-3 with the school's first District 4 boys basketball championship since 1988.
The Defenders' only losses this season came to teams that advanced to the PIAA boys basketball semifinals - Lewisburg, Notre Dame-Green Pond (the team that beat Warrior Run in the state quarterfinals) and Carver Engineering and Science (the only team to beat the Defenders in the regular season).
McKee is a three-time first-team all-Daily Item selection, and a four-year member (second-team selection as a freshman) of the team. He's won the last two Heartland Athletic Conference-Division III player of the year awards.
He will graduate with more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, finishing as the second all-time leading scorer in school history behind Brent Guthrie.
McKee will continue his basketball career in college. He's headed to Gannon in Erie, which won the NCAA Division II national championship in April.
Lazicki scored a single-season record 625 points for the Red Tornadoes and joins his father, John Lazicki, as a two-time all-state selection (1991 and 1992). With a season left, Jude has a chance to be a three-time all-state selection.
Lazicki was the HAC-Division II player of the year and helped Mount Carmel to a second straight state playoff berth. He averaged 24.7 points and 11.7 rebounds this season.
Tucker guided his team to the best season in school history, advancing to the PIAA Class 4A semifinal, where it lost to Devon Prep, the eventual state champions. Lewisburg claimed the Heartland Athletic Conference Division II crown and the HAC tournament title.
The team won 19 straight games and didn't lose its first game of 2026 until the PIAA semifinals.
Lewisburg won eight games in Tucker's first year, and were eliminated in the first round of the district playoffs in the 2024-25 season, but a group of three seniors, along with freshman Cortland Michaels and Tucker's son, LJ, caught fire after a 6-4 start.
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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 1:30 PM.