2026 All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year: Bohm takes next step

Bohm was aggressive with the ball in his hands, but he was also efficient. He knew where he was most comfortable taking shots, and he didn't force anything. That consistency is why M-S was able to stay in so many games even when other players had off nights.

It wasn't just his teammates and coaches who knew Bohm had this kind of potential. While St. Joseph-Ogden didn't play M-S this season, Spartans coach Kiel Duval is good friends with Schonauer and saw Bohm play at the SJ-O Christie Clinic Shootout, the State Farm Holiday Classic and a couple other games, and wasn't surprised at all to hear that Bohm was going to end the year with an honor like this.

"There are some guys that we saw this year who are going different places to play basketball," Duval said. "He's better than most, if not all of them."

A perfect example of Bohm's 3A Normal West Regional championship game against Centennial. Numerous times, the Chargers started to build a lead and were on the doorstep of running away with it, but every time, Bohm led a comeback effort to get the Bulldogs back into it.

"That all comes back to me being so competitive and wanting to win," Bohm said. "In the Centennial game, we started to get down by double digits, and I wasn't being that aggressive, so I demanded the ball. I just wanted to get the win for my teammates. It means a lot that they trust me. When coach gives me the freedom to do whatever I want, a lot of responsibility comes with that. I just make sure I lead by example, do the right things and play unselfishly. I just let the game come to me."

Bohm scored a game-high 27 points in that regional final, but M-S ultimately came up just short in a 68-61 loss to the Chargers. It was in that moment that Bohm realized his high school career had just come to an end, with the Bulldogs finishing with a 19-8 record.

"It all kind of hit me at once," Bohm said. "I didn't think I was going to be that emotional, but once the buzzer sounded, I started thinking about not being able to play with my teammates again. It was definitely sad because it was such a fun season being around those guys."

And it wasn't just basketball. Before his Player of the Year performance on the court this winter, Bohm was the lone area boys' golfer to qualify for the Class 2A state golf tournament in the fall, where he finished 62nd and wrapped up his senior season with an 18-hole scoring average of 77.2.

"It's been incredible," Bohm said of his senior year. "My coaches believed in me and let me go out there and do my thing with no pressure. I just had the confidence in myself to know what I could do. It was super fun to make it to state in golf and then be All-State in basketball."

Now, Bohm can focus on preparing to play in college. He announced his commitment to play at Illinois Wesleyan University on Thursday. He said the coaches and players were "very welcoming" during his visit, and it felt like a school where "I could see myself succeeding on and off the floor."

Schonauer said he was surprised more schools hadn't shown interest in recruiting Bohm, but now that his star player has found his next home, he knows more success is on the horizon.

"I think Jackson is just now starting to scratch the surface of who he is as a player," Schonauer said. "We saw a big leap this year in his aggressiveness and athleticism. Any college team would be lucky to have him."