Josh Young, Christian Shaneyfelt transfer to Lakewood Ranch High boys basketball team

Coming off the best season in program history, Lakewood Ranch High’s boys basketball team wasn’t looking to drop off.

The Mustangs junior varsity squad went 19-3 last year, and this summer’s varsity team went 21-2.

Still, Lakewood Ranch is getting even better when the winter season rolls around in a few months.

Josh Young and Christian Shaneyfelt relocated to Lakewood Ranch and transferred to the school, head coach Jeremy Schiller told the Herald on Tuesday.

Young, a 6-foot-6 rising junior forward, moved from Collierville, Tenn., at the beginning of the summer and participated with the team for two weekends.

Shaneyfelt, a 6-foot-6 rising sophomore guard that Florida Prep Hoops ranks 13th among Class of 2020 players, transferred from Clearwater Countryside after his dad took a job in Manatee County and moved into Lakewood Ranch’s district just a couple weeks ago.

“Josh adds a ton of length and athleticism,” Schiller said. “He’s also a super high-character kid, which is telling. ... Christian Shaneyfelt, the sophomore, I haven’t seen him play because he got here after we were kind of done for the summer. I have talked to a number of coaching connections and things, and his greatest strength is his outside shooting and his basketball IQ.”

The Mustangs reached the Class 8A state final four last year before losing to eventual champion Tampa Sickles in the semifinal at The Lakeland Center.

That game saw the program’s all-time leading scorer, Sam Hester, get injured early in the game. Other seniors like Herald player of the year Devin Twenty and Justin Muscara also graduated.

But Ranch possesses three rising seniors in Evan Spiller, Damien Gordon and Jack Kelley that Schiller said elevated their games during the summer and are each garnering college interest.

The Mustangs also return rising sophomore guard Keon Buckley, who Schiller said was impressive during the summer.

“We felt like we could compete and get back to the Final Four, before these two guys showed up,” Schiller said. “With these guys showing up, obviously it gives you a little bit more confidence because it does add length and athleticism.”