GRAND ISLAND — Jayce Wylke didn’t get to bring Grand Island its first Section VI championship since 1992, but he’s leaving the program better than he found it.
The Vikings won four games the year before Wylke arrived and won four again during his freshman campaign. Since then it has been a gradual climb, with Grand Island’s team success mirroring his individual improvement.
Wylke went from averaging 10 points per game as a freshman to 10.6 as a sophomore to 19.8 as a junior, as the Vikings improved from four to eight to 18 wins. And this season, Wylke posted 21.2 points per game as Grand Island went 21-2 and won its first Niagara Frontier League championship, advancing to the Section VI Class A1 championship game.
He finished his 1,365 career points, Wylke became the sixth Grand Island player to achieve 1,000 points and he trails only current University of Florida associate head coach Carlin Hartman (1,513) on the school’s all-time leaderboard.
For all that, Wylke has been named Greater Niagara Newspapers Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“I want my name on the wall,” Wylke said. “I want people to remember me playing basketball (at Grand Island). I love basketball, so if my name’s put on it, that’s just super cool to me.”
When Wylke first made the varsity team as a freshman, he was simply asked to stand on the perimeter and chuck 3-pointers. He took 145 3s that season, accounting for 61% of his shot attempts.
As a sophomore Wylke took almost 50 more shots, but 57% were still 3s. But entering his junior season, Grand Island coach Chris Simpson wanted him to start driving to the basket on a more frequent basis.
His free throw attempts jumped from 49 in his first two seasons combined to 81 as a junior and 3s accounted for just 26% of his attempts. This season Wylke’s 3s accounted for 22.5% of his shots as he attempted 110 free throws.
It didn’t hurt that Wylke sprouted from 5-foot-5 as a freshman to 6-1 now, but on nights his shot wasn’t falling from the perimeter, Wylke was suddenly able to get easier looks in the paint or go to the free-throw line. He also started to become a better defender, totaling 2.9 steals per game this season and his 119 over the last two years helped him get layups in transition.
And while he wasn’t asked to be a facilitator consistently, Wylke’s penetration opened shots for teammates, amassing 118 assists in his final two seasons after getting 39 in the first two.
“We asked him to start getting to the basket,” Simpson said. “And then every coach in our league is like, ‘Man, that kid goes to the basket.’ And he goes to the left most of the time, so it’s really hard to defend him. That’s what really elevated his game.”
Wylke’s improvement also elevated his teammates. Grand Island typically has plenty of athletes in the school, but it hasn’t produced many basketball-first players in recent years, as the program had two seasons above .500 in the decade before 2023-24, when the Vikings reached the NFL championship game.
If Wylke was playing in the summer and the team was having success in the winter, it encouraged other players to start playing out of season also. Wylke’s play also sparked his teammates in practice, with players determined to shut him down during scrimmages.
“We got a couple young guys that are pretty good defenders,” Simpson said. “They know they can’t touch him, but it makes them work that much harder while they’re in practice.”
Simpson noted it will be difficult to replace 487 points next season, but Wylke was one of just three seniors on the team this year. Perhaps Grand Island will have to play a different style, especially with the trapping defensive style it used this year, but Wylke isn’t leaving behind a barren cupboard.
Sophomore Dane Brown averaged 16 points last season, while junior point guard Jonathan Neville led the NFL in assists and steals (tied with Wylke). And K.J. Wilkes was a starter as a freshman.
Wylke hasn’t made a college decision but wants to continue playing basketball. And the sectional final loss to Williamsville South still stings — enough to take up lacrosse in the spring — but he knows what’s ahead for Grand Island, he saw it coming.
“I know we were all going to develop,” Wylke said. “… I know it was our time. And I knew that time was coming because I knew I would just get better. I knew I had guys behind me that were just coming up to get better. So I always had faith.”
History of GNN Sports Players of the Year: 2006: Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls); 2007: Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls); 2008: Rahshon Tabb (Niagara Falls); 2009: Kelvin Agee (Niagara Falls); 2010: Ethan Baker (Wilson); 2011: Marcus Feagin (Niagara Falls); 2012: Jermaine Crumpton (Niagara Falls); 2013: Jermaine Crumpton (Niagara Falls); 2014: Jernard Jackson and Craig Paige (Lewiston-Porter); 2015: Kyle Bradley (Wilson); 2016: Jernard Jackson (Lewiston-Porter); 2017: Trevor Book (North Tonawanda); 2018: Trevor Book (North Tonawanda); 2019: Roddy Gayle Jr. (Lewiston-Porter) and Willie Lightfoot (Niagara Falls); 2020: Jaemon Turner (Niagara Falls); 2021: Jalen Bradberry (Niagara Falls); 2022: Xander Fletcher and T.J. Robinson (Niagara Wheatfield); 2023: James Robinson (Niagara Falls); 2024: Nick Estell (Niagara Falls); 2025: Jayce Wylke (Grand Island).