Hard work pays off as Liam Dyer named Little 4 boys MVP

By barstoolfanatics on March 13, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Liam Dyer

By Ray Hamill — Two days after winning a NorCal championship on a history-making St. Bernard’s team, junior Liam Dyer has been named conference MVP of the Little 4 in boys basketball.

Dyer follows in the footsteps of his older brother Seth Dyer, who was named conference MVP for St. Bernard’s last season along with teammate Aaiden Burris.

The younger Dyer, however, has achieved the honor in just his junior year after an outstanding campaign that saw him average a remarkable 29 points a game in the Little 4.

But that wasn’t the only thing that set him apart from his peers, and he’s someone who always seems to make the players around him better.

“Liam is a multifaceted player who could shoot from the outside and can post up with his 6-foot-4 frame,” St. Bernard’s head coach Issac Gildea said. “His basketball IQ is incredible and he always makes his teammates better.”

Dyer’s all-around contributions on the court helped the crusaders become the first boys basketball team in H-DNL history to win a conference title, a North Coast Section championship and a NorCal crown in the same season.

In addition to his big points tally, Dyer also averaged nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in conference play.

He also shot an impressive 47 percent from 3-point range, showcasing his impressive all-around game.

But none of that has come easy for the junior standout, whose work ethic and approach to the game also helps set him apart from the rest of the L4.

Tyler Hinrichs

Garrett Shanahan

“(Dyer is) one of the hardest workers with great determination, even while having the opponents’ best defender on him every game,” Gildea added of the young standout, who has been a varsity player since his freshman year. “(His) love for the game really can be seen by everyone that watches him play.”

The young Dyer should only continue to improve and the bad news for the rest of the Little 4 is that he still has a year to go before taking his talents to the college courts.

Dyer is one of five members of the NorCal champs to receive all-league recognition.

Fellow junior Tyler Hinrichs and sophomore Garrett Shanahan each also were named to the all-league first team after outstanding all-around contributions all winter, while Carson Costa, who played a pivotal role in Tuesday’s NorCal decider against Redding Christian, and Prince Latimer each received an all-league honorable mention.

Hoopa seniors Brandon Romero and Lyle McKinnon, each of whom are enjoying outstanding senior years in sports, also have been included on the L4 all-league team, along with Ferndale’s Prescott Langer and Parker Prior and South Fork’s Wesley Way and Trevor Hunt.

South Fork, Ferndale and Hoopa all tied for second in the final conference standings behind the unbeaten Crusaders.