Benton’s Myles Bachali joins NCMC’s pipeline of local stars

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Benton Cardinals basketball team is coming off a historic 2024-25 season, capturing 28 wins while finishing in second place in the Class 4 championship for the first time in 84 years. One of those athletes, senior guard Myles Bachali, will take his winning ways to Trenton, Missouri, where he’ll continue his academic and basketball career at North Central Missouri College. 

“You know, it feels good just knowing that I'm gonna play ball at the next level,” Bachali said. “It means everything because I've been training my whole life just to go and play college ball.”

The Pirates are no strangers, having embraced talent from the St. Joseph area. The Pirates' 2024-25 roster featured Camden Bennett, Mikey Thomas and Joe Clark. The success of grabbing local talent has been evident in the win-loss record for NCMC, as they’re coming off a 31-3 season.

The team captured both the NJCAA DII Region 16 regular-season and postseason tournament championship, while holding the No.1 ranking in seven of 14 weekly polls. The team lost in the NJCAA quarterfinals, but adding someone like Bachali can propel this team even more.

“We try to put an emphasis on local kids and local kids from winning programs, and, you know, obviously, Coach Boone and Coach Bristol have done a really good job with that,” Pirates head coach Jeremy Esry said. “We’ve had success with local kids in the past, too, so it's fun. It's not too far away, and, you know, we like to think we have a fun atmosphere.”

Bachali brings that winning DNA, being described as the motor that made the team run. He stepped into a leadership role during a stretch when point guard Lincoln Goodwin was sidelined with an injury. The 1,000 point scorer did not shine away, stepping up and elevating the players around him.

He’s a scrappy winner that can do a little bit of everything, as he can shoot, attack the paint well, and is not afraid to play defense. According to Esry, this type of style will fit their program.

“He's taken a big step. You know, sophomore year, he took a big step, the game kind of slowed down for him, and he figured things out,” Benton head coach Jared Boone said. “That's kind of when he really took his jump. I mean, he's always been the kid who is capable of going out and scoring the basketball, but he didn't care about any of that. He cared about winning, and if his teammates were shining and we won, he was happy.” 

With Bachali’s addition, NCMC now boasts four players from the St. Joseph area, a continued sign of the program’s commitment to developing local talent and building championship-caliber rosters.

For Boone and Esry, the connection runs even deeper. The two were teammates during their own playing days at North Central, and years later, the pipeline is still flowing. 

“We're kind of a hidden gem up here, so to see our kids leave Saint Joe and go someplace like that, and then for that program to be where Coach Esry got it, it's awesome,” Boone said. “It's just awesome to see. You know, I'm proud, like I said, a proud alumni and, you know, happy for the kids.”