Forest Park's Vic Giuliani Named to U.P. Hoops Dream Team

Crystal Falls produced one of the Upper Peninsula's top basketball players this season. Vic Giuliani, a junior guard at Forest Park School, earned a spot on the U.P. Hoops Dream Team in the annual awards announced by the U.P. Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association the week of April 4.

The recognition places Giuliani among the region's elite performers at a program that draws from Crystal Falls and the surrounding townships of Iron County. Forest Park is a PK-12 district where athletics sit at the center of community life, and a Dream Team selection at this level represents one of the more significant individual honors in the school's recent sports history.

Iron County had reason to celebrate twice over. Westwood's Ethan Marta claimed the U.P.'s top individual prize, Mr. Basketball, in the same awards cycle. The two honors, drawn from the same UPSSA process and announced in the same week, underscore the depth of Iron County basketball talent in the 2025-26 season.

Dream Team selections are not handed out on reputation alone. The UPSSA weighs seasonal performance, input from coaches and sportswriters across the U.P., and conference-level standing when assembling the annual team. For a guard at a smaller school like Forest Park, earning that recognition means outperforming athletes from programs with far greater resources and enrollment.

The practical implications for Giuliani extend well into the offseason. Dream Team selections at the high school level routinely attract attention from small-college recruiting staffs, particularly at Division II and NAIA programs that scout the U.P. circuit. With one more season of eligibility remaining as a junior, Giuliani enters the summer recruiting window with a credential that Forest Park coaches can point to when making the case to college programs. Summer circuit games and showcase events will now carry added weight as programs take a closer look.

For Iron County's basketball community, the timing matters. Recognition at the UPSSA level lifts the visibility of local programs, drives attendance at games, and gives youth players in Crystal Falls and Iron Mountain a direct line of sight to what is achievable within the county's own schools. Giuliani returns next season as a senior with a Dream Team credential on his résumé and, in all likelihood, a more crowded inbox from college programs looking north of the Straits.