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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior Anna Becker has been tapped as the TopSports.news 2025 All-Shawnee County girls basketball player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to back-to-back championship games in Class 5A.
Seaman senior Anna Becker, a four-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick, has been named the county player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to a second-place Class 5A state finish. [File photo/TSN]
A four-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick and three-time United Kansas Conference player of the year, Becker helped Seaman post a 24-1 record and a second-place finish behind St. Thomas Aquinas as a senior after the Vikings won the Class 5A state title in 2024.
Becker is one of five repeat picks on the All-Shawnee County Top 10 along with Hayden senior Millie Ramsey, Seaman junior Maddie Gragg, Silver Lake junior Kailyn Hanni and Washburn Rural sophomore Maddie Vickery.
Ramsey and Gragg are three-time all-county Top 10 selections.
Also earning All-Shawnee County Top 10 spots are Washburn Rural senior Kate Hinck, Topeka High junior Keimara Marshall, Trojan sophomore Ahsyierhuajh Rayton, Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot and Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein.
Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein has been named the Shawnee County girls basketball newcomer of the year while also earning Top 10 honors. [File photo/TSN]
Schmeidtlein, who helped Hayden post a third-place state finish in Class 4A, was also named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year, while Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker was named the county coach of the year.
Topeka High's Ron Slaymaker has been named the Shawnee County girls basketball coach of the year after leading the Trojans to a nine-win improvement in his first season. [File photo/TSN]
The 88-year-old Slaymaker, a Kansas coaching legend and High's third coach in four seasons, led the Trojans to a nine-win improvement in the 2024-2025 campaign, with Topeka High posting a 14-8 record.
All-Shawnee County capsules:
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Highland Park senior Ja'Corey Robinson was named the Meadowlark Conference boys basketball player of the year for the second straight season after helping lead the 24-1 Scots to the conference championship and a runnerup finish in the Class 5A state tournament.
Highland Park senior Ja'Corey Robinson has been named the Meadowlark Conference player of the year for the second straight season. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Robinson and fellow Highland Park senior Mikey Williams were repeat All-Meadowlark first-team picks while Scot senior Jamon Wilson was named the defensive player of the year and Hi Park coach Mike Williams was a repeat pick for coach of the year after leading the Scots to a third straight top-three state finish.
Highland Park senior Mikey Williams has been named to the All-Meadowlark Conference first team for the second straight season. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Highland Park senior Jamon Wilson has been named the Meadowlark Conference defensive player of the year. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN].
Highland Park coach Mike Williams was a repeat pick as Meadowlark Conference Coach of the Year. [File photo/TSN]
Highland Park senior DaMykel Hales was named to the all-conference second team while Wilson and senior Isaiah Kelley received honorable mention.
ALL-MEADOWLARK CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park sophomore standout Pearmella Carter has been named the Meadowlark Conference girls player of the year for the second straight season after leading the Scots to the conference championship.
Highland Park sophomore Pearmella Carter has been named the Meadowlark Conference player of the year after leading the Scots to the conference championship. [File photo/TSN]
Carter was also a first-team repeat selection while senior teammate Tahtionna Broils was named to the All-Meadowlark second team.
Highland Park's DeAsia Sanders received honorable mention.
ALL-MEADOWLARK CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Three-time conference player of the year Anna Becker of Seaman leads three city players on the All-United Kansas Conference girls basketball first team while Viking coach Matt Tinsley is a repeat pick as the UKC coach of the year.
Seaman senior Anna Becker has received UKC player of the year recognition for the third straight season. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman coach Matt Tinsley, who led the Vikings to a third straight UKC title and a second-place finish in Class 5A, has been named the conference coach of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Becker, a senior, was named co-player of the year with De Soto senior Makenzie Farmer and is joined on the first team by junior teammate Maddie Gragg, a first-team repeater.
Seaman junior Maddie Gragg has received All-UKC first-team recognition for the third straight season. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot has been named to the All-UKC first team. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot also earned a spot on the first team after being a second-team selection as a freshman.
Seaman seniors Ava Esser and Kinley Wilhelm were named to the All-UKC second team along with Shawnee Heights junior Reianna Vega and Topeka West junior Imani McGlory.
Seaman senior Jaida Stallbaumer received all-conference honorable mention as did Shawnee Heights seniors Kaydence Torrez and Taylor Brees and Topeka West sophomore Sydney VanDyke.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Forty-one year-old Lee Arena will undergo a major renovation in the very near future, with Tuesday's NCAA Division II Central Regional final the last game for Washburn University basketball in Lee's current state.
Washburn senior star Andrew Orr hoists the NCAA Central Regional trophy after scoring 17 points in his final home game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn coach Brett Ballard celebrates Tuesday's NCAA Central Regional championship in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And the Ichabods and a boisterous sellout crowd of 2,711 made sure to send WU's venerable home arena out in style, with top seed Washburn rolling to a 93-65 win over No. 2 seed Minnesota State-Moorhead to advance to next week's Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.
"What a way to send it out,'' said senior standout Andrew Orr, who scored 17 points (8 of 9 from the field) in his final home game for the 29-3 Ichabods, who went undefeated in Lee (16-0) over the 2024-2025 season.
Feeding off the energy of its home crowd, Washburn led for 36 minutes, 55 seconds and took a 19-11 advantage after three early 3-pointers from Jack Bachelor and two from Brayden Shorter.
"We obviously got off to a great start and made shots early,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "That helped get our crowd into it. The crowd was huge for us.
"It was kind of a track meet there for the first 10 minutes or so. We kind of settled in and then defensively second half we were real good. Offensively these guys were really clicking and sharing it. I'm just really pleased and proud of our guys. This team has been on an incredible journey all year long and it's not just now. It's been since we got together in August.''
NCAA Central Regional MVP Jacob Hanna slams home a dunk in Tuesday's 93-65 win over MSU-Moorhead. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A Jacob Hanna dunk put Washburn in command 25-15 and the Ichabods took a 32-21 advantage with 8:39 left in the half on a three-point play from Orr.
The Dragons (25-9) cut their deficit to six (47-41) at the break, but would get no closer as Orr opened the second half with back-to-back buckets to put WU up 51-41.
After two Moorhead free throws Hanna scored four straight points to give Washburn a 55-43 lead with 17:12 remaining.
Washburn went through some scary moments when senior Michael Keegan landed hard into the basket support while going for a rebound, resulting in a technical foul on the Dragons' Logan Kinsey.
Keegan suffered what appeared to be a minor injury to his left knee and left the game, but was able to return later in the half.
Bachelor hit both technical foul shots and Shorter followed with a 3-pointer to give WU a 60-45 lead with at the 16:30 mark.
Washburn made it a 20-point game (67-47) on a Brady Christiansen 3-pointer and went up 81-51 on a Christiansen hoop with 8:01 left.
The Ichabods went on to build their biggest lead of the night (93-61) with 1:56 left.
Washburn sophomore Jack Bachelor cuts down the nets after Tuesday's regional win over MSU-Moorhead. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shorter led four double-figure scorers with 21 points (5 of 9 3-pointers), while regional MVP Hanna had 19 points and Bachelor was right behind Orr with 16 points (4 of 6 3s) and also dished out 10 assists. Orr and Bachelor were also named to the all-tournament team.
Washburn hit 18 of 32 shots from the field in both halves to finish at 56 percent for the contest.
The Ichabods were also 12 of 25 from deep for the game while hitting 9 of 10 free throws.
The Ichabods held the Dragons to 25 of 57 shooting (44 percent) and 6 of 19 (32 percent) from deep in the game.
