- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2025-2026 Washburn men's basketball team will have to replace four players who all received MIAA postseason honors from last season's 30-4 team that advanced to the NCAA Division II semifinals.
Jack Bachelor
Brady Christiansen
But the Ichabods' cupboard is far from bare. In fact, Washburn coach Brett Ballard feels like the pieces are in place for the Ichabods to challenge for another MIAA championship and put together a strong postseason run.
"I think we have five guys returning that all either had started, did start or probably would have started on almost any team in the country last year,'' Ballard said. "We were just deep and talented.''
Junior Jack Bachelor, a first-team All-MIAA pick last season, is the Ichabods' lone returning starter, but Washburn also returns several other experienced players from last year's team, including seniors Sam Ungashick and Brady Christiansen, and sophomores Dillon Claussen and Tyson Ruud.
"Jack has started, Sam has started in the past, and now is healthy and playing as good as anybody,'' Ballard said. "Brady has started before and has shown that he's a high-level MIAA guy and then Dylan Claussen didn't start last year because he was playing behind Andrew Orr, but he would have started on most of the teams in our conference.
"And Tyson Ruud, when healthy, I think showed you he's a high-level MIAA guy, so yes we lost a lot, but I really feel good about the talent and leadership of the guys returning.''
Ungashick, an All-MIAA honorable mention honoree as a sophomore before battling back from knee injuries last season, agrees with his coach that the Ichabods are capable of putting together another banner season this winter.
"We definitely feel that way,'' Ungashick said. "We have a lot of guys who played real minutes in our games last year and they're all back on this team and all playing at a high level in practice so far this fall.''
Washburn was picked No. 1 in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media polls and Ungashick said the Ichabods embrace that challenge.
"We've kind of talked about that in practice, that we'd rather be No. 1 than last place, so I think that target on our back is forcing us to prepare in a good way for the season and I think that's pushing us to be the best and play to the best of our abilities,'' Ungashick said.
Bachelor, a 6-foot-2 point guard, averaged 13.6 points and 5.5 assists last season while hitting 66 3-pointers and shooting 85.6 percent from the free throw line.
Christiansen (6-7) has played 93 games as an Ichabod with 31 starts and averaged 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds with 36 3-pointers last season while Claussen (6-8) averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds as a freshman, including a 17-point performance in the national quarterfinals.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball has made steady progress in Lora Westling's previous three seasons as the Ichabods' head coach, posting a seven-win improvement during that span.
And with an experienced, talented returning cast, the Ichabods are looking forward to making another big jump in the upcoming 2025-2026 campaign.
Yibari Nwidadah
Payton Sterk
Washburn, led by All-MIAA second-team picks Yibari Nwidadah and Payton Stert, is coming off an 18-13 season with a 11-8 mark inside the MIAA and was tapped No. 2 with a conference-high six first-place votes in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the Media Poll.
And while the expectations for the Ichabods are higher than they've ever been under Westling, the former WU standout said her team welcomes the challenge.
"Nobody wants to motivate being the underdog for many years,'' said Westling, whose Ichabods are in their first full week of official preseson practice. "You kind of know when you come in that you've got to turn some things around, but if you stay the underdog something's not going well, so I'm really excited for our players and returners to kind of have some return on that investment and showing that experience matters and they're doing things the right way and setting themselves up for a chance to be really good.
''They've got to flip their mindset and make a decision that they're going to be unbeatable and they're going to be hard to beat and they're going to do their best every time and know that the results will come if their doing what they do the best they can do it.''
Nwidadah, a 6-foot-2 senior post player, and Sterk, a 5-10 senior guard, give the Ichabods two of the conference's best players to build around while Washburn also returns its other three starters -- Gabi Giovannetti (5-10 senior), Madelyn Amekporfor (5-11 junior) and Brooke Gomez (5-7 sophomore) -- along with top reserve Aniah Wayne (5-8 senior).
Nwidadah averaged 16.8 points and 8.0 rebounds last season while shooting 62.6 percent from the field and Sterk averaged 15.7 points and hit a team-high 62 3-pointers and shot 84.6 percent from the free throw line.
Giovannetti averaged 11.6 points, shot 84.6 percent from the free throw line and hit 47 3-pointers, Amekporfor averaged 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, Gomez averaged 4.6 points with a team-high 83 assists and Wayne averaged 5.8 points.
"I could not be more excited about this season just because of how they've worked,'' Westling said. "They're hungry, they want it and it's a pleasure to be around.''
The Ichabods have also added three transfers, Britany Kogbara (6-0 junior), Kellyn Hunter (5-4 junior) and Kylin Shipman (5-8 sophomore), who could make an immediate impact this winter.
Kogbara was a first-team juco All-American last season for Mesa Community College when she averaged 13.4 points and 9.5 rebounds, Hunter averaged 14.1 points with 40 3-pointers last season for Spring Hill College and Shipman transferred in after seeing action as a freshman for Regis.
"They're going to be a lot of fun I think for Ichabod fans,'' Westling said. "They've got some pretty impressive skill sets that are really complimentary to what we're doing and credit to my staff, they just kind of hit a home run with our recruiting class.''
Washburn will open the season on Nov. 14 and 15 in Edmond, Okla. against St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State in the Central Region Challenge.
The Ichabods will make their home debut in newly-renovated Lee Arena on Nov. 21-22 in the Washburn Classic against Southwest Baptist and Metropolitan State of Denver.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Wamego and Hayden's girls golf teams have gone back and forth over the last several seasons, combining to capture the past four Class 4A state team championships.
And while Wamego got the upper hand with a dominating win over two-time defending Hayden in Tuesday's regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club, the Wildcats earned another shot at the Red Raiders in next week's state tournament at Hutchinson with a runnerup regional finish.
Hayden senior Izzy Glotzbach tied for second with an 83 in Tuesday's Class 4A regional at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Led by three-time defending 4A individual champion Addison Douglass and putting all six players in the top nine, Wamego posted a four-person score of 326 while Hayden was a distant second at 366.
"They're really good, so we're going to have to play our best to compete with them, but the No. 1 thing for us was to make it out of here and get a chance to go do it (at state) and we did that,'' Hayden coach Jayson Duncan said.
"We played pretty good early and maybe need to clean up some things late.''
Douglas shot a sizzling four-under-par 69 to post a 14-stroke individual victory while the Red Raiders' Lillian Costa tied for second place with an 83, Sophia Hellman, Gentry McIntosh and Hailey Honeycutt tied for fifth with 87s and Maizie Nickel placed ninth with an 95.
Hayden's Brooke Johnson shot an 84 to place fourth and help the Wildcats finish second as a team in Tuesday's Class 4A regional at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Lauren Borjon finished eighth individually with an 89 in Tuesday's Class 4A regional at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Izzy Glotzbach led Hayden with a tie for second place with an 83 while the Wildcats' Brooke Johnson finished fourth with an 84, Lauren Borjon placed eighth with an 89 and Kellyn Specht rounded out Hayden's top four with a tie for 20th with a 110.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural freshman volleyball standout Brynn Anderson and Rural junior soccer standout Brodye Kocher-Munoz have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the accomplishments of Anderson and Kocher-Munoz over the past week.
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural
BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural
Anderson has made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Junior Blues, a perennial Class 6A volleyball contender.
An outstanding hitter, Anderson has helped lead Washburn Rural to 16 straight wins and a 21-4 overall record.
After going 5-0 to win the Centennial League championship, Anderson helped the Junior Blues go undefeated to win the Manhattan Invitational on Saturday.
Brodye Kocher-Munoz, Washburn Rural
BRODYE KOCHER-MUNOZ, Washburn Rural
Kocher-Munoz had a big week for Washburn Rural soccer last week as the Junior Blues posted a pair of wins to improve to 10-1-1 on the season.
Kocher-Munoz had a pair of assists and also turned in a scoreless stint in goal in last Tuesday's 2-0 non-league shutout win over Bishop Carroll.
He followed that up with two goals and two assists in Thursday's 7-1 Centennial League victory over Manhattan.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls golf coach Julie McLaughlin was quick to admit that the Vikings didn't have their best day in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club.
Seaman senior Elise Eckert finished second in Monday's Class 5A regional with a 75, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But the city and United Kansas Conference champs played plenty good enough to earn a berth in next week's state tournament at Emporia with a second-place regional team finish.
"I think we've got some work to do,'' McLaughlin said. "I think we're a little bit disappointed in the outcome. Andover played a heck of a game today, they did great.''
Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be aiming for her fourth Class 5A state medal in next week's state tournament at Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Led by senior Elise Eckert's runnerup individual finish with a 75, Seaman posted a four-person score of 355 to finish second behind team champion Andover's 342.
Eckert, the city and UKC medalist, turned in a solid two-over-par round, finishing as the runnerup to Andover's Regan Dusenbery, who carded a two-under-par 71.
"I'm definitely feeling a little better after this, '' said Eckert, a three-time 5A state medalist. "I wasn't playing great this weekend, so I'm really glad that I was able to come out here and play better after working on a lot of stuff this weekend.''
"Elise had a strong round. She was right where we needed her to be,'' McLaughlin said.
Seaman senior Makenna Stuke shot a 90 to finish fourth in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman got a fourth-place tie from Makenna Stuke (90), while Kaitlynn Frye tied for seventh (94), Chloe Schmidtlein was 10th (96) and Molina Quintana placed 16th (110).
"We've got a lot of work to do this week, but we're still fully capable,'' McLaughlin said. "We just did not play up to our ability today.''
Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109.
Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team, with T-Bird junior Lauryn Valdivia qualiying for state as an individual with a 112.
The state tournament will be played Monday and Tuesday at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
At Shawnee Country Club
Team scores
Andover 342, Seaman 355, Basehor-Linwood 418, Piper 463, Shawnee Heights 489.
1. Regan Dusenbery, Andover, 71; 2. Elise Eckert, Seaman, 75; 3. Isabel Hawley, Andover, 87; 4. Makenna Stuke, Seaman, 90; 5. Grier Hand, Andover, 90; 6. Aubrey Ziolo, Basehor-Linwood, 93; 7. (tie) Kaitlynn Frye, Seaman, and Maren Nelson, 94; 9. Claire Fitzgerald, Basehor-Linwood, 95; 10. Chloe Schmidtlein, Seaman, 96.
Other Seaman -- 16. Molina Quintana, 110.
Shawnee Heights – 17. Lauryn Valdivia, 112; 21. Elsie Willmann, 120; 24. (tie) Makenna Bryant, 125; 28. Mia Mattox, 132.
Topeka West – 14. (tie) Berlyn Kolean, 109; 24. (tie) Lily Bowen, 125.
Individual state qualifiers -- Georgia Lightfoot, Piper; Berlyn Kolean, Topeka West; Hadley Heim, Piper; Lauryn Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Kelsey Shull, Emporia.
Washburn Rural girls golf posted a second-place Class 6A regional finish Monday to earn a state berth. [Washburn Rural golf]
Rural earns Class 6A state berth with runnerup regional showing
Monday was business as usual for Washburn Rural girls golf, with the Junior Blues qualifying for the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach.
Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 at Sim Park Golf Course to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).
Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in Monday's Class 6A regional at Sim Park. [File photo/TSN]
Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place finish, shooting a 79, while Taryn Jellison placd fourth with an 83.
The Junior Blues also got a tie for fifth from Lauren Cox (85), an 11th-place finish from Briley Miles (88), a tie for 14th from Peyton Merrick (92) and a 16th-place showing from Ella Taggart (93).
