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Seven Shawnee County teams crack preseason KBCA state rankings

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Seven Shawnee County basketball teams have earned spots in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association's preseason state rankings, released Tuesday.

Washburn Rural, Topeka High, Seaman and Silver Lake are ranked on the girls side while Highland Park, Topeka West and Hayden earned spots in the boys rankings.

Senior Brooklyn DeLeye is a top returner for Washburn Rural, which is top-ranked in the Class 6A KWCA girls preseason rankings after winning the state title last season. [File photo/TSN]

Zoe Canfield, a University of Kansas commit, helped lead Washburn Rural to the Class 6A girls state title last season. [File photo/TSN]

Defending Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural begins the season top-ranked in the 6A girls state rankings while Topeka High is ranked No. 8 after advancing to state the past four seasons.

Seaman is ranked No. 9 in the 5A girls rankings while Silver Lake is No. 2 in 3A after finishing third at state last season.

Senior Bo Aldridge (1) returns for Highland Park, which begins the 2022-2023 season third-ranked in Class 5A in the KWCA preseason rankings. [File photo/TSN]

Senior Joe Otting returns for Hayden, No. 3-ranked in Class 4A, which is coming off a fourth-place state finish last season. [File photo/TSN]

Highland Park is ranked No. 3 in the 5A boys rankings while Topeka West is ranked ninth. Both the Scots and Chargers advanced to the 5A state tournament a year ago.

Hayden is ranked third in 4A after posting a fourth-place state finish last season..

KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION PRESEASON STATE RANKINGS

Star power! Local prep products making their mark on the big stage

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Most of the names are probably already familiar to anyone who follows local sports, but a long and growing list of athletes who call Topeka/Shawnee County home have made a big impact at the college and/or professional level.

Here's a look at just some of the stars who continue to make their hometown proud:

Carly Bachelor

CARLY BACHELOR, Washburn Rural/Creighton -- Bachelor earned All-State recognition in basketball, volleyball and soccer at Washburn Rural, leading the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state basketball title and a runner-up state finish in soccer in her senior year (2019). A 6-foot guard/forward, Bachelor has gone on to carve out a successful basketball career for Creighton, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2021-2022 and is 6-0 this season. Bachelor is currently averaging 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and playing 27.5 minutes per game.

Corey Ballentine

COREY BALLENTINE, Shawnee Heights/Washburn/Green Bay Packers -- A 5-11, 199-pound cornerback, the former Shawnee Heights and Washburn star was promoted from the Packers' practice squad to the active roster on Nov. 12 and has played in three games, recording two tackles and forcing a fumble. The fourth-year pro has played in 35 career regular-season games for the Giants, Jets, Lions and Packers, recording 48 tackles, including 38 solo stops.

Elijah Brooks

ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West/North Dakota

A 6-4 freshman guard, Brooks was named Mr. Kansas Basketball as a senior at Topeka West, helping lead the Chargers to a second straight 5A state tournament berth and finishing his career as the Chargers' single-season and career scoring leader. Brooks has missed four games with injury/sickness but has started all four games that he's been available, averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game. Brooks has helped the Fighting Hawks open the season 5-3 and North Dakota is only one win away from equaling last year's victory total in a 6-25 season.

DeShawn Hanika

DeSHAWN HANIKA, Hayden/Iowa State -- A 6-6, 238-pound junior tight end, Hanika played in all 12 games for 4-8 Iowa State this fall, catching 17 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Hanika, who helped Hayden win a state championship in basketball, caught three passes for 49 yards and a touchdown in the Cyclones' final game of the regular season against TCU, which will play Kansas State for the Big 12 championship on Saturday.