By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's
A solid case could be made for several candidates to garner the top spot inTopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Coaches list for women's basketball, including three coaches who won three or more state championships.
But after winning three state titles and reaching five state championship games in Kansas' largest class and going on to a long career as a NCAA Division I assistant, the nod for No. 1 goes to former Washburn Rural coach Bill Annan.
Bill Annan led Washburn Rural to three Class 6A girls state basketball titles before moving on to the Division I level as an assistant coach. [Oklahoma State Athletics]
Former Silver Lake coach Loren Ziegler led the Eagles to five girls state basketball titles. [Silver Lake Schools]
Former Hayden coach Rick Strecker led the Wildcats to three girls basketball ttiles and five state crowns overall. [Submitted photo]
Former Silver Lake coach Loren Ziegler garnered the No. 2 position after winning five 3A titles over a 33-year span while former Hayden coach Rick Strecker ended up No. 3 after winning three 4A championships.
Former Topeka West coach Mike Goehring, who won 6A and 5A titles and also posted a runner-up finish in 6A, earned the No. 4 position while current Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick rounds out the top five, leading the Junior Blues to two 6A championships since 2019, including the 2022 title.
Strecker earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, while Goehring finished No. 2 and current Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells No. 3 in balloting by TSN readers
Nine members of the Best of the Best Coaches list earned at least one state championship, with five winning multiple titles.
A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Former Seaman coach Ron Vinduska, former Shawnee Heights coach Mark Henry and former Topeka High coach Ted Juneau hold down the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 Best of the Best spots, with all three coaches earning state championships.
No. 9 on the Best of the Best list is former Hayden coach Doug Finch, who led the Wildcats to a state title and a pair of runner-up finishes, while former Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander closes out the top 10 after leading the Trojans to four straight 6A semifinal berths, with a pair of state runner-up finishes..
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES
1. Bill Annan -- Annan led Washburn Rural to state championships in the state's largest class in 1996, 1999 and 2009, including a perfect 23-0 record in '96. Annan went on to a long NCAA Division I coaching career as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State University, ending that tenure as the Cowgirls' associate head coach, and now at Oral Roberts. Annan had a highly successful 18-year run with the Junior Blues, posting a 303-109 record and coaching five Rural teams that advanced to the Class 6A state championship game.
2. Loren Ziegler -- Ziegler was head coach at Silver Lake for 33 seasons, leading the Eagles to Class 3A state championships in 1983, 1984, 1988, 2002 and 2016. Three of Ziegler's teams posted undefeated seasons as he posted an overall record of 553-217.
3. Rick Strecker -- Strecker, a Hayden Hall of Fame inductee in 2021, coached the Wildcats to Class 4A state titles in 1992, 1993 and 1995 and coached 10 teams that advanced to the state tournament with six teams reaching the state semifinals. Strecker also coached Hayden's girls to a pair of state track and field titles.
4. Mike Goehring -- Goehring led Topeka West to an undefeated Class 6A state championship in 1994 and a 5A state title in 2000 as well as a 6A runner-up finish. Goehring, who coached at West from 1982-2002, is a member of the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association and Topeka West Halls of Fame.
5. Kevin Bordewick -- Bordewick has been a part of five girls state basketball titles at Washburn Rural, serving as an assistant on Annan's three state championship teams and coaching the Junior Blues to two Class 6A titles since 2019, including the championship this past season. Bordewick has also coached Rural to seven state volleyball titles.
6. Ron Vinduska -- Vinduska coached Seaman to a 24-1 record and the Class 6A state championship in 1991.
7. Mark Henry -- Henry coached Shawnee Heights to a perfect season in 1991, with the T-Birds winning the Class 5A state championship with a 25-0 record.
8. Ted Juneau -- Juneau coached both girls and boys teams over a long career, incluing leading the Topeka High girls to the Class 6A state championship in 1981 with a 23-1 record.
9. Doug Finch -- Finch coached Hayden to the Class 4A state championship in 2004, with the Wildcats posting a 23-2 record. Finch's Wildcats finished second in 4A in both 2003 and 2002.
10. Hannah Alexander -- Alexander coached Topeka High to the Class 6A final four the past four seasons with a pair of state runner-up finishes. The Trojans posted a perfect 23-0 record in 2019-2020 before the state tournament was cut short due to COVID-19.
READERS CHOICE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
1. Rick Strecker -- No. 3 in TSN Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
2. Mike Goehring -- No. 4 in TSN Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
3. Bob Wells -- The Shawnee Heights coach is the current dean of Shawnee County basketball coaches (boys and girls), leading the T-Birds to multiple state tournament appearances.
4. Bill Annan -- No. 1 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
5. Loren Ziegler -- No. 2 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
6. Kevin Bordewick -- No. 5 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. Ron Vinduska -- No. 6 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
8. Mark Henry -- No. 7 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
9. Hannah Alexander -- No. 10 in Best of the Best Top 25 (see capsule above).
10. Roger Toelkes -- Coached Shawnee Heights to a state championship in 1977, with the T-Birds posting a 20-3 record.
Next up: Men's basketball Best of the Best Top 10 and Reader's Choice awards.
