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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the second straight season Washburn University's men's basketball team lost four starters from teams that won 30-plus games, captured the MIAA titles and advanced to the NCAA National Tournament.
Senior point guard Jack Bachelor returns to lead Washburn men's basketball after earning All-MIAA and all-district honors for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
But all indications are that Brett Ballard's Ichabods, who open official preseason practice Saturday, once again have the firepower to retain their position as one of the premier programs in NCAA Division II.
Washburn graduated Brady Christiansen and Bryson Smith off of last year's 31-2 team and lost Dillon Claussen and Jeremiah Jones to Division I programs.
But the Ichabods, who have 15 players on their roster, return 10 players from last year's team while adding a pair of transfers and three freshmen.
"Last year we lost four starters as well and those guys were all really good players, so it reminds me a lot of last year,'' Ballard said. "You need some guys that have kind of been role guys to step up and take more of a lead and you need a hit on your transfers and you need some freshmen to play.
"So there's a little bit of the unknown and our program needs to step up, but I feel like those guys are ready and our expectations don't change. We still have the same standards and I feel like this team is going to be capable of competing for championships.''
Leading the returning cast for the Ichabods is 6-foot-3 senior point guard Jack Bachelor, a two-time All-MIAA and all-district first-team pick who averaged 15.5 points while connecting on 95 3-pointers, led Washburn with 151 assists and registered 58 steals.
Bachelor ranks No. 3 on Washburn's all-time list with 455 assists and is No. 5 all-time in free throw percentage (81.9).
"Jack's our biggest returner, so there's more on his plate,'' Ballard said. "He's not going to have to do it all, but he's going to have to carry the load more so on a consistent basis than he had to the last couple of years because he has some other unknown guys around him.
"Maybe it will play out where some other guys step up and as the year goes along he doesn't have to do as much, but I think early in the year especially we're going to count on Jack and the ball's going to be his hands a lot.''
Other top returners include 6-foot-6 junior Tyson Ruud and 6-4 junior Marcus Glock.
Ruud averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds last season while Glock averaged 7.6 points and hit 52 3-pointers.
The Ichabods added 6-6 transfer Lucas Mercandino and 6-10 sophomore Carson Yale.
Mercandino averaged 11.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season for Lubbock Christian en route to All-Lone Star Conference third-team honors while Yale averaged 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field for Minot State
"I like our pieces,'' Ballard said. "I think the pieces fit really well and so far everybody's been good with what we're trying to do.''
Ballard has identified a couple of key areas that Washburn will have to excel at to reach their potential.
"We've got to be able to guard the ball and I think that's my primary concern,'' Ballard said. "We lose Jeremiah Jones and Bryson Smith, two incredible on-ball guys, so we've got to find guys that can keep the ball in front so we're not rotating, scrambling every possession. With our trapping and the things we do, I think we can take teams out of their system a little bit, but a lot of possessions come down to, can you guard the ball, so that's going to be a big emphasis.
"I think another thing is rebounding. Brady and Dillon were both elite rebounders, so we've got to go get 'em. When we make teams miss we've got to rebound it.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A basketball team doesn't graduate its top three scorers and most experienced players without feeling the effects of that, particularly early in the season.
But Washburn University women's coach Lora Westling, whose team is coming off a breakout 24-8 season that produced a MIAA Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, feels like the Ichabods have the personnel in place to continue that upward trajectory.
Senior forward Madelyn Amekporfor (4) is a top returner for the Washburn women after averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 31 starts last season. [File photo/TSN]
Brooke Gomez (1) returns at point guard for Washburn after leading the 24-8 Ichabods with 82 assists in the 2025-2026 season. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods, who begin official preseason practice on Saturday, graduated double-figure scorers Yibari Nwidadah, Payton Sterk and Gabi Giovannetti while Washburn had other players leave the program through the transfer portal.
But WU, which has 13 players on its roster, will build around returning starters Madelyn Amekporfor and Brooke Gomez and valuable reserve Britany Kogbara while adding five transfers and four freshmen.
"The standard of this university is to put a championship product on the court going forward and that's what we expect of ourselves,'' Westling said. "We recruit players that want that and aspire to that and understand what it takes to accomplish that.
"There's a lot of new faces, but the expectations stay the same.''
Amekporfor, a 5-foot-11 senior forward, averaged 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds last season, while Gomez, a 5-7 junior point guard, averaged 4.3 points while leading the Ichabods with 82 assists.
In her first season in the program, Kogbara, a 6-foot senior forward, averaged 7.0 points and 4.1 rebounds off the bench and will be counted on heavily this winter.
The Ichabods' group of newcomers includes 5-11 junior forward Ellie Buscher, a first-team juco All-American, and 5-8 junior guard Olivia Wren, a second-team juco All-American.
"I'm really excited about the pieces we have,'' Westling said. "We certainly have some players that can score, but we have a lot more balance, which I think will be fun for our fans to watch and the style of play we have.
"We're doing a good job early. We have a very unselfish group that moves the ball well. They want to be good, they want to guard, so I'm very optimistic and very excited to get going.''
Amekporfor agreed.
"I think that especially the junior college people that we brought in and the transfers, they've played so much basketball at a high level that there's not a falloff at all,'' Amekporfor said. "Usually when you graduate a bunch of seniors you have to rebuild, but I feel like we're able to pick right up where we left off.
"I just think their mentality about basketball is top tier, so we're able to get right into it at the beginning of the season.''
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights remained in contention in the tight race for the United Kansas Conference boys soccer crown by holding off Leavenworth 5-1 at the T-Birds Senior Night at Bettis Family Sports Complex Thursday evening.
Shawnee Heights senior Anthony Retana (44) celebrates his goal with teammate Nowlan Hurla in Thursday's 5-1 UKC Senior Night win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The previous afternoon, Leavenworth claimed its first win in nearly two years in a contest against rival Lansing. The Pioneers came to Topeka eager to build on that success, and for a half they put up a spirited fight against the T-Birds.
Senior Anthony Retana put the T-Birds on the board 16 minutes into the contest on a free kick. Fellow senior Wyatt Lindecrantz added a second tally just before the intermission.
Shawnee Heights senior Mason Haas (9) scored a goal and had an assist in Thursday's 5-1 UKC win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Angel Diaz (10) scored a goal for Shawnee Heights in Thursday's 5-1 UKC Senior Night win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights took complete control after the break with goals by junior Nils Akermann, senior Mason Haas and senior Angel Diaz, allowing coach Nic Simons to substitute liberally.
“I think (Leavenworth) played with tremendous heart,” Simons said. “You look at some of their results and they’ve had some close games this season. We thought they would come in and play hard with a lot of heart, especially on our Senior Night when it can be kind of fun to try and play spoiler if you can.
“I thought our guys did a good job of handling it. We started some guys that normally don’t start, which is a good thing for everybody.”
“You’ve kind of just got to take it all in,” Haas said of the Senior Night celebration. “It’s kind of one of those games where you’ve got to take it serious, but you also want to enjoy. We ended up getting a result, so it was a good night.
“We’re hoping to keep this momentum and keep pushing, so that once we get into the postseason, we can really accelerate to state. It’s really just about the heart – how much you want it. If we’re gonna go far, we’re gonna have to have heart and be hungry.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off a disappointing 5-2 road loss Tuesday night at Wichita Bishop Carroll, Washburn Rural's boys soccer team was in need of a bounce-back win Thursday.
Senior star Brodye Kocher-Munoz made sure that happened, scoring all five of the Junior Blues' goals in a 5-0 Centennial League win over Manhattan at McElroy Field.
Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel waits to congratulate Brodye Kocher-Munoz after the senior star scored his fifth goal in Thursday's 5-0 win over Manhattan. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Kocher-Munoz scored the only goal the Junior Blues would need at the 21:52 mark of the first half and had a hat trick by halftime, scoring his second and third goals of the night 21 seconds apart at the 4:45 and 4:24 mark.
Kocher-Munoz added his fourth goal at the 29:12 mark of the second half and picked up goal No. 5 with 9:18 remaining before Rural coach Brian Hensyel removed him from the game.
Washburn Rural senior Brodye Kocher-Munoz receives a hug from coach Brian Hensyel after scoring a career-high five goals, one off the school record. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I feel like if we score first, the energy just keeps building up and we just keep bringing it on teams, so that was the motivation tonight,'' Kocher-Munoz said.
"I just found out how to get open and just had to come up and bury them in the back of the net.''
Hensyel said that the Junior Blues count a lot on Kocher-Munoz to come through.
"He's one of the returning guys from last year's (state championhip) team that was very special and he made a lot of plays last year,'' Hensyel said. "It's hard to be the guy that everybody knows is trying to attack and knows is the person that we need, but that's his job.
"He knows that, so it was nice to see him tonight play a really good game.''
Senior Myles Didde (right) registered two assists in Washburn Rural's 5-0 Centennial League win over Manhattan Thursday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Myles Didde was credited with a pair of assists for the Junior Blues while juniors Miles Doyal and Kaden Myers combined for the shutout in goal as Washburn Rural improved to 5-5-2 overall and 3-0 in the Centennial League.
"We've just got to get rolling in the right direction,'' Hensyel said. "We want to win the league, but outside of that it's all about the end of the year for us. That's how it always has been.
"We may have to go on the road (in postseason), which is kind of unusual for us, but I still think we're capable and I tell these guys every day, in a one-game scenario is there anybody in the state you couldn't beat one night, one game and I think we could be in any game with any team, so that means anything's possible.''
The Junior Blues will return to action next Tuesday, traveling to Emporia for a Centennial League contest.
WASHBURN RURAL 5, MANHATTAN 0
Manhattan (4-7-0, 2-2-0) 0 0 -- 0
Washburn Rural (5-5-2, 3-0-0) 3 2 -- 5
Washburn Rural -- Goals: Brodye Kocher-Munoz 5. Assists: Myles Didde 2. Shutout: Myles Doyal, Kaden Myers.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After a brief stop at home Tuesday against Central Missouri, No. 13-ranked Washburn University volleyball is back on the road to begin a season-long four-match road trip, facing Central Oklahoma and Newman on Friday and Saturday.
Washburn volleyball celebrates a point during Tuesday's 3-1 win over Central Missouri. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Ichabods will face the Bronchos at 6 p.m. on Friday before taking on the Jets at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Washburn is 17-3 on the year overall and 5-1 in the MIAA after defeating Central Missouri 3-1 last time out in a non-conference match.
"We're excited about the win,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said after Tuesday's match. "But here's the thing, the coach wasn't very intelligent because he shouldn't have scheduled this match. Now we've got this long road trip ahead of us and our bodies are tired.
"I'm giving them the day off (Wednesday) and we're going to go from there.''
Central Oklahoma enters Friday's match with a 14-5 overall record and 3-2 mark in the MIAA, while Newman is 6-14 on the year and 1-4 in the MIAA.
Junior Brynne Topolski leads the Ichabods with 224 kills (3.25 per set) while also hitting a team-high .292. She has added 102 digs along with making 42 blocks, second most on the team.
The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in 13 matches with one double-double. She is fourth in the MIAA in kills per set while ranking sixth in the conference in points per set.
Junior Emma Siron has registered 207 kills (3.14 per set) while hitting .209 on the outside. She has served a team-high 25 aces and also scooping 171 digs and making 21 blocks. She also ranks third on the team with 92 assists.
The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied 10 double-digit kill matches with nine double-doubles.
Shawnee Heights senior product Taylor Rottinghaus has recorded a team-high 313 digs (4.82 per set) at libero and has seven matches with 20-plus digs. Rottinghaus has also added 52 assists with 19 aces served. The senior ranks third in the MIAA in digs per set.
Sophomore Brooklyn Morrisey is second on the team with a .285 hitting percentage and has slashed 131 kills and leads the team with 71 blocks.
Aftere dropping a 25-22 first-set decision to Central Missouri on Tuesday reeled off 25-11, 25-12 and 25-17 wins in the ensuing three sets to secure the victory.
Freshman Hayden Meats led the offense with 12 kills as she added nine digs.
Morrisey slashed 10 kills and hit .529 with five blocks while Siron had eight kills while hitting .500 along with 20 assists and 11 digs.
Rottinghaus scooped up 18 digs.
Washburn stays on the road to take on Missouri Western and Fort Hays State next weekend.
