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
GIRLS
Class 6A
1. Washburn Rural; 2. Blue Valley North; 3. Shawnee Mission West; 4. Blue Valley; 5. Olathe North; 6. Olathe West; 7. Shawnee Mission Northwest; 8. Topeka High; 9. Wichita Heights; 10. Derby.
Class 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas; 2. Andover; 3. Lansing; 4. St. James Academy; 5. Emporia; 6. Salina Central; 7. Andover Central; 8. Bishop Carroll; 9. Seaman; 10. Maize South.
Class 4A
1. Bishop Miege; 2. Wameo; 3. McPherson; 4. Hugoton; 5. Andale; 6. Eudora; 7. Wellingon; 8. Rock Creek; 9. Clay Center; 10. Clearwater.
Class 3A
1. Goodland; 2. Silver Lake; 3. Phillipsburg; 4. Sabetha; 5. Nemaha Central; 6. Cheney; 7. Colby; 8. Halstead; 9. Southeast-Saline; 10. Eureka.
Class 2A
1. Berean Academy; 2. Smith Center; 3. Garden Plain; 4. Jackson Heights; 5. St. Mary's Colgan; 6. Valley Heights; 7. Sterling; 8. Remington; 9. Hillsboro; 10. Bluestem.
Class 1A-Division I
1. Little River; 2. Centralia; 3. Osborne; 4. Pretty Prairie; 5. Hodgeman County; 6. Clifton-Clyde; 7. Olpe; 8. Central Plains; 9. South Gray; 10. Burlingame
Class 1A-Division II
1. Hanover; 2. Lebo; 3. Attica; 4. Central Christian; 5. Ashland; 6. Golden Plains; 7. South Central; 8. Ingalls; 9. St. Paul; 10. Wheatlan-Grinnell.
BOYS
Class 6A
1. Wichita Heights; 2. Blue Valley Northwest; 3. Olathe West; 4. Lawrence; 5. Blue Valley North; 6. Derby; 7. Free State; 8. Olathe Northwest; 9. Shawnee Mission Northwest; 10. Manhattan.
Class 5A
1. Andover; 3. Maize South; 3. Highland Park; 4. Kapaun Mt. Carmel; 5. St. Thomas Aquinas; 6. St. James Academy; 7. De Soto; 8. Andover Central; 9. Topeka West; 10. Basehor-Linwood.
Class 4A
1. Eudora; 2. Bishop Miege; 3. Hayden; 4. Abilene; 5. McPherson; 6. Buhler; 7. Clay Center; 8. Wamego; 9. Hugoton; 10 Andale.
Class 3A
1. Hesston; 2. Southeast-Salina; 3. Cheney; 4. Sabetha; 5. Osage City; 6. Wichita Collegiate; 7. Galena; 8. Nemaha Central; 9. Wellsville; 10. Haven.
Class 2A
1.. Hillsboro; 2. TMP-Marian; 3. Moundridge; 4. Inman; 5. Ellinwood; 6. Wabaunsee; 7. Lyndon; 8. Bennington; 9. St. Mary's Colgan; 10. Wichita Independent.
Class 1A-Division I
1. Olpe; 2. Macksville; 3. South Gray; 4. Centralia; 5. Burlingame; 6. Troy; 7. Meade; 8. Little River; 9. Wichita Classical; 10. Clifton-Clyde.
Class 1A-Division II
1. Greeley County; 2. Northern Valley; 3. Hanover; 4. Bucklin; 5. Pawnee Heights; 6. Dighton; 7. Waverly; 8. Attica; 9. Cunningham; 10. Caldwell.
