By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Two summers ago TopSports.news took on the task of honoring hundreds of Shawnee County's all-time great athletes in more than 20 sports as part of our inaugural Best of the Best project.
Last summer TSN turned the page and honored the high school coaches who helped hundreds if not thousands of county athletes achieve athletic greatness.
The 1982-83 Hayden team was the first Topeka boys basketball team to post a perfect season en route to its second straight Class 4A state title. [Submitted photo]
Washburn Rural's volleyball team dogpiles on the court after winning the 2022 Class 6A state title, the eighth in school history. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
This summer the Best of the Best project is all about Shawnee County's elite teams, including 279 state champions in 21 sports. .
As was the case in the past, TSN will rely heavily on our readers for their input in rating the best teams in the history of the county.
This year's project promises to be TSN's toughest to date, with the county's first state title coming in 1929 and the most recent coming this past spring.
County baseball teams have won 38 state titles, 11 more than in any other sport, including 15 titles for Silver Lake and nine for Seaman. The chore will be determining the pecking order for all those great teams.
Shawnee County boys basketball teams have captured state championships 27 times, with the undefeated 1983 Hayden team and 2007 Highland Park teams sure to gain plenty of attention in the Best of the Best poll.
Hayden leads the list with eight 4A boys state titles overall, followed closely by Highland Park with six titles and Hayden with five. Seaman's boys have won just one boys basketball title, but that 2022 crown was one of the most unlikely and impressive in the county annals, with the Vikings ending the season with 11 straight wins after a 7-7 start.
Kevin Bordewick's Washburn Rural volleyball teams have won eight Class 6A state championships, including the 2022 crown, while Shawnee County teams have captured 25 volleyball titles overall, But which one of those teams tops the list?
County girls basketball teams have won state 22 times, with Silver Lake, Washburn Rural and Hayden combining for 15 of those titles.
Shawnee County football teams have 19 state championships to their credit, led by Silver Lake with eight titles, while Rossville is next in line with five titles and Washburn Rural and Hayden with three apiece.
![Rossville's softball team celebrates its 2023 Class 3A state softball championship in Manhattan. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]](/images/aa-images/RossvilleSB2023.jpg)
Rossville's softball team celebrates its 2023 Class 3A state softball championship in Manhattan. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
TSN will rank the top teams in baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball, boys cross country, girls cross country, football, boys golf, girls golf, boys soccer, girls soccer, softball, boys tennis, girls tennis, boys track and girls track.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches pose for a team picture after Rural won its third state title in four seasons in February at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Boys and girls bowling, which were added as Kansas State High School Activities Association sports in 2005, will be combined in the Best of the Best polls as will boys and girls wrestling and boys and girls swimming.
Girls wrestling was added as a KSHSAA sport in 2020 and Washburn Rural's girls and boys teams have accounted for all five of the county's wrestling team titles.
Seaman is the only Shawnee County school to win a state team championship in swimming, winning the 5A-1A boys title in 2018.
To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, simply visit TopSports.news and participate in our polls, which will begin on Thursday. You can vote as many times as you wish.
Nominations/votes can also be submitted by email to
Over the coming days/weeks we will post a poll for each of our categories and list some of the top candidates to pick from while also giving readers the option of writing in their favorites. Teams can be nominted even if they did not win a state title.
Final selections will be based on reader vote as well as input from TopSports.news contributors and current and past local sports media professionals.
We will accept votes through most of July before publishing our Best of the Best lists in late July and August.
FIRST UP: Baseball (ballot will be published on TopSports.news on Thursday).
