TEAM: Rossville Bulldawgs/Lady Bulldawgs

CLASSIFICATION: 2A

LEAGUE: Big East (new for 2024-25)

COLORS: Red & Black

SOCIAL MEDIA: @RossvilleBBALL (Boys) and @dawg_basketball (Girls) on Twitter

2024-25 SCHEDULE:

12/10-14 at Chapman Tournament
12/17 vs Silver Lake
12/20 at Holton
1/7 vs Jeff West
1/10 at Hiawatha
1/14 vs Riley County
1/17 at Perry-Lecompton
1/21-25 at Valley Falls Tournament (BOYS)
1/24 vs Nemaha Central (GIRLS)
1/28-2/1 at JCN Tournament (GIRLS)
1/31 vs Nemaha Central (BOYS)
2/4 at St. Marys
2/7 at Sabetha
2/11 vs Royal Valley
2/14 at Abilene
2/18 at Silver Lake
2/21 at Riley County

Big East League game

GIRLS

HEAD COACH: Derek Dick (1st year)

2023-24 RECORD: 18-4, 8-2 in Mid East League

2023-24 IN REVIEW: It was an outstanding season for the Lady Bulldawgs, but it contained two very large obstacles they could not quite surmount. The first, in league play, was the eventual 3A champion Silver Lake Lady Eagles, who beat them twice and claimed the final Mid East League crown. The second was a difficult sub-state that saw Rossville fall to St. Marys in a semi-final upset. Still, there was plenty to be proud of for Rossville girls basketball, who spent most of the season ranked in the 3A top 10 and graduated an accomplished senior class of players.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: Derek Dick spent nine seasons as the head coach of the Rossville Boys, guiding them to 116 wins and two third place finishes at state. Now he returns to the sideline to coach the girls and takes over a group that may have lost some talented players, but returns two of the best players in 2A. Junior guard Rylee Dick is a two-year starter who has been all-league twice. She averaged 15 points per game and hit on 36% of her threes last season and moves to point guard this year. In the post, sophomore Nora Burdiek had an auspicious debut season, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game. The lone returning senior is Sheyanne Hahn, who averaged six points and five boards. Coach Dick will look towards junior sharpshooter Maggie Sanders and a pair of sophomores, Leni Lewis and Elly Sanders, to increase their production this year. While not as experienced as last year’s 18-win squad, the duo of Rylee Dick and Burdiek is a strong foundation in place for Rossville and could power them to continue their winning ways and go further than they did last year.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “With the loss of a very successful and deep graduating class, a lot of new faces will be counted on. We had a good summer and several girls stepped up and proved they can be key players at this level. I am very excited to coach this year’s team, we will not have much height and will need to develop some depth but the players we bring back are very good and are capable of making a run.” – Derek Dick

BOYS

HEAD COACH: Brandon McDonnell (3rd year, 22-21)

2023-24 RECORD: 15-7, 8-2 Mid East League

2023-24 IN REVIEW: The young Bulldawgs broke out in a big way in Brandon McDonnell’s second season on the sideline. Improvement was certainly expected, but not many people saw a league title coming. But that’s what Rossville accomplished, for the first time in 14 years, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that there were no senior starters. Though their season came to an end with a semi-final loss in one of 3A’s toughest sub-states, it was still, literally, a banner season for the Bulldawgs.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: No senior starters means all five starters are back, and junior Jack Donovan leads the way. The first-team All League pick averaged 14 points per game last season and can score from all over the floor. Joining him in the backcourt will be senior Tayson Horak (8 points per game) and the coach’s son, junior Jakoby McDonnell (5 points, 4 assists per game). Senior Kameron Badura, who averaged 11 points and 6 boards, and junior Cameron Miller, a second team All League selection who also averaged 11 points, are skilled and athletic forwards. Rossville has been more renowned for success on the gridiron in recent years, but this group is determined to ensure the Bulldawgs add some hardware on the hardwood, too, and they have the experience, cohesiveness, and ability to contend atop the new Big East and for a trip to the 2A state tournament.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “We have an amazing group of boys coming back. I started with this group, now seniors, when they were sophomores. It’s has been exciting and a blessing to watch these boys grow and mature in the way they have. I am beyond blessed to have such a great group of kids that come to work everyday. We are also excited about our freshmen class who also comes in with a great deal of camaraderie. I think we are well on our way to getting the program to where we want it to be. The kids are great and the support we get is great. Couldn’t ask for much more.” – Brandon McDonnell

–Dan Lucero

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