TEAM: Silver Lake Eagles/Lady Eagles

CLASSIFICATION: 3A

LEAGUE: Big East (new for 2024-25)

COLORS: Maroon & Gold

SOCIAL MEDIA: @SilverLakeEagle and @Lake_Hoops (Girls) on Twitter

2024-25 SCHEDULE:

12/6 vs Perry-Lecompton
12/10 vs Holton
12/13 at Centralia
12/17 at Rossville
12/20 vs Hiawatha
1/7 vs St. Marys
1/10 at Holton
1/14 vs Jeff West
1/21-25 at Burlington Tournament
1/28 at Rock Creek
1/31 vs Sabetha
2/4 at Riley County
2/7 at Nemaha Central
2/11 at Marysville
2/14 at Royal Valley
2/18 vs Rossville
2/21 at St. Marys
2/25 vs Riley County

Big East League game

GIRLS

HEAD COACH: Kyle Porter (5th year, 85-15)

2023-24 RECORD: 26-0, 10-0 in Mid East League, 3A State Champions

2023-24 IN REVIEW: Mere greatness hadn’t been quite good enough for Lady Eagle basketball after consecutive seasons losing in the 3A state semifinals, so the 2023-24 edition strove for, and attained, perfection. Behind a five-player senior class led by All-State post MaKenzie McDaniel, the Lady Eagles tore through the competition all season long and left no doubt they were the queens of the court in class 3A, dispatching Haven, Hayden, and Hesston in Hutchinson to claim the program’s seventh state championship and first since 2016.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: It will be a different look for coach Kyle Porter’s Lady Eagles with so many accomplished seniors departing. Silver Lake must replace McDaniel, along with fellow All-Stater McKinley Kruger, Kaibryn Kruger, and Kaylee Deiter in their starting lineup. But the third All-State player for the Lady Eagles last season returns. Junior point guard Kaitlyn Hanni dazzles with her all-around skill set and handed out 6 assists per game to go with her 11 points per contest. She’ll be asked to take on more of a scoring load, but she’s plenty capable. Seniors Ella Bolan and Taylor Zordel played roles on last year’s squad and will have a chance to do more this season. Senior forward Alana Brewster could also see more floor time. It would be unreasonable to expect another perfect season from the Lady Eagles, but the standard is so high, and Hanni is so talented, that they’ll be a team to watch for in the first season of the Big East.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “Our team will look and feel different but we are excited to see how our pieces will fit together to put a quality product on the floor. This will be a season of growth and development as we mold our players into a cohesive unit,playing to one another’s strengths. The expectation remains the same, to play our best basketball when it matters the most – at the end of the year.” – Kyle Porter

BOYS

HEAD COACH: Shannon Kruger (2nd year, 14-8)

2023-24 RECORD: 14-8, 6-4 in Mid East League

2023-24 IN REVIEW: In their first year coached by one of the best players in program history, the Eagles spread their wings and made a six-win increase from the season previous. The young lineup gelled together as the season progressed and earned some impressive victories against the likes of Rossville and Rock Creek. In a difficult sub-state, the Eagles took their first-round matchup with St. Marys before falling to Beloit, who was ranked #1 in the state in class 3A at the time, to end their season.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: Four starters return as the Eagles hope to soar even higher this year. Dayne Johnson excelled as a sophomore, leading the team in scoring and being named a first team All-League selection. Brody Deiter was a second-team All-League pick and returns for his senior season along with J.P. Whitehead and Jared Johnson. Two players Kruger mentions as returners who could contribute more this season are Aemon Coffman and Deondre Razzano. The Eagles won’t be the biggest team on the hardwood this year, but they have scoring punch all over the floor and played extremely hard for their head coach last season. The expectation is that that will continue and that Silver Lake can be one of the toughest teams in the Big East this year.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “We lost some size and senior leadership but I’m excited about the competitors coming back. We have a bunch of unselfish guys that love to compete.” – Shannon Kruger

–Dan Lucero

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