TEAM: Washburn Rural Junior Blues/Lady Blues

CLASSIFICATION: 6A

LEAGUE: Centennial

COLORS: Blue & White

SOCIAL MEDIA: @RuralHoops (Boys) and @ladybluesbb (Girls) on Twitter

2024-25 SCHEDULE:

12/6 at Blue Valley Southwest (BOYS)
12/6 vs Blue Valley Northwest (GIRLS)
12/10-13 at SM East Showdown (BOYS)
12/10-13 at De Soto Tournament (GIRLS)
12/17 vs Shawnee Mission Northwest (GIRLS)
1/6 at Olathe North (GIRLS)
1/7 at Junction City
1/10 at Hayden
1/14 vs Blue Valley West (BOYS)
1/17 vs Emporia
1/23 at Pittsburg Tournament (BOYS)
1/28 vs Olathe East (BOYS)
1/30-2/1 at Capital City Classic (GIRLS)
2/4 at Blue Valley
2/7 vs Topeka High
2/11 vs Manhattan
2/14 vs Junction City
2/18 at Emporia
2/21 vs Hayden
2/25 at Topeka High
2/28 at Manhattan

Centennial League game

GIRLS

HEAD COACH: Kevin Bordewick (16th year, 299-160)

2023-24 RECORD: 17-8, 7-3 in Centennial League, 6A state runner-up

2023-24 IN REVIEW: Against a very difficult schedule, the Lady Blues picked up steam as the season went on, and even their setbacks – a three-game losing skid in late January, and back-to-back losses to Blue Valley and Emporia to end their regular season – only made them stronger. The proof lay in their postseason run, as Rural rolled over Wichita Northwest and Wichita South to punch another state ticket, and then toppled Wichita Heights and Derby to return to the 6A state championship game for the third consecutive season and fourth time in six years. Unfortunately, their offense ran cold in the title game and they succumbed to Shawnee Mission South.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: The Lady Blues will dearly miss All-State guard Zoe Canfield, who is now at Kansas, but as has always seemed to be the case for Rural in recent years, a new star emerged as a freshman in 2023-24. Maddie Vickery averaged 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season and showed the ability to score from anywhere and contribute on both ends of the floor. It’s a similar skillset to Rural standouts of the recent past like Carly Bachelor and Brooklyn Deleye, and Vickery is on a similar trajectory after a stellar rookie season. A pair of senior guards return alongside Vickery. Kate Hinck and Tenly Bunck are tenacious competitors and excellent athletes who will look to increase their production this year. Senior Madison Lemke and junior Hallie Walker bring experience to the frontcourt, while juniors Josie Carlgren and Ella Hirchi and sophomore Brooklyn Rutherford saw some time in the backcourt. The Lady Blues should once again be a Centennial League favorite and a team nobody wants to see on their side of a bracket in March.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “We do return some players that we believe we can build around to possibly challenge for a league title and make a run in the postseason. We will have decent height and speed, we will need to have all players be a bit more consistent with perimeter shooting and from the free throw line, as well as take care of the ball better. This group will have to be solid with our defense and we could have a group that will be able to pressure a bit more in full court. We will have a group that will still be pretty hungry to prove themselves capable, and if we can embrace the process and the journey like we did last year and learn along the way we feel we have a chance to have a great season again. But, we know it is not given and we have to work hard to make it happen.” – Kevin Bordewick 

BOYS

HEAD COACH: Alex Hutchins (3rd year, 26-17)

2023-24 RECORD: 11-11, 7-3 in Centennial League

2023-24 IN REVIEW: There’s a distinct dividing line in last year’s Junior Blues season. It came on January 5th, when, after an injury-riddled start saw them drop their first six games of the season, Rural soundly beat Hayden at the Bueltel Center. From that point on, the Junior Blues were one of the best teams in the Centennial League, going 10-4 through the rest of the campaign. But that slow start hurt them in the standings when it came to sub-state seeding, and they had to go on the road for both of their sub-state games. They pulled out a first round win at Wichita Southeast but fell to Wichita Heights in the sub-state final.

2024-25 OUTLOOK: There’s a lot of intriguing talent on this Rural roster, starting in the backcourt. Senior Kaden Ballard, a Washburn signee, averaged 12 points per games last season, earning second team All-League honors, and is the leading returning scorer. Fellow senior Amare Jones, a first team All-League selection, has the ability to impact games in a variety of ways and could make a big leap after averaging 10 points last year. And junior Simon Rowley, a transfer from Atchison, had an encouraging summer and will make an immediate impact. Senior King Leonard and junior Draden Chooncharoen add to the team’s guard depth. In the frontcourt, 6’2” junior John Hoytal averaged close to 8 points per game, but not much other experience or size returns there, so it will have to develop as the season goes on. With a guard-driven lineup, this year’s Junior Blues team should be extremely fun to watch, and could compete for a league championship.

FROM THE COACH’S CLIPBOARD: “We won’t be the tallest team collectively, so we will have to rely on our quickness and skill. Program-wide we had great commitment over the summer, and we are really excited to see how they fit together and compete this season.” – Alex Hutchins

–Dan Lucero

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