Awards Time: Top Juniors 1A

<p>As is to be expected, the all-state teams were dominated by seniors. However, the KSHSAA and <em>Sports in Kansas</em> publication did include a handful of juniors in their first-team selections. These were some of the best players in the state this past season, and they are set the standard for everyone else next year.</p> <p>Here is a look at the juniors named first-team for the all-state teams from the 1A levels:</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1213186" first="Ryan" last="Kuckelman"], 6-foot-6 forward, 2023, Macksville:</p> <p>Kuckelman is the big man that the very young Mustangs are building around. With all their firepower at guard, Macksville didn’t always need Kuckelman to put up big numbers. But he did average 11 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080195" first="Makaen" last="Hastings"] 5-foot-11 guard, 2023, Solomon (pictured):</p> <p>Hastings can heat up like a microwave, pouring in shots from all around the arc and from every angle on the drive. He has a very free reign for Solomon, allowing him to put up some really impressive numbers. He is an offensive dynamo, pumping in 19 points and 4.5 assists for the high-octane Gorillas.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1146294" first="Jerrit" last="Norris"], 6-foot-4 forward, 2023, Troy:</p> <p>Norris helped lead the Trojans to the state tournament. He’s a solid producer in the lane and athletic enough to run the floor and make plays all over on defense. He’s a double-double machine.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1080198" first="Jaxson" last="Brandl"], 6-foot guard, 2023, Tribune-Greeley County:</p> <p>Perhaps no one had a more impressive stat line than Brandl this year: 22.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.6 steals. But the most important thing to say about Brandl is that he was incredible in the playoffs. He scored 76 points in Greeley County’s three-game run to the 1A Div. II title. Brandl was named 1A Div. II Player of the Year by <em>Sports in Kansas</em>.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1212165" first="Alec" last="Carlson"], 6-foot-1 guard, 2023, Pawnee Heights:</p> <p>Carlson earned first-team 1A Div. I as a sophomore, and he was back for more as a junior. He scored 21.5 points and ripped off an impressive 4.7 steals.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1212166" first="Jett" last="Vincent"], 6-foot-2 guard, 2023, Wheatland-Grinnell:</p> <p>After a brilliant season on the football field, Vincent was super productive with 16 points and 9 rebounds as a junior. He’s an all around athlete who will be one of the top small school returners next year.</p>