Teams to Watch: 3A

Hesston had a nice run thanks to a great group of 2022s. Will they be able to get back to the top? That remains to be seen. Graduation losses hit several of the top 3A teams hard.

Here’s a look at “returners,” “challengers” and “unknowns” for the upcoming season on the 3A level:

Returners:

Southeast of Saline – The Trojans are the only state tournament team that legitimately returns in tact. In fact, the Trojans did not have a single senior a year ago. They are stacked and experienced. They are led by big, talented forwards in Eli Sawyers Eli Sawyers 6'7" | SF Southeast Of Saline | 2023 State KS and Nakari Morrical-Palmer Nakari Morrical-Palmer 6'3" | CG Southeast Of Saline | 2023 State KS and by gritty guards Luke Gebhardt and Drake Augustine. They should be the frontrunner to start the season.

Challengers:

Sabetha – The Bluejays have been building something for a couple of years now. They have given a lot of experience over the past couple of seasons to seniors Matthew Garber Matthew Garber 6'1" | CG Sabetha | 2023 State KS and Davis Rokey Davis Rokey 6'7" Sabetha | 2023 KS (pictured). They have length on the front line in Rokey, senior Noel Niehues and junior Christian McAfee Christian McAfee 6'4" | PF Sabetha | 2024 State KS . Junior Marcus Bauman Marcus Bauman 6'0" | CG Sabetha | 2024 State KS is another threat at the guard spot.

Osage City – The Indians could legitimately be placed in the “unknown” category because they have to replace three starters. But when you have Landon Boss Landon Boss 6'1" | SF Osage City | 2023 State KS and Kaden Kirkpatrick back, you have a solid foundation to build on. Those two seniors are powerful athletes who produce a ton.

Unknown:

Hesston – Big time rebuilding at Hesston. They start with a really good one in senior forward Jake Proctor Jake Proctor 6'3" | CG Hesston | 2023 State KS . After that…it’s all new guys. No question, the Swathers know how to coach ‘em up, and they don’t run a system dependent upon superstars. But this could be a work in progress.

Perry-Lecompton – The Kaws scuffled to a 10-11 mark a year ago, but their schedule might be a little more navigable this season due to graduations at rival schools. They certainly have some intriguing pieces. First, they return Gunnar Ball Gunnar Ball 6'3" | SF Perry-Lecompton | 2023 State KS , a senior guard who bullies opponents with his physicality. He’s the leader of the club. They also return 6-foot-3 jumping jack Kael Gorski who runs the floor and explodes to the basket about as well as any forward around. They have a couple of athletic and talented guards in Ryeki Tuley and Eli Dean Eli Dean 5'11" | PG Perry-Lecompton | 2025 KS . Add to that group standout senior transfer Kamryn Kaniper Kamryn Kaniper 6'4" | SF Silver Lake | 2023 State KS and his younger brother Koltyn Kaniper and that’s a really strong and diverse collection of talent.