Home Stretch: The 5A Race

It’s not too early to start evaluating the state races. We took a look at 6A teams earlier. Now let’s focus on 5A teams to watch down the stretch.

The Favorites:

Highland Park – The Scots have been consistently impressive all season. They can run all day because they have guys coming off the bench who don’t give opponents a break. Without question, this is Ketraleus Aldridge Ketraleus Aldridge 6'4" | SF Highland Park | 2023 State KS ‘s team, but he’s supported by a scorer in Jahmir Kingcannon Jahmir Kingcannon 6'3" | SF Highland Park | 2023 State KS and guards like Tre Richardson Tre Richardson 5'9" | CG Highland Park | 2023 State KS and Quentin Adams Quentin Adams 5'9" | PG Highland Park | 2023 KS who never let up. Add in blue-collar workhorse Jacorey Robinson Jacorey Robinson 6'4" | SF Highland Park | 2025 State KS and you’ve got a loaded team ready to run.

Hutchinson – Highland Park’s dominance has stolen some of the attention from Hutchinson’s great season. But this is definitely a team capable of winning it all. The Salthawks have a brilliant quartet of seniors in Garrett Robertson Garrett Robertson 5'10" | PG Hutchinson | 2023 State KS , Wade Meyer Wade Meyer 6'2" | SG Hutchinson | 2023 State KS , Nic Lange and Dauntay King. That is a diverse group of talents. Robertson can light it up from deep while Lange battles in the paint. Meyer and King keep the offense running and can score from three levels. Add in smooth point guard Terrell King Terrell King 5'8" | PG Hutchinson | 2025 State KS and this is a balanced and skilled group.

Desoto – How can you not include last year’s runner-up as a favorite? They return scoring machine David Cobin David Cobin 5'10" | PG De Soto | 2024 State #270 Nation KS , who lit the tournament on fire last year. The Wildcats are on a roll. They lost some key seniors from last year’s team, but supporting Cobin are some other good guards led by Trent Johnson Trent Johnson 6'0" | PG De Soto | 2023 KS . Jayden Lang Jayden Lang 6'0" | CG De Soto | 2025 State KS and Maddox Dow are new adds to last year’s group who are making a difference.

The Challenger:

Andover – The Trojans missed out on trip to state last year, so this group is hungry. They struggled a bit out of the gate, losing two games in December. But they righted the ship, as you would expect from a team that features lots of talented seniors. The Trojans have since won 11 in a row. Eli Shetlar Eli Shetlar 6'5" | SG Andover | 2023 State KS is a Division I talent. He’s got veterans around him in Chris Harris Chris Harris 6'7" | SF Andover | 2023 State KS , Brad Harris Brad Harris 6'0" Andover | 2023 KS and BJ Redic BJ Redic 6'2" | SF Andover | 2023 State KS who can really play. Add in non-seniors Blake Rucker Blake Rucker 6'3" | SG Andover | 2024 State KS and Josh Kim Josh Kim 6'0" | CG Andover | 2025 State KS and you have one deep and experienced team.

Hopeful:

Piper – Could a team dominated by underclassmen hang with the teams mentioned above? It will be tough. But one team to watch is Piper, which depends almost entirely on non-seniors. Junior Devin Kerr Devin Kerr 6'4" | PF Piper | 2024 State KS has been really good as a forward who can score in the lane and midrange. He’s fundamentally sound and a beast on the glass. Supporting Kerr is fellow junior forward Gannon Roth who can step out and shoot it. But the big story is how well sophomores Kai Reid Kai Reid 6'2" | SF Piper | 2025 State KS and PJ Moore and freshman DJ Jackson DJ Jackson 6'0" | PG Piper | 2026 KS have played in their first seasons. That trio is combining for about 30 points per game.