2023 Rankings Risers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a new number one in the state of Kansas!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blue Valley Northwest point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1378390' first='Grant' last='Stubblefield'] was moved from the #2 position into the top spot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The big question, of course, is why we moved Stubblefield ahead of Andover's [player_tooltip player_id='1080189' first='Eli' last='Shetlar']. Shetlar helped Andover to a 5A state title, after all. Why move him to #2 behind Stubblefield?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Well, the answer is that Stubblefield was absolutely great two years in a row on the biggest stage – the 6A tournament. Last year, he scored 60 points over three games in leading the Huskies to second in the state. This year, he was even better. He racked up 77 points en route to a state title. Shetlar was first team 5A and a state champ, but his numbers pale in comparison to Stubblefield's.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Getting a big bump all the way up to 18 was [player_tooltip player_id='1454193' first='Jake' last='Proctor'], who put Hesston on his shoulders and led them to third-straight 3A state championship when that seemed very unlikely.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Procter, guard [player_tooltip player_id='1146283' first='Landon' last='Kaufman'] (pictured) made a big leap to land at #20 in large part due to his role in leading Moundridge to a state championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In all, 19 players from the 2023 class jumped at least 10 spots in the final rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Making the biggest jump was Topeka West's [player_tooltip player_id='1749039' first='Xavier' last='Alexander'], a player who wasn't ranked at this time a year ago. He was named second team 5A by the KBCA and third team by both the Wichita Eagle and KSHSAA. For his great work as a senior leader of the Chargers, Alexander jumped 46 spots, from 101 to 55.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are all the 2023s who jumped at least 10 spots, listed in order of their final ranking:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1454193' first='Jake' last='Proctor'], 6-foot-3 forward, Hesston: 18 from 31 – 13 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1080206' first='Harrison' last='Kisling'], 6-foot-2 guard, Olathe West: 19 from 49 – 30 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1146283' first='Landon' last='Kaufman'], 5-foot-11 guard, Moundridge: 20 from 45 – 25 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1212149' first='Jace' last='Steinmetz'], 6-foot-3 forward, Garden City: &nbsp;26 from 39 -13 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1080203' first='Ryle' last='Riddlesperger'], 6-foot-1 guard, Hugoton: 27 from 51 – 24 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1747705' first='Blake' last='Garrett'], 6-foot-5 forward, Blue Valley North: 29 from 60 – 31 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1212164' first='Dylan' last='Werth'], 6-foot-7 forward, Thomas More Prep: 43 from 58 – 13 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1378394' first='Carson' last='Bennett'], 6-foot-2 guard, Hugoton: 44 from 59 – 15 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1357791' first='Caleb' last='Carr'], 5-foot-11 guard, Baldwin: 45 from 65 – 20 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1146295' first='Hunter' last='Vaughn'], 6-foot guard, Colby: 46 from 69 – 23 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561988' first='Logan' last='Churchill'], 6-foot-6 center, Moundridge: 47 from 72 – 25 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1378396' first='Matthew' last='Garber'], 6-foot-2 guard, Sabetha: 54 from 70 – 16 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1749039' first='Xavier' last='Alexander'], 6-foot-1 guard, Topeka West: 55 from 101 – 46 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1454191' first='Owen' last='Evans'], 6-foot-1 guard, Olathe Heritage Christian: 73 from 91 – 18 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1561998' first='Jack' last='Lauer'], 6-foot-1 guard, Marysville: 87 from 103 – 26 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1749042' first='Conar' last='Harris'], 6-foot-3 forward, Wichita Independent: 91 from 108 – 17 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1454197' first='Tre' last='Richardson'], 5-foot-9 guard, Highland Park: 92 from 102 – 10 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1749040' first='Trevor' last='Cowman'], 6-foot-4 forward, Circle: 93 from 104 – 11 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1750179' first='Brant' last='Sipe'], 6-foot-4 forward, Haven: 95 from 105 – 10 spots</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->