Northwest Kansas All-League Risers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're not forgetting the West. As we look back to credit players who earned all-league honors without a lot of fanfare, we'll devote two articles to western part of Kansas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some Northwest Kansas returners who earned all-league honors last season but have yet to receive full credit for their work:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mid-Continent League:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2321601' first='Eli' last='Jones']</strong>, 6-foot-1 guard, 2025, Norton – 2^nd team</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly competitive Norton team got a big breakout from sophomore Jones en route to a 14-8 mark. The scrapy guard spent a lot of time on the floor and picking the pockets of opposing guards. He contributed 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and will probably to do even more due to a lot of graduations.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northern Plains League:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2147803' first='Daniel' last='Eilert']</strong>, 6-foot-2 forward, 2024, Beloit-St. John's – 1^st team</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A decent number of people got to see Eilert play at the 1A Div. II level as he helped lead the Blujays to state. He did get some recognition from all-state teams. So he's not an unknown, but deserves to be recognized for helping Beloit-St. John's to a 19-6 mark. As a junior, he chipped in 13 points and 9 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Northwest Kansas League:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brayan Rodriguez</strong>, 5-foot-10 guard, 2024, Rawlins County – 1^st team</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teaming with some strong seniors, Rodriguez stepped into a leadership role as a junior led the team with 17 points per game. He knocked down a solid 33% from deep and was highly efficient from inside the arc too. He created a lot of turnovers and gathered 4.5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Western Kansas Liberty:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2169868' first='Rhett' last='Kats']</strong>, 6-foot-4 forward, 2025, Logan-Palco – 1^st team</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long, lean big man who can shoot, Kats had some big games last season, going over 20 points four times as a sophomore. He demonstrated some diversity to his game with 15 points, 8 boards and 3 assists, leading the team and all three categories.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->