Top Unranked Guards of the Postseason

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot of unranked guards came up big in the postseason.  But probably none came up as big as Wichita East's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387718' first='Manuel' last='Martinez']</strong>. Leading a team with just five wins in the regular season, Martinez inspired belief in his teammates and led them to three improbably substate wins. In the championship, Martinez hit a long three-pointer to make the dream a reality.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Aces one game at the state tournament, Martinez didn't go down without a fight. He scored his season average, 19 points, on 8-16 shooting against the eventual state champion Shawnee Mission Northwest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some other unranked guards who stood out at state:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2393749' first='Will' last='Wegerer']</strong>, 5-foot-10 guard, 2025, Cunningham:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We ranked Cunningham guard [player_tooltip player_id='1962894' first='Luke' last='Albers'] last year. Now it's time to get recognition to his running mate, Wegerer. Cunningham caught fire in the postseason and blew up the 1A DII tournament, and they did it with a lineup essentially all under 6-foot. Wegerer had a fantastic tournament with 25, 24 and 27 points in games against Bucklin, Dighton and Lebo, respectively. On a team with almost no seniors, Wegerer stepped up to provide leadership when the lights got brightest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2380106' first='Kenyon' last='Gillins']</strong>, 5-foot-8 guard, 2025, Wellsville:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While we were focused on the other guards Wellsville brought to state, not really recognizing how important Gillins was during the season. He put us on notice from the tip at Hutchinson, playing an important leadership role and making plays. He is a slick ball handler who plays at 100 mph all the time. He hits from deep and can get into the paint. He was the 3A champs' leading scorer for the tournament with 49 points. But it's not crazy to say Gillins might be even more impactful defensively. He is lightning quick and jumps passing lanes when he isn't dogging opposing ball handlers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387724' first='Brooks' last='Powers']</strong>, 6-foot-3 guard, 2024, Kapaun Mt. Carmel:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We listed the first two – Wegerer and Gillins – in a sort of first/second in importance to their teams at state. We'll go ahead and list a third state champ right here. Powers wasn't the headliner like Wegerer was, but his contribution to the 5A champs was huge. He was a threat to score the ball offensively, and his points were important. But he was most important distributing the ball to scorers. He delivered 14 assists over the three games. He freed [player_tooltip player_id='1408946' first='Corbin' last='Johnson'] to hunt shots and took some of the ball handling responsibility off his teammates. He also provided long-armed defense that proved challenging to opposing guards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reece Riedel</strong>, 6-foot-3 guard, 2026, Mill Valley:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all the talent at Mill Valley, it tells you something that Riedel was one of the team's leaders as a sophomore. He provided slick ball handling and distribution to go with is length and bouncy athleticism. He kept the Jaguars running at a high tempo and delivered the ball to guys who ran the floor. He didn't shoot it great after a fantastic first game – 7-14 from the field, 7-7 from the line – against Olathe North. But his 18 assists tell you his priority was facilitation and distribution.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Amari Taylor</strong>, 6-foot guard, 2024, Highland Park:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Scots play a frenetic, swarming style that isn't always pretty, but it certainly is exciting. There are plenty of talented guards in the program, so it tells you something that one of coach Mike Williams' most trusted leaders was Taylor. He's a tough and physical point guard who kept control and limited turnovers without ever slowing down the attack. He's been an unheralded component of back-to-back third place finishers, a pretty good career. He scored 25 points in the three games while playing smothering defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->