Risers Make Moves in the 2025 Class Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We love the guys at the top of this class. It was tough to move anyone down, but tempting to try to bump some of them up. We decided Shawnee Mission Northwest's [player_tooltip player_id='1588348' first='Keaton' last='Wagler'] deserved the bump to number two for his play at the 6A state tournament. He scored 19 in the semifinal win and missed just one shot in the championship. He scored 43 points to lead the Cougars to the title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2321572' first='Gabe' last='Pyle'] also merited a big jump and we moved him to #11, leading the 4A champion Bullpups with 17 points per game during the season. To reach the eleventh spot, Pyle was elevated 27 spots in the rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In all, 11 players jumped at least 10 spots in the rankings. Six rose at least 20 spots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the five players, aside from Pyle, who jumped at least 20 spots in the 2025 class ranking, in order of their final position:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1962889' first='Van' last='Collins'], 6-foot-4 forward, 2025, Shawnee Mission Northwest – #17 from #53 (36 spots):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all the star power at Shawnee Mission Northwest, it's easy to forget that Collins was the team's leading scorer during the regular season with 13 points per game. The guy just knows how to get to shots and hit them. And while we've been most impressed by his midrange game, he hit 41% from deep this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2169828' first='Eli' last='Benning'], 6-foot guard, 2025, Wichita Northwest – #19 from #57 (38 spots) (pictured):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A daring and creative playmaker, Benning plays at lightning speed. He fearlessly takes the ball right at the defense. His athleticism produces an impressive stat line: 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. In the season's biggest moment, Benning was huge in the upset of Blue Valley Northwest at the state tournament. He tallied 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2321612' first='Jackson' last='Austin'], 6-foot guard 2025, Junction City – #20 from #80 (60 spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A guy who loves to fill it up from deep, Austin was key to Junction City's fine season as young players continued to step into bigger roles. He finished with a 15 point average and provided in other ways in the Bluejays guard-oriented lineup. Not only did Austin make the biggest leap in this update to the rankings, he made the biggest leap we can recall in any rankings update.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1624971' first='Coley' last='Burgess'], 6-foot guard, 2025, Rock Creek – #21 from #56 (35 spots):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burgess just continues to impress for his scoring and playmaking ability for Rock Creek. He led the Mustangs to the 4A tournament with a 18-4 record. And once he got there, Burgess went off for 21 points in a valiant effort against Atchison. He averaged 13 points and 3 assists this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1962894' first='Luke' last='Albers'], 5-foot-10 guard, Cunningham – #47 from #67 (20 spots)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albers went off in the 1A Div. II state tournament. He scored 25, 25 and 23 points in the three game run, hitting 50% from deep. It shouldn't have come as a surprise – his stat line of 21 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals a game showed what he was capable of. But to be so good at crunch time was impressive. His Wildcats finished the year 22-3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->