WIAA State Recap: Best game, best performances and more

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 110th WIAA boys' basketball state tournament came to end on Saturday, culminating the 2025-26 high school seaoson.<br><br>Here is a quick recap of the tournament:<br><br><strong>BEST GAME</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The five state-title contests on Saturday lacked drama as three were decided by double digits. Reedsville won the D5 crown by eight points as did Milwaukee Juneau in the Division 4 championship game. Otherwise, the spreads reached as many 31 points in the Division 2 game with Whitefish Bay stunning Slinger, 77-46. <br><br>The best game among all 15 at state was the Division 5 semifinal contest between Reedsville and Sheboygan Lutheran. The two teams from northeastern Wisconsin traded blows throughout the 36 minutes with each team making impressive scoring runs. When the smoke cleared, Reedsville got a big basket late from standout senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'] to nip the Crusaders 75-72. <br><br><strong>BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE</strong><br><br>Slinger junior [player_tooltip player_id='2351190' first='Jack' last='Kohnen'] may want to forget the Owls' showing against Whitefish Bay in the Division 2 title game. But Kohnen turned in the best performance of any player in the event in the state semifinals. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward helped Slinger overcome a 32-30 halftime deficit against McFarland with a dominating second half. Kohnen scored 23 of his 35 points in the second 18 minutes to trigger a 55-26 scoring blitz. Kohnen put points on the board with his length off the dribble and also drilled three attempts from three-point range. In addition to his scoring, Kohnen added 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals as the Owls advanced to play in a state-title contest for the first time in school history.<br><strong><br>BEST SHOOTING PERFORMANCE</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1745860' first='Brady' last='Benish'] of Lake Mills came close to setting a state-tournament record for most made three-point shots in a game. The University of Dubuque recruit finished with eight triples in 16 attempts in the L-Cats' 72-66 Division 3 semifinal loss to Racine St. Catherine's. The record for most threes at state for all divisions is nine, held by Joel Clark of Ladysmith set back in 1996. <br><br><strong>BEST TWO-GAME SHOWING</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1552512' first='Zavier' last='Zens'] of Wisconsin Lutheran as stone cold with his big shots in both of the Vikings' wins at state. [player_tooltip player_id='2194315' first='Dooney' last='Johnson'] was almost unstoppable for Milwaukee Juneau in the Pioneers' wins over Regis and Cambridge. And [player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'] was super impressive for Reedsville in the Panthers wins over Sheboygan Lutheran and Southwestern.<br><br>But the best two-game showing of any player at state belongs to defensive and offensive whiz [player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='LaMont' last='Hamilton'] of Racine St. Catherine's. Possessing elite-level quickness and endless energy, Hamilton spearheaded the Angels' relentless pressure defense that gave Lake Mills and Seymour fits. He also scored and facilitated on the other end for coach Ryan Thompson. Hamilton had 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals in the triumph over Lake Mills, then went for 26 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the Angels' win over Seymour. Equally important, the constant ball pressure the University of Minnesota football recruit put a tremendous strain for the entire game on the backcourt players for Lake Mills and Seymour.<br><br><strong>BEST BREAKOUT PERFORMER</strong><br><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140913' first='Eli' last='Krueger'] is a player on the rise in state's loaded 2027 class. Those who had watched Krueger in recent months knew of his emergence. But now the entire state knows his name and his game. The wonderfully skilled 6-foot-9 forward scored inside and outside, passed with precision and rebounded at a high level for McFarland in its Division 2 semifinal loss to Slinger. Krueger finished the contest with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He also drew eight fouls and made a couple of three-point shots for the Spartans. Krueger currently holds NCAA Division I scholarship offers from Green Bay, South Dakota State and Toledo. Look for many more to come his way in the coming months.<br><br><strong>BEST PLAY</strong><br><br>Some of those dunks by Milwaukee Juneau senior [player_tooltip player_id='2400094' first='Jaden' last='Hardiman'] were awfully impressive. The blocked shots by Wisconsin Lutheran [player_tooltip player_id='2140949' first='Kager' last='Knueppel'] got plenty of responses from the Kohl Center crowds as well.<br><br>However, the best play of the tournament goes to the Slinger brother combination of Jack and [player_tooltip player_id='2398448' first='Joey' last='Kohnen']. In the state semifinal contest with McFarland, [player_tooltip player_id='2351190' first='Jack' last='Kohnen'] had a breakout for a dunk. But he saw his brother, Joey, trailing the play and instead of dunking it himself, Jack tossed the ball off the backboard and Joey grabbed the carom and put down a monster flush that put an exclamation point on Slinger's torrid second half in the win over McFarland.<br><strong><br>ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM</strong><br><br>Here is my all-tournament team:<br><br><strong>First Team</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1959723' first='LaMont' last='Hamilton'], 6-0, Sr., Racine St. Catherine's<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2194315' first='Dooney' last='Johnson'], 6-6, Jr., Milwaukee Juneau<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140949' first='Kager' last='Knueppel'], 6-10, Jr., Wisconsin Lutheran<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1561897' first='Ben' last='Prochnow'], 5-10, Sr., Reedsville<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1552512' first='Zavier' last='Zens'], 6-7, Sr., Wisconsin Lutheran<br><br><strong>Second Team</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='1745860' first='Brady' last='Benish'], 6-1, Sr., Lake Mills<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140905' first='Colin' last='Julien'], 6-3, Jr., Whitefish Bay<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2351190' first='Jack' last='Kohnen'], 6-6, Jr., Slinger<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2140913' first='Eli' last='Krueger'], 6-9, Jr., McFarland<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1756988' first='Anthony' last='Miller'], 6-0, Sr., Madison Memorial<br><br><strong>Honorable Mention</strong><br>[player_tooltip player_id='2224503' first='Brennen' last='Hackbarth'], 6-4, Sr., Sheboygan Lutheran<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2391083' first='Kyler' last='Marks'], 6-4, Sr., Seymour<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2466054' first='Mace' last='Miskel'], 5-11, Soph., Whitefish Bay<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2404952' first='Cal' last='Nottestad'], 6-5, Sr., Cambridge<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2447768' first='Matt' last='Rosplochowski'], 6-2, Soph., Appleton North<br><br><strong>AND FINALLY ...</strong><br><br>A big congratulations to all of the players, coaches and communities that made the 2026 state tournament memorable. Special recognition to coach Ryan Walz and Wisconsin Lutheran, the lone team in the state to finish the season with an unbeaten record at 30-0. Walz has guided Wisconsin Lutheran to five state titles to become one of three coaches in state history to accomplish that feat along with Tom Diener of Milwaukee Vincent and Bob Letsch of Racine St. Catherine's. And a shout out as well to Madison Memorial coach Steve Collins, who announced his retirement after 27 seasons following the Spartans' loss to Wisconsin Lutheran in the Division 1 title game. Collins coached 11 teams that Memorial that played in the state tournament and won titles in 2005, 2009 and 2011. <br><br><strong>NEXT UP</strong><br><br>Look for full spring/summer coverage of both high school and club basketball on Prep Hoops Wisconsin. Our group of writers will continue to follow the players from our state who make the game so fun to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->