Meet the Wichita Eagle's 2018 All-State Girls Basketball Team

Here is the Eagle's 2018 All-State Girls Basketball Team:

Kennedy Brown

Derby junior

Although each All-State selection adds a different dimension to the game, Brown is the most sought-after prospect in Kansas.

She recently cut her many scholarship offers to her top seven schools, including national powers such as Baylor, Louisville and Tennessee. Her 2017-18 season proved she is worth the praise.

Brown helped lead Derby to its first girls basketball state championship in school history, a 50-35 victory against Olathe East. She scored only eight points but contributed significantly defensively as she had all season.

All-Class selection Sydney Wilson was held to just 12 points in the championship game. Brown, at 6-foot-6, was a force inside and changed the complexion of the game.

That was nothing new for Brown. This season she averaged 14.4 points, 12 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game. Because of her stature and presence in the paint, ESPN has ranked Brown as the No. 16 prospect in the 2019 class — the No. 3 center.

Brown has 337 career blocked shots, the most in Derby history, and she still has a year to play.

“She will be the first to tell you, 'I've got great teammates; I've got great coaches,' ” coach Jodie Karsak said. "But she's the catalyst of it all. She just really is."

Tristan Gegg

Labette County senior

Gegg’s achievements jump off the page.

She is a four-time All-Southeast Kansas unanimous selection. She is the league’s all-time leading scorer among boys and girls at 2,290 career points. She is a four-time Eagle All-Class selection. She was named a Gatorade Player of the Year finalist in 2017, and those accolades don’t even include her records at Labette County.

Gegg averaged 26.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game this season. She scored 23.9 points per game for her career.

Gegg has been a symbol of consistency for the Grizzlies, but 2018 marks her first appearance on the Eagle’s All-State team.

In her four years, Gegg took Labette County to the Class 4A-Division I tournament four times, and 17-5 was the Grizzlies worst season while Gegg was there.

Gegg said playing in the southeast corner of Kansas can feel lonely at times. Although there are spot signs, there are no stoplights, she said, so achieving an honor like All-State meant more, and coach Kristi Snider made sure that hit home.

“I've lived in the same house since I was born, so it means a lot to be from Labette County and to be here,” Gegg said. "(Snider) explained to me that this doesn't happen very often, especially coming from our little small town."

Taylor Robertson

McPherson senior

Few work as hard as Robertson.

After practice, she often goes home for dinner and then heads back to the gym to shoot more. That paid off.

Robertson led McPherson to its first Class 4A-Division I state championship since 2012. Since then, Bishop Miege has won each year. In fact, the Stags have not lost in a state final since 1997. Robertson was the biggest reason for the change.

She averaged 23.9 points this season, including 21 in the championship game. Robertson set the McPherson career scoring record with 1,593 points previously led by former All-State selection Ashley Sweat.

Robertson holds several school records, including three-pointers made. She is lethal from range with 105 threes this season and 322 for her career. That shooting punch earned her a scholarship to her late father’s favorite university, Oklahoma.

Coach Chris Strathman said he will never coach another player like Robertson.

Emily Ryan

Central Plains Sophomore

She is one of Kansas’ most dominant players, and she still has two more years.

Ryan averaged 34.5 points per game this season, 7.6 more than any other All-State selection, on her way to back-to-back Class 2A state championships. She also added 6.8 assists and six steals per game as well.

On Jan. 23 against Ness City, Ryan scored a career-high 54 points on 9-of-10 shooting, with 11 assists, 12 steals and eight rebounds in just 22 minutes. Central Plains won 94-14.

Stats like those earned her the 2017-18 Gatorade Player of the Year award for Kansas, an award that holds history in her hometown of Claflin.

Jackie Stiles, one of Kansas’ all-time greats, won the award twice from 1995-97. Now, Stiles’ father, Pat Stiles, is coaching Ryan. Pat said Jackie talks with Ryan quite a bit. She passes advice and welcomes the comparisons drawn between the two. Still, Pat said even with all the talent Ryan has, she often chooses to get her teammates involved, and that is reciprocated, he said.

“What's really special is how her teammates look for her,” Pat Stiles said. "They'll pass up a really good shot just to get her a good look."

Ryan has not lost a game in her career at Central Plains.

Sereena Weledji

St. Thomas Aquinas Senior

She doesn’t score at an outstanding rate, but Weledji affects a game in many ways.

Weledji led Aquinas to its third straight Class 5A championship in 2018, and she did it with strength. She was a force in the paint and off the dribble. Opponents’ centers often guarded her, but she was too strong for them.

At 6-foot, Weledji isn’t overly tall, but her athleticism sets her apart. She averaged 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for the Saints this season. Coach Rick Hetzel said without her, it would have been hard to win three straight titles.

Weledji's unselfishness is contagious, Hetzel said, and that made this year's state title special to be a part of.

“We had a few things that we just kinda had to overcome,” Hetzel said. "And when they did and came together as a group, it became a lot of fun to coach them."

Weledji was a four-year starter at Aquinas. She is a three-time first-team all-league selection and was named the Eastern Kansas League’s player of the year in 2018.

She holds multiple Division I offers but said she won't ever forget her high school days.

“It's still kinda crazy to think that was my last high school game,” Weledji said. "I'm still gonna see my teammates at school, but I'm never gonna put that Aquinas jersey on again. After the game, it was all tears and crying and hugging."

Jodie Karsak

Derby coach

Karsak is no stranger to success. She won accolades at Olathe South as a player and played at Wichita. Karsak took Derby to its first girls basketball state championship in 2018.

The Panthers finished the season 24-1. Derby had won nine games in the four years before Karsak took over. Since then, the Panthers have gone 76-38.

Karsak has a talented roster with two All-Metro selections in Kennedy Brown and Tor’e Alford, and other players earned honors for outstanding seasons. Karsak preaches to be “uncommon.” She says uncommon players hang banners, and Brown is an uncommon player with several Division I scholarship offers.

Karsak said to be chosen the Eagle’s All-State coach is made even more special to be named alongside the 6-6 junior center. “We have a really special player-coach relationship,” Karsak said. “I told her I was proud of her, and she looked at me and said the same thing.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2018 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Meet the Wichita Eagle's 2018 All-State Girls Basketball Team."