All-State basketball: The Eagle selects its top 15 boys and girls high school players
It’s time to honor the best and brightest of Kansas high school basketball.
As we do each year, The Wichita Eagle and VarsityKansas.com have selected the top 15 boys players and top 15 girls players from the 2019-20 season.
Players were selected after tallying coaches’ nominations and a further evaluation of film and statistics.
Boys top 15
First Team
Tamar Bates, KC Piper, Jr.
Guard, 6-4, 22.1 PPG
These are the golden years of Piper basketball in Kansas City, Kansas.
Alongside a girls program that has reached extraordinary heights, boys now have a Top 5 player in Kansas in Bates. He has led Piper to back-to-back final four appearances after a 71-52 win over Buhler.
Bates averaged 22.1 points, five rebounds and 4.1 assists in his junior season fresh off a state championship as a sophomore. He was the unstoppable force that pushed Piper to a 22-1 season.
Bates holds offers from all Division I programs in Kansas along with six other out-of-state teams.
Xavier Bell, Andover Central, Sr.
Guard, 6-3, 24.6 PPG 24.6
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When Andover Central’s season seemed dead, Bell came to the rescue.
Averaging 24.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal a game, Bell was the Jaguars’ do-it-all player coming off the school’s first championship in school history. He led Central back to the state tournament for the fifth straight year.
Andover Central started the season 3-5 but beat undefeated Bishop Carroll on the road to reach state as the No. 7 seed. The Jaguars lost to last year’s runner-up Basehor-Linwood 76-72 in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
2020 marks Bell’s second straight Top 5 selection. He is pledged to play at Division I Drexel.
Jack Chapman, Blue Valley Northwest, Sr.
Guard, 6-7, 21 PPG
Every year, it seems Blue Valley Northwest produces a Top 5 selection in Kansas. This year, it was Chapman.
Averaging 21 points and six rebounds a game, Chapman led the Huskies back to the state tournament for the fifth straight season, seeking their fourth straight state championship.
Chapman was an instrumental scorer. When plays broke down, he was often the one to create or hit a shot from beyond the 3-point line. Partially because of that, Northwest beat Free State 55-48 in the Class 6A quarterfinals.
Northwest finished its season 21-2 with no losses to teams in Kansas.
Chapman holds an offer from the Division I Kansas City Roos, the former UMKC.
Sterling Gaston-Chapman, Campus, Jr. 17.7
Guard, 6-5, 17.7 PPG
Blue Valley Northwest’s biggest challenge in Class 6A came from the other metro in Kansas with another Top 5 selection named Chapman.
Campus’ Gaston-Chapman averaged 17.7 points per game and helped the Colts to their first undefeated regular season in school history. It was their first state appearance since 1996, and with a 66-50 win over Manhattan in the quarterfinals, it was their first final four since 1989.
Gaston-Chapman was the best player on a loaded team that featured his brother, Steele Gaston-Chapman, and others who earned All-Class honors from the Eagle. He was the one who created off the dribble or took the must-have shots down the stretch.
He holds an offer to Hutchinson Community College.
Mark Mitchell, Bishop Miege, So. 21.6/8.7/1.8
Forward, 6-8, 21.6 PPG
In arguably the toughest league in Kansas, Mitchell averaged 21.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
Already a 5-star prospect out of Miege, Mitchell led the Stags back to the state tournament, where they beat Andale 65-61 in the Class 4A quarterfinals to make their fifth final four in six years. The Stags were seeking their fourth title since 2016.
Mitchell was without question Miege’s best player. He could, and often did, take over a game with his size and slashing ability to the basket.
Mitchell holds an offer from Kansas.
Mike McBride, Basehor-Linwood, Coach
A year after one of the most emotional state tournaments in recent history, Basehor-Linwood returned and put a stamp that it was back.
McBride’s Bobcats beat defending Class 5A champion Andover Central 76-72 in the state quarterfinals this season after losing to the Jaguars in last year’s title game.
With Top 10 selections Cory Davila at center and Connor Younger at guard, Basehor-Linwood attacked from multiple angles and kept teams guessing with their superior balance.
McBride was seeking his third state championship since coming to Basehor-Linwood and first since 2012.
Second Team
Cory Davila, Basehor-Linwood, Sr. 11/7/2.5
Gavyn Elkamil, Pittsburg, Sr. 24.6/12.5
Jack Johnson, Andover, Jr. 19.1/5/2.3
Lonell Lane, JC Harmon, Jr. 16.9/5.9/2.7
Connor Younger, Basehor-Linwood, Sr. 18.6/4.1/3/2
Third Team
Gradey Dick, Collegiate, So. 20.3/5/2.4
Easton Hunter, Andale, Sr. 21.3/3.7/2.1
Tanner Mans, Bishop Carroll, Sr. 13.8/4.3/3.8/1.1
Jordan Vincent, Eisenhower, Sr. 24.3/6.6/7.2
Dariq Williams, Parsons, Sr. 12/12/6/9.5
Girls top 15
First Team
Beatrice Culliton, St. Thomas Aquinas, So.
Forward, 6-3, 13.6 PPG
St. Thomas Aquinas was built on many game-changing players, but Culliton pushed them all to their best.
The key to the Saints’ system, Culliton spread the floor with her dominant presence in the low post. She averaged 13.6 points per game against consistent double teams.
Culliton worked alongside All-Class selections Molly Hartnett and Madison Skelton and helped Aquinas to the Class 5A semifinals with an emphatic 62-35 win against Maize South.
The Saints were seeking their sixth straight state championship game appearance and sixth straight title.
Culliton holds scholarship offers from Drake, Wichita State and Missouri State among others.
Katie Horyna, Liberal, Sr.
Guard, 5-9, 11.8 PPG
Perhaps the greatest floor general in Kansas, Horyna has been on the cusp of a Top 5 selection for years.
She has been part of three state tournament teams and two final fours. Those three tournament teams went a combined 65-1, including a 22-0 regular season in 2019-20.
Liberal earned the No. 1 seed in Class 6A and beat Olathe South 41-33 in the state quarterfinals. Horyna was a win away from getting Liberal to its first state championship game since 1987.
Signed to play at Division I Abilene Christian, Horyna averaged 11.8 points per game but her ability to set the floor and work alongside Top 10 selection Maciah Mullens made Liberal a favorite to win the Class 6A state championship.
Grace Pyle, McPherson, Jr.
Guard, 5-10, 17.5 PPG
In the illustrious history of McPherson girls basketball, only one other player has done what Pyle achieved in 2019-20.
Pyle led the Bullpups in every major category to land on her first Top 5 team as a junior. She led the Pups to a fourth straight final four with a 59-44 win over Basehor-Linwood. Pyle scored 11 points with 15 rebounds.
They finished the season 22-1 as the No. 1 seed in Class 5A.
McPherson went 5-1 against state qualifying teams. Its only loss came to 6A Shawnee Mission Northwest in the Mid America Classic championship game.
Pyle becomes the second in her family to earn Top 5 honors in the past three seasons, joining brother Ben Pyle who now plays at Northern Illinois.
Emily Ryan, Central Plains, Sr.
Guard, 5-9, 29.5 PPG
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One of the best players in Kansas high school basketball history has finished her prep career.
Ryan picks up her third straight Top 5 selection from the Eagle after helping Central Plains to 136 straight wins, the longest winning streak in the country.
Signed with Iowa State, Ryan hasn’t lost a school-sponsored game since middle school. She finished her career as one of only three girls basketball players in Kansas history to eclipse 3,000 career points, joining Claflin’s Jackie Stiles and Moundridge’s Laurie Koehn.
Ryan led Kansas in scoring again this season with 29.5 points per game.
Central Plains beat Ingalls 93-47 in the Class 1A quarterfinals to reach its seventh straight final four appearance. The Oilers were also shooting for their seventh straight state championship in 2020.
Payton Verhulst, Bishop Miege, Jr.
Forward, 6-2, 20 PPG
She is already one of the top juniors in the entire U.S., and she keeps adding to her resume.
Verhulst was named the Eagle’s Class 4A girls Player of the Year in 2019-20 after earning a Top 10 selection as a sophomore last season.
This year, Verhulst led Bishop Miege back to the Class 4A final four for the seventh straight year after a 60-45 win over Chapman in the state quarterfinals. The Stags finished 21-2 and didn’t lose to a team in Kansas.
Alongside her sister, senior Ashton Verhulst, who is signed to Central Florida, Payton averaged 15.5 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks a game. Her final five colleges choices are Oregon, Oregon State, Tennessee, Louisville and Notre Dame.
Verhulst was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year.
Stana Jefferson, Andover Central, Coach
Year-over-year, there might not have been a more impressive leap than the one Jefferson’s Andover Central made in 2019-20.
Last year, the Jaguars went 18-8. They finished 22-1 this season with their only loss coming in overtime to fellow Class 5A final four team McPherson. Andover Central was two wins away from Jefferson’s third state championship as coach.
Jefferson’s team prided itself on depth and versatility. Four of the five starters could bring the ball down the floor and organized the offense, and any of the five could take over a game.
Andover Central was the only of the final four 5A girls teams not to place a player on the Eagle’s Top 15, another testament to how hard the Jaguars attacked.
Jefferson was also named the Eagle’s Class 5A girls Coach of the Year and the All-Metro girls Coach of the Year.
Second Team
Nijaree Cannady, Topeka, So.
Machia Mullens, Liberal, Sr.
Kylee Scheer, Cheney, Jr.
Kiki Smith, Topeka, Fr.
Camryn Turner, Topeka Seaman, Jr. 16.6/8.2/4/3
Third Team
Taylor Jameson, Wichita Heights, Sr.
Sydney Nilles, Derby, Sr.
Faith Paramore, Haven, Sr.
Kennedy Taylor, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Jr.
Evelyn Vazques, KC Piper, Sr.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.