They grew up playing soccer together in Rose Hill. Now they’re state champions
The photos have always hung above his bed: his father donning the old red-and-white uniform, frozen in time from Rose Hill’s 1993 boys soccer season.
When other kids were dreaming about playing professional soccer, Jordy Kaba was dreaming about being a Rose Hill soccer player like his father.
For years, Jordy looked at those pictures and dreamed of finishing what his father started.
This past Saturday night at Scheels Stryker Complex, he lived out his dream. He scored two goals in Rose Hill’s 3-1 victory over Baldwin to help the Rockets win the Class 4-1A state championship — the title his dad once chased and came close to winning.
“It felt like I got to finish the job for my dad,” Jordy said. “It really is a dream come true to win a state title for Rose Hill. I’ve been waiting all my life for that.”
A soccer legacy completed at Rose Hill
The Kaba name has been a part of Rose Hill soccer lore for more than three decades. Jordy’s father, Shelby, was part of the 1993 team that finished third at state — the first state finish in program history — playing for the same coach, Jerry Treat, who still roams the sideline for the Rockets.
Jordy grew up immersed in Rose Hill soccer, hearing stories about the program and watching how good the teams were from a young age. His father suspects that is why Jordy played arguably the best game of his career in Saturday’s final.
“Because he knew it was his last game wearing the Rose Hill uniform,” Shelby said. “It was important to him to leave it all out there.”
That’s exactly what Jordy did, as he started the scoring in the first half with a low, driven blast from outside the box that skipped past the keeper inside the post.
After Baldwin tied the score before halftime, Jordy struck again early in the second half. Caden Davis slipped past the defense on the right side and laid the ball back across the box for Jordy to slot home for what became the championship-winning goal. Ethan Helget’s finish in the 68th minute sealed the 3-1 victory and 19-2 season.
“All of the hours of putting in the work paid off,” Shelby said. “It was just a lot of fun to watch. I’m proud of him. And I’m glad him and his team were able to do more than my team.”
Rose Hill’s soccer championship roots start at home
To understand what this championship means, you have to understand where it started. Nearly 20 of the players on this year’s roster began playing soccer together as preschoolers at Shorty Cox Park in town.
That core — players like Myer McNaul, Rylan Jantzen, Ethan Racchini, Cash Topinka, Jax Kaba, Caedon Defoor, Brady Liebl, Caden Davis, Landon Marshall and Wyatt Hottovy, to name a few — has been together for around a decade, building chemistry that can’t be taught.
“We can do things that other teams can’t just because of that chemistry,” said Liebl, a Creighton commit who tallied more than 20 goals and 20 assists this season. “We know what we’re going to do and when we’re going to do it out there. It’s almost like we’re one step ahead of the other team.”
That bond carried Rose Hill through the postseason, when the Rockets didn’t allow a single goal in the run of play. The only blemish against their record was a penalty kick in the first half of the final, which proved to be Baldwin’s only shot on goal all night. The back line of sophomore Jax Kaba, sophomore Sebastian Rodriguez and junior JoJo Triana, along with goalkeeper Nate Salinas, locked down everything else.
How the Rockets went from heartbreak to history
One year ago, Rose Hill’s season ended in heartbreak following an emotional 4-3 loss to Wichita Trinity in the championship match. It came right after ending Bishop Miege’s eight-year championship streak in the semifinals.
The Rockets have spent the last year remembering how that defeat felt and vowing to never experience it again.
“Coach talked about it all season,” Liebl said. “We could be the team to reach our potential or we could be a what-if team like last season. No one wanted to be the what-if team again.”
Even when Rose Hill stumbled in the final regular-season game, a 5-1 loss to Valley Center, Treat found opportunity in the adversity. He retooled the lineup, shifting Jordy from defense to a more attacking midfield role. The result? A balanced team that was dominant against a rugged postseason schedule that featured Topeka Hayden, Wichita Trinity, McPherson, Bishop Miege and Baldwin.
It was the third championship squad for Treat, who has coached at Rose Hill since 1992. He is one of just 12 coaches in Kansas high school boys soccer history to win at least three titles, while Rose Hill is the only public school to win multiple state titles in the 25-year history of the 4-1A division.
“When you start to get up there in age, you have more fun watching the kids have fun,” Treat said. “You still enjoy it, but it’s kind of like being a grandparent and watching your grandkids have fun. It’s just a lot more fun to let them enjoy the moment.”
A dream realized for a Rose Hill soccer hero
For Jordy, this championship meant more than any trophy ever could.
It was the culmination of a life spent idolizing Rose Hill soccer — from the days he walked hand-in-hand onto the field with the 2014 and 2015 championship teams, staring up at the high school players he thought were larger than life. Back then, he dreamed of one day being like them, wearing red and playing for something bigger than himself.
After Saturday, Jordy doesn’t have to dream anymore. Now he has the memories — and a new picture to frame — one that shows him holding the trophy he’d always imagined, surrounded by the same friends he grew up with in the town that raised them all.
“Ever since I was little, that was all I’ve ever really dreamed about,” he said. “I’ve always been proud of the Rockets. I don’t think I ever took for granted putting on that uniform.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 6:49 AM.
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