Five southwest Missouri teams start the high school basketball season ranked No. 1.
Hartville senior Dune Piper, left, returns following a 29-4 campaign that saw the Eagles win the Missouri Class 2 state championship. Hartville opens the season ranked No. 1 in the state.
The Missouri Basketball Coaches Association released its first statewide coaches’ poll of the 2016-2017 season Monday. Girls teams from Kickapoo, Strafford and Walnut Grove hold top ranking in their respective classes, while boys teams from Walnut Grove and Hartville do the same. Three of the teams, the Kickapoo girls, Strafford girls and Hartville boys, are the reigning state champions in their classes.
Kickapoo returns three starters from its 2016 girls state championship team. Jordan Wersinger and Jordan Sanders figure to lead the Chiefs in scoring after combining for 28.6 points per game last year.
Strafford’s girls also return three starters in twins Hayley Frank and Kayley Frank and senior point guard Abby Oliver. Strafford went 30-3 in its state championship run with just one loss following the holiday break.
Hartville lost leading scorer Ryan Ward and point guard Grant Dedmon to graduation, but coach Brett Reed’s Eagles bring back a strong nucleus that includes Dune Piper, Deric Jones and Jace Keith.
2016-2017 MBCA Girls Basketball Poll (Released 11/21)
The MBCA Basketball poll is selected by a panel of coaches representing each of the eight MBCA districts and each of the five Missouri basketball classes.
Class 1
1. Walnut Grove
2. Jefferson
3. North Mercer
4. Glasgow
5. SW Livingston
6. Prairie Home
7. Mound City
8. Naylor
9. Norborne
10. Drexel
Class 2
1. Skyline
2. Hartville
3. Clopton
4. Plato
5. New Franklin
6. Norwood
7. Scotland Co
8. Van Buren
9. Purdy
10. Tipton
Class 3
1. Strafford
2. Southern Boone
3. Saxony Lutheran
4. Father Tolton
5. St. James
6. Whitfield
7. Park Hills
8. Cardinal Ritter
9. Duchesne
10. Hermann
Class 4
1. Benton (St. Joseph)
2. Carl Junction
3. Incarnate Word
4. MICDS
5. West Plains
6. Dexter
7. Chillicothe
8. Smithville
9. Grain Valley
10. Salem
Class 5
1. Kickapoo
2. Kirkwood
3. Webster Groves
4. Hickman
5. Liberty
6. Belton
7. Washington
8. Rock Bridge
9. Republic
10. Jefferson City
2016-2017 Boys’ Basketball Poll (Released 11/21)
The MBCA Basketball poll is selected by a panel of coaches representing each of the eight MBCA districts and each of the five Missouri basketball classes.
Class 1
1. Walnut Grove
2. Winston
3. Scott County Central
4. Glasgow
5. Leeton
6. Gideon
7. School of the Ozarks
8. Mercer
9. Advance
10. Jefferson
Class 2
1. Hartville
2. Mansfield
3. Stanberry
4. Crane
5. Vienna
6. Thayer
7. Knox County
8. Ellington
9. Clopton
10. Purdy
Class 3
1. Barstow
2. Cardinal Ritter
3. Licking
4. Whitfield
5. Father Tolton
6. Southern Boone
7. Fair Grove
8. Mountain Grove
9. Lamar
10. Clever
Class 4
1. Vashon
2. Sikeston
3. Lafayette (St. Joseph)
4. Helias Catholic
5. Parkway West
6. Borgia
7. Parkway Central
8. Moberly
9. Westminster
10. Hillsboro
Class 5
1. Webster Groves
2. Rock Bridge
3. Kickapoo
4. Chaminade
5. SLUH
6. CBC
7. Lafayette
8. Lee’s Summit West
9. Park Hill South
10. Raytown
