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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Washburn University, the defending Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular-season champion, has been picked to finish at the top of the league again this season in the 2024 MIAA Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Friday.
The Ichabods totaled 137 points and nine first-place votes to secure the top spot after advancing all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championship match in Matthews, North Carolina last season before suffering a 1-0 loss to Point Loma Nazarene University. The defending national runnersup ended the season with an overall record of 21-4-1 and clinched the 2023 MIAA regular-season title with a league record of 9-1-1. It was the Ichabods' first MIAA championship crown since 2006. After three consecutive regular-season titles, the Jennies finished second in the league last season with an MIAA record of 8-1-2. Central Missouri finished 16-5-2 overall last season, concluding the year in the second round of the NCAA tournament with a 3-2 overtime loss to Washburn. Following the Griffons were Central Oklahoma at No. 7 with 82 points, Northeastern State No. 8 with 77 points, Rogers State No. 9 with 58 points and Nebraska-Kearney No. 10 with 46 points. In Pittsburg State’s inaugural season, the Gorillas were selected 11th with 39 points, followed by Newman and Missouri Southern. The 2024 MIAA women’s soccer season officially kicks off Thursday, Sept. 5. The MIAA Women’s Soccer Championship is scheduled to begin Sunday, Nov. 10 with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal matches. The four remaining seeds will travel to Wichita for the championship’s final matches set for November 14 and 16 at the Stryker Sports Complex.
By RICK PETERSON TopSports.news For the first time in more than a quarter of a century Shawnee Heights will have a new baseball coach next spring.
But Shawnee Heights didn't even leave its campus to find a replacement for longtime T-Bird coach Ryan Schmidt, who retired following the 2024 season, with Heights promoting Jason Brown, who has served as the school's freshman coach for the past decade. Brown said the fact that he's familiar with virtually every player in the Shawnee Heights program is one of several factors in his decision to apply for the job. "Just being part of the program for so long and just kind of putting everything I had into it, this is something I really wanted,'' Brown told TopSports.news. Schmidt retired after 25 years as the T-Birds' head coach and 31 years in the program, leading the T-Birds to a pair of Class 5A state championships as Heights' head coach while also having a hand in two other state titles as an assistant under Craig Cox.
By RICK PETERSON TopSports.news Senior outside hitter Jalyn Stevenson is the unquestioned veteran for the 2024 Washburn University volleyball team, playing in 97 career matches with 89 starts for the Ichabods.
And the two-time All-MIAA first-team pick and former All-American still has vivid memories of how it all started. "I was terrified,'' Stevenson said during WU's Volleyball Media Day. "My high school coach (Erica Cowhick Book) played for Coach (Chris) Herron so I kind of had an idea and I had been to a few practices and I had watched them, but you never really know what you're getting yourself into until you're here and then you're like, 'Oh gosh, here we go.' "In experience I feel like I've been here 10 years already but in time I feel like it was just yesterday that I was doing this exact same thing, my first Media Day, and we did it right here (in Whiting Fieldhouse).'' Stevenson made 30 starts with 253 kills as a true freshman and played in the NCAA Division II championship match, surrounded by former WU All-Americans Allison Maxwell, Genna Berg and Faith Rottinghaus.
Now the former Spring Hill star wants to do everything she can in her final Washburn season to be that kind of a leader for an Ichabod team that includes eight freshmen. "Obviously I have a lot of experience and I've played in some high level games, so I think my job is to just kind of help them understand what we're doing, what we're aiming towards and keep the team on track,'' said Stevenson, who recorded 342 kills and 338 digs as a junior. "Also I just want to try to keep them comfortable and show them that it's OK to make errors and show them a positive attitude and a good outlook on the game and things like that.''
By RICK PETERSON TopSports.news The NCAA Transfer Portal doesn't always produce the result college athletes, envisioning greener pastures, are looking for.
But Jordan Tenpas' decision to test the transfer waters after the 2022 soccer season has paid amazing dividends for both Tenpas and the Washburn University women's soccer program. After playing three collegiate seasons at Minot State, N.D., including the 2020 Covid-shortened season, the standout defender made the tough decision to enter the portal, eventually choosing to join Davy Phillips' Ichabods for her junior year. The result was an All-American season for Tenpas and the most successful season in Washburn soccer history, capped by an appearance in the NCAA Division II championship game. "It feels so good,'' Tenpas said during WU's Soccer Media Day. "Going into the transfer portal is a scary thing. You never know what's going to happen -- if you're going to get picked up or if you're not, if you're going to regret it, if you're not. "And oh my gosh, I could not be happier with my decision.'' A native of Placentia, Calif., Tenpas started in 21 matches for a total of 1,860 minutes, the sixth most minutes played in a season in program history, while helping the 21-4-1 Ichabods record 11 shutouts on defense.
Tenpas was named the MIAA Defender of the Year and was a first-team all-conference pick before earning first-team United Soccer Coaches and Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America honors and being named to the NCAA National Championships All-Tournament Team.
By RICK PETERSON TopSports.news For the first time in five seasons Washburn University soccer will have a new goalkeeper this fall, with four-year starter Raegan Wells graduating after a record-setting career, capped by a trip to the national championship game last fall.
Now former Washburn Rural standout Hailey Beck wants to do everything she can to earn the chance to help fill that spot for the Ichabods. Beck was one of Wells' two backups during the 2023 season and said she tried to learn everything she could from the Washburn veteran. "I was able to pick up a ton from her,'' Beck said during Monday's Washburn Media Day. "It was just amazing, getting to watch her do her thing and being able to apply things that she does in a game to my own style of play and how I play so I got to learn a lot of really great lessons from her.'' Beck said the key now is to put what she learned as a freshman to good use as she tries to earn to the starting job in net for Washburn. "I've just got to stick to what I know and what I can do and allow others to help build me up along the way and just take notes along the way and help myself grow,'' said Beck, who was a standout in both soccer and tennis for Washburn Rural.
As she begins her second season at Washburn, Beck said she knows she made the right decision when she opted to sign with the home-town Ichabods. Gold Partners
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