By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake senior point guard Kailyn Hanni has been tapped as the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County girls basketball player of the year after leading the Eagles to their second Class 3A state championship in three seasons.
Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni has been named the TopSports.news Shawnee County girls player of the year after leading the Eagles to their second Class 3A state title in three seasons. [File photo/TSN]
A three-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick, Hanni helped lead Silver Lake to a 28-1 record and a third straight trip to the 3A state championship game, with the Eagles sandwiching titles in 2024 and this past season around a second-place finish in 2025.
Hanni is one of five repeat picks on the All-Shawnee County Top 10, including four-time honoree Maddie Gragg of Seaman, junior repeat selections KK Emmot of Shawnee Heights and Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton of Topeka High and sophomore repeat pick Hailey Schmidtlein of Hayden.
Schmidtlein helped lead Hayden to the 4A state championship while Emmot helped Shawnee Heights post a fourth-place state finish in 5A and Rayton helped Topeka High advance to the state quarterfinals in 6A.
Also earning All-Shawnee County Top 10 spots are Rossville senior Rylee Dick, Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter, Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl, Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter and Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson.
Anderson was also named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year, while state-champion coaches Kyle Porter of Silver Lake and Carvel Reynoldson of Hayden were named the co-county coaches of the year.
All-Shawnee County capsules:
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural
BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural -- Anderson was named an All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick and the Shawnee County newcomer of the year for 2025-2026 after averaging 14.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals and canning 41 3-pointers for the Junior Blues. Anderson was also a first-team all-county selection in volleyball.
Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights
PEARMELLA CARTER, Shawnee Heights -- After starring for two seasons at Highland Park, the 5-foot-9 junior had a big season in her first year at Shawnee Heights, helping the 22-6 T-Birds win their first United Kansas Conference championship and post a fourth-place finish in Class 5A in Heights' first trip to state since 2011. Carter, a second-team all-county pick as a sophomore, averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds for Heights while shooting 56 percent from the field on two-point attempts.
Hailey Caryl, Topeka High
HAILEY CARYL, Topeka High -- A 5-foot-10 sophomore, Caryl moves up to the All-Shawnee County Top 10 this season after being a Second 10 pick as a freshman. Caryl averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists this past season while shooting 57 percent from the field from two-point range, helping lead the Trojans to a 17-9 record, the Centennial League championship and a quarterfinal berth in the Class 6A state tournament.
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake
KARYS DEITER, Silver Lake -- Deiter, a 5-foot-6 sophomore, helped Silver Lake post a 28-1 record and win the Class 3A state championship this past season. Deiter moves up to the All-Shawnee County first team this season after being a Second 10 pick as a freshman and also earned first-team All-Big East honors. Deiter was also an all-county pick in volleyball after helping Silver Lake win the 3A state title.
Rylee Dick, Rossville
RYLEE DICK, Rossville -- Dick, a 5-foot-8 senior, helped lead the Bulldawgs to a Class 2A state tournament berth for the first time in 20 years this past season, averaging 20.6 points on the season. A unanimous All-Big East League selection, Dick finished her high school career with 1,578 points, which ranks No. 2 on Rossville's all-time list. Dick scored 31 points in Rossville's quarterfinal state loss to Ellinwood.
KK Emmot, Shawnee Heights
KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights -- Emmot, a 5-foot-8 junior, is a two-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick after earning second-team honors as a freshman. Emmot, who helped lead the T-Birds to a 22-6 record, the United Kansas Conference title and a fourth-place Class 5A finish, earned first-team All-United Kansas Conference honors for the second straight season after averaging 16.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 3.0 assists while connecting on 67 3-pointers and shooting 82 percent from the free throw line.
Maddie Gragg, Seaman
MADDIE GRAGG, Seaman -- A 5-10 senior, Gragg is an All-Shawnee County Top 10 selection for the fourth straight season. Gragg, also a four-time All-United Kansas Conference first-team pick, averaged 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals while hitting 32 3-pointers. Gragg helped the Vikings win the Class 5A state championship in 2024 and finish second in 2025.
Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake
KAILYN HANNI, Silver Lake -- Hanni, a 5-7 senior, was named the Shawnee County player of the year after leading Silver Lake to a 28-1 record and the Class 3A state championship this past season. Hanni also played a major role in the Eagles' 26-0 state championship run in 2024 and a runnerup state finish in 2025. Hanni is a three-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 selection as well as an All-Big East first-team pick.
Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High
AHSIEYRHUAJH RAYTON, Topeka High -- Rayton, a 5-7 junior All-Shawnee County repeat pick, averaged a city-high 23.6 points on the season for the 17-9 Trojans while also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals and shooting 52 percent from two-point range and 37 percent on 3-point attempts. Rayton helped the Trojans win the Centennial League championship and advance to the Class 6A state tournament.
Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden
HAILEY SCHMIDTLEIN, Hayden -- Schmidtlein, a 6-0 sophomore, earned first-team All-Shawnee County recognition for the second straight season after helping lead the Wildcats to a 22-6 record and Hayden's first Class 4A state championship since 2004. Schmidtlein averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.7 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocked shots.
2025 TSN ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL
TOP 10
Player, school Ht. Gr.
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural 6-0 Fr.
Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights 5-9 Jr.
Hailey Caryl, Topeka High 5-10 So.
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 5-6 So.
Rylee Dick, Rossville 5-6 Sr.
KK Emmot, Shawnee Heights 5-8 Jr.
Maddie Gragg, Seaman 5-10 Sr.
Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake 5-7 Sr.
Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High 5-7 Jr.
Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden 6-0 So.
SECOND 10
Player, school Ht. Gr.
Nora Burdiek, Rossville 6-0 Jr.
Josie Carlgren, Washburn Rural 5-8 Sr.
Koralee Jones, Highland Park 5-10 Sr.
Imani McGlory, Shawnee Heights 5-7 Sr.
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 5-4 Sr.
Sidney VanDyke, Topeka West 5-10 Jr.
Reianna Vega, Shawnee Heights 6-0 Sr.
Blakely Walter, Hayden 5-9 So.
Kadence Watts, Hayden 6-0 Sr.
Savanah Wende, Silver Lake 5-5 Jr.
Honorable mention
Cair Paravel: London Backman, so.; Kelly Ann Chada, sr.; Karsyn Hastert, sr. Hayden: Ella Foster, sr.; Sophia Wichman, so. Highland Park: Miluv Cosey, jr.; Zayah Kincade, jr. Seaman: Cara Beaton, jr.; Brynn Spencer, jr. Shawnee Heights: Sami Baum, jr. Silver Lake: Paige Heiman, sr.; Jaylie Whitehead, jr. Topeka High: Sasha Gotru, sr.; Trisha Short, sr. Topeka West: Patience Allen, jr; Teairra Gonzales, sr.; Addaline Hall, sr. Washburn Rural: Ella Hirschi, sr.; Brooklyn Rutherford, jr.; Hallie Walker, sr.
Player of the year -- Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake.
Newcomer of the year -- Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural.
Co-coaches of the year -- Kyle Porter, Silver Lake, and Carvel Reynoldson, Hayden.
