Cedar Vale/Dexter Baseball has been one of the stories of the season. Entering tomorrow’s regional, the Spartans have a perfect 19-0 record.

In one of the most dominant regular seasons you will ever see, Cedar Vale/Dexter outscored opponents by a combined 235-20 score. They posted 10 shutouts in 19 games. Their closest game was a 4-2 win over Udall in their conference tournament.

Their head coach, Luke Wachter, has led the program for 15 seasons, and he says this may be the best team he’s coached.

With an offense averaging more than 12 runs a game, their lineup has posted some gaudy numbers. Half of their lineup is hitting over .500, including sophomore Kyle Honkomp, who has batted .721 this season.

Coach Wachter says he can always count on Honkomp to come through.

While leading the team in offensive production, Honkomp is also Cedar Vale/Dexter’s best pitcher. In 30.2 innings, he has struck out 53 batters while not allowing an earned run.

The Spartans core players are nearly all juniors. Wachter credits their maturity and buy-in for their success.

As the top seed in their region, Cedar Vale/Dexter faces 2-20 Belle Plaine in the first round tomorrow night.

Past that, Wachter says the Spartans will need to play their best ball to advance.

Photo Courtesy: Cedar Vale Schools Facebook

The following are reported scores from May 12:

Kansas HS Baseball

Fort Scott: 19 - Field Kindley: 4 - Fort Scott: 10 - Field Kindley: 0

Independence: 15 - Parsons: 0

Ottawa: 2 - Chanute: 1

Mulvane: 10 - Chanute: 0

Independence High School has just named Preston Sharp as its new head boys basketball coach.

Sharp replaces Brad Smith, who retired after six seasons in Independence and 37 total years as a head basketball coach.

IHS goes with an internal hire. Sharp has been with USD 446 for the last four years as a middle school science teacher. 

During that time, Sharp served as an assistant to Brycen Byrd on IHS’s girls basketball coaching staff for three seasons. Last year, Sharp was an assistant to Brad Smith on the boys team.

IHS Athletic Director Marcus Lanning says Sharp had been on his radar long before coming to Independence.

Lanning believes that those earlier stops for Sharp, along with his experience working with Byrd and Smith, have given him a diverse coaching background that will be beneficial.

Sharp will have big shoes to fill. He replaces Brad Smith, who won more than 400 games over his career, with stops at Labette County and Maize before six years in Independence.

Lanning hired Smith to replace himself as he transitioned from basketball coach to athletic director, and he says there was no better man for that job.

Photo Courtesy: Independence High School Facebook

For the first time since 2010, Cherryvale High School Baseball is the Tri-Valley League champion. 

They went 13-9 during the regular season. Cherryvale recovered from a 3-6 start to finish 10-3.

The Cherryvale program has come a long way in a short time. Their 2026 senior class won only three games during their freshman season.

For a program with little recent success, winning its league was on their mind for quite a while.

Family ties run deep on the Cherryvale roster. The team features three Umbargers, a pair of brothers, and a cousin. Chargers head coach Scott John also grew up with their fathers.

One of Cherryvale’s best players, a two-way freshman named Remington John, is the son of the head coach.

This season, Remington John has led the team in hits with a .435 batting average and has been their best pitcher. In 38 innings, he has struck out 47 batters while allowing only five earned runs.

Cherryvale turns its attention to the 3A regional, which begins tomorrow night. As the 8-seed, they will host 11-7 West Franklin at 5 p.m.

West Franklin comes in with three straight losses. Coach John says they’re a difficult team to get a read on.

A win over West Franklin would likely pit them against top-seeded Girard. No matter what, Cherryvale knows how to keep games close.

Photo Courtesy: Cherryvale High School

The following are reported scores from May 11:

Kansas HS Baseball

Pittsburg: 8 - Independence: 2

Baxter Springs: 15 - Field Kindley: 0

Labette County: 15 - Parsons: 0 / Labette: 20 - Parsons: 3

Fredonia: 22 - Eureka: 6 / Fredonia: 21 - Eureka: 20

Independence High School boys' tennis was victorious in Friday's 4A regional meet in Winfield.

The Bulldogs team score of 18 edged out Winfield's 15. Parsons took third place with 13, and Labette and Field Kindley each went scoreless in team points.

IHS had the top two doubles placements. Senior Matthew McLenon and sophomore Brodie Small came in first. Senior Kevin Mah and junior Heston Smith were second.

Parsons had a good showing as well. Senior Wyatt Shultz was the top singles player at Friday's regional. Their doubles team of senior Cole Kennett and sophomore Kai Gregory was third.

Independence will be moving on to the 4A state tournament.  That will be at the renowned Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka on Friday and Saturday.

Photo Courtesy: Independence Bulldog Tennis Facebook

In Kansas High School Baseball, some regular seasons have already concluded, and some will wrap up this week. Here is where the teams in our area stand entering the day.

4A (Southeast Conference)

1) Independence (12-7)

2) Chanute (10-11)

3) Fort Scott (9-13)

4) Pittsburg (7-12)

5) Labette County (5-14)

6) Field Kindley (4-9)

7) Parsons (3-15)

3A (Tri-Valley Conference)

1) Cherryvale (13-9)

2) Caney Valley (13-7)

3) Humboldt (13-11)

4) Neodesha (12-7)

5) Bluestem (5-17)

6) Eureka (4-15)

7) Fredonia (3-13)

2A (Three Rivers Conference)

1) Central Heights (19-3)

2) Cherokee Southeast (18-4)

3) Marmaton Valley (17-5)

4) Uniontown (12-10)

5) Crest (11-11)

6) Jayhawk Linn (11-11)

7) Pleasonton (8-13)

8) Yates Center (7-15)

9) Northeast (7-15)

10) Oswego (4-15)

11) St. Paul (4-18)

12) Erie (2-22)

1A (South Central Standings)

1) Cedar Vale/Dexter (19-0)

2) Flinthills (13-10)

3) South Sumner (12-8)

4) Udall (8-12)

5) Sedan (7-13)

6) West Elk (7-13)

7) Oxford (6-14)

8) Central (6-16)

Three Independence Community College Softball players are named to the KJCCC All-Conference team as Honorable Mentions following the 2026 season.

Sophomores Madyson Paxton and Kylie Dennison, along with freshman Londyn Dempster earned conference attention for their efforts.

Paxton, a second year shortstop from Mangum, Oklahoma, finished the year hitting .364 good for second on the team. Paxton had 52 hits on the year including 10 doubles and drove in 23 runs, on the way to 13 multi-hit games. 

Dennison, a sophomore from Benton, Kansas, finished with 27 hits in 81 at-bats, good for a .333 average. Her three home runs were tied for the team high, while she drove in 17 runs as well while playing both of the corner infield spots throughout the season. 

Dempster, the lone Pirate freshman to be named to the all-conference team, finished the season with a team high .383 batting average and matched the team high in home runs with three. She also slugged 10 doubles, two triples, and drove in 23 runs while stealing five bases. 

The KJCCC All-Conference Teams were announced at the beginning of the KJCCC Conference Softball tournament on Wednesday.

Photo: Independence Community College

A second Nowata golfer commits to continue their golf career at Coffeyville Community College.

Ironmen Senior Jackson Hurd signed to CCC on Wednesday. Hurd is a two-time qualifier for the 2A state tournament and has been one of Nowata's leaders on the golf course this season. Head Coach Homer Johnston says Hurd has been bought into golf since he was a freshman.

Hurd qualified for state last season as a junior individually, finishing 23^rd. This season, he heads back to state with the rest of his team after Nowata finished second at regionals in Seminole on April 27^th. Hurd finished eighth individually. Johnston says Hurd has really stepped up as a leader this year.

Hurd will join teammate Brett Malone who signed to CCC on April 24^th. CCC golf is coached by William Wilson, a Nowata graduate.

Coffeyville Community College nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season yesterday in Overland Park, falling to nationally 15th-ranked Johnson County 9-8 in 10 innings to open the Jayhawk Conference softball playoffs.

Ravens softball coach Ashton Friend said this time of year, anybody can be beaten, and the Lady Ravens proved it against the tournament’s top seed.

CCC jumped on conference pitcher of the year Kyleigh Whitehurst early, scoring three runs in the first inning and adding two more in the second while capitalizing on a pair of Johnson County errors to build a 5-2 lead.

Newly named first-team all-conference selection Raya Eilert later homered to help Coffeyville carry a two-run advantage into the bottom of the seventh inning, just three outs away from a massive upset. But Johnson County rallied to tie the game and force extra innings.

The teams traded home runs in the ninth before Johnson County erased another two-run deficit and finally ended the three-hour marathon in the 10th on a two-out, bases-loaded single.

Whitehurst threw all 10 innings for Johnson County, totaling 183 pitches.

The thriller was a dramatic turnaround from the teams’ regular-season meetings on April 21, when Johnson County swept Coffeyville by a combined 24-1 score.

Despite the strong effort, the Lady Ravens now face elimination. CCC meets Labette this morning at 11 in a knockout game after Labette fell to Allen County 6-3. The matchup is another rematch that didn’t favor Coffeyville during the regular season, when Labette swept a doubleheader April 9 by scores of 5-1 and 8-7.

Neosho County also faces elimination today after being shut out by Cowley 4-0. Neosho takes on Cloud County at 1 p.m.

Photo Courtesy: Coffeyville Community College

The Coffeyville Community College Red Raven baseball team prepares for the opening round of the Region 6 playoffs, where they will battle the Seward County Saints in a best-of-3 series in Liberal.

The Red Ravens enter the matchup with a 26-28 record, 15-17 in conference play, and are the No. 5 seed in the East division. Seward enters with a 23-35 record, 15-17 in league play, and is the No. 4 seed in the West.

Coffeyville closed conference play with sweeps of both Highland and Labette, and a series victory over Neosho County. Head Coach Jake Martin says the team has found their groove late in the season.

CCC and Seward County have not seen each other since April of 2024, with the two programs competing on opposite sides of the Jayhawk conference. Martin says the Saints have some of the league's top talent.

The Ravens have gotten production from a number of guys this season, from the rotation to the batting order. Martin adds that the mentality of the guys in the dugout has given this team a chance to overcome adversity.

Game 1 of the Seward-Coffeyville series is today, at 3 p.m. CT, Game 2 will be tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT, and Saturday's winner-take-all Game 3 (if necessary) would be Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

The Oklahoma Union Board of Education approved the hiring of Josh Middleton as the new football coach during a special meeting back in late April.

Middleton comes to OKU following a stint as offensive coordinator at Mounds and time as an assistant with Stroud. This is Middleton's first head coaching job in his career. He talks about seeing the campus for the first time.

With spring camps and workouts on the way for OKU, Middleton talks about the small goals in his vision for the program.

A season ago, OKU finished 1-9 in former head coach Bruce Munden's only season at the helm. He was announced as the head coach of Kirksville High School in Missouri in late March.

The Coffeyville Community College softball team is headed to Overland Park for the Region 6 playoffs, the first time the program has made an appearance since 2018.

The Red Ravens entered the final week of the regular season needing three wins to lock up a spot in the Top 8, and were able to split series with Highland, Allen County, and KCK to leapfrog Fort Scott for the No. 8 seed in the region. Head Coach Ashton Friend says the team has come a long way in the 2026 season.

Coffeyville found some momentum in the season's final month, finishing with a 6-6 mark in their last 12 games, including wins over Independence and Fort Scott. Assistant Coach Tyler Fuller says the team is playing their best ball at the right time.

The Red Ravens open with the Johnson County Cavaliers in a double-elimination tournament, with play opening on Wednesday. Friend says at this point of the season, nobody is untouchable.

CCC is one of the youngest teams in the Jayhawk conference, with only three departing sophomores on the roster. Fuller says this week will be a valuable opportunity for both this team and future Raven teams.

Coffeyville and Johnson County kick off the Region 6 playoffs when they battle today at 11 a.m. in Overland Park.

South Coffeyville will be represented at this weekend's 1A state track and field meet.

Junior Karter Koehn set a personal record in the high jump at Saturday's regional in Jay, clearing 5'10".

He will be the lone representative for the program at state, Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma City.

Photo Courtesy: South Coffeyville Public School Facebook

The following are reported scores from May 4:

Kansas HS Baseball

Caney Valley: 7 - Neodesha: 5 / Caney Valley: 5 - Neodesha: 1

Cherryvale: 10 - Bluestem: 0 / Cherryvale: 16 - Bluestem: 3

Burlington: 17 - Labette County: 2 / Burlington: 6 - Labette: 2

Oklahoma HS Baseball

Kansas: 7 - Dewey: 5

Caney Valley: 7 - Pawhuska: 2

Nowata: 9 - Commerce: 1

Ketchum: 7 - Fairland: 1

For the 53rd time in school history, Independence High School Boys Tennis is the SEK League champion. 

Their score of 46 on Thursday edged out Parsons' 43 and Chanute's 33.

Matthew McLenon and Brodie Small of IHS won the doubles bracket. Alan Mah earned second place, and Kevin Mah and Heston Smith earned third place.

Bulldogs Tennis will compete in the 4A regional on Friday in Wellington. They will go up against Augusta, Field Kindley, Labette County, Parsons, Wellington, and Winfield.

Photo Courtesy: Independence Bulldog Tennis

There are just a couple of weeks to go for most Kansas high school baseball teams. Here is what the standings look like coming down the home stretch.

4A (Southeast Conference)

1) Independence (12-5)

2) Fort Scott (8-12)

3) Chanute (7-9)

4) Pittsburg (5-10)

5) Field Kindley (4-7)

6) Labette County (4-11)

7) Parsons (2-13)

3A (Tri-Valley Conference)

1) Caney Valley (11-7)

2) Cherryvale (11-8)

3) Humboldt (11-9)

4) Neodesha (9-5)

5) Bluestem (5-14)

6) Fredonia (3-11)

7) Eureka (3-14)

2A (Three Rivers Conference)

1) Cherokee Southeast (18-3)

2) Marmaton Valley (17-4)

3) Central Heights (15-3)

4) Uniontown (11-7)

5) Crest (10-10)

6) Jayhawk Linn (10-10)

7) Pleasonton (7-12)

8) Northeast (6-12)

9) Yates Center (6-14)

10) Oswego (4-11)

11) St. Paul (2-16)

12) Erie (2-20)

1A (South Central Standings)

1) Cedar Vale/Dexter (16-0)

2) South Sumner (11-6)

3) Flinthills (10-9)

4) Udall (6-11)

5) Oxford (6-11)

6) Sedan (6-11)

7) West Elk (5-12)

8) Central (5-14)

Coffeyville Community College Softball concluded its home schedule yesterday afternoon with a doubleheader split against Allen County.

The Lady Ravens won the first game 5-3. Gabrielle Simmons worked around seven hits to throw a complete game. Allen had the tying runs on second and third in the seventh inning, before a popout ended the game.

Raya Eilert, one of three CCC sophomores honored on the day, supplied the winning hit with a two-run double earlier in the game.

Fellow sophomores Katelynn Siess and Kaylee Henderson were also recognized, given posters and flowers from their families.

Game two was taken by Allen 6-4. Coffeyville plated a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie it, but allowed two Allen runs in the top of the seventh.

That loss, combined with two Fort Scott wins yesterday, temporarily pushes Coffeyville outside the playoff picture.

The Lady Ravens will need to win at least one of their last two games to overtake Fort Scott, which has finished its season.

It will be a tall order, as CCC travels to KC Kansas, on Saturday for a doubleheader. Kansas City has won 34 games this spring, more than any other team in the conference.

Lady Ravens head coach Ashton Friend says staying loose has been the key to the team's success this season.

The following are reported scores from April 30:

Kansas HS Baseball

Field Kindley: 5 - Caney Valley: 4

Cherryvale: 16 - Eureka: 1 / Cherryvale: 12 - Eureka: 0

Neodesha: 14 - Fredonia: 1 / Neodesha: 10 - Fredonia: 0

Baxter Springs: 8 - Labette County: 1

Southeast: 15 - Oswego: 0 / Southeast: 11 - Oswego: 0

St. Paul: 13 - Erie: 3 / St. Paul: 16 - Erie: 0

Oklahoma HS Baseball

Commerce: 7 - Oklahoma Union: 4

Bartlesville: 7 - Claremore: 1

Caney Valley: 5 - Pawhuska: 2

Dewey: 17 - Westville: 0

Dewey: 5 - Beggs: 0

KJCCC Softball

Coffeyville: 5 - Allen: 3

Allen: 6 - Coffeyville: 4

Labette: 12 - Neosho: 6

Neosho: 7 - Labette: 5

KC Kansas: 17 - Independence: 6

KC Kansas: 9 - Independence: 1