Helmer, Nitsche Named KJCCC Coaches of the Year

COLBY, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference announced the 2025-26 All-KJCCC teams on Thursday.

This marks the 18^th and final season for Helmer, who earns KJCCC Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time in his career. He guided the Grizzlies to a 29–1 regular-season record and their sixth KJCCC regular-season title. Butler recently defeated Garden City in the Region 6 Quarterfinals and, as the No. 1 seed, will travel to Great Bend on Friday to face No. 4 seed Coffeyville at 1 p.m. inside Fleske Fieldhouse.

What a second year it has been for Butler men's basketball head coach Eric Nitsche, who earns KJCCC Coach of the Year after leading the Grizzlies to a 21–9 regular-season record and a share of the KJCCC regular-season title, their first since 2014–15. Butler leads the conference in scoring at 103.8 points per game, ranking second nationally, and has reached the 100-point mark 16 times this season.

Following Tuesday's 101–87 Region 6 Quarterfinal win over No. 10 seed Fort Hays Tech, the No. 2 seeded Grizzlies will face No. 6 seed Cowley on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Great Bend. The matchup is a rematch of last year's semifinal, where Cowley ended Butler's season 58–54.

Butler is the only school in the Jayhawk Conference to have BOTH the men's and women's squad's reach the Region 6 Semifinals. 

A number of Butler women and men's basketball student-athletes also earned All-Conference recognition, highlighted by Butler men's basketball student-athlete and true freshman Tristan Hankins and Butler women's basketball student-athlete Aliyah Green. Hankins was named Co-Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He shares the MVP honor with Dodge City's Derrick Rivers. Andover, Kan., native Aliyah Green was named KJCCC Defensive Player of the Year.

2025-26 All-KJCCC Women's Basketball: https://kjccc.org/sports/wbkb/2025-26/div1/Files/2025-26_D1_WBB_All-KJCCC.pdf

2025-26 All-KJCCC Men's Basketball: https://kjccc.org/sports/mbkb/2025-26/div1/Files/2025-26_D1_MBB_All-KJCCC.pdf

Below is the list of Grizzlies that earned All-KJCCC honors for the 2025-26 season.

First Team All-KJCCC – Ashley Singhateh

Sophomore guard Ashley Singhateh earned her second First Team All-KJCCC honor, as she was also awarded the honor last season as well as winning the KJCCC Freshman of the Year award. Singhateh is the Grizzlies leading scorer with 12.2 points per game on the season. Singhateh also contributes with 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. 

First Team All-KJCCC – Keegan Yarick

Sophomore and Fort Scott, Kan., native Keegan Yarick was awarded First Team All-KJCCC honors. Yarick also leads the Grizzlies in scoring on the season with 12.2 points per game. Yarick was also a major factor on the defensive end, ranking second in the conference with 79 steals on the season. 

First Team All-KJCCC – Mya Mayberry

The heart and soul of this Butler Grizzlies squad Mya Mayberry was the third and final Grizzly to earn first team honors. Mayberry has put up consistent numbers all season long, averaging 10.8 points and two steals per game and ranks second in the conference in assists. The highlight of the year thus far for Mayberry was her 36-point outburst in the win at No. 18 Hutchinson. 

Second Team All-KJCCC – Kenzie Galliart

Sophomore forward Kenzie Galliart was the lone Grizzly to earn second team honors. For the season, Galliart has averaged 10.2 points per game and six rebounds. Galliart has also recorded five double-doubles on the year. 

Honorable Mention – Destiny Smith

Butler sixth man and sophomore guard Destiny Smith earned honorable mention honors. Smith provides an elite shooting threat off the bench, as she shoots close to 33 percent from behind the arc on the season with 60 made threes. Smith averages 9.4 points per game on the season. 

Honorable Mention – Aliyah Green

The lone Grizzly freshman to earn all-conference honors, Aliyah Green has proven herself to be a difference maker on both sides of the floor. Green was awarded the KJCCC Defensive Player of the Year award as her versatility allows her to defend all five positions while making hustle plays that change games.

First Team All-KJCCC – Tristan Hankins

Hankins is the 2025-26 Co-Player of the year and Freshman of the Year, as he has had a phenomenal season thus far. Hankins ranks fifth in the conference in scoring at 17.7 points per game and averages 5.1 boards a night. Connecting on 48.2 percent of his shots from the field, Hankins scored in double-figures in 22 of his 27 games played which included a career-best 37 in a road loss to Barton on January 3rd. 

Second Team All-KJCCC – Devin Kerr

Sophomore forward Devin Kerr's aggressive nature on the court has brought him to earn Second Team All-KJCCC honors. Kerr has had a productive year, averaging 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. 

Second Team All-KJCCC – Josiah Kirkwood

One of the fastest players in the conference, Butler point guard Josiah Kirkwood also landed on the second team all-conference list. Kirkwood has put up 12.1 points, four assists and 1.6 steals per game on the season. Kirkwood had back-to-back 20 plus point games against Garden City and Independence and hit the game winning shot from the right elbow against Seward County on February 14^th.

Honorable Mention – AJ Pierre-Jerome

Butler big man and sophomore AJ Pierre-Jerome earned honorable mention honors. Pierre-Jerome, who has come off the bench in 23 of the 31 games thus far, has been a force in the paint for the Grizzlies who can also step out and shoot. Pierre-Jerome averages 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 53.2 percent shooting this season. 

Honorable Mention – Jaise Combs

Nixa, Mo., Native and true freshman Jaise Combs has been deadly behind the three-point line this season, hitting 68 threes at a 37.2 percent clip. Combs earned all-conference honors after averaging 9.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.