February 7, 2025

Dodge City Tournament of Champions Preview

TOC bracket

The 82nd Annual Tournament of Champions is set to begin on Thursday afternoon in what will be a landmark year for the historic event. For starters, this year marks year 82 of TOC, but more significantly, the final played on Saturday night will mark game No. 1000.

This year, the longest running high school invitational boys’ basketball tournament west of the Mississippi features its’ first ever girls’ basketball game, as the Dodge City High School Lady Demons will play Alva at 6 p.m. to kick off Thursday’s evening session.

The boys’ tournament will feature 12 games with some teams that are already making some noise this season.

Of the Class 6A teams, Derby, Junction City and Wichita Heights all sit atop the 6A West standings with undefeated records. Dodge City is steadily improving under first year head coach Jeff Williamson, having won three of their last four games.

Of the class 5A teams, Kansas City Piper and Andover Central are No. 2 and No.9 respectively in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association rankings for 5A. Bishop Carroll has a win over reigning 5A state champions Kapaun Mt. Carmel, and Maize South is looking for a spark as they look to make it back to the state semifinals.

Game 1: Wichita Heights versus Maize South. Thursday 1 p.m.

Wichita Heights: 9-0

Led by head coach Joe Auer in his final season, the Falcons are looking to go back-to-back not only as state champions, but as TOC winners as well. The Falcons defeated Manhattan in the final last year and have had some impressive wins so far this season.

They come into TOC after five-point wins over GWAL opponents Kapaun and Wichita Northwest.

Against TOC teams: 1-0

Jan. 3 vs Bishop Carroll (56-26)

Players to watch:

No. 3 Chase Robinson: 6’5 Senior 15 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game

No. 10 Jalihn Timmons: 6’1 Junior 16 points per game

No. 21 Amalachi Wilkens: 6’8 senior 10.7 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game

Maize South: 3-5

The Mavericks have struggled to put the wins in the win column early this year, but they are a couple of plays away from having a winning record. They lost to Andover Central by six, Valley Center by one and Bishop Carroll by five.

Maize South has been knocking on the door of a big win and will have three games against quality opponents this weekend, as they continue to work toward another post-season run.

Against TOC Teams: 0-3

Dec. 10 versus Andover Central (59-53)

Dec. 20 versus Derby (66-57)

Jan. 9 vs Bishop Carroll (49-44)

Players to Watch:

No. 33 Cy Stucky: 6’7 Junior

No. 11 Jalen Batiste: 6’4 Sophomore

Game 2: Junction City versus Bishop Carroll Thursday 2:30

Junction City: 7-0

The Blue Jays make their second trip to Dodge City this season after beating the Red Demons on the road on Dec. 14. Junction City was upset in the first round of the playoffs last season but have looked the part of a state contender this year.

Against TOC Teams: 1-0

Dec 14. Versus Dodge City (81-49)

Players to Watch:

No. 11 Lovelle Autry: 6’0 Junior 15.7 points per game

No. 1 Jackson Austin: 6’1 Senior 13.4 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game

No. 34 Larkin Turner: 6’2 senior 10.7 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game

Bishop Carroll: 5-4

The Golden Eagles have played four games decided by five points or less, including their most recent game against Wichita Southeast, a triple overtime loss. They are 2-2 in those four games.

Against TOC Teams: 1-1

Jan. 3 vs Wichita Heights: 56-26 loss

Jan. 9 vs Maize South: 49-44 Win

Game 3: Dodge City vs Derby Thursday 7:30

Derby:

The Panthers are 3-0 in one possession games so far this year. They have some clutch players and head coach Brett Flory has taken pride in building a program that can make outside shots and induce havoc on opposing offenses. Derby will be the team to watch if you are looking for three-point shooting.

Against TOC teams: 1-0

Dec. 20 vs Maize South 66-57

Players to watch:

No. 2 Jack Ulwelling 5’10 Senior 14.9 points per game

No. 0 Avant Riley sophomore 11.4 points per game

Dodge City:

The Derby vs Dodge City matchup will be an up-and-down battle, as both teams love to pressure full court and take lots of 3’s. The Demons have had some peaks and valleys this year, and nothing is more evident of that than when they played Woodward, OK in December and lost by 33 at home, but then beat the Boomers by 4 on the road on Jan. 3. The Demons keep it exciting, and they will be charged up to play in front of the home crowd.

Against TOC teams: 0-1

Dec 14 vs Junction City 81-49

Players to Watch:

Elliot Williams: 6’0 sophomore 11.5 points per game

Ty Scheck: 6’1 junior 11.2 points per game

Game 4: KC Piper vs Andover Central Thursday 9 p.m.

KC Piper: 7-1

We could see the best game for last on Thursday night. While the 9 p.m. tip-off is a late one, this is a battle of two contenders in class 5A. The Pirates came up just short against Kapaun Mt Carmel in the state championship last year, and have brought some players back that are determined to make it back there this year.

Record vs TOC teams: 0-0

Players to watch:

No. 0 PJ Moore 6’0 Senior 16.8 points per game

No. 15 Derrick Jackson 6’2 Junior 15.4 points per game

Andover Central: 6-2                       

The Jaguars lost two games in a row before rallying to beat Campus to come into TOC on a high note. The losses came against Kapaun Mt. Carmel and their rival Andover. They got off to a late start after many of their players were winning the class 4A state football championship, including senior running back Maddox Archibald who ran for 345 yards, breaking the state championship record. The Jaguars have had another six days to get some more practice time in, which is all that they were allotted between their championship football game and first basketball game. Expect TOC to be a good measuring stick to see where the Jaguars are as they approach the second half of the season.

Record vs TOC Teams: 1-0

Dec. 10 vs Maize South 59-53

Players to watch:

No. 0 Jayden Brown 6’1 senior 18.1 points per game

No. 5 Brody DeGarmo 5’11 senior 7.1 points per game