Martinez named KJCCC Newcomer of the Year; Pyle, Smith also honored

The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has announced the 2024-25 KJCCC D1 Women's Basketball All-KJCCC teams and winners of the major postseason honors. The awards, which were voted on by each of the league head coaches, include six individuals bringing home major accolades.

Major award winners from the 2024-25 regular season are Most Valuable Player Hailey Jackson (Hutchinson), Freshman of the Year Ashley Singhateh (Butler), Newcomer of the Year Elysa Martinez (Cowley), Co-Defensive Players of the Year Ari Gordon (Seward County) and Shorna Preston (Dodge City), and Coach of the Year Landon Steele (Dodge City).

Martinez, a sophomore transfer from Howard College, averaged a team-high 17.3 points to go along with 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 4.0 steals per game.

"Elysa is very deserving of these honors," Cowley head coach Todd Clark said. "She came in as a transfer and led us, which is not an easy thing to do."

Martinez was joined on the list of First Team all-conference selections by Lady Tiger sophomore Hattie Pyle, who averaged 11 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest.

"Hattie broke her hand in the fall semester, yet fought through it and came back to have an outstanding season," Clark said.

Fellow sophomore Jaiden Smith was named an Honorable Mention all-conference selection after averaging 11.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

"Jaiden made a big improvement from her freshman to sophomore season," Clark said. "All three were great teammates."

Most Valuable Player: Hailey Jackson (Hutchinson)

A career 1,000-point scorer for the Blue Dragons and four-time Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 Women's Basketball Player of the Week, Jackson led the KJCCC this season in scoring by averaging 18.3 points per contest to go along with 8.4 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per contest. Helping Hutchinson to a co-KJCCC regular season championship and a 21-3 mark in the KJCCC regular season, Jackson had 30 games in double figures this season, which included four 30-point outings and a season-high 33 in a 58-50 win at Seward County on March 1.  

Freshman of the Year: Ashley Singhateh (Butler)

Singhateh made a major impact in her freshman campaign by starting 29 of Butler's 31 games and averaging nearly 28 minutes per contest to go along with 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for a Grizzly squad that finished in the top four of the KJCCC regular season standings and qualified for the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament semifinals. Shooting over 45 percent from the field, Singhateh finished in double-figures in scoring 10 times this season with seven games scoring 20 or more points this season.

Newcomer of the Year: Elysa Martinez (Cowley)

Martinez finished the season with the third-highest scoring average in the KJCCC (17.3) while shooting 42.7 percent from the floor and a conference-best 85.8 percent free throw shooting by going 109-127 from the charity stripe. The Ackerly, Texas native also dished out 4.0 assists per game and averaged 4.3 rebounds per contest, with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio and a league-leading 120 steals. While scoring double-figures in 28 of 30 games this season, Martinez had 10 or more points in each of the last 17 games of the year, including a career-best 31 in the Region 6 Tournament opener for the Tigers against Independence.

Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Ari Gordon (Seward County)

Gordon ranked in the top 10 in the KJCCC this season in both steals (third, 88) and blocks (seventh, 24) while averaging 4.7 rebounds per game and helping the Saints hold opponents to 53.1 points per game (19th-best in NJCAA) and an opponent field goal percentage of 35.5 percent.

Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Shorna Preston (Dodge City)

Preston ranked second in the KJCCC in rebounding per game (9.8 rebounds per game) while recording 103 steals and 67 blocks, both of which also rank in the top two in the KJCCC this season. Nationally, Preston ranks sixth in the NJCAA in total blocks and eighth in steals while also ranking in the top 30 in rebounds per game. As a team, Dodge City held opponents to 53.4 points per game, with Preston in the lineup and the fifth-best opponent field goal percentage (31.2 percent) in the NJCAA, with 24 games holding their opponent under 60 points.

Coach of the Year: Landon Steele (Dodge City)

Steele led the Conquistadors to their fifth Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference regular season title in program history before leading DC3 to their first NJCAA Region 6 Tournament Championship in program history, as well as a 29-4 overall record heading into their third-straight NJCAA D1 Women's Basketball National Tournament. This season, Dodge City has outscored opponents by an average of 25 points per game and saw two of their four losses come to National Tournament teams while having five players named to the All-KJCCC D1 Women's Basketball teams.

ALL-KJCCC HONORABLE MENTION BARTON: ALAINA ECK - FR

BUTLER: KENZIE GALLIART – FR, LUCIA LARA - FR

COLBY: DESSIRAE ULMER – FR,

COWLEY: JAIDEN SMITH - SO

DODGE CITY: BECCA UNRUH - SO

GARDEN CITY: BRUNA COSTA DA SILVA – FR, JOLIE MANTZ - FR

PRATT: LaKYRA JOHNSON - FR

SEWARD COUNTY: AVERY MARCHINO – FR, ALLILE MYERS - SO