Picture courtesy of Jenna Hull
The Ell-Saline Cardinals hung a banner last season with a 22-4 record and after putting up a state record 109 points against Valley Falls in the 3rd place game. The Cardinals beat Rossville in round one before falling to HOA league foe Sterling in the semifinal round to set up the 3rd place finish.
The Cardinals graduated 5 seniors last year including high flying all HOA Brogan Rowley who led the team with 11.8 PPG, Rowley is now attending Nebraska University where he competes in long jump. The Cardinals also lost fellow starter Garrison Zerger to graduation who averaged 10 PPG. But Ell-Saline still has a three headed monster of seniors Reese Krone(10.5 PPG), Trey Williams (10.5 PPG) and Kas Kramer (11.3 PPG) as returning starters. Collin Dent who came off the bench last year and was able to produce will be the Cardinals fourth starter, And another senior will round out the starting 5 as Landon May will get the nod from 6th year head coach Marty Wendel.
Coach Wendel and team have absolutely turned the whole program around. When Wendel took over 5 years ago the team was winless all season and now they are making state runs,
After the 5 starters coach Wendel will have plenty to choose from as he has a deep roster. Guys like Wyatt Allen, Branton Gosvener and Lucas Swetson will see valuable minutes for the Cardinals and they can even go deeper with the likes of JT Moye and Jaxsen Seed.
The Cardinals have plenty of talent to go around but just like last year the Heart of America league will be one of the toughest leagues in the state as they would finish 1, 2 and 3 in last years 2A state championship in Manhattan. Sterling would defeat Moundridge for the championship as Ell-Saline would take care of Valley Falls in the 3rd place game. Bennington graduated quite a bit but they have some key pieces in Isaiah Garret who is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs a season ago. Wichita Classical on the road might be another potential tough matchup for the Cards.
The Cardinals open up on the road against Herington on Friday night before starting the Tri-County Classic next Tuesday at home against Minneapolis.
2025-26 Ell-Saline Lady Cardinals Basketball Schedule
Friday December 5 at Herington
Tuesday December 9 vs Minneapolis (Tri-County Classic)
Friday December 12 at Republic County (Tri-County Classic)
Saturday December 13 at Bennington (Tri-County Classic)
Tuesday December 16 at Ellinwood
Friday December 19 vs Berean Academy
Tuesday January 6 at Inman
Friday January 9 at Remington
Saturday January 10 at Rural Vista
Tuesday January 13 vs Hutch Trinity
Friday January 16 vs Sedgwick
January 19-23 Berean Academy Tournament
Tuesday January 27 vs Marion
Friday January 30 vs Hoisington
Tuesday February 3 at Bennington
Friday February 6 at Wichita Classical
Tuesday February 10 vs Moundridge
Friday February 13 vs Central Christian (Wichita)
Friday February 20 at Sterling
