Hutchinson CC Sports Information
With the countdown to the long-awaited start of the 2021 college basketball season officially underway, the Jayhawk Conference announced its preseason league coaches' poll on Tuesday.
The Hutchinson Community College men are the 2021 preseason pick by the league coaches. Hutchinson will bid for its first KJCCC basketball title since the national championship season of 2017.
Hutchinson, Dodge City, Colby, Seward County and Barton were the teams picked Nos. 1 through 5 in the 2021 coaches poll. Garden City, Pratt and Northwest Tech were the sixth, seventh and eighth teams, respectively.
This is the seventh time in the last eight years and seventh time overall that the Blue Dragons have been picked No. 1 in the KJCCC Coaches' Poll under head coach Steve Eck. Hutch's second-place selection last season snapped a streak of six-straight seasons the Blue Dragons were picked No. 1 in the season league coaches rankings.
The Blue Dragons finished the 2019-20 season in the quarterfinals of the Region VI Tournament, which it was eliminated by Cowley. The Blue Dragons were 23-9 overall and tied with Barton for third in the Jayhawk West with 13-8 marks.
Eck returns two starters and four letter winners from last season.
Sophomore guard Josh Baker is one of the highest-recruited guards in the nation entering the new season. As a Blue Dragon freshman, Baker averaged 13.8 points while shooting 49.4 percent from 3-point range (76 of 154). Baker shot 51.1 percent overall.
Sophomore guard Majok Kuath averaged 12.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He shot 62.1 percent from the field.
Guard Jaden Okon averaged 5.3 points. He finished the season with one of his best games as a freshman with 14 points in the Region VI Quarterfinal loss to Cowley. Forward Matt Mayers averaged 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game.
Eck also has two transfers, one redshirt and seven true freshmen on the 2021 roster.
The Blue Dragons open the 2021 season on Friday, January 21 against Seminole State at the Sports Arena.
2021 JAYHAWK WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Hutchinson
2. Dodge City
3. Colby
4. Seward County
5. Barton
6. Garden City
7. Pratt
8. Northwest Tech