High School Boys’ Basketball

The Iowa Basketball Coaches Association released the 2025 All-Substate teams and 11 players from our local teams made the list. 

Starting in Class 1A Substate 4, four members of our local teams earned a spot, including two seniors in Holy Trinity Catholic’s Luke Hellige and Winfield-Mt. Union’s Jake Edwards. Hellige ranked 10th in the state in points per game, averaging nearly 27, while Edwards led the Wolves in points, assists, and steals per game. 

Also making the team was Christian Stacy of WACO and Shay Stephens of Burlington Notre Dame. In his first season with the Warriors, Stacy averaged the 2nd most points in the SEISC-North at 19.3 per game, while grabbing nearly seven rebounds per game. Stephens was the focal point of the District Champion Nikes as he ranked top five in every category for the SEISC-South, scoring 21 points per game.

Over in Class 2A Substate 5, West Burlington ended just one game short of the state tournament but what a ride it has been for the Falcons as they will graduate two talented seniors in Mason Watkins and Quincy Collins, who also made the team. Watkins put up 30 points per game, which ranked 2nd in the state, as he finished his career as the program’s all-time leading scorer and season point total. Collins ranked 2nd on the team in points and rebounds per game.

Additionally, Max Griffin of Mediapolis and Central Lee’s Brayden Wyrick also made the squad. Griffin put up nearly 17 points per contest for the Bulldogs, while Wyrick scored 13.3 points and grabbed 6.7 rebounds per game.

Lastly, in Class 3A Substate 6, Jaxon Clark of Keokuk headlined the list for the Southeast Conference (SEC) as he averaged the 7th best double-double numbers in the state with 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game. Fort Madison’s Julian Dear and Riley Perkins of Fairfield also made the team. Dear’s 7.1 assists per game ranked 5th in Iowa as he also added 12.5 points and two steals per game. Perkins finished 2nd in the SEC in points per game with 15.4, while grabbing five rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the Trojans.  

High School Track

Fairfield will compete in the Hilltop Co-Ed Invitational today at Cornell College.

Central College will host an indoor meet with the boys’ teams participating on Thursday, March 20th, and the girls’ competing on Friday, March 21st. 

IHSAA News

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and Iowa PBS have agreed upon a multi-year contract to produce and broadcast free championship events for football, wrestling, and basketball starting in the 2025-26 season.

The deal was brokered when the IHSAA and Iowa High School Sports Network (IHSSN) terminated their agreement to broadcast the boys’ state tournament events after the IHSSN announced their decision to charge viewers to stream the games. 

The event rights still belong to the IHSAA as Iowa PBS will continue their existing coverage for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union along with producing special IHSAA programs highlighting stories of student-athletes, their sports, and communities. Iowa PBS will take over production responsibilities on November 20th, 2025, for the football semifinals.

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will be hosting a spring break camp starting today and running through the 20th for grades 2-5 from 8 am to 10 am and grades 6-12 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at Fun City Turf at 614 S. Broadway Street if you signed up. Participants should bring their bats, gloves, and sliding gear.

College Basketball

The Iowa State men’s team grabbed the #3-seed for the South Region but they will be without the services of Keshon Gilbert for the rest of the season due to injury. The Cyclones will dance with the #14-seed Lipscomb on Friday, March 21st, at 12:30 pm. 

In the woman’s NCAA national championship tournament, Iowa grabbed the 6th seed and will take on the #11-seed Murray State in Oklahoma on Saturday, March 22nd, at 11 am. This is the seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament for the Hawkeyes. 

The Iowa State women’ s team also continued their streak of consecutive appearances at the tournament at six but they will have to earn their way to the round off 64. The Cyclones will square off against Princeton on Wednesday, March 19th, at 6 pm with the winner advancing to play the #6-seed Michigan. 

March Madness

The KILJ Bracket Challenge is back for the 2025 March Madness men’s bracket with the same rules as last year. A printable bracket was posted to KILJ’s Facebook page. The bracket must be filled out and turned in to sports@kilj.com or our station by the end of the day on March 19th. 

For a full list of rules and prizes, follow this link: KILJ Bracket Challenge

This Day in Sports History

1908 – Canadian champion Tommy Burns knocked out Irish challenger Jem Roche in 1 minute and 28 seconds of the first round at the Theatre Royal in Dublin, setting a record for the quickest world heavyweight boxing title fight at the time.

1955 – After Maurice Richard is suspended for the remainder of the season, riots break out in Montreal. 37 people are injured and over 100 are arrested. The following morning, Richard goes on the radio to ask citizens to stop vandalizing the city.

2022 – Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers’ longest-serving captain, becomes only the second player in franchise history to play 1,000 games for the team, joining Bobby Clarke.