Instead of wondering what might have been, Windsor senior Layton Hollis didn’t let the departure of friend and basketball teammate Noah Barnes effect his play this season.
Barnes, the most valuable player of the Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools division in 2024, transferred last summer to Parkway South, where he led the Patriots this season with 22.9 points per game. Hollis rose from the all-conference second team to the first and is Windsor’s second consecutive conference MVP after averaging 19.4 points per game to help lead the Owls to 19 victories and the large-schools championship.
“No bad blood (on the transfer),” Hollis said. “I miss the brotherhood we had on the court. We had such good chemistry. In the end, it ended up working out.”
Hollis was in a three-way race for MVP all season with Hillsboro senior forward Greg Robinson and Festus junior Drew Johnson, both named to the all-conference first team by vote of the coaches. Hollis helped his case with superb play against the Owls’ large-school rivals. In the first meeting with Festus, he sank five 3-point baskets and torched the Tigers for 28 points. In the second game against Hillsboro, Hollis scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists. He scored in double-figures in every conference game, including a season-high 34 points against De Soto.
“I spent a lot of time working for (the MVP award) and am grateful that I finally got it,” Hollis said. “The coaches and work ethic they give us when we’re at practice are reasons why I did. For our rival games, the guys and I would go in saying, ‘We’re going to win this. We’re not backing down.’”
Windsor head coach Brian Gilbert was selected the conference coach of the year for the first time. He said when Hollis was picked for the second team in 2024, it motivated him.
“That was fire for him,” Gilbert said. “He was in the gym at 6 a.m. shooting over the summer and bought in to what we were doing. He was our workhorse who set the tone day in and day out. His stats speak for themselves.”
Despite all of their success, the Owls (19-7) were the sixth seed in Class 5 District 2, which featured some of the top offensive players in the St. Louis area. One of them, Zyree Collins, scored 26 points to lead No. 3 St. Mary’s over Windsor 88-61 in the first round. But even he got outgunned by the Owls’ emerging standout, junior Owen Haegele, who poured in 31 points, including eight 3-point baskets on 15 attempts. The 88 points were the most Windsor allowed all season.
St. Mary’s lost 74-70 to host Vianney of Kirkwood, the second seed, in the semifinals. No. 1 Webster Groves (25-5) got past Vianney 76-70 for the championship. The Statesmen edged Sikeston 71-70 in the Class 5 quarterfinals to make the final four at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
“That (district) was a gauntlet,” Gilbert said. “I’ve got a bone to pick with MSHSAA (the Missouri State High School Activities Association) for throwing us in there,” Gilbert said. “We’re adding city schools to our schedule. We’ll make adjustments to our schedule to get a better seed. Our motto all year was, ‘Respect is earned, not given.’”
Haegele averaged almost 13 points per game and racked up a season-high 46 against Perryville in a 98-87 victory Feb. 28 in the last regular-season game. Windsor is in prime position to chase 20 wins and another conference crown next year with the return of Haegele, sophomores Colby Blake (all-conference second team) and Sam Becker (honorable mention) and junior Xander Smith (honorable mention). Gilbert said junior Ethan Shirk also had a measurable impact on the team’s success.
“We know what Xander’s value is for our team. Colby and Owen really filled it up. It took Owen half the season to start scoring like he did. The hoop was looking like a hula hoop to him.
“The (Coach of the Year) award only has one (recipient), but it’s really ‘Staff of the Year.’ There are a lot of great head coaches and assistant coaches in the conference.
“When they seeded us fourth at (the Gene Steighorst Tournament in December), we said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to go prove it now.’ I was proud of the team. It’s a consummate team award. Once the season ends, the noise stops and it’s good to appreciate the commitment and hard work.”
Hollis is undecided about college but is competing in the jumps and sprints for the Windsor track and field team this spring. He said his vertical jump is 36.5 inches.
Hillsboro head coach DJ Hardy said there was a consensus among the large-schools coaches that Hollis and Robinson were both deserving of the MVP. In the end, performance in the head-to-head games mattered.
“Greg was a huge contributor and we relied on him to contest the rim and guard the other team’s best post player,” Hardy said. “We needed him to dominate in the paint.”
Hillsboro finished 14-12 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Its two conference losses were to the Owls. The Hawks were seeded fourth in Class 5 District 1, and after a 75-69 win over No. 5 Poplar Bluff (11-14) in the first round, they lost 62-49 to top-seeded Farmington (26-3).
Robinson led Hillsboro with 18.2 points and 13.8 rebounds per game and blocked 128 shots, almost five per night. He scored 20 or more points 10 times, and his two best rebounding games were against Festus (22) and Windsor (21).
After not playing his junior year, Hillsboro senior Gunner Sutton suffered a groin injury during the Steighorst Tournament that he battled all year. But he buried a team-high 41 3-pointers and averaged 13.3 points, good enough to make the all-conference first team.
“We were really thrilled when he came back out,” Hardy said. “No lull in his ability. He was our leader on and off the floor. He was always coaching up the guys.”
Drew Johnson led the Tigers (16-11, 4-4) in scoring (13.3 points per outing) and assists (five per game) and looked like a natural at point guard, a new position for him. The first-team selection is the son of head coach Dan Johnson.
“It’s actually a pretty cool deal being both (dad and coach),” the elder Johnson said. “I have some good assistant coaches I can lean on and make sure I’m being coach or dad when I need to be. I can read (Drew’s) body language better; our emotions are in tune. When the game starts, he’s just another player out there.
“He handled (playing the point) well. Once he figured out how he could score from that position, his assist numbers went up. He got more comfortable as the season went on.”
As one of the league’s top returning players next season, Drew Johnson should be an automatic candidate for MVP.
“You would think from natural selection, as (Hollis and Robinson) graduate, that would be the case,” Dan Johnson said. “But there has to be some winning as well.”
De Soto head coach Brendon Hardy is working to instill a winning culture, but after a 4-23 campaign that included a winless (0-8) conference ledger, there’s a ways to go for the Dragons. But they can still point with pride at senior guard/forward Aidyn Mitchell, who made the all-conference first-team after averaging 14.3 points and 2.2 assists per game. He got better as the season went along and lit up Perryville for 29 points.
“He filled many roles for us this year,” Hardy said. “He’s a three-level scorer. He can finish at the rim and get to the paint. His 3-point percentage went up at the end of the year.”
Hardy said he’s confident the Dragons, who lose only four seniors to graduation, will continue to become more competitive against their closest rivals next year.
“We’re not far from that,” he said. “We had Festus down to the wire (a 44-38 loss). Robinson was a tough matchup and (Hillsboro) put up points in bunches. We had two (key) seniors and a really good group coming up.”
JCAA large-schools boys basketball teams
First team
Layton Hollis, Windsor; Greg Robinson, Hillsboro; Drew Johnson, Festus; Gunner Sutton, Hillsboro; Aidyn Mitchell, De Soto
Second team
Owen Haegele, Windsor; Colby Blake, Windsor; Karston Schilli, Perryville; Aiden Clifton, Festus; Nate Womack, Festus
Honorable mention
Cooper McGrath, Hillsboro; Sam Becker, Windsor; Jake Cissell, Perryville; Elijah Phipps, De Soto; Xander Smith, Windsor
MVP: Layton Hollis, Windsor
Coach of the Year: Brian Gilbert, Windsor
JCAA large-schools girls basketball teams
First team
Ashley Hilton, Hillsboro; Olivia Madden, Festus; Abigail Amberger, Perryville; Kyra Matlock, Hillsboro; Lillian Kennedy, Festus
Second team
Sara Wieberg, Windsor; Alyzah Scaggs, Festus; Alyssa Rock, De Soto; Katelyn Wiethop, Hillsboro; Makenzi Missey, De Soto
Honorable mention
Carlie Galczynksi, Hillsboro; Ava Snudden, De Soto; Haley Rose, Windsor; Addison Smith, Festus; Madeleine Gremaud, Perryville; Ava Hildebrand, Hillsboro
MVP: Ashley Hilton, Hillsboro
Coach of the Year: Aaron Portell, Festus