CLASS 5A BOYS BOWLERS TO WATCH IN 2026
 

 
TRISTAN COFFEY, MAIZE SOUTH
 
Coffey, a junior, was in the driver’s seat for a Class 5A individual title with one game remaining last season before settling for third, seven pins behind champion Paxton McLeod of Andover Central. Still, Coffey’s performance in the state meet spotlight was his best of the 2025 campaign, which ended with his selection to the Kansas Bowling Coaches Association’s All-5A second team. His 739 series, highlighted by a season-best 279 in the second game, led the Mavericks to a fourth-place team finish, five pins behind Emporia for the final trophy spot. Coffey averaged 203 last season for Maize South, which fielded an all-underclassmen lineup at state. He also rolled a pair of 644 series, one that produced a runner-up finish at an Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail I triangular meet.
 

 
CAYDEN DARLING-NEER, LANSING

Darling-Neer helped lead a Lions team that captured a regional championship a year ago and recorded a sixth-place state finish. As a junior, Darling-Neer medaled eighth overall with a series score of 684. He started the state meet strong as he bowled a 267 in his first game followed by a 237 in his second. He finished the season strong as his 684 was his high series for the season, while he bowled his high game of 276 the week before a regionals. He averaged 203 a year ago and is one of two returning bowlers for the Lions who averaged 200 or better and will be joined by sophomore Maddox Denney.  
 

LEIGHTON DAUGHERTY, BISHOP CARROLL

Daugherty ended an up-and-down junior season on a high last March, rolling a season-best 639 series with a season-high 256 game to finish 18^th at the Class 5A state tournament. A week earlier, Daugherty had rolled his season-low series, a 460, to finish 57^th out of 66 bowlers at the Hutchinson regional. But after the Golden Eagles finished third in the team competition to advance to state, Daugherty matched classmate Jesus Lucero’s three-game set as both earned individual state medals. Daugherty finished with a 175 average in 30 games last season.
 

JAMIE DUTY, EISENHOWER
 
Duty, the Tigers’ lone state qualifier last season, finished outside the top 20 for the second time in three state appearances last year. But the senior southpaw has been remarkably steady throughout his career, and returns as the top pin faller in Class 5A after posting a 227 average. Duty, the Hutchinson regional champion, earned All-5A first-team honors for the second straight year, notching four individual victories in 10 starts. His 750 series at regionals was a season best and marked the fourth time he surpassed his 2024 high series of 731. Duty was fourth at state as a sophomore, leading Eisenhower to a fourth-place team finish. He was All-5A second team as a freshman, posting a 213 average and helping the Tigers finish sixth in 5A.
 

 
KADEN EVANS, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS

One of six returning starters from Heights’ 2024 Class 5A state championship team, Evans was one of two T-Birds to finish in the top 20 last year as Heights slipped to a fifth-place finish as a team. Evans and teammate Donovan Davis were the lone T-Birds not to place individually at state in 2024, but both were the lone individual placers for the T-Birds last year. Evans found his way into the top 10, placing ninth with a 676 series that was his best of the season. Evans’ 198 average was sixth-best on the T-Birds last year but he rolled a season-high game that was second-best to teammate Henry Schattilly’s 300 game. With Davis graduating, Evans is the lone returning state placer though teammates Schattilly, Trey Donath and Evan Jones return after placing in 2024. 
 

 
NATHAN GREEN, EMPORIA

While Emporia returned three individual state qualifiers a year ago, the emergence of Green and teammate Jacob Kamprath helped the Spartans not only qualify as a team last year, but earn a state trophy. Green ranked just third on the Spartans with a 205 average and high series of 698, trailing seniors Colton Swift and Morgan Liggett. But at state, he took on a leading role and posted a 693 series that was high on the team and earned him a sixth-place individual state finish. Green had a high game of 266 and helped lead the Spartans to a 3,409 total at state that placed them third behind runaway champion Andover Central and runner-up Piper. He’ll team with Kamprath and returning senior Caydrick Crouch to give Emporia a strong nucleus to build around with Swift and Liggett graduating.
 

 
JACOB KAMPRATH, EMPORIA

Kamprath went into last year’s state meet with the lowest average among the six Spartans comprising Emporia’s state team. But he stepped up in a big way at the state meet to help Emporia to a third-place team finish. Kamprath didn’t have his highest game or highest series of the season – posting a 237 and 670 during the regular season – but was pretty close to his best, posting games of 222, 208 and 226 to finish with a 656 series that earned him a 13th-place showing individually. Kamprath, who had a 188 average, will be counted on to be a team leader this year with Emporia losing its top-two bowlers by average with the graduation of Colton Swift, who placed 15th, and Morgan Liggett.
 

 
EVAN LIGHT, ANDOVER CENTRAL

Light was one of the state’s most productive freshmen last season, posting a 214 average on the way to helping Andover Central win the Class 5A team title. Light, who rolled a 669 series to win a triangular in January, eclipsed that with a 727 to win the Emporia regional and helped the Jaguars advance as team champions. While teammate Parker McLeod seized the individual spotlight as 5A’s gold-medal winner, Light did his part in his state debut, rolling a 662 series to finish 11^th. He makes up part of a strong returning nucleus for the Jags, who bring back three state medalists.
 

JESUS LUCERO, BISHOP CARROLL
 
Lucero, a senior, produced Carroll’s top scoring average last season (201) and helped the Golden Eagles finish seventh in Class 5A with a 19^th-place individual finish. Lucero matched teammate Leighton Daugherty’s 639 series at Northrock to earn his first individual state medal. His season-best 678 series came at a league triangular with Wichita Heights and Wichita North, and produced an individual gold for Lucero. With Carroll’s entire state roster returning, the Eagles will look to make a leap in 5A this season.
 

 
PAXTON MCLEOD, ANDOVER CENTRAL

McLeod, a senior, showed the wide-openness of a state high school bowling tournament by winning the Class 5A individual title last March. Entering state with a previous season-high series of 613 at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II meet, McLeod rolled games of 268, 242 and 236 for a 746 series that edged runner-up Coltyn Bard of Piper by two pins. McLeod, who finished the season with a 193 average, also helped Andover Central back up its league and Emporia regional titles with its first state team championship. A second-team All-5A selection, McLeod returns along with fellow Jaguar medalists Gunnar Whitney and Evan Light to try to help Central defend its title haul.
 

MADDEN PUMPHREY, ANDOVER

Pumphrey picked a grand stage to roll the last of the state’s 10 300 games last season, doing it at the Class 5A state tournament to secure a top-5 individual finish. Pumphrey, who rolled his first 700 series in practice on the eve of the state tournament, came back with his strong final game to post a 722 series and finish fifth individually. That capped a sophomore season in which Pumphrey posted a 206 average with six top-5 finishes. Pumphrey proved to be a strong closer last season, averaging 219 in his final games. His 300 at state was the first at the KSHSAA state tournaments since 2020 and the first in Andover boys program history.
 

HENRY SCHATTILLY, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS

Schattilly was one of three 5A bowlers to roll a 300 game last year along with Maize South’s Will Winkelbauer and Andover's Madden Pumphrey, and one of 10 boys in the state to have a perfect game. Schattilly’s 300 came in a victory at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence in mid-January and helped him to a season average of 212 that was tops on the T-Birds last year. A state placer as a sophomore in 2024 when he took 18th, Schattilly missed out on a second straight medal as he had an off day at state with a high game of 215 at the meet and finishing with a 579 series, more than 100 pins below his top series of 693, and placed 39th. He’ll look to bounce back this year and try to lead Heights to its second state title in three years after also starting on the 2024 title team.
 

LUKE SWANSON, DE SOTO

As a junior, Swanson put together a memorable season with the De Soto team. Swanson was the Wildcats’ lone state qualifier and turned in a strong performance as he medaled 15th overall with a series of 645, which was also his high series for the season. The week before at regionals, Swanson posted his high-game with a 243 at Flint Hills Lanes. He carried that over to state where he bowled a 232 and 218 in his first two games. For the season, he recorded an average of 199.  
 

 
GUNNAR WHITNEY, ANDOVER CENTRAL
 
Whitney, a junior, helped Central make the most of its first state appearance since 2019 with a 10^th-place individual finish in Class 5A. That helped the Jaguars win their first state team title and capped a late-season surge of which Whitney played a significant part. After rolling a season-best 765 series that included back-to-back 276 games in late January, Whitney finished second to teammate Evan Light at the Emporia regional with a 700 series that helped the Jaguars claim the title. In his first state appearance, Whitney rolled a 668 series to join three Central teammates as top-20 individual medalists. 
 

 
WILL WINKELBAUER, MAIZE SOUTH
 
Winkelbauer, a junior, has put together two solid varsity seasons for Maize South, ending both with individual state medals in Class 5A. After earning All-5A first team as a freshman with his regional title and seventh-place state finish, Winkelbauer highlighted his 2025 season with a 300 game, a 764 series at a league triangular meet, and a team-leading 219 game average for the season. A second-team all-state selection, Winkelbauer finished 20^th in his second 5A state meet appearance and helped Maize South finish fourth in the team competition. He’s part of a veteran squad that could contend for a state championship.