If you’ve spent any time in a cold gymnasium in rural Illinois lately, you probably know that something weirdly special is happening in Maple Park. Honestly, it’s not just about winning games. It’s about how Kaneland High School basketball suddenly turned into a buzzsaw that nobody in Class 3A wants to touch.
Last year was a literal movie. 32 wins. 31 of them in a row. A sectional title that felt like it shifted the tectonic plates of the Interstate 8 Conference. But then, the dream hit a wall against DePaul Prep in the Super-Sectional. Most programs would take a decade to recover from losing a senior class like that.
The Knights? They just kept winning.
The Unbeaten Run and the "Four-Minute Wars"
As of mid-January 2026, the varsity boys are sitting at a ridiculous 16-0. They aren't just squeaking by, either. They’re dismantling teams. People keep asking Coach Ernie Colombe what the "secret sauce" is, and his answer is kinda intense: they don’t scrimmage in practice.
Instead, they do these things called "four-minute wars."
It’s basically high-speed chaos designed to break you mentally and physically. If you can survive four minutes of that intensity, a Friday night game against Sycamore or LaSalle-Peru feels like a vacation. You’ve probably noticed it if you’ve watched them lately—the way they come out in the third quarter and just suffocate people.
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Take the recent Winnebago game. It was a 74-54 blowout where senior Isaiah Gipson came off the bench and basically sparked a 15-0 run by himself. That’s the depth we’re talking about. When your "bench guys" are playing with that kind of chip on their shoulder, you're in trouble.
The Roster Everyone is Watching
- Marshawn Cocroft: The Grand Valley State recruit. He’s the engine. He dropped 28 on Winnebago and makes the game look like it's moving in slow motion.
- Jeffrey Hassan: A 6-foot-9 junior who is finally realizing nobody can actually stop him once he gets deep position.
- Jake Buckley: He’s headed to North Central for football, but his "bull in a china shop" style in the paint is why Kaneland wins the rebounding battle every single night.
- Jalen Carter: Another NIU football commit who brings that "lockdown" secondary energy to the perimeter defense.
Why the Girls' Team is the Real "Grind" Story
While the boys are grabbing the headlines with the undefeated streak, Brian Claesson’s girls' squad is out here doing the dirty work. They’re sitting around 11-5, but don’t let that record fool you. Their schedule is a gauntlet.
They just took down Metea Valley 39-29. That’s a classic Kaneland score. They don't want to outscore you; they want to make you hate playing basketball for 32 minutes.
It’s a young group, too. You've got juniors like Dani Ridolfi and Addie Zahlit leading the charge, but the future is already on the floor with sophomores like Grace Brunscheen and Lillyana Crawford getting major minutes. They’re currently sitting at the top of the Interstate 8, and honestly, their defense is probably more disciplined than half the college teams I’ve seen this year.
The Drama You Might Have Missed
Remember the 2025 Sectional final? The game against Crystal Lake South?
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That was one of the most bizarre moments in Illinois high school sports history. There was a controversial ruling that nearly ended Kaneland’s season on a technicality, only for the IHSA Board of Directors to overturn the decision at the eleventh hour. It was pure chaos.
That moment solidified the "us against the world" mentality that seems to have carried over into this 2026 season. You can see it in the way they play. There’s a specific kind of arrogance—the good kind—that comes from knowing you’ve already survived the weirdest postseason in school history.
What Most People Get Wrong About Maple Park
People think Kaneland is just a "football school" that happens to be tall.
Wrong.
The feeder program in Elburn and Sugar Grove is a machine. By the time these kids hit freshman year at the high school, they’ve already played 100+ games together in the DYTBL (DuPage Youth Travel Basketball League). They know each other's tendencies before they even step into the varsity gym.
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It’s why the ball movement is so crisp. It's why a guy like Evan Frieders or Connor Kimme knows exactly where the skip pass is going before the defender even rotates. It’s not luck; it’s a decade of chemistry.
Real Talk: Can They Actually Win State?
Look, 16-0 is great. Being ranked #14 in the state is cool for the trophy case. But the path through Class 3A is a nightmare. You’ve still got powerhouses like MacArthur and Centralia looming in the bracket.
Kaneland’s biggest hurdle isn't talent; it’s the target on their back. When you’re the undefeated team from the cornfields, everyone plays their "Game 7" against you.
The Knights are currently favored to win the Interstate 8 again, but the real test comes in late February. If Hassan stays out of foul trouble and Cocroft continues to play like a POY candidate, there’s no reason this team can't be at the State Farm Center in March.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans and Scouts
If you're trying to keep up with the madness, here is what you actually need to do:
- Watch the Home Stand: They have a massive game against Naperville Central on January 20th. If they’re still undefeated then, the gym is going to be a sellout. Get there by 5:30 PM if you want a seat.
- Follow the "Krier": The student newspaper, the Kaneland Krier, actually has better boots-on-the-ground coverage than most of the major dailies.
- Check the IHSA Computer Rankings: These update every Thursday. Keep an eye on Kaneland’s strength of schedule; it’s the only thing that will keep them from a #1 seed if they drop a random game.
- Support the Feeder: If you have a kid in the district, the tryouts for the 3rd-8th grade teams are the foundation of this whole thing. That’s where the "Four-Minute War" mentality actually starts.
Basically, the era of Kaneland being an "underdog" is over. They’re the hunters now. Whether they can finish the job this time is the only question left.