The beginning of October brings the basketball season here at JCCC. Both the men’s and women’s programs are coming off elite, high-achieving seasons, as both teams won more than 30 games during the regular season.  Both coaches, Ben Conrad and Rand Chappell, are coming off being named Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in their respective categories last season.  

The men started their 2026-2027 campaign with a good showing, where they had three exhibition games in the Oklahoma Jamboree.  The men have more experience this year, with the majority of the team being sophomores. The men’s team is led by sophomore guards Max Johnson and Trey Fulcher. Out of the new transfer arrivals, one surprise was Julian Marks, who played Division I football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers as a defensive tackle the previous year.  A football player transferring to play basketball is an interesting situation. Going from Nebraska to Kansas seems like a strange pipeline, but before Marks committed to play at Nebraska, his initial commitment was to play football at the University of Kansas. Marks played both football and basketball at Olathe South. Going from playing defensive line to playing center means he wont have to change his size to play the position. Fulcher excelled last year, securing first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division II and All-Region 6 Division II accolades.  He shot 68% from the free-throw line and 50% from the field, and he averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. Not to be outdone though, Johnson returns this season looking to build upon his solid 2025-26 season. Johnson was second in assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference, doing well to dish out the ball while being smart with his passing choices. 

 The women’s team is led by sophomores Anonda Ford and Layla Barnes.  The women won’t start their season until Oct. 10 at the Southwest Showcase. The women only lost one game last season, and they placed third in the national tournament. They had a perfect regular-season record. This year, JCCC has a younger team with more freshmen than sophomores. This youth may cause some trouble, but with the talent and mentorship of the older players and their elite coaching staff, these issues won’t cause much trouble for JCCC.   Ford had a great season last year, earning honors including Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Two-Year College Coaches All-American.  She averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds and shot 56% from the field.  Barnes also had a great season last year, averaging 4 points and 5 rebounds. Barnes set the tone in every game she was a part of, bringing a physical and dominating style of play to her game.