By Steve CarpenterHutchinson Community College Sports Information Director
My how times flies when you are having fun … especially if you are a fan of the Hutchinson Community College women's basketball program.
It may not seem like it, but the program began its climb to the NJCAA's elite in the 2007-08 season when head coach John Ontjes was hired.
Now Monday night, Ontjes starts season No. 20 with the Blue Dragons when Hutchinson opens the 2026-27 season with Neosho County at 5:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena.
Over the first 19 seasons, Ontjes has accumulated a record of 541-108 at Hutchinson. Under Ontjes, the Blue Dragons have won 11 Jayhawk Conference championships, eight Region 6 titles, has appeared in 13 NJCAA Tournaments and captured the 2024 NJCAA National Championship.
So one would assume the expectations for Year No. 20 would be extremely high … they would be right.
Hutchinson is ranked No. 11 in the preseason NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Rankings and was picked to finish second in the preseason KJCCC Coaches' Poll.
That comes off a season where the Blue Dragons finished 29-7 overall. Hutchinson tied with Dodge City for second in the KJCCC, finished as Region 6 runner-up and earned an at-large bid to the 2026 NJCAA Tournament and was the last of three Jayhawk Conference teams in Lakes Charles, Louisiana, advancing to the NJCAA quarterfinals.
The Blue Dragons were still one of the best defensive teams in the nation in 2025-26 allowing 55.3 points per game. Offense was a struggle at times as the Blue Dragons scored 68.3 points per game for the season.
So what's Ontjes thinking about Team 20 in 2026-27?
"We are excited about the upcoming season," Ontjes said. "We have three returning sophomores and three transfers along with six freshmen. I feel that our strength is with the depth of our guard position, and we are more athletic as a group."
Two of Hutchinson's three returning players saw significant playing minutes as freshmen.
Sophomore point guard Whitney Brown (5-foot-4, Fayetteville, AR) started in 35 of 36 games and averaged 8.6 points, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Brown shot 32.7 percent from the field last season. Sophomore forward Kaia Smith (6-0, Hutchinson) played in 33 games as a freshman and averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Tayla Galucho (5-8, Melbourne, Australia) saw action in 20 games last season, averaging 1.1 points per game.
"Whitney is our returning point guard who does a great job of managing the game on the floor," Ontjes said. "Kaia returning forward who can stretch the floor. Tayla is a returning guard that has improved her range and is a solid defender."
The Blue Dragons add three transfers to the roster this season in Londyn Harper (5-7, guard, Duncanville, Texas, Three Rivers CC), Robynn Thompson (5-10, guard, Memphis, Tennessee, Queens University) and Abril Ricart (5-9, guard, Barcelona Spain, Jacksonville State).
Ontjes also has six freshmen joining the program in guard Nicolly Sanches (5'8, Itatiba, Brazil), forward Rebeca Corte (6'2, Sao Paulo, Brazil), guard Liva Hermane (5'9, Riga, Latvia); forward Dazlyn McClenon (5-10, Houston, Texas), forward Bonni Buttsworth (6-4, Queensland, Australia) and forward Jaslene Garcia-Howell (6-0, Pawnee, OK).
Ontjes likes his guard depth and a potential to be strong inside this season.
Joining Brown at the point is Sanches. Harper and Galucho are slated to be at the 2-guard. Hermaine, Ricart and Thompson will see time at the 3-guard.
In the paint, Smith and McClenon will be the forwards, while Buttsworth, Garcia-Howell and Corte will play the 5 position.
"I really think we can have a lot of impact players with our incoming players," Ontjes said. "Look for Dazlyn, Liva, Nicolly, London and Abril to be big contributors. With more experience, Jaslene can be a really good player. Also Robynn has the ability to score in multiple ways to be a big asset this season."
The Jayhawk Conference will be another grind for all 13 teams in 2026-27.
Dodge City was picked to win the league and is ranked No. 7. Coffeyville was picked third in the league and is ranked No. 19. Defending KJCCC and Region 6 champion Butler was picked fifth in the league and is receiving votes in the national rankings.
"The Jayhawk conference is always difficult, no exception this year," Ontjes said. "The team that plays with the most consistency will come out on top."
The Blue Dragons have a challenging non-conference season before starting KJCCC play on November 18 at Coffeyville.