KJCCC Releases 2025-26 All-KJCCC D1 Women's Basketball Teams, Marchino Named MVP
The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has announced the 2025-26 KJCCC D1 Women’s Basketball All-KJCCC teams and winners of the major postseason honors. The awards, which were voted on by each of the league head coaches, include five individuals bringing home major accolades.
Major award winners from the 2025-26 regular season are Most Valuable Player Avery Marchino (Seward County), Freshman of the Year KaMyra Barber (Hutchinson), Newcomer of the Year Manuela Piljevic (Dodge City), Defensive Player of the Year Aliyah Green (Butler), and Coach of the Year Mike Helmer (Butler).
Most Valuable Player: Avery Marchino (Seward County)
The lone KJCCC D1 Women’s Basketball player to average over 20 points per game this season, Marchino lit up the scoreboard by averaging 20.6 points per game and shooting 42.4 percent from the floor while ranking third in the KJCCC in three-point field goal percentage (41.2 percent) and fourth in the league in free-throw percentage (81.6). Getting to the line a conference-best 201 times and converting 164 free throws, Marchino added 7.1 rebounds (eighth-best in the KJCCC) and 2.8 assists per game. Scoring a season-best 38 in a home win over Independence on February 18th, Marchino was held to single-digit scoring totals just four times in 32 games this season.
Freshman of the Year: KaMyra Barber (Hutchinson)
Hutchinson’s second-leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, Barber made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season by adding 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game while helping the Blue Dragons to a 26-5 overall record and second-place finish in the KJCCC regular season standings. Starting the season by scoring in double-figures in six-straight games, Barber finished the regular season by scoring in double-figures in 21 games, including 15 of 24 games against conference foes.
Newcomer of the Year: Manuela Piljevic (Dodge City)
A three-point shooting threat that shot 39.5 percent from beyond the arc, Piljevic led Dodge City in scoring average and was one of three Conquistadors to average double-figures after scoring 14.4 points per game in addition to a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game. Dishing out 2.6 assists per contest, defensively, Piljevic recorded 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game and ranked second in the KJCCC in points per 40 minutes (25.4) while scoring 20 or more points five times.
Defensive Player of the Year: Aliyah Green (Butler)
Green appeared in 28 of Butler’s 30 regular-season games, making 18 starts and helping BCC allow a KJCCC-best 51.1 points per contest. Against the Grizzlies, opponents averaged just 33.9 percent from the field, were outrebounded by more than 10 rebounds per game, and committed an average of 20.7 turnovers per contest. Individually, Green averaged 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game to go along with the third-highest field goal percentage in the conference (53.5 percent).
Coach of the Year: Mike Helmer (Butler)
In his final year on the sidelines with the Grizzlies, Helmer led Butler to a 29-1 regular season record and an outright KJCCC Division 1 Women’s Basketball title to give BCC their first conference title since 2021. The lone loss for Butler came to Garden City back on December 3, 2025, as the Grizzlies have won 21 straight games, including a win over the Lady Broncbusters in the NJCAA Region 6 Division 1 Women’s Basketball Plains District Tournament quarterfinals to advance to the Region 6 Tournament semifinals for the fourth-straight season.