Sports

Middleton senior Gavyn Hurley was named to the first-team of the The Associated Press’ All-State boys basketball team.

Hurley was previously named first-team all-state in Division 1 by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. The AP All-State team encompasses all five divisions.

Hurley was named the Big Eight Conference’s Player of the Year for a second straight season, as was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Hurley became the first player since Sun Prairie’s Nick Fuller (2012-2013) to win back-to-back Player of the Year honors.

“Not only was he first team, but he was the Player of the Year again,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said of Hurley. “And that’s not anything you take lightly.

“He’s better in all phases of the game than he was last year. He’s arguably the best player I’ve ever coached — right up there with three or four other people. The league saw Gavyn that way. He clearly earned it.”

Decisions, decisions.

That’s what Middleton boys golf coach Tom Cabalka will face early and often this season.

The Cardinals bring back four golfers from a group that finished sixth at the WIAA Division 1 state tournament. Fifteen of Middleton’s top-17 golfers from last spring are back.

And the Cardinals welcome what could eventually become the finest freshman class in school history.

Now, the challenge for Cabalka is to pick five to go to battle with each time out.

“The competition to break into the top-five should be very good,” Cabalka said. “Much depends on how much they worked on their game since last season. I would think that a number of them will have chances during the season in varsity matches to crack the top-five.”

Juniors Dain Johnson and Charlie Jambor will be staples in the lineup.

Eight of the players that started in Middleton’s WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal last June have graduated.

Seven of those players earned all-conference honors and helped the Cardinals post an impressive 19-9 season.

But even though Middleton has holes to fill all over the diamond and will be one of the Big Eight Conference’s most inexperienced teams, expectations don’t change.

That’s why Cardinals manager Brent Jorgensen is cautiously optimistic his team can produce another solid season.

“I believe very strongly that the expectation of our program is to reload,” said Jorgensen, now in his fifth year as the Cardinals’ skipper. “Our preparation and standards remain the same from year to year and we have a large senior class that can help us meet these expectations. However, many of the players on this year's team are unproven in consistent varsity competition, so there will be a bit of a learning curve for everyone.”

Henry Johnson understands he’s walking into what could be a historic situation.

Johnson is Middleton’s first year boys tennis coach. And the Cardinals have never won a WIAA Division 1 state championship.

But if things go according to plan, Johnson and the Cardinals could be hoisting a gold ball in June for the first time ever.

Middleton returns six players from last year’s team that reached the state semifinals. And many believe the Cardinals will be the team to beat this spring.

“This team can certainly make a run at the state trophy this season,” Johnson said. “We just can't let the hype around that overtake our discipline and identity.”

Johnson grew up in Fairfield, Ct., where he was a four-year standout at Fairfield Warde High School and an all-state performer as a senior. He played collegiately at Grinnell (Iowa) College and began coaching in the summers during that time.

Middleton High School is back to square one in its search for a new head football coach.

Brian Hellenbrand, the defensive coordinator at McFarland High School and a 2005 MHS graduate, was offered the position on March 24. After taking the weekend to think about the offer, Hellenbrand declined the position on March 28.

“It's disappointing,” Middleton athletic director Jamie Sims said Thursday. “We thought it was a done deal.”

Hellenbrand and Greg Spahn — the head coach at Grand Rapids (Minn.) High School — emerged as the top two candidates from a pool of 18 applicants.

The two finalists met with Sims, assistant A.D. Brad Crandall and principal Peg Shoemaker on March 22 and Hellenbrand was offered the job two days later.

Hellenbrand has never been a head coach, but has been an assistant coach in the Madison-area since 2012. Before that, he spent a year as a student coach at UW-La Crosse.

Everywhere I went this winter, I noticed it.

Bob Suter Court at Janesville Craig.

Craig Haase Court over at Hartland Arrowhead.

Even Ab Nicholas Court at the UW Kohl Center.

In many gyms across the state, the court is named after a great coach — or someone integral in getting that facility built.

Middleton High School’s court isn’t named after anybody. But it should be.

No individual meant more to the growth of basketball in Middleton — especially the girls’ games — as Jeff Kind did.

Kind, Middleton’s girls coach from 1993-2022, was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018. He compiled a remarkable 578-256 career record and is the sixth-winningest girls coach in state history.

Middleton senior point guard Gavyn Hurley was named first-team all-state by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association in Division 1.

Hurley was named the Big Eight Conference’s Player of the Year for a second straight season, as was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Hurley became the first player since Sun Prairie’s Nick Fuller (2012-2013) to win back-to-back Player of the Year honors.

“Not only was he first team, but he was the Player of the Year again,” Middleton coach Kevin Bavery said of Hurley. “And that’s not anything you take lightly.

“He’s better in all phases of the game than he was last year. He’s arguably the best player I’ve ever coached — right up there with three or four other people. The league saw Gavyn that way. He clearly earned it.”

Pitching.

Hitting.

Experience.

Incoming talent.

On paper, Middleton’s softball team has it all.

Of course, games are played on the diamond. But when that happens, Middleton coach Brittany Carl expects her Cardinals to have a terrific year.

“This team is hungry,” said Carl, whose team begins its new season Thursday against Madison Memorial. “We have a fantastic mix of talent and personalities that really gels well together.

“We return so many (players) from last season that have markedly improved — that have grown both as individuals and as a unit. I can’t wait to see what this particular group can accomplish together in 2023.”

Kevin Bavery’s datebook read: “March 18: State title game — UW Kohl Center.”

And for most of the winter, it looked like Bavery and his Middleton’s boys basketball team would keep that commitment.

The Cardinals enjoyed a brilliant season that saw them set school records for wins (25), winning percentage (.926) and climb as high as No. 2 in the state rankings.

Instead of chasing a gold ball, though, last Saturday night, Bavery was on his treadmill watching DePere and Hartland Arrowhead compete for a state championship. And Bavery admitted it wasn’t easy.

“The hardest part of any season is simply when it ends,” said Bavery, whose team fell in the sectional semifinals to Milwaukee Hamilton. “And for basketball there is only one team in each division that doesn't have that happen with a loss.

The best team in the Big Eight Conference didn’t have the most first-team all-league players.

And they didn't have the most overall all-conference players, as you might expect.

But Middleton boys basketball coach Kevin Bavery did his best not to bemoan those facts.

“Some other coaches saw things a different way,” Bavery said. “That’s their prerogative.”

Despite some perceived snubs, Middleton did land three players on the all-Big Eight team.

Senior guard Gavyn Hurley was named first-team all-conference and was voted the Big Eight’s Player of the Year for a second straight season.

Sophomore center Will Garlock was named second-team all-league and senior wing Kaden Fosdick was named honorable-mention all-Big Eight. In addition, Bavery was named the league’s Coach of the Year.