All In, All Covered — the initiative the Denver Broncos Foundation announced Jan. 28 that plans to donate 15,516 new Riddell Axiom helmets across each Colorado high school program over the next four seasons — has 250 schools signed up, according to the team.

Colorado has 277 high school football programs, so about 90% of the state’s teams are participating. A key change to the program’s requirements that came two weeks after its launch, in which the Broncos reversed course and said schools did not have to use the data element of the smart helmets to participate, helped jumpstart the groundswell.

When the $12 million initiative first launched, concerns over the smart helmets’ data and how it would be stored and used kept several school districts from immediately opting into the program. Those holdouts included the state’s largest districts in Denver Public Schools, Jeffco Public Schools and Douglas County School District — all of which are now participating.

“(Using the data element) is certainly something we’re still going to continue to look at, but without having to do the data privacy agreements and have it vetted through our technology team, it expedited the process,” said DPS athletic director Kevin Bendjy, who expects his district’s participation to be formally approved in a Board of Education meeting next week.

“It seems like it’s a favorable response statewide at this point and pretty optimistic altogether.”

In addition to DPS, Jeffco and DCSD, The Denver Post confirmed that 19 other districts are participating in the program.

That includes larger districts such as Cherry Creek School District, Boulder Valley School District, Aurora Public Schools, St. Vrain Valley School District and Adams 12 Five Star Schools, districts in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, districts with one football program such as Fort Morgan and Byers 32J, and tiny rural districts such as Rocky Ford.

Of the 22 districts The Post spoke with, three — Byers 32J, Rocky Ford and Platte Valley — confirmed they will be using the data aspect of the Axioms. The majority will be participating in the program without the InSite Smart Helmet Technology that tracks helmet hits and the InSite Analytics used to analyze that data.

Riddell owns the helmet data, which can be anonymized. The company uses the information for product development, support and enhancements.

For a school like Rocky Ford, athletic director and football coach Sean McNames said his district believes the ability to learn from the data outweighed potential legal concerns.

“As a coach, I feel some of the data would be nice to monitor,” McNames said. “Where are our biggest collisions happening in practice? Do we need to change some of the drills we use in practice due to contact? How physically demanding was last Friday night’s game?”

At Douglas County High School, football coach Eric Rice said there was a buzz about his program when Riddell reps came to Castle Rock to do 3D scans for the helmets with his players.

“My players were very excited when they were getting fitted,” Rice said. “I would equate it to watching kids open their Christmas presents.”

The number of helmets each school receives varies based on classification. Each 5A school gets 100 total helmets at a rate of 25 per year, while 4A teams get 84 total, 3A gets 70, 2A gets 44, 1A gets 36, 8-man gets 26 and 6-man gets 22. The Axiom has a 2025 retail value of $980, according to Riddell’s 2025 catalog.

While each district’s savings varies, participation in All In, All Covered will have a ripple effect by providing additional funding for football, as well as other sports at many schools. Bendjy estimates DPS will save more than $400,000 over four years. On a micro level, Fort Morgan athletic director Lucas Devlin estimates his school will save more than $65,000.

Bendjy says DPS’ savings will be “repurposed in other areas” of the district athletic budget. Devlin says his district’s savings will be applied toward reconditioning the Axioms, in addition to buying more football equipment. For Rice’s Huskies, he hopes to use the surplus of about $10,000 this season to buy a new gauntlet machine for his running backs and address other big-ticket equipment items.

Elsewhere, Thompson School District will also use its savings to address equipment needs within other sports, while Mesa County Valley School District 51 plans to use the money specifically for girls sports.

While the positive ramifications of the program continue to stack up, one of Riddell’s main competitors that hoped to be included believes the initiative isn’t as well-rounded as it could be. Certor Sports, the parent company of Schutt and Vicis, approached the Broncos to try to get its helmets integrated into All In, All Covered alongside Riddell.

The offer was rebuffed. Chad Hall, Certor Sports’ chief marketing officer, pointed out that the company has three of the top six helmets in the Virginia Tech varsity football helmet ratings, where the Axiom comes in at No. 7. He also says Schutt/Vicis helmets, which do not have a data component, can be custom fit without the need for 3D scans.

“We applaud the Broncos Foundation because this is an amazing thing that they’re doing,” Hall said. “But the assumption could be that (the Axiom) is the safest thing I could be wearing as an athlete. … We just want to make sure there’s an understanding that that’s not the case.

“For example, the locker room of the Denver Broncos looks very different than what is being presented to the whole state of Colorado. The locker room of the Denver Broncos is a locker room of choice. That choice is not being presented (to high schools). There are other options available that are not being presented as solutions because of the exclusivity arrangement that exists.”

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Deep in the throes of drug addiction at the time, the former MSU Denver pitcher made a plan to end his life the night before. Instead, he blacked out and ended up back at his house, passed out in his car. He woke up and made his way to Lakewood New Life Center.

“I walked over there, and I was still really messed up,” Fisher recalled. “I felt like somebody was trying to pull me into the traffic. Every time I started going that way, I felt somebody else pull me back. It was like a tug-of-war all the way to the church.”

When he got there, he met Pastor Refugio Cancino, who prayed with Fisher over the course of several hours. Fisher found a new path in faith and sobriety that 2001 morning — and it’s only grown stronger since, thanks in part to a lifelong connection to baseball.

As another season arrives on the Front Range, the 73-year-old remains tethered to the sport in ways both simple and profound. Without baseball, Fisher insists, he wouldn’t be here today.

“My faith in Jesus Christ saved me that day, but baseball always kept me grounded,” he said. “Baseball’s been my life — if it wasn’t for the game, I probably would’ve been dead. Because up until that point, the only time I felt in control of my life is when I was pitching.”

Into a spiral

Fisher showed promise from a young age. At 6, he was able to throw a baseball from home plate about 230 feet over the center field fence at a youth park. By the time he played at Adams City High School, he emerged as an ace.

But when he was deployed to Vietnam at 18, everything changed. During his five months in the Army there, like many American soldiers in the conflict, he developed a heroin addiction. His drug habits continued and expanded during his career at MSU Denver.

Even amid abusing heroin, cocaine, alcohol and other drugs, Fisher got the attention of the Royals at a tryout in 1975. With a fastball hovering around 90 mph, a buckling curveball and slider, and pinpoint command, Kansas City was interested in the right-hander after the first day of tryouts and wanted him to come back for another look.

“But I got high, and I didn’t go,” Fisher lamented. “And they went looking for me, but I was in (no shape to pitch).”

Those years were only the beginning of a three-decade struggle with addiction. Along the way, Fisher burned through five marriages, endured dysfunctional relationships with his immediate family, specifically his dad, and even dealt drugs himself.

Fisher remains estranged from two of his three adult children — a fact that eats at him.

“He was alone a lot of the times because of the choices that he made for himself, and the choices that he made with his women,” explained his oldest daughter, Tami Lomax, a 52-year-old Oklahoma resident. “Because obviously he had poor choices in them, and he did seem to choose those things over his family — his women, his drugs and his alcohol. Those always took a precedence over his kids and his family for a long time.”

Lomax is the only one of Fisher’s children he has contact with. She says she’s forgiven him for his absence in her life when she was growing up. Her father’s growth and maturation as a person has been on a learning curve, she says, and Fisher agrees.

“I learned that you’ve got to be yourself all the time,” he said. “I thought I was, but apparently I had a demon that was chasing (my true self) away.

“I make mistakes still, but it’s how I deal with them: I don’t run and hide anymore. I face my problems as they come.”

Finding himself again

Since that fateful morning on June 30, 2001, Fisher says he’s remained sober.

Amid the clean chapter of his life, baseball has been his constant as he’s focused on being a better friend and father, and making up for past misdeeds. He rekindled his relationship with his late father. He also got married for a sixth time, to a woman he met through church, and they are approaching their fourth anniversary.

Over the past 24 years of of sobriety, the National Adult Baseball Association Hall of Famer continued to play for the Denver Grizzlies, the Sunday-league team he founded in 1992. He also beat esophageal cancer in 2007.

Even after that health scare, friend and former teammate Bill Rogan, who manages the Bakersfield Train Robbers in the Pecos League, says Fisher could bring the heat well into his senior years. Rogan estimates Fisher threw in the low 80s well into his 50s and in the mid-70s well into his 60s.

“He is a guy who always hit his spots really well,” said another longtime Grizzlies teammate Dan Clemens. “He’s crafty, he knows how to pitch, change speeds, he knows how to outthink the hitter most of the time. Even when he was 15, 20 years older than his opponents, he would still sneak fastballs by you because he still had a little bit of zip on it.”

Neck issues that required two surgeries have kept Fisher from being a full-time player in recent years and from pitching. But he’s determined to get back on the mound, maybe even at some point this summer.

“I want to get back out there to finish on my own terms,” Fisher said. “Even if it’s just one more batter, and one more out, I think I’ve got it in me.”

“The Fish” as pitching coach

Fisher’s journey inspired a book about him, written by Rogan and released in 2014, as well as a movie of the same name.

“Still Pitching” is an independent movie from Faith Full Films. It was completed about five years ago, but still hasn’t been distributed, something Fisher says will hopefully happen this year.

As Fisher’s redemption found its way into the movies, he’s also emerged as a mentor at his church and elsewhere. Pastor Cancino says Fisher provides guidance to members of New Life Center who have dealt with addiction. He also speaks to different congregations around the metro area about his struggles. He’s taken his story to the diamond, too.

“Shortly after the book came out, we went up to Fort Collins for (a college summer league game) and they gathered the teams off to the side before it started for Rick to talk to the players,” Rogan said. “Like most kids, they’re like ‘Ah geez, another pep talk from an old guy.’ Then Rick started into his story, and all of a sudden these guys were paying attention.

“It was no longer just some old guy with a pep talk. And right then, Rick knew the impact of talking about what he went through.”

Fisher has taken up coaching to keep scratching his baseball itch. He just started his second season as the pitching coach for Dakota Ridge’s eighth grade feeder team, and Eagles varsity assistant coach Shane Fugita says Fisher’s already made a significant impact.

“I consider that team one of our most significant programs in our Dakota Ridge system, because that’s our future,” explained Fugita, who got to know Fisher as the president and CEO of the National Adult Baseball Association. “I picked Rick because he’s old school, and he understands the mechanics and fundamentals of baseball and how to convey them to young pitchers.

“… Plus, there have been plenty of times in practice when kids are struggling, and I’ve seen Rick pull kids off to the side, and not only help them with what they’re struggling with baseball-wise, but ask them what’s going on and how they’re feeling off the field. That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a coach.”

As Rogan explains, the version of the person that the Dakota Ridge eighth graders are getting is what he believes to be the true, enduring side of Fisher, brought to light since that fateful day in 2001.

“Rick’s had a tough life, but he’s turned it around,” Rogan said. “It’s like Rick was the expansion Mets for many years, and then he turned into the ’69 Miracle Mets. Rick was down for as long as you could be. But he ended up winning the fight.”

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“Lauren and Kiki, they had it perfect the first time,” Betts, mother of the former Grandview stalwart and current UCLA star, recalled to me in advance of Lauren leading her Bruins into the NCAA women’s hoops Final Four on Friday. “The timing of the people popping up behind them in the window, they were struggling to figure out ways to make that part work. It was a huge production. There must have been 100 (on the crew) there in and outside the house.”

Michelle knew in mid-February, the day of the AT&T shoot, that her kiddo had hit the big time. Mind you, it didn’t quite blow her mind when they dropped Mom off at a parochial school that had been converted into a Hollywood backlot. Or when she saw pavement covered up by the kind of trailers you’d see in Apple TV’s “The Studio.”

A few steps later, though, one image finally did. It was when Michelle walked up to one of those white superstar trailers, only to find a sign on the front that read, “MISS LAUREN BETTS.”

Ka-blooey. Complete, total ka-blooey.

“I was like, ‘What the (heck) is this kid’s life right now?'” Michelle said.

Once Mom got through the door, she noticed a hair stylist and a makeup artist in one corner of the trailer, while a spread of catered food lined another.

“Who the (heck) are you?” an incredulous Michelle asked her daughter.

“I know,” Lauren replied. “Can you believe this?”

Believe it.  Betts, whose 34-2 Bruins meet 35-3 UConn in the second national semifinal Friday in Tampa, is fast joining the Lakers’ Luka Doncic as one of the freshest new faces in the L.A. hoops scene.

The 6-foot-7 center scored 17 points, pulled down seven boards and blocked six shots in a 72-65 win over LSU in the regional final, avenging a Sweet 16 loss to those same Tigers in Albany at this time a year ago.

The younger Betts, a first-team AP All-American and Naismith/WBCA Defensive Player of the Year, stormed the Big Dance, averaging 23 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.5 blocks through four NCAA tourney appearances.

In fact, Lauren’s inaugural run through the Big Ten was so dominant, and seen by so many more eyeballs than previous seasons at Stanford and UCLA (thanks, Pac-12 Network!), that draftniks figured Betts would be a sure-fire top 5 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft — if she chose to forgo her senior season.

Spoiler alert: She won’t.

One of the reasons, Mom says, is the opportunity to play with little sister Sienna, a UCLA commit, next fall. Another is the fact that the Bruins, loaded as they are, could be even better next season. And there are her current Name/Image/Likeness partnerships: In addition to the campaign with AT&T, Betts has deals with Under Armour, C4 Energy, JLab, The Den, HighlightHER, Bumble and Grandeur Models.

Lauren and Sienna’s marketing is being handled by the heavy hitters at William Morris Endeavor. The agency’s clientele are so permeated into pop culture that most of Denver probably owns a record, movie or book produced by somebody with WME ties.

“I thought it was hilarious that people thought Lauren was going to enter the draft early,” Michelle said. “I really didn’t get it. She had no reason to go early, and it never crossed her mind to go into the draft as a junior.”

Between Sienna’s winning MVP honors at the McDonald’s All-American game in New York and Lauren cruising through postseason tourneys, Mom’s spent the last few weeks zipping through DIA terminals. She cracked that balloons from the celebrations over Sienna’s state title with Grandview last month are still floating around her place.

“I feel like I’ve barely been here,” Michelle chuckled. “I have decorations I still have to put away.”

And while Lauren may be the new Toast of Tinseltown, her ceiling is still a Mile High. Mama Betts figures she’s caught her daughter’s AT&T commercial by now in Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Spokane — and all points in between.

But probably the favorite time it popped up for her was last weekend at a hotel bar in Brooklyn, while watching Lauren and Kiki knock off LSU on her smart phone. Mom, who’d just flown from Washington state to the Big Apple, fist-pumped her way to a catbird seat on Cloud 9. Who says fairy tales can’t have sequels?

“Welcome,” Michelle laughed, “to Hollywood.”

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Betts, the younger sister of UCLA All-American Lauren Betts, finished with MVP honors, grabbing seven rebounds and handing out two assists. Breanna Stewart, whose WNBA’s New York Liberty also play at the Barclays Center, presented Betts with an award after the win. Other WNBA stars on hand included Rickea Jackson of the Los Angeles Sparks, DiJonai Carrington of Connecticut and Courtney Williams at courtside.

The West roster also featured guard Aaliyah Chavez, the top girls’ prospect in the nation according to 247Sports. Chavez is committed to Oklahoma.

The East squad featured a trio of Tennessee signees led by guard Mia Pauldo, forward Deniya Prawl and guard Jaida Civil. Pauldo had nine points, seven assists and three rebounds for the East. Stanford also had three commitments in the game with guard Hailee Swain and forward Lara Somfai of IMG Academy playing for the East and forward Alexandra Eschmeyer with Betts on the West roster.

Texas and South Carolina, both Final Four-bound, had its representatives. Forwards Ayla McDowell and Agot Makeer both are headed to join coach Dawn Staley with the Gamecocks, while guard Aaliyah Crump was the lone McDonald’s All-American heading to Texas.

What does an accolade-laden Colorado dude have to do to get a Power 4 basketball offer nowadays?

Scherer balled in another universe for the Eagles the past couple of winters. He swept the state’s individual awards last season — CHSAA 6A Player of the Year, Gatorade state player of the year, MaxPreps state player of the year and The Post’s Mr. Colorado Basketball — while leading Valor Christian to the championship.

Then he duplicated that accolade four-peat as a senior while steering the Eagles back to the title game. For that, the 6-foot-2 point guard only got one Division I offer, from Eastern Washington, where he signed in November.

“Sometimes I think our college coaches get caught up in the measurables — how big is he, what’s his vertical and this and that,” Rangeview head coach Shawn Palmer said. “There’s some truth to that. But can the kid play at a high level, and does he understand the game? Cole does both.

“He traveled the country with his AAU team as well, so it’s not like he didn’t do it out of state on the circuit, too. … I think our local college basketball programs missed the boat on getting him committed to their program when it was pretty clear last year he was the state’s best player.”

The transfer portal and NIL landscape have altered the college options for players like Scherer, especially in a flyover state for boys hoops like Colorado.

For his part, Scherer is excited about the opportunity EWU presents, and his chance in Cheney, Wash., to prove all those Power 4 coaches wrong.

“I’m excited to get out there,” Scherer said. “A couple of their guards have entered the transfer portal and left, so I’m just honestly relying on God, on His plan, and I’m going to keep working to showcase what I have.”

After his prolific junior season, Scherer didn’t rest on his laurels.

The gym rat, who spent hundreds of hours in the gym over the past few years with his trainers, Jordan Jhabvala and Nick Graham, was prepared for the increased defensive game-planning teams threw at him this season.

The result? He led the state at 26.9 points per game, topping last year’s scoring average (22.0). He also increased his rebounding (6.7 from 5.6), assists (4.9 from 4.0), steals (2.5 from 2.2) and blocks (1.1 from 0.9).

Scherer finished with 2,039 career points as Valor Christian’s all-time leading scorer. He ranks 13th all-time in Colorado history, according to the CHSAA record book, and fourth all-time among players from the state’s two biggest classifications.

“He continued to evolve,” observed Valor Christian head coach Jeff Platt. “… And because he made the right plays to make his teammates better, it elevated their play. When teams tried to take Cole out of the game, we had other guys step up because Cole bought into playing how he’s going to have to play in college. He did that while still scoring at a high rate.”

Scherer is just the fourth player to win both Mr. Colorado Basketball and the Gatorade state player of the year multiple times, joining Denver East’s Dominique Collier, Regis Jesuit’s Bud Thomas and Mr. Big Shot himself, George Washington’s Chauncey Billups.

He led Valor Christian to double-digit victories in nine out of 10 playoff games over the last two seasons, the exception being the Eagles’ 65-63 loss to Eaglecrest in the Class 6A championship this season. Even though Valor Christian came up short of a repeat, Scherer remained unstoppable at Denver Coliseum, where he didn’t come off the floor for one second while averaging 34 points over three games.

In the championship, he posted a double-double with 35 points and 10 rebounds, his motor continuing to hum at a high rate until the final buzzer.

Scherer said he’s “always liked the bigger moments more,” and Platt agreed.

“He never flinched,” Platt said. “We just came up a little short that night (against Eaglecrest). Finishing the way he did, it epitomized his competitive level throughout the last four years.”

In the Final Four, Scherer ripped Rangeview for 39 points and 12 rebounds. Palmer’s game plan was to trap Scherer every time he had the ball. But Scherer seemed to always have an answer, even against the impressive athleticism of the then-undefeated Raiders.

“It’s hard to imagine trapping a guy almost every time he touched it in the full-court and the half-court, and he still ends up with 39, which shows you what kind of player he is and how frustrating it is to coach against him,” Palmer said.

In Scherer, Palmer sees parallels to other Colorado high school boys basketball stars of recent memory who were overlooked by Power 4 schools.

The Rangeview boss brought up guys like Grandview’s Eric Garcia (a standout at Wofford) and Eaglecrest’s Colbey Ross (a star at Pepperdine), both of whom went on to play professionally overseas. Late bloomer Dalton Knecht of Prairie View started at Northeastern Junior College before eventually making his way to UNC, then Tennessee. Now he’s with the Lakers.

And more recently, Palmer noted how Rangeview’s Obi Agbim and Overland’s Graham Ike paved their way to major college basketball after playing at Wyoming. Agbim spent time at the juco level and in the RMAC before Wyoming and hit the transfer portal after starring for the Cowboys this season. He’s now reportedly headed to Baylor. Meanwhile, Ike just finished a second consecutive strong season at Gonzaga following his first two years in Laramie.

Palmer predicts that if Scherer plays to his potential at EWU, it may not be his final college destination.

“Cole maybe could’ve waited to commit (and got more offers), but to his credit, he went with the program that believed in him,” Palmer said. “I think he’s going to be a very successful college basketball player. And you never know where he might end up.”

After guiding Legend to its first title game by beating one blue-chip, Riverdale Ridge’s Brihanna Crittendon, the coach’s reward was to game plan for another one of the nation’s best players on less than 48 hours’ notice.

The result was somewhat predictable, as The Denver Post’s Ms. Colorado Basketball racked up a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds to claim her and Grandview’s third state championship in four years.

“Sienna is the toughest because she’s the biggest game-changer,” Pitzner said. “You think you’ve got actions and defenses ready for her, but she’s just too much of a force, too much of a presence. And she’s smart because if you’re going to triple-team her, she’ll just kick it out to some of their good shooters, and their shooters were feeling it on that Saturday.

“You run out of answers real quick.”

Pitzner thought he had a good blueprint coming in, especially after Legend nearly knocked off Grandview earlier in the season. The Titans were leading in the fourth quarter of that game on Jan. 18 in Aurora, as the athletic Titans kept Betts from completely taking over with an upside-down triangle-and-two. The scheme called for man-to-man defense on Betts, plus a rim protector.

While Betts eventually settled in and led the Wolves to an OT win that night, finishing with 32 points and 12 rebounds, Pitzner made some adjustments to his upside-down triangle-and-two for the championship. But once the Titans got down early and Grandview slowed the pace of the game in the second half, he had to throw the junk defenses out the window.

And even the combination of the Titans’ Division I bigs — All-Colorado selection Mason Borcherding (Boise State) and Aubrey Cook (San Diego State) — couldn’t slow Betts. Neither could any other Colorado team this season as Betts racked up a state-best 27 double-doubles while averaging 23 points, 16.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.4 blocks and 2.3 steals.

“I’ve been going against double-teams so long in club and high school, I’ve adjusted my game and it’s not even a big deal to me anymore,” Betts said. “But probably the craziest thing I’ve experienced is a triple-team or quadruple team, which I don’t even realize in the game, but then I look at photos afterwards and there’s four around me, or a triangle-and-two or a box-and-one. But we prepared for that.”

The UCLA commit, who will join her sister Lauren on the Bruins, says she adopted a more intense mindset this season en route to McDonald’s All-American honors, a second Ms. Colorado Basketball nod and her third straight Gatorade state player of the year award.

A loss to Mullen in the Class 6A Sweet 16 last year underscored that recalibration.

“With committing to UCLA last year and all the (recruiting) stuff, I think I wasn’t as focused as I need to be, and as I was this year and my sophomore year,” Betts said. “That really built my motivation to remind myself how badly I want to win. My mindset going into the playoffs was that I refused to lose again. I refused to be in that situation and feel the way I did last year.”

Betts finished her career with 2,022 total points (11th all-time, according to the CHSAA record book, and 4th among big-school hoopers). And her 1,508 rebounds are the most for any boy or girl in state history.

Her status as Grandview’s assists leader in 2024-25 underscored the 6-foot-4 forward’s impressive court vision.

“She reminds me a lot of Nikola Jokic,” Grandview sophomore guard Ava Chang said. “She sees the entire court, including people cutting behind her, and she makes (hard passes look easy).”

Grandview head coach Josh Ulitzky says the most impressive aspect of Betts’ three championships was how her role and status differed on each of those teams. As a freshman, she was the team’s second-best player in Lauren’s shadow; she took over as a sophomore in a breakout season; and as a senior turned in a campaign that lived up to, and in many ways exceeded, the hype.

Along the way, Ulitzky says Sienna became a more skilled high school player than both Lauren (who largely dominated with her height and length) and another ex-Grandview star in 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere (who excelled with incredible athleticism).

“Every time she’s won a title, she’s been with a completely different group,” Ulitzky said. “As a sophomore, I love that group of kids, but we had no business winning the title. And she was literally like, ‘Hop on, I’ll carry you.'”

Now, Betts heads off to UCLA with the hope she can make an impact as a freshman. She plans to play the four spot while Lauren, who has established herself a soon-to-be top WNBA draft pick once her college career is over, returns for a final season as the Bruins’ center. UCLA takes on LSU in the Elite 8 on Sunday.

“I expect the whole ‘Lauren’s sister’ stuff again because she’s made such a name for herself in the college realm,” Sienna Betts said. “But I think I’m more prepared this time, and way more confident in my ability, and it won’t affect me as much as it did when I was 14 or 15. I’m really excited to play with her, have her in the post, play off each other and hopefully make a name for ourselves together.”

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The year was 2010, and the Albuquerque, N.M., native had just made a career leap of faith after working for four years as a police officer in Leawood, Kan. He landed a job as an unpaid assistant women’s basketball coach at Johnson County Community College, where that first season he did whatever was asked of him.

Washing uniforms. Filling up the water. Playing on the scout team. It was basically a glorified manager role — and one that laid the base for a Colorado high school coaching career that brought Krapcha to Eaglecrest, which he led to the Class 6A boys hoops title this season.

“I contacted every single small school in the Kansas City area — community colleges, NAIAs — emailed them, called them,” Krapcha recalled. “Basically, every single one, I got no response or was told no. Then (JCCC head coach Ben Conrad) offered to meet with me.

“(Taking that job) ended up being one of the best decisions ever.”

Krapcha, The Denver Post’s All-Colorado boys basketball Coach of the Year after guiding the Raptors to their third title in school history and first since 2017, used three seasons at JCCC to trampoline him to a job in Colorado, his wife’s home state.

He spent one year at Mitchell, then three years at Doherty, before taking the Eaglecrest job in 2018, fresh off the Raptors’ Class 5A title that sent legendary head coach John Olander into retirement.

In his 12 years coaching local prep hoops, every one of Krapcha’s teams made the playoffs. He’s racked up a 205-90 record, five Great 8 appearances and two Final Fours en route to this year’s 65-63 dethroning of Valor Christian in the championship at Denver Coliseum.

It’s been quite the journey since those early days back in Kansas, when he went from briefly working in insurance to night shifts as a police officer.

“I wasn’t real happy at that time, and I knew I needed to do something different — something I enjoyed where I’m excited about being at work every day,” Krapcha said. “I hope my younger self would be pretty proud of the career path. From where I started to where I’m at today is pretty special.”

Conrad, who just won his second NJCAA Division II championship at JCCC, said he had had a feeling about Krapcha. Which is why he hired him without a whiff of basketball experience since his high school playing days.

“When he left here, I would’ve bet a lot of money that as long as he had a chance from a personnel standpoint, that he would be very successful,” Conrad said. “Because I knew how hard he would work and that he had a good basketball mind.”

Krapcha’s three seasons at Doherty, one of which led to a Great 8, got him on the radar for when the Eaglecrest job opened. Following in Olander’s footsteps, it took a few years for Krapcha to make the program his own, but Eaglecrest athletic director Vince Orlando was confident the Raptors would find a groove.

And they have, with four Great 8 appearances in the last five seasons, paving the way to this year’s trophy. Eaglecrest finished 26-2 and was the Centennial League champion.

“When we hired him, he never shied away from the expectations that Eaglecrest basketball was — he embraced it,” Orlando said. “Now, he’s shaped the program in his way that is sustainable on a yearly basis.”

Eaglecrest senior center Garrett Barger, an All-Colorado selection, says that shaping came from the accountability Krapcha demands from his players. Barger felt that repeatedly throughout the season as Krapcha pushed him to be the interior force the Raptors needed to win at Denver Coliseum.

That included calling out Barger in a team film session following the Raptors’ win in the playoff opener against Rocky Mountain, when the 6-foot-9 big man’s game sputtered with just nine points and four rebounds.

“In that meeting, he made it a point that if I’m not pushing hard, if I’m not a double-double threat every game, the season’s going to end,” Barger said. “I took that to heart, and realized that. If I wasn’t trying as hard as I should’ve, he’d get on me. … He was tough on me, but that helped me realize my full potential this season.”

Barger’s play, along with the emergence of Douglas County transfer guard Ant Nettles — who keyed Eaglecrest’s 19-game win streak to end the season after becoming eligible to play on Jan. 3 — enabled the Raptors to pass consistent gut-checks. Nettles’ scoring made up for the loss of last year’s star, LaDavian King, who transferred to Rangeview.

Eaglecrest won four games in overtime along the way, including the dramatic Final Four triumph over Mountain Vista, when Nettles forced an extra frame with his last-second running jumper.

“The overtime games in the season built some character for the playoff run, and it gave us the experience we needed to win the whole thing,” Krapcha said.

All-Colorado Coach of the Year finalists

Jon Rakiecki, Windsor: Led the Wizards to their first title in 101 years in Class 5A.

Todd Schayes, Kent Denver: Guided Sun Devils back to Class 4A title game after losing in 2024 and won the crown.

Mike Puccio, Green Mountain: His Runnin’ Rams made their first title game since ’97 before falling to Windsor.

Cole Scherer, Valor Christian

Sr. | PG | 6-foot-2

Stats: 26.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.5 steals, 1.1 blocks, Class 6A runner-up

After winning state Gatorade player of the year and Mr. Colorado Basketball as the junior leader of Valor Christian’s Class 6A title-winning team, the Eastern Washington commit had an unstoppable senior year and won both individual honors again. He played every minute of the three games at Denver Coliseum, where the state’s leading scorer averaged 34 points and lit it up from 3 and on his dribble-drives.

LaDavian King, Rangeview

Sr. | PG | 6-2

Stats: 16.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, Class 6A Final Four

A year after King propelled Eaglecrest to the Final Four, he transferred to Rangeview and was a centerpiece in the Raiders getting to the same spot with an undefeated record before they lost to Valor Christian. Like Scherer, he was a force from behind the arc, shooting 40% from 3 and also strong and physical on his dribble-drive and with his finishes at the rim. Committed to play at Radford University.

Garrett Barger, Eaglecrest

Sr. | C | 6-9

Stats: 12.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 blocks, Class 6A state champion

For Eaglecrest to win the title after last season’s last-second heartbreak in the Final Four, they needed Barger to be a double-double threat every game. He did that down the stretch with an impact that extended beyond the stat sheet as he influenced play in the paint on both ends of the floor. He had two double-doubles in three games at Denver Coliseum as the Raptors’ emotional leader.

Madden Smiley, Windsor

Jr. | G | 6-3

Stats: 20.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, Class 5A state champion

Smiley led the Wizards to their first title in 101 years and erased the disappointment of losing in the finals last season to Mesa Ridge. He was an equal threat from distance, midrange and at the rim as a well-rounded offensive catalyst who made his teammates better. And on the defensive end, he was capable of locking up the other team’s best player and creating transition offense.

Cal Baskind, Mountain Vista

Sr. | G | 6-0

Stats: 20.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 2.2 steals, Class 6A Final Four

The backcourt centerpiece of Mountain Vista’s one-two punch alongside junior forward Oliver Junker, Baskind’s play and leadership pushed the Golden Eagles to another deep tournament run. The Continental League player of the year shot 42% from 3 with a big-school best 90 buckets from beyond the arc. Speedy and technical on defense, Baskind continuously rose up in clutch moments in 2024-25.

Coach

Jarris Krapcha, Eaglecrest

The Raptors’ eighth-year boss finished the year on a 19-game heater; his Raptors outlasted defending champ Valor Christian in the title game.

Honorable Mention

G Ant Nettles, Sr., Eaglecrest; F Oliver Junker, Jr., Mountain Vista; G Tanner Braketa, Sr., Ralston Valley; G Christian Williams, Soph., Chaparral; G Bryce Riehl, Sr., Mesa Ridge; F Eric Fiedler, Jr., Regis Jesuit; G Caiden Braketa, Jr., Ralston Valley; G/F Simon Lunsford, Sr., Green Mountain; F Caleb Fay, Jr., Kent Denver; G Ty Yoder, Sr., Resurrection Christian; G Elvis Lloyd, Sr., Kent Denver; G Jackson Brandt, Soph., Prospect Ridge Academy; F Graham Riggs, Sr., Resurrection Christian; G Sam Mielenz, Soph., Green Mountain; F Tatum Kocerha, Soph., Simla; F Kade Speckman, Jr., Lutheran; F Drew Paine, Jr. ThunderRidge; G Ethan Berninger, Sr., Dakota Ridge; G Carter Basquez, Jr., Smoky Hill; G Jeremiah Hammond, Jr., Cherry Creek; F Brady Wynja, Sr., Valor Christian; F Marceles Duncan, Fr., Rangeview; G Archie Weatherspoon V, Soph., Rangeview; G Kris Coleman, Soph., Eaglecrest.

In her third year as Mullen’s boss, Jones led the Mustangs back to the top of the mountain to earn the distinction of The Denver Post’s All-Colorado girls basketball coach of the year. Mullen won the Class 5A title, its eighth overall, as Jones was surrounded by her three daughters in senior forward Tatum Jones, sophomore guard Makenzie Jones and assistant coach Samantha Jones.

But it wasn’t until after the Mustangs had the trophy in hand that the Joneses finally remembered to take a photo together to remember their successful season of family hooping.

“What an awesome memory this season was for my family,” Tonia Jones said. “But the problem is, I’m also really bad at pictures. I didn’t get one picture until the season was over. Finally, my brother was like, ‘You and the girls have got to get at least one picture with the trophy.’

“He finally sent it to me (earlier this week). We had forgotten we even had it.”

Jones won the title in just her third season as a high school coach. Her experience before Mullen came on the club scene with EJ Hoops and Colorado Premier. The native of Spearfish, S.D., played collegiately at Regis University and MSU Denver. She took over a Mullen program previously helmed by Frank Cawley, who won titles in 2019, ’21 and ’22.

After playing in Class 6A last year, the Mustangs moved down to 5A for 2024-25. But they still played in the 6A Centennial League, plus a tough nonconference schedule featuring games against six out-of-state opponents.

So, by the time Mullen (19-9) rolled into the playoffs, it was clearly under-seeded at No. 6. What followed were five straight double-digit victories, including a 56-42 triumph over No. 1 Air Academy in the title game.

“Last year beating (2025 Class 6A champion) Grandview in the regular season and the Sweet 16 showed us what we were capable of,” Makenzie Jones said. “We lost some tough games this year, but we grew along the way, and we knew we would be ready once we got back to the (Denver) Coliseum.”

Tonia Jones said a bucket on the team’s opening possession in the Great 8 win over Windsor sparked the Mustangs, and generated confidence between the coach and her players that the 47-year-old could direct Mullen to the title.

On that play, which Jones said she drew up in practice the day before, Tatum faked a screen for Makenzie in the high post. Then Tatum made a back-door cut to the post, where Makenzie hit her with the open pass for an easy bucket.

It was a perfectly executed play between Tatum, a UC San Diego commit, and her younger sister Makenzie, who already has a handful of Division I offers, including CSU and UNLV.

“When that play worked, I felt like the girls would believe in me (in the biggest moments),” Tonia Jones said. “And that’s how it was from the opening play of Windsor to the end of the championship. We just knew that everything we had been talking about was going to come to fruition.”

While Makenzie (15.3 points per game, 5.8 rebounds) and Tatum (10.2 points, 5.9 rebounds) set the tone offensively, Mullen’s defensive-oriented mindset paid off in the victory over Air Academy.

The Mustangs kept Kadets senior forward and Kansas commit Tatyonna Brown from completely taking over the game despite 21 points and limited the impact of Air Academy’s Division I recruit at point guard, holding junior Kinley Asp to 13 points. The rest of the Kadets combined for just eight points.

Along the way to that game, Tonia Jones balanced tough love with her maternal instinct.

“She coaches like a mom,” Samantha Jones said. “She’s tough when she needs to be, but most of the time, she’s really understanding. That allows her to connect with the girls on a different level, because they really buy into what she’s saying because they know when she’s critical, it comes from a place of caring. … That really resonated all season with the girls to get us to where we wanted to go.”

All-Colorado Coach of the Year finalists

Matt Baumgartner, University: Led the Bulldogs to their first state title and an unbeaten season in Class 4A.

Darren Pitzner, Legend: Propelled the Titans to their first title game appearance with an up-tempo, team-oriented approach.

Janean Jubic, Pine Creek: Guided the Eagles to their first Final Four in program history.

Sienna Betts, Grandview

Sr. | F | 6-foot-4

Stats: 23.0 points, 16.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.4 blocks, 2.3 steals, Class 6A state champion

Betts was again a dominant force for the Wolves en route to her third state title. Impossible to guard with just one player, Ms. Colorado Basketball faced double-teams, triple-teams and junk defenses all winter — and still easily averaged a double-double. The UCLA commit was also named to the McDonald’s All-American team and won her third consecutive state Gatorade player of the year award.

Brihanna Crittendon, Riverdale Ridge

Jr. | G/F | 6-3

Stats: 26.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 2.8 assists, 1.1 blocks, Class 6A Final Four

Last year’s Ms. Colorado Basketball turned in another prolific season, leading the Ravens on a deep tournament run in Class 6A after jumping up two classifications following their Class 4A title in 2024. Perhaps the most versatile player in the state, Crittendon could play the 1 through the 5, and guard every position on the floor, too. She has dozens of Division I offers from top programs across the country.

Alexandra Eschmeyer, Peak to Peak

Sr. | F | 6-5

Stats: 27.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 steals, 1.6 assists, Class 4A Sweet 16

Eschmeyer burst onto the scene as a freshman four years ago, and averaged a double-double each of her four seasons in Lafayette. Including the playoffs, she ended up leading the state in scoring as no Class 4A teams had an answer for her in the paint. She was also a game-altering dynamo on defense, forcing coaches to adjust their offenses. The McDonald’s All-American is committed to Stanford.

Brooklyn Stewart, Pine Creek

Sr. | G/F | 6-2

Stats: 19.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 1.6 assists, 1.2 blocks, Class 6A Final Four

The Eagles star averaged a double-double each of her four seasons while she emerged as one of the top recruits in the country in her class along with Betts and Eschmeyer. The Oklahoma commit, Betts’ club teammate on Hardwood Elite, put Pine Creek on her back en route to the program’s first Final Four. Capable of scoring inside and outside, she played with tenacity and leadership.

Mason Borcherding, Legend

Sr. | F | 6-1

Stats: 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks, Class 6A title game

The Titans’ catalyst over the last two seasons led Legend to the Class 6A Final Four in ’23, then a step further in ’24 before falling to Betts & Co. Borcherding was smooth in the post and a leader on a senior-heavy Titans team — you can’t mention her name without also noting the efforts of players like guards Grace Stanley and Maley Wilhelm. Borcherding is committed to play at Boise State.

Coach

Tonia Jones, Mullen

The Mustangs’ third-year boss led Mullen to its eight state title via the Class 5A crown a year after making the Class 6A Great 8.

Honorable Mention

F Tatayonna Brown, Sr., Air Academy; G Quinn VanSickle, Sr., Valor Christian; G Makenzie Jones, Soph., Mullen; G Peyton Jones, Jr., Valor Christian; F Kyla Hollier, Jr. Roosevelt; G Reyleigh Hess, Sr., Windsor; G Grace Stanley, Sr., Legend; F Tatum Jones, Sr., Mullen; G Kennedy Spellman, Jr., Mountain Vista; G Kinley Asp, Jr., Air Academy; G Ryanne Bahnsen-Price, Sr., Roosevelt; G Gianna Smith, Sr., Arapahoe; G Brooke Harding, Sr., Rock Canyon; F Ezra Simonich, Sr., Highlands Ranch; G Tori Baker, Sr., Highlands Ranch; F Braelynn Barnett, Sr., Cherry Creek; G Kiarra Spellman, Soph., Mountain Vista; F Evelina Otto, Sr., Denver East; G Olivia Klein, Sr., Resurrection Christian; G Olivia Mortensen, Sr., Legacy; F Sienna Williams, Soph., Monarch; F Austin Duncan, Jr. Kent Denver; G Maley Wilhelm, Sr., Legend; F Addison Harding, Sr., University; G Kya Piel, Jr., Merino; F Sophia Carbaja, Soph., Northridge.