TOPEKA (KSNT) – Washburn men’s basketball is hosting its annual kids’ camp at the university’s recreation center this week.
Children in grades two through eight are working to sharpen their skills with the help of the Ichabods, practicing everything from ball-handling to shooting. Washburn senior Brady Christiansen is back with the ‘Bods and helping with camp for the fourth year in a row, an event he looks forward to every season.
“The most important thing is just, giving back to the community,” Christiansen said. “Coach [Brett Ballard] is big on that.”
Brett Ballard is entering his ninth season as Washburn’s head coach. For him, these camps are about more than just basketball.
“We always try to use this as a platform to teach them basketball, but also teach them some life skills, some character building,” Ballard said.
The Ichabods are coming off a 30-4 campaign in 2024-25, where they went undefeated at home. Washburn went 17-2 in conference play, earning rights to the MIAA regular season title. They made it all the way to the Division II Final Four, where they fell to Nova Southeastern University, 94-68.
Now, Washburn is looking to build off of that success while continuing to improve.
“We’ve got a great team coming back, but we also got a lot of new guys so, it’s just about getting the team together,” Christiansen said. “From a basketball standpoint, I would just say, we’ve got all the talent pieces to do it. We just got to do it together and believe in it.”
Ballard is confident in this year’s squad, but knows that they can’t rely on last year’s success to carry them.
“It’s a combination of using that confidence from last year, but also knowing that it’s a new team, it’s a new year. We’ve got to show up and this team’s got to build its own identity,” Ballard said. “I’m really excited about this group, I really feel like we have all the pieces in place to be elite again.”
The ‘Bods open the 2025-26 season at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Nov. 1 at 1:15 p.m. against Augusta.
