What might have seemed like a far-fetched goal after opening the season at 3-4 ended with a 25-game winning streak and the Chaska Hawks boys basketball team claiming the 2026 Class 4A state title with a hard-fought 63-55 win over Apple Valley on March 29.
This marks Chaska’s second championship, with the first coming in 2004 — well before the current players were even born.
Of the 60-plus teams in the Class 4A tournament, all hoped to be playing in the state finals on Saturday night. Fifth-seeded Chaska (25–4 regular season) entered the game after defeating top-seeded Tartan on Thursday. Seventh-seeded Apple Valley (19–10 regular season) reached the final by defeating second-seeded Wayzata and third-seeded Maple Grove. In the 16 years of state league seeding, no team lower than fourth had won the title — until now.
Chaska’s “secret weapon” may have been its fans, who nearly filled their section of the lower bowl at The Barn and extended well into the second level. Dressed in black, the crowd sat across from the bench and provided constant energy and encouragement throughout the game.
Chaska opened with a 5–0 run, sparked by a three-pointer from Chase Maetzold. It took a few minutes for both teams to settle in offensively. Apple Valley didn’t score a field goal until the 5:00 mark of the first half, with all prior points coming from beyond the arc by Trey Parker. The Seton Hall commit seemed capable of hitting from anywhere — even “downtown Minneapolis.”
Despite Parker’s strong shooting, the Eagles struggled overall, shooting just 22% in the first half and finishing at 33% for the game.
Chaska capitalized on rebounds and defensive pressure, converting second-chance opportunities into points. Each time the Hawks built a lead, Apple Valley battled back within a possession or two.
Midway through the first half, Chaska held a 20-7 lead behind key layups from Tyler Forrest. Aside from Parker, Apple Valley continued to struggle from the floor. With 3:05 remaining in the half, the Eagles found some rhythm, cutting the deficit to 22-20. Chaska responded with balanced scoring and extended the lead to 30-22 at halftime.
The second half delivered high-intensity basketball.
Chaska controlled the boards and defended the paint effectively, while Apple Valley tightened its defense and limited easy scoring chances. The Hawks stayed composed, spreading the floor and sharing the ball. Seven of the eight players in Chaska’s rotation scored, keeping Apple Valley guessing.
With 13:42 remaining, Chaska appeared in control with a 41-22 lead. However, Apple Valley surged back behind Parker’s shooting, trimming the deficit to 44-40 with 10:30 left.
The intensity continued to rise as both teams battled down the stretch. The game remained relatively clean until the final seven minutes, when both teams entered the bonus.
With 1:36 remaining, Apple Valley pulled within two points at 57–55. Parker, who had been hot all night, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Chaska secured the rebound.
Down the stretch, junior Kalin Jochum was perfect from the free-throw line, going 6-for-6, including four in the final minute to seal the win.
Postgame, he said, “We have this thing called ‘free-throw golf’ in practice, and I just thought of that — just relax and shoot.”
With the 63–55 victory, Chaska and its fans celebrated as the team accepted its medals and the championship trophy.
Tyler Forrest (Jr.), Jed Keenan (Fr.), and Kalin Jochum (Jr.) were named to the Class 4A All-Tournament Team.
In a testament to the team-first mentality, scoring was evenly distributed. Keenan and Jochum led the way with 12 points each, followed by Forrest with 11 and sophomore Chase Maetzold with 10. Senior Matthew Welter led the team with nine rebounds.
Chaska shot 55% from the field and 31% from three-point range, outrebounding Apple Valley 35–24.
“First off, Apple Valley is a strong team, and respect to them for playing such a great game,” said Head Coach Nick Hayes. “It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of these guys and what they accomplished this season and in the tournament. To hold Valley and Tartan under 60 points shows how committed our guys were to executing the game plan. This season has been a lesson in hard work. After some tough losses around Christmas, we regrouped, made adjustments, and everything started to come together.”
Junior Tyler Forrest added, “This is a big family, and we play for each other. We’re brothers, and we do what it takes to make sure we all succeed. Our preseason goal was to win the section. After that, we said, ‘Let’s have fun with state.’ And this was fun.”
Senior Evan Atkinson commented, “Coach Sanders is our defensive coach, and he pointed out things we needed to take care of — we did that tonight. It’s surreal how it all came together.”
Jochum added, “It’s great — we’ve got such a solid bench. We knew anyone coming in would be ready and able to do the job.”
Of the 18 players on Chaska’s tournament roster, only four are seniors. While their leadership will be missed, the Hawks return a strong core for the 2026-27 season. When asked about returning to The Barn next year, Forrest and Jochum responded with a confident “yes.”
