The Chaska Boys Basketball team had a season for the ages. Carried by a balanced scoring attack and exceptional team defense, the upstart Hawks rode a 25-game win streak to a state championship. They are the winner of CCLN’s inaugural Boys Team Of The Year Award.
As the calendar turned from 2025 to 2026, the Chaska Hawks boys’ basketball team stood at 3-4. While that record echoed previous seasons, when the Hawks had good teams yet struggled to stay around .500, Head Coach Nick Hayes had a feeling this team could be different.
“Those four losses were to four of the top teams in the state, and all being close games. We knew we had a young group that was capable of improving a lot throughout the season,” he said.
You could probably call that the understatement of the year.
From that point, the Hawks would win each of the 25 games they tipped off, riding a win streak that would captivate the entire community, and capturing perhaps the most improbable state championship in school history.
In an era of “superteams” where top players routinely transfer to schools together to chase championships, the Chaska Hawks were an entirely homegrown squad. Every player on the roster came up through CAYBBA, Chaska’s youth basketball program. And while this team was loaded with talent, they truly won as a team — no superstars dominating the stat sheets, just a balanced offensive attack across every player on the floor, and suffocating team defense.
The 2025-26 Class AAAA Boys Basketball State Champion Chaska Hawks were a clear choice as CCLN’s Boys Team Of The Year, and it’s an easy argument that this team could rank among Carver County’s all-time best teams in any sport as well.
The turnaround
The early January stretch that flipped the Hawks’ season came quietly. Three wins in rapid succession — a road blowout at Andover, a win at rival Chanhassen, and a victory over Edina — was the springboard. The run was just beginning.
That run was built on defense. Hayes made it the program’s identity from day one, and his players bought in completely. Junior captain Tyler Forrest helped set the tone on that end of the floor, and his teammates followed.
“Defense was the most important thing to our team,” Forrest said. “We knew that was what was going to win us games.”
Junior captain Kalin Jochum agreed.
“Our coaches said our defense turns to offense. Everyone was bought into that,” he said.
Hayes leaned on all four of his captains to carry that message — seniors Evan Atkinson and Marquis Connell alongside Forrest and Jochum. He also credited seniors Matthew Welter and Isaiah Jorgenson.
“They couldn’t have been more selfless senior leaders for us and always helped our team improve,” said Hayes.
The Hawks went undefeated in the Metro West Conference, earning a conference title and the No. 2 seed in Section 2AAAA, always one of the best in the state.
Payback time
After thwarting an upset bid by Shakopee, the Hawks would play two teams that beat them previously. They pulled away from Eden Prairie, then beat Prior Lake in an intense section championship game on the road, 62-59.
“I guess the guys had a bit of a ‘revenge’ mindset, but I did my best to just take it game by game and not make anything bigger than it needed to be,” Hayes said.
“We knew what we were, and our main point was to get back at them,” Jochum said. “That was more motivation to beat them.”
The section title punched Chaska’s ticket to state. But the toughest tests were still ahead.
Unfazed on the big stage
As the fifth seed in the Class AAAA bracket, Chaska was nobody’s pick to cut down the nets. In the 16 years since seeding was introduced to the Class AAAA tournament, no team seeded lower than fourth had ever won a championship.
The Hawks opened at Target Center against fourth-seeded Lakeville South, a team that had beaten them by seven in December. Sophomore Chase Maetzold was the story, calm and collected on the big stage, pouring in 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead a dominant 71-53 victory.
That win set up a semifinal showdown with top-seeded Tartan, undefeated on the season and a heavy favorite. Chaska fell behind 14-3 in the opening minutes. Hayes never wavered.
“Our guys didn’t blink,” he said. “I was so proud of our guys for trusting each other and just sticking with it that first half.”
They rallied to lead 27-25 at halftime. After a back-and-forth second half, with the game tied at 51 and under three minutes to go, Forrest hit two free throws, and freshman Jed Keenan hit two three-pointers in a 25-second span that sent the unbeaten Titans into a panic they couldn’t recover from. Chaska closed the game on a 9-0 run to win 60-51.
“Going into the game against Tartan, we knew we could win,” Forrest said. “The coaches had us prepared really well, and we were just confident.”
State champions
The Class AAAA title game matched two unlikely finalists, fifth-seeded Chaska against seventh-seeded Apple Valley. In state tournament history, no championship game had ever featured two seeds that low.
Forrest led the Hawks early, giving Chaska a 30-22 halftime lead. While the Hawks never trailed, Apple Valley didn’t back down, pulling to 57-55 with under 90 seconds to go. As was the case all season, the Hawks didn’t panic. Jochum went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:27. He finished with 12 points. Freshman Jed Keenan added 12 as well, capping a remarkable tournament run. Forrest, Jochum and Keenan were all named to the Class AAAA All-Tournament Team.
Final score: Chaska 63, Apple Valley 55. Four players in double figures. Nobody over 12 points.
“It was always ‘we over me’,” Jochum said. “That’s why we went so far, with trust in each other.”
“Our depth was the most important part,” Forrest said. “That really showed in the championship game as everyone on our team knew their roles.”
Hayes was overcome when the buzzer sounded.
“Just how quickly it all clicked this season,” he said. “I was so happy and proud of our guys.”
From hunter to hunted
The state champs return their top five scorers next year: Forrest, Jochum, Maetzold, Keenan and incoming senior Eli Herzog. That means opportunity, and it means a target on their backs.
Hayes is already preparing his group for a different kind of challenge.
“Everyone wants to beat the reigning champs,” he said, “and I don’t blame them. There will be learning curves, but it’s what we all want, and something we will embrace.”
Forrest and Jochum, both entering their senior seasons, know exactly what the standard is.
“Play our game,” Jochum said, “and we can play with anyone.”
But when asked what they most want people to remember about this team, both players’ answers have nothing to do with trophies. They want people to remember the group.
“I want people to remember how much all of us loved playing with each other,” Forrest said, “and how much fun it looked like we had when we played together.”
Jochum added, “It’s rare to be that together on and off the court. It showed in our games where we just clicked. That’s the reason we won even if others had more talent.”
RUNNER-UP
Chanhassen football
A third trip to US Bank Stadium in three seasons. Three all-state players, including two Power 5 Division I football commits. And another Prep Bowl, culminating in a Class 5A state runner-up trophy this season for one of the metro’s top programs. All-State quarterback Nathan Ramler, a future St. John’s Johnnie, threw for 28 touchdowns against a single interception, with all-state tight end (and West Virginia commit) Kade Bush and receivers James Kopfmann, Loghan Gustad and Logan DeAlwis among his top targets. Up front, Mr. Football finalist and Iowa-bound Owen Linder anchored the offensive line along with gritty senior Will Maschka. On defense, Jack Carlson, Logan Smith, Coleman Zielinski, Peter Vidmar and Gavin Anderson led a unit that won its third straight section championship. The Class of 2026 left an unparalleled legacy in Chanhassen’s football program.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Southwest Christian boys golf
The Stars finished as the Class AA team runner-up at the State Golf Tournament, three strokes behind champion Blake. The charge was led by senior Henry Johnson, a Chaska native and North Dakota State signee, who captured the Class AA individual state championship with a wire-to-wire performance and earned Mr. Golf finalist honors. Sophomore Ryder Rose and junior Bennett Breuer also placed among the top individuals to power the Stars’ runner-up finish.
Chaska football
While Chanhassen grabbed the headlines, the Hawks had a standout season of their own, finishing 7-3, just one game short of state. Three-sport standout Matthew Welter and fellow senior Sammy Summer both directed the offense at quarterback, flanked by versatile receivers Trey Castilla and Ryder Martin, while seniors Smith Meiller, Mason Davis, Michael Gillette, Colton Wacker, Cullen Dauwalter and junior Carter Powers led a stingy defense. Seniors Nick Robinson, Grady Mathiasen and Caelan Ruppert helped anchor the trenches for the Hawks.
Chanhassen boys hockey
The Storm, led by seniors Logan Smith, Nolan Warner and Kalen Balliet and juniors Tyler Jackson and Kaleb Bergman, skated to an 18-8-2 record and a Section 2AA final after an upset of third-ranked Shakopee. Despite falling to top-ranked Minnetonka, the eventual state runner-up, Chan continued a strong recent tradition, as the deep, hard-working roster made the Metro West champs a tough opponent all season long.
Chaska baseball
One of the top-ranked programs in the state, the Hawks were led by a pair of all-state seniors. Shortstop Owen Strey, a Creighton signee, and two-way standout Matthew Welter, headed to Augustana, teamed with fellow ’26 grads Ethan Williams and Will Holk to anchor the lineup. With a powerful pitching staff, featuring future Minnesota Golden Gopher Parker Killian (limited this year due to injury), and three outstanding underclassmen in juniors Kalin Jochum and Josh Keenan and sophomore Thomas Leeper, Chaska won the Metro West Conference title and made a run to the Section 2AAAA final.
(Thank you for reading all of the 2025-26 Carver County Athletics Year In Review articles this week. We hope you enjoyed reading them as much as we enjoyed writing them. High school sports coverage and Kirk’s Captain Corner will return in late August.)
