Top 10 most dominant Nebraska girls basketball programs since 2006-07

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According to a June 2014 story in the Lincoln Journal Star, Crofton girls basketball coach Aaron Losing never got a chance to play in a state tournament in either basketball or baseball.

But, coaching in several Nebraska girls state basketball tournaments and ruling over Crofton's opposition in such a manner that we have tabbed his program as Nebraska's most dominant girls basketball program since 2006-07, may have more than made up for that lack of opportunities.

Since arriving in Crofton for the 2004-05 basketball season, Losing has guided the Warriors to eight state championships, a runner-up finish and a pair of state consolation titles. In 2009-10, the only year Crofton did not qualify for the state tournament under Losing's guidance, the Warriors posted a 17-4 record.

During the past decade, the only seasons that counted toward assembling this Top 10, Crofton went 245-20 and appeared in either the Class C1 or the Class C2 state championship games seven times, going 6-1 in those battles. The Warriors were 221-17 during regular season action and posted a 24-3 state tournament record in 10 seasons.

At the conclusion of nine of the last 10 girls basketball seasons, Crofton landed a spot in MaxPreps' Top 25 Nebraska girls basketball computer rankings and took the top spot at the conclusion of each of the last three seasons to cement its place at the top. The Warriors finished in the top 10 in six of those nine basketball seasons.

Class A powers Bellevue West and Lincoln Southeast finished second and third respectively in this week's Top 10, claiming five state titles and five runner-up finishes between them, while Seward and Millard West complete the top five in fourth and fifth respectively.

Class D2 power Wynot was able to muster the final spot this week despite finishing in the Top 25 rankings just once over the last decade. Steve Wieseler's program, however, did claim five small school state championships and finished runner-up twice more over the required time frame.

MaxPreps has developed its own system in determining which girls basketball programs compete at the highest level over an extended period of time. Here is how the points for this week's Top 10 were accumulated:

1. 20 points for a state title

2. 10 points for finishing as a state runner-up

3. Other points are based on a team's Top 25 standing in the final MaxPreps Nebraska Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. For instance, if a school claimed the top spot, it received 25 points, while a No. 25 ranking was good for one point.


1. Crofton – 292 points
State titles: 6
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (6), 2007-08 (12), 2009-10 (24), 2010-11 (16), 2011-12 (8), 2012-13 (3), 2013-14 (1), 2014-15 (1), 2015-16 (1)

2. Bellevue West – 235 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (1), 2008-09 (1), 2009-10 (2), 2010-11 (3), 2012-13 (2), 2013-14 (9), 2014-15 (19)

3. Lincoln Southeast – 206 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (12), 2007-08 (1), 2008-09 (2), 2009-10 (9), 2010-11 (8), 2011-12 (3), 2012-13 (1) 4. Seward – 201 points
State titles: 4
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2007-08 (15), 2008-09 (4), 2009-10 (1), 2010-11 (2), 2011-12 (2), 2012-13 (11)

5. Millard West (Omaha) – 199 points
State titles: 0
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (7), 2007-08 (3), 2008-09 (7), 2009-10 (4), 2010-11 (5), 2011-12 (11), 2012-13 (9), 2013-14 (11), 2014-15 (20), 2015-16 (14)

6. Guardian Angels Central Catholic (West Point) – 154 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 1
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (17), 2007-08 (14), 2009-10 (11), 2010-11 (19), 2011-12 (13), 2012-13 (16), 2013-14 (12), 2014-15 (5), 2015-16 (3)

7. Kearney Catholic (Kearney) – 149 points
State titles: 2
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2006-07 (8), 2009-10 (23), 2012-13 (13), 2013-14 (10), 2014-15 (9), 2015-16 (4)

8. Pierce – 139 points
State titles: 3
Runner-ups: 0
Top 25 state rankings: 2012-13 (8), 2013-14 (3), 2014-15 (7), 2015-16 (7)

9. St. Cecilia (Hastings) – 128 points
State titles: 1
Runner-ups: 3
Top 25 state rankings: 2010-11 (7), 2011-12 (25), 2012-13 (18), 2013-14 (7), 2014-15 (8), 2015-16 (13)

10. Wynot – 127 points
State titles: 5
Runner-ups: 2
Top 25 state rankings: 2015-16 (19)