When legendary Ankeny Centennial girls’ basketball coach Scott DeJong announced his retirement at the end of last season, it marked the end of an era in more ways than one.
Not only was DeJong stepping down after a 37-year coaching career that saw him win a record seven state titles, but the Jaguars also graduated nine of the 12 players from last year’s roster–including all-staters Mya Crawford and Jaeden Pratt.
Thus, new head coach Chris Harken faces a major rebuilding task in his first season with the program.
“I just saw a post on Instagram that of last year’s Class 5A state qualifying teams, every team is returning 60 percent or more of their varsity squad, but we are sitting at 25 percent,” said Harken.
Harken accepted the unenviable task of replacing DeJong, who finished his career with a record of 716-191. DeJong went 205-75 in his 12 years at Centennial, including a 17-8 mark last season.
Harken, though, comes to the CIML with an impressive resume of his own. He guided Des Moines Christian to a 45-6 record over the last two seasons.
The Lions reached the Class 3A semifinals in 2024. They advanced to the state tournament again last March.
Harken takes over a program that qualified for state seven times under DeJong. The Jaguars won a state title in 2016 and reached the semifinals in DeJong’s last season before dropping a 61-42 decision to Johnston, the eventual champion.
The only returnees from that team are senior guard Maizie Smith, junior guard Lizzie Beam and junior forward Rylyn Boeding. They have combined for one varsity start, which came in Beam’s freshman season.
“All three of them have great work ethic, and I feel they are ready to shine,” Harken said. “I think Lizzie could have a breakout year. Maizie is beginning to look like her old self prior to her knee injury and setbacks, and Rylyn has stepped into roles that will challenge her but also make her successful. We are fortunate to have those three returning and eager to guide this team through the season.”
Beam has played in 47 of the 48 games over the last two years. She averaged 4.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore, when she made 15-of-39 attempts from 3-point range (38.5 percent).
Beam also dished out 19 assists and had 17 steals. She scored in double figures on four occasions, including a career-high 12 points in a loss at Johnston.
Smith averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds while connecting on 14-of-38 3-pointers (36.8 percent). She has committed to play next year at NIACC, where her sister Tillie is a freshman for the Trojans.
Boeding averaged 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds. She shot 53.8 percent from the field (14-of-26).
Along with Beam and Smith, the 5-foot-11 Boeding will be asked to make her presence felt off the court as well.
“Each one of them is eager to take a leadership role, but are still learning how since they’ve followed strong leaders in the past,” Harken said. “It’s a good challenge for them that we hopefully can successfully guide them through. Each one is and will bring a different type of leadership, and the three of them together will be great!”
Harken said he expects senior Mylie Hatfield and freshmen Alana Newman and Faith Perpich to also play key roles for the Jaguars. Hatfield saw action in nine games as a sophomore before stepping away from the sport last year.
“Mylie is returning to the game of basketball, and she brings another gear to our team. She is one of the fastest players we have and isn’t afraid to make contact. Even with a year or so off, she hasn’t lost any of her skill,” Harken said. “Faith is determined and not afraid of contact either. She is one of our better ballhandlers and finds ways to get to the rim–she will likely be our point guard to start the season. Alana provides height for us and a pretty decent inside-out game. She also plays volleyball, which helps with her defensive skills. She will likely lead the team in blocks.”
Harken has focused on the fundamentals during the preseason practices.
“When starting fresh with a new coach and new players, I find it easier to go back to the basics and build the foundation of expectations,” he said. “I know that some of the players are starting to feel a bit anxious that we have a game (coming up soon), but without a foundation, everything we work for will collapse. We are still working out how to play cohesively, but there is progress in the right direction and it’s starting to build on itself every day. The energy has been great the last couple of days.”
Centennial will open its season with three consecutive games against CIML Conference opponents who are in the top 10 of the Class 5A preseason rankings from the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union. The Jaguars will travel to No. 2 Waukee Northwest on Tuesday before hosting No. 8 Ankeny on Dec. 5 and No. 3 Dowling Catholic on Dec. 9.
“There will definitely be some growing pains the first part of the season,” Harken said. “Three potential top-10 opponents to start the season is usually not preferred by any coach, but it will be good for us to be tested early. All three teams are well coached so it will be a challenge. It will help us in the long run as even though we would like to be great at the start of the season, we want to be our best in late February going into March. They will be great lessons for us regardless of the outcomes.”
