One of the dominant boys basketball programs in Nebraska over the past three seasons, Johnson-Brock has gone through some changes since the final buzzer sounded following the school's ninth straight state tournament triumph last March.
After guiding the Eagles to three straight Class D1 state basketball championships, former boys coach Lucus Dalinghaus took over the Johnson-Brock girls basketball program and has the Eagles off to a 15-6 start in 2025-26.
Also gone following last season's back-to-back-to back state championship win are Camden and Casen Dalinghaus and a senior class that scored 40.6 points a game collectively a year ago.
Yet. Not much has changed.
Former assistant coach Garrison Dodge has taken over the boys program and is producing the same kind of results with the return of senior Brody Koehler, who earned Class D1 All-State honors in 2024-25.
For now, Dodge is keeping it simple.
"I wanted all the returners to be able to play fast and not have to think," Dodge said. "I learned a lot from Coach Dalinghaus and Coach Ideus during my first two years of coaching at Johnson-Brock.
"I have added some of my own touch on some things, but ultimately it is very similar to what they have done in the past."
Following last night's Pioneer Conference Tournament win over Falls City Sacred Heart, the Eagles are off to a 17-3 start and Koehler has played a significant role in that success.
"The goal is to go 4-for-4," Koehler said of the hope of winning four straight state basketball championships. "Some of our goals (are) to win our holiday tournament, win the conference, win the MUDECAS tourney and win the state championship."
The Eagles took care of business in the Sabetha (Kan.) Holiday Tournament, claiming a 55-35 win over Seneca-Nemaha Central for the title. Johnson-Brock, however, did fall short of winning the second leg of the four-prong goal when the Eagles fell 53-51 to Tri County in the MUDECAS Tournament championship contest.
Earlier this week, Johnson-Brock began the third leg of the tournament championship goal by upending Southern 74-29 and Falls City Sacred Heart 61-33 to earn a berth in the Pioneer Conference championship contest.
The Eagles will face Exeter-Milligan/Friend, a 78-40 winner over Lourdes Central Catholic, for the third time this season in the title contest tonight.
A 6-foot-4 senior guard, Koehler is averaging 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocked shots a game through Tuesday's win over Southern. Koehler has scored in double figures in all 17 contests he has listed on MaxPreps.
The three-time state champion scored a season and career-high 32 points in Johnson-Brock's 65-59 win over EMF Jan. 27.
"Brody on the basketball court is something really fun to watch. The way that he can see the floor is something that is not taught," Dodge said. "He has a true knack for the game. He has incredible vision and when he's on the court anything can happen. He makes his teammates better by his passing and rebounding abilities as well."
Dodge described Koehler as unselfish and humble and said the senior would be the first to discuss the outstanding play of his teammates. The first-year head coach said Koehler's role has changed this year simply because its his final season as an Eagle.
Koehler, who loves the competitive nature of basketball, has put in countless hours at the gym during the school year and over the summer during his career.
"Every year Brody has added something new to his game and it truly is amazing to see all of the hours come into fruition," Dodge said.
"He now is a senior and has more leadership responsibilities. But those come naturally to him. I haven't had to ask anything from him. He understands what needs to be done as a senior and as a leader."
Koehler, who has listed Concordia, Iowa Western and Morningside as finalists for his basketball services next season, said the guys that didn't get to play a year ago received plenty of reps against Johnson-Brock's starters. That, he said, helped the younger guys get prepared for another Eagle run.
Johnson-Brock also played a lot of games against some really good basketball teams over the summer.
"That helped us figure out some of our strengths and weaknesses," Koehler said. "That way, when we got to that first game, we just picked up where we left off from last year. Although we lost a lot of talent, we still have had a lot of guys improve from last year to this year. People this year really know their role.
"I think we also have a little more height this year. We have two starters at 6-foot-4 and another at 6-foot-5. Not a lot of teams have that so that helps. But the style is the same. We share the ball amazingly and play very unselfish ball."
Winning state championships was instilled into Koehler's basketball DNA at a young age. Dodge's star player was a student manager when the 2018-19 Eagles won the third of what is now a collection of six state basketball championship trophies. Johnson-Brock also won Class D1 state titles in 1997 and 1998 and took third in Class D1 in 2018.
Of course, Johnson-Brock had its share of struggles over the years. Seeing all of the hard work some teams put in just to fall short of their goals made Koehler realize how difficult it is to win state championships. But the 2019 team's ability to break through and claim the Class D2 title was a game changer for Koehler.
"Being able to have multiple teams be successful and buy into a mission has been a great feeling," Koehler said. "Being a part of this era of Johnson-Brock basketball has been amazing."
Playing in a fourth straight state championship game would allow Koehler to make some history of his own. Through nine state tournament games, Koehler has now ripped the cords for 107 state tournament points.
If he averages 18 points a contest through three state tournament games in 2026, that total climbs to 161 and up the state basketball tournament scoring leaderboard. For now, winning his first state championship as a player at Johnson-Brock is his fondest memory on the basketball court.
"Nobody expected us to win that year," Koehler said. "We weren't even supposed to be there. So, winning and proving everyone wrong was just an insane feeling. Hearing that buzzer go off and seeing all of the hard work and dedication we went through to win was insane."
