Mizzou legacy Ridge Janes wins second state title in Columbia ... but this time on hardwood
In basketball, Ridge Janes felt humbled.
He wasn’t ranked a top recruit in the sport, nonetheless in his home state. He escaped from the football recruiting scene for a few months to anchor the St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet starting five.
Janes’ sophomore season started in a jamboree against Webster Groves and Tigers commit Scottie Adkinson in November. It ended on Adkinson’s future home court by March, where Janes and the Spartans hoisted the MSHSAA Class 6 State Championship trophy Saturday.
De Smet defeated Blue Springs (Mo.) South, 78-61, at Mizzou Arena.
“I feel like playing basketball and not being as skilled to the sport as I am to football, it just makes me try to find my role and see how I can benefit the team as much as possible,” Janes said. “I love that I played basketball this year, and I wouldn’t trade this thing for anything. This team is so close, and this experience is amazing.”
Janes’ state title on the hardwood marked his second on the campus of his parents’ alma mater. The son of the former Missouri fullback Ron “Rhino” Janes, the Class of 2028 four-star tight end earned his first piece of hardware as a freshman in December 2024, when De Smet defeated Nixa (Mo.) High for the Class 6 state title.
“He’s really trying to beat his sister,” Janes’ father laughed. “It’s a thing around our kitchen table. His older sister has four. He still has a chance to at least tie or beat her.”
Kaylynn Janes, a sophomore forward at Northern Iowa, won a state title each year at St. Louis (Mo.) Incarnate Word Academy in high school. She already gave her little brother a hard time after his first this past weekend.
“She basically told me, ‘Got two more to go,'” the younger Janes said. “No matter how I’m going to get those, I’m going to try to get them, because competition is everything for me. With my sister on my shoulder saying, ‘Got to get two more,’ I’m going to figure out a way to try to get them. But that was funny. She’s always brought that up after I win.”
Although growing up with the intention of playing four years of football and basketball, Janes accepted his future on the gridiron. He only has one year left of hoops, while looking to enroll at a college for football in January 2028.
“For me to go back there, do what I love and having them able to see my passion, my love, and put it out onto the court or on the field when it was freshman year, it’s honestly a blessing,” Janes said about his parents. “Just being able to go out there and play in front of them and have them be there for me.”
Janes, who wrapped up a vacation Tuesday with his teammates, will turn his focus back to football. While looking to add back the lost weight from the basketball season, the No. 80 overall recruit will start his spring visit schedule Wednesday at Florida.