LINCOLN — The list of Kloe Froebe’s high school accomplishments, records and career statistics runs nearly four pages long.
Froebe holds almost two dozen Lincoln records. Plus nearly a dozen IHSA state tournament records.
She’s one of four basketball players in Lincoln history — boys and girls — to score at least 2,000 points and became one of just 10 girls’ basketball players in IHSA history to top 3,000 points for her career this season. She’s fifth behind Tyra Buss, Brittany Johnson, Angie Sapp and Nora Lewis.
The News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year isn’t a lifetime achievement award for outstanding careers.
Even if Froebe had one and headlines our 47th All-State team.
It’s meant to be a snapshot of a single season. And Froebe is now a back-to-back winner — the sixth all-time — because her senior season with the Railsplitters was even better than her junior year.
An unbeaten 38-0 record. A Class 3A state title after falling one game short a year ago. And off-the-charts overall production for the Colorado State-bound guard with 28.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 4.7 assists per game that made it all happen.
All for a community where basketball is king. Or, this year, queen.
“I think that Kloe has changed the face of basketball for Lincoln girls,” Lincoln coach Taylor Rohrer said. “Everyone has just been inspired by the way she plays this game and her work ethic and the kind of teammate that she is. I think when you have a player like that — that’s a generational player — it changes the tone of basketball.
“I think that says a lot about who she is as a player to be able to put such an imprint on a basketball community. Both boys and girls. She inspires everyone around her. I just think it’s such a big deal what she’s been able to accomplish her four years. Not just with records and wins, but with her leadership and how people look to her. She’s just a special person and treats people well, and she’s set an incredible example both on the floor and off the floor.”
Froebe and her Lincoln teammates didn’t wait until the run-up to the 2023-24 season to set an overarching goal for the year. That goal was set as they left CEFCU Arena in Normal in March 2023 with a second-place trophy. An accomplishment to be celebrated, sure, but not what the Railers wanted.
“I think there was always just that thought in the back of our heads that we could do more,” Froebe said. “That we could accomplish more. I think we were a little upset with ourselves for coming up short, so we made sure we worked hard to not let it slip through our hands again. We went into the season with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder and worked extremely hard every practice during the offseason just to get that end goal that we set our minds to.”
Lincoln was rarely challenged during the season. Eventual Class 2A state champions Peoria Notre Dame played the Railers to a nine-point game in January. Class 4A programs O’Fallon and Alton stayed within single digits in early February.
Otherwise it was blowout after blowout for Lincoln. The Railers won their first five postseason games by an average of nearly 34 points. Then came a 17-point win against Montini in the state semifinals and a 16-point win against Central State 8 rival Chatham Glenwood in the title game. Froebe averaged 31.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 4.5 steals in the state tournament, with her 36 points in the championship game an IHSA record.
“Right now, it hasn’t fully set in,” Froebe said about the undefeated state championship season. “We’re caught up in the moment and super excited. I think once we look back, we’re going to see just how amazing this accomplishment really is. Proud of all the hard work we put in. Proud of ourselves. And just grateful to grow up in such an amazing community and have all the support that we have.”
About that support. The return from Normal to Lincoln included a parade of school buses, fire trucks, police vehicles and what Froebe estimated to be more than 150 cars of supporters. More fans lined the streets to the high school where even more filled Roy S. Anderson Gym to capacity.
The kicker?
Lincoln Superintendent Dwight Stricklin and athletic director Neil Alexander had conspired in mid-January to go ahead and order the state championship banner knowing Froebe and her fellow seniors wouldn’t be around to watch it go up next season.
“Everyone’s mouths, their jaws just dropped open,” Froebe said. “We were like, ‘No way.’ It was very bold of them. They made sure to keep it secret because they didn’t want to jinx anything. … They had been storing it in Coach Al’s garage.”
Rohrer told Stricklin and Alexander they were crazy. But in the best possible way.
“I love that they supported us and believed in us,” the Lincoln coach said. “I would never have had the guts to do something like that, but it just shows how much faith people had in us.”
Which is what Froebe will take from her time in Lincoln before she embarks upon her college basketball career.
“I’m just so fortunate to grow up where I have and to go through Lincoln community and have the support of this community,” she said. “It’s insane. Growing up, I always knew Lincoln was a basketball town and always loved going to all the games and idolized all of the Lincoln basketball players — boys and girls — and thought they were so cool. To be able to hopefully be someone that can inspire the younger generations is something I’m very excited and proud to do.”
Scott Richey is a reporter covering college basketball at The News-Gazette. His email is srichey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@srrichey).
