Kellis badminton still has some bigger goals that it will carry along into the 2026 season.

The Cougars checked several boxes in the season just ended Tuesday afternoon. Kellis earned its first badminton home playoff match this year, a year after the program returned to the playoffs after a four year absence.

While the Cougars came in to the first round Division II as the home team and No. 6 seed, their opponent, No. 11 Phoenix Thunderbird is more used to the playoffs. The Titans made its fifth playoff trip in the past six years, and beat Kellis 6-3 Tuesday to make their third straight trip into the second round.

“A lot of the varsity players we have now started with me as sophomores on the JV level,” Kellis Coach Hector Ortiz said. “This is pretty much three years in the making, gettin

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