But with tickets for many big shows starting at $80-$100 and running up beyond $200 and higher for basic seats, it’s a budget calculation most fans didn’t need to make a few years ago.

Promoters blame record demand and point out that a concert is on par with other nights out in terms of cost. But concerns about hidden service fees, inflated prices and monopolistic behavior continue to dog the concert industry, as they have for decades.

That’s lately reinforced by the jury-trial verdict in April that found Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster, held an anticompetitive monopoly through every aspect of concerts, from booking to taking a cut of nacho and popcorn sales at venues. The jury found Ticketmaster had overcharged consumers in 22 states, including Colorado.

Despite the Live Nation settlement, ticket prices will likely in 2026, according to music analysts and trade publications. So what’s a fan to do?

Here are some things to consider next time you find yourself in an online queue.

Who sells official tickets for Denver’s top concert venues

Denver and the rest of the Front Range are busy music markets where fans can enjoy concerts at venues ranging from tiny clubs and halls to massive amphitheaters and stadiums. Because of that variety, it’s important to know which ticket company is the official vendor for each, since you’ll get the best price from the get-go.

In Denver, AXS — owned by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz and his AEG Presents company — is the biggest player. AXS is the official seller for city-owned venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and downtown’s Bellco Theatre. It also controls Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, Mission Ballroom, the Denver Coliseum, and historic theaters like the Ogden, the Gothic and the Bluebird.

Denver is also the rare market where music promoter Live Nation doesn’t dominate bookings, but its company, Ticketmaster, still has a sizeable foothold here. It sells tickets for huge concerts at sports venues such as Empower Field at Mile High and Coors Field, where some big names, Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, recently played. Ticketmaster is also the official vendor for Ball Arena, the Fillmore Auditorium, the Paramount Theatre, LoDo’s Summit Music Hall and Marquis Theater, Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox, and a handful of nightclubs.

But here’s one of the places where things get confusing. Ticketmaster occasionally sells tickets for shows at Red Rocks — see the Cement Gardens concert on Oct. 11 — and even resells tickets for Mission Ballroom, despite it being owned by AEG Presents. The venue is technically a rental for both AEG and Live Nation, since it’s owned by the city.

Official after-market ticketing

Ticketmaster is currently selling tickets to shows at Coors Field, including singer-songwriter Noah Kahan (Aug. 8-9), despite the fact that both shows are sold out. How can that be? Because Ticketmaster’s site also allows people to In this case, Kahan is using the company’s Face Value Exchange “to help fans get tickets at the original price,” according to Ticketmaster’s website. “Tickets will be non-transferable and can only be resold on Ticketmaster at face value.” That’s all well and good, but when the only resale tickets available start above $350, your eyes may start to water.

Basically, if you’re going to a show like Bruno Mars (who is also using the Face Value Exchange) at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium Sept. 26-27, your first stop should be the official ticket seller, in this case, Ticketmaster. But since it’s sold out, you’re also going to see that tickets start above $350 and range up to more than $1,200 per seat on Ticketmaster, given that they’re resale tickets. That’s comparable to what StubHub, for example, also has on sale for that show. If you want to guarantee your ticket is legit, you’re better off buying from Ticketmaster.

Ticketing fees, explained

Ticketing fees are standard for most shows, but here in Colorado, you’re at least guaranteed to see the full price while shopping around. That’s after Gov. Jared Polis in 2024 passed the Consumer Protection in Event Ticket Sales bill, which requires both primary sellers, such as AXS and resellers (on any site), to show you the full price of the ticket from the start. The law also protects buyers of resold tickets, expands the availability of refunds, and bans look-alike websites and deceptive social media posts.

Ticketmaster and AXS are comparable when it comes to ticketing fees, which can make up 25% of the purchase price, so you won’t see a significant difference there. That does, however, mean that a $60 general admission ticket to Suki Waterhouse’s July 28 concert at the Fillmore Auditorium was actually closer to $45 before for facility maintenance, revenue-sharing with venues and artists, and customer service.

Smaller, legitimate ticketing companies such as charge much lower fees, although their events are usually at much smaller venues. In Denver, that’s 3.7% of the purchase price, plus an extra $1.79 per ticket. Eventbrite also charges a fee of 2.9% of the total order for payment processing. That is still far lower than the 25% markup from Live Nation and AXS.

How to spot fake websites

Whether you’re looking for an original or resale ticket, don’t just buy from the first link that appears on a Google search. Sellers such as Event Tickets Center, for example, appear as sponsored ads above primary sellers such as AXS. Most resellers are counting on you not to notice the difference, even if sites such as Box Office Ticket Sales and Go Tickets offer 100% authenticity guarantees. (ETC also said it alerts consumers that it’s a re-seller every step of the way).

The best-known and most visible resale sites include StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, TickPick, CashorTrade and Gametime (that last one for sporting events). Some advertise fee-free purchases, such as TickPick, and will match lower offers if you can find them. But if there are other fees, resellers are required to show them up front.

Not all are created equal. In April, third-party resale site with the Federal Trade Commission, which said it was “deceptively advertising ticket prices on its website without clearly and conspicuously disclosing upfront how much consumers actually would pay, including all mandatory fees.” The company also refunded $3 million in fees to Colorado ticketholders in 2021, following a lawsuit brought by state attorneys general.

If you’re determined to buy a resale ticket, compare prices from both official sellers and third-party websites to get a sense of their true range. A standing-room-only ticket for Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney at the Fillmore Auditorium on Sept. 14, for example, costs $64.75 on Ticketmaster, fees included. On resellers SeatGeek and StubHub, it’s more like $80 to $100 for the same ticket. In this case, you should buy from Ticketmaster, especially since the show’s not sold out. Because when it is, all the prices jump up across the board.

What if it’s sold out?

Tickets to popular shows tend to sell out instantly, often confusing and frustrating buyers who thought they were at the front of the virtual line. There’s little to be done about that outside resale tickets, but you’re likely to get better prices if you can wait until just before the show, when resellers, third-party websites, and scalpers are desperate to turn a profit. At that point, you may also get them for less than face value, since they’d rather sell them at a loss than not at all.

The same advice overall applies here: compare official resale sites vs. third-party sites for the best price, and beware sellers who are charging far more than the average. You can also try to connect directly with sellers through social media or forums such as Reddit, but there are restrictions on commercial activity on public sites. You’re also shedding the consumer protections that are available on most sites when you buy from someone directly, so consider the risk.

All ticketing services, even resellers, require accounts with email addresses, and the big ones (Ticketmaster, AXS) have apps you can download to manage your passes. That’s not a bad thing when you’re the first to get cancellation or rescheduling notices, with details on automatic refunds and other options. Promoters also often “release” tickets they’ve reserved as the event gets closer, so be sure to check from time to time if you got shut out initially.

In-person buying options

If you want to go old-school and pick up mobile or paper tickets in person (and therefore shave off some of the fees), the AXS ticket window is open for limited hours on Saturdays at the Denver Coliseum, Mission Ballroom and the Ogden Theatre, and some weekdays. Be sure to check the hours on their respective website.

Ticketmaster has more limited windows for pre-purchased tickets (i.e., not on the day of the show), with the main location at Empower Field at Mile High.

Roche, a 36-year-old father of three, coaches a middle school team in Arvada. The Faith Christian alum was a Division III All-American kicker, and when the were formed three years ago, he started following the local National Arena League franchise.

His interest peaked last year, when conversations with his Arvada Mustangs players led to his

“I’d watched some of the NAL games last year, and viewing it from a coaches’ perspective who coaches a lot of specialists, I felt like I could still compete,” Roche said. “So I started talking to some of the kids on my team about it. They were super jazzed. They encouraged me to do it and actually showed up to the tryout, so I had a cheering section at the tryout.”

Roche made the team at the open tryout, and then after spending the warm winter kicking at the by his house, he beat out the Spartans’ incumbent for the starting job following training camp.

The kicker is emblematic of the which is filled with talented players who took a winding journey to play for the Denver-based arena football team. Many were college standouts who never got a chance at the next level. Some sniffed the NFL, but didn’t make it.

And with the typical pay around a few thousand dollars for the season, all are playing for the love of the game.

“It’s a labor of love for sure,” explained defensive lineman Sam Hammond, last year’s NAL “A lot of us feel like we’ve got more in the tank and we’re not ready to give up. A lot us, we were on the cusp (of playing in the Canadian Football League, the United Football League or the NFL). But there’s only so many spots, and it’s tough.

“A lot of us still want to make it to the next level. I just try to focus on winning every rep, taking it one rep at a time, one game at a time, putting my best effort out there. That’s what I did in college (as a walk-on turned team captain) at Nevada. I was focused on playing ball, winning, having fun. I’ve gotten back to that, and it’s really rewarding.”

Colorado’s arena football history

The Spartans were founded in 2023 by a former South Dakota State defensive lineman who later played arena football in South Dakota. The Spartans played their first season at Blue Arena in Loveland before moving to the Denver Coliseum last year.

The franchise is one of two Colorado teams in the NAL, along with the , who are in their inaugural season and call the Southwest Motors Events Center home. The , founded in 2017, added three teams this season, bringing its total to nine.

“It definitely seems like the league is gaining some momentum,” Hammond said.

The Spartans and the Punishers are the latest chapter in the spotty history of Colorado arena football, which has been unable to sustain long-term momentum.

The state’s first team was the Denver Dynamite, owned by Nuggets owner Sidney Schlenker. The Dynamite started in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League and played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. But after winning the inaugural ArenaBowl, instability plagued the Dynamite, which did not field a team in ’88 and by early ’92.

Next came the Colorado Crush, which was owned by John Elway, Pat Bowlen and Stan Kroenke. Elway served as the team’s CEO. The Crush played at Ball Arena (then the Pepsi Center) from 2003-08, winning the ArenaBowl in ’05, and disbanded when the Arena Football League canceled its season in ’09. Even though it was short-lived, the Crush remains the most prominent Colorado arena team, and a popularity benchmark for the Spartans to aim for.

“We want to continue to grow the brand, and the reputation of the league and of Spartan football,” Roche said. “If we could get back to like the days of the Crush in Denver, that would be a really great thing.”

There was also a second iteration of the Colorado Crush, which was not affiliated with the first version. That team, originally known as the Colorado Ice, played in United Indoor Football and the Indoor Football League (IFL) from 2006-17.

While the Spartans are looking to buck the state’s historical impermanence in the sport, they and the NAL also face strong competition across the country, albeit in different markets. There are three other arena leagues in operation: the , which has been operating since 2009, as well as and .

The IFL — which has 14 teams, strong attendance and some legacy AFL franchises — is in a stable spot, but Hammond believes the talent in the IFL and the NAL is comparable.

“The IFL has been around for a good minute, but as (the NAL) builds up its fan base, it’ll be even bigger and better,” Spartans wideout/cornerback/returner Steve Newbold added. “The Spartans are a key part of that effort.”

For the fun, and the film

Some of the Spartans, such as Roche, are settled enough in their lives and careers that playing arena football is a fun hobby on the side, and one their family can share in.

That’s the case for , a Vista Ridge alum who played at Missouri S&T. The wideout participated in rookie camps with the Chiefs, Saints, and Colts, but nothing panned out. He played last season in the IFL.

Spartans QB Paxton Lynch, the Broncos’ first-round draft pick in 2016, convinced his friend Michel to join the Spartans this season. Michel, who coaches a 7-on-7 high school team in Colorado Springs, finally caved when he considered playing in a fun environment compared to what he experienced while trying to break into the NFL. And getting to play with his wife and infant son in the stands was another plus.

“I thought to myself, ‘Why not go out one last time and just have fun doing it?'” Michel said. “My goal is to just have fun playing football again, because it’s a whole lot more pressure and a lot more demanding (in the outdoor pro leagues).”

Other Spartans, like Lynch — who suffered a season-ending knee injury a few games into the season — hope suiting up for the Spartans leads to a chance in a league such as the CFL, the UFL or overseas.

Newbold, one of the top pass-catchers in the NAL each of the last two seasons, fits that mold. So does , who acknowledged, “If you can make it in this league, that’s just the first step to moving up.”

“What keeps me playing is just knowing I still have the ability to play,” said Newbold, 28, who played two years in the IFL before arriving in Denver. “With the Spartans, I still have more chances to showcase my talent because I feel like I was overlooked coming off a strong college career ().

“So every time I make a play or catch a TD it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m still here,’ and maybe that will eventually lead to something.”

That’s what Thompson hopes for his players.

The 37-year-old, who entered ownership after his own arena career ended due to knee surgery, wants the Spartans to serve as a springboard to higher-profile, better-paid leagues for those who are good enough.

“I tell guys, ‘I don’t want you to be on my team forever,'” Thompson said. “I want them to get out to , go up to Canada and the CFL. There’s even some cool European leagues. There’s a Mexican football league as well.

“But first, you need film. Because if you can ball out in arena football, you’ve got an opportunity to make some pretty good money (in an outdoor league).”

Components to Spartans’ longevity

While players dream of what they can achieve on the field, off it, Thompson is determined to run the Spartans in a way that can consistently attract players and bolster the franchise’s chances of longevity.

Like most arena teams, the Spartans’ roster is filled with players from across the country. The team provides housing for those players, via an apartment complex on south Broadway as well as another one in Arvada where the Spartans practice. Players are also connected with jobs via the team’s union.

Thompson also provides health insurance for the players, and food is taken care of, too, thanks to partnerships with local restaurants that the players can eat at for free, as well as catered meals on practice and game days.

“I’ve had players come to me in their first year with our organization, and they say, ‘Holy (crap), you guys got some nice housing, because last year I lived with three other guys in a camper,'” Thompson said. “… I want to make sure these guys are taken care of because I need them to show up, and I need them to be comfortable.

“There’s been stories of (arena players) couch-surfing, which is not good for any level of football. And if my weekly check is $250 (which is league minimum), but I’m spending $400 a week on food, then this ain’t working out. But all of that is part of the standard we’re seeking. We’ve got to try to raise that across all of arena football, because it’s going to help us grow as a product.”

Fan experience is paramount for the team, which has drastically elevated attendance since moving from Loveland to Denver.

In Loveland, the Spartans were a secondary tenant in the arena to the American Hockey League’s and thus the minor-league hockey team had priority to host games on Friday and Saturday nights. That left the Spartans playing games on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, which wasn’t conducive to drawing big crowds.

In their final home game of 2024, the Spartans sold just 140 tickets. But the move to the Denver Coliseum and the ability to play most of their home games on Saturdays spiked attendance. Last season’s regular-season finale drew about 3,400 fans, according to Thompson, and this season’s home opener on April 11 was over 3,000.

The Spartans bill themselves as a cheaper, more intimate way for families to experience professional sports. Thompson, who wants the Spartans to emulate the stability and attendance of the National Lacrosse League as well as the Savannah Bananas’ fan engagement, hopes the team can eventually sell out the

The Spartans put seats on the Coliseum floor to be close to the action, and Thompson encourages his players to dance and interact with the crowd when they make plays in the high-octane, high-scoring game that is arena football. The team is also engaging with its sponsors to develop creative draws, such as giving away 500 free tickets to youth football players during its game on April 18.

“The way we grow is the fan experience is going to be the most important thing, and then that is going to correlate to repeat customers,” Thompson said. “Even if we don’t win an arena championship, but people have fun, they’re going to want to come back and support us the next year.”

Call it a fall from grace. Call it a climb back toward himself, as a quarterback.

Early on a Thursday morning in late March, inside Apex, before many of his teammates took off their helmets and headed off to their primary jobs, Lynch yanked a throw too far for a receiver at Spartans practice. He pivoted, disgusted. He redid his motion in thin air. He slapped himself on the helmet several times in rapid succession.

“Hey, you getting hyped for this (expletive), man,” a teammate grinned at Lynch later, off to the side.

“I’m gonna play ’till I’m 45,” the 32-year-old Lynch beamed back. “Like I’m Tom Brady.”

For two and a half games in the National Arena League this spring, the Spartans let Lynch — the Broncos’ 2016 first-round pick that fizzled out after two years in Denver — dream again. No organization at any level called for a year and a half, until Spartans owner Tony Thompson wandered up at Lynch’s son’s Park Hill Pirates youth-ball practice in 2025. They could pay all of $600 a game. Lynch, a religious man, turned up his nose at first. But this was God’s way, he said, of telling him he should play again.

Two and a half games later, playing in Salina, Kansas, Lynch planted his right leg as a defender crunched him from the left side. His right knee buckled. Tests revealed Lynch tore his LCL, ending his comeback attempt before he could even play in the Spartans’ home debut on April 11.

“I was pissed off,” Lynch told The Denver Post. “And it sucks. I didn’t want it to be like this.”

But he did not ask himself why, or why him, or why he couldn’t catch a break, or any of the possible whys that come when hope is killed. He couldn’t go there, Lynch said. Not anymore. He did not join the Spartans for a whiff of former glory. This was an exercise, really, in football therapy.

At some point, bouncing around cities and leagues, Paxton Lynch the man and Paxton Lynch the football player diverged. The man knew himself. The football player, though, lost all confidence. Lynch joined the Spartans to reconcile the two and find part of himself in Denver again. The experiment lasted just a few weeks.

Still, if you ask him, it was successful.

“I was like, ‘OK, if I play this year in arena football,'” Lynch said, “‘I’m going to play as Paxton Lynch. I’m going to have full confidence in myself. I don’t really care.’ And that����ap what I did.

“It felt good to do that again.”

The road back

Looking back, the breaking point was 2017.

Lynch was the Broncos’ first draft pick after Super Bowl 50. The first pick after Manning’s retirement. The first pick of the last year of the Kubiak Era. Lynch rolled into Denver, used to being “the guy,” as he put it, from three years starting in Memphis; he started two games in his rookie year in 2016 behind Trevor Siemian, and lost the job again in his second year.

In 2018, the Broncos signed veteran Case Keenum as their starter, and Lynch lost direction.

“I just remember that whole entire preseason, it was like — I wasn’t Paxton Lynch,” Lynch said. “I was just, like, Paxton Lynch without the confidence.”

The Broncos cut him that September, after two years and just four total starts. Lynch told himself he had to fight to change his mindset. He mostly lost. He lasted less than a year in Seattle. He lasted a year in Pittsburgh. He went to the CFL, the USFL, and the XFL and searched for nearly a decade to recapture the feeling he’d first brought to Denver as a young 22-year-old man before the doubt crept in.

“I knew who I was,” Lynch said. “I had a strong relationship with God. I have a strong foundation in my faith. So I always knew who I was off the field. But when it became Paxton Lynch the football player, and all these people had these different opinions about me – that����ap when it was hard for me.

“I was like … ‘You believe that you’re good. But you’re not playing good. And then all these people are saying you’re not good,'” he continued. “So it’s like, ‘Are these people seeing something I’m not seeing?’ It was the constant battle in that.”

By 2024, the line had gone cold, and Lynch accepted a new stage of his life. Mostly. He was and had an eye on coaching collegiate football. Then Thompson sold him on arena football at a Los Dos Potrillos. Lynch told himself and family, after all, that he would play the sport as long as he possibly could.

That applied in this case, he figured, even if he was playing indoor games up at the Denver Coliseum rather than a few miles south at a rocking Empower Field.

Lynch hoped, of course, that something — another call, anything — would’ve come out of this Spartans journey. But he felt no pressure to be perfect or prove he was good enough. By that late-March practice, Lynch was slinging with little abandon, and cackling in glee at two teammates arguing about their defensive assignments, and waving his hand over his nether regions in a belt-to-behind celebration after one touchdown pass.

“Two years off of playing football, that����ap when I was like, ‘OK, if I get the opportunity, then I’m just going to completely be myself again,'” Lynch said.

Lessons to his kids

Lynch joined the Spartans to rehabilitate his own image as a football player, yes. Also, to better himself as a father, as his 10-year-old son Asa is a burgeoning quarterback in his own right in Denver youth ball.

“I was doing things where I was like – I didn’t even, like, give myself a chance, in a way,” Lynch recalled of his career. “I tell my son that all the time, too. When he goes out there and is afraid to throw an incompletion, or afraid of this, I’m like, ‘You’re messing up, and you’re not even feeling good about messing up. Because you’re not even doing it, like, 100%.’”

Lynch had visions of leading the Spartans to a championship in the Denver Coliseum, with his kids cheering from the stands. Thousands more cheering, too. Thompson’s franchise has heavily marketed Lynch since he signed last fall. W, a chatbot pops up with the same message: “We just signed Paxton Lynch to the Colorado Spartans, and season tickets are live now.”

Spartans head coach Fred Shaw called Lynch a “true leader” and said his 6-foot-7 frame was built for the arena game, which features walls around the playing field that players crash into as a live boundary. The Spartans averaged over 40 points a game in the two games Lynch started, Shaw said.

“I’ve been in this Arena League for over 20 years now,” Shaw said. “And his play alone — I felt like he was going to become one of the best quarterbacks that ever played arena football.”

Even with his season over, Lynch plans to attend as many home games as possible. He’ll start with Saturday, April 11, at the Coliseum if he’s able, coming off surgery this week.

“I know there was a lot of people who wanted to come watch me play again,” Lynch said. “So, my goal is to go there and give them the experience, and at least — if they want a picture, they want an autograph, they want to meet me, whatever — my goal is to be there to give them the opportunity, even if I’m not playing.”

His goal, too, was to give his son a firsthand look at the preparation it took to be a professional quarterback, at any level. And to work for his dreams. And to show him how to handle failure. It’s taken Lynch a long time to learn that, himself.

He doesn’t know, yet, if he’ll play again in 2027. If this was the true end of Lynch’s playing career, though, he’ll walk out happy.

“I do feel like that����ap what I came out here and did — I was, like, authentically myself,” Lynch said.

In that moment, the trio of ex-Grandview superstars — Lauren Betts, her younger sister Sienna Betts and UCLA assistant coach Michaela Onyenwere — soaked in the Bruins’ run to the national championship after asserting the potency of Colorado women’s basketball in primetime.

For Lauren, her performance was an exclamation point on a stellar college career that saw her emerge as one of the country’s best players. For Sienna, the season was a prelude to greater things to come. And for Onyenwere, it was a full-circle moment that was easy to believe for those who have tracked the trio since their days dominating high school courts across Colorado.

“Lauren came up to me on the stage and she was like, ‘Michaela, we did it. We won a natty together,’ Onyenwere said.

“Lauren would come to my high school games and she would watch me play, and then both her and Sienna going to the same high school as me, all of us winning (multiple Ms. Colorado Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year) awards, and now for all three of us to be on that stage accepting the trophy for a Division I national title — it was surreal for us to experience that together.”

An unstoppable force on the court

Lauren had a double-double in the Bruins’ on Sunday, April 5, scoring 14 points with 11 rebounds en route to earning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Sienna, a consistent contributor off the bench in 2025-26 despite missing the first part of the season due to tallied four rebounds in the first quarter of the title before a badly sprained ankle knocked her out of the game.

And Onyenwere, the UCLA alum and 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year who is entering her sixth season in the league, proved to be a key addition to as a hands-on assistant who did everything from scouting to player development to scrimmaging against the starters in practice.

“We were teasing (Onyenwere) in the locker room (after winning the title) and she was really emotional,” Close said in the presser after beating South Carolina. “(Associate head coach) coach Tony (Newnan) was like, ‘About time (we won), we just had to get some better players.’ We were just giving her a hard time.

“… I didn’t know that she was going to be such a dang good coach. She’s really good. She’s probably got a long pro career that she’s going to live out first, but this was even better experiencing this with her than I thought.”

While Onyenwere was a driving force outside the court, Lauren became the Bruins’ unstoppable force on it.

Her college career began with a lost year at Stanford, where she struggled to acclimate both as an athlete and an individual. That led to her transfer to UCLA, but even when she arrived in Westwood, she lacked confidence and wondered whether she wanted to keep playing.

Throughout that time, she remained bogged down by a battle with depression. So much so that during her sophomore year, she checked herself into the hospital and took a leave of absence from the team.

In an essay , Lauren called her mental health “an ongoing project.” But after helping lead her team to the title in Phoenix, she also recognized the impact of being open about her struggles.

“Basketball has given me the platform to change people’s lives,” Lauren said . “I was put on this earth not just to score points, but to help people. I’ve gone through my journey because other people have experienced the same thing, and I’m always going to speak my truth, because I know it’s going to help people.”

Now, Lauren is widely projected to be a top pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft.

ESPN’s latest mock has her going to the Washington Mystics. And while she gears up for her professional career, those closest to Sienna believe the younger sister is about to step out of her sister’s spotlight again, much like how Sienna did at Grandview after Lauren headed to college.

“This year wasn’t the role that Sienna anticipated or wanted (averaging 14.1 minutes per game), but she stayed positive, she stuck with it, and when she had the chance to play, she did really well,” said the sisters’ dad, Andy Betts, who played professionally overseas.

“Next year is going to be her coming-out party, and everyone who might’ve forgotten about her, they’ll see. She’s going to be able to show her full game and full potential at this level.”

Putting Colorado on the map

While the senior Lauren was the face of a stacked Bruins team that is likely to set a WNBA record for the most players drafted from one school in one class in league history, Sienna got to share in Lauren’s limelight in their one collegiate season together.

The two appeared together on the  and also starred in  that ran this season, featuring a cameo by their mom, Michelle Betts. The commercial was filmed in the UCLA gym at Pauley Pavilion.

“I’ve done a whole lot of crying with pride this year, because they’ve done so many amazing things together,” Michelle Betts said.

Lauren said Sienna “understood the moment” when the younger Betts checked into the national championship game. The win over South Carolina was a deja vu title moment, albeit on a much bigger stage, as the sisters also won the CHSAA Class 5A crown when Lauren was a senior and Sienna was a freshman.

“For her to get crucial rebounds, go up against really strong (South Carolina) bigs, that’s huge as a freshman. I’m just really proud of her,” Lauren said. She also told the ESPN telecast that Sienna “made this season my favorite season I’ve ever experienced.”

For Onyenwere, who Close recruited to coach this season instead of going to play in Europe, believes her and the Betts’ role in the Bruins’ first national championship was another significant stamp on the girls basketball legacy of a state that has produced top-end Division I players in droves over the past four decades.

“There has been times where Colorado has been deemed not a basketball state and we’ve been overlooked, or not recruited as much as we should have (as a whole),” Onyenwere said. “But this feat, it definitely communicates not to sleep on Colorado women…. I’m just really proud to represent Colorado, represent Grandview, represent this university and do it alongside two other really talented Colorado women.”

Next stop, nationwide.

capped her historic prep career this year, breaking the CHSAA scoring record while leading the Ravens to a fourth straight Denver Coliseum appearance.

For her supremacy — the Texas-bound guard/forward led the state with 28.5 points per game while also averaging 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 2.4 assists and 1.2 blocks — she swept every top honor. She won the state Gatorade Player of the Year, MaxPreps state Player of the Year, the CHSAA Class 6A Player of the Year and, for the second time, The Denver Post’s Ms. Colorado Basketball.

The Denver Post����ap 2026 All-Colorado girls basketball team

The 6-foot-3 hooper now takes her generational talents to the national stage over the next month. First, the in Arizona. Then, the in Oregon, where she'll make her debut. And finally, the Jordan Brand Classic in Los Angeles, another high school senior all-star game.

"I'm definitely super excited for this (all-star game tour)," Crittendon said. "These are games you see online when you're a kid, and I've wanted to be a part of for a long time. So it's awesome that all my hard work is translating in that aspect, and not just in my own state.

"With these types of games, there's so much talent on the floor and it's hard for the ball to be spread around everywhere. So I'll try to find different ways to affect the game without having the ball in my hand, like getting stops or steals or rebounds on defense and hopefully letting those things translate into points on the other end."

Crittendon's primetime exhibit actually began before her senior season, when she competed in the SLAM Summer Classic at historic in August. Crowds lined up around the block to get into the high school showcase at the Manhattan streetball mecca. Crittendon scored double-digit points in the game and ended up on

From Harlem, Crittendon traveled straight to Los Angeles for the Nike Academy, a camp for elite high school prospects, and then to the Mamba League Invitational.

A generational record for a generational player

By the time Riverdale Ridge's season began on Dec. 4, Crittendon picked up right where she left off, dropping 30 points in a win over Fossil Ridge.

She broke Tracy Hill's 43-year old scoring record of 2,934 points on Feb. 14, and after the Ravens lost in the Class 6A Great 8, Crittendon finished her career with 3,073 points. Ravens head coach Tim Jones predicts it will be decades before anyone sniffs Crittendon's scoring mark.

"It's a shot in the dark to break it," Jones said. "It's one of those things where you've got to be something different, something generational like Bri is. I don't see it being broken any sooner than another 40-some years."

After committing to Texas on Nov. 19 — choosing the Longhorns over her other finalist, CU — Crittendon had nothing left to prove entering her senior season from an individual standpoint. Yes, she was chasing Hill's record, but she was clearly the de facto best player in the state, and the five-star was also ranked among the in the country.

Crittendon maintained that her focus was on "staying present with my team and enjoying our last year together, and even enjoying the hard moments, while staying excited about the future and continuing to grow."

That's exactly what Jones saw from the versatile, three-level scorer who played every position for the Ravens but profiles as a wing/small forward at the next level.

"She adjusted a lot defensively by guarding different positions, forcing herself to be uncomfortable in spaces, coming to the perimeter and playing smaller, quicker guards," Jones said. "She also became more keen on how defenses were playing her and finding new, different spaces to score. Overall, she became more strategic in her game."

Best on the biggest stages

Amid Crittendon's rise, there was some behind-the-scenes criticism by coaches and basketball pundits around the state about who she was putting up wild scoring numbers against. Riverdale Ridge played her freshman and sophomore seasons in Class 4A, winning the title there in 2024, before moving up to Class 6A for her junior and senior seasons.

Even after jumping two classifications, the Ravens ran roughshod over their Rocky Mountain League opponents. Over the past two seasons, Riverdale Ridge was 24-0 in league, with a 70.5-point average margin of victory. But Jones points out that Crittendon usually played half the game or less in those blowouts, and that when Riverdale Ridge played marquee opponents in its non-conference schedule or in the state tournament, her scoring didn't dip.

As a case-in-point this season, Jones cited Riverdale Ridge's game against Ontario Christian, the California powerhouse filled with blue-chip recruits, which won the CIF open division state championship before finishing Crittendon scored 31 points against Ontario Christian despite facing consistent double-teams by fellow Power 4 recruits.

"Look at all the biggest matchups she's had, and she excelled," Jones said. "We've played the best of what Colorado had to offer the past few years, even in scrimmages. We played nationally-ranked teams out of state. She's produced on the biggest stages. She did it with her club, averaging over 30 points a game in one of the toughest circuits (the Select 40) in the country.

"So we can't keep saying (her scoring averages) are because of the league or classification she played in."

Ex-Regis Jesuit star , another two-time Ms. Colorado Basketball who went to Texas, agrees.

Akigbogun, who is currently an assistant coach at Denver East, calls Crittendon a "remarkable" scorer who "can consistently make something out of nothing."

"I think people are foolish if they say that there could be an asterisk next to that record because to score 3,000 points, you have to score the ball," Akigbogun said. "It doesn't matter who you're playing against — to be able to score at that high of a level in every single game, it's hard to do."

Amid all her success and accolades, Crittendon's teammate Chloe Parker noted that No. 3 remained level-headed and coachable.

"She set the bar high for our school and for Colorado girls basketball going forward," said Parker, an Air Force pledge. "She's consistent. She's never going to be super high or super low — whether she just broke the scoring record, or we lost at the Coliseum, it was the same Bri every single day."

Akigbogun says that no matter what the future holds for Crittendon — Texas coach Vic Schaefer said he believes she can be an All-SEC player, while Crittendon's ultimate ambition remains the WNBA — the Riverdale Ridge superstar's legacy is cemented in Colorado high school girls basketball lore.

"She's going to continue to strive to do great things, and it's good to look at different seasons of your life with separation," Akigbogun said. "What you've done in high school is different than what you'll do in college.

"But no matter what she does or doesn't do, it doesn't take away from what she's done now. What she's done in this state at this level in her four years is going to be forever remarkable, regardless of what happens later on. Anybody that's going to be watching high school basketball, her name is always going to come up in those circles when talking about the great players Colorado has produced."

The talent, of course, already existed for a team that went 21-4 during the 2024-25 season and earned the No. 1 seed for the state tournament. Its ride came to an abrupt end when eventual state runner-up Green Mountain snubbed it in the second round.

On Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum, with the 10th-seeded Lions boys a year older, wiser and under new leadership, they ascended all the way to the top of Class 5A when they defeated No. 13 Silver Creek 64-30.

All it took was a little belief in themselves.

“I just wanted to cultivate a spirit of structure as well as freedom, so they could be themselves,” Adams said. “The way that I kind of tried to build the structure was really to just put them in basketball positions as non-negotiables to create space — and then a couple of cuts here and there that puts everybody on the same page.

“If we get the ball in this spot, I know that this guy’s going to cut. If we drive baseline, I know that this guy will be here. This guy will be there. And then (I said), ‘Hey man, go out and be yourselves. All of you bring something very unique.’ We have some very athletic guys, some guys that can shoot the ball, some guys that can rebound the ball.”

After a tight first quarter, the Lions began to put some distance between themselves and the Raptors when they flipped a 9-7 deficit into a 26-11 advantage at the break. Evan Makkai and Kaden Tisdall, in particular, lit it up through that 5-minute, 22-second stretch to close out the half, scoring 8 and 6 points, respectively.

The Lions gave no quarter from then on out.

Kade Speckman, Lutheran’s 6–foot-9 senior power forward, used his size to punish the Raptors, pouring in 13 points and not one, but two alley oops that Makkai dished out.

It was Makkai, however, who paced the Lions with 17 points. Tisdall was just behind him with 16.

“It feels great,” Makkai said. “I’ve been waiting for a good game for myself. I step up in the big moments. That’s what I try to do. I think everybody really just wanted to play to the best of their God-given ability for (Adams) because we all respected him so much.”

Adams’ system, he said, didn’t start to click until a little over a month ago, when he realized he didn’t have to instruct his players nearly as much in practices. Once he was able to take a step back from yelling so much on the sidelines, the results began to speak for themselves.

Since Feb. 6, the Lions have been on a tear, winning nine straight games, including Saturday night����ap crowning achievement. They finished with a 20-8 record, and Adams handed a lot of the credit to his graduating class.

“Our seniors got full on board with it — guys like Logan Clarkson, who has become a defensive menace as well,” he said. “He’s the positive force of the team. He’s a great shooter, great defender, and he leads with positivity and energy. You have Kade (Speckman), who is a vocal leader, and then Evan Makkai, who just dominates the ball on both ends of the floor. He’s a defensive menace. His ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the hole is impressive.

That package will now go down in history as the fifth team in Lutheran history to claim a state title and the first 5A win. The Lions won their last banner in 2021 as a 3A program.

“Me and Kade went to the Final Four two years ago and we lost,” Makkai said. “This has just been our revenge arc. We didn’t get a high seed or nothing. We just wanted it.”

Facing a stifling Green Mountain defense and shooting poorly in the cavernous Denver Coliseum, the top-ranked Lions made the shots when they had to win the girls’ Class 5A state championship.

They beat the second-seeded Rams, 33-27.

“We just believed all year, and we believed tonight,” said senior guard Makenna Mudd who sank a 3-pointer with 2 minutes 10 seconds remaining to put the Lions ahead for good, 29-27.

“Green Mountain plays such a tough defense, but we had to stay patient and know that our time would come,” continued Mudd, who also came up with a crucial steal late in the game.

Lutheran won its sixth state title, but it was its first under new coach Robby Gabrielli, who took over the program this year.

“I told the girls we were No. 1 for a reason,” said Gabrielli. “We went out and earned this tonight.”

The Rams beat the Lions 48-42 in overtime early this season and came into the game having won 23 straight games. Lutheran came in riding a 19-game winning streak. Gabrielli said he anticipated a low-scoring game.

“Both teams play such good (zone) defenses … very much alike,” he said. “We knew if we stayed patient, our shots would start falling .”

Green Mountain, struggling to make anything happen offensively, finally snapped out of its 3-point drought when junior forward Addie Evans bombed in a baseline 3-pointer, tying the game 21-all with 6:50 left in the game.

The Rams posted their first lead with 4:15 left when Peyton Coil broke free for a rare fastbreak layup.

But the Lions kept their poise — and sank their free throws down the stretch. Senior guard Berkely Schneider made 6 of 8 foul shots, including four in the final minute, to finish with 10 points.

Both teams came out ice-cold in the first quarter, as the Lions took a 9-4 lead. The Lions were 2 for 10 from the floor, the Rams 0 for 7.

The shooting didn’t improve in the second quarter, which ended with Lutheran holding on to an 11-8 lead. The Lions shot 2 for 15 in the first half, the Rams 1 for 12. Green Mountain finally got its first field goal with 1 minute, 47 seconds left in the half when Ella Cockrum drove for a layup.

Lutheran junior center/forward Isla Koffman — who led all scorers with 16 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds — seemed to put the Lions in command near the end of the third quarter, converting a 3-point play for a 19-14 lead. But Cockrum raced down the court for a layup, barely beating the buzzer to cut the lead to 19-16 entering the final quarter.

Green Mountain finished the season with a 26-2 record and is still seeking its first state hoops title. Senior Kantyn Pearson (16.4 points per game) suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Rams’ regular-season finale on Feb. 16 and had surgery last week.

That left it to Cockrum to carry the load. She delivered 12 points for the Rams.

Sometimes it took. Sometimes it wouldn’t. David defers “way too much at times,” as Grams reflected, even in a season where the Jaguars guard is averaging 19 points per game. But there was nobody Grams — or Rock Canyon’s locker room — wanted more to go to work with a game in the balance.

“He was just telling me that I needed to be the one with the ball in my hands when it mattered,” David said. “And I mean, that����ap what happened in this game.”

Indeed, Rock Canyon’s season came down Saturday night to David’s understanding of those very words. And he assumed control late in a 15-point effort against Ralston Valley, sealing a 68-58 win and an improbable run for No. 5 Rock Canyon to a boys 6A state championship at the Denver Coliseum.

With less than three minutes left, an early 14-point lead for the Jaguars had completely evaporated. Ralston Valley senior Zeke Andrews was getting anything he wanted around the rim, with a fourth-quarter putback jam giving him 18 points. A well-traveled crowd of Canyonites was being deafened by raucous Mustang students in white and blue. So clinging to a one-point advantage, David introduced the Mustangs to his dance.

He’d rarely found any airspace on this night. So he created his own. A quick stutter-step sent his defender on his heels and David behind the line, rearing up with the ball in his hands — just the place Grams wanted it.

David flicked, a 3-pointer swished, and the junior stretched his vocal cords to the cavernous audience at the Coliseum with an early dagger.

Tenacious defense and timely free-throw shooting from David and junior Cooper Ellwood sealed the title for Rock Canyon, as star big Kai Valentine tackled junior Jonah Medina after the buzzer and threw a few gleeful fake punches at his chest. After they raised the 6A trophy at center court, the entire Jaguars roster raced over to the Jags home section at the Coliseum for an impromptu mosh-pit.

It was a visual of just how far this program had come. After jumping up to 6A/5A in the 2022-23 season, Rock Canyon made three straight Sweet 16s without hitting paydirt. In 14 years as the Jaguars’ head coach, too, Knaus had never managed to win a title.

Until Saturday.

“Every year is a grind, and every year you think you might have a chance,” Knaus said postgame, slightly red-faced. “This year at the beginning of the year — I thought we had a special group. I knew we had a lot of maturing to do, and a lot of growing up. And they bought into what I said. They bought into each other.”

David walked away from a sea of hand-slaps in the crowd, slightly dazed, with a slight grin.

“We owe ‘em one,” David said, referring to the raucous Rock Canyon crowd. “We got ‘em one.”

Rock Canyon knocked off No. 1-seeded Chaparral 75-60 in the semifinals to get here, and put No. 2-seeded Ralston Valley away Saturday night behind David, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Jaguars senior Valentine operated from the mid-post like a certain Joker who plays a few miles down the road, stacking dimes on silver platters and scoring 13 points around the rim. And Ellwood was the Jaguars’ most important piece end-to-end, repeatedly slashing to the rim with a team-leading 19 points and assuming the unenviable task of checking Ralston Valley’s top scorer Caiden Braketa.

Grams had gone to both Ellwood and junior Avery Vasquez and asked them about guarding Braketa. Both said they wanted him. Grams went with Ellwood.

“We weren’t letting him catch the ball, and I did my best,” Ellwood said. “I mean, he still got his buckets. He’s an unreal player. But in my head, it was just – ‘Do not let him catch the ball. Do not let him score.’”

He, Vasquez and Jack Christensen all flitted in Braketa’s ears and went chest-to-chest with him in the first half, slowing a high-volume scorer who came in averaging 19.5 points per game. Braketa finished with 16 points, but was held to just four before the halftime break, his jumper falling in and out of rhythm.

After Rock Canyon built a 30-21 halftime lead, the Mustangs stormed back in the second half. Midway through the third quarter, Ralston Valley pushed the ball in transition with the Jaguars falling slightly out of control.

“Settle down!” Grams roared, ringing across the hardwood.

Not a second later, Mustangs senior Frank Psaute pulled from deep, nailed a triple, and nodded at David as the Mustangs cut Rock Canyon’s lead to five.

Psaute’s shooting often kept Ralston Valley within striking distance throughout the night, with five three-pointers. David, though, got him back with a double-clutch triple over Psaute’s hands at the third-quarter buzzer. And the Rock Canyon junior hit the biggest shot of the night when it counted, propelling his program to history.

Afterwards, in the Coliseum tunnel, a beaming Ellwood was handed a phone with Principal Andy Abner on the other end. The speaker crackled. Ellwood yelled back.

“He said,” Ellwood recounted, “‘It’s a great day to be a Jaguar.’”

Late Saturday afternoon at the rowdy Denver Coliseum, the seventh-seeded Falcons hoisted the girls Class 6A championship trophy after hanging on to beat No.  5 Northfield, 54-51.

It was the eighth state title for Highlands Ranch under legendary coach Caryn Jarocki, but its first since 2011. The Falcons finished their latest championship chapter with a 25-3 record.

“This feels so amazing,” said sophomore guard Kimora Banks-Thomas, who led all scorers with 20 points. “Last year we made it to the Great 8 and couldn’t get the job done. This year, we played with a younger team and we were able to bring it home. We played hard from beginning to end. Not just today, but all season.”

The Falcons controlled the game most of the way, but the athletic, tenacious Nighthawks never went away.

With 52 seconds left, Northfield junior Paris Taylor swooped in for an offensive rebound and a put-back, trimming the Falcons’ lead to 49-47. When Paris’ twin sister, London, made two free throws and, a moment later, stole the ball and converted a 3-point play, Highland Ranch’s lead was down to one point, 52-51, with 4.7 seconds left.

But Falcons freshman guard Na ‘Ziah Newbins calmly clinched the game with two free throws.

“In my head, I was just trusting the work I put in,” said Newbins, who admitted she had to block out the noise from the raucous Northfield student section. “I just practiced and practiced free throws, as a freshman, just knowing I could knock these down for my time.”

All eight of Jarocki’s state championship teams are unique, but she didn’t hesitate when asked what made the 2026 title team special.

“This team was probably the most fun championship team I’ve ever had because they played freely and they played for each other,” said Jarocki, who won her first state title in 2000.

The Falcons received critical contributions throughout their lineup. Sophomore forward Jayda Rogers scored 11 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Junior guard Kate Moon made 3 of 5 3-pointers en route to 15 points. Her back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter gave Highlands Ranch a 42-34 lead, and the Falcons made just enough free throws in the closing minutes to win the game.

“I told our girls, don’t get sped up, control the ball, play our game, and control the tempo,” Jarocki said.

And what did she tell her girls during the multiple timeouts in the game’s closing minutes when the Nighthawks were swarming?

“Make your free throws. Make your free throws and we win,” she said, allowing herself a relieved smile.

The Falcons missed a few foul shots down the stretch but ended up sinking 17 of 27.

Jarocki had nothing but praise for the relentless Northfield girls who played in-your-face defense the entire game.

“They are very strong, athletic and physical girls,” she said. “It’s hard to play against them with my skinny, little toothpick girls.”

London Taylor led Northfield with 11 points and Paris added nine. Junior forward Delaney Dennis, who became an offensive force in the second half, scored 11 and added six rebounds. The Nighthawks finished their season 24-4.

The Falcons led 25-18 at halftime by answering every time the Nighthawks made a mini-run.

Case in point: Northfield’s Madison Bethel raced the length of the court for a layup, cutting Highland Ranch’s lead to 19-18. But the Falcons answered with six consecutive points, including a gorgeous 3-point play by Banks-Thomas. She put down a perfect drop-step in the lane, coaxed in a layup and then made the foul shot.

Plus, stone-cold shooting haunted Northfield in the first half. The Nighthawks shot 27.6% (8 for 29) overall and missed all seven 3-pointers. The Nighthawks heated up a bit in the second half and finished the game shooting 41.7%, but were 0 for 9 on 3-pointers. Highlands Ranch, meanwhile, made 7 of 20 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers went on to win their eighth state title in girls basketball — beating Kent Denver 52-46 — and they did so without the usual contributions from the player they call the “glue” of the program.

Contreraz, still recovering from the broken ankle she suffered on senior night just weeks ago, was again relegated to her prescription black-rimmed glasses and a spot on the bench this postseason. Until the very end, that is.

With 19 seconds remaining, Contreraz checked into the game, donning her hallmark white goggles. She limped onto the court as her fans and teammates rose to their feet in applause.

Gracie Ward even attempted to give Contreraz the game’s final shot, heaving an inbounds pass three-quarters of the court to her as she was standing on the 3-point line. Contreraz caught it but couldn’t get the shot off in time.

“Nothing is taken for granted when you’re with a group of girls you love,” Contreraz said in the midst of a purple and gold celebration. “Just having their support and knowing they’re in my corner for everything, it����ap just the biggest thing. With all of us together, we’re the best team in 4A.”

It wasn’t the ending Contreraz had envisioned, but she embraced it anyway.

Four seasons ago, Contreraz was the freshman who wouldn’t blink under the bright lights in the 4A championship game, keying a game-altering run that led the Tigers to their seventh title under former coach Ron Rossi.

Though her role had changed for championship No. 8, her team leaned on her all the same.

“She’s the glue to this program,” Tigers coach Mike Quintana said. “We never lost her. Her presence was always felt, and she was a big part of the reason we won today.”

On the court, fellow senior Alexcia Oaxaca fueled the fourth-ranked Tigers’ offense in the finals with an unconscious performance from 3-point range, hitting five 3s on just seven attempts and helping her team build a double-digit lead through three quarters.

With a putback bucket late in the third, Oaxaca extended Holy Family’s lead to 43-28 and immediately pointed to Contreraz.

“We were really playing for her,” Oaxaca said. “She was yelling from the sideline, like, ‘Hey, stay in front of her. Stay on your feet. Hey, you have a mismatch here. Go drive it. Hey, this girl’s open right over here.’”

Oaxaca’s senior season had also been in peril after she tore her meniscus in September. Choosing to remove rather than repair it shortened her recovery time, allowing her to return in January. She suffered a setback after her return but was at her best in the finals.

Oaxaca finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in the win. Priya Lucas added 18 points and seven boards, while Ward, the team’s leading scorer who also missed time with injury this season, had seven points and five assists.

Austin Duncan scored 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting for No. 3 Kent Denver in the loss. Coached by former Highlands Ranch and UConn star Ann Abromaitis — formerly Ann Strother — the Sun Devils reached their first title game in program history.

Duncan gave her team its final lead of the game — 24-23 out of the halftime break — on an acrobatic layup right around a defender. The Tigers, however, countered with a 17-2 run to seize control.

“A lot of people counted us out this year, especially with all the losing streaks and stuff,” Ward said. “But we stuck together through all of it and just grew more and more as a team. You could see it out on the court today — we were playing for each other.”

The Tigers’ eighth state title ties them for second all-time with Mullen in Colorado girls basketball. Eads leads the state with nine but last won it all in 2008.