Photo by Richard Cleaver, HubCityPreps.com
Here are the Big Country baseball bi-district recaps:
LUBBOCK — The Brownwood girls track team feasted at the Region I-4A meet Friday and Saturday at Lowrey Field, collecting nine medals and five automatic state berths to make a comfortable run to the event’s team championship.
The Lady Lions, who accounted for all but two of the area’s medals on the girls side, got scoring from 13 entries on their way to 107 points — topping second-place Canyon by 31 points and third-place Krum by 44.
The BHS girls success headlined a strong overall showing by area athletes, who combined to claim 22 medals and 12 automatic spots to the Class 4A state meet May 14 in Austin.
EULA — Instead of letting a bases-loaded situation with no outs in the first inning that saw them score on two wild pitches and nothing else demoralize them, the Brock baseball team used it as a way to demonstrate that it will take what an opposing pitcher gives it and cruised to a 12-1 win over Levelland to close out a sweep of the Region I-4A Division II bi-district series.
The Eagles achieved the series win without having to use Arizona State University signee Evan O’Connor on the mound — though he was ready and available to start Game 3.
Instead, Brock coach Koby Page turned to Colton Ripple for Game 2 after Weston Pickard earned the win on the mound in the series opener on Thursday. Page said that pitching depth is a nice luxury to have.
If you’re going to top someone who throws a perfect game in our in our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column, you had better do something very special.
This rare occurrence took place last week when Brock sophomore shortstop Kayden Blue helped the Lady Eagles to a three-game bi-district series win over Levelland with a truly memorable performance. In the process, she edged Abilene High ace George Ferguson, who delivered a perfect game win over Cooper.
With Brock sandwiching wins in Games 1 and 3 (5-1 and 5-2) around a 5-4 loss in Game 2, Blue was quite literally unstoppable, going 10-for-10 in the series with five runs scored (accounting for more than a third of BHS’ run tally. Yet it doesn’t stop there. She also posted a pair of walks (one intentional), making her a perfect 12 for 12 in reaching base throughout a difficult series against excellent competition.
“Kayden showed all the characteristics of a great leader in all three games and was phenomenal in the leadoff spot for us”
ABILENE — If it were possible for two high schools separated by 308 miles to become rivals, Brock and Levelland may have just achieved it.
A year removed from a pair of one-run bi-district wins over the Loboettes, Brock eliminated Levelland yet again on Saturday, taking a 4A DII bi-district series with a come-from-behind 5-2 win in Game 3 at McMurry University’s Edwards Field.
After falling to Levelland in a 5-4 Game 2 thriller on Saturday, the Lady Eagles regrouped behind backup pitcher Delanee Parsons and a mind-blowing performance from shortstop Kayden Blue to take Game 3 and advance to the area round. There, they will meet Fort Worth Eagle Mountain in a best-of-three series beginning next week.
Parsons delivered four solid innings to earn the win with a save from ace pitcher Alison Coleman. Blue, in the meantime, capped a 10-for-10 batting tally for the series with a 2-for-2 effort in Game 3 with two runs scored to help Brock improve to 26-10 with the win.
In a week that featured at least a half dozen athletes who could have taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, we finally settled on a Stephenville senior for our weekly award.
Willis Jackson, one of the premiere speedsters in the Big Country, took four district titles in the District 6-4A meet last week
This included individual gold medals in the 100 meters (10.66), long jump (22-8.5) and Triple jump (43-8.5). He also collected gold with the 800 relay team (1:28.53), along with a silver with the 400 relay (42.45).
“Willis is headed to the area track meet in five events,” coach Kolt Kittley said. “He comes to workouts every day with a big smile and a great attitude.
“He was huge in helping us win the district track meet this year.”
Scoring and rebounding is only part of the story when it comes to basketball. Behind the scenes and beyond the view of the public, is where character is often measured. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who exude the most of it.
This team isn’t about who the best players are, though some of the area’s top players are on this list.
The Gym Rat team is about effort, discipline, toughness, coachability and selflessness — traits that coaches love above all else and that championship foundations are built upon.
It is for that reason that our Gym Rat team is selected entirely by area coaches, described in their own words. And Big Country Preps is absolutely honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2025-26 season.
Players are listed in no particular order.
Enjoy.
In a week that features three entries from Brock, the top spot goes to one of the Eagles and with good reason.
Senior southpaw Evan O’Conner takes Big Country Preps Player of the Week Award after throwing a six-inning no hitter against Glen Rose last week.
The Arizona State-bound hurler was nearly perfect, throwing only 80 pitches, walking just one and fanning 13 Tigers. He is consistently pegging the radar gun in the mid 90s.
As one would expect, the Jim Ned Relays had a quality field of competition last week, opening the door for one of its athletes to snag Big Country Preps Player of the Week honors.
So it’s not surprising that its top performer sits atop of our weekly list of highlighted competitors from around the area.
Wall senior Bryson McFarden takes our weekly accolade after medaling five times in Tuscola with four golds and a silver.
Taking a brief break from their respective district races, the Abilene High and Brock baseball teams met for a nondistrict matchup Saturday at Blackburn Field, and the outcome was a competitive game between two league-leading squads.
AHS led 2-1 after four innings, but the visiting Eagles scored the game’s final three runs to leave Abilene with a 4-2 victory and a six-game winning streak that included a pair of run-rule wins over defending regional finalist Graham last week.
Brock (13-3 overall, 2-0 in District 6-4A) took advantage of some shaky defense by Abilene High to pull ahead with a pair of runs in the fifth, before tacking on an insurance run in the seventh. And that late offense was all the support necessary for Austin Gallogly and Brody Burns, who earned a win and save, respectively, in relief of starter Colton Ripple.
In the pitcher’s circle, there are varying degrees of perfection. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, that statement was fully illustrated on Friday in a 6-0 Clyde win over Merkel.
Yes, CHS freshman Brynli Reynolds threw a perfect game. But this wasn’t your standard, every day, run-of-the-mill, garden variety perfecto.
In fact, it may have been the most dominating performance by a baseball or softball pitcher the Big Country has seen in the last two decades.
Aside from retiring 21 straight hitters from a very good Merkel team (19-2), Reynolds fanned the first 17 batters she faced and finished with 20 strikeouts. She also helped herself at the plate, going 1-for-2 with an RBI.
It was the second time this season that the Clyde freshman has taken our weekly accolade.
ARLINGTON — Amarion Hunter scored 16 points, Terrell Jackson added 14 and a tenacious Dallas Carter defense recorded eight steals as the Cowboys defeated Brock 52-44 in the Class 4A Division II state semifinals Tuesday night.
The victory improved Carter’s record to 30-6 and earned the Cowboys a trip to San Antonio on Friday for a chance to win the state championship. They will play LaMarque, which beat Houston Wheatley 68-67 in the other semifinal game.
The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for the Eagles, who finished with a 28-10 record.
A sellout crowd at the Arlington ISD Athletic Center saw a great basketball game for most of the evening. But, in the end, it was the end of periods that sealed the Eagles’ fate.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
CLYDE — When the boys basketball teams from Lubbock Cooper Liberty and Brock met in tournament play over the Christmas break, the Patriots held on for a 53-52 win after the Eagles closed the game on a 10-3 run.
Friday brought a rematch in the Region I-4A Division II championship game, and the two squads went toe-to-toe for 28 minutes of action at Clyde’s Bulldog Gym. But it was the other four minutes that made the difference as Brock claimed a 56-42 win.
Brock junior guard Eli Paez hit a career milestone in the first quarter when he sank a free throw for the 1,000th point of his career. He finished with a game-high 17 points as the Eagles rode a strong finish to the first quarter to the victory and into next week’s state semifinals.
On the opening day of the Abilene ISD Invitational Tournament, Abilene High and Cooper both picked up a pair of wins while Wylie split its two games as offenses took advantage of a howling wind that was blowing out at all three ballparks during nearly all of the dozen games that were played on Thursday.
In addition to the success of the three local schools, Wall picked up wins over Arlington Sam Houston and Copperas Cove with Brock and Brownwood going a combined 1-3 — the lone win coming by Brock against Wylie.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
MERKEL — In 2025, it took a buzzer-beating shot for the Brock girls basketball team to beat Lubbock Cooper Liberty 37-36 in the bi-district round of the Region I-4A Division II playoffs.
The stakes were much higher when the two sides met again on the hardwood Friday night at Merkel’s Badger Gym — but the result was the same as the No. 3 Lady Eagles claimed a 37-29 win in the Region I-4A Division II championship game to earn a berth in the state semifinals for the 23rd time in school history as they chase their 10th state championship.
While the state semifinals are no longer part of the state tournament in San Antonio, Brock coach Alex Stephenson said he doesn’t care where the Lady Eagles play Dallas Lincoln in the early part of the week.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Before their Region I-4A Division II bi-district matchup with Lubbock Estacado, Brock boys basketball coach Zach Boxell thought it was a matchup that was better suited in a region final as opposed to the opening round of the postseason.
Both squads made Boxell’s pregame thoughts look prophetic in a matchup of teams that finished the year ranked in the top 25.
Led by Eli Paez’s 24 points, No. 24 Brock outlasted No. 14 Lubbock Estacado 80-72 in overtime on Monday night at McMurry University’s Kimbrell Arena in a matchup between two squads that won their respective district championships but wound up facing off because of how the Division I/II splits played out in the respective districts.
When Cisco junior guard Carter Toof is on his game, there is little one can do to stop him. He’s going to get his point, whether you like it or not.
That was the case last week when Toof helped Cisco to a win over Abilene TLCA with 43 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He followed that with 20 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals in a playoff warmup loss to Benjamin.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19. With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Levelland girls basketball (65 images)” →
BAIRD — The third-ranked Brock girls basketball team scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back to open the postseason with a 64-35 win over Levelland in a Region I-4A Division II bi-district game Monday night at Baird High School.
Led by Laney Hudson with a game-high 17 points, the Lady Eagles saw 10 players score in the game and hit nine 3-pointers to advance to play Krum (20-16) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Saginaw High School.
Brock coach Alex Stephenson was happy with what he saw in what he called a “total team effort” as the Lady Eagles picked up their 12th straight victory and 15th win this season by at least 23 points.
Aside from being a traditional area area power in softball, the Clyde Lady Bulldogs are known for getting off to fast starts every spring and quickly establishing the fact that they’re a team to be reckoned with.
But this year, with freshman pitcher Brynli Reynolds making a major splash, Clyde is not only good, it’s scary good.
At this point, the Lady Bulldogs are 3-0, with wins over good teams from Hawley (8-1), Littlefield (10-0) and most recently, over three-time defending 3A state champion Coahoma (7-0).
Reynolds, who has taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, tossed a no-hitter in the Hawley win. And in 21 innings of work last week, she allowed only one earned run on seven hits with — get this — 51 strikeouts. Yes, you read that correctly.

STEPHENVILLE — The Brock Eagles finished Friday’s key District 6-4A boys’ basketball game with a 15-3 run — erasing a six-point deficit, forcing overtime and eventually overcoming the Stephenville Yellow Jackets 58-52 at Gandy Gym.
The win improved Brock’s record to 23-9 overall and 8-1 in District 6-4A. The Eagles will secure the district championship and No. 1 seed for the Class 4A Division II playoffs with a win Tuesday over Mineral Wells, which hasn’t won a district game.
“It’s been a battle,” Brock coach Zach Boxell said of the 6-4A race. His Eagles lost 74-59 to Glen Rose and trailed the Tigers halfway through the district schedule.
“We knew coming in here to Stephenville tonight with a big crowd that it was going to be hard to get a win. Being in a tough district should help prepare us for the playoffs,” Boxell said.
Stephenville lost at home for the first time in 13 games in Gandy Gym this season. Despite Friday’s loss, the Jackets (28-4, 6-3) still secured a Class 4A DI No. 1 seed because Graham (4-5) lost against Glen Rose.
“Our crowd was awesome. I wish we could have gotten a win for them,” said Stephenville coach Drew McDorman, whose Jackets began this week with a 63-37 home win over Glen Rose. “I told the kids that, when you beat good teams, people will show up to see you play.”
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.
Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play.
With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.
Surprised — and in some cases, stressed out — faces could be seen in abundance Monday morning at Abilene’s Region 14 Education Services Center, where coaches from throughout the area and beyond gathered to learn their new district homes as part of the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment.
In what can best be described as a seismic shift in the Big Country football landscape, a majority of area schools were placed in unfamiliar environs — be that a new district with new foes or even a new region entirely.
The now venerated process by which the UIL releases the packet containing the new district alignments for football, basketball and volleyball is frequently compared by coaches to waking up on Christmas morning to find what presents await under the three. And on this day, in particular, few found the gifts they were expecting.
Last week’s winter storm made for a wild week of action, condensing a week’s worth of games into three day’s time. And the results were as unpredictable as you might expect given the circumstances.
We saw several district championship and playoff races shaken up by upsets and others take shape as the cream continued its rise to the top.
As we do here weekly, it’s time to take survey of the Big Country boys basketball landscape. We hope you enjoy this look at the biggest developments from last week and the biggest games this week’s slate has to offer.
Mother Nature did her best to bring the high school basketball season to a standstill, sending a winter storm that put most Big Country teams on the shelf for a week. But the action around that unexpected break gives us plenty to talk about in this week’s look at the area boys basketball scene.
With a number of excellent (and meaningful) games last week and some big matchups slated for the next few days, the area district races remain as intriguing as ever.
Let’s go ahead now and take a look at the biggest games the area slate has to offer this week and some of the outcomes last week that helped shape the weeks to come.
The winter storm that blew across most of the state over the weekend wreaked havoc on the area basketball schedule, forcing most of last Friday’s games to be pushed up a day and the bulk of this week’s early games to postponed all the way to Thursday.
But icy weather — and the bevy of schedule changes that came with it — have done little to cool the area’s rapidly heating district races.
We still had a number of thrilling and significant results last week and have a bunch of intriguing games to look forward to over the next few days. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the biggest of those in our weekly look at the Big Country girls basketball scene.
Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be.
He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction.
He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible.
Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored.
Here are our superlative award winners for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2025 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Football Team (Third-Team roster). For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
District races are heating up throughout the Big Country and the cream is quickly rising to the top in our area leagues.
Last week and helped provide some clarity in a number of district’s throughout the BCP coverage area, and this week will, no doubt, do the same.
Without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into this week’s column and take a look at the biggest games on this week’s slate and some of the top results last week had to offer.
As we arrive in mid-January, this year’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape with multiple games throughout the area have a direct impact on seeding.
Tonight we take a look at some of those matchups, along with the top results from last week and the area’s biggest surprise.
With district play either underway or starting this week for all area boys basketball teams, it’s time to start taking a closer look at how our Big Country hoops races are shaping up.
And as we’ve done in the past, we’ll break down our top upcoming matchups, the top results from the previous week and the area’s biggest surprise right here each Sunday, starting with this column.
We hope you enjoy a look at this week in area boys basketball.
Hosting Brock for a strong nondistrict test, the Wylie boys basketball put together one of its most complete performances of the season on Tuesday, racing out to a 10-2 lead and maintaining that pace the rest of the way for a 74-62 win at Bulldog Gym.
The Bulldogs (8-10) never trailed, stretching a 22-15 first-quarter advantage to 42-28 by halftime and answering every BHS run from there to roll to the double-digit victory.
Senior Swade Sipe was at the heart of that effort, knocking down half of his team’s 12 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 33 points. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter had at least six points in every quarter to keep a talented and resilient Eagles squad from ever fighting its way back into the game.
If you were told that the Big Country had a possible boys basketball star in the making, where would you guess he was from?
Jim Ned? Eula? San Saba?
While those choices often make sense, there is a rising star on the block from an area that is seldom attached with basketball greatness. His name: Carter Toof, a junior from Cisco where pigskin has served as the athletic identity of the school for more than two decades.
Named as our Big Country Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 13, Toof, a gifted guard, earned our accolade with a performance that bordered on scary.
MESQUITE — The Brock football team saw its season come to a close in the Class 4A Division II state semifinals on Friday, falling to the defending state champion Carthage Bulldogs 49-21 at Memorial Stadium.
After reaching the end zone late in the first quarter to knot the score at 7-all, the Eagles were outscored 42-7 over the middle two quarters to close their campaign in the state semifinals for the third consecutive year.
The loss was the first of the season for Brock, which capped 2025 at 14-1. Carthage, which downed Brock in the state semis for the second straight season, improved to 15-0, earning its 11th state championship game appearance since 2008 and 12th all time.
There’s no question that, of all the challenges the Brock football team has faced en route to a 14-0 record this fall, Friday’s game with Carthage, also 14-0, represents the holy grail for the Eagles.
Even if, technically, it’s only Holy Grail 1.0.
It earns that distinction because a win over the vaunted Bulldogs would still leave Brock one victory away from the Class 4A Division II state championship. No state title is ever proverbial “gravy.”
Still, the Carthage game is more than just a giant step toward potential history. It’s a giant step, period, especially when you consider two especially enticing plot elements that surround this week’s matchup at 7 p.m. in Mesquite between the two unbeatens.
LAST WEEK: 6-2, .750
SEASON TOTAL: 540-113, .827
With six-man teams from Gordon, Richland Springs and Jayton having already qualified for next week’s state championship games in Arlington, there are three additional 11-man possibilities for the Big Country Preps coverage area in the state semifinals.
Stephenville will take on Celina in 4A DI; Brock will face Celina in 4A DII and Wall will square off with Gunter in 3A DII. All three of those games will take place on Friday, with the winners advancing to their respective title games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington next week.
All three matchups are razor-thin when it comes to looking for reasons to pick one team or the other. But frankly, that’s what we want at this time of year, so here goes nothing.
Here’s this week’s playoff forecast.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.