Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.
Abilene ISD has named Cooper football coach Aaron Roan as the district’s new assistant athletic director as he will replace the retiring Lou Mora as Jim Garfield’s right-hand man.
Roan has spent the past eight seasons leading the Cougars program, compiling a 52-40 record in making the playoffs each season. His deepest playoff run came in 2019, when he led the Cougars to the third round of the playoffs. Cooper won six playoff games under Roan.
Roan said he’s excited about the challenge that lays ahead and that a move to athletics administration has been something that he’s considered for some time.
LUBBOCK — The Wylie 800-meter relay team of Adrian Jurado, Max Thornton, Jett Wilson and Liam Chapman and Abilene High sprinter Jaden Jackson both earned bronze medals Saturday at the Region I-5A meet to top the list of performances by local qualifiers at Lowrey Field.
Behind its relay effort, the WHS boys finished with 12 team points, while AHS earned seven and Cooper finished with two.
On the girls side, meanwhile, Wylie scored two team points and Cooper earned one.
The Abilene High baseball team locked up a share of its first district championship in more than a decade on Friday, shutting out Cooper 7-0 at Cougar Field to finish the District 4-5A season in a first-place tie with Wylie.
Led by junior starter Gavin Colley, who struck out 11 on his way to a two-hit shutout, the Eagles (21-9-1 overall) improved to 9-3 in league play to match Wylie (20-5-1, 9-3), which rallied for a 5-2 win over Wichita Falls Legacy on Friday to clinch its share of the district title.
In support of Colley, who worked around a pair of walks and three errors to keep Cooper off the board, AHS scored one run in each of the first two innings before breaking the game open with a four-run third. That early production allowed the Eagles to coast to the season sweep of the Cougars, who fell to 11-20-1 overall and 3-9 in league play with the loss.
During a junior season that might best be described as “otherworldly,” Abilene High ace George Ferguson has flirted with perfection on several occasions.
On Tuesday, against crosstown rival Cooper, the 6-foot-4 flamethrower finally achieved it.
Pitching in front of a packed Senior Night crowd at Blackburn Field, Ferguson retired all 21 batters he faced to lead the Eagles to a 5-0 win over the Cougars. The University of Texas commit needed just 82 pitches to complete his first career perfect game, notching 16 strikeouts in the process.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Cooper baseball (68 images”
Needing a win over Cooper and an Abilene High loss to Wichita Falls Memorial to move back into position to control its own destiny in the District 4-5A championship race, the Wylie baseball team got both Friday.
The Bulldogs did their part with an 11-1 home win over the Cougars, while Memorial rallied past AHS for a 7-5 win on the other side of town to create a logjam atop the league standings, where Wylie (18-5-1, 7-3), Abilene High (19-9-1, 7-3) and Memorial (15-14, 8-4) all remain in contention for the district title.
The rule-rule victory — and the offensive explosion that helped facilitate it — were both welcome sights for Wylie coach Grant Martin, whose team was coming off a 2-0 win over Cooper on Tuesday and had averaged just four runs per game over its last five contests. And with Friday’s results, the Bulldogs can now clinch at least a share of the district championship with a sweep of last-place Wichita Falls Legacy in its final district series next week.
While the Cooper and Wylie baseball teams will be headed to the postseason in different playoff brackets, there was still a lot on the line for both sides when they met at Cougar Field on Tuesday in a key District 4-5A matchup.
Cooper entered the Southtown Showdown trailing Abilene High by three games in the standings in the race for the top seed in the Division I bracket with four games to play — including a pair with the Eagles next week. The Cougars entered the game knowing that they would probably have to go 4-0 over the next two weeks against their crosstown foes to improve their playoff positioning.
Wylie, on the other hand, trailed Wichita Falls Memorial by one game for the top seed in the Division II bracket — with the Mavericks holding the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking two of three district contests from the Bulldogs. Wylie was in better shape, knowing that Memorial closes out its regular season this week against AHS and the Bulldogs would potentially be in control of their own seeding destiny with a win on Tuesday.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Cooper softball (49 images)”
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.
All it took was a 90-second stretch for things to unravel for the Wylie baseball team at home against Wichita Falls Memorial in a crucial District 4-5A matchup on Friday night.
With Carter Hoffman facing a 2-2 count with two outs in the top of the seventh of a 4-4 game, the Memorial senior appeared to swing at an offering from Wylie pitcher Gehrig Fletcher — an effort that had Fletcher walking off the mound and Memorial coach Rob Johnson walking down the third base path towards his own dugout.
In a wild turn of events, Hoffman was ruled to have not offered at the pitch, with an appeal of the checked swing being unheralded to extend the frame. Two pitches later, Hoffman hit an inside-the-park home run when Wylie center fielder Blaze Ruffin appeared to lose his footing while trying to stop a hard charge at cutting the ball off, and the three-pitch sequence allowed the Mavericks to escape with a 5-4 win on Friday night.
Following last Thursday’s 11-4 come-from-behind victory over Wichita Falls Memorial, Abilene High softball coach Jenna Aguirre talked about how being in a routine helps her squad.
Tuesday’s Crosstown Showdown at the CHS softball field helped the Lady Eagles find that routine again as they completed a season sweep of Cooper with a 7-1 win.
It was the first time AHS had played a Tuesday game in two weeks, and the win moved Abilene High to 6-0 this year on Tuesday nights. The Lady Eagles also improved to 18-9-1 overall and 6-0 in District 4-5A play with two games left in the regular season.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie softball (55 images)”
The end result might have been the same, but the journey to get there was anything but when the Wylie and Cooper softball teams started the second half of District 4-5A play Thursday night at Bulldog Field.
The Lady Cougars were without normal shortstop Abbey Alvarado and with six players playing different defensive positions than they did two weeks earlier against the Lady Bulldogs, they committed seven errors while Wylie’s offense pounded out 12 hits in a 13-2 win.
Thursday’s win gave the Lady Bulldogs a season sweep of the Southtown Showdown after taking the first game 5-2 at Cooper on St. Patrick’s Day.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Texas High School Powerlifting State Meet (176 images)”
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: Cooper-Wichita Falls Memorial baseball (37 images)”
Cooper baseball coach Brandon Stover thought his squad made a lot of great contact on Friday night at Cougar Field in a District 4-5A matchup with Wichita Falls Memorial.
He even though it was better contact than what the Mavericks managed off starting pitcher Johnathon Rico and a trio of relievers.
But it was the Mavericks who took the rubber match of the three-game season series, 11-2, as a patient offensive approach led to nine walks — six of which came in a decisive six-run sixth inning.
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.
George Ferguson took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before “settling” for a two-hit shutout Friday to lead the Abilene High baseball team team to a 7-0 win over crosstown rival Cooper in a District 4-5A matchup at Cougar Field.
The standout right-hander tallied 12 strikeouts without issuing a walk, pitching around leadoff singles in the sixth and seventh innings to help the Eagles (13-5-1) wrap up the first of three trips through the league play at 4-0.
Behind its hard-throwing starter, AHS took control of the game early, following a one-run second inning with a two-run third to put the Cougars in a hole they had little hope of climbing out of against one of the top junior pitchers in the nation.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie baseball (72 images)”
The Wylie softball team kicked off District 4-5A play with an impressive victory Tuesday, riding a fast start at the plate and a strong pitching effort from Avie Faries and Shae McAllister to a 5-2 win over crosstown rival Cooper at the Cougar Field.
The Lady Bulldogs followed a two-run first inning with another run in the second to take a 3-0 lead, and that was all the run support necessary for their two pitchers, who combined to limit the Lady Cougars to four hits and trio of walks in the win.
Faries started and tossed four shutout innings to earn the winning decision before giving way to McAllister, who allowed two runs (one earned) in a three-inning save. Tuesday’s outcome improved Wylie (13-10 overall) to 1-0 in league play, creating an early tie atop the 4-5A standings with Abilene High (13-9-1, 1-0), which defeated Wichita Falls Memorial 7-2 in Tuesday’s other league game.
Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning at Bulldog Field on Tuesday night, the Cooper and Wylie baseball teams were locked in a 2-2 game that had seen a combined one hit to that point — a first-inning RBI double by Wylie’s Myles McCarty.
That’s when the Wylie offense came to life and propelled the Bulldogs to a 10-2 win as McCarty finished a home run shy of the cycle and drove in five runs while Hudson Tuley added three RBIs.
The win moved the Bulldogs into a tie with Cooper at 2-1 in District 4-5A play, a game behind Abilene High after the Eagles beat Wichita Falls Memorial 5-1 in Tuesday’s other league matchup.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week earned the accolade on the state’s biggest stage.
Jayton senior guard Sean Stanaland was a big contributor in several areas for the Jaybirds in a surprisingly easy 78-45 win over Kennard in the Class 1A Division II state title game. This began with the 28 points he scored to help JHS to its third straight championship.
He also pulled down 15 rebounds to go with five assists and three steals as Jayton capped its season with a victory in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
A week after Lipan’s Court Gaylor took our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, yet another Lipan player has done the same thing.
And by sheer coincidence, her last name is Gaylor as well.
This time around it is freshman guard Sydni Gaylor, Court’s Younger sister, who has taken the accolade after leading the LHS girls to a Class 2A Division II state title in San Antonio on Thursday.
Helping the Lady Indians to a 42-35 over perennial power Martin’s Mill, Sydni finished with 23 points and was voted by attending media as the game’s MVP.
And the good news (at least for Lipan) is, this kid is only a freshman.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: 2026 AISD Invitational baseball tournament (84 images)”
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.
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.
The Abilene High boys basketball team began and ended its Senior Night in celebratory fashion Tuesday at Eagle Gym, overcoming a sluggish start and a spirited Cooper squad in between to earn a 60-44 win over its crosstown rival in its regular-season finale.
The Eagles, who had already locked up their first district championship since 2016, found themselves trailing for most of the first three quarters Tuesday. But a 29-8 run over the game’s final 11 minutes turned a potentially tenuous situation into a comfortable win, allowing coach Justin Reese to close the game with several senior reserves on the court.
The victory improved AHS to 20-11 on the season and closed out a 7-1 run through District 4-5A, making winners out of seniors Brooks Reese, Trae Shaw, Myles Osborne, Payton Shawver, Luke Jackson, Jeremiah Collins, Brenner Paul and Dylan Bardin in their final game on their home floor.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Cooper boys basketball (52 images)”
Trailing Cooper by a point in the final minute on Friday, the Wylie boys basketball team closed the game on a 5-0 run to grind out a crucial 51-47 victory at Cougar Gym.
It was the second consecutive road win for the Bulldogs in which they faced a deficit in the closing minutes, clinching a playoff spot for coach Gregg Ruffin’s team while eliminating the Cougars from postseason contention.
Wylie led 33-22 at halftime only to see Cooper snag the momentum — and, eventually, the lead on Jabari Collier-Gard’s 3-pointer with 1:30 to play. But a 5-of-6 tally from the free-throw line and a couple of key stops in the final 43 seconds were enough to earn the Bulldogs the hard-fought victory over their crosstown rival.
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.
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: Wichita Falls Legacy-Cooper boys basketball (42 images)”
Jaden Carrillo only had one field goal in the Cooper boys basketball team’s must-win matchup with Wichita Falls Legacy on Tuesday at Cougar Gym. But it was the most important bucket of the game in a dramatic 34-33 win for the Cougars.
With his team trailing by a point after a J’Quan Carroll free throw broke a 33-all tie with just under 17 seconds remaining in the game, the senior guard was given the keys to the offense when play resumed out of a timeout on the Coogs’ final possession. With time ticking down, he drove around and past Legacy’s Jerimiah Smith, going all the way to the rim for a go-head layup with 2.9 seconds to play.
That proved to be the game-winner for Cooper (13-13 overall, 2-4 in district), which rallied from a 27-13 third-quarter deficit to score the victory, pulling within a half-game of Legacy (9-19, 3-4) and Wichita Falls Memorial (14-17, 3-4) for third in District 4-5A and within a game of Wylie (12-13, 3-3) for second.
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.
A busy week across the Big Country that began Monday with the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment continued Wednesday with National Signing Day ceremonies at all three local high schools.
Abilene High and Cooper each had three football players put pen to paper, joining a fourth at each school who had already made his commitment official. And Wylie, meanwhile, had a pair of athletes sign to compete collegiately — one in football and another in soccer.
In all, eight local boys signed at their respective Signing Day ceremonies, earning celebration from family, friends and their high school coaches.
With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency.
Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).
Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win.
While area coaches and athletic directors were left scrambling to adjust to the unexpected new districts they were placed in on Monday during the University Interscholastic League’s biennial realignment, the leaders of Abilene’s three largest football programs shared a stress-free day in the Metroplex at the Birdville ISD Fine Arts/Athletic Complex.
Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie saw minimal changes to their football district alignments when those were made public at 9 a.m., as the Eagles remained in District 2-5A Division I with Amarillo High, Amarillo Caprock, Amarillo Tascosa, Frenship Memorial, Lubbock High, Lubbock Monterey and Wolfforth Frenship and the Cougars and Bulldogs stayed in District 2-5A DII with Amarillo Palo Duro, Lubbock Cooper, Lubbock Coronado, Wichita Falls Legacy and Wichita Falls Memorial.
Adding to the largely mundane nature of Monday’s proceedings, the three schools also remained in a five-team District 4-5A for their other sports, staying with the two Wichita Falls schools in an unchanged league.
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: Abilene High-Cooper boys basketball (68 images)”
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: Abilene High-Cooper girls basketball (38 images)”
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: Cooper-Wylie basketball doubleheader (57 images)”
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.
Over the past two years, the boys basketball coaches in District 4-5A have consistently talked about the competitive balance of the league and how no game or opponent can be overlooked because any of the district’s five teams can beat another on a given day.
Saturday’s crosstown matchup between Abilene High and Cooper was a great example of this principle in action.
The Cougars came in off losses in each of their first three district games, while the Eagles were unbeaten at 3-0. But at the end of 32 minutes, it was Cooper celebrating a massive 48-41 win on its home floor that revitalized its playoff hopes and set up what is certain to be a wild second half of league action starting next week.