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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
There are memorable shooting nights. Then there are shooting nights one is unlikely to ever forget.
Wylie senior guard Swade Sipe had one of the latter on Friday night, with a 33-point effort in a 74-62 win over Brock.
During the course of this performance, Sipe was 11 of 11 from the field, 6 of 6 from 3-point range, 5 of 5 from two-point range and 5 of 6 from the foul line.
This explosive, nearly perfect effort against a very good 4A Brock team earns Sipe our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, during a week when several players posted numbers good enough to claim the accolade.
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.
In helping the Jayton Jaybirds to a second-straight state title last week, senior running back Bode Ham not only produced the top game in our coverage area, but his performance will likely remain part of six-man lore forever.
With Jayton topping Richland Springs 99-54, Ham’s numbers were nothing short of shocking, with 430 yards rushing and a state championship record 10 TDs on 28 carries.
For good measure, he was 3 of 4 through the air for 118 yards and an additional three scores, giving him 548 total yards and a direct hand in a state championship-record 13 touchdowns at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
It took the Wylie girls basketball team a few minutes to find its stride Tuesday, but once the Lady Bulldogs did they never lost it in a 68-20 win over Graham at Bulldog Gym.
Tied with the Lady Blues at 4-all more than halfway through the opening quarter, Wylie closed the period on a 14-2 run and extended its 18-6 first-quarter lead to 34-13 by halftime to set the tone for the lopsided win.
Using aggressive defense to speed Graham up and force turnovers, the Lady Bulldog never allowed more than seven points in any quarter. And on the other end of the floor, coach Duane Hopper’s team moved the ball through and around the Lady Blues’ zone to get open looks both on the perimeter and in the lane.
The result was a convincing win that improved Wylie’s record on the season to 13-2 with another month to go before the start of District 4-5A play.
Not only is our Big Country Preps Player of the Week holding down the top spot with big numbers, but his performance in Graham’s 35-28 area round win over Lubbock Cooper Liberty was a virtual seminar on poise.
Helping the Steers (9-3) to overcome three separate deficits, senior QB/kicker/punter Jace Gill was 15 of 28 for 239 yards and three TDs. He also rushed 12 times for 118 yards and another score.
ABILENE — While the Graham Steers may have won Friday’s Region I-4A DII area round matchup with Lubbock-Cooper Liberty, the 35-28 victory might be better described as a seminar on answering the bell.
On three separate occasions, the Steers erased deficits and eventually overcame a major momentum shift in the final minutes to advance to the regional semis.
Jace Gill threw for 239 yards and three scores and rushed for 118 yards and another TD to lift Graham (9-3), which now advances to face Midland Greenwood (12-0).
Gill’s final TD pass — an 8-yarder to Thomason Burkett with only 1:11 to play, proved to be the game-winner, after which the Steer defense closed the door on Liberty’s final possession.
You have to love a great all-around performance and in the case of Brayden Henry, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, his effort in last week’s 84-25 bi-district win over El Paso Bel Air was a record-setter.
Aside from going 6 of 7 through the air or 56 yards and one TD, he also rushed five times for 137 yards and three more scores.
ALEDO — Graham may not have the playoff experience that it’s enjoyed in the past, but the Steers looked like a team peaking at the right time in a 32-0 victory over Godley Friday night.
By scoring on their first five possessions and limiting the Wildcats to seven first downs, Graham made sure there would be no late-game drama or upset inside Bearcat Stadium.
“We’re definitely going to enjoy this one,” Graham quarterback Jace Gill said. “You know, a lot of people are doubting us and some people didn’t even think we’d make the playoffs so it’s good to come out here and show they can do it under the Friday night lights in playoff time.”
Graham 20, Saginaw Eagle Mountain 18 — A 213-yard rushing and a big defensive play by Jordan Alexander were enough to fuel the Steers to a thrilling win over the Knights in a matchup for the district’s No. 2 playoff seed.
Jace Gill passed for 110 yards and ran for 108, while Colt Taylor (13-54) and Dylan Cox (7-30) had rushing touchdowns to lead Graham offensively. And Alexander had a pick-six on the other side of the football to help the Steers improve to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Brock 28, Graham 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 246 yards with touchdowns to three different receivers, and the Eagles defense put together a dominant effort in a comfortable win over the Steers.
Colt Matlock (3-85), Davis Lee (1-68) and Braeden Ray (3-39) all caught TD passes for Brock (9-0, 4-0), which also got 93 yards rushing from Bryer McDonald. Behind that group, the Eagles stretched a 21-0 halftime lead to four touchdowns before Graham finally got on the board late in the third quarter.
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Brock 66, Burkburnett 7 — Bryer McDonald ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns and Holt Frazier threw for 259 yards and four scores to lead the Eagles to a runaway win over the Bulldogs.
Colt Matlock also went over the century mark receiving, finishing with three catches for 107 yards and two TDs for Brock (8-0, 3-0), which won the turnover battle 3-0 in a dominating effort.
MINERAL WELLS — After moving their District 3-4A Division II game up 24 hours anticipating bad weather on Friday, the Graham and Mineral Wells football teams were less than 10 minutes from kickoff at Ram Stadium on Thursday when Mother Nature showed up anyways.
Following the 32-minute lightning delay, Graham forced a three-and-out and scored in the first 1:57 as the Steers rolled to a 42-0 win, setting up a showdown with Brock on Halloween for the expected district championship.
Graham coach Clay McChristian was proud of how his team dealt with the unexpected shift in schedules this week.
Brock 55, Mineral Wells 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns, and Colt Matlock received for 134 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a lopsided win over the Rams.
Dash Lindsey (8-85, 2 TDs rushing; 1-17, 1 TD receiving) and Bryer McDonald (8-72, 2 TDs) also had productive days for Brock (7-0, 2-0), which also got 60 yards and a TD receiving from Davis Lee.
Brock 41, Saginaw Eagle Mountain 13 — Holt Frazier threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns, and Bryer McDonald ran for 90 yards and two scores to lead the Eagles to a comfortable win over the Knights.
Charles Hibbler (2-96 receiving), Davis Lee (3-50) and Casen Christenson (4-38) all had receiving TDs for Brock (6-0, 1-0), which shut Eagle Mountain out in the second half after going to halftime up 28-13.
Brownwwood 62, Ingleside 0
The Lions (3-3) rolled up 548 yards in total offense to reach the .500 mark for the first time this year.
Trent Buffington rushed for 111 yards and two TDs while Carson Noe and Grant Gray threw two touchdown passes each to lead Brownwood, which had built a 55-0 lead by halftime.
Limited to only 36 total yards, Ingleside fell to 2-4.
As it turned out, the best game in the Big Country last week was Clyde’s dramatic 54-49 win over Muleshoe in the top shootout the area has seen thus far in 2025.
At the heart of all that mayhem was our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, CHS junior quarterback Devan Wright.
Graham 35, Lake Worth 10 — Leading just 14-10 at halftime, the Steers shut the Bullfrogs out over the final two quarters to pull away for a convincing win.
Graham, which got 186 yards and three touchdowns rushing from Colt Taylor in the victory, scored a pair of third-quarter TDs to increase its lead to 28-10 by the start of the final period and was never threatened again after that.
Brock 69, Fort Worth Southwest 0 — Holt Frazier passed for 258 yards and six touchdowns, and the Eagles defense pitched a shutout in a runaway win over the Raiders.
Colt Matlock (2-87 receiving) and Braden Ray (4-63) both had two receiving touchdowns apiece to lead Brock, while Davis Lee (2-43) and Charles Hibbler (3-37) also caught scoring passes.
ABILENE — It took the Graham volleyball team most of one game to find its footing Tuesday, but after withstanding a fast start by Abilene Christian, the Lady Blues stood tall for a 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 win at the ACS gym.
GHS found itself in an early 11-3 hole and still trailed 17-11 later in the first set, but a 13-3 run swung the momentum to the Lady Blues side and it never left after as coach Marci Faulk’s squad picked up the road sweep over the Lady Panthers.
The victory, Graham’s fifth in a row, improved the lady Blues to 24-5 on the year, while Abilene Christian fell to 15-11 with its first loss in six matches. Both teams play one more nondistrict match later this week before opening district play next Tuesday.
Graham 35, Whitesboro 7 — Jace Gill passed for 202 yards and a touchdown and ran for 72 yards and two more scores to fuel the Steers to a blowout win over the Bearcats.
Dylan Cox (8-41 rushing) also had two rushing touchdowns for Graham, which was led in receiving by Brodie Martin (3-57, 1 TD), Parker Hale (4-51) and Walker Bennett (2-48).
Brock 67, Lake Worth 7 — Holt Frazier passed for 195 yards and five touchdowns, hitting Colt Matlock three ties for 132 yards and three scores, to fuel the Eagles to a blowout win over the Bullfrogs.
Levi Dean (5-100, 1 TD), Bryer McDonald (5-83, 1 TD) and Dash Lindsey (8-74, 1 TD) all added nice rushing days for Brock (2-0), which finished with 561 yards of total offense.
Brock 52, Decatur 31 — Bryer McDonald and Dash Lindsey both topped 120 yards rushing and Holt Frazier passed for 194 yards and four scores to fuel BHS to a three-touchdown win over Decatur.
Colt Matlock was Frazier’s favorite target in the passing game, hauling in eight passes for 140 yards and three TDs, while Braeden Ray also had a receiving score.
Got the truck started yet?
Ready to jump on one of those farm-to-market roads to watch high school football into the late hours on a Friday night?
You’re not alone.
And, as tradition would have it, I tip my cap to those of you who will be hitting the trails each week in search of pigskin. My method: a preseason menu of sorts.
Each week for the next 11 weeks, Big Country Preps will be searching for its Game of the Week, and we’re already looking ahead. We now present our preliminary list of Big Country Games worth traveling for, but keep in mind: the following list is subject to change as surprises and disappointments emerge.
And as we all know … surprises and disappointments always emerge.
So, without further delay, here is our list of Big Country games worth traveling for in 2025.
I’ll see you on the road.
From the outside looking in, Graham’s decision to move Jace Gill from receiver to quarterback to replace multi-year standout Ty Thompson might look like a red flag.
If you didn’t know any better, you might misdiagnose that development as a sign of poor program depth at the most high profile position on the football field.
But make no mistake, that would be a misdiagnosis.
While the speedy Gill was previously an explosive utility player for the Steers, rushing for a combined 778 yards and eight touchdowns and receiving for 542 yards and four more scores from 2022-2024, he is a quarterback by trade. And in returning to his natural position, the senior is continuing — not breaking — a lineage of excellent quarterback play at GHS dating back to Case McCoy’s arrival in 2006.
After graduating 26 seniors from last year’s 12-2 squad, the Graham Steers understand that they’ll be a popular pick by many to take a step backward in 2025.
But don’t expect coach Clay McChristian or his squad to embrace or endorse such a forecast.
While Graham will be significantly younger and less experienced that it was a year ago, returning just one offensive and three defensive starters among its 17 lettermen, the Steers have every intention of upholding a tradition that has yielded 16 consecutive playoff appearances and eight double digit-win seasons over that span. So when they say they’ve adopted the phrase “Doubt us” as their motto for the season, you can do so at your own risk.
Football is just around the corner, and we at BigCountryPreps.com are committed to bringing you the information you need to prepare for your favorite team’s season.
We’ll be releasing our Big Country Preps Preseason Football Preview, the most comprehensive look at the upcoming Big Country football season anywhere, on Wednesday, Aug. 20. But you won’t have to wait until then to sate your gridiron appetite.
Leading up to the first day of fall football practice on Aug. 4, we’ll be spotlighting each 11-man team in the area and posing some of the key questions they’ll face in 2025 as part of our annual “Countdown to Two-a-Days” series.
Today, we take a look at the Graham Steers.