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.
- Superlative Award Winners (Pitcher of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, etc.)
- All-Big Country Preps First-Team Softball Selections
- All-Big Country Preps Second-Team Softball Selections
- Big Country Preps All-Hustle Team (To be released Monday night)
As is our tradition, with the UIL State Track and Field Championships now over, we conclude our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column for the 2025-26 school year. We’ll pick it up again on Monday, Aug. 31.
Nothing quite like starting off a playoff series with a masterpiece from your pitcher.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week earned the accolade on the state’s biggest stage.
Albany 33, Hamlin 0
Hamlin 43, Cross Plains 18 — Luke White rushed for 171 yards and one TD and Isaiah Hutchings rushed for 62 yards and three TDs as Hamlin dominated Cross Plains.
The Plowboys (2-6, 2-1) pounded out 208 yards as a team and limited Winters to 38 yards in total offense to score a district win.
Hamlin rushed for 239 yards via committee in a tough overtime win on the road. Reece Rainey led the Pied Pipers (6-1, 2-0) with 85 yards rushing on four carries and one TD.
Slowly but surely, the Cooper Cougars have emerged as one of the most explosive teams in the Big Country. And in its latest exploit, CHS rolled up 517 yards in total offense in a 66-16 win over Lubbock Cooper.
With Hamlin extending its winning streak to five, I can hear its detractors (and with some validity) saying that the Pipers have yet to be tested by an upper tier 2A DII team.
Hamlin 49, Winters 0 — Javier Ramos threw for 117 yards and two scores while Isaiah Hutchings and Cade Jones both added rushing TDs to lead Hamlin (5-1) to its fifth straight win since a season-opening loss to Anson.
Albany (3-2), Idle — The Lions were open yesterday, but will see action again next Friday when they travel to Miles (1-4).
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.
Hamlin 36, Quanah 6 — Javier Ramos threw for 313 yards and two scores and Hudson Smith rushed for 105 yards and two more TDs to lift Hamlin to a lopsided win over Quanah.
Wylie junior Haddie Mock was at her very best against difficult competition last week, helping the Lady Bulldogs to wins over seventh-ranked 3A Bushland (25-8) and 21st-ranked 4A Stephenville last week.
Hamlin 48, Munday 14 — The Pied Pipers improved to 3-1 with a convincing win over Munday.