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.
In the meantime, our final award of the school year belongs to Gordon senior Stryker Reed, and with good reason. At the state track meet, Reed won state titles in both the 110 and 300 hurdles, breaking his own state records in both events at 14.20 and 37.24. He took an additional gold with the 1600 relay team with a 47.8 split and bronze in the pole vault at 14-0. He nearly captured a fifth medal in Austin, taking fourth in the high jump at 6-2.
Oh, and did we mention he plays baseball?
Well, he does — well enough to help the Longhorns to a series sweep of Oglesby last week, going a combined 4 of 5 with a double, triple, two RBIs, three runs scored and two steals. He also pitched in Game 2, allowing one earned run in three innings of work with four strikeouts.
GRAHAM — A huge fourth inning, a few key mistakes and multiple controversial calls handed the Jim Ned Lady Indians a 12-2 loss in Game 1 of a Region I-3A DI title series with Iowa Park on Friday at Hogan Field.
Nothing quite like starting off a playoff series with a masterpiece from your pitcher. 
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.
There are varying degrees of “no-hitter” in both high school baseball and softball. This is especially true when the mercy rule is concerned, with pitchers holding the opposition hitless through five innings (in a 10-run rule game) and in the case of the 15-run rule, through only three frames. 
WALL — It was the polar opposite of a 13-10 Jim Ned win in the District 6-3A opener with Wall way back on March 6. Friday’s rematch at WHS saw the Lady Indians top Wall yet again. But this time, the product was a well-pitched, cleanly played, 3-2 defensive struggle. 
TUSCOLA — While it may be a bit early to start talking about the best Jim Ned softball teams of all time, one thing can be backed up with facts: the Lady Indians have clinched their first district title in nearly two decades and coach Erica Jones believes it’s about time The Tribe received a little recognition. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
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. 
Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown. 
There are memorable shooting nights. Then there are shooting nights one is unlikely to ever forget.
TUSCOLA — While the two games took on a different character, both ends of Tuesday’s varsity doubleheader between Jim Ned and Sweetwater had one thing in common: both were frustrating for SHS.