Category: Wylie Bulldogs

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie races out to early lead, earns crucial win over Abilene High

After getting rained out on Friday and Saturday, the Abilene High and Wylie baseball teams finally were able to meet on the diamond for their District 4-5A rubber match on Monday at Bulldog Field.

While the Eagles stayed with their original plan of starting Connel Colley on the mound, the Bulldogs decided to turn to Dylan Regala, a sophomore who hadn’t pitched in exactly one month.

It was Regala who pitched well enough to earn the win as the Bulldogs claimed the season series with a 6-3 decision in a game that saw the two squads combine for 16 walks and five hit batters over nearly three hours of action.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fast start, strong outing from Faries lift Wylie to 7-2 win over Cooper

The Wylie softball team put up three runs in the top of the first inning, and starter Avie Faries made that hold up, limiting Cooper to a pair of fourth-inning runs in a 7-2 win for the Lady Bulldogs on Monday at Cougar Diamond.

In a game that was postponed from Friday due to inclement weather and soggy field conditions, WHS avenged an 11-8 home loss to the Lady Cougars on March 18, improving to 3-2 in the District 4-5A standings with the victory.

Faries, who couldn’t hold onto a 5-2 lead in that first matchup, had no such trouble Monday, taking the circle with a 3-0 edge and watching that advantage balloon to 7-0 before Cooper finally got on the board. The sophomore right-hander then overcame a two-run bottom of the fourth to finish the game, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Ferguson tosses another gem as Abilene High tops Wylie 6-0

Abilene High scored four early runs and Eagles ace George Ferguson handled the rest Tuesday, pitching 6.2 innings of shutout ball to fuel coach Brad Harman’s squad to a 6-0 win over Wylie at Blackburn Field.

The hard-throwing right-hander allowed just one hit, striking out eight Bulldogs hitters to pitch around what little base traffic he faced throughout the night, before leaving the game one out shy of a complete game due to pitch count rules.

The victory was a big one for AHS, which improved to 15-5-1 overall and 5-1 in District 4-5A play to stay alone atop the league standings. Wylie, meanwhile, fell to 12-4-1 on the year and 3-2 in district action with the loss.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2025 Gym Rat Team: The hardest-working players in the Big Country!

While scoring and rebounding garner much of the attention in basketball, there are other elements, crucial to success that seldom grab headlines. 

Behind the scenes is where character, effort and sacrifice set the foundation for teams to reach their full potential. And it is with our Big Country Preps Gym Rat Team that we salute the individuals who bring these elements to the table. 

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 outworking, outhustling and outgiving everyone around you, both on the floor and off. Hard-working, honest, selfless, tough, coachable kids are what we seek for this roster. 

A Gym Rat Team member can be your best player or the last player off the bench. But the one thing all of them bring is an uncompromisingly good attitude. 

It is for that reason that our Gym Rat Team is selected entirely by area coaches. And Big Country Preps is truly honored to present these individuals to you — the best “team players” (boys and girls) that the area had to offer during the 2024-25 season.

Players are listed in no particular order. 

Enjoy.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Reyes battles through illness to shut out Wylie, AHS scores late for win

After being down for the count with some sort of illness for the past two days, Abilene High pitcher Avah Reyes took to the circle for a massive District 4-5A softball showdown against Wylie on Friday night at Bulldog Field.

With coach Jenna Aguirre thinking she might have to lift her star junior, Reyes gutted it out and matched Wylie’s Avie Faries pitch-for-pitch, allowing the Lady Eagles to take a 1-0 win to finish off a perfect first half of district play.

Maiya Badon scored the lone run of the game on a seventh-inning throwing error by Wylie catcher Cameron Gregory when pinch runner Claudia Ceballos stole second base with one out.

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by Evan Ren

Area Softball Stat Leaders (through March 27)

Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 27:

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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by Evan Ren

Area Baseball Stat Leaders (through March 27)

Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 27.

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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by Evan Ren

Area Baseball Stat Leaders (through March 20)

20Here are the area’s baseball statistical leaders through March 20.

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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by Evan Ren

Area Softball Stat Leaders (through March 20)

Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through March 20:

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Seven-run fifth inning lifts Cooper to district-opening win over Wylie

After watching her team complete a rigorous nondistrict schedule with a 10-8 record, first-year Cooper softball coach Kaegan Jimenez felt her Lady Cougars were ready for the start of District 4-5A play.

On Tuesday, they proved as much, using a seven-run fifth inning to turn a 5-2 deficit after four frames into an 11-8 road win over crosstown rival and regional stalwart Wylie.

With the victory, CHS — which posted a combined district record of 7-27 from 2022 to 2024 — is now tied atop the 4-5A standings with Abilene High, which routed Wichita Falls Memorial 13-0 in the league’s other opener Tuesday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Cooper outlasts Wylie in 3-2 thriller; Abilene High downs WF Memorial 4-2

Tuesday was a banner night for Abilene ISD baseball squads, as both Abilene High and Cooper picked up big District 4-5A wins to move into an early tie with crosstown rival Wylie for the league lead.

The Eagles rode a gritty start from Connel Colley and some timely offense to a 4-2 road win over Wichita Falls Memorial, while the Cougars rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fifth against Wylie to make a 3-2 winner out of left-hander Jeron Flores at home.

The night’s results created a three-team logjam atop the 4-5A standings, where AHS (10-4-1), Cooper (12-3) and Wylie (11-3-1) are all 2-1, while Memorial (9-6 overall) sits just a half-game behind at 2-2.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie rallies from early deficit, pulls away late to open district with 15-8 win over AHS

The Wylie baseball team rallied from a pair of early deficits to defeat Abilene High 15-8 on Thursday, using a seven-run bottom of the sixth to finally put the Eagles away in a three-hour affair at Bulldog Field.

Trailing 2-0 after one inning and 5-2 after three, the Bulldogs followed three-run outbursts in the fourth and fifth innings with the seven-run explosion in the sixth to open District 4-5A play with a comfortable win.

Wylie, which outhit AHS 11-8 on the afternoon, took advantage of 12 walks and turned three Eagle errors into seven unearned runs on the way to scoring 11 of its 15 runs with two outs.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Area squads have monster second day at AISD Invitational

Five teams from the Big Country Preps coverage area picked up a pair of wins on Friday on the second day of the AISD Invitational.

Abilene High, Cooper and Wylie all had relatively stress-free days, while Brownwood and Brock combined for four wins.

Wall, which struggled at times during its tournament action, closed out its play in the event with a big win over San Angelo Central.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Local schools go 5-1 on opening day of AISD Invitational

Cooper and Wylie swept their opponents as the AISD Invitational got under way on Thursday at three different locations across town, while Abilene High split a pair of games with Brock and Wall.

The Cougars knocked off San Angelo Lake View and Brownwood, while the Bulldogs were able to dispatch Andrews and San Angelo Central in their two games. The Eagles fell to Brock in their tournament opener before rebounding with a resounding win over Wall.

Teams in the Big Country Preps coverage area went a combined 8-4 on Thursday with Brock joining the two Abilene schools with an undefeated day.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Gentry lands the top spot

While Stephenville’s Tristian Gentry is no stranger to this column, it’s usually via football that he lands in our Top 10 — especially after missing track last year due to injury.

Well, it’s track season again and it just so happens that the SHS senior is healthy this time around — returning as one of the area’s top guns in that sport. He’s already off to a great start, having captured four gold medals at a talent-loaded Brock meet last week.

Aside from first place leaps in the long jump (21-1) and triple jump (43-2), he also helped SHS’ 400 and 800 relay teams take gold with splits of 43.26 and 1:30.1, respectively. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie rallies but comes up short in 62-50 bi-district loss to Lubbock Cooper

SNYDER — The Wylie boys basketball team saw its season — and the careers of its six seniors — come to a close Tuesday with a 62-50 bi-district loss to former district mate Lubbock Cooper at Tiger Gynamsium.

After rallying from double-digit deficits to pull within five on two occasions in the third quarter, the Bulldogs ran out of gas in the final period, succumbing to the larger Pirates, who used their size advantage to turn offensive rebounds into one second-chance bucket after another throughout the game.

The loss, which came a week after Wylie narrowly missed earning a share of the District 4-5A championship with a 50-46 loss at Wichita Falls Legacy, ended the Bulldogs’ campaign at 16-13 — capping a season of growth that saw coach Gregg Ruffin’s squad overcome a 2-5 start to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 13): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 13. 

This database will be 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. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche’s Alex Terrell takes this week’s spotlight

While it wasn’t a perfect two-game stretch for the Comanche boys basketball team, the Indians did clinch a postseason berth last week and one of their players earned the spotlight. 

Comanche went 1-1 on the week, dropping a game against Tolar while securing a playoff spot Friday with a win over Breckenridge. In the meantime, senior guard Alex Terrell came up with two big efforts to capture our Big Country Preps Player of the Week. 

Terrell put up solid numbers on both nights, beginning with 20 points, five rebounds and two steals in the Tolar loss. Three nights later, he finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals in a tough 32-26 win at Breck to clinch a postseason berth. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie boys take care of business in Senior Night win over rival Cooper

The Wylie boys basketball team closed out its home schedule with a thorough victory Friday, pulling away for a 58-42 win over crosstown rival Cooper on Senior Night.

Leading 11-8 after one quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Cougars 13-3 in the second quarter to take a 24-11 lead into halftime and answered every Cooper run from there to improve 5-2 in District 4-5A play.

The victory, which moved WHS to 16-11 overall, kept the Bulldogs’ district title hopes intact heading into Tuesday’s regular-season finale at Wichita Falls Legacy (18-8, 6-1).

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIGNING DAY: Wylie baseball star Briscoe, standout OL Peck headline list of four signees

Tye Briscoe — and those who have followed his decorated baseball career — have known where he was going to play his college ball for going on three years now. On Wednesday, the talented pitcher and outfielder got to make it official.

Flanked by football players Sutton Peck (Abilene Christian University), Andre Gjerpe (Morehead State University) and Keegan Anderson (Independence College), who also locked in their college choices during Wylie’s Wednesday afternoon Signing Day ceremony, Briscoe signed with the University of Arkansas, making good on the commitment he made to the Razorbacks on Aug. 25, 2022.

And though there was little mystery or suspense to his recruitment process, the fire-balling and power-hitting lefty was happy to put pen to paper in front of friends, family and supporters at Bulldog Gym.

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by Evan Ren

SIGNING DAY 2025: Top area athletes sign on the dotted line

National Signing Day is typically a busy one in the Big Country Preps’ coverage area and 2025 was no exception with several players inking and/or confirming their commitments to play at the next level. 

At various signing ceremonies held throughout the area, athletes celebrated their final choices to pursue a degree while competing collegiately. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls wrap up perfect district run; boys can’t complete rally in loss to Memorial

The No. 13 Wylie girls basketball team closed out an undefeated run through District 4-5A play in style Tuesday, defeating Wichita Falls Memorial 46-35 at Bulldog Gym to ride a 10-game win streak into the playoffs.

The Lady Bulldogs, who improved to 27-5 on the year, jumped on the Lady Mavericks early and controlled the game throughout in cruising to a perfect 8-0 record in league play.

The victory was the highlight of a doubleheader split for Wylie, which dropped the boys game in a thrilling matchup that almost saw the Bulldogs erase a 20-point deficit before falling 69-65.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco post snags our weekly award with two huge double-doubles

Cisco’s Law Pinnick picked the perfect night to have one of the best games he’s ever had — a crucial district showdown at Hawley, where he helped the Loboes to a 55-43 win over the Bearcats with 18 points and an eye-popping 19 rebounds. 

Three days later he delivered 23 points and 10 boards to help Cisco beat Albany — lifting the Loboes to 16-6 overall and 9-0 in district. 

His performance earned him our Big Country Preps Player of the Week Award for the Week ending Feb. 1. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie grinds out doubleheader sweep at Abilene High

The Wylie basketball teams both secured season sweeps of Abilene High on Friday, each rallying from a second-half deficit to down their crosstown rival in front of a capacity crowd at Eagle Gym.

The No. 13 Lady Bulldogs closed their game on a 25-7 run to defeat the Lady Eagles 56-40, clinching the outright District 4-5A championship in the process.

And the Bulldogs overcame a 27-21 halftime hole to claim a thrilling 52-49 victory over Abilene High and maintain control of their own destiny in the boys district title race.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 30): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 30.

This database will be 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. 

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hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 30): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 30.

This database will be 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. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 23): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan. 23.

This database will be 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. 

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 23): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 23.

This database will be 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. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie boys, girls sweep rival Cooper to stay unbeaten in District 4-5A play

The Wylie boys and girls basketball teams maintained their perfect district records Tuesday night, dominating crosstown rival Cooper in a doubleheader sweep at Cougar Gym.

After the Lady Bulldogs opened the evening with a 52-14 win to move to 5-0 in District 5-4A action, the WHS boys pulled away for a 54-26 victory in the nightcap to improve their league record to 3-0.

The sweep kept the Wylie squads alone atop the 4-5A standings, where both the girls and boys lead second-place Abilene High, which earned a sweep of its own Tuesday at Wichita Falls Memorial.

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by Evan Ren

Evan Ren’s 2024 True Grit Team: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

We all know a football player who almost never misses any practice time and practically lives in the weight room. He’s always early to arrive and late to leave. He’s coachable, but seldom needs direction because he always pays attention. 

You know who I’m talking about.

The guy who sets a good example for young players. The guy who never complains and, first and foremost, is tough mentally and physically. He may not be the best player on a team (though some of them are). But he’s definitely the guy who gets the most out of the talent he’s given. 

Welcome to the 2024 “True Grit” team — the one place in the Big Country where guys who fall into this category are recognized for it.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BIG COUNTRY PREPS RISING STARS TEAM: The top football under classmen in the Big Country for 2024

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.

Continue reading “BIG COUNTRY PREPS RISING STARS TEAM: The top football under classmen in the Big Country for 2024” →

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie sweeps Abilene High in 4-5A hoops in front of a packed house

With a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter in front of a standing room only crowd, the Wylie boys basketball team looked like it was going to cruise to a win over crosstown rival Abilene High on Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.

The Bulldogs then had to hold off a spirited comeback attempt by the Eagles, with Connel Colley’s 3-point attempt with just seconds remaining missing the mark, allowing Wylie to survive 55-52 in District 4-5A play.

It was the type of contest both Gregg Ruffin (Wylie) and Justin Reese (Abilene High) said their teams can expect in the five-team district that will only play eight games — making each matchup a crucial one.

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