by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Infielders

After highlighting the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country softball scene the past two nights, it’s time to turn our spotlight to the field.

For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area for the 2023 season.

We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Westbrook, Highland sweep bi-district girls doubleheader at Winters

WINTERS — Beware of No. 3 seeds from tough districts. It’s been a hard lesson learned by multiple teams each year, the latest of which are the Cross Plains Lady Buffaloes, who were eliminated by third-seeded Westbrook in a girls Class 1A bi-district game on Tuesday, 35-32 at the Winters High School gym. 

Westbrook’s victory was followed by another for District 14-1A, which closed the evening with 57-22 win by Roscoe Highland over May in the nightcap. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper tops Abilene High 52-36 on Senior Night, clinches No. 2 playoff seed

Abilene High traveled to Cougar Gym on Tuesday needing a win in its District 4-5A finale to keep its playoff hopes alive. Cooper needed a victory to clinch the league’s No. 2 playoff seed.

In the end, the Cougars were just too much for the Eagles in a 52-36 Senior Night victory.

CHS, which capped the regular season at 18-12 overall and 8-4 in district play, raced out to a 14-7 lead after a quarter and outscored AHS in each of the following three periods to close out the regular season with an impressive crosstown win.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hawley uses late run against Albany to claim first district title in nearly four decades

HAWLEY — They are bound to be partying like it’s the 1980s in Hawley this week after a 20-0 game-ending run gave Hawley a 65-47 win over Albany and the outright District 10-2A basketball championship.

It’s the first time the Bearcats have won a district title in boys basketball since 1987.

Kason O’Shields had 17 points in the first quarter and bookended a 37-point night with 12 more points in the fourth quarter to fuel HHS.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Catchers

After kicking off our softball position rankings series on Monday with the pitchers, we now shift our attention to their battery mates.

For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top 10 catchers with others to watch for in 2023.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Stephenville girls stymie Snyder in 66-30 bi-district win

TUSCOLA — The 10th-ranked Stephenville girls basketball team got its postseason started with a dominating performance Monday, using its patented pressure defense to fluster Snyder in a 66-30 bi-district win at Jim Ned’s Bill Thornton Arena.

The Honeybees shut the Lady Tigers out in the first quarter and built a 25-4 lead by halftime, ending the competitive phase of the game before the start of the third period.

The victory earned coach Jason Hodges’ team a highly anticipated area-round date with No. 11 Sanger (28-5), which routed Springtown 81-17 in its bi-district game on Monday. That matchup is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday in Weatherford.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Merkel girls eliminate nervous Brady, 54-33

WINTERS — On paper, everything was on Brady’s side heading into Monday’s 54-33 loss to Merkel in the Class 3A girls bi-district round.

The second-seeded Lady Bulldogs had momentum, winning five of their last six games, while third-seeded Merkel was on a downswing, having lost three straight. 

There was just one problem: Merkel, which is housed in District 6 with the likes of No. 2 Jim Ned and No. 15 Wall, isn’t your run-of-the-mill third seed.  And the Lady Badgers quickly demonstrated that in a convincing win at Winters High School.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Pitchers

With softball season kicking off this week, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact throughout the Big Country Preps coverage area in 2023.

For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area softball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this spring.

We hope you enjoy reading through our list.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coleman’s Smith takes this week’s award

With our recent bad weather pushing an extra game into last week for the Coleman Bluecats, it gave senior guard Braxton Smith three chances to pile up big numbers. 

And he did exactly that. 

Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week opened with 19 points and nine steals in a win over Bangs last Monday. He followed that with 13 points, eight assists and 10 steals in a near-triple double in a win over Winters. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Young Brock Lady Eagles balancing promising present, bright future

At 29-6 and ranked 14th in Class 3A heading into the playoffs, the Brock girls basketball team has a lot to like about its present. 

After finishing second to No. 6 Peaster in District 8-3A, the Lady Eagles will open the postseason Monday night with a bi-district matchup against Wichita Falls City View (22-10) in hopes of making a run in a brutal Region I-3A bracket.

But as laser focused as BHS coach Alex Stephenson and his team are on accomplishing the goals they’ve set for this season, it’s hard not to peak ahead to a future that could be even brighter. With a nine-player roster that features three freshmen and three sophomores to go with their three seniors, the Lady Eagles have much to look forward to as well. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: No. 2 Jim Ned girls hoping to ride near-sighted approach to long-term goals

As Jim Ned coach Hunter Cooley peers into the figurative rearview mirror at his team’s perfect 14-0 run through District 6-3A and looks ahead to a challenging collection of prospective Region 1-3A playoff opponents, there’s a completely different focal point he’s emphasizing with the Lady Indians.

It can be described in three words: the next opponent. 

No matter what Jim Ned has done before, and what the Lady Indians might be able to do in the future, Cooley has learned in two-decades-plus at the school that the only game that matters on the schedule is the upcoming one. And he has made that the team’s mantra as it prepares to open postseason play on Monday against Llano.

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by Daniel Youngblood

THIS WEEK IN BOYS BASKETBALL: Plenty of intrigue remains in final week of regular season

We’ve reached the final week of the boys basketball regular season and some districts have already had their champions and playoff representatives decided. But that’s not to say that the final slate of games on Tuesday won’t be packed with intrigue.

With a couple winner-take-all championship games and several matchups that will be critical in deciding playoff qualifiers and seeding, there’s still a lot of great boys basketball to be watched, if you know where to find it.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest games this week, as well as some of last week’s most important results:

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN BIG COUNTRY GIRLS BASKETBALL: Playoffs open with multiple bi-district matchups worth looking at

The second season has arrived. 

The Texas high school girls playoffs will get underway Monday and Tuesday with bi-district play. And as always, dozens of Big Country teams are taking part in the dance, which will conclude at the UIL State Tournament in San Antonio beginning on Thursday, March 2. 

With that, let’s take a look at some of the top early matchups involving area teams. And don’t forget to click the link at the bottom of the page which will take you to our pairings list. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Abilene High outlasts Wylie for thrilling 48-44 win on Senior Night

In District 4-5A boys basketball, anything can happen — and it usually does.

That was was the case again Friday night, when an Abilene High squad that had lost five of its previous six games cooled off the red-hot Wylie Bulldogs with a 48-44 Senior Night win to reignite its dimming playoff hopes heading into its final game Tuesday.

That victory was part of an upset-filled night in 4-5A that saw Lubbock Cooper top Abilene Cooper 44-41 and Lubbock Coronado down district champion Lubbock Monterey 77-62 to create ties for second and fourth place in the league standings heading into the final day of games on Tuesday.

AHS (12-16 overall, 4-7 in district) remains outside of the playoff picture for now, but with Friday’s win, the sixth-place Eagles trail Wylie (13-18, 5-7) and Lubbock Cooper (17-14, 5-6) by just one game in the win column heading into their regular-season finale against archrival Abilene Cooper.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Albany upends Cisco, sets up district championship showdown with Hawley

ALBANY — Albany and Hawley both won state championships in football less than two months ago and are now set to square off for at least a share of the District 10-2A championship on Tuesday night.

The showdown comes after the Lions dominated Cisco 46-33 on Friday night, jumping out to a double-digit first quarter lead and never looking back.

It sets up a game with major playoff implications as the eventual runner-up between Hawley (12-4, 10-1) and Albany (13-3, 9-2) would face Class 2A’s top-ranked team, Lipan, in the second round of the playoffs. While the Bearcats lead the Lions by a game in the district standings, an AHS win would secure coach Ryder Peacock’s team the No. 1 playoff seed by virtue of its 51-48 win on Jan. 20.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stamford girls stop Cisco in District 10-2A tiebreaker behind 28-point night from Applin

CLYDE — Having split their two regular season meetings and ending in a first-place tie, it was time for the Cisco and Stamford girls basketball teams to settle the issue on Friday in a District 10-2A tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed. 

By night’s end, it was Stamford leaving the Clyde gym with the league title, behind a 28-point effort from Laylonna Applin in a 58-52 win. Deavine Hoadley tossed in 11 points and Lainee Lefevere added 10 more to help the Lady Bulldogs improve to 29-4 overall. 

Cisco (25-7) was led by Brooklyn Hurtado with 14 points and Brayley Brunson with 10.  The Lady Loboes were hurt by 15 Stamford steals and more than 20 turnovers, yet still managed to give themselves a shot at winning the game in the fourth quarter.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Wall’s Armstrong finally back to full strength after frustrating injuries

Everson Armstrong’s junior season was both trying and ironic. 

The Wall basketball player ran into a wall early in his first scrimmage. The result was that Armstrong snapped part of his arm, missing the first couple months. 

That injury combined with a broken thumb once he returned kept the Wall guard from becoming a dominant force during the 2021-22 season. 

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Hawley gym rat Knight a constant as Bearcat teammates round into form

As Hawley was plowing through 16 opponents en route to the Class 2A Division I state football championship this past fall, there was only one setback of note attached to the historic season: The Bearcats basketball team had to wait until late December to get its varsity roster intact.

Even then, Mitch Ables, who coaches both sports at the school, had to wait a little while longer for some of his major prospective hoops contributors to recover from injuries sustained on the road to AT&T Stadium, where Hawley crushed Refugio 54-28 in the title game to claim the title.

Luckily for Ables, he didn’t have to wait a second for Teaghan Knight to be ready.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 9): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 9.

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIGNING DAY: Wylie’s Borho, Fernandez celebrate college choices during belated ceremony

Wylie seniors Reese Borho and Jadyn Fernandez waited seven extra days to celebrate their college signings due to the winter storm that blew through Texas last week, but the two finally got to do so Wednesday during a Signing Day ceremony at the Wylie Performing Arts Center.

Surrounded by friends, family, coaches and teammates, Borho formally announced his signing to play baseball at Abilene Christian University, while Fernandez made her commitment to play softball for Wayland Baptist University official.

It was a special day for both players, ending a stressful recruiting process in time for each to focus on their final seasons in purple in gold.

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by Zach Duncan, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Comanche’s Martinez a standout in multiple categories

Photos courtesy of Santos Gomez

As Richard Pringle walked off the floor a couple months ago after telling his Comanche boys basketball team he would be retiring after the season, senior Miguel Martinez jogged up and put his arm around him. 

“Looks like we’re going out together,” the point guard told Pringle. 

That timing isn’t by coincidence. Pringle had thought about calling it quits at the end of the 2021-22 season, but he admitted Martinez was one of the main reasons he hung around this season. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Top-ranked Glen Rose girls lock up district title with win at Stephenville to open doubleheader sweep

STEPHENVILLE — You know you’re having a good season, when half of your losses to date are to the top-ranked team in the state.  As unusual as that may seem, it is presently the case for the Stephenville girls (29-4, 6-2 District 6-4A), who fell for the second straight time this year to Glen Rose, losing 45-23 on Tuesday at SHS. 

The game opened a varsity doubleheader, which saw the Glen Rose boys complete a two-game sweep in the nightcap, dropping the Yellow Jackets 56-31. 

Despite the loss, the ninth-ranked Stephenville girls retain the No. 2 seed heading into postseason play.  The SHS boys (12-17, 2-4) can still lock up a playoff seed with a win over Mineral Wells on Friday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Cooper boys win thriller at Coronado; Lady Coogs see season end

Photos by Dayton Wood, HubCityPreps.com

LUBBOCK — Trailing 50-48 with 12.8 seconds remaining, the Cooper boys basketball team put the game in Jaelyn Rivera’s hands. And as he has done so many times before, the standout forward came through for the Cougars.

The senior took a pass just beyond the midcourt line with time winding down, dribbled to the 3-point line, shook two defenders and drained the game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds remaining to lift Cooper to a dramatic 51-50 road win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie boys come through with huge home win over Lubbock Cooper

The Wylie boys basketball team entered Tuesday’s home matchup with Lubbock Cooper tied with the Pirates in the win column and needing a victory to maintain its hopes of claiming playoff spot out of District 4-5A.

Fueled by a packed Senior Night crowd, the Bulldogs played like a team on a mission.

After allowing the first bucket of the game, Wylie responded with a 16-2 run and never trailed again in blasting Cooper 75-55.

The win, the Bulldogs’ fourth in their last six games, improved coach Gregg Ruffin’s team to 13-17 overall and 5-6 in District 4-5A — a half-game ahead of the Pirates (16-14, 4-6) and 1½ games ahead of Abilene High (11-16, 3-7) for the fourth spot in the league standings.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall sweeps Merkel in District 6-3A twin bill

The Merkel Lady Badgers entered Tuesday’s regular season finale knowing the stakes were clear: beat Wall and get a seeding game with the Lady Hawks or enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed out of District 6-3A.

Wall, meanwhile, knew that a win locked them into the No. 2 seed and would allow a week of rest before starting the postseason.

In the end, it was the Lady Hawks who used a strong defensive effort, including holding the Lady Badgers scoreless for more than 12 straight minutes in the first half, to take a 37-19 win at Badger Gym.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Big first half fuels Hawley boys past Cisco, to top of District 10-2A standings

HAWLEY — Hosting Cisco with sole possession of the District 10-2A lead on the line, the Hawley boys basketball team rode a dominant first half to a 65-51 win Monday at Bearcat Gym. 

The Bearcats outscored the Loboes 31-13 in the first 16 minutes and stretched their lead to 19 points on two occasions in the third quarter before holding off a furious Cisco rally over the final quarter and a half. 

The victory, which followed a 60-41 Cisco win in the girls game, improved the Bearcats (10-4 overall) to 8-1 in 10-2A play, while the Loboes fell to 19-6 on the season and 7-2 in district action. That gives Hawley a one-game lead on CHS and Albany (11-3, 7-2) with three league games remaining.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Eula’s Gray tops 1,500-point mark, claims this week’s award.

Eula’s Clayton Gray, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Feb. 4, earned the accolade on two fronts. Not only did he post big numbers in consecutive wins over Moran and Rising Star, but he also reached an impressive milestone in the process. 

To begin with, the junior guard chalked up 29 points, six boards and four blocks in a win over Moran. He also tallied 43 points, eight boards and four steals in a win over Rising Star.

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIGNING DAY: Six Cooper athletes celebrate college decisions during weather-postponed ceremony

Six Cooper athletes made their college commitments public Monday during a Signing Day ceremony at Cougar Gym that was rescheduled from last week due to the winter storm that whipped through Abilene and most of the state.

Surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches, five CHS football players — quarterback/athlete Chris Warren, receivers Malik Jackson, D’Andre Ralston and Cam Herron and defensive back Michael Ramis — joined girls basketball standout Karrigan Parrott in announcing the universities for which they will continue their athletic careers collegiately.

Warren and Ralston are both headed to Hardin-Simmons, while Ramis will also stay local and compete at McMurry. Herron will join that trio in the Division III ranks at Trinity in San Antonio, while Ramis will play NAIA football for Arizona Christian University. 

Parrott, the lone girls athlete to participate in Monday’s ceremony after fellow basketball player Kyla Speights (Texas Wesleyan) and volleyballer Skyla Stark (Hill College) announced commitments earlier, will head east to compete at the next level for DIII Texas-Dallas in Richardson.

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