HEAD OF THE CLASS: Kayli Kellogg, Jimmy Gregg headline our top 10 prep athletes to watch in 2025-26
MORGANTOWN — Every year, we see a highly talented class of senior student-athletes in both Monongalia and Preston Counties graduate and move on to pursue their lives after high school, doing whatever they choose.
Names like Brock Kehler, Cole Turner, Brady Savage, AJ Thomas, Preston Luzader, Hannah Stemple, Sadaya Jones, and many more come to mind when thinking of the 2025 class, in particular.
But with every graduating class of seniors comes a new class of juniors, sophomores, and incoming freshmen who are either ready for their chance to make a name for themselves or have already begun to do so, and will return to the program next season.
Morgantown High's Kayli Kellogg is the top-ranked girls' basketball player in the state, earning consecutive first-team all-state selections in her first two seasons with the Mohigans.
But she is joined by a broad spectrum of talented athletes from all five schools who aren't too far behind her.
Division I football prospects Jimmy Gregg of University High and Maddox Twigg of Morgantown each aim to have a big season in 2025.
Brody Kehler of UHS and Parker Hopkins of Trinity Christian have emerged as two quality multi-sport athletes in the area.
Preston's Bryson McNew and Morgantown's Maddox Boggs are two of the top players on the baseball diamond in the 2027 class.
Ava Turner of Preston and Clay-Battelle's Kooper Statler each enjoyed breakout seasons, respectively.
While MHS track and field star Elecia McCurrie was simply, well, Elecia McCurrie. If the 2025-26 school year turns out to be another banner years, these will be the top 10 headliners: Kooper Statler
Kooper Statler emerged as a force on the defensive side of the ball for the Cee-Bees on the gridiron. His breakout game came during a 34-28 upset victory over No. 8 Meadow Bridge on the road. Statler tallied 20 tackles and forced four fumbles (all recovered by C-B) in the game. His efforts earned him first-team all-state honors for Class A. He is also one of the leading pitchers and hitters for the C-B baseball team. Parker Hopkins
Parker Hopkins has become one of the top goalkeepers on the soccer field and catchers on the baseball diamond in Class A for the Warriors. He finished as runner-up in voting for Goalkeeper of the Year in Class AA/A and was one of the best catchers in Class A baseball this season, hitting .471 with 24 hits, 20 RBI, nine extra base hits, and 28 runs scored. He also threw out 13 of 24 baserunners attempting to steal. Maddox Boggs
Maddox Boggs exploded onto the high school baseball scene this season for the Mohigans on the mound. The 2027 prospect went 9-2 this season with a 1.75 ERA in 68 innings, allowing 52 hits and earning 44 strikeouts. Only a sophomore in 2025, Boggs started the state championship game against Hurricane for MHS and could be one of the best arms in the state next season. Ava Turner
Ava Turner made a name for herself during her freshman season on the mat in Kingwood. Not only did she dominantly win a state championship, but Turner also won the Powerade Tournament, a nationally renowned wrestling tournament held each year. She finished the 2024-25 season 22-1. Bryson McNew
Bryson McNew picked up where he left off during his freshman season for the Knights with an incredible display of offense this spring. McNew slugged for a .640 batting average this season with 31 hits (15 extra-base base-hits), 27 RBI, and eight home runs. He was also solid defensively, without an error at the catching position. McNew is aiming for his second consecutive all-state first-team selection. Maddox Twigg
Maddox Twigg is another freshman athlete who made his name known last season. Twigg entered his freshman year with high expectations and delivered, helping lead MHS to the state quarterfinals. Twigg rushed for 500 yards and four touchdowns on 86 attempts last season while also throwing a pair of touchdowns in the run-heavy MHS offense. Twigg is highly ranked among the Class of 2028. Brody Kehler
Another Kehler is rising the ranks on Baker's Ridge after the athletic year Brody Kehler had for the Hawks. A three-sport athlete, Kehler was the starting tailback for UHS this season, before he won the state championship in the 165-pound weight class on the mat. He then helped UHS capture the team state championship at the state track and field meet as a sprinter a few weeks ago. Brody Kehler will be a name we hear for the next three years, just like his older brother Brock. Elecia McCurrie
MHS sprinter Elecia McCurrie once again proved why she is the top sprinter in the state. McCurrie captured the 100-meter and 200-meter state championships this season and anchored the MHS 4×400 relay team to a second-place finish that propelled the Mohigans to the team state title a few weeks ago. McCurrie is the first MHS sprinter to win a state title and could very well capture many more before she graduates. Jimmy Gregg
Jimmy Gregg is currently one of the highest-rated punters of the 2027 class in the country. Gregg is down to two schools (WVU and NC State) in his recruiting process after a standout season with the Hawks. Gregg was also the top earner for the Alex's Lemonade Stand fundraiser, supporting cancer research, raising $7,680 through punting. Kayli Kellogg
Kayli Kellogg has dominated the girls' basketball scene in WV for the past two seasons, earning first-team all-state selections her freshman and sophomore seasons while leading MHS to consecutive state championship game appearances. Kellogg filled the stat sheet in 2024-25, scoring 21.9 points, grabbing five rebounds, dishing 4.6 assists, and nabbing 3.8 steals per contest. Kellogg and the Mohigans will once again be a top team in Class AAAA, with Kellogg being an early frontrunner for the Mary Ostrowski Player of the Year award.
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I think he hurt his fantasy value by playing through injury last year, but he's a .270 15/15 type of talent who will now be playing in Coors Field. A fractured wrist could impact some of that power, and Estrada is certainly going to be a better bet when Colorado is at home. However, I believe he could be a solid source of batting average and speed while being the likely everyday starter at second base for the Rockies. We've also seen Tyler Freeman - SS/OF, COL (3% rostered) emerge as the regular right fielder for the Rockies since being called up. He has hit .299/.367/.448 in 28 games with five stolen bases. Freeman had a solid enough season last year for Cleveland, and moving to Colorado should help him. Freeman makes a lot of contact, but the hard contact is limited, and his BABIP has been low in years past. Coors Field tends to boost BABIP, so Freeman could emerge as a .260-.270 hitter with some decent speed and multi-position eligibility. Alek Thomas - OF, ARI: 1% rostered (CONSISTENT PLAYING TIME, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) I had Thomas on here a bunch earlier in the season and, admittedly, dropped him in a few formats because his lack of power and speed really limit his fantasy viability. However, we have seen his power tick up a bit lately, with him having two home runs in his last 12 games. I don't think Thomas will become a power hitter, so he's probably more of a target if you need some batting average. Wenceel Pérez - OF, DET (1% rostered), who is hitting .280/.315/.540 in 16 games this season with three home runs, six RBI, and eight runs scored. He also hit .242 with nine home runs and nine steals in 112 games as a rookie last season. He's been playing a lot of right field with Kerry Carpenter shifting to DH and Colt Keith riding the bench a lot, and that could be how Detroit approaches this moving forward. He's likely only going to play four games a week, so it's more of a daily moves play or a stash and hope he takes Keith's place permanently. Waiver Wire Pitchers Jacob Misiorowski - SP, MIL: 45% rostered Much like Anthony, Misiorowski doesn't technically qualify for this list, but he made his MLB debut on Thursday, so I wanted to take the time to discuss him here because, man, that was an impressive showing. He regularly hit triple digits with his fastball and had solid command after his cutter/slider, which he can also use to get ahead. The curveball command was spottier, but it has good break, and then he also ripped off a few 90 mph changeups that got some swings-and-misses to lefties. Epect some inconsistency because he's a rookie with a spotty track record of command, but by all mean,s go out and grab him. Mick Abel - SP, PHI: 39% rostered It turns out, Abel's stay in the rotation is going to be longer than some assumed when he was called back up last week. Aaron Nola's ribcage strain is going to prevent him from even throwing for the next two weeks, and then he'll need to build back up to bullpens before going on a rehab assignment. That means Abel may have another month before his spot in the rotation is in jeopardy. I'm not sure his ceiling is exceptionally high right now, but he has a deep pitch mix and seems comfortable attacking the strike zone, so I don't see him putting up too many stinkers for you either. Shane Smith - SP, CWS: 34% rostered It's rare you see a pitcher with a 2.37 ERA and 23% strikeout rate across 68.1 innings be rostered in so few leagues. But I guess that's what happens when you're on the White Sox. Smith has slowed a little bit of late, with two poor starts against the Mets and Mariners, but bounced back this week against the Tigers a bit. He has gone six innings only three times this season and has only two wins, so that can make him tough to start, but the ratios and strikeouts have been pretty good these past 6 weeks. Also, just some respect for Smith's teammate Adrian Houser - SP, CWS (18% rostered), who has a 2.15 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 29.1 innings for the White Sox this season. It's still Houser, and he pitches for the second-worst team in baseball, so there's not tons of upside here, but he's been really good so far and he'll likely be traded at the deadline, so maybe he ends up somewhere he can be more useful. Shelby Miller - RP, ARI: 34% rostered Justin Martinez is out for the season as he deals with a UCL injury, and AJ Puk just suffered a setback in his rehab, so Shelby Miller is going to be the primary closer in Arizona for a while. With Corbin Burnes also out for the season, there's a chance that the Diamondbacks actually sell at the deadline, which means it's unlikely they bring in competition for Miller. The question is whether or not Miller himself gets dealt. It also seems like Calvin Faucher - RP, MIA (9% rostered) has taken the closer role in Miami again. I'm not sure how many saves you're going to get out of this, and Miami can't seem to settle on one guy, but if you're hurting for saves, Faucher could be a solid option. Quinn Priester - SP, MIL: 26% rostered Priester has been on a tremendous run of late, pitching to a 2.54 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. He's still more of a match-up play than anything, but I thought he was worth highlighting here. Edward Cabrera - SP, MIA: 21% rostered Cabrera looked so good early in his start against Washington on Friday, but then he got stepped on while covering first base and was clearly laboring. He allowed a home run immediately after the injury and was then removed from the game. Provided his injury isn't anything major, I remain very interested here. The right-hander has long tantalized with his upside and disappointed with his command, but he is making some pitch mix changes that caught my attention. I dug into him for my starting pitcher news column last week, so I'd encourage you to check that out for a more detailed breakdown. Robert Garcia - RP, TEX: 19% rostered Garcia is now the closer in Texas. I think. I have no idea. He has four saves in the last month and has had the last few save chances for Texas, but his ratios have been really problematic. Now, some of that is connected to a 'blown' a save against the Rays last weekend, which was one of the unluckiest blown saves I've seen with TWO runners scoring on THE SAME infield single. Two of the three hits Garcia gave up in that inning were infield singles. It feels like a fluky poor performance. However, Chris Martin - RP, TEX (21% rostered) is also returning from the IL and could get back into the closer conversation as well, but nobody has seemed to want Martin to close during his career, and you have to wonder whether or not that has something to do with his preference. Michael Kopech - RP, LAD: 14% rostered Kopech has come off the IL and pitched the ninth for the Dodgers and then also walked three batters in one inning in the seventh. We have no idea what his role is going to be, but Los Angeles seems likely to have a right-handed complement to Tanner Scott, and maybe that's Kopech. However, Alex Vesia - RP, LAD (19% rostered) also picked up a save this week and while that was mainly due to matchups, he's been good this year and maybe can help you with your ratios while getting a handful of saves. David Festa - SP, MIN: 7% rostered With Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews both hurt, David Festa is locked into a rotation spot in Minnesota. Perhaps more importantly, he was also allowed to pitch six innings in his last start, and it seems like Rocco Baldelli may loosen the leash on him a bit. There remain some command concerns, but Festa has upside if you're swinging for the fences. Hunter Dobbins - SP, BOS: 4% rostered Dobbins was featured in an article I wrote this week that highlighted starting pitcher targets for the second half of the fantasy baseball season. Check that out for the details on why I like Dobbins, but you maybe also saw that for yourself last night. Grant Taylor - SP/RP, CWS: 3% rostered The White Sox flame-throwing prospect is up and pitching out of the bullpen for now. Taylor has legit electric stuff, and I think he could be closing for the White Sox in short order. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order) Week of 6/16 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation If I'm Desperate
