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Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Knoxville Webb's young title team could become next TSSAA girls basketball state tournament dynasty
COOKEVILLE — Meeyah Green felt equal parts jubilation and panic when she finally held the gold trophy in her arms. She enjoyed seeing her reflection in the hardware after Knoxville Webb's 61-47 win over Christ Presbyterian Academy in the TSSAA girls basketball state championship in Division II-AA Saturday. But Green's expression changed to shock when she nearly lost her grip on the trophy. More: TSSAA basketball state tournament Division II championships roundup: Knox Webb girls roll to 7th title 'It was a lot heavier than I thought,' said Green, a Clemson commitment who scored 19 points and was named tournament MVP. Green will know what to expect if she's in this position again next season, and there's a good chance she will be. Webb (29-3) won the program's seventh state title and first since 2018 with a roster that lacks a senior. Freshman guard Zahnyah Rockett led the Spartans with 20 points, and freshman forward Kyndall Mays had 12 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting. More: TSSAA basketball state tournament: Tennessee high school sectional bracket This might be the first of two, maybe even three, state titles in a row. That would be reminiscent of the success Webb enjoyed under former coach Shelley Collier, who led the Spartans to six state titles before resigning to become Lenoir City's coach in 2023. From 2007-2018, Webb never went more than three seasons without a championship under Collier, who was replaced by current coach Greg Hernandez. 'It's always been the dream every year to win a championship,' Green said. 'But obviously with it being five years (since the last one), I think that's what made this more exciting.' More: Why Webb star Dasha Biriuk's second TSSAA girls basketball state title means so much more than the first Webb's young group didn't just take down Tennessee's best teams this season. It picked up wins over out-of-state powers Farmington (Arkansas) and Spring Garden (Alabama). The Spartans roster has just three juniors, with seven freshmen, two sophomores and an eighth grader. 'I do get worried (about experience) at times, but then I look about and I've got these three (Green, Rockett and Mays). They just get the job done,' Hernandez said. 'I think it goes back to our work and how mature they are for their age.' It helped that Webb returned some players who were on last year's team that lost to Knoxville Catholic in the 2024 DII-AA state finals. But this was a new experience for Rockett, who had five steals and finished 6-of-12 from the field against CPA. 'It's definitely been a confidence-builder,' Rockett said. 'Especially in the beginning, I wasn't as confident in myself with a new team, new school and everything. But when you have people pushing you like Meeyah and Kyndall, it really helps you grow up.' Webb led for all but 44 seconds of the championship. It jumped to a 20-9 lead and looked like it might run away with the trophy. CPA (23-7) trimmed the deficit to 40-35 late in the third quarter despite playing most of the game without leading scorer Lily Morrow, who injured her right knee in the second quarter. But Green all but delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter with a spin-move layup that slowly spilled through the rim to make it 53-42 with four minutes left in the game. This is just the start of what Hernandez hopes to accomplish at Webb. "I'm only hoping I can piggyback off (Collier's success)," Hernandez said, "and continue to build Webb into not only a state power, but hopefully something even bigger one day." Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA girls basketball state tournament: Knoxville Webb captures title
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How MBA stunned JPII in double overtime to reach TSSAA basketball DII-AA state semifinals
HENDERSONVILLE — Montgomery Bell Academy senior guard Collin O'Neal panted and put his hands on his hips, completely out of breath after celebrating a wild, if not unlikely, victory with his teammates. MBA trailed by seven points with 58 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter before rallying to stun Pope John Paul Preparatory School, 80-78, in double overtime of the TSSAA basketball DII-AA state tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. 'I just ran out and found Kev (MBA senior guard Kevin Die') in the celebration. We knew this was our last year together. We've been playing together since we were 10-11 years old,' O'Neal said. 'It feels amazing. We've been talking about this since last summer.' MBA (23-5) captured its third state semifinal appearance in five years and will play either Briarcrest, Ensworth or Knoxville Webb on Friday in Cookeville. Junior guard Trey Pearson scored a game-high 34 points for JPII (27-5), which was denied its second consecutive semifinal appearance. Pearson had two empty free-throw trips late in regulation and JPII went 9-of-18 from the line in the fourth quarter. O'Neal, a Furman signee and the DII-AA Middle Region player of the year, finished with 21 points and scored seven points in the fourth quarter, going 5-of-6 from the line. It was one of the most improbable rallies MBA coach Kevin Anglin could remember from one of his teams. 'We were just managing the game one possession at a time,' Anglin said. 'We score and it gets to five. They go down and miss a free throw, then all of a sudden, it's three. With every possession belief started to creep back in. 'Relentless resolve,' that was the phrase I kept saying to them. Just, we're never going to quit.' MBA had to play without O'Neal after he fouled out in the first overtime and kept finding itself playing from behind. Die' made two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to force a second overtime. Mill Chapman scored five points on back-to-back possessions in the final OT to give MBA a 70-66 lead with 1:12 remaining, and the Big Red never trailed again. Chapman finished with a team-high 24 points. PCA: How redemption in TSSAA basketball playoffs fuels PCA boys entering DII-A semifinals 'As soon as we got to overtime, I grabbed the guys and said, 'we've got this,'' said Die', who finished with 11 points. 'Coach preaches perseverance all the time. We're not a one-man team, we're not a two-man team. Even when we got down, we just stayed and fought and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game.' Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball: MBA defeats JPII in double OT to reach state semis
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Here are our 15 snubs for the 2025 Tennessee Mr. Basketball finalists list
The 2024-25 TSSAA Mr. Basketball finalists were announced this week, with three players being selected from each Tennessee high school classification. The Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards winners will be announced at MTSU's Tucker Theater on March 18. Of course, not every top player could make the final group. Here's our list of players that should have been heavily considered for Mr. Basketball honors. Colin Brown, Tennessee: Class 3A basically had two spots already locked in with Upperman's Ty Cobb and Stone Memorial's Cade Capps having insane seasons. Brown could have made it in a normal year with his numbers. He's averaging 25 points, 2.2 rebounds, three assists and 3.1 steals. More: Meet the Tennessee Mr. and Miss Basketball finalists for 2025 TSSAA basketball award Cayman Camfield, Wayne County: Camfield has been a crucial part of Wayne County's resurgence in the past two years in Class 1A. He's averaging 20.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. Carson Chandler, Christian Brothers: The senior was on the outside looking in for DII-AA. He's averaging 21.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 41% from 3-point range. Jack Cupples, Riverside: The Class 2A list was a tough one to make. Cupples is averaging 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Panthers as a sophomore. Tacarien Freeman, Fayette Ware: The 6-foot guard has led Fayette Ware to a 20-win season in 3A and is averaging 16 points, 5.2 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Birman Jenkins, Jackson Christian: The 6-foot-5 forward didn't make the list in DII-A but has helped Jackson Christian to a 20-win season while averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds with seven double-doubles this season. Aaron Layne, Kingston: Layne was surprisingly left off the 2A finalist list, averaging 24.3 points and eight rebounds for the Yellowjackets. Will McCrary, Jackson County: Another player left out of a stacked Class 2A list, McCrary has led Jackson County to a No. 5 spot in the 2A statewide rankings. He is shooting 56% from the field and averaging 21.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. More: TSSAA basketball brackets: District tournament schedule, scores for Nashville area More: Tennessee high school basketball boys statewide rankings: Which are latest top TSSAA teams in Week 12? Collin O'Neal, MBA: It's not often a Division I signee gets left out, but O'Neal didn't make the DII-AA list. He's a Furman signee averaging 20 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 53% from the field and 41% from three for the 21-5 Big Red. Cutter Sisk, Beech: Sisk has been a dominant post player for the Bucs, but it wasn't enough to make the Class 4A list. He's averaging 22.3 points while shooting 75% from the field. He also averages 10.6 rebounds and two blocks. Nick Steen, Knoxville Fulton: Steen is in the same boat as others in Class 3A. He didn't make the list despite being dominant in the post for Jody Wright's team, averaging 20.6 points and 10.6 rebounds. Tate Surber, McKenzie: The 6-3 forward is shooing close to 60% from the field while averaging 24.8 points and 8.2 rebounds for the 1A Rebels. Trey Vann, Jellico: Class 1A had a deep group, but Vann is averaging 21.6 points, six rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals. Chris Washington, Providence Christian: You don't often see a four-star forward ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the state in the 2026 class miss these kinds of lists. The 6-foot-7 Washington is averaging 15 points and eight rebounds, and has 21 steals and 20 blocks this season. His PCA teammate Preston Wade had better numbers and made the list — but should there have been room for both of them in DII-A? Greyson Williams, BGA: He had to have been on the cusp of making the DII-A list. Williams is averaging 25 points on 52% shooting from the field and 38% from three. He also averages five rebounds and four assists. Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA basketball: Mr. Basketball snubs for 2025 Tennessee high school season
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Early Dandy Dozen 2.0: Looking at Nashville area's top college football prospects from 2026 class
Players from the Tennessean's 2024 Dandy Dozen are done with their TSSAA football careers and ready for their college assignments. Now, the Tennessean is taking a look at next fall's potential athletes from the 2026 class for its 2025 Dandy Dozen, a hand-picked group of the area's top senior class recruits. From Jared Curtis to Joel Wyatt, here is a way-too-early look at the Nashville area football players who could be among the 12 chosen for the 2025 Tennessee high school football season. Players are listed alphabetically. Nolensville | 6-4, 180 | WR Why chosen: Bender, an all-region receiver, has offers from Syracuse, Pitt, Eastern Kentucky, Austin Peay and Miami (Ohio). Lipscomb Academy | 6-2, 175 | WR Why chosen: Blivens, who's also a basketball star, caught 55 passes for 835 yards and 10 TDs last season. He could build on his offer list of Pitt, Arkansas State, Georgia State, UAB, Western Kentucky and Miami (Ohio). Christ Presbyterian Academy | 6-3, 195 | WR Why chosen: Cabell's offers include Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Wisconsin. He caught 43 passes for 973 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the DII-AA state champion Lions. He's a three-star prospect ranked as the No. 18 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee, according to the 247Sports Composite. More: When is National Signing Day for Nashville area TSSAA football athletes? Nashville Christian | 6-4, 225 | QB Why chosen: The five-star prospect is the No. 1 Class of 2026 player in Tennessee and No. 2 quarterback nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. The former Georgia commitment has a final list of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina, and Oregon. He was named DII-A Mr. Football and the Gatorade Tennessee state player of the year after finishing 179-of-255 passing for 2,830 yards passing, 40 touchdowns and three interceptions last season. He also led Nashville Christian in rushing with 637 yards and 18 touchdowns on 88 carries during the Eagles' DII-A state championship run. More: Jared Curtis makes Nashville Christian the best show in TSSAA football finals | Estes Beech | 6-6, 280 | OL Why chosen: Fuchs, the son of Titans offensive line assistant Scott Fuchs, is the No. 11 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee and No. 33 offensive tackle nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. His offers include Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Indiana and Kansas State. More: What new Titans assistant's son Jack Fuchs wanted in family's seventh move that landed prospect at Beech East Robertson | 6-4, 212 | EDGE Why chosen: Groves is the No. 4 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee and No. 12 edge-rusher nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M and Michigan are among his 26 offers. He recorded 21 tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception, one blocked punt, four pass breakups and 16 quarterback hurries. He scored two defensive touchdowns in addition to 501 all-purpose yards and six TDs. Ensworth | 6-0, 160 | CB Why chosen: Hopkins is the No. 9 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee and No. 18 cornerback nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. His offers include Tennessee, USC, Auburn, Missouri, Indiana and Ole Miss. He caught 42 passes for 705 yards and seven TDs last season. He also had a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown. More: What Josh Heupel said about Ensworth that impressed Tennessee football recruit Justin Hopkins MBA | 6-3, 235 | TE Why chosen: Hutchinson's recruitment picked up in late December, as he added Nebraska to a list that includes Kentucky, Mississippi State, Toledo, Pitt and Liberty. Mt. Pleasant | 6-2, 205 | ATH Why chosen: McClure has offers from Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Colorado and Eastern Kentucky. More: National Signing Day: See where Nashville area's TSSAA football recruits signed in December CPA | 5-10, 190 | RB Why chosen: Patterson is still emerging but might start gaining Power 4 attention. His brother Kane played at Clemson and Vanderbilt. His other brother, Langston, is a Vanderbilt linebacker. Rawls Patterson had 336 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries in the DII-AA state championship and finished with 1,593 yards and 18 TDs on 193 carries for the season. MBA | 6-5, 190 | QB Why chosen: He's the No. 16 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee, according to the 247Sports Composite, with offers from Michigan, Indiana, Pitt and Boston College. Price spent much of last season with a shoulder injury after throwing for 1,039 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for three scores as a sophomore. Page | 6-3, 285 | OL Why chosen: The Region 6-5A lineman of the year recorded 25 pancake blocks and graded out at 88% during the Patriots' run to the state title game. His offers include Memphis, WKU, Buffalo, Liberty, UAB, Ball State, UT-Martin and Miami (OH). Donelson Christian Academy | 6-5, 235 | TE Why chosen: Sneed, a Tennessee commitment, is a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 6 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee and No. 10 tight end nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. He caught 34 passes for 419 yards and six touchdowns last season. More: Why 4-star 2026 Tennessee football commit Carson Sneed isn't joining rash of decommitments Ensworth | 6-6, 310 | OL Why chosen: Thigpen's massive size figures to draw more interest. He has offers from West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Memphis, UAB, Tulane, Troy and Arkansas State. Oakland | 6-0, 180 | S Why chosen: Tutt is the No. 12 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee, according to the 247Sports Composite. His offers include Tennessee, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan and UCLA. The Class 6A Mr. Football finalist totaled 1,649 yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage during Oakland's state title run. He also had 64 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles on defense. Nashville Christian | 6-0, 200 | RB Why chosen: Ward flew under the radar a bit having missed most of last season due to TSSAA eligibility rules after transferring from McGavock. His offers include Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Ole Miss and Indiana. He rushed for 653 yards and seven touchdowns in just four games. More: What makes Joel Wyatt's offers from Tennessee football, Georgia, other SEC schools so unusual Webb School - Bell Buckle | 6-4, 192 | WR Why chosen: Wyatt is the No. 2 player from the 2026 class in Tennessee and No. 14 receiver nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. He's emerging as a priority target for Tennessee and also has offers from Vanderbilt, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Arkansas, LSU, and Miami. He caught 49 passes for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He also had a rushing TD, kickoff return TD and added 48 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks on defense. Reach sports writer Tyler Palmateer at tpalmateer@ and on the X platform, formerly Twitter, @tpalmateer83. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: Top 2026 Nashville area prospects include Jared Curtis, Joel Wyatt
