As for this winter, the Gators have some key guys coming back for coach Blake Hall despite losing five seniors, including all-state guard Ja’Quell Brown. Brown, a senior, scored 27 points against Greenville.
Also worth mentioning, Berkeley’s boys basketball team advanced to the Lower State championship game, while Cane Bay High School’s boys and Goose Creek’s girls ended strong campaigns in the third round of the playoffs.
In terms of returning production, the Cobras have as impressive a roster as there is in the area. That thought eased the sting for Cane Bay boys coach Shawn McKeen following a nine-point loss at James Island in February.
Cane Bay finished 20-7.
“I really like where we’re going,” McKeen said after the defeat. “Those 12 kids are giving us the bulk of the minutes. For them to have a lot of experience under their belt, I expect us to be in this environment (in 2025-26), whether here or somewhere else. I expect to be in the thick of things.”
On the mat, three BCSD grapplers returned home from the Florence Center as conquerors in February, building on the county’s winning wrestling culture. The school district has produced at least one state champion for eight consecutive years and 14 of the previous 15 seasons. Four county grapplers placed second last winter.
At 106 pounds in Class 2A-A, Timberland’s Wyatt Thames was the first grappler to break through inside The Florence Center. The current junior won his opener by fall, then went on to record a decision (10-4), major decision (19-5) and decision (8-5) to earn the Wolves a gold medal for the third straight season.
Goose Creek had two grapplers reach the top of the podium, Montero Royal and Sydney Mitchem.
Royal, now a junior, was as dominant as one could be on his way to his second state title. Royal tallied two technical falls (17-0 and 21-5) and two falls (:36 and 5:34) to win the 113-pound weight class in Class 5A.
He won the 106-pound title as a freshman and finished his sophomore season with a sparkling 38-0 record, with 21 wins by fall. Royal won all of his Lower State and state bouts by either technical fall or fall.
