Incarnate Word Academy girls basketball, a record football losing streak and healing following a school shooting captured the nation's attention over the past school year.
Vinson came down with what, at first, appeared to be strep throat. But her condition worsened. She was placed in a medical coma with her body suffering from toxic shock syndrome as a result of a Strep A viral strain.She spent a month in ICU, lost weight and muscle mass and there were real concerns whether she would be able to play again.
But in a nod to the power of sports, Vinson returned to the court for the Tigers on Sept. 3.
"I didn't really know if I was ever going to be able to hit a ball again," Vinson
told the Indianapolis Star after a match-high 13 kills. "Being able to be out here with all my teammates again is really amazing."
She would eventually lead Yorktown to the Class 4A state championship game, where she pounded 17 kills in a loss.
The MaxPreps All-American ended her career with 1,940 kills, breaking the school record held by former MaxPreps National Player of the Year Kenzie Knuckles.
Read on for a look at other stories that moved in the needle in 2024-25.
Incarnate Word Academy breaks win streak record
Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) girls basketball needed eight wins entering the 2024-25 season to break the all-time consecutive wins record. The Red Knights won their 139th straight game in January but would also see that streak end two weeks later at 141. IWA rebounded to win a state championship for the eighth consecutive year and finish 27-2.
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Boozer, Chavez cap record-setting basketball careers
There isn't much
Cameron Boozer failed to accomplish in his high school basketball career. He was a two-time MaxPreps National Player of the Year, four-time state champion and led
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) to the No. 1 national ranking as a senior. The Duke commit also won three consecutive Nike EYBL Peach Jam titles, two gold medals with USA
Basketball and a Chipotle Nationals title.
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Aaliyah Chavez earned the girls MaxPreps National Player of the Year honor after leading
Monterey (Lubbock, Texas) to its first state title in 45 years winning the Class 5A Division 2 crown. Headed to Oklahoma, Chavez was perhaps the most prolific scorer of her generation who finished 14th on the all-time scoring list.
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Kevin Boyle leaves Montverde Academy
After leading two programs to the apex of high school basketball,
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) head coach Kevin Boyle announced in March that he was leaving the school to take a similar job at
SPIRE Academy (Geneva, Ohio). He was a five-time state champion in New Jersey before turning Montverde into a basketball juggernaut that was named national champion seven times by MaxPreps.
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Bryce James wins state title with LeBron sitting courtside
The King was front and center as
Bryce James helped
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) win a Division 1 title in March. The Arizona commit contributed in the victory as the Trailblazers won their fourth state crown. LeBron celebrated with his son on court following the victory as the throng of fans in attendance watched the viral moment.
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LeBron James was courtside in Sacramento to watch his son win a state title in March. (PHOTO: Anthony Brunsman)
A week after leading his alma mater
Northwestern (Miami, Fla.)
to a state title, head coach Teddy Bridgewater announced he was
returning to the NFL to make a run at a Super Bowl. He signed with the
Detroit Lions as a backup but they were eliminated in the divisional round. Bridgewater played for Northwestern from
2008-10
before heading to Louisville and becoming a first-round draft pick in
2014 for Minnesota.
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Calvary Baptist softball team wins fifth straight title playing for late teammate
De La Salle plays in London
There are few high school football programs more recognizable than storied
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.). The Spartans, who piled up a 151-game win streak in the 1990s and early 2000s, took their brand across the pond for a game against NFL Academy at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in
London,
the same field where the Minnesota Vikings beat the New York Jets two
days earlier.
READ MOREMater Dei goes wire-to-wire
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) entered the 2024 high school football season as the defending state champion and preseason national No. 1 but coming off a controversial off-season coaching change. Under new head coach Raul Lara, the Monarchs showed they are still head and
shoulders above any other program with its third MaxPreps National Championship.
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Oak Cliff Faith Family leaves UIL
One week after being banned from postseason play and having its coaches
suspended by the Texas high school sports governing body,
Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy (Dallas, Texas)
announced it was leaving the University Interscholastic League (UIL) to
play a national schedule.
READ MOREPeat plays through broken hand to win title
It was a true Willis Reed moment as
Koa Peat, one of the nation's top senior high school basketball prospects, led
Perry (Gilbert) to its fourth straight Arizona title playing with a broken right hand. The University of Arizona commit missed a quarterfinal game but returned for the semis and scored 20, including several dunks in the championship.
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91-game football losing streak
Columbia (Huntsville, Ala.) heads into the 2025 football season with the longest losing streak in high school history but a new coach with a NFL pedigree and commitment to stop the slide. The Eagles begin the year looking to snap their 91-game skid behind former NFL wide receiver Sammie Coates as they look for the first victory since Oct. 16, 2015.
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Mater Dei's McKnight passes Morgan Wootten
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
head coach Gary McKnight moved into second place on the all-time high
school basketball wins list, passing former
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
coach Morgan Wootten. He is closing in on Robert Hughes, the all-time winningest coach. McKnight has led the program to 11 state championships,
16 regional
titles, 24 section titles and 40 league championships in 42 years.
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High school Olympians Shackell, Wilson shine in Paris
Senior
Alex Shackell won two medals at last summer's Olympics on the eve of her senior year at swimming powerhouse
Carmel (Ind.), taking gold in the 400 freestyle relay, silver in the 800 free relay and sixth in the 200 butterfly. She capped her high school career with her 15th state title as the Greyhounds dominated for their 39th straight state championship. Meanwhile,
Bullis (Potomac, Md.) junior Quincy Wilson earned a gold as part of the 1,600-meter relay team. He ran the lead leg in the qualifying heats.
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Melissa breaks home run record
Texas powerhouse
Melissa broke the high school softball national record for home runs in a season in early May when
Paisley Needham went deep in the third inning, giving the Cardinals their 106th round-tripper this spring. The bomb put Melissa ahead of the 2022
North DeSoto (Stonewall, La.)
team, which launched 105 bombs in 39 games. The Cardinals finished with 122 jacks while going 38-1 and winning the Conference 5A Division 1 state title.
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Sam Woods wins Florida soccer title
Sam Woods, daughter of golf great Tiger Woods, became a Florida state soccer champion after she and her
Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens) teammates won the Class 2A title. Tiger was in the stands
for the championship match. Sam Woods joins brother Charlie as state champs after he won a golf team title as a freshman.
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Khatchikian scores 102 points, breaking California single-game record
Mesrobian (Pico Rivera, Calif.) senior guard
Nick Khatchikian piled up 102 points in a January game that led to a mixed reaction across social media. His total broke the state record while his brother
Dylan Khatchikian may have tied a national record by dishing out 35 assists. Nick Khatchikian played just 22 minutes in the lopsided contest that was 79-0 at the half.
READ MORE Corona baseball projected to have three first-rounders
Corona (Calif.) was unable to snag the CIF Southern Section title this season but the Panthers are projected to have three first-round selections in the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft.
Seth Hernandez,
Billy Carlson and
Brady Ebel should all be picked on the opening day of the draft while Hernandez and Carlson are projected to be selected in the top 10.
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Henderson goes over 10,000 yards
Alvin Henderson of
Elba (Ala.) became the 12th player in high school football history to eclipse 10,000 career rushing yards in November. The future Auburn Tiger broke six Alabama records, including career touchdown and single-season rushing yards.
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North Crowley breaks Duncanville/North Shore dominance to win state title
Duncanville and North Shore have met five times since 2018 for the football state title in Texas' largest classification. This year,
North Crowley (Fort Worth) crashed the party and stood atop the state with a 16-0 season and No. 3 national ranking.
Quentin Gibson earned MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors and third-year head coach Ray Yates earned the MaxPreps National Coach of the Year.
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Etiwanda three-peats
Powered by MaxPreps All-Americans
Aliyahna Morris and
Grace Knox, the
Etiwanda girls basketball program hit the trifecta with its third straight California Open Division title, the first in the 11-year history of the highest classification. The Eagles struggled early in the season but hit their stride late to take down
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) for the third straight time. The Monarchs, in their fourth straight Open final, will always ask "What could have been?" after losing star junior
McKenna Woliczko to a January knee injury.
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The Rock attends game following school shooting
Apalachee (Winder, Ga.) football proved to be a healing vessel for the school following a September shooting that killed two students and two teachers, including the team's defensive coordinator. The school remained closed for several weeks but the Wildcats got back on the gridiron in early October and were visited by WWE and movie legend The Rock, who lauded their resiliency and strength.
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Connor Stalions becomes interim head coach
Connor Stalions, the former University of Michigan assistant coach
accused by the NCAA of a scouting scheme last year, took over as head
coach for
Mumford (Detroit, Mich.) in early September after the head coach suffered a stroke. Stalions, a former Marine captain, was embroiled in an advance scouting scheme of Michigan opponents last season.
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Marion Local extends football dominance
Small school powerhouse
Marion Local (Maria Stein, Ohio) captured a record 15th title in December while extending its win streak to 64 games with a 74-0 victory in the state championship game. The 64-game run of success is the longest active streak in the country,
moving the Flyers into the top 20 on the all-time consecutive wins list.
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Florida senior beats Tom Brady in Mr. Beast challenge
Senior quarterback
Jake Balanovich of
Cypress Bay (Weston, Fla.) outdueled NFL legend Tom Brady in a high-stakes passing competition hosted by YouTube star Mr. Beast, aka
Jimmy Donaldson. The event featured a unique challenge to hit four balloons placed at distances ranging from 10 to 50 yards as the two signal callers face off in a battle of precision for a $100,000 prize.
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