High school sports in 2023 had it all – incredible moments, indelible images and unforgettable superstars.
The year will be remembered for historic wins, record-breaking
performances, viral moments, celebrity coaches and unforgettable
players and teams.
Read on for our look at the top 20 high school
sports stories of 2023.
Lahainaluna coach Dean Rickard stands with his football team before an Oct. 4 game against Baldwin. It was the first game for the Lunas following the deadly fire that destroyed most of Lahaina in August and the return of sports to the Maui town helped bring some normalcy to the students and town. (Photo: Brian Bautista)
Though life in the picturesque town of Lahaina might never return to normal, the student-athletes of
Lahainaluna (Lahaina, Hawaii)
helped a community recovering from the deadly fire find some sense of
normalcy. The Lunas returned to the volleyball court and football field less than three months after the blaze destroyed most of the historic community. The football team returned to Sue Cooley Stadium on Oct. 21 in a sold out game
against Baldwin (Wailuku, Hawaii). They went 5-2 in an abbreviated
schedule, falling in the opening round of the state playoffs to eventual champion Kapa'a (Hawaii). An NFL Films documentary on their story is set to air this week on FoxSports 1.
Incarnate Word Academy win streak reaches 100
Owner of the longest active win streak in high school girls basketball,
Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) began the 2023-24 season at 100 in a row after capturing the Missouri Class 6 final to end last year's campaign. With five more wins so far this season, the Red Knights' streak now stands at 105 straight victories.
USC basketball becomes a destinationSierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) standout
Bronny James made his highly-anticipated college decision in early May, opting to stay close to home by playing for head coach Andy Enfield and USC. He was the second high-profile Sierra Canyon star to choose USC, as MaxPreps National Player of the Year
Juju Watkins also chose the Los Angeles school. Since Watkins and James became Trojans, USC has also added a trio of top women's stars to the fold with
Kayleigh Heckel of
Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.),
Kennedy Smith of
Etiwanda (Calif.) and
Vivian Iwuchukwu of
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.).
IMG sold for $1.25 billionIMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) has been a mainstay in various MaxPreps Top 25 rankings over the past decade but made news for other reasons earlier this year after being sold to a private equity firm in a deal valued at $1.25 billion. IMG's baseball team finished ranked No. 1 nationally this season, the football team has finished in the MaxPreps Top 25 eight times over the past decade and its basketball team has sent dozens of players to college and the NBA.
D.J. Lagway named MaxPreps National Football Player of the YearD.J. Lagway of
Willis (Texas) became the fifth quarterback from the Lone Star State to earn high school football's highest honor, joining Cade Klubnik of Westlake (Austin), Riley Dodge of Southlake Carroll (Southlake), Garrett Gilbert of Lake Travis (Austin) and Kyler Murray of Allen. Lagway led Willis to its best season in school history going 12-1. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound field general broke the Class 6A single-season state record with 58 touchdown passes. He finished with 4,631 yards and completed 72.1 percent of his attempts. On the ground, he had 975 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Mikey Williams arrested, pleads guilty to gun chargeOne of the biggest names in high school basketball as well as on social media,
Mikey Williams was arrested in San Diego County in April on five felony counts of suspicion of assault with a firearm. Committed to play basketball at the University of Memphis, Williams eventually reached a plea deal in late November on one felony count of making criminal threats. The plea would allow him to avoid jail time and be reduced to a misdemeanor if he meets certain conditions before his August 2024 sentencing. The San Ysidro (San Diego, Calif.) standout turned heads as a freshman when he dropped 77 in a game.
John Marshall, Montverde win national basketball titlesOn the boys side,
John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) established itself as the best team in high school basketball in 2022-23 with big out-of-state victories and a second consecutive Class 2 state championship. The Justices went 28-0, outscoring opponents by an average margin of 36.8 points per contest. The
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) girls cemented their MaxPreps National Championship with a 60-54 win at GEICO Nationals over Long Island Lutheran to end the season 26-1. It was the second straight GEICO title for the Eagles, who grabbed wins over nine teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 during the season, including victories over seven state champions and two state finalists.
USA Basketball future is brightIt's not unusual for Team USA U16 boys and girls to bring home gold medals. But what made this year's FIBA Americas champions noteworthy was the starpower that hoop heads will come to know for the next few years and beyond. On the boys side, MaxPreps National Player of the Year
Cameron Boozer of
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) led the USA to a dominating run to the title. He was named tournament MVP after game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds in the 118-38 win over Canada for the gold. Five players averaged double-figures as Boozer led the way with 16.8 points and 9.8 rebounds and
Koa Peat of
Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) tallied 17.2 points. For the girls, the United States dominated from start to finish, led by MaxPreps Co-Freshmen of the Year
Jerzy Robinson and
McKenna Woliczko. Robinson, who transferred to
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), was the tournament MVP after averaging 17.3 points, while Wolizcko of
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) chipped in 11.8 points per night on 62 percent shooting.
Lake Creek, IMG Academy shine on diamondAfter finishing No. 2 in the 2022 MaxPreps Top 25 softball rankings,
Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) made the jump to No. 1. Led by Florida commit Ava Brown, the Lions capped the 2023 season with a second straight Class 5A title and went a remarkable 85-1 over the past two seasons. The
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) baseball team finished undefeated (25-0) with wins over five state champions and two other teams that finished as state runners-up. No other past national champion can make that claim. Overall, IMG Academy faced 23 teams that made the postseason.
The Burley Bolt shows offMulti-sport star
Gatlin Bair of
Burley (Idaho) ran a 10.25 100-meter and 20.47 200-meter at the BYU Invitational and a 10.18 100 at the Texas Relays. Bair, who has 27 FBS football offers from the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Oregon, also hauled in 73 receptions for 1,113 yards and 20 touchdowns on the gridiron in 2022.
Brown, Edwards named MaxPreps Athletes of the YearSammy Brown of
Jefferson (Ga.) not only shined on the gridiron, but on the wrestling mat and the track and field team as well. His his exploits from the 2022-23 school year earned him MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year honors and the Clemson commit followed that up with an outstanding 2023 football season. He rushed for 2,289 yards and 36 scores along with 153 tackles as Jefferson went 13-1 reaching the AAAAA semifinals.
Joyce Edwards, an all-state performer for
Camden (S.C.) in volleyball, soccer and basketball, was the MaxPreps Female Athlete of the Year. She was a MaxPreps All-American in hoops with a 28.5 point per game average as the Bulldogs won the Class AAA title. In 2023, The South Carolina commit led Camden in kills on the volleyball court and is off to a hot start for the hoops squad with a 31.7 point average in nine games.
Joyce Edwards was the MaxPreps Female Athlete of the Year after earning all-state honors in volleyball, soccer and basketball for Camden (S.C.). (Photo: Becca Rouse)
Three years after taking over a 3-8 program, Dallas Cowboys legend Jason Witten led
Liberty Christian (Argyle, Texas) to a state championship. A number of former NFL players have had success at the prep level but Witten accomplished the special feat with a crew that includes his sons, junior
C.J. Witten and freshman
Cooper Witten – two of the squad's top defenders. Jason Witten joins brother Shawn as a state-title winning coach. Shawn has two state crowns at the brother's alma mater,
Elizabethton (Tenn.).
Laurden Harden named MaxPreps National Player of the YearLauren Harden was the catalyst for a
Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.) volleyball team that went 33-0, won its second straight Class 4A state title and finished No. 3 in the MaxPreps Top 25. The Florida commit finished the season with 371 kills as HSE extended its win streak to 67 matches dating back to the 2022 season.
Phoebus makes news at beginning, end of Virginia postseasonPhoebus (Hampton, Va.) won its third straight Class 4 state title 21-14 on a dramatic 86-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback
Maurikus Banks to
Keyontae Gray. But the program's first-round victory might have received more attention after beating Jamestown 104-0. The Phantoms lead 83-0 at half and news of the blowout went viral.
Bishop Gorman named football national championBishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) was crowned the nation's top football team for the second time in the past eight years after going 12-0 and winning the Nevada Class 5A Division I title. The Gaels went 2-0 against teams that finished in the MaxPreps Top 25 and 3-0 against teams that appeared in the national rankings at some point during the year. Against in-state competition, Gorman was 7-0 while outscoring opponents 376-65.
Tiger Woods' son helps Benjamin School win golf state titleFreshman
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger Woods, shot a 154 (78-76) to help
Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) win the Florida Division I golf state championship. The 14-year-old Woods finished tied for 26th as the Buccaneers finished with a team score of 602, one shot clear of First Academy.
Mater Dei named volleyball national championMater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) became the third straight Southern California squad to capture a national crown in volleyball after finishing 43-2 with a CIF Open Division title. Mater Dei won tournaments in California, Nevada and Texas. In all, Mater Dei had nine wins throughout the course of the year over teams ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25.
Pat Behan retires as head coach at St. John's as he continues battle with ALSAfter leading
St. John's (Washington, D.C.) to a historic season in 2022-23, head coach Pat Behan announced in August he would be retiring from the bench at age 35 due to his ongoing battle with ALS. Behan led the Cadets to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship in February and first MaxPreps Top 25 finish in school history. Doctors diagnosed Behan with ALS in May 2022.
Louisiana legend J.T. Curtis becomes high school football's all-time coaching wins leaderAfter 54 years on the sideline at
John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.), J.T. Curtis won his 621st game in late October to pass the late John McKissick of
Summerville (S.C.). He finished the season with 623 victories, putting him well ahead of Bob Hyland of
St. Mary's Springs (Fond du Lac, Wis.), No. 2 on the active coaches list with 513 victories.
Arizona's Gage Baker ties national record for touchdown passesGage Baker of
Paradise Honors (Surprise, Ariz.) tied a national record in late November by bringing his season total for touchdown passes to 91. The senior quarterback will share the record with Corey Robinson of
Lone Oak (Paducah, Ky.), who reached that number in 2007, and Jake Browning of
Folsom (Calif.), who got there in 2014. Baker reached 91 in a 68-46 loss to Sabino (Tucson) in the Arizona 3A state title game.
Gage Baker of Paradise Honors tied the national touchdown pass mark of 91. (Photo: Darin Sicurello)
