The 2025-26 high school sports year will be remembered for historic wins, record-breaking performances, viral moments and unforgettable players and teams.
One of the most inspirational stories came out of eastern Washington as siblings
Adrik and
Allie Jenkin honored their basketball coach and father Reece in the best way possible. The brother-sister duo combined for 75 points in playoff wins for
Colfax just hours after Reece died following a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Diagnosed in December, Reece kept coaching until his February passing and his children honored him on the floor with the scoring outburst. The boys team would go undefeated and win the Class 2B title a few weeks later.
Read on for a look at other stories that moved in the needle in 2025-26.
Myles McLaughlin of tiny Knox, Ind., became a national story in the fall as he put up monster yardage totals and led his team on a deep playoff run. (PHOTO: Dean Reid)
Maddyn Greenway, the
Providence Academy (Plymouth, Minn.) standout and MaxPreps Female National Athlete of the Year, heads to Kentucky on a basketball scholarship after compiling 13 state titles in hoops, soccer and track and field. She owns the state scoring mark in basketball with 5,621 points, which is also good for third time on the all-time national list. She broke the state record for career and single-season goals in soccer and also set marks in the 300-meter hurdles and 4X400 relay team. Greenway led the Lions to five straight Class AA basketball titles and back-to-back crowns in soccer.
READ MORE Bridgewater leaves Northwestern, returns to NFL
Northwestern (Miami, Fla.)
suspended head coach and former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in
August after the FHSAA opened an investigation into allegations he
solicited reimbursement for expenses he incurred while coaching the
Bulls to their first state title since 2019 in 2024. He left the Northwestern
program and signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay as Baker Mayfield's
backup.
READ MORE Santa Margarita ends Bosco/Mater Dei title monopoly
First-year
head coach Carson Palmer led Santa Margarita to the California Open
Division state football title, breaking a streak of eight seasons where either
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) or
St. John Bosco (Bellflower)
hoisted the trophy. The Eagles finished No. 4 nationally and ran
through three ranked opponents en route to the title. The Eagles allowed
just over 12 points per game on defense and were led by California
Player of the Year Trent Mosley.
READ MOREWoods, Benjamin capture second Florida golf state title
Charlie Woods and
Benjamin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) won their second Florida 1A golf title in three seasons. The
Buccaneers shot a 572 (288-284) to grab the overall title while Woods,
the son of Tiger Woods, carded a 68 and tied for fourth
individually at 142. Tiger and Charlie's mother Elin Nordegren both were on hand for the
championship event.
READ MORE Byron Nelson goes back-to-back
Edwards breaks Derrick Henry's single-game TD markBolles (Jacksonville, Fla.) sophomore
Xander Edwards had a night in September when he scored eight times in a 73-49 win over Baldwin. The son of former NFL fullback Marc Edwards broke the single-game state mark set by Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, who scored six times for Yulee in 2012. In addition to finding the end zone eight times, the MaxPreps Sophomore All-American also ran for 517 yards on 38 carries. Edward had 220 yards by intermission and was 17 yards short of the state single-game yardage mark.
READ MOREPropst wins state football title in Alabama
Rush Propst won his eighth football state championship as a coach in December, leading
Coosa Christian (Gadsden) to Alabama's Class 2A title with a 29-22 victory over
Lanett. Propst won five titles at
Hoover (Ala.) and another two at
Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.). Controversy followed at most of those stops, including one
season at
Valdosta (Ga.).
The coach is looking for new opportunities after Coosa Christian
reinstated coach Mark O'Bryant, who had been suspended prior to the
start of the season.
READ MOREJenkin leads Colfax to state title after losing father and coach to cancer
That
Colfax (Wash.) senior
Adrik Jenkin played a postseason game the same day as his father and head coach Reece died after a short battle with cancer is remarkable. Dropping 34 points and then backing it up with a successful state title run is a moment made for the big screen. Reece Jenkin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December but kept coaching until his passing in February. Just hours after his death, Adrik led the Bulldogs to a win shortly after his sister
Allie Jenkin scored 41 in her playoff victory.
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Texas school breaks national record with 40 3-pointers
Fayetteville (Texas)
broke the high school basketball national record for 3-pointers in a
game in February by connecting on 40 shots from beyond the arc. The tiny Lone Star State school of 97 students put up 120 points in a blowout victory and beat the previous 3-point mark by four made buckets. The Lions didn't attempt a two-point shot and made 40 of 98 3-point
attempts. Every player in uniform that night made at least one bucket
from distance.
READ MORE Buford opens $62 million stadium, wins national title
After going 15-0 and winning the Class AAAAAA state championship in Georgia,
Buford was crowned the 2025 MaxPreps National Champion. The Wolves capped their perfect season with a 28-21 win over then-No. 1
Carrollton in
the title game. In a wild football season that saw six teams spend time
at the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25, the Wolves chugged their way
to the top spot in the season's final game and broke a four-year run by
California schools as the nation's No. 1 team. They also rose to the top of the rankings after inaugurating their plush $62 million stadium in early August.
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Small-school running backs make national headlines
Kaegan Ash of
Mt. Enterprise broke a 72-year-old Texas rushing record and
Myles McLaughlin of
Knox (Ind.) shattered
the single-season national record for rushing yards (4,846) and rushing
touchdowns (71). McLaughlin finished his career as the third all-time
leading rusher with
11,839 yards only trailing Kelvin Taylor (12,063) and Derrick Henry
(12,124). He is one of five players in high school football history to
rush for over 11,000 yards and also ranks sixth all-time with 174
rushing touchdowns. Ash is fourth on the all-time yards list with 11,377
and broke the previous Texas mark of 11,232 set by Ken Hall of Sugar
Land from 1950-53.
READ MORE Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) basketball head coach Gary McKnight started the 2025-26 season with his his 1,300th career victory, joining the late Robert Hughes of Texas as the only coaches to reach the lofty milestone. McKnight has led the
program to 11 state championships, 16 regional titles, 24 section titles
and 40 league championships in 42 years.
READ MORE Stokes transfers, leads new team to state title
Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 high school basketball player in the Class of 2026, left
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) on the eve of the season after facing disciplinary issues and enrolled at
Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.). The
6-foot-7 Kansas commit then lead the Vikings to a 29-1 record, No. 12 finish in the final MaxPreps Top 25 and a second straight Class 3A title with a 75-53 victory over Lincoln in which Stokes scored 16 points.
READ MORE Elijah Haven signs with EA Sports
Weeks before the
Dunham (Baton Rouge, La.) quarterback committed to Alabama,
Elijah Haven became the first high school athlete to sign with EA Sports. The No. 2 player in the Class of 2027 and the top-rated quarterback
joined the Gen/EA Sports team alongside soccer players Alyssa Thompson
and Endrick, motorsport driver Bianca Bustamante and NFL star Travis
Hunter. Haven is the only one of the five still in high school. Haven put up video-game like numbers last year, passing for 3,931 yards
and a Louisiana record 62 passing touchdowns as Dunham won its first
state championship in 21 years.
READ MORE
Robinson captures 10th straight Florida flag football state title
As flag football begins to take root in the high school sports scene,
Robinson (Tampa, Fla.) is setting the standard for those who follow. The Knights reached a major milestone by winning their 10th consecutive state championship, beating
Northwestern (Miami) 42-34 victory in Florida's Class 2A final. The Knights have captured 11 titles in the past 12 seasons, the most by any program in the country. On the run to the title, head coach Joshua Saunders recorded career victory No. 300, which ranks as the most in the sport's history.
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MaxPreps National Player of the Year leads Paul VI to WCAC title
Jordan Smith scored 30 of his 39 points in the second half and the overtime sessions of an 82-76 double-overtime
Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) victory over
St. John's (Washington, D.C.) to capture its third consecutive WCAC tournament championship. He also piled up seven assists and seven steals in the contest to help his team erase a 16-point fourth quarter deficit. The future Arkansas Razorback led Paul VI to the top spot in the final MaxPreps Top 25 rankings for the second time in the past three seasons.
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Louisiana schools combined for 99 runs in softball game
In what looked more like a basketball score than a softball game,
Southwood (Shreveport) beat
Huntington (Shreveport) 54-45 in April to break the national record for most runs scored. Southwood put up 13 runs in the second, 16 in the fourth and
nine in the final frame. The Cowboys were held scoreless in the fifth
inning. Huntington scored in every inning with two 11-run frames. They plated five runs three separate times. Five Huntington pitchers combined for 279 pitches, allowing 16 hits with 21 walks and eight punch outs.
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Georgia senior Howell wins U.S. Amateur, competes in MastersMason Howell teed it up at this year's Masters in Augusta, Ga., after the
Brookwood (Thomasville, Ga.) senior earned a spot in the golf Major by winning the U.S. Amateur last year. The University of Georgia commit carded a 5-over 77 in the first round before missing the cut. However, he has another shot at a Major later this month in the U.S. Open, another perk of the U.S. Amateur title.
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Crowe breaks California state scoring mark
Rodgers helps bring together California, Hawaii schools affected by wildfires
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers donated $15,000 to help a Northern California high school football team near his hometown
of Chico with travel funds for a game with
significant meaning. The
Paradise football team is scheduled participate in September's Unity Bowl, traveling to play
Lahainaluna (Lahaina, Hawaii) in a meeting between programs and communities affected by deadly wildfires.
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Columbus wins fifth consecutive state title in Florida's highest classification
In what could have been a let-down season following the departure of
Cameron and
Cayden Boozer,
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) went 26-6 and won its fifth consecutive basketball state title with a 53-50 win over Sarasota in the Class 7A bracket. Five-star Miami commit
Caleb Gaskins led Columbus with 22.5 points per night. The Explorers finished the season ranked No. 16 nationally by MaxPreps.
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Millogo bursts on basketball scene as 7-foot-3 game changerCherif Millogo of
St. Francis (La Canada, Calif.) made his high school debut in November and the 7-foot-3 junior opened some eyes posting 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. He came to SoCal from Massachusetts after missing his sophomore year with an ACL injury. The Burkina Faso native continued to impress throughout the season and has even picked up an offer from the University of Kentucky.
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Stubbs scores 100 points in three quarters to break Arizona recordSenior
Adrian Stubbs of
Maryvale (Phoenix, Ariz.) broke
the state's single-game scoring record by piling up 100 points in a 109-25 victory over Kofa in January. And he did it while sitting in the fourth quarter. Stubbs shattered the previous record of 75 points by George McCormick of
Fredonia in 1966. He nearly tied the 60-year old mark by halftime as he scored 70 in the first 16 minutes.
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Eighth-grader Rondo makes name for himself with playoff run for North Oldham
North Oldham (Goshen, Ky.) made a state semifinal run in the winner-take-all Sweet 16 basketball tournament behind a breakout performance from eighth grader
Pierre Rondo. The son of former NBA guard Rajon Rondo lit it up with 25 points and seven assists in a first-round victory and backed that up with a 14-point night in the quarters. He dropped 22 in a semifinal loss to eventual champion George Rogers Clark as North Oldham made the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
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First-round NHL draft pick leads Edina to state football title
The future of
Mason West of
Edina (Minn.) lies in hockey after being drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks last June. But the Hornets quarterback had unfinished business and stayed in school to lead Edina to a to a 42-35 win over Moorehead in the Class AAAAAA title game in December. A junior when he was drafted, West vowed to stick around and pursue a football title. He threw for a season-low 77 yards but scored twice in the victory.
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